Summary of NY

After the trip we have been talking about our likes and dislikes of western NY. Overall our "likes" still far outweigh any "dislikes" that we may have found. Here they are (I'm sure I've forgotten a few):

Dislikes

*gas cost (about 0.20 cents higher than OK)

*distance from family

*higher property taxes

Likes

*older houses with character nice people

*close vicinity to Great Lakes

*historic significance of NE states

*better schools, more options

*ease of public transportation (subway, train, etc)

*close vicinity to Canada

*consistent weather patterns and seasons

*no droughts, tornadoes, or wildfires

*much lower dependency on Walmart

*wider variety of stores

*LEGAL immigrants

*stricter driving laws (insurance, cell phone, etc)

*decreased seasonal allergies

*wider variety of authentic cultural foods

Some of the specific towns that we liked are Clarence, Lockport, Amherst, North Tonawanda, Lancaster, and Lewiston. Some were too far out in the country, and some were way to close to the city. We like a happy medium!

So as you can see, we have many likes! People keep asking why we want to move there, and our reason is really very simple--we need a change. We both feel an overwhelming desire to get a fresh start in a new environment and see what else this life has to offer. Basically you just have to do what is best for yourself in your own situation--regardless of the naysayers, obstacles, and fear than can come with making a big decision. Kind of like when we got married so young...and look where we are now!

In other news, my dad had his back surgery on Monday morning and is feeling much better in that area. But out of the blue yesterday he suddenly got an excruciating headache accompanied by dizziness, nausea, and weakness. I got home from work early at 7:15pm and left at 7:30pm to take him to the ER.

We spent several hours at one hospital and had a basic CT scan done where they thought they saw a small bleed. Next they transferred him to a bigger hospital where he could get another scan with contrast to look for a brain aneurysm. My brother Eric met me there and we stayed together until he got discharged aneurysm-free around 6am. He did have a very scary episode after they gave him a dose of Morphine...I was about to go into nurse mode! His vital signs plumetted, his eyes rolled back into his head and his skin turned dusky pale. After a few interventions by the nurse he thankfully came around after a few minutes. He won't be getting any more Morphine ever again!

Needless to say, that was a very long day and night for me and I only got a few hours of sleep today! Nick was gone all day subbing so it was just Brad and I. Thankfully he is getting into his old routine (and mood) a little more so we had a good day together. I can see more and more everday how much of a toddler he is becoming!

With all of the craziness and demands in my life lately I have really come to appreciate the little things. Things like having dinner together as a family, hanging out in our PJs, making pancakes for breakfast, walking around the block, playing in the yard...these are things that make enjoyable memories and I cherish each one of them.

I am not picking up any extra shifts at my overnight job after next week, so hopefully my work schedule will take on a more predictable routine. I really do not enjoy working more than I have to, but the extra money has really been helping us meet our savings and debt goals for this year. My car is almost paid off, our credit card debt is almost zero, and we have a growing savings account! I am thankful for my blessings, and may you be blessed too!

New York Trip Day 3-5

On our 3rd day in NY (Friday) after we checked out of our hotel at noon, we headed north along highway 78 toward Lockport. That was one of the towns high on our "like" list. We passed by beautiful neighborhoods and were very happy to see the busy city go away and the laid back feel come around.

We wanted to stay in Lockport for our last two nights, but between the only 3 hotels in the town we did not want to pay double what our precious hotel was. So instead we checked out the whole area for several hours then found another hotel elsewhere.

Lake Ontario was a beautiful stop, and also now the 3rd Great Lake we have seen! The town of Olcott had a wonderful sleepy feel and we had a fun time driving through, stopping to see the beach, and walking through the beautiful parks.

^it was significantly colder up here, but this lake was not frozen at all!

^Good visual of how far up we are! Canada is on the left.

^Nick in front of the original lighthouse from when the town was est. in 1873.

^we were also surprised to see all of the vineyards that are up north! We passed by several large acreages of vineyards (and farmlands) as we headed SW down to Niagara Falls!

Since Niagara Falls is a huge tourist attraction, a cheap hotel was very easy to find there just down the street from the falls! We checked in around 2pm, took a little nap, then drove around the area a bit before getting dinner. Friday night we stayed up late watching the news to see if the government would really "shut down" and close the national parks. Thankfully they didn't, so we went to bed late and got up the next morning to see the Falls!

^we walked all around the falls and went to each point that we could. Some walkways were closed for the off season because they are still covered in snow.

^looking over the falls toward Canada

^the Rainbow Bridge to Canada with the Niagara River underneath.

^the traffic coming and going to Canada was atrocious, so we decided to just walk across to another country! When you already have your passport, why not?

^observation deck on the left that we walked out onto.

^walking across the Rainbow Bridge to Canada!

^View from the bridge: US on left, Canada on right.

When we got over the bridge, we stopped and had lunch at a nice little restaurant. A gift shop was attached so we did some shopping and got souvenirs for our family! I got some great pictures of the falls from the Canadian side, then our throbbing legs told us it was time to get back to the hotel!

^on our way thru Niagara Falls we drive by the "Little Italy" there...another disappointment but it was nice to see.

