Jet Boats- Really Fun??

Dear Jon-

Lynn says thanks for the idea of going on the jet boats up the Niagra River through the class 5 rapids. I just want to thank you for giving Lynn the idea so I could be terrified and clean out my sinuses with the thousands of gallons of water that went up my nose. Please, next time keep your ideas to yourself-

Susie

So Tired and So Wet!

Hi Everybody!

-flew to Rochester
-drove to Niagra Falls, Canada
-went on Maid of the Mist
-got soaked
-saw IMAX movie about the falls
-got back to the hotel right before a big storm blew in
-hung over our 16th floor balcony to get a picture of the falls at night!!!
-will never do that again
-miss our soft squishy bed at the St Regis and Harold and McKinley
-love you all

mom and dad

A Quick Hi!

Hi Guys-
It's been another great day- astounding, somber, hot, gross, scary, and fun!
Central Park was astounding- as soon as you walked down the path into the park the noise of the city disappeared! What a beautiful park- it reminded me of the park in Paris! We just walked in without knowing where we were going and after asking a few people for directions we found The Boathouse and had brunch next to a pond- very nice!

We went to St. Paul's Church- it's right across the street from the WTC and when the buildings fell not a single window was broken. I think it's the 2nd oldest church in NYC and during the recovery efforts it became the center for the rescue workers and people looking for loved ones. It has memorials through the church and I hesitated taking pictures in there because it felt so sacred, but we wanted you to see some of the things in there. It just made Dad mad all over again and I of course had to wear my sunglasses so no one would see me crying.

The subway was DANG HOT today! Not only that, we stood and let 2 trains go by until we realized the one we were waiting for didn't run on weekends! Also, not only are California girls cuter, but our rats are too! While we were waiting about 5 or 6 rats ran along the tracks- they were not like our minky brown rats with the cute eyes- they were ugly grey city rats!


Holy Cow- New York is one big city! We went to the Top of the Rock and yes, I was brave enough to go to the very top of the observation deck. You can't see very well from the picture, but I'm clutching the glass so hard my knuckles are white! I kept telling Dad that I could feel the building sway, but he told me there was no way it was- I still think it was though!



I felt so bad tonight- we needed some ice and there are no ice machines anywhere! So we called the butler and he said "Right away Mrs. Kershaw, can I bring you anything else?" I assured him that was all we needed and a few minutes later he showed up at the door in his tails and white gloves with the ice in a bucket on a silver tray! He bowed and noticed we'd eaten some of our fruit and he wanted to know would we like more or maybe did we have a favorite fruit we like better? I think he felt bad we only needed some ice! I was sad I didn't think to get a picture of him though since we'll never have a butler again- thank heavens for AmEx points! Heading to bed to finish watching the USC game. BYU did great today- GO COUGS! Off to Niagra Falls tommorrow, love you all!

Mom and Dad

PS for Emma, Sophie, and Logan- watch the mailbox for a surprise from us!

NYC

Dear Kids-
We flew into New York City on September 11- a little nervous to fly that day, but Lynn kept assuring me it was one of the safest days- there was quite a bit of extra security at LAX so it's probably true! We took a taxi from JFK into the city where we were staying and had the most fascinating talk with our driver- he told us he was from Haiti but had been here so long that he considers himself to be American. Of course our conversation touched on 9/11 and he told us he was in a building next to the WTC when it was hit by the airplanes and how proud he was of how our country stood behind New York. We talked lots about what made our country so great- the opportunities available for anyone willing to work and the diversity that makes it so interesting. I really wanted to invite him to our house so he could do a fireside for the YM/YW about appreciating all they have. I almost gave him a hug when he dropped us off- he was awesome!





















We have been having a great time- we saw "South Pacific", ate Italian sausage sandwiches from a street vendor, took a bus tour of the city, spent 3 hours in the rain at the Statue of Liberty and walked up 158 stairs (ask us any question about her and we could answer them!), made lots of new friends from England, ate at two great Italian restaurants thanks to our new best friends Harold and McKinley (the concierge at the hotel), conquered the subway thanks to some great New Yorkers who pointed out the right platform and train, saw the Manhattan Temple and the lights last night from the WTC- all in just 30 hours! We love our country and seeing this all-especially on 9/11- has made us even prouder of America!

