Christmas Cookies

One our Christmas traditions is decorating Christmas cookies every year. Nony is in town this week and last night we decorated our cookies :-)
Mom headed the operation by baking the cookies. Lydia and sometimes me helped with the cookie cutters. Then me, Mom, Lydia, Nony, and Lydia's friend all did the decorating.

Hard at work ;-)

As the little sister, I have always thought that Nony's cookies were the prettiest. I still think that...

My masterpiece of the night: The Sugarplum Fairy

Some of my creations...

The finished project!

The only problem is, we can't eat them until Thursday at Aunt Diane's!! We did sneak a few last night though....

My First Semester Of College

Wow! Okay, I haven't been very faithful in updating my blog, but I've got some time on my hands right now and so here I go! I'm done with my first semester of college, and I SURVIVED! I'm very thankful for Christmas break though!

The first few weeks of college were extremely overwhelming. I had work to do, and a deadline to finish it and I had to remember how to get from class to class and I didn't really know anybody too well. I mean, I made friends pretty quickly, but they weren't my friends. Just classmates and accquaintances. People who's faces I knew, but not names. But I am SO grateful to one particular person, who helped me out imensely during my first few weeks. Ashley Brown. She answered questions, encouraged me, explained where to go for class, and so many other little details that just made me feel better about this whole new experience called college. And I'll admit, at first, I hated it. No matter how much everybody assured me that it got better, I hated it. I made a couple friends at the BCM, but they all already had friendships and groups and I didn't quite feel like I was fitting in with them.

But alot of changes have happened since then. Now, I've really made some friends! There are some other Theatre majors that are fun and friendly that I like alot. But I haven't gotten too extremely close to any of them. However...I have made some incredible friends at the BCM. I finally started to connect with the people there when we went to Ignite a collegiate conference in Shreveport. Besides finally making friends, it was an amazing weekend that I spent praising and worshipping God and learning more about Him. One of the afternoons we went to the riverwalk and just had some free time until supper. I ended up walking around with 2 people that I did not know very well at all. Wiley Kersh, who works at the BCM and Ashley Hill.

Me and Ashley started talking while we were walking around and we just talked and talked and talked. When we went and met up with the rest of the BCM people to eat supper at Buffalo Wild Wings we sat next to each other and talked and talked some more! We got to know all kinds of things about each other and our families and we just had a connection right away. She's 22, which is 4 years older than me, but it didn't matter! I finally had a friend! I also made friends with Kaleb and Victoria and Matt and Kyle. We played "Extreme" Alphabet game anytime we were driving anywhere. I got to know Scott, who is the BCM director. It was a great weekend!

Soon after that I met 2 more girls. Just about every Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday, they were at the BCM at lunch time. "T-Plus" and "T-Minus" is what I first heard them calling each other. Their names are actually Caitlin and Kaelyn. I got to know them better during our fall break though. A few of us spent a few nights at the BCM and painted a house for a lady in town for a service/outreach type of thing. Me and Ashley and Caitlin and Kaelyn all did that. And soon I became friends with both of them, too! Also, during that time we met Ershad and Jamal. They are 2 guys from Iran. Neither of them are Christians, but they were very interested and asked lots of questions. We were all excited to get to share our faith with them.

Since then, I've grown increasingly closer to all these people. Me, Ashley, Caitlin, and Kaelyn all have a bond that's so strong. They're all like older sisters to me. They are so supportive and loving and have taught me so much about my relationship with Christ. Plus, we have so much fun when we're all together!

As for my classes, they all went great. Math was very difficult, but a guy from church, Johnny Carriere helped me through the first few weeks over facebook and the phone. Then, as me and Caitlin got closer, she started helping me. If it weren't for those 2, I'm afraid that Math 105 would not have been so much of a success! I got a B in Math and English and A's in all my theatre classes. So, I had a very good first semester of college! Here are some pictures of some of the high points of the semester:

My first UL football Game:

That's me and Kaelyn (T-Minus) and Brittany waiting for the game to start.

Me, Kaelyn, and Jamal (one of the Iranian guys)

Wiley, Ershad (the other Iranian guy), Ashley, and me. It was very cold at this game, so me and Ashley were huddled up together in her blanket!

Apparently it's a tradition to go to Sonic after the game, so that's all of us at Sonic!

This is one night when I was supposed to be doing math homework...

Me and Ershad at the BCM one night.

A few of us got together to play cards and hang out. We also crunched Life Savers in the dark and when you chew it, it makes a spark! And we opened Band-Aids in the dark and they have a little glow...it was so fun...

