Tuesday, April 26, 2011

The Big Apple..


Last week Terry took Meghan and I to New York City!!!
It was so so so so much fun. We did tons and tons and tons of stuff and this will be a blog full of pictures no one will care about but me. However that is ok. 
We left Wednesday morning in Salt lake and go to New York around 6. We checked in to the hotel and set off to explore Times Square. It was awesome. I forgot how amazing and big and lit up everything is. We went to my favorite Toys R US with a huge ferris wheel in the middle of it. This store happens to be where I got my 5th Harry Potter book too so I automatically love it. 
We were on a hunt for Wicked and or How to Succeed tickets because they sold out online weeks ago. Well no luck. 
So Thursday morning we get up and walk to David Letterman to try to get tickets. Turns out they are not filming that week so we got up early for nothing. Well we went back to the hotel to make a plan and turned on the Today Show and just happened to find out How to Succeed was Preforming on Friday.
That day we went shopping on 5th Avenue. To FAO Schwarz.. only the best toy store ever with The Big Piano (as seen in the movie Big).
We went to the Harry Potter Exhibition. Which has been in the US for about 2 years now and has been in 4 states (the first Boston which I begged and begged T to take me too but he couldn't justify a trip to Boston for me to go to a small exhibition, same for Seattle and every other place it was for 4 months at a time)
Well it made all of its stops and then they announced they would bring it to NYC before it goes back to England for its permanent home. It was amazing. It included tons of real props and costumes that the actors and actresses used on all 7 movies. It was the one thing that I could not wait for!!!
We also went and walked around TS (times square) some more and then T went to the temple and M and I slept and met up with him down near Lincoln Center. 

Friday. I woke my butt up at 5 am to get ready and get in line at the Today Show to see the beautiful Dan Radcliffe. Well turns out tons of other people were doing that too and so I may or may not have cut in front of lots of people to get to the front. It is all good though because it was just me and I made friends with them. The Today Show was AMAZING. I was so close to Dan and their performance was awesome. After the Today show we went to the Empire State Building and went to the top and looked around and that was really pretty. And then after that we went to check into our new hotel which was literally right next to Ground Zero and our room over looked into the construction on it. It was amazing to be near such a historical place. We also went to China Town that day which was pretty fun but no where near as good as the SF one a few weeks ago. After that I met up with Joselia (who lives in NY and is going to Pratt) and we went all around the city looking for the places where Gossip Girl (my very most favorite tv show ever other then the office). Our adventure was epic and awesome and amazing and I loved every bit of it. We got to see the met steps and central park and Dylan's candy bar and just so many amazing sites. After that I met back up with M and T and M and I went to Wicked while T went back to the temple. ( T ended up getting tickets from a random ticket office that just so happened to have 2 left) Wicked was incredible. I loved every minute of it. The reason I got a couple pictures is because after the show they were raising money for something so a guy stood on stage and talked for ten minutes and everyone took some pictures because it was over and that was not part of it. After that I was pretty dang exhausted and a little delirious and M thought it would be funny to tell me my suitcase was lost and in my delirious state I believed her and worried over my suitcase the whole way back to the hotel. 
Saturday we woke up and walked to Wall Street and saw the Trinity Church (National Treasure). I love Wall Street, I have had a large small obsession with it quite some time. I do not quite know why but I love business and stalks and all kinds of not fun stuff. Well after that we rode to Grand Central Station and looked around there for a while and then back to TS. After that we went back to the hotel to get our stuff and eat and then to the airport. The JFK airport is one of my favorites. It is soo big and they had a station of like 20 ipads for people to play with while they waited. I forgot the best part also...Cheese steak sandwiches and soft pretzels with mustard from the street. Only in NY are they that good.  Over all it was such an amazing trip and I am so blessed to have been able to go.

Now time for the picture overload and they are not in order. 






 Trinity Church
 Lobby of the Empire State Building
 I forgot to add that Saturday we walked over the Brooklyn Bridge too. To bad it was pouring rain.
 Ever since I was a small child I have loved American Girl dolls. And last time in NY the store was 2  months away from opening. I was not passing up the chance to see this place. I don't care that I am 21 and went in the doll store. It was awesome.
 Gossip Girl adventure to Dylan's Candy Store
 GG adventure to Henri Bendels.
 The infamous met steps
 GG adventure
 The Big Piano
 HP Exhibition
 Clothing worn by the characters, don't worry there were signs every where saying no pictures. I felt that the rule didn't apply to me and took them sneakily
 Umbridges office
 Every time I have been to NY I have a picture with libery spikes, the tradition had to live on.
 The Today show. Yes you can see me on tv.
 Met steps!!
 Times Square
 My Two favorite Broadway shows.
 GG adventure
 Love the little blue box.
 the first sorting hat


 Dan Radcliffe






 this was the rehearsal from far away 

 Wicked
 my illegal pictures


 the airplane there

 I had read all about the exhibit and what happens and i knew they chose a few people to get sorted so I made sure I was up close and threw my hand in the air and every one laughed that I was so eager to get up there. Don't worry there were lots of small children that could have been sorted but they don't even understand how much HP has impacted my generation/ me (cheesy much)
anddd AL ROKER!!

