Jaimie's blog

Goodbyes...

2009-08-05T05:54:00.000-07:00

Sunday was such a hard day, I cant remember the last time I cried that much. I had to say goodbye or better yet "see you later" to all my friends from church. They have all become like family and I am so sad to be leaving them. If they all had their way I would be staying here forever! I said goodbye to all my primary kids, hardest thing ever! If you know me then you know I get attached to kids quite easily. Then to the Rassmussen's who were nice enough to host a going away BBQ for me. It was lots of fun and also very hard. I have gotten so close to everyone who was there, they really have been my family while I have been away. Let's just say I will be making many visits back to NY! Thanks everyone for the great friendships and fun memories! I will miss you all tons!

Me and Joanne Reyes

Me and the McComb boys, Mattew and Gabriel.. ya Matthew is 11 and taller than me how sad is that!

Me and Jazmyn Reyes

Me and Brianna Ellis

Me and Kathy Vorwick, I served with her in the primary. I love this lady to death!

Michele, me, and Kathy. The best ladies I have ever met. They made being the in primary so fun!

The girls, Kira and Brianna, wrote me little goodbye notes on the chalkboard, yes I cried! :(

Kathy, Me, Rachel, and Barta at the BBQ

Ian, Me, Natalie and John Ellis... I know my face is retarded.. they were making me laugh.

Me and Teo

Charles, Me, Ryan and Katie Allen, and baby Carter

Astoria

2009-08-05T05:44:00.000-07:00

Saturday we went into Astoria, in Queens, and had lots of fun! We started at Neptune Diner for dinner and had some delicious Greek platters. I had a gyro platter which was pretty much way yummy! After dinner we walked around Asotria, for those of you who have never heard of it, its kind of like a Greek version of Chinatown and Little Italy. Anyway.. we walked around and found another little cafe for dessert. I love this place and being able to try all sorts of new food whenever I go out. I am going to miss it so so so much!!

Me and Ejona at dinner.

Teo and Donna

Donna and Ejona

Donna giving Teo a friendly punch in the face haha

More race pictures!!

2009-07-20T16:45:00.000-07:00

So I found some pictures from my race, they are a lot better than the ones I got. check them out :)
http://www.brightroom.com/view_user_event.asp?EVENTID=49421&BIB=6717&S=230&PWD=

Road Runners

2009-07-18T18:05:00.001-07:00

This weekend was my race 4 mile race in Central Park and it was a blast! I did it was some friends from church, Rachel, Katie and Ryan Allen. We all did really well and met our goal times. My official time was 41:05 which is right around the time I wanted, I was so happy I made it! There was well over 9,000 people entered in the race it was nuts! It was fun passing (and being passed by some) people in the race and just enjoy the sites of Central Park!

Rachel, Katie, and me at the finish line... Hooray we made it!

Headed to Central Park.. don't we look pumped!?!

Before....

After.... we were so hot and tired! It was a hot and humid day.. not so great for trying to run a race.

I'm an official New York Road Runner!! Go me :)

Habana Outpost

2009-07-18T17:53:00.000-07:00

Friday night I went with some friends to Habana Outpost in Brooklyn it was sooo good!! It has delicious Cuban food and the cool part about it is the restaurant is so small and it is solar powered, your order your food inside and its made outside in a little truck! Its pretty well known and its a fun place. As you can see from the pictures we had a good time! It was date night for the Rasmussen's and Hunters and Teo and I crashed their date night to tag along.. thanks guys for letting us crash your night out!! :)

The whole group: Me, Christy, Rachel, Charles, Ian, and Teo.

We know we take good pictures :)

The guys decided to reinact and make fun of how us girls take pictures... I think its safe to say they did a good job!

Parasailing in Hawaii

2009-07-10T06:32:00.001-07:00

When we went parasailing we had the guy on the boat take pictures for us, so here are some the pics he took, he did a lot better than we could have.

Taking off the back of the boat

500 feet in the air... it was so sweet!

Taking a dip!

View of Oahu

I had to add this one.. I'm pretty proud of my cherry stem tying skills, i know its impressive :)

Happy 4th!

2009-07-05T16:06:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone had as great of a 4th of July as I did! I hung out with the Rasmussen's for the day. We went to the beach in the afternoon and got some sun then headed to the Staten Island Yankees game for some baseball and fireworks. The game was lots of fun and we got to see the Macy's fireworks as well as the stadium's fireworks. I had a lots of fun, thanks Rasmussen's for letting me tag along all day! :)

Christy and Kira enjoying some cotton candy at the park!

