Big 'Ole Blizzard!

Well would you look at that. The Conway's have managed to travel to New York just as they experience their 5th largest blizzard in history! I swear... We bring this kind of stuff with us. One time we moved to Tampa and were hit with the most hurricanes in Tampa history, then Hawaii gets it's most rain when we arrive and one time I kid you not Disney world shut down due to bad weather... For probably the 2nd time EVER. Hahah so I'm not kidding when I say we have this affect on places!

The snowing began yesterday, the day after Christmas and my dad and I went out last night to get some shots of it.











Then my parents and my sister and I adventured out today to see the rest of the craziness! Get ready... I've never seen so much snow,


(hehe I know. The Beatles. I just had to :))



There were real skinny paths to cut through for crossing. Sheri slipped once and SOMEHOW did not fall. Haha a man that saw her almost fall laughed and said,"And for my next trick...!" it was hilarious. She turned around and revealed the coffee that was once in her cup - was now on the front of her jacket.









And yes, we did walk to Kleinfeld's. Home of "Say Yes to the Dress"



Check this dogs shoes...





.... we're all doomed if even the NYPD are stuck.



This kid fell and tried to make it look like he meant to.. Bah ha ha I know his secret and I shall reveal to all.

Well, that's some of the snow craziness we have been experiencing! The rest of our clan is supposed to fly into New York on Wednesday but the airports are a wreck right now:/ hopefully they will get here on time!

Tonight we went to the Rangers vs. Islanders hockey game and oh my goodness do I love hockey. This is another example of awesome New York fans.. And terrible Memphis teams haha. Why are we so bad at good sports??

Anyways, I snapped a shot of the refs stretching because it cracked me up


It helps that the players aren't too bad to look at either...





We had amazing seats! And the most funny men sat in front of us. They had the be cops or something because they had the classic accents that you see in movies or the SNL skit with "Da Bears" guys.. It only made this New York hockey experience THAT much better.





If you were wondering... The rangers won 7-2, almost felt bad for the Islanders- then Brian Boyle slammed into the glass in front of me and I retracted my sympathy :)

We have officially seen two movies and I have enjoyed many cups of hot tea thanks to the blizzard... Not complaining because being from the south- it's nice to experience REAL snow for once!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:New York City

Merry Christmas from NYC!

What an amazing place to spend Christmas. We had quite a day including the Knicks game, front row to the Rockettes, and Wicked. Sheri has really hooked us up with the goods and I am so thankful for the opportunities my parents have given us:)

The Knicks game was insane. The energy in Madison Square Garden was unlike any NBA basketball game I've ever been to... Probably because I've only been to a Memphis Grizzlies game and let's face it.. The fans consist of concession stand employees and visitors. Knicks fans are allll about their team and the people running the show got it going on. The precious father-daughter combo infront of us were just like every other fan-- dressed in knick apparel from head to toe!


They even had the players in an "Elf Yourself" for a time out it was hilarious! Needless to say, I did not want the game to end and felt like the Knicks were now my own home team... At least I wanted them to be.


Twas nice to see former Memphis player Mr. Derek Rose playing for the bulls!


After the game we headed to Radio City to see the famous Rockettes.


How do they do it? it made me tired just watching them have to smile the whole time! Dustin sure felt better after sitting front row;)


The night ended with a bang thanks to Wicked. This was my second time to see it and the songs are forever stuck in my head- and as you can see Dustin has been on a lot of Meds...


Well, I don't want to make these posts forever long so I decided on more pictures and less rambling! Hope everyone had a very merry Christmas!!


This came from the bulletin of the church we went to on Christmas eve and I absolutely loved it. ...
-----------
Light looked down and saw darkness. "I will go there," said Light. Peace looked down and saw war. "I will go there," said Peace. Love looked down and saw hatred. "I will go there," said Love. So He, the Lord of Light, the Prince of Peace, the King of Love came down and crept in beside us.

... Thanks be to God!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:New York City

Day 3 in DC!

Just so you know, I don't think I have been able to fully concentrate on what I am saying on here because every time I start to blog, my brother turns to something hilarious on TV like Conan... right now "I Love You Man" is on and I am averaging about two words per minute.
Well, first of all- Merry Christmas Adam! Every year my dad swears he has never heard that phrase before and every year he cracks up.