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Jackson, Mississippi!!

Jackson, Mississippi you ask?
That is where I will be spending the next 18 month of my life starting May 25.
I am so excited to be serving and LDS mission. 

I decided a while ago but it was a pretty well kept secret.
I had specific reason. However I am so happy for it to be out now.

I also get the question a lot of why I am going and why now.
Well I am 21 of course. And no I am not going because I am not married because 
I do not ever want to get married. I like my freedom. 
I know it is the right choice for me and as soon as I made the decision my life just seemed to fall 
into place and I knew it was right. 

the end

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Idaho.

I went to Idaho (Pocatello) last Friday and Saturday..
Most of my family lives there and I was born there.
I hadn't been back in three years! Kind of a long time to visit your home.
It was so much fun. I went to dinner with my cousin Taryn and we caught up on everything.
It was soo good. After that I went to my aunt Pattie's house for dessert for my grandmas 80th birthday, 
and to look at pictures of the Hardings through the ages. Lots of laughs and jokes.

The next day was the annual Harding Family Easter Egg Hunt.
You see when we were younger Grandma made an easter egg hunt every year in their hugee backyard. We always got to find about 10-15 eggs each plus a big special one with our names on it and a dollar in it (best thing ever!) This year I actually got to help hide the eggs and boy did I hide them hard. There are only a couple really young grand children now so they had a blast finding it and I am happy I could partake of the tradition.

Idaho.

I went to Idaho (Pocatello) last Friday and Saturday..
Most of my family lives there and I was born there.
I hadn't been back in three years! Kind of a long time to visit your home.
It was so much fun. I went to dinner with my cousin Taryn and we caught up on everything.
It was soo good. After that I went to my aunt Pattie's house for dessert for my grandmas 80th birthday, 
and to look at pictures of the Hardings through the ages. Lots of laughs and jokes.

The next day was the annual Harding Family Easter Egg Hunt.
You see when we were younger Grandma made an easter egg hunt every year in their hugee backyard. We always got to find about 10-15 eggs each plus a big special one with our names on it and a dollar in it (best thing ever!) This year I actually got to help hide the eggs and boy did I hide them hard. There are only a couple really young grand children now so they had a blast finding it and I am happy I could partake of the tradition.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Idaho bound.

Tomorrow I am off to Idaho to see all my family.
I haven't been there in more then 3 years.
It is also my grandma's 80th birthday. 

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

San Francisco!!

Because Terry is the head of the school board (ok even when he wasn't) 
they go to a conference every year in April.
 Usually we (Meghan, mom, and I) go with him. We have been to 
California, Florida and other places for it. This year it was in 
San Francisco. I had never been and I am so happy I got to go this time. 
It is such a wonderful place full of culture and history. 
We had such a fun time.

We flew in Friday night and went straight to the hotel. 
We woke up early Saturday morning and walked to China town. 
It was such a fun place, full of little shops selling all sorts of stuff for super cheap. 
I bought tons of junk (ok not junk but stuff I really did not need) like bracelets and chopsticks and fun little things like that. We got to eat lunch in an authentic little
Chinese restaurant too. We rode a trolley back into downtown and did a little
shopping (H&M!!!) That night Terry joined us while we went and explored pier 39 at Fisherman's Wharf. 
We got to eat at Bubba Gump's. Soo good. We had fun exploring all around the pier and watched the 
sea lions and lots of other things. 

Sunday we woke up and went to church.
Haha we always go to church while on vacation but we see a lot of different people. 
Then we went back to the pier and to the Hard Rock Cafe, and explored a little more. We went to the wax museum too which was also pretty sweet. 
Then back to the hotel for rest. After T and D went to dinner with the rest of the group. 
M and I went on an epic adventure around the pier and mastered the trolley system 
while looking for alcatraz tours and dinner. We ended up eating at a place close to our hotel 
and waiting for the rents to come back to the hotel. 

Monday we went back to the pier to see alcatraz tours 
and there were no tours for the time we could go so that kinda sucked. But thats ok, we got
to do soo much stuff anyway. We also went back to china town before we had to leave to catch our plane home. Over all it was such a good trip and I am so happy with it...

Next up... New York CITY!!!

 T, me, and M in front of Alcatraz
 T and I walked down to the bay bridge (about 3/4 miles from our hotel)
and around by the other piers and by the Trans America building. Seriously one of the coolest buildings I have ever seen.
 China Town!!

 The trolley ride
 Alcatraz

 Lady Gaga made from all candy