Can't live with out them!

I liked this article and I thought you might too, my wife not so much.

OUR QUICK TRIP TO PENNSYLVANIA

*** INDEPENDANCE HALL ***

Our trip started out early Saturday morning and headed straight to Philadelphia. We took a first stop at Independance Hall as we had missed seeing it on our first visit to Philly a year ago due to a lovely child, who will remain un-named, and his urgent need to go potty. You see, you enter a secure area to get into liberty square. This is where they make you take off all outerwear, belts, shoes, empty your pockets, and take your children out of their strollers. Then the task of putting everything back on and making sure we hadn't left anyone or anything. Oh, forgot to tell you that there was a huge line just waiting to go thru the silly thing. Uggghhhh, what a pain that was! So we got to see the liberty bell and when we had left that building, Ethan had to go sooooo bad. But guess what . . . No bathrooms located in the secure area! Yup, we had to leave and in order to come back in we would have had to go thru the security thing all over again. By then we saw the long line just to get into Independance Hall and decided we had had enough. So here we are again and made sure that all kids were empty before we headed in to try it all again. So this time we decided to only hit the things we hadn't before.

I loved Independance Hall! I just love old buildings and antique furniture. The Independence Hall is one of the most important historical landmarks in the United States. Major steps towards independence were taken here by delegates of the English colonies, amongst them George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. The Declaration of Independence was signed in this building on July 4, 1776. The Independence Hall was also the site were the American Flag was first unveiled in 1777. In 1781, the Articles of Confederation uniting all thirteen British colonies were ratified here. And in 1787 the US Constitution was drafted in this building.


*** CONGRESS HALL ***

After visiting Independance Hall we headed over to Congress Hall in which they were right beside each other. The newly formed United States Congress occupied Congress Hall when Philadelphia was the capital of the United States from 1790-1800. The first floor was occupied by the House of Representatives. The upper floor was occupied appropriately, by the upper house, or the Senate. George Washington and John Adams were both inaugurated in this building. After Congress departed for Washington, D.C., the Hall reverted back to the Philadelphia County Courthouse, the purpose it was built for.

We hit a really neat marketplace which was called the Reading Terminal Market for a bite to eat. They had every kind of food possible but of course Chad had to have a Philly Cheesesteak and then we headed over to a mennonite booth for an apple dumpling and cream. Yummmy! Our last stop was at the Franklin Institute Science Museum. We had heard from Brian and BreAnna that there was a special "Star Wars" display and knew Ethan would love it. I'd have to admit too, that it was pretty darn cool! So it was definately a highlight of our trip.


*** FRANKLIN SCIENCE MUSEUM ***

The very next day we spent at Valley Forge. I can't even describe the feelings felt as we walked in this National Park. To think of all the men that died for other's to have their freedom. The thought that kept coming to me was "They lived without so much and so much we can't live without." I was left to contemplate quite a bit about what was really important. I think out of all that we did this weekend by far Valley Forge was my favorite. Valley Forge is the story of the six month encampment of the Continental Army of the newly formed United States of America under the command of General George Washington. Though no battle was fought here from December 19, 1777 to June 19, 1778, a struggle against the elements and low morale was overcome on this sacred ground. Many men lost their lives. Ethan was found running here and there pretending he was a soldier. He even wanted to find out where he could get a soldier uniform. We found him a continental army hat and also found him some little soldier guys. Red soldiers for the British and Blue for the Continental army. He liked them sooo much that he told us he was done looking around and ready to go home. We knew better. It was only so that he could go home and play with his new toys. We headed out after a long day of site seeing and went to pick up the furniture I had purchased on ebay and then went straight home, we were pooped!


*** VALLEY FORGE ***

SORRY MOM! YOUR NOT AT ALL FUNNY!!!

Remember me telling you all, in my TAG post, how scared I am of the movie "Elephant Man". Well, I guess my mom read it a couple of days ago and decided to give me a phone call today. I knew it was her calling (thank you caller id) so I thought "hmmmm, wonder what my mom is up to today!". So I answer the phone and say "Hi Mom" and what is her reply?! A raspy John Merrick's (the elephant man) voice! My heart started beating a little faster and I quickly scolded her. She immediately started laughing, to which I most certainly did NOT join in with her! After she finally stopped and told me she had read my post and thought it would be funny to give me a call and rub it in, I informed her that our phone call was now over!