Today we woke up a little later and hopped on one of those bright red double-decker tour buses. Go big or go home, right? It was freezing so Dannah and I decided to sit on the very top.. all by our lonesome. haha It actually was not too bad! Nice to be able to sit and just drive through DC looking at all the amazing architecture and different landmarks! My family and I.. as well as a cab driver all agreed that coming to D.C. really makes you proud to be an American even more. Maybe it's the American flags flying everywhere you turn or maybe its all the uniforms? Whatever it is, I am truly thankful to be a citizen of this wonderful country and immensely thankful for those who work so diligently for our freedom.
Alright I will get off my soap box and show some pictures!


This is the beautiful Washington National Cathedral. I thought it resembled Notre Dame and Westminster Abbey quite a bit.


Next we headed to the Arlington National Cemetery. The only thing I had in my memory for this place was the scene from Saving Private Ryan and as we passed each gravesite... I could only whisper "thank you."


It's baffling just how many graves there are and how many people have died fighting for our country. The organization and respect given in Arlington National Cemetery gives such a great picture of how valuable our soldiers are and what they deserve- even after they have left this earth.


Here is where the Kennedy's are buried. I thought it was so peaceful with the constant flame behind it and simple stones laid around them.


Across from their graves are large stone inscriptions quoting some of Kennedy's famous speeches, so I thought I'd snap a favorite! If you look real hard you can see the Lincoln Memorial in the distance as well as the Washington Monument!



At the top of the hill stands Robert E. Lee's mansion.


We got to watch the changing of the guard at the grave of the unknown soldier. I am just amazed by how precise each movement is despite the number of times they do this and freezing temperature!



We passed the beautiful Jefferson Memorial on the way to...



The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum! I don't know why but I always think the shiny material on the outside of some of the space crafts looks aloooot like aluminum foil. just sayin



You cannot come to Washington and not stop by Ford's Theatre- the very place where Lincoln was assassinated. Sadly, we did not get to go inside due to a matinee performance of the Christmas Carol going on =(

-It was right about this time that my dad realized he lost his IPhone... fail.
But no worries, he sent himself a text message from Dustin's phone letting the person who now had it know that they could receive a whopping $50 reward if they returned it safely! Too bad they are probably going to make $500 selling it on eBay....

We saw a line outside of the White House, so we stood in it. A good 10 minutes later we asked the person in front of us just what we were waiting for and the man said "Oh, this is a tour for the staff!" That would have been embarrassing... so we walked around to the back and actually got a pretty awesome view of the president's helicopter taking off!






We passed the National Treasury on the way back from the White House. Dannah told us to "tag" her in this picture.... hahaha



And lastly, Dannah FORCED us (haha I'm just kidding) to go to the aquarium. We saw some pretty weird looking fish and this fella hanging out. We were kind of disappointed by the lack of giant sharks and whales though... However Dannah did mention that her stomach feels like pirañas sometimes... not sure what that means but OUCH




Dustin has had the flu? Well, we are not real sure what he has because he looks like death in the mornings and then kicks in to healthy mode after dinner time. He says he thinks he's just pregnant...

Well, that's it for our time in D.C.! Tomorrow we wake up bright and early to head to New York for Christmas=) Wish us luck because I have a feeling the airports are going to be preeetty busy

Day 2 in DC!

Thankfully, my family doesn't like to do the whole "let's wake up at the crack of dawn and get moving" thing so we left around 9am and headed to the Smithsonian museums! It is always a tad on the squished side when we call a taxi since there are five of us, but hey it beats walking!
First up: Museum of American History. I don't know what it is about museums but not only do I feel smarter walking around them, I also never want to leave. However, no matter what there never seems to be enough time to look at all the information presented. Towards the end I almost get frustrated and nervous that my family has left me or that I am not actually learning everything so I just give up and walk through... a twisted life I live, I know. Anyways, the American History museum was really interesting- especially the exhibit on the fashion of the first ladies. I love looking at the styles from the past as well as just how tiny it seemed everyone was at one point! Even the old general uniforms appeared smaller than the normal sized man today. It's all those burgers I guess- we just keep getting bigger and bigger!