View from our seats, I love the NY skyline from across the harbor its so cool!

SI Yankees, never thought I would hear the words "Go Yankees" coming from my mouth!

Me, Rachel, and Christy at the beach

Girls Night out

2009-07-01T17:10:00.000-07:00

I love girls nights out! I have had a few of them lately. One night I went to Serendipity 3 with Ejona, Donna, and Teo (so not really just a girls night) we waited 2 hours to get in. It was crazy but worth the wait!

My sundae was huge! They are famous for their yummy desserts and frozen hot chocolate, delicious!! :)

My other girls night out was with some of the girls from church, we went to Cafeteria and the food was amazing! Suzie picked a good one for this month!

Me and Ejona on the ferry coming home
\
The whole gang at dinner!

Rachel trying to get a good bite out of her huge burger

Me and Christy!

Barta, Katie, Natatlie, Me, and Christy

Rachel, Suzie, and Ejona

Hawaii Trip!!

2009-06-25T18:39:00.001-07:00

Our family trip to Hawaii was a blast! It was so nice to see my family as well as the Clarks. We had tons of fun and got lots of sun!! I had too many pictures to choose from so I decided to try using a slideshow, hope it works. So here is our fun trip to Oahu and Kauai! Enjoy :)

2009-06-25T18:37:00.001-07:00

The big 20

2009-05-25T18:06:00.000-07:00

So today was my birthday, Hooray I'm no longer a teen!! I had an awesome birthday! It was hard to be away from my family and friends but I was well taken care of. I started the day off early and went into the city with Ejona. We got breakfast and shopped around Chinatown, Little Italy, and Union Square, it was tons of fun! Then I got home and we had a BBQ for Memorial Day and also celebrated my birthday it was so sweet of them to include my birthday. I got a cake, balloons, presents, and lots of attention what more could a girl ask for! :) Thanks everyone for making my birthday so great!!!

I love my smoothies!

My gorgeous flowers I got from my friend Tyson!

Brianna and Teressa had fun in the sun.

My birthday cake from Cold Stone, DELICIOUS!!

Brianna made me a beautiful birthday necklace that I had to wear for my party and what she says goes!

I got the birthday song and the candles :)

Chloe sure did enjoy the cake!

The time is coming....

2009-05-13T17:02:00.000-07:00

Its now official my time in NY is coming to an end... I have a one-way ticket back to Utah! August 8th is the day. Its definitely a bittersweet thing. I am very excited to come home to my family and friends. But at the same time I am leaving my second family and new friends who I have grown to love and respect. Its going to be so hard to say goodbye, but new chapters of life always come with goodbyes. I have loved my time here and it has been the best experience of my life!!

Happy Birthday Rachel!

2009-05-01T16:37:00.000-07:00

Its Rachel's birthday this Sunday so we decided to get together early and celebrate. A group of us girls met at the ferry and went into the city for dinner and a movie. We ate at Max Brenner (my favorite!!) and saw 17 again! It was lots of fun! Happy Birthday Rach!!

Rachel blowing out her birthday candle with her white chocolate yummy!!

Our whole group, starting from the left, Lejdja, Fatbardha, Ejona, me, Christy, Natalie, and Rachel.

Natalie, Christy, me, and Rachel were the only crazy ones to stay out late enough for the movie, I think we got home around 3! :)

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T16:29:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter!! I had a great Easter this year, although I do miss home and the traditional Easter I am used to, it was a fun and different Easter this year. I went with the family to the Hilton for Easter brunch. It was delicious! We had a great time and lots of good food!

The girls and I looking gorgeous in our Easter outfits! :)

Bri and me pulling silly faces, funny how she will look at the camera this way not when we just want her to smile, go figure!

She got mad and told me I had to make the same funny face as her.

Lou had the camera and decided to just start taking random pictures.

Before we stuffed ourselves.

So here is what the Easter bunny brought me this year (I was my own Easter bunny) didn't he do a great job?!? :) I love it! Lou calls it my smurf suitcase haha.

I was able to take Laura and the girls to my ward breakfast and egg hunt on Saturday. They had a lot of fun and I was so glad they came with me! I was sad I didn't get more pictures!

Here are the backs of Brianna and Mikey (Brianna's cousin) we do a lot of playdates with him, he and his mom came with us too. They were too busy looking for eggs and wouldnt't turn around to look at the camera.