Me and Kaelyn cleaning the kitchen because our team lost Cranium...

Me and Caitlin :-)

Natalie Sibille also came and hung out with us that night :-) That's me and her and Ashley

Caitlin, Natalie, Me, Jamal, Ashley, Kaelyn, Ershad, and Emad

I'm glad to be on break now, but honestly, I'm missing seeing everybody everyday!

College Day 1

Well, today was a really long day. I woke up, took a shower, ate a biscuit, packed my lunch, had a small meltdown, talked and prayed with Mom, felt better, and then headed away to my first day of college. I made it to Cajun Field to park my car without any trouble. Then I got on the bus that brings me to the campus.

When I was sitting in the seat waiting, I saw somebody I knew! It was Aaron Olivier, who was in my Kindergarten-3rd grade classes at Westminster! He sat next to me and we figured out that we had the exact same first class, which was Honors English.

When we got to the UL campus, I got off the bus and found the BCM (Baptist Collegiate Ministry) which is an organization for Christian college students to hang out together. They have get togethers and Bible studies and you can hang out there in between classes. I went and met some people over there. It turns out, one of the people in charge, who's name is Scott was attending UL at the same time as my big sister! He knew Nony! So, I left my lunch in the fridge over there and went to find my English class.

I found it very, very easily and (guess what) all by myself!!! My English class is very small. It's about the size of my dining room and kitchen. And we just have a table that we all sit around and a couple of desks behind the table. The teacher was late. And he's kind of strange. His name is Dr. Smith. The thing that was kind of strange about him was that I could never ever tell whether or not he was joking or serious or if he was being sarcastic or trying to be funny....He was a very confusing man. But he seems nice. I hope he turns out to be a good teacher! I think we'll be reading some interesting things...he likes the old stuff alot....like the ANCIENT stuff!

Next was Honors Seminar. I have to go to one of these every week. And (surprise, surprise) a boy in my English class was also going to the seminar. So we walked there together. He is one of the hugest nerds I've ever met! He's very weird. He likes computers and stuff. But he makes me laugh. Honors seminar was interesting. Right now, I'm just learning about what it really is. I don't really know what I think of it yet.

After Honors, I had a little over an hour for lunch. I went to the BCM. Once again, I found my way there all by myself! I met some more people there including a girl named Brittany and a boy named Kyle who were both really nice. After lunch I found my way back to the Student Union where Ashley Brown, a friend from the OLT was. Our next class was together and it had been moved to a different place than what was on the schedule, so she was going to show me where the new place was. When I met up with her, she introduced me to some other Theatre majors. Then we walked to our class. A few other people showed up in the same room. We waited for quite some time. But the teacher just didn't come. Eventually, we came to the realization that we must be in the wrong classroom...

We found out from somebody important that we were indeed in the wrong classroom. So, all 6 or 7 of us walked to a completely different building and found our class, which was Movement for the Actor. I'm not sure exactly what'll be going on in this class besides learning some stretches and yoga type stuff...so we shall see....

After Movement, Ashley and I walked to the bus stop. We were waiting for the bus and talking, when I suddenly realized that I had forgotten my lunch box in the BCM fridge! So, I had to walk ALL THE WAY to the BCM and get it, then walk ALL THE WAY back to the bus stop. Then I rode the bus to the parking lot. And I had to walk so very far past so so so many cars to get to mine. But finally I made it. I took a huge breath and turned on some good music! I was ready to go home!

Natalie Sibille called me on my way home, which was very nice. When I got home, I just dropped all my stuff on the floor and flopped into Dad's recliner. My sweet puppy Lottie came and crawled up and fell asleep in my lap and we barely moved until Mom and Nathan got back from the dentist. Then Mom and I went swimming and I told her all about my day.

Lydia and I watched some TV (which I never do) then we ate supper....the rest of my evening has been very relaxed. I mapped out my classes for tomorrow. And I'll be ready...

For now....Goodnight!

Ready for College

Today I am going to college. I'm going to UL in Lafayette. I have a new book sack, a new lunch box, all my school books, new notebooks, new pens and pencils, and even a whole bunch of new clothes. We made a map of how I'm supposed to get around the campus. So, I've done absolutely everything possible to make sure I'm ready for today. Only problem is that I am SO nervous! And I don't usually get nervous! I'll be leaving in just a couple minutes....I hope I don't get lost! And, Lord, PLEASE let me have some really nice teachers!