After the American History museum, we were anxious to hit up the National Museum of Natural History (that's a mouth full) and yup- like the movie, Night at the Museum. However, to my disappointment, this was not the same one but just as great! I swear they had an exhibit on everything you can imagine. Butterflies, the ocean, mammals, ice age- I don't exactly remember all of them but I do remember seeing this freaky guy in the mammals exhibit.


I know...kinda resembles my sister when she sees something she wants to buy, which is pretty often.
The never ending Smithsonian created a bit of an appetite so we went over to the food court with the rest of the people with government badges around their necks. It's intimidating... especially because everyone's photo on their card looks like they are about to punch me. I got an excellent sandwich and a terrible sweet tea- I KNOW stupid of me to order sweet tea not in the south! We were all pretty healthy with our choices until my dad sits down and not only does he have an entire sushi roll, but he also opens his togo box to reveal a "yummy" assortment of something resembling stir fry. The man eats the strangest things at the strangest places!
The Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial was not too far so we walked over and snapped some classic shots!






Oh yeah! The squirrels here are oddly HUGE and it's pretty funny watching them try and run up a tree. We saw a guy trying to feed one (probably why they are so fat) and of course, he was wearing a Memphis Tigers jacket!


Something that's been weird to me is that outside-freezing and inside-burning up. And when I say burning up... I mean it's pretty toasty. So this morning when I asked my sister how many layers I should put on, I did not take this factor into consideration.. so needless to say I was sweating in the buildings due to my ski socks. yes, I wore my ski socks.. I DIDN'T KNOW!! haha and yes I took my socks off eventually and yes I now have the most painful blister of all time on my ankle from my boots! But you know what? It does not really matter because I am in Washington, DC and it's awesome =)
The last museum we went to was the Holocaust Museum and all I can say is wow. I had just taken a class about genocide, crimes against humanity and mass violence so I was familiar with the Holocaust and therefore had a decent understanding of the general events. However, no prior knowledge could have prepared me for what I saw in that museum. The hardest part for me was watching the video of victims explaining how they were treated and just recalling their memories. To see them tell a story of how they barely escaped death seemed so far from reality that I had to keep reminding myself they were not describing a movie. I feel like our society has trained our minds to pass events such as these as another video game or dramatic movie, but its so much worse. I am thankful for the opportunity to go to the Holocaust museum and especially thankful for the truth and real life experiences portrayed there.
Outside the museums there was this incredible drummer banging on bins and a grocery cart. He had on some pretty nice Ray Bans so Dannah figured he was actually in a band and just did this for fun, which in my opinion sounds awesome especially if he's that good. I mean he was great! He used the shopping cart as a sort of symbol and you would have never known he was just using plastic bins.


For dinner we went to a "hop pin" place as my mom would put it and did not have time to wait for a table so we looked for a bar spot and luckily found a little vacant nook that looked out at the street and got to eat rather quickly! We had to eat early because we had tickets to see Harry Potter at the Smithsonian IMAX and let me tell you... that is the ONLY way to do it! Even though I looked over at one point and every member of my family was asleep... I thought it was awesome. i basically got to touch Harry's scar. And since something has to go wrong to end the night, the movie cut off right as Dobby was about to rescue them and the man sitting on the 3rd row was not too happy. He yelled at the workers with his awesome accent and eventually went to get his money back, which was probably the better idea considering when it finally came back on after 30 minutes- the movie only had about 5 left. Oh well! we got a free pass for another imam movie at the end... too bad we're only here for a couple days! So with all that going on, we had to come back to the hotel and enjoy the complimentary cookies and milk... sooo gooodddd. Now my brothers complaining it's too cold and my sister's breaking a sweat. Hm... sweet dreams!!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Washington, DC

Day 1 in DC!