Coney Island!!

2009-04-05T17:03:00.000-07:00

This weekend I went with Laura, Lou, and the girls to Coney Island to see the Aquarium and while we were there Laura and I went on the famous Cyclone! The girls had lots of fun at the Aquarium and Laura and I had lots of fun on the roller coaster :) we got lucky with the timing, this was the first weekend the roller coaster was open this season so we timed it just right! We saw lots of cool fish and animals at the Aquarium, Brianna's favorites were the penguins and the sharks. We watched sea lion show and I even got a kiss on the cheek from Oscar the sea lion :) it was a such a fun day, here are some pictures of all the fun we had!!

Here is the famous sign of the Cyclone Roller Coaster that is in a few movies!

There is only one car going and it is chaos trying to get on the roller coaster, they dont have the rows divided by bars so just like everywhere else in New York you have to push your way through to get the seat you want on the roller coaster. It took me and Laura about 5 runs to actually get on, it was crazy!! Not only that but you can pay to re-ride and they don't make you get off and go to the back of the line so most people stay on and go 2 or 3 times.

Me and Laura ready to go! Laura was nervous the whole time and I as usual was as exicted as a little kid on Christmas morning! :) The seats are so padded that we barely fit together you have to climb on the seat to get in because its such a tight squeeze, most people have to ride as single riders.

At the Aquarium they have a Planet Earth 4-D show that we thought we would try. Well.... it did go over so well, the girls only lasted about 5 minutes before they were both hysterical crying because they were so scared, it was so sad!

Brianna loves to eat and hates to share as you can tell.

Here is Oscar the sea lion, I got a kiss on the cheek from him because Brianna really wanted to see him give me a kiss, so I went along with it... well it was wet and smelly to say the least! :)

Oscar was quite the dancer, it was cute.

The girls and me waiting for the show to start.

Brianna and me in front of the Coral Reef Exhibit.

Its almost impossible to get Chloe and Brianna to look at the camera in the same picture.

Brianna's penguins.

The lazy sea otters.

The fat walrus.

Plan B...

2009-03-15T16:59:00.000-07:00

So Friday night Teo, Ejona, and I were supposed to go into the city for a concert... well it didn't happen. We were already late and then we missed the ferry so by the time we would have gotten there it would have been over... so we went to plan B. We just went to dinner and a movie, dinner was great and the movie not so great, but it was a fun night out!

The 3 amigos :)

lookin' good :)

even better!

Teo is a nerd and decided to try on Ejona's sweater, it wasn't working so well for him.

So you can't tell but Teo is not very happy in this pic, this was right after we realized we just missed the ferry by like 3 minutes... sad day.

Temple Night

2009-02-21T13:41:00.000-08:00

Friday night was our Relief Society's temple night and Ejona and I decided we didn't want to be excluded, so we tagged along and joined a group to do some baptisms for the dead. We had a great time and it was so nice to go to the temple, I haven't been in so long! The Manhattan Temple is pretty inside and out, it's easy to miss it in the middle of all the tall buildings but we all know it's there. I can't wait to be able to do other work in the temple!!

It was too dark windy to get a good picture of more of the temple so we settle for a close-up for now.

Valentine's Day

2009-02-15T17:33:00.000-08:00

I just love Valentine's Day..... NOT!!!! I came to the conclusion that I have been and probably always will be Anti-Valentine's Day. Even when I have had someone to spoil me I still was never a big fan, I'm just not a sappy romantic person, but everyone that knows me is already well aware of that. Maybe one day I will change my mind but i highly doubt it :) I was brave enough to go out for the night though. Ejona and I decided it would be a good excuse to buy ourselves something so we went shopping and got ice cream. It was fun!! Of course we were surrounded by couples to remind us that we were alone but it was totally worth the new stuff I got! Here is just a pic of the awesome time we had :)

Snowy night in Central Park

2009-01-19T16:55:00.001-08:00

Ejona and I decided to go into the city after church on Sunday. We headed to Central Park and just walked around. It was so cold but it was gorgeous!! It started snowing while we were there which made it even better! Central Park is way pretty when its green but it is just as pretty covered in snow.

Home for the Holidays!

2009-01-05T16:58:00.000-08:00

My trip home for Christmas and New Year's was so much fun! I got together with all of my friends and spent lots of time with my family. I got to do so much while I was home and time flew by. It was a crazy 2 weeks but it was also a blast!!