Of course it wasn't, but still MOM . . . quit doing that!!!!!!! And yes, I still love you!

WHY ARE WE GOING TO PA THIS WEEKEND?

Well, it all started with a harmless search on EBAY for a drop leaf table. Not any drop leaf but one that was very distressed, worn and farm like. And I came across this and it was located in Hatfield, Pennsylvania.


I immediately did a mapquest search to see how far of a drive it was from here to there and it was just under 2 hours! I was mainly thinking more of going straight there and heading back and Chad came up with the great idea of visiting Valley Forge and Philadelphia while we were there and making a weekend of it. Really, he didn't have to say much more to convince me that this was an excellent idea! ROAD TRIP!!! So I placed my bid and won it for a whopping $26.00 bid. Yes, I'm one of those that sneak in at the last second and place my bid which really worked in my favor for this particular item. Well, a couple of days later I decided to just take a peek to see what this seller might also have listed. Well, to my excitement, a dresser was for auction.


Ok, I was as giddy as a school girl. Honestly, how did this ebay seller know that I had been looking, for quite some time now, for a larger antique dresser for my kids room. Well, what do you know . . . I placed a bid (at the last second, of course) and won it for $41! By now I am completely intrigued by this seller and his items for sale. Might as well make this pick-up trip well worth my time! I'm thinking I need to get my money's worth (as if I haven't already with the insanely low prices for these two items) and keep checking out what this seller has to offer. Lo and behold he now has this listed!


Hmmmm, where could I possibly make use of this? Ta Ching! Our printer is sitting on the floor right next to our computer table and Chad has often bugged me to find a table for it. Pulled out the measuring tape and it's perfect! And look, it's even got shelves for paper and things. There is NO way now that Chad could possibly say NO! Besides, he was the one that told me to find a table. Right?! So I placed my bid and actually was bid up to $102. Still not bad for an antique pie safe. And besides if you add them all together and divide by three each piece works out to be about $55. Where can you possibly get that good of a deal?! Now you know the REAL reason we are taking a road trip this weekend! LOL!

ALL I HAVE TO SAY IS . . . YUMMY!

My brother and his wife, Nathan and Genilyn, visited last weekend and mentioned that they were told by Gen's uncle, who lives in NYC, that they couldn't leave Manhattan without eating at a place called Carnegie Deli. So we decided that after taking a stroll in Central Park we would try it out for dinner.

Oh my word, when we sat down and watched what others were ordering my eyes pretty much popped right out of my head. The sandwiches were gigantic! Oh, and the pastrami sandwich was especially GIGANTIC! Here's a pic of the Club sandwich that we both ordered and shared with our significant other. So glad we did that as I barely finished half a sandwich.


Also, their onion rings were the best I have ever had. Oh, and don't forget the cheesecake. We were pretty stuffed and seeing that a piece of cheesecake cost almost $10 we decided to take an entire cheesecake home with us. The BEST purchase we've ever made! It was soooooo good! Here's a pic of Gen and me trying to decide if we need to eat cheesecake right then and there or if we could wait until we got home. I tell ya, it was a hard decision!


For all those who live here or plan on visiting it is definately a place to check out. It's located at 854 7th Avenue at 55th Street. It's a little pricey but definately a place you gotta try. Our sandwich was $22 and then we had to pay $3 for sharing it. I think I read somewhere too that there is a minimum $12 per person that must be spent. Oh well, my tummy loved every penny of it!

I'VE BEEN TAGGED

I've been tagged by Erica, and here is how this one works.

A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.

B. Each player answers the question about themselves.

C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 other people and posts there names. And then leaves a message on their blog letting them know they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog to get the directions.

