NEW YORK CITY

wHAT A PLACE...24/7 SIRENS, RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC, AND NOISE...THIS PLACE IS JUST FULL ON.
We arrived into JFK at around midnight and got to the hotel at 1am. We caught a Gypsy Taxi which took us to Manhattan for only USD$45.00. Which was sooo cheap. The hotel was more like a backpackers lodge, but it was a place to rest our heads. Hayden was sick the next morning. Sore Gut from not eating dinner the night before. Thats what happens whenya don't listen to ya wife aye. So he spent the morning in bed while I roamed around NYC looking for a pharmacist. Which lucky for me was just down the road. By Midday..Hayden was up and eager to see the sights and they certainly didn't disappoint. Nothing like a walk thru Times Square, Central Park, down Park Ave thru to the Waldorf Astoria, Grand Central Station and onto Madison Ave. Took us a while but we got through it all. You could easily spend a week there only downside...EXPENSIVE!!! We figured that after all the sightseeing we would hire a car from JFK and drive down to Washington DC and check it out down there. We did it though. With my navigation, passenger seat assisted driving and some positive reinforcement...Hayden made it through to DC. BTW, we were still smiling by the time we got to the Hotel. NB: Make sure you don't use google Maps for directions...they are pretty ambiguous. Americans were so friendly and some even led the way. thanks!

SALT LAKE CITY, UT

After driving about 6 hours from Las Vegas we finally arrived in SLC. The hub of all this Mormonism. First Impressions for Hayden was that the temple looked small amongst all the sky scrapers and was right in the middle of it all. We stayed at the Marriot Hotel which was one of our best Hotel stays of the trip. Went to church at the Joseph Smith memorial building. Took Haydee to Primary and when we got there the poor Primary leader was flying solo. She had no teachers and no music person...So I was assigned to wing a lesson for the kids. Fortunately, they were all from outta town and they just loved my accent and talking about the crocodile hunter. Ask me later how I related that to the church....pretty genius actually. So that was enjoyable. The saints seemed to me a lil robotic...hard to explain. Had lunch back at the hotel and then visited all the sites. Temple Square, The church history Museum, The convention Centre and other various monuments around the place. I would have to say that the most spiritually uplifting place for me was the Walk thru presentation of Heavenly Fathers Plan for me shown in the visitors centre. There was just the 3 of us and somehow it seemed alot more meaningful. I was a sobbing mess by the end. But it really opened our eyes to our relationship with each other and with Heavenly Father. I love Hayden more!. My PDA for the day.
We left SLC on a spiritual high, having stronger testimonies and a greater appreciation of Joseph Smith and the restoration.

Viva las Vegas photos

Viva Las Vegas

Ok So we did the adventurous thing and hired a car from LA dropping off in Salt Lake City.It was so cheap that we figured we might as well get used to driving on the wrong side of the road now before we hit New York City. So were driving right..and the traffic was crazy...I mean, not in a traffic Jam sense but more in a "Lookout Crazy Driver" sense. Poor hayden I think had a paralyzed leg with me grabbing on to it for dear life. We were so disorientated...left hand drive, wrong side of road, miles rather than kms, north vs south was up the wop!!!. But we got used to it. First stop, was Primm, NV...A factory Outlet 20 mins out of Vegas. Totally rocked. My shopping therapy had begun. GAP, OLD Navy, sigh...it was heaven.

We met up with Boyd and Becky Brown and stayed with them a couple of nights. They were great and we were so appreciative of their hospitality. Boyd works as a Police Officer in the Las Vegas District and Becky is still into her craft stuff.

Hayden with Boyds Police issue gun...

Missed Dayne but his bed was nice and comfy. Met a few of their friends and chatted with them for a while.

On our way to see the strip we stopped off at more outlets and behold we see this shop called harry and David. So this picture is for you Uncle Dave.

It was sooo hot that we decided to drive the Strip in the a/c which took us an hour anyway so we got a good look at the place. We saw the little white chapel...where apparently Michael Jordan was married, and others, but there were all these lil mexican pimps flicking cards into peoples hands for a one night stand with some floozy. Yuck!!!Glad we were driving. So Vegas was nice and hot and very dry. Reminded me a lil of Perth's Summer. We had sooo much fun with the Browns and once again...thanks guys for everything.

Disneyland Slideshow

The Armies do USA...First stop DISNEYLAND!!!

Arriving at LAX was crazy...nothing like having a kid spew up on the floor while your waiting to go through customs and traffic and horns going non stop when you get outta the airport. It was warm and humid. A nice feeling when you've just come from winter climate.