For New Year's Eve we went to Brianne and Brad's house to play games and eat food. We had tons of fun! Here are all the girls, Danielle, Brianne, Kyrsten, Chelsie, and me.

Brianne and me.

This is Jay, I told him I wouldn't show this pic but I had to, sorry Jay! :)

Newlyweds Spencer and Danielle.

We played Catch Phrase and had some good laughs.

Kyrsten and Derrick.

Newlyweds Brad and Brianne.

Derrick gave me a quick glance during his intense wii baseball game against Brad.

Jay swears by the stance, he says it works for hittting. I just think he looks goofy doing it :)

Chels and me waiting for Marley and Me to start.

For Christmas I got Chels a jazz ticket. We went to the game against Dallas and our seats were awesome. We took tons of pictures while we were there but this is the only one we both liked.

Freezing night at the boardwalk

2008-12-18T12:25:00.000-08:00

Sunday night I got together with some friends from my ward, Ejona, Teo, and Lorenzo. It was Lorenzo's birthday so we decided we would celebrate even though he didn't want to. We started by showing up at his house unannounced, he loved that :) then we took him to the boardwalk just to hang out. Our options were limited since it was a Sunday night. Well to say the least we froze but it was still way fun!

Ejona and I took so many pictures on the ride there, we weren't pleased with any of them but here it is.

Lorenzo, me, and Ejona.

Teo and Lorenzo after wrestling in the freezing sand, they are nuts!

I was smart enough to forget my coat, go figure, so Ejona let me borrow hers at her expensive of freezing, what a good friend :)

We gave up after about 45 minutes, we were all numb and frozen, but the short time we were there was a blast. Thanks guys for inviting me!

weekend with my fam

2008-12-10T17:35:00.000-08:00

My parents came to visit me this past weekend and we had a blast! It was so good to see them, we got to see quite a bit. I took them to some my favorite places to eat (Max Brenner, Rice to Riches, and Bubba Gumps) and showed them around the city. This was the perfect time for them to come so they could see all the awesome Christmas displays and decorations. We went and saw Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall, which in my opinion is a must see during this time of year, it is such a fun show and it really gets you in the Christmas spirit. Thanks mom, dad, and Kyle for coming to visit!!

I saw these guys in Time Square and I couldn't resist :) Brianna thought it was so cool that I got to see them in person.

The Macy's window displays.

Rockefeller Christmas tree

This chandelier was massive! It was gorgeous!

Central Park

2008-12-09T16:59:00.001-08:00

I showed my parents around Central Park while they were here, there are so many things going on in Central Park this time of year, its awesome! It was really cold when we went but it was totally worth it! Here are just some of the cool things we saw while we walked around.

I love the skating rink they have during this time, I hope to get back there to actually ice skate on it.

When Kyle came and I first saw him I didnt even recongize him, he towers over me! He already did before i left but i swear he has grown a foot in the 3 months I have been gone, he isn't my little brother anymore! :(

Top of the Rock

2008-12-09T12:36:00.000-08:00

We decided to do the Top of the Rock tour at night and it was so awesome! The city lights go on forever! Here are just a few pictures of some of the different views. We also discovered something new while up there, my dad's fear of heights! Who knew my brave dad could be scared of anything :) love you dad!

It is so hard to hold still long enough to get a good picture at night! Kyle was the only one with a steady hand to get a decent picture.

World Trade Center Site

2008-12-08T17:17:00.000-08:00

The World Trade Center Site really is amazing to see, it really puts into perspective what many people had to face during this tragedy. It was really cool to see all that has been done to honor and remember all those who lost their lives.

This was recovered from the site.

This wall stretches along the whole side of the firestation across the street from the towers.

This is a picture looking out at where the towers once stood from the steps of the church that was untouched when the towers fell.

Copeland Concert

2008-10-30T16:03:00.000-07:00

On Monday night I went to a concert in the city with Rachel, a girl from church. She had the tickets and was nice enough to invite me. We had a blast! Her favorite band is Copeland and I had no idea who they were but I was all for a night out. We went to dinner before and then the concert. Four different bands played, none of them well known but they were pretty good. Lights was the first, Lydia was the second, Lovedrug, and then Copeland. Lovedrug and Copeland were my two favorite. It was a late night, I didn't get home till 1:30, that is the downfall to going into the city at night, but it was so worth it! Thanks Rachel for inviting me!!!