Nieces, Nephews, and Performances

Thursday morning, Jennifer dropped off all five of her kids. Claire, Ethan, Blythe, Owen, and Evelyn were staying with us for 5 days. That meant we'd have 8 kids at our house, and half of them would be 6 and under...that means we have a house full of chaos.

Thursday night, I had a show. It went well. Mrs. Heather and Catherine were there. I have to fall down onstage quite a few times in the play and I started noticing, that the bruises on my knees were growing bigger and darker each day....After a few months of rehearsal and a couple performances, my knees were really feeling the pain. Jay informed me, a little late, that for Shakespeare, he very cleverly wore knee pads all through the rehearsals, so he wasn't hurting himself again and again all throught those weeks. Pretty smart...but, to tell the truth, even if he would've told me before, I still probably wouldn't have used knee pads...I just don't like the way they look.

There's me and Natalie in our costumes. After the show, we end up taking lots of pictures. All these sweet, and usually timid little girls come up asking for our autographs and pictures with us. It's so cute!

Friday was a long boring day. We didn't do very much. We were pretty bored all day. Claire and I went with Natalie LaCombe to get her hair done. It was a waste of time and money. The lady didn't do the best job, and it costed alot. Natalie, who is going to cosmetology school was not satisfied...

Lydia and Natalie had a show that night. They are in "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" at the Opelousas Little Theatre. That night Mr. Kent and Mrs. Tara Sibille worked at the door at the OLT for "Willy Wonka". On their way out of town, they picked me up to go spend the night over at the Sibille's house.

Natalie, Mikie, and I decided to watch "Rent". Michael is obsessed with "Rent". And I hate it. But I'd never actually watched it. So, I decided to give it a chance...

That was a mistake...

I didn't enjoy it at all. All I got out of it was people in bad clothes singing annoying songs...

So, before it was even half over, the disc started skipping alot. I was rather pleased. Mikie and Natalie were not.

We went to bed, but we talked for awhile in the dark, of course.

Saturday morning, we had a Theatre Workshop. Kids ages 8-12 came to the Eunice Players Theatre where we're performing "Dorothy Meets Alice". Most of the cast came. And we all dressed up in costume. Not our costumes from the play. Just any costume. We each had a character that we had to act like all morning. I dressed as a Southern Belle. Natalie was a flapper from the 1920's. Taylor was "Jacqueline" (Jack) Sparrow. Bradley was an 80's (I think) rockstar. Audrey was a hippie. Angie was a nerd. Holly was a belly dancer, I think. Chelsea was a cat. Duncan was a monk. And Mikie was Mark, a character from "Rent".

It was a very fun morning. I enjoyed playing the acting games and teaching the kids about the theatre. Saturday afternoon, we went back to Natalie's house for a little while. Then we went to the OLT to see our fellow thespians in "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory".

We picked up Claire from my house on the way because she wanted to see the play too. As soon as we arrived, we went in the back to say hello. As soon as a got backstage, Mrs. Pitre came up to me. She said, "Gracie, can you do a huge, huge favor for me?"

I smiled big, and said, "Sure!" (even though I had no clue what she wanted)

She sent me across the street to Walgreens to get some glue sticks for a glue gun. They needed it to do something for the play. I needed a ride to get to Walgreens, so Natalie and I stopped Hannah Stewart (a friend from Showcase) as she was coming in the door. She drove us to Walgreens, but of course they didn't have any glue sticks.

We had approximately 30 minutes before the show started, so we decided we could risk going to Walmart. We headed down Creswell lane. Me, Hannah, Natalie, and Claire. It was crazy.

Hannah and Claire dropped off me and Natalie at the door. We ran through the store to the craft section. We grabbed the glue sticks and ran to a check out. We checked out and went back to the theatre. We made it! It was 6:51, I think. And the show was supposed to start at 7:00.

There were so many people there that I knew! I was so excited! Mr. Dirk and Mrs. Liz from church were there, to see their grandson, Connor perform. Kristi and Mrs. Diana Burleigh who are involved in "Dorothy Meets Alice" were there. Angie, Duncan, and Taylor were there. Jay and his son Jude were there. It was so fun! And there were other people there, too. Plus, all the people in the cast! It was a good night.

Willy Wonka was very cute. The singing wasn't the best. It was often off-key. But they had some very good actors and actresses! Their set was cute and clever. It was a very good night! After the show, I went with some of the cast to Casa Ole to hang out. That was fun, too.

Sunday morning, we had church. We had all the Stanford kids with us, so that was an adventure.