What I was doing 10 years ago...
I was 23 (don't hate me cause' I'm so old! LOL) and had been home from my mission for a year now. Ten years ago from today Chad and I had been dating for 4 months without him kissing another girl! I pride in this as had I told Chad that I would never date him again unless I was the last girl he was ever going to kiss. Way to take control, Naomi! Sorry if that doesn't make sense. You kinda need to know our (pre-mission) past to know why that was even said. If you want the juicy details, we'll talk! And of course, it will be my side of the story! :)

I finally owned my very first car which was a white chevrolet cavalier Z24 (pronounced zed 24. Yes, we Canadians really say it like that). It was referred to by everyone as the "jig car". This because practically every native (we lived by the "Blood" Indian Reserve) drove a Z24. I didn't care, I thought it was cool and that I was a small town hottie in my 2 door "Z". How silly is that! I think by now Chad and I had mentioned marriage and I only say that because we were engaged in May. So I'm pretty sure 10 years ago it was all about when can I see Chad next (at the time he lived an hour away from me) and the anticipation I felt of a turned and excited stomach right before I saw him! Awww, I love my hubby!

5 Things on My To-Do List Today
1. Take Sister Notra Porter to the airport - Her mom passed away this past week at the age of 103. WOW!
2. Shower (let's see if I can get it done sometime in the AM!)
3. Head to the post office.
4. Do a couple loads of laundry . . . probably won't do it! LOL
5. Work on my Mammy's Mercantile taxes. Yuck!!!! Yeah, probably won't do this one either!

3 Bad Habits I Have
1. I often turn the washing machine on and purposely forget about the clothes and usually end up washing them 2 to 3 times. How pathetic is that! I don't hate too many things but laundry is one of them!

2. When Chad hands me food to try I always have to sniff it. It drives him crazy and it looks like I've passed this bad habit onto Ethan. Tee Hee.

3. Watch waaaayyyyyy too much MTV! Ok, I've been better at this habit and haven't watched as much lately. I've actually diverted my eyes to . . . Bravo! Hmmmm, that's not much better is it.

Places I Have Lived
Mountain View, Alberta Canada
Cardston, Alberta Canada
Rexburg, Idaho
Salt Lake City, Utah
Pearl, Bay St. Louis, and Ocean Springs, Mississippi
Lethbridge, Alberta Canada
Calgary, Alberta Canada
Jersey City, New Jersey

Things Most People Don't Know About Me
When Chad is rollin' in the dough, which is still a far cry away, I informed him that I need a Hummer. Not any of the new versions of the Hummer but the good old original style. Yup, wanna be a "Hummer Momma".

After High School I didn't take much to girls. I had enough of the high school drama and ended up having mostly guy friends. I had one best girlfriend after my first year of college to which we both vocalized "We don't like girls". We got a long so great that you'd think we were sisters. After she passed away because of tragic car accident I kept myself closed to any possible girlfriends. Sorry to say, I really didn't want any friends that were girls. Decided to go on a mission and where did Heavenly Father send me?! To Temple Square. A mission full of girls . . .ONLY girls! Is Heavenly Father trying to tell me something? When I opened my call and read "Temple Square Mission" I started to cry and threw my letter on the ground. A moment I'm not proud of but all in all my mission was a great experience and I loved it. Wouldn't trade it for the world. But, I don't think I learned my lesson quite yet. Shortly after getting married I was called to be the Young Women's President. Yup, all girls again! Heavenly Father what are you trying to tell me here! That was a tough calling in trying to deal with girls and their emotions and issues but I got through it. Well, here I am today and Heavenly Father is still trying to get me to love his daughters. Three times is a charm right?! I have now been called to be Relief Society President and once again, ALL WOMEN! Oh stink, I'm starting to tear up so I better wrap this up. Heavenly Father, I think I finally get it. I no longer try to keep my distance from the female population. I think about these sisters day and night. It is rather annoying actually as I can't get them out of my mind. When I'm doing dishes, I think about them. When I'm watching tv, I'm thinking about them. When I'm driving, I think about them. I hope they know that I love them and would do anything for them. They are all amazing women and I have learned so much from them. Sorry this got so long, I just couldn't stop typing.

