So this post is a little late but better late than never. In October,
Aaron's mom came to visit for the weekend. At the time I was still
working so Deanne headed into the city by herself on Friday. She walked
up and down the streets trying to see all the things people told her to
visit. On Saturday, Aaron and I joined her to the city. We took the
train early in the morning and set out to our more of the city. Below
are pictures that we took.
Project Runway!!!
I have never been to Central Park so we took a walk through there. The leaves were starting to change and it was really pretty.
There was a synthetic ice rink in the middle of central park.. wasn't open though
It was crazy to be right next to the city and we couldn't hear any of the commotion..
Aaron and his momma
Me and the hubby
Really cool bridge in Central Park
Me and Deanne
Always wanted to see The Flat Iron
We went to this restaurant that Aaron's cousin Lisa loved (can't remember the name). It was really cool because it was a rooftop restaurant and a night club and also an apartment building. The brunch was WAY out of our price range but we took a couple pictures.
I have never been to a Broadway play so we decided to go see Phantom of the Opera... SOOO GOOD!
Walked through Times Square
We showed Deanne the cafe that we ducked into on our first trip to NYC.
Our next adventure was Hurricane Sandy and the nor'ester that hit the east coast. The hurricane was kinda scary. My mom called to make sure we got prepared before the storm started. I got my water, candles, batteries, flashlights, canned foods, and propane canisters. We were prepared. Monday night came and the wind started to pick up. A about 7:30 we got a text from the EQ president that he had lost power (he lives around the corner) and it was Aaron's assignment to check if the power went out at the bishop's storehouse (we are the closest in the ward). Aaron and I went out in the storm to check if it still had power- it did. We got home and about 30 min later our power went out. We got the candles out and sat around. We decided we should take a shower just in case the water got cold. After that we headed to bed. That entire night the wind was so loud it was hard for me to sleep. We woke up and our power was back on (we got lucky). Most of the people in our ward still had no power. I had to go into work that day to field calls from storm damage- most people were still out of power so not a lot of people called.
Side note: That ended up being my last day at work. I couldn't take the lying and disorganization within the office. It wasn't a good environment and I was miserable everyday.
On Wednesday we got a call from Kittrick and Jess Kane (Kit goes to school with Aaron) that they were out of power and if they could hang out (they didn't get their power back till 10 days later). They and another couple from our ward brought their food and stored it in our freezer. We got another call that day that a couple in New Brunswick had to be evacuated from their apartment due to flooding and the couple they were staying with had no power. They headed over to our house and stayed with us. They didn't get power back until Sunday.
I am glad that we were prepared for the storm. My mom is the queen of preparedness and I am grateful for her. I think if we would have lost power for longer I might have gone a little crazier but I am grateful that we were able to help so many people. It was a little stressful at times but I know Aaron and I will be blessed.
My heart hurts everyday for the people that have been devastated by this storm. So many people are still without power even 2 weeks after the storm. They have lost homes, belongings, cars... everything. I am trying to give all the time I can but I know that I am making only a small dent. I pray for the people that are still without power, heat, and food. May the Lord be with you and bless your families.
Aaron and I decided that he was going to ditch studying for a night and we would do something fun. Kaylen, a girl in Aaron's class, her boyfriend lives in Hoboken. They thought it would be fun to spend the night up there and I agreed. The 1 thing I wanted to do while we were there was see the Cake Boss shop, Carlos Bakery. We decided to drive instead of take the train, boy was there traffic. It was a Friday night heading toward the city. Then we had to find parking in Hoboken which was VERY difficult. Patrick, Kaylen's boyfriend said that people that live there don't have cars and just walk everywhere. They also have taxi's that are a flat $5 rate no matter what part of Hoboken you go (which it isn't a very big city).
So after we found parking we headed to the Bakery. It was about a 10 min walk and it closed at 8:00. We were such tourists and took a picture in front of the bakery. It was also the coldest night this year by far.
We then walked along this walkway next to the water. You could see NYC on the other side of the river, it was really cool. The pictures didn't turn out that great but Patrick tried to make them better.
We found a restaurant along the walkway and headed in there so the boys could watch the baseball game. It was a really good- can't remember the name though. We bought 2 cupcakes while at Carlo's (1 for us and 1 for Kaylen and Patrick) so we enjoyed those.
It was really fun to have a night out and spend it with some pretty nice people. Can't wait to go back to Carlo's Bakery and actually meet the Cake Boss...