Sunday afternoon, I had a matinee performance. Mom and Dad were bringing all the grandkids to see it. Plus Grandma-Mona was coming. Oh and Jay was bringing his son to see it, too. So, I was excited. I love when I know people in the audience!

It was a wonderful performance. I think it was our best yet! We didn't have hardly any messups with our lines. Only a couple very insignificant ones. It was wonderful. I loved hearing my family and friends laughing at us. Especially Owen. He laughed with all his heart everytime anybody else laughed. Even when I know the jokes were over his head. He's so funny...

After the show and the chaos of seeing everybody was over and we went backstage again, I realized that my ankle was really hurting. Apparently on one of my falls throughout the play, I'd hurt it, and not really noticed during all the craziness. But, man, it was really hurting, then. It was swollen too! Everybody advised me to take it easy on my ankle until Wednesday, our next performance. I don't do very well with the whole "taking it easy" concept...

Today was another "stay at home" type of day. We just hung out around here. Lydia and Claire went to a Music day camp sort of thing that's going on all week. The rest of us stayed at home. Nathan and I had the responsibility of feeding all the kids their lunch. That wasn't as big of an operation as it could have been, which was nice. Then out of all the little kids that were there, it was Nathan who made a big mess by spilling my tea...

This afternoon was just hanging out around here. Me and Claire cooked some taco soup for supper. We went for a bike ride, even though I shouldn't have cause that's bad for my ankle...

Now, I'm sitting here while everybody else is going to bed. I talked to friends on facebook and watched some of "24" with my family...and had a nice dessert of Oreos and milk...I'm resting my ankle up on the top of the table (which feels very nice, it helps it not hurt as much) and I think that I'm kinda tired, so I'm gonna head to the bed....goodnight. :-)

Opening Night!!

We had a wonderful opening night! An almost sold out audience that was full of energy, everybody very into their characters, friends that came to see it, little girls who wanted to meet Dorothy and Alice (and take pictures!), milkshakes afterwards, and we get to do it five more times! :-)

Ahhh...I love the theatre....

And my stage makeup is pretty fabulous! Hahaha. I'll put some backstage pictures as soon as I can!

Father's Day and Chocolate Cake

Yesterday was a pretty good Father's Day, I think. We didn't do anything big. We just all stayed close to home. I baked a Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate Cake for my dad. I made it from scratch...it took forever! And it made a big mess. Also, two of the 3 layers cracked in half. So when I put it all together, there was a crack the size of the Grand Canyon down the middle...

But, hey, it was one of the most scrumptiously deliciously yummy cake I've ever eaten...I also made a few facebook friends quite jealous! :-D

Dorothy Meets Alice

We've been rehearsing for a play called "Dorothy Meets Alice". It's a children's musical about the characters from "The Wizard Of Oz" and "Alice In Wonderland". We have a fun cast. Even though it's a children's musical and some of the jokes are really cheesy, we have a blast!

Our performances July 8, 9, 15, 16, and 17.

Our cast is:
Jessica- Taylor
Alice- Me
Dorothy- Natalie Sibille
Scarecrow- Bradley
Lion- Duncan
Tin Man- Michael
Wicked Witch- Angie
Doormouse- Kristi
Mad Hatter- Darrel
White Rabbit- Audrey
Red Queen- Holly

Busy, busy, busy

The last two weeks of my life have be so busy!

On Monday, June 8 Rachel Vander Molen and I went to go house sit for the Hudson's that live in Lafayette. It was a very interesting experience. They had 3 dogs that we had to take care of.

On Monday, we got there, fed the dogs, and let them outside. Then we went to Sheridan Productions where we go to dancing. I'm not actually taking the summer session of dancing, but Mrs. Meghan (0ur teacher) had invited me to come participate in class one day. After dancing, Rachel and I went to the house and hung out all evening. We watched "Jekyll and Hyde The Musical".

Tuesday, we got up, took care of the doggies, then went out to Chili's for lunch! :-D We both ordered something very yummy, but neither of us could eat all of our food, so we brought it back with us to eat for supper that night. Then we went shopping at Charlotte Russe in the mall. Rachel and I both got a dress and I got a giant black flower for my hair. Then we happened to stop by The Icing and I found the most amazing hat! So, I bought that too!

That afternoon neither of us had anything going on, so she worked on some schoolwork and a dance that she's choreographing while I read "Pride and Prejudice" and practiced my lines for "Dorothy Meets Alice". That night we watched "Legally Blonde: The Musical" while we ate our leftover Chili's food for supper.