After freshening up at the hotel, we were pretty hungry so we headed to this place that Dannah recommended called "Good Stuff Eatery." My goodness they had the best burgers and fries! Oh, and as we were walking out Senator John Kerry was strolling in... and so we went back in and asked for a picture... He was so nice and even shook our hands afterwards and told each one of us "Merry Christmas!" So you could say we were off to a great start! After filling our stomachs with that wonderful lunch, we decided to walk to the Capitol and take some pictures. Being the comedian that he is, Bobby said, "Hey look, that's George Washington's cherry tree." (WHY do I initially believe everything he says...) Dustin then says, "Wait... Didn't he chop it down..?" It's conversations like these that set the Conway men apart as just plain ridiculous haha and yes I am referring to my little brother as a man because although he is only 16, he has a beard and looks like he is 25. This would not be so odd to me if I had not been told recently that I look 15. COOL


I don't know why, but I did not expect Washington, DC to be so spot on from how the movies portray it? Of course I have only been here one day, but still there were the long black and brown coats, briefcases, American flags everywhere, black SUV's with government license plates... I mean, the usual, right? I am such a sucker for movies involving the FBI or some government branch because I am just fascinated by all the millions of things that go on every single day. This place seems to have such a system down that only an outsider would notice because everyone else simply falls into where they need to be. scenery wise, I think DC reminds me most of London. The texture, color and overall setting of the buildings is close to how they are in London and since I fell in love with those, I am most certainly enjoying the architecture here as well.
It was beginning to get a little more chilly, so we decided to hop in a cab and head over to Georgetown. My mom and I watched the TLC show, "DC Cupcakes" so we wanted to go and see the actual place known as "Georgetown Cupcakes." Surprisingly, all the workers from the show were in the back baking and the two owners were there as well! So we got to take a picture with them and enjoy their DELICIOUS cupcakes. I am not normally one for the decorative cupcakes with the huge thing of icing on top, but these were the perfect size and actually tasted homemade. They went down great with the hot tea I got at Dean & Deluca across the street.





After our little break, we decided to browse the Georgetown Plaza next-door, especially the H&M and such, but for some reason Dannah and I just could not find one single thing to get. Maybe because we had New York on the brain and we were still a bit jet lagged? What we did find was a threading place. Have you ever heard of threading your eyebrows? I had once before and heard it was actually really awesome, so Dannah and I decided to stop by the random little booth in the mall and get that done! haha I know, so random but turns out- that little lady made my eyebrows look better than they ever have before! OoOo I tried so hard to not accept the fact that it hurt like the dickens... but it did. Beauty is pain. I literally do not understand how she did it though, it was just so quick and.. I just am amazed.
After that we were feeling a bit tired, so we headed back to the hotel for a "little nap." What was meant to be a short breather actually turned into us sleeping for a solid 4 hours right through dinner time. So, we decided to order good ole Papa Johns and enjoy the complimentary drinks from the 10th floor lounge. Oh, and after 9pm theres free milk and cookies! YES! I think my Dad is most excited about that... because he has reminded us about 50 times.
Needless to say, our trip has started off pretty great deapite my terrible case of the hiccups... Stay tuned- plenty more adventures to come!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Washington, DC

And so my Christmas vacation begins!