For those that don't know my dad was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease 10 years ago. He started the Peterson Foundation for Parkinson's to help educate and raise awareness for those with the disease as well as the community. He recently underwent Deep Brain Stimulation surgery and also hosted his annual Dinner and Golf tournament... this blog give the event's details.
Below is a video telling his story...
This video shows the surgery he went through this past year.
On September 14th I returned home to normalcy. I flew back to TN for a week to help my dad with his foundation dinner and golf tournament. This time of year is always stressful but fun at the same time. My grandma was already in town and once I got there we were put to work. We had prizes to pickup, speeches to write, and venue's to setup. It was a great week for a great cause. On Monday we headed to the Bridgestone Arena to setup tables and chairs for 1,100 people. Luckily this year we had the Predators staff helping and 30 seniors from a local charter school. The did a fantastic job and we are truly grateful to Christian Lighthouse. They even said a group prayer with us to help the rain go away for the next days golf tournament. On Monday it literally rained the entire day and when you are about to have a golf tournament, that isn't good. Anyways, we setup the event and it looked gorgeous, see below.
Then it was time to have the fun. Here are some pictures from the night.
Brad, Amanda, and Madalynn enjoying the event.. they had already put the ice in so we were all cold, Brad was kind enough to go get us jackets.
Mrs. Amy working hard at the Petey Golf Ball table. She did great stepping in for Deb who was having a ball in Italy (we missed you deb).
COOOOUURRRTTNNEEEYYY!! I miss this girl so much! Great to see her.
This girl is the funniest person I have ever met. I miss sitting next to her everyday. 'Jana... Jana... Jana.." haha
This year we had a hypnotist come. It was pretty funny to see the things people will do when hypnotized.
Gord Miller and Pierre McGuire auctioning off a trip on the team plan to an away game. They raised $16,000 with the shenanigans. Gord was literally running from one end of the rink to another.
Dad and George Plaster just watching the live auction
Scott Hamilton and Phil Vaser auctioning off an Aerosmith suite.
Then Phil Vaser got up and sang a couple songs, he did really well.
My sweet Mom and Dad enjoying Phil sing.
It was really great to see Lindy Ruff come out to the event. It was cool to have the longest tenured coach in the NHL Lindy and the 2nd longest (our coach Barry Trotz) at one event.
Madalynn, Me, and Amanda... great to see them
So grateful to Stacy Braiser for coming down from Canada to help with the event.. good luck with the PFP Golf Tourney in Canada this next year!
So the next day was the Golf Tournament. We woke up at the butt crack of dawn to get to the course (I probably only got about 4 hours of sleep). We got there and got everything setup before people started arriving at 7:30. We had breakfast from Whole Foods and the driving range for them to warm up on. I was in charge of volunteers so I got everything out of the course and waited for them to come. I am very grateful to everyone that volunteered because without you we couldn't run this tournament. It was a really long day. It started off wet and cold. It didn't downpour but we had a few times where it was spitting rain. Everyone was in a great mood despite the weather. I heard a lot of people say, "Hey this is for a great cause so lets make the best out of it." After the first flight was done we had to reset and do it all over again for the afternoon session. They started arriving around 1, ate lunch and warmed up. By that time the sun had come out and we were all so happy. We tore off our jackets and enjoyed the day. Here are some pictures from the tourney...
Famous Dave's does the lunch every year and I can't wait for it every year.
Gord Miller played in the morning..
My brother Brad.. he was miserably cold... but Brad is always in some way miserable.
Tom Callahan's team was out to win.. (they didn't- so close)
Everyone warming up
Whole Food's provided the breakfast and the dinner portion
Brian Grant's team was the winning team this year. Two guys with Parkinson's holding a crystal trophy that isn't stable wasn't a smart move.. the trophy survived though.
So Brian Grant, former NBA star was diagnosed with Parkinson's a few years ago. He is from the Portland area so he calledmy dad up because he was struggling with his disease. Since then he has started his own foundation "Shake it till you make it" (Love it). He and my dad and supported each others foundations for the last 3 years. I had to get a picture with him because he is just so dang tall. He is the nicest man. We sat around after the tournament was over and talked. I asked him silly questions like "Do you ever it your head" and "What size bed do you have... do you sleep in the fetal position" also "where do you find clothes that fit you.." We were all laughing and having a great time after a long day.
So that's my grandma's dog with Brian. His flight got delayed like 6 hours we my mom went back to the airport and he came to our house for a little bit. Brian's hand is the size of Mac's head.
All in all this event was another success. Its great to see all those that support my dad with his disease. I am grateful to those that give their time, money, and friendship to our family. We wouldn't have made it these last 10 years with out you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