Wednesday, we woke up and did a little hanging around. Then we went to eat lunch at Chick Fil A. That was yummy :-) Then we came back to the Hudson's house and took a bunch of pictures.

Wednesday night, Rachel had church and I had rehearsal. So, she brought me to Southern Tire Mart, where my dad works, so he could bring me to rehearsal, then she went to church. Then Dad brought me to the Sibilles, so Mikie and I could drive to Eunice together. Natalie was in New Orleans at a school called NOCCA. She went for a 3 week program to learn about musical theatre. So, she's taking dancing, singing, and acting classes all day, everyday...I'm not jealous at all.

After rehearsal, Rachel picked me up and we decided that we were gonna watch "Step Up 2", a movie that she likes that's about dancing. We started watching it, but then we started having trouble with the movie, so we quit watching it. We just hung out for awhile having fun and being friends. Then we decided that our last day, which was the next day, Thursday, would have to be a memorable one. Rachel came up with the idea that we go into Albertsons (the nearest grocery store) dressed like secret agents, and act like secret agents the whole time....

So, we did. I was Agent A04111991, AKA Alice, AKA Ding-Dong, AKA Kitty, AKA Tall-y. And Rachel was Agent F02261992, AKA Adle, AKA Ding-Dong, AKA Giraffe, AKA Shorty. We had a lovely time :-) We also recorded the whole thing with Rachel's camera, so we've got some great memories from it!

Thursday and Friday were pretty normal. Friday, Natalie Sibille was returning for the weekend, so me and the rest of her family decided to surprise her by me going to their house to spend the night. Well, it turns out that Natalie wasn't surprised at all, but still very happy!

Saturday, we hung out, then we had rehearsal.

Sunday, we had church, then Mom and I cut out the pattern for my Alice In Wonderland costume and started working on it a little! After that, it was time for Nathan and I to go to the Hope House, which is the house across the street from our church where mission teams stay when they come on mission trips to Opelousas. Our youth group has a mission week every year and the past few years our mission trips have been right in our own city. So, we all stayed in the Hope House Sunday-Thursday.

Sunday night we all hung out and had a good time. The people there were Me, Megan, Jill, Chloe, Austin, Sam, Ben, Isaac, Nathan, Ryan, Wilder, Catherine, Chris, Mrs. Heather, and Mr. Greg. We had a fun group, although I was a smidge dissapointed that none of the girls that are my age in the youth group were there...

All of the days were spent hard at work. Every morning, we went to a place for battered women. They have a donation room with lots of clothes for them. That room was really disorganized, so we went in and did some serious reorganizing. By the end of the week, it looked really good! Monday afternoon, we went to Mrs. Nan Mitchel's house and cleaned her windows, swept her floors. Tuesday, I left after lunch to babysit Mrs. Carrie's baby boys, but everybody else went to Mrs. Betty Jo's house. Wednesday afternoon, we went to the Bihm's house and did some work outside. We had gone there last summer, which was before Mr. Bihm passed away. He died 8 weeks after we went. Mrs. Lily, his wife told Mrs. Heather that us going over there was his last really happy memory of his life. That made me feel like God had really used us!

Thursday, we just cleaned up the Hope House and left around lunch time.

Here are some pictures:

Me and Rachel fixed our hair crazy and took funny pictures

Upside down Rachel

:-O

Aaaa! :-D

Smile :-)

I love this picture!

Joyful....

I love my hat....so much!

The girls from the mission trip.

Me, Chloe, Jill, Megan, and Nicole

Me, Jill, and Chloe

Me and Catherine

Me and Jill.......and Chloe

Up on my bed

New York Trip Days 4 and 5

Since I never posted anything about these days, I felt like my blog would be incomplete without them, so I am taking the responsibility to finish off my New York trip before I move on to further posts.

Sunday morning, I had a complete and total "Classic Dramatic Gracie Meltdown". I was having issues figuring out what to wear. I had 2 outfits and some missing accesessories. It was really stressful. And I ended up wearing my same dress that I wore for the wedding. Which is exactly what I wanted to do. So, after that crisis was over, we went to the Grand Chalet in Wayne, New Jersey.

It was lovely! We took pictures...and more and more and more and more pictures...And I was definetely freezing outside.