Sunday was our last day there and we checked out of our hotel at 11am with 7 hours to kill before we dropped our rental car off at 6pm. We checked out some more rural areas in the NW, then found a Guitar Center there for Nick to check out. We had lunch and talked to some more locals. We also found some more areas that we really liked.

I brought up the idea of seeing a movie so we found a Regal Cinema and the movie we picked just happened to be starting right then! So we saw...

...Insidious. Um, very scary!! We love our scary movies and this one was definitely the best of the recent movies we had seen. Before we knew it, it was time to head back toward the airport, drop the car off, and check in for our flight!

Our return flights went great and arrived just after midnight on Sunday night in OKC. Nick's best friend Terry picked us up and we took him out for dinner at a 24hour diner to thank him. We finally got home around 2:15am and were soooo happy to sleep in our own bed!! We got up bright and early and headed out to the country to pick up our little boy who we missed so much!

New York Trip Day 1-3

We're back! Where should I start? There is so much! We missed Bradley more than ever since this was our first time to be away from him for longer than a few hours. He probably missed us too, but I'm pretty sure he was completely distracted being spoiled by his grandparents and having a playmate the same age as him. He was happy to see us again, and the de-spoiling process has begun!

All of our flights went well and were thankfully uneventful. No delays, no lost luggage. What more can you ask for? We breezed through the rental car process and got on our way (with the aid of GPS) in the big city of Buffalo!

After doing some price shopping beyond the airport, we found a cheap hotel that we booked for the first two nights. After we took a nap we started wandering around the town then had Italian for dinner!

^at the OKC airport waiting to leave.

^Coming into Chicago for our layover

We got there a bit earlier than planned for our rental car so the didn't have the economy car I reserved ready. Instead they upgraded us FOR FREE to a 2011 Chevy HHR! Nick loved driving it. We prepaid for a tank of gas and got it 20 cents cheaper than the average rate in the area which was $3.80/gallon.

We checked out the "Little Italy" district in Buffalo, but that was a sad disappointment. There were just a few hole-in-the-wall pizza places squeezed in between everything else. I guess the Italians have gone elsewhere!

Pretty much the whole trip we just drove around towns and got lost in neighborhoods, then used the magical GPS to find our way back to the highway. It really helped to see in person what the towns look like, and we were surprised by some of the ones we thought we would like. The main problem we had with them was that they were just too close to the city and too busy. We are looking for just a little further away from all of the hubbub--kind of like Norman is compared to OKC. But we found a few towns that were just right!

^to celebrate our first night in NY we got some Spumante at a local liquor store :)

Our second day there we decided to check out the shore of Lake Erie and make it the second Great Lake that we have been to. Surprisingly it was still mostly frozen! We had the beach to ourselves and enjoyed the peaceful views on the boardwalk...

^it was so surreal looking out and just seeing ice as far as the horizon. You truly feel like you are at the ocean. But here we felt like we were at the North Pole! Ironically the weather that day was very pleasant and in the upper 50s.

To end the day we traveled a bit more south along the coast to see a couple more beaches and talk to some locals, then headed "home" to get dinner and relax. We checked out the next day at noon and hit the road north on highway 78!

One thing we noticed right off was how close in proximity all of the towns really are. You can literally turn a few corners and have gone through 3 different towns. This made it a bit difficult to know which town we were in if we saw an area we liked. I wouldn't be surprised if in total we went through at least 30 towns. Example: We flew into "Buffalo" airport, but the airport was actually in "Cheektowaga". Our hotel just past the airport was actually in "Lancaster". Ha!

There is lots more to show and tell! Check back later this week for the continuation...

My Little Man

Finally some pics! If you recall in my last post, I mentioned that I finally trimmed my big boy's hair with the clippers. Here is a "before" pic of his bushy mane:

It was getting down to his eyes, and I'm sure it was hot with as high as the temp has been getting here. I trimmed the back/sides on the highest setting, then trimmed the top with scissors. Here he is now!

It's not my best work, but it is quite challenging to cut an almost-2-year-old's hair with as much as they move around! Not to mention that he was afraid of the clippers. Daddy helped me out though and we got it done together!

Now I just need to get some pictures of what my sprouts look like!

Enjoying my Boys!

I want to start off by paying my respects to Garrison White. He passed away early Sunday morning and we attended his funeral today. He is now in Heaven with his wife Ella! Nick has lost both of his maternal grandparents in the last month, so he is pretty upset with their loss. We know they had a long and fruitful life, and they are not suffering anymore! Garrison made it possible for Nick to go to college, and was always so proud of how he turned out. Bradley is his only great-grandson.

After the funeral, we all came home and took a nap. The weather turned out very nice today so we took little man to the park! He had a great time, and really loves the slides.

Tomorrow I am going to work early so that I can get off early and go to an Irving Berlin concert downtown! I am very excited about it, and it worked out perfect since this is one of the few nights that I am not working at OU! At my other hospital I work during the day, so that gives me free time at night. I can't wait! I will be working the next several days to get ready for our big trip! It is coming up soon and we can't wait!!

I trimmed little man's hair tonight with the big boy clippers. He wasn't a big fan of them, but daddy held him close and we got through it in no time! But now he looks about 10 years old, so that makes for a sad momma! I didn't get a chance to get pics b/c afterward I bathed him then put him down for bed. Maybe next time!