Thanks everyone for the flowers- it was so sweet of you all and we loved them! There were certain things we saw that we knew you would love:


Mandy- you would have loved figuring out the subway!
Chelsea- you would have loved South Pacific- and probably been singing along!
Liz- shoes, what more can I say? We ate dinner next door to the Manilo Blanik shoe boutique
Whit- I wish you could have been here w/dad when he saw the Apple Store- it had glass steps!
Ryan and Jon- the Bentley was awesome!
Dan- you would have loved asking questions with Lynn about the Statue of Liberty!
Matthew- you would have loved the Italian sausage sandwiches- they were enormous!
Emma, Sophie, and Logan- we saw FAO Schwartz today and know you would all have loved playing on the big piano!

Love you all and see you soon!

Mom and Dad

I'm gonna make it- thanks to Whit!

Today I had my first ever full service massage from Whitney at the spa she works at. It was awesome and she can really work the knots out- surprising how much strength she has for someone so little! It was quiet and peaceful and I thought how nice it is that she has this talent and how great it must be to have a job where you help people decompress and feel relaxed. I was in a rush today (kinda ruining why I was there in the first place!) so I didn't take the time to enjoy the whole "spa" experience, but next time I might just stay all day- come join me and we'll drink fresh lemon water and sit with cucumbers over our eyes! Thanks again Whit- you're the best!

I am OWNED!

Last week I was talking to a nine year old boy after his soccer practice and when I asked him how it went he said "I OWN the field!" There was no question, no doubt in his ability. I am sure he confidently ran onto the field, attacking the ball and running madly for the net, never once questioning his right to mastering the field.

I thought of this confident young man this morning when I timidly went into the camera store today to get some help with my camera. Eight years ago TBG bought me a SLR Nikon to take to Europe and it was love at first sight- of the pictures that is. I was comfortable with it, loved having the film developed and rushing to the store to see how many pictures turned out. It was my constant companion- until tragedy struck. One day while at Disneyland it was stolen! I went with TBG to Sammy's to purchase a new camera- and this is where I started to lose control of the field. He convinced me I needed to have another Nikon SLR only this time a digital- just think, he kept telling me, you can look at the picture right away and see if you like it and if it turned out. To me that's like finding out what sex baby you're having before it's born- where's the anticipation of waiting to see how things turn out? So I reluctantly started taking digital pictures- I know you're all thinking I'm going to say how much I loved being able to see what I took and only ordering the prints I wanted, but I still miss the film. And I now have just under 5,000 pictures on my computer just waiting for me to figure out how to send them by some sort of magic through the air to the store where I can go pick them up only to realize I sent the wrong file.

So I digress from my lack of ownership of the field. Last year while at Sammy's again with TBG while he was purchasing a work camera he caught sight of the new Nikon SLR- it was as if a light came down from the heavens and illuminated it. He was sure it was just what I needed to get even better pictures- while gifting my old camera to a daughter in need of one. Sweet of him, I thought, but then I started to panic- but the salesman assured me that it would work almost- almost being the important word here- the same as my old one. So off we went with the new camera and all the hopes of an easy transition- hope is such an ugly word at times.

Now, I need to digress a bit here again- I am totally and hopelessly electronically challenged. If I cannot simply plug something in, turn it on, and have it work I melt into a puddle. I have to have my children set the ringer on my phone (bless you Whitney for being so close and helping your mother in her many, many times of need), change the wallpaper on my computer, and set my tivo. I have gotten better, but tonight for instance I hooked my ipod to my computer and the next thing I knew ALL the music was simply gone- vanished somewhere in space. Whitney came, looked at me and sternly said "What were you doing and what button did you push?" It wouldn't even let her put any music back on- so she restored the settings and I've been putting music back on all night.

So now back to the camera. I have been totally frustrated by this camera for the last year. It simply does not work the same way as my old one- I get some good pictures, some fuzzy ones , some dark as night. I set the camera on the counter in the store today and with tears in my eyes said "I think this camera is too much for me and I'm never going to "own" it". The very nice and patient man explained several settings I had wrong and told me I would learn to love it- I told him like had to come first and that was pretty far away. Of course TBG told me all this would have been taken care of if I would have taken a few classes at Sammy's, so I told him it had been kinda hard fitting things like that in this last year what with weddings, babies, moving offices, so on and so on and this was all his fault to begin with because he couldn't wait to find out the sex of a baby. At this point he realized I was in electronic meltdown and it would probably be best to go back to his office. He's a smart guy.

This weekend I am going with my friend Karen to San Francisco for a photo editing and digital picture class- she already owns the field- that I hope will shed some more light on the magic of this digital process. I just know that by the end of the weekend I will be just like that little guy and I'll be owning the field. Ah hope, don't you just love it?

Dear Sophie-

Dear Sophie,

I am distraught- I miss you and I'm so sad you aren't here to rub my tummy. If you come back soon I will share another sucker with you- let's try chocolate this time!


Hugs and Kisses- Trixie