Finally we went inside and we, being the family of the bride got a special entrance. Then I sat at a table with all of Frank's brothers and their families. It was a very enjoyable event. The food was delicious! First there was breakfast on one side, then later, lunch on the other. There was a live band. They played some wonderful music! Including a Cajun song and "You Are My Sunshine" the Louisiana state song. It was such a beautiful day! And I don't mean the weather, because, if I remember correctly, it was overcast. But inside, it was georgeous.

I ate so much food, that I thought I wouldn't eat until the next week!! But of course, for supper that night, Mrs. Rosina and Mr. Giuseppe made some real Italian spaghetti....

Monday morning, we woke up, ate some delicious breakfast (of course there was plenty of it). Then we all squeezed in their car to go to the airport. It was time to go home.... :-(

Our trip home was very smooth. When we were on the plane we saw some amazing clouds. It looked like we were on Antarctica!! It was really pretty!

Then later, when we were about to land in Lafayette, I was listening to "Defying Gravity". It was almost at the climax, you know, "Tell them how I am defying gravity, I'm flying high deFYing gravity..." when they made the announcement that we were landing soon and all electronics needed to be turned off. Well, I decided that I just HAD to hear the end of the song! So, I kept listening, and they announced it again! So, I just listened to right past my favorite part, then I turned it off. Right after I turned it off, we hit some turbulence and the landing gear came out (and we were on the little Lafayette/Altlanta plane) and it made a big loud noise, and I thought, "Oh my gosh, I broke the plane!" But thankfully we landed safely.

When we got home, it was really good to be home. But I missed New York and all of it's Big City Beauty. Some people may think mountains are pretty, and other's might think crystal clear blue water is pretty, but for me, cement and sky scrapers and neon lights and best of all, theatres are simply georgeous!!

New York Trip Day 3

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Today was our shopping day! :-D

We went right over to Fifth Avenue! First we went to H&M. That's a cool store. I got some ADORABLE white sandals from there. And they weren't even very expensive!

Next, we went to a store called Strawberry. That one wasn't really my favorite. I didn't really find anything that I liked. It looked like the type of store that you have to hit at the right time...but I didn't like it too much.

Then Dad and I went to Forever 21. I like that store alot!! That's where I got my dress that I am in love with! Here's a picture of it:

Only it's a tad too long for me....

Now we're at the Crocco's house. Frank's parent's Mrs. Rosina and Mr. Guiseppe are so nice! And so is the rest of Frank's family. I got to meet his brothers and parents when they came down for the wedding, but none of his other family. Italian families are very fun! And they make you eat alot...I mean it...alot.

I got to meet Frank's sister in law, Erika. She is an actress! We talked for a really long time! She hasn't actually done anything on Broadway, but she's done some professional acting! It was SO COOL to talk to her. She had so much good advice for me, that I won't forget!

Tomorrow is the wedding reception! Should be quite lovely!

New York Trip Day 2

Friday, April 17, 2009

Today was our tour day. We went on a bus tour of the highlights of New York City. I was pretty excited about it. It was pretty interesting in some parts, but not nearly as interesting as I was expecting. We did see some interesting sights though!

My favorite parts were: riding on the Staten Island Ferry, seeing the Brooklyn Bridge (I mostly enjoyed that because I hadn't gotten to see it last time we came), seeing the hotel that the survivors of the Titanic stayed at, and seeing the New York Public Library. The rest was either something I'd seen on our last trip or something that I didn't find very interesting. My least favorite part of the tour was when they pointed out a statue of General Sherman...

We had lunch at the place where we saw the Brooklyn Bridge. They had a food court there. Mom and Grandma-Mona got some sort of Chinese food, Dad grabbed another slice, and I had a "Nathan's" hot dog. Oh and we saw something that was genuinely hilarious....a Cajun restaurant...except it wasn't really Cajun....

Here are a few pictures:

Here we are in front of the Brooklyn Bridge

Dad and I on the Staten Island Ferry passing in front of the Statue of Liberty

Here I am leaning on my favorite cuddle spot of Mom's: her left shoulder. I had a headache and had had enough of that tour...

Me in front of Saks Fifth Avenue

After the tour, we got ready to go to Nony and Franks apartment for supper. It was fun going over there again. Nony and Frank cooked some interesting food. I like the green noodly things. I'm not sure what it was, but it was yummy. The rest was all a little strange for me and included alot of mushy vegetables, which aren't really my favorite...

Dessert was amazing, though. We had some sort of incredible chocolate cheesecake! It was like heaven for my tastebuds.

