Bisitors*

*97% of the time when I think the word "visitors" - in my head, I pronounce it "bisitors." And there is some sort of accent associated with it. It seems to have a Latin influence. Why do I do this? Is this a movie quote? A sisters thing? Someone help me out...

July has been a landmark month for visitors. In a 17-day stretch, we spent some portion of 14 of those with friends, family, toddlers, babies and one dog in the house. Our doormen are probably getting suspicious.

We were lucky to spend the 4th of July weekend with our favorite Aussies, Ben and Natalie. I know I've said it before - all company is nice, but it's especially sweet to have family visit. Noah and I commented several times during their visit that this was one of our favorite weekends in New York City. A few old standbys, a few new destinations, a lot of laughs and great conversation.

New Destination: Clinton Street Baking Co. Not sure how we made it this long in the city without stepping foot into Clinton Street. Not sure how life was worth living before stepping foot into Clinton Street. Over the top? Eat their maple syrup and then you tell me.

On the way to our life-altering brunch, I had an unfortunate encounter with a ketchup packet on the Lower East Side. Truly, I didn't think it was possible to get everysingledrop of ketchup on my shorts without even the slightest bit of it left behind or squirting on the ground. But folks, the ketchup packet and I defied the laws of physics. Also impressive how the ketchup seemed to land in all the right compromising places. So my ketchupy shorts and I hit the new Nordstrom Rack at Union Square before meeting up with the crew at the Met. In my new shorts. That looked exactly like my old shorts. Except, you know, hold the condiments.

Old Standby: One of our favorite areas of town is the High Line in Chelsea/Meatpacking District. After perusing Chelsea Market, we hit the High Line and Nat channeled her inner-runway. Posing. Posing a threat, that is.

New Destination: Spice Market for dinner. We'd heard great things - and they're all true. Delicious food, unique menu, killer ambiance. A million thanks to our incredibly generous guests for treating us and also for insisting we use the restroom so we wouldn't miss the awesomeness that was the other floor of the restaurant. Loved this place, will definitely be back.

We also caught a few shows with Ben and Natalie. We saw Sean Hayes and Kristin Chenoweth in Promises, Promises - felt a tad lackluster in the first act, but the first scene of the second act made me laugh so hard I cried. (Tell me if you've seen it so we can laugh uproariously at the word "owl.") Also grabbed tickets to a 4th of July-themed improv show at Upright Citizens Brigade. After getting over my fear that they were actually just luring us down there to rob us (sketchy theater much?), I learned George Washington reminds me a little of Noah's brother, Jesse, and Dwight D. Eisenhower has a potty mouth.

People have been swearing up and down that Levain has the greatest cookie in this town. Got that intel from no fewer than 7 unsolicited sources in as many days. So we made like a tree and scrammed to the Upper West Side.

It's at about this point that I remember the second part of all their stories, "...and we went on a Saturday because it closes so early." "...and we decided we had to stop in because we're rarely on the UWS during the day and it closes so early." "...closes so early." "...so early."

And so, old standby: Pinkberry, anyone?

And since it was the anniversary of our country's independence, we joined the masses along the Hudson for the fireworks. I would be lying if I said I didn't think once or twice - as I tunneled a path to *turns out* nowhere through people whose deod had long since thrown in the towel in the fight against the hot, humid evening - that independence was overrated, and let's maybe duck out for some fish and chips.*

*I kid. I'm actually a huge fan of living in a free country.

The Man, The Myth, The Legend

If you've spent any sort of time around us, you've probably heard us talk about Noah's younger brother, Jordan.

That same Jordan who has weaned himself of needing {even wanting} to sleep in a bed, who attempted a sleep-30-minutes-every-four-hours routine {"productivity is through the roof!"}, whose near-arm-loss during the talent portion spelled the demise of the Mr. Genola pageant, who tried to make himself immune to giardia by drinking down the river in intervals.

Well, the one and the same made his way to NYC for a quick visit in May, and as one might expect, a great time was had by all.

Jordan didn't have a ton of time in the city, but we hit most of the midtown sites, the LDS Temple, Julliard/Lincoln Center {Jordan is an extremely talented classical guitarist, so music-related sites and stops were high priority} and Central Park before a quick bite at Shake Shack. Then we headed downtown for a stroll through the Financial District and across the Brooklyn Bridge.

The guys caught a Josh Ritter / Annie and the Beekeepers concert on evening two and by morning three, we were already bidding Jordan adieu {not for long, though, as we met up in San Diego the next day...}.