Alright, one last thing. I am 110% scared of the movie "Elephant Man". Heck, I don't even think scared is a strong enough word to describe how I feel about this movie. I watched it when I was younger and it affected me so much that when my mom asked me to go down into the basement to get some canned goods I would sprint from one end of the basement to the other because I just knew He was hiding behind the big blue water barrels. When I went to bed at night I swear he was in the room with me. CREEPY! To this day, I WILL NOT watch that movie. Even this past summer when I was visiting my sister in Utah my family brought up the movie and after talking about it for a length of time I started to tear up because I couldn't take it anymore. Oh by the way, my mom has the ability to repeat lines in the movie and sound just like him. Real comforting MOM! I still love you though!

I tag: Amy H., BreAnna, Jenny, Kaycee, Angie

. . . AND SHE COUNTS TO TEN

Yup, you heard it right. EDYN COUNTS TO TEN! Now of course this would never have happened in front of me. I find that anytime I say "Say this . . . " I just get a blank stare or a whiney "NO!". But today, I was in the kitchen and heard Edyn saying what I thought was numbers. So I decided to be sneaky sneaky and peak around the corner. She was coloring in a preschool book we had bought for her and she had found a page that had the numbers 1-10 written on it. She started at two and went all the way to ten! Oh, was I a proud Momma! Yes, I know, she is 3 and a half and you would think she would have learned it long ago. But anyone who knows my daughter she is a child of very little words and this is a huge accomplishment. Yayyy Edyn! Now, as you see pictured above, we have bigger problems to fry! That thumb sucking has gotta go!

MY HUBBY IS A STUD!!!!

I am proud to announce that after many grueling interviews, which had taken place just before Christmas, Chad has been accepted to the Prosthodontics Honors Program in his 4th year of dental school. A program that was open to only 6 students!

See, I told you he was a stud! It had been some time since he had his interviews and was starting to worry that he may not have gotten in. Bryan, a friend of Chad's at school had received his letter notifying him of his acceptance into the Esthetics Honors Program (BTW Congrats Bryan and BreAnna!) and had asked chad if he had heard anything. Of course, Chad had not and started to get really discouraged. He came home pretty disappointed as he had worked so very hard in getting really good grades and felt that by not getting into the honors program it was all for nothing. He didn't sleep a wink that night and had pretty much written off specializing in Pros (rhymes with cross). As he got ready to head to school I wished him well and told him that I'd be crossing my fingers and toes that the school hadn't finished sending out acceptances and that he would get his today. Well, 6pm came around and I got a call from Chad and he made it! Not only did he make it into one program but TWO! Here is what his acceptance letter said:

Dear William Wolff,
Congratulations. We are pleased to advise you that you were selected for the Honors in Prosthodontics program for the 2008-2009 academic year. We have carefully reviewed your credentials and believe that you have the ability to succeed in this program. Students who participate in these programs receive appropriate credit hours on their transcript and the program is listed as Honors*. Again, I congratulate you on your achievement!
Sincerely,
Andrew I. Spielman, D.M.D., Ph.D
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs

For the second program he was accepted to, Senior Mini Residency at the Student Health Center, the letter pretty much states the same. My mom, asked me what it really meant for Chad to be accepted. And well, I completely butchered it while trying to explain it to her. Honestly, I had no idea what I was talking about! LOL. So for those of you who are interested here is a brief description of what the Prosthodontics Honors Program entails:

Prosthodontics Honors Course description:
This clinical concentration program is designed to give participants an excellent hands-on clinical experience and training in Fixed, Removable and Implant Prosthodontics. The intent of this course is for students to understand the scope of graduate Prosthodontics. Students will, under close supervision of experienced faculty, treat patients of greater complexity than undergraduate experience. Total number of students accepted: 4 - 6

Senior Residency at Student Health Center:
This program involves active student involvement in daily care within the faculty practice. Students will participate in the comprehensive care of patients assigned in faculty practice including examination and treatment planning, periodontal therapy as required, esthetic procedures as required (including porcelain laminates and bleaching), all phases of operative dentistry, all phases of crown and bridge as required and indicated oral surgical procedures. Invisalign orthodontics may be initiated as required.

Oh, and about Bryan. Well, Chad went to school the next day and had a word or two with him about putting him in such a TIZZY! We love ya Bry!