After supper, we visited for awhile, Mom fixed a button on Nony's wedding dress that she'd get to wear again on Sunday, and then Frank brought us all back to the hotel. But before we went inside, we stopped to see the lights of New York City at night. We were right across the river, and according to Frank, had the perfect view. Well, Frank was right:

Tomorrow is shopping day. I'm packing up everything I don't need for tomorrow because tomorrow, we're going to stay at Frank's parents house in New Jersey.

New York Trip Day 1

Last week, Mom, Dad, Grandma-Mona and I went on a fabulous trip to New York City and New Jersey! Here is a day by day account of all the fun!

Thursday, April 16 2009

We woke up this morning at 3:30 AM! But I wasn't one teeny bit tired! :-)

We finished all our little details with the packing, told Lydia and Nathan goodbye, jumped in the van (Me, Mom, and Dad were very excited!), and cranked the van and got ready to take off! Unfortunately, as soon as we cranked the van, it would start up just fine...then die. We tried again, and the same thing happened. So we tried again and again and again and when Dad pushed on the accelerator, it would go. So, we made it to Grandma-Mona's house, right down our street. Instead of driving to the airport in our handicapped van, we switched all the bags into Grandma-Mona's car. THEN, we left! We were on our way to NEW YORK!!

Well, we got about 10 minutes down the road before realizing that we had forgotten a very, very important suitcase! There was no other choice, we had to turn back. Thankfully it was VERY early in the morning and we had barely any traffic. So, we sped down the road at Cullen fast speeds to get back to our house and then to the Lafayette airport on time. I've never seen my mother drive the way she was driving this morning at 4:15 AM....

Thankfully, we made it to the airport in time...barely. We got our boarding passes, checked our luggage, and headed to security. That's where we met some troubles. I made it through without any problems. Mom and Grandma-Mona both had to get their bags searched. And Dad, well he got his hip replaced years ago and something in his artificial hip ALWAYS makes the security things go off. So, they had to search him all over. Meanwhile, I was on the other side of security while there were announcements like "Last call for flight 2008 to Atlanta" being said. I didn't know what to do! I was telling the lady at the counter, "They're right there! They're coming!!"

Well, it all worked out. We made it onto the airplane in the nick of time! Not long after, we took off! I'll admit, I do get a smidge nervous about flying. It was only my 3rd time ever being on an airplane. But, once we got going, I was just in awe of the beauty of everything. At first, it was still really dark outside, so all we could see were tiny lights in big groups where all the cities were. After a little while, though, we started to see the sunrise! It was so pretty! We were flying through the sunrise!

We had a very nice flight. I listened to "Into The Woods" while I read "A Little Bit Wicked" and looked out the window alot. I am simply amazed with the view of the ground from an airplane!

Eventually, we got to the Atlanta airport. I'll admit, I had a small freakout inside when the landing gear came out. It made a huge noise and I thought the airplane was broken. And I was ready for us to go plummeting down to the ground. That's me with my over active, dramatic imagination... We had about a 50 minute layover. The airport in Atlanta is ginormous! There was even a subway like thingy to get you to the correct terminal!

We had a little time to kill...so...

We waited....

Then we got on the other airplane. This time I got to sit next to Dad. We had a fun time eating peanuts, Biscoff cookies, drinking Coke, laughing, looking out the window, and listening to "Defying Gravity" while we were defying gravity!

Eventually, we arrived in Newark, New Jersey. Frank picked us up from the airport and drove us to the hotel. Our hotel was right next to the river that's in between New York and New Jersey. So, we weren't technically staying in New York, but according to Frank, New Jersey is pretty much just another section of New York City. So, we got ourselves settled. Me and Grandma-Mona in one room and Mom and Dad in the other. Luckily, we were RIGHT next door to each other.

We went across the street to a mall to eat lunch. We got some yummy Quiznos. Then we came back to the hotel to just hang out until it was time to head into "The City" (that's what Nony said they all call it when they go into New York City). I was completely exhausted. After getting back from the cast party last night and eating all the sugary yummy foods and with all the excitement of leaving this morning. I didn't fall alseep until almost 12:00, which doesn't sound too bad, until you remember that I got up at 3:30! So, I was very tired. I laid down on the bed in the hotel and it wasn't long at all before I was in a hard, hard sleep. And anyone who knows me well, knows that I'm a very light sleeper, so I was surprised at how well I slept with Grandma-Mona bustling around doing stuff.

When I woke up, it was time to get ready to go! Our plans were to go and show Grandma-Mona and Dad where Nony went to school, then "grab a slice" (another "New York thing" that Nony showed us) and then go to the Lunt-Fontane Theatre to see "The Little Mermaid On Broadway"!!