The trip was not without its classic Jordan antics. My favorite is how he managed to take a cash-only DC-NYC bus trip and eat a cash-only meal in Chinatown without a single dime in his pocket {plenty of dimes on a debit card, but in a city that's frustratingly opposed to plastic...}. Didn't seem to faze people. The guy is inherently trustworthy.

Quick trip - but I hope we convinced you this is your kind of town, Jordan! Thanks for the visit!

Family Upstairs

Some of the sweetest blessings when living away from family are the friends who become like family. We've been fortunate to meet a lot of wonderful friends who fit the description. But the camera's out a lot with one surrogate family especially, and after Tamara shared these pictures with me the other day my happy heart had to sing their praises a bit on the blog.

When Noah and I were considering new apartments, we kept our search largely to one neighborhood in the city. And by that, I mean even 6 square blocks of one neighborhood in the city. Most of our closest friends lived in one general area, and the prospect of maintaining a little consistency in the wake of that particular move was appealing. But we did happen upon just a few outliers - one in midtown that seemed too good to be true (it was.) and another downtown that piqued our interest (the prospect of a gym six flights of stairs below me really spoke to me. the no-hassle workout. now we're talkin').

Imagine our delight when we realized Tamara, Brian and their adorable offspring called the latter home as well. It was especially reassuring to chat with Tamara about the building, the apartment, the neighborhood, etc. before we signed on the dotted line and we've been spoiled by their gracious hospitality since the minute we moved in.

We always find ourselves lost in great conversation in their home - they're both incredibly well-read and wildly intelligent in the most approachable way, and I usually find myself wanting to learn more about two, three, four new topics each time we get together. Best part about it - two of the most adorable kids known to humankind. Overstatement? Not one bit. Exhibit A:

In addition to dinners (sometimes, I don't even put on shoes... glorious!) and surprise treats left at our door (Donut Plant? why yes, thank you!), it has become our occasional Sunday ritual to walk or take a detour home from church with this wonderful family. A few highlights include the Chinese New Year Parade in Chinatown, the Muggiest Day of the Year Picnic at Union Square, City Hall Park in Bloom and little T's spring ballet recital. Yes, you're all welcome to breathe a collective sigh at that last one. It was the very definition of "presh."

In all these pictures, I realized this was the only photo of the six of us. iPhone + stranger who only marginally cares how the picture turns out. Squint and maybe we won't seem so blurry...

A Derby Tale

With only an hour or two to spare before the big race, our pinewood derby call was still just a block of wood, two axles and four plastic wheels in a Ziploc baggie.

I was in the kitchen and realized I hadn’t heard a peep from Noah in quite some time. Somewhat akin to the physiological reaction sparked with a toddler suddenly gone silent, my nervousness was piqued and I peered around the corner to see Noah whittling the wood with a razor blade (city kids, our woodworking tools are sub-par, at best). He stepped into the kitchen for the occasional supply – raiding the recycling for an empty spaghetti sauce jar and surveying our limited selection of paint colors.

He kept a lid on the progress and I kept a lid on prying questions until he popped his head around the corner – “how long does it take papier mache to dry?”

Against my better judgment, I finally inquired about the plan.

It would be an understatement to call Noah’s plan brilliance. But because I have no other words, let’s go with brilliance. Sheer brilliance.It had all the makings of a prize-winning vehicle. And because the mean age of Noah’s competitors was roughly 6.7 years, the odds were really stacked in Wienermobile’s favor.Wienermobile met an unfortunate fate, though, when it proved too tall for the track's restrictive gates.

Not to be deterred, Noah made some impressive last minute adjustments. Much to the chagrin of his pint-sized opponents, Wienermobile 2.0 performed exceptionally well. Beating even that most formidable of opponents ... Wrench Car.Wienermobile 2.0 went on to compete in several heats, remarkably (even, confusingly) securing top honors each time. It wasn't until its final run down the track that Wienermobile 2.0 fell behind Empire State Building and Wii Remote (with fully-functioning buttons).

Between you and me, I think Noah was a little relieved to come in third. He may have been a little self-conscious about being the only adult to come with his very own car and sans his very own kid. Plus, he'd received some pretty menacing looks from the Holman boys about his blatantly non-regulation-abiding vehicle.

Competition - and deep-rooted biases against processed meats - can be brutal.

Places to Go, People to See

So, it's finally spring. And we're doing stuff.

Sunday walks in Battery Park City, Central Park and lower Manhattan.

(Hint: this picture is not of Noah.)

