The Sandstrom Family

Well I got all worked up to blog all the stuff that I haven't for the past few months, and then Al and Tipper Gore announce their divorce, and that set me back.

I think I left off at Sadie's birthday, which was a while back. Since then, you guys have all seen her walk, so I'll spare you the first steps movie, which was really, like, her 5th, 6th, and 7th steps. She only keeps getting better too. Here are just a few shots from before all the trips, and if I don't post them now, they'll be lost in iPhoto forever.

Like mother, like daughter. I wish I had the original shot of me with a (clean) diaper on my head. She looks like the subject of a Flemish painting.

Here we are at the Botanical gardens, catching the tulips before all the traveling.

Beautiful lilies at the gardens. Here's my Swendsen flower obsession coming out.

Ready for summer! The weather has been beautiful around here.

Now to the wedding extravaganza. I think it merits that title on account of all the traveling alone. In total, I took 10 separate flights in all my comings and goings, but it was an absolute blast. Thank you again Mom and Dad for everything! Ryan and I didn't get any shots in Calgary, but I've seen a few already. Here are some of ours from Connecticut and New York.

The first dance to Norah Jones' Come Away With Me (excellent song choice, by the way).

Most of us at the Lincoln Center, with the Temple in the background.

Central park, with some water behind us. I can't remember what was significant about this place.

My Grandma and Grandpa Low are still making to all the family events. They are absolute troopers who have attended every single wedding in the family!

Me at the reception, making sure people don't fall down the steps, with all the grandeur in behind.

Ryan and me on Sunday, with the Checketts' place behind us.

Times Square

Rachie and Me at the M&M store, shamelessly acting out what we really want to be doing.

For those not familiar with my itinerary, Ryan and I were in NY without Sadie. She was well taken care of by Alexis, Ryan's sister who is expecting in August. It made the trip so wonderful and relaxing knowing that Sadie was being well watched. Thank you again Alexis; you have a forever sitter in me now. Ryan had to get back to work in Omaha, so I stayed a few days longer in NY with my sister and parents. Rachel was a loverly traveling companion. Here we are at the Empire State Building, with the Chrysler Building behind us.

Rachel holding up the "Empire Tate"

Story time: we stopped to smell some flowers outside the Empire State, and Rachel smelled a little too close. I asked her, "what is on your face?" And then I start laughing so hard when I realized what it was, that I couldn't explain it to her, so I had to take a picture of it for her to see. She was laughing because I was laughing. You can see the yellow pollen on her right cheek.

The Guggenheim: gorgeously depressing. The main exhibit was something about Haunting, so it was a lot of sad/creepy double exposures from Warhol, etc. The classics wing was great, with some Monet, Manet, Cezanne, Picasso, and more I can't remember. I loved my art history classes at the Y, but even those couldn't prepare me or help me appreciate the main exhibits.

I think these are the doors of the Trinity Church, if I'm remembering right. They are, apparently, the "premier showing of American bronze bas relief doors" according to mom. Rachel and I joked that the small, bearded head was the door handle, and you just crank his beard to open the door. And then we realized that you do! If you look closer, the head close to my elbow is a little more worn than the rest of the door.

The NYSE on Wall Street. I liked the pediment, but thought it would have been more representative if there were more people losing their life savings on there.

Rachel in a shoving war in the financial district.

A memorable scene from "Hitch"

A New York staple: the smog. And Lady Liberty.

A cute couple at the pier

Rachel and me with the Statue of Liberty. We posed in a hurry because another boat was closing in on us and was going to block the view.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art! I could have spent an entire week there and still felt like I didn't get to everything! As Rachel and I went around, we had different songs going on in our head. In the Greek and Roman wing, it was "Bless my soul, Herc was on a roll..." Of course in the Egyptian part, it was Walk Like an Egyptian.

A recreation of a wig that Cleopatra would have worn. Shot all Rachel's idea.

Me by the Temple of Dendur, or something like that.

Rachel's version of a hieroglyph, which you can see better if you zoom in on the picture. It's about 4 "bricks" up.

Me copying the the image just above my right shoulder. We talked a lot about the impossible views in which the Egyptians painted, with a frontal shot of the torso, but profiles of the legs and face. It's trickier to imitate than you think! If I couldn't be with my husband or baby, Rachel was the best person to go around New York! Thanks again Smachie.

Sadie looking like she owns the plane. She loves to be a big girl and have her own seat.

Photos not shown include our time in Arizona, and Utah where we for Scott's med school grad. That was such a cool experience, and I'm glad we were there for that momentous occasion. Congratulations again Scott.

To keep all my travel's straight, I flew with Sadie to Calgary, drove down to Utah with my sister-in-law and our kids, flew to Phoenix with Sadie, dropped her off there, flew to New York, flew back to Phoenix, picked up Sadie, flew to Utah, and then flew back home to Omaha. It was a whirlwind trip, and it was tremendous fun, but it's nice to be back home and settling in to normal life. Currently, the College World Series is going on in Omaha, which kinda bogs down our neighborhood, but the general atmosphere is very fun. Too bad we've having such terrible storms!