We woke up early this morning and after the routine stop at Chickfila, we headed to the airport. It is always so funny going on trips with my family because not only do we stick out no matter where we go, but somehow the funniest things happen only to us. With my dad being the ultimate spaz and my mom being ultimately annoyed with my dad, my brother and sister and I have such a grand ole time.
I cannot tell you how great it was to be back at the airport and feeling the excitement of traveling. There is just something about going to another place other than your home and experiencing new things that I cannot get enough of! Even traveling to familiar places is exciting, however, there is nothing like stepping on ground that your feet have never felt before and looking around at people whom you have never once crossed paths. For some reason, my spirit craves this experience and thankfully, my family likes to travel too.
All the comedians and radio stations have been talking about getting frisked byt the airport security and although I did not get frisked, I almost wish I would have instead. Okay, so I did not take Anatomy therefore I do not know what every part of my body is called... especially not at 6 in the morning! The man told me to walk forward into what I felt was the same thing you step in to get a spray tan and turn left. He then told me to place my thumb and index fingers together and place my hands at the crown of my head. First of all, it sadly took me a while to figure out exactly how to place my hands and then like an idiot... it took me even longer to figure out just what the heck the crown of my head was. I put my hands on my forehead and the man politely said, "Ma'am that is your forehead" sooo I moved my hands back and he then said ,"Ma'am that is the back of your head." By that time I just wanted to yell "Just tell me the answer!!" It was frustratingly embarrassing. haha
We rushed down to our gate at the airport (which was one of the farthest away) only to realize that our plane did not leave until an hour later. Why did we rush to get there so early? One word: Bobby. So we sat down and passed the time. I began knitting a new "something" because I learned how to last week and am officially adding it to my go-to hobbies. However, I was a little thrown off by the weird looks I got by many people around me, but I guess it is not the most "hip" thing to do.
Doesn't it always seem like the one person on the plane with a bad cough or screaming child sits right behind you? Well, in our family those people ALWAYS end us sitting right behind my mom and as frustrating as it is, its HILARIOUS haha. This time, it was an older woman with her screaming, coughing, kicking grandson named, Josh. How did I know his name? ...She said it every other word.
As the plane landed, I noticed the man sitting diagonal of me had an FBI tag on his luggage and the man sitting a few rows back from us was Steve Cohen! I guess it was only appropriate to fly with politicians to Washington, D.C. I'll tell you, since the moment we stepped off the plane, all that has been anywhere is politics. Politics, and smart people surround me here and I absolutely love it. Of course, I am being stereotypical with that statement, but I do feel like the majority of people surrounding me have very high IQ's. Maybe its the long black coats and brief cases that give off that vibe? Whatever it is, it's intimidating. This is my first time to D.C. and really my first time to this part of the country, so I am enjoying watching just that different ways people carry themselves. Of course it is not near as different as people in other countries, but it is still distinctly different from my usual Southern surroundings. Thank goodness we are all not exactly alike;)
Personally, I think it's important for us to travel and experience different parts of the world, or even just different parts of our very own country because there is alot to learn from placing yourself in uncomfortable situations. It is in these times that we find a balance between that strong sense of Southern, Northern, American and whatever else. We get a little bit of everything and with that can adapt more easily to wherever we go.

Location:Washington, D.C.

There's No Place Like Home

Leading up to Christmas break I was a bit saddened to think about leaving my friends at school and the city I have come to know and love, however, once I was packed... 

I was ready to be home.

There is something about being surrounded with familiarity that comforts the deepest part of you.  When I walk into my living room, lay on my bed or am just surrounded by my family- I feel safe.  I think it is because these places and people know me.  I cannot tell you how many times I have laughed, cried, yelled and just wanted to stare at the ceiling while laying on my bed, so when I walk into my room - I get so happy to see it exactly the way I left it because me and that piece of furniture have been through it all.  Weird?  Nahh I think we all have something similar.

Tonight I saw the new Chronicles of Narnia movie, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and my goodness was it beautiful.  It was not the acting, nor the effects in the movie that got to me but the actual references to God and His power.  C.S. Lewis really know's how to write.  I caught myself tearing up at some parts in the movie just because as a Christian, it hits close to home.  This movie brought up temptation and ultimately embodied what satan tries to do with our fears... become them.  Every single day we are tempted and must conquer our fears because as long as we are on this earth when things are "not right," we will encounter evil.  When Lucy, Edmond, the mouse and Eustace are standing on the beach before Alsan's country, I simply could not contain my excitement for God's kingdom.  Alsan's country was hidden behind huge ocean waves and once you passed to the other side, there is no coming back.  If I had been in that situation, I would have immediately wanted to run through the water and enter into peace, however, the characters, Edmond especially, hold back and say that they must not go yet because they are needed back home.  What?  That is so hard for me to want yet immensely important to understand.  As much as I want God to just lead me through those heavenly gates right now, I must know that He wants me here. We will always have Him and get to spend eternity basking in His glory, but for the time being, we must take care of each other here.  Running through the waves would be the easy way out.  It is not that God does not want us there... but rather He needs us here.  I know my time will come where my work here on earth is done and I will be able to rest forever, but obviously that time is not now.  So until then, I will live to complete the work God has placed me on this earth to do until He tells me I can finally come home.

Winter Wonderland

Well looky here!  It snowed in Nashville =)

Bongo Java looking lovely in her new White outfit

And might I say Belmont pulls of the "wintery decor"