Golfing in New Jersey with the Cromars. Unless windmills, pirate ships or hitting the driving range with Ben L. in the 10th grade count, I had never actually been golfing. I was pleasantly surprised and Noah was tha-rilled to discover I'm a big fan. Golf has a promising future in our summer plans. Now if only I would get those feet of mine properly shod...

Lauren and me - still smiling even after the ground guy started a conversation with, "if you're going to let the girls play..." Ahem? Who says that?

As tends to happen in this town, with the warmer weather also comes the crowds. It means running an errand that requires cutting through Times Square is now nigh unto impossible. Fortunately, it also means a lot of faces we really love.

After Mike showed that Boston Marathon who's boss, the Eads made their way to NYC for a stroll through the High Line, Thai at Chelsea Market, Shake Shack in the park and a lesson on Antony Gormley's public art exhibition.

I lived with the adorable Megan in China five years (gasp! years!) ago and we've kept in touch through movings and missions and marriages (one each). It was wonderful to see them that evening and we also caught up with them a few days later for some people-watching and grass-sitting (grass!) in Central Park's Sheep Meadow.We were also excited to have the Buswells come to town. Tyler hired Noah for his first on-campus job at the Quick Stop (thanks to that job, I'm forever forbidden from eating corn dogs. or, at least gas station corn dogs. which really are the best kind. so it's kind of like being banned from all of them.) and I met Tyler through classes and mutual friends in Logan. Trails happily crossed again and again and we got to know his lovely Rachel when we were all living in Salt Lake.

Tyler had a work conference in the city, so they made their way out for that - but not before we dragged them (not reluctantly, I might add) all over this city. We hit all the downtown sites, crossed the Brooklyn Bridge, shopped in Chinatown, lunched and cannoli-ed (um, yeah, best cannoli on planet earth. sign says so.) in Little Italy, got our art on at the Met and the Guggenheim, dined at a gen-u-ine NY deli for dinner and kicked back virgin strawberry daquiris at a comedy club in midtown. And that was just Saturday.

Apparently we were too busy having fun to take a picture together during any of the aforementioned activities. So instead, I bring you the lobby of our office building and Allison's fist and arm of justice (what am I doing?).

Tyler and Rachel stayed with us for a few days and then graduated from studio staying to a room at the Waldorf-Astoria (cuz they're classy like that) during the conference. When their trip was unexpectedly cut one day short, they very graciously offered us their room for the evening.

It worked out perfectly, as we just so happened to have family in town also staying at the Waldorf that same evening. "Of all the gin joints..."

We met my aunt Ileen (you may have heard of her... National Mother of the YEAR) and two of her (10!) wonderful children, Angie and Jared, for dinner at Patsy's on the Upper East Side then made our way back to the the hotel. Oh, so convenient.

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner

I first heard about this dynamic duo when I was a kiddo - my brother-in-law's best friend married a girl with the same name as his own and I found that to be the most crazy awesome thing I'd ever heard. Granted, I wasn't very old at the time, so my exposure to crazy awesome wasn't terribly extensive and lead contenders were probably the ability to make homemade Pixy Stix with Koolaid and sugar (ugh, gross. still can't believe we did this. my mom was not aware, so please consider her name cleared in the matter.) or learning how to make a boondoggle keychain. But a fun fact nonetheless.

I had the chance to meet "guy Kelly" several times over the next few years as he captured family memories, weddings, new babies and growing nieces and nephews from behind the lens. He shot our engagements and our "fake" wedding day pictures (best idea ever. obnoxious wind on the actual game day? veil blowing away? no biggie, we already have the picture we want and it's already hanging on the wall.) and as Koryn correctly predicted, "he will make you look like a supermodel."

I haven't actually met the lovely "girl Kelly," but I know she's lovely for several reasons:

• The Knudsens adore her. I adore the Knudsens. Simple syllogism.
• Koryn tipped me off to Kelly's blog a few years ago, and all the breathtaking photography, flawless interior decorating, fabulous hosting ideas, I'm-going-to-invite-myself-over-for-dinner recipes, people-can-actually-grow-gardens-like-that? gardening and ooh-love-that handmade jewelry it entails. Seriously. This gal has perfect taste coming out her ears.

So when Kelly hosted a giveaway for these to-die-for handmade Scrabble pendants - my heart skipped a beat. That doesn't happen a lot. I not the biggest contest enterer (though one would think, with my Craigslisting and Kelloggs free-movie-ing), but this really sang to me.

Well, today - you see, I won.

No big deal.

I'm being totally cool about it.

But I think you should take a glance at what I'm about to be sporting every time you see me. And if you, too, dig her style - check out KellyAnnie.