These are the only two pictures that turned out becuase my camera is messed up, it takes horrible pictures if it is dark! I have to get it fixed so unfortunately this all I have.

Go jets

2008-10-12T18:00:00.000-07:00

Lou was nice enough to give me tickets to the jets game against the bengals. I have never been to a pro football game so it was on my to do list while I am here. All I can say is football games are so much fun!! All the fans are so crazy and loud, I loved it! It was a lot different than any other pro game I have been to. My seat was amazing I was 29 rows up from the field and on the 40 yard line, I couldn't have asked for better a seat it was perfect! the weather was perfect too! While my parents were looking at 4 inches of snow on the ground I was enjoying a football game in 75 degree weather. Thanks Lou for giving up your tickets to let me go, I had a blast!!

This is a picture from where I was sitting not zoomed in at all, I was so close, nothing like what I'm used to!

Just some more pictures of the game.

Another day in the city!

2008-10-12T16:11:00.001-07:00

I went into the city last weekend with some girls from my ward. We went shopping and ate some amazing food. I of course couldn't go without buying some new clothes and jewelry and all that good stuff, but surprisingly that wasn't my favorite part of the day. The food was the highlight of my day, I ate some of the best food! We went to this restaurant called Max Brenner, it is famous for all the chocolate they make. Everything you order comes with some kind of chocolate to dip in or pour on your food, which may sound weird but its all really good. So if you are a chocolate lover like me, Max Brenner is definitely somewhere you will want to eat if you ever come to NY. Another place I ate was Rice to Riches, it is a cute little restaurant that has tons of rice pudding, I'm not a big fan of rice pudding but it was really good! So here are some pictures of the food we got from Max Brenner, I forgot to take pictures of everything else. I'm horrible at remembering to take pictures!

The hot chocolate they have is to die for and the mugs they bring it out in are so cool!

I ordered the waffles and they were out of this world! The syrup is milk chocolate which I absolutely loved!

This is all the food we ordered, we were so stuffed when we were done, but every bite was worth it!

Cubs Game

2008-09-27T19:05:00.001-07:00

Lou got me tickets to a mets game and of course I was lucky enough to see them play the cubs! It was awesome! My seat was great and they won!! You can definitely tell that Shea Stadium is an older stadium and unlike most stadiums Shea Stadium doesn't really have a signature ballgame food that they are known for. I was a little disappointed in that but it was so worth going to see the cubs play since I didn't get to see them play the rockies this year. The stadium was packed since the mets are in the race for a playoff spot, but I discovered that mets fans are only supportive fans when they are winning. Most of the fans were booing their team by about the 5th inning. There was a guy sitting in front of me who was yelling at all the other fans while they were doing the wave. He was telling everyone to put their hands down because the mets didn't deserve it since they weren't playing well. It was hilarious!

I had to wear my hat to support my cubs! I was afraid of getting jumped or beat up on the subway with all the mets fans, but all I got was a few dirty looks so I survived the night!

Shea Stadium isn't the best looking stadium but it has been around a while and has some history with it.

They all seem so serious and they are winning!

Lou to the rescue going out to check on Pie, gotta love Lou Pinella!

So Derrek Lee is probably my favorite player. Dont ask me why but he is just awesome. Here is a pretty sweet fact about Lee that was flashed on the jumbotron during one of his at-bats.

Lee makes it look so easy!

This is Krissy, she is in my ward and was nice enough to come with me. She forgot a jacket so she used our game towels they handed out before the game to keep warm. She still froze the whole night.

First trip into the city!

2008-09-08T10:48:00.000-07:00

The ferry is the fastest way to get into the city, even better its free!

The ever so famous Statue of Liberty. The Staten Island Ferry takes you right by it, not the best pic but I will be sure to get a better one soon!

This is a sculpture that was in the world trade center before September 11th, it is now in Battery Park as a reminder of all those who lost their lives during the tragedy.

Sunday night I went into the city for the first time and all I have to say is I am so so so excited to go in and do some serious shopping! I went with the nicest family in my ward, the Ellis', they live right around the corner from me and they have been so nice and made me feel so welcome. There are so many street vendors selling handbags and tons of clothing and shoes stores. New York is my kind of place, I can't wait to go back in and do some serious shopping damage!!! I went to battery park, which is right where the staten island ferry drops you off and I got to see parts of Union Square. There is a lot to do so we only saw a small part of the city. So here are just a few pics I was able to take of my first night in the city! There will be many more to come.