Soon, Nony got to the hotel, and we were off! We had to teach Grandma-Mona and Dad how to swipe their Metro Cards.

When we emerged from the Subway, we were right in the middle of the hustle and bustle and beauty of Times Square! And New York has a specific smell, that I immediately recognized. My first thought, as I walked up onto the sidewalk from underground was, "Ahhh...It's good to be back!"

We went to see the school and Nony pointed out some of her favorite stores to shop at. Then we went to a pizza place to "grab a slice"! Nony showed us the proper way to eat the giant slices of pizza. Since they're like 2 or 3 slices in one, you fold it in half and that's how you manage to hold it. It was fun. By the way, New York Pizza is very yummy!

After that, we were ready to go to the theatre!!!!!!! On the way, though, we made the terrible discovery that Grandma-Mona's shoes were cutting into her feet! They were even bleeding! When we got there, Mom and Grandma-Mona and Mom went to the bathroom to take care of Grandma-Mona's feet (thankfully we got there early!) and Dad and I went to the gift shop because I wanted to buy myself a shirt and Natalie Sibille wanted one and we were getting a "Dinglehopper Brush" for Lydia.

This is the shirt that Natalie and I got. I love the color of it!

And I thought the "Dinglehopper Hairbrush" was SO cute...and very creative...perfect for Lydia.

The very, very kind people at the Lunt-Fontane Theatre were gracious enough to give Grandma-Mona some band-aids for her feet.

We found our seats, which were actually VERY good seats, much to my excitement! Then we sat and waited for the show to start.

We didn't have to wait too very long before that magic of Theatre began. The lights dimmed, the orchestra began playing the Overture, and the curtain rose! The next hour or so was just amazing. The acting, singing, choreography, costumes, sets, and even the lighting brought us "Under the Sea" and into the world of mermaids and talking fish.

When Act 1 was over, Dad, was nearly speechless. This was his first time seeing a professional theatre performance. All he could say was, "That was awesome! That was....amazing!" I asked one of the ushers if I could take some extra Playbills for some friends and family, and she pointed to a stack of Playbills and said "Sure! Take as many as you want!" I will again mention how nice the people were at the Lunt-Fontane Theatre. I also asked them for an extra bag to put Natalie Sibille's t-shirt in, so she could have a bag of her own. Without a second thought, they just handed one to me! And I asked them where the stage door was, where all of the actors and actresses exited, so we could get autographs and hopefully pictures. They told us right where to go!

During Intermission, Mom took a picture of me in front of the stage!

Here's me, Dad, and Grandma-Mona during Intermission sitting in our awesome seats!!

The second act was just as great as the first. I was thoroughly enjoying myself! Well, actually, that's not quite true. One recurring thought was "I wish that were ME up there! One day....that just HAS to be me up there.....one day..."

During curtain call, Mom and I rushed near the door, so we could hurry out to the stage door. We wanted to be first in line to get autographs and (hopefully!) pictures.

Then we waited....and waited....Mom took a picture of me in front of the door that had a picture of the poster:

But...she kinda missed me because Sierra Boggess, the actress who was the STAR of the show had come out!! I asked her to sign my Playbill and if she could take a picture with me, and she did!! I got to meet the original Broadway Ariel!!

And then, Mom got that picture of me in front of the door... :-)

Next to come out was Tyler Maynard, who played Jetsam, one of Ursala's eels...

Then out came Brian D'Addario. He was the adorable little boy who played Flounder! He was so mature and professional when I talked to him...

Then, Lyndy Franklin, who played Adella, one of Ariel's many sisters came out.

I also got Joe Abraham's, who played Scuttle, autograph, but for some reason, I didn't take a picture with him. I don't know why...

I would've really loved to meet Rogelio Douglas Jr., who played Sebastian, and Faith Prince, who played Ursula, but we had to leave to get Grandma-Mona some shoes that weren't killing her feet. To say I was dissapointed, would be a pretty big understatement...and I was a little imature about it. And I wish I wouldn't have been because I just made the others aggravated with me, and myself more miserable.

Anyway, we got Grandma-Mona outfitted with some bright pink Crocs from the biggest Walgreens I've ever seen. People, the Walgreens had THREE floors!!

We got back to the hotel pretty late. It didn't take us long at all to jump in pajamas and fall fast asleep!

Well, this has been the first installment of a 5 part series of our "New York Trip".

To be continued....