First impressions...BIG!!! Everything was just blown up. Americans really know how to do things in a big way. ford Trucks everywhere, it was like spot the sedan.

We stayed at the Portofino Inn in Anaheim CA, it was about a 10 minute walk to the front entrance of Disneyland. Nice but thats about it. But we had three days therein Anaheim so we were like strangers in a strange land.

Disneyland was a childs paradise. Haydee was in Heaven. All she wanted to do was go on the rides. And look at all the stuff. Unfortunately for us it was the last day for some event so every man and his dog was there. Hour plus waiting times for rides andbusy foot traffic everywhere. In the end we just jumped on the express train and viewed the park from there. it was a great time. hayden would say Disneyland was a lil over rated...I liked it and the rides. And so did Haydee.

THE ARMIES DO AMERICA

Were leaving on a jetplane...don't want to come to Perth again...The way we were feeling...we were glad to get away from all the stress and it hadn't quite sunk in that we were finally on our holiday. We flew from Perth to Auckland and had a 14 hour transit in Auckland. Aunty Ra picked us up from the airport and took us home where we had a good six hours sleep...Church started at 1pm. So went to church and arrived home to a roast for dinner at about 4.30pm. At this point, Haydee was getting on so well with Aiyanna (my cousins daughter) that we were tempted to just leave her there for 4 weeks. But she wanted to do Disneyland...so good for her. My cousin Jay was able to get us into the Koru Lounge while we waited for our flight to LA...Sooo nice!!!! Buffet meal...playground for Haydee, internet access, bean bags to fall asleep on. Deluxe. Our holiday started off with a bang. Thanks family for your support. You guys were awesome.

DRAMA's...THE WEEK BEFORE we fly or 3 1/2 weeks later

Drama 1. OK so to start everything off...we had put our holiday to the states on the back burner, because haydee wouldn't be able to travel overseas with the pins in her arms. We tried for a refund on our tickets, but as airlines do...they refused because she was not in a critical condition. So we had to pray that we could bring her surgery forward to have her pins pulled out.

Drama 2. Our landlords had put their house on the market again...so we had to find a new home, pack and move. (Was glad to move because we had so much trouble at that house...2 incidents where the neighbourhood punks thought it was a good idea to pelt rocks and stones at our cars (spent sooo much money on replacing windows), arguments and noise happening around us at all hours of the morning. So glad to leave.

Drama 3. Still had to organise our holiday in the states..nothing booked. and one week to go.

Drama 4. hayden had an exam on Thursday for Uni.

In a nutshell....

Tuesday - Found out Haydee could have her pins out on Friday. Also approval for a rental home in Greenmount.
Wednesday - Moved House
Thursday - Hayden went to his exam, I Cleaned the other house...Looked schmicko...thanks Diane for your help. Unpacked our gear at the new premises
Friday - Haydee had her Pins out, Marg had to work in the morning. Continued unpacking and organising everything for LA.
Saturday - We packed our gear and flew to America that afternoon.

From the Beginning - Haydee's Mishap

Ok ... Here it goes...Long story short in point form because its just too hardfilling in all the details.

• Was helping haydens Aunty move from Kwinana to Hope toun which is about 7-8 hours south of Perth. Hayden was driving the truck and we were along for the ride and to keep Hayden company. The idea was that we leave at 4.30am get to Hopetoun at about 2pm unload and then drive back in time to teach our lessons for primary the next day.
• About 4.30pm, Hayden puts Haydee up onto the truck. While pulling a box closer he accidentally knocks her off the truck and she lands on her arm.
• Looks dislocated and disjointed
• Nearest Hospital is an hour away in Ravensthorpe.
• Got there at 5.30pm and we were the only ER patients. had to wait for the Doctor to arrive.
• In the meantime...got speaking to one of the nurses and found out that she used to babysit me when I was little and that her husband was in the army with my dad. So we got the royal treatment and a whole wing of the hospital to ourselves, with food.
• Doc arrives at 6pm - Find out haydee needs surgery on her arm and books her into Princess margaret children hospital for 8am the next day.
• In the meantime gives her Spec K so he can manipulate her arm enough for us to travel home straight away.
• We are finally released from Ravensthorpe Hospital at 9pm and begin our journey home.
• Prayer had never meant so much to us than that moment when we needed heavenly father the most. We had no tail or driving lights in the truck, we were prone to Roos jumping out in front of us and we were tired.
• After about 7 hours and a 20 minute power nap and a night of life stories and confessions we arrived home at about 5am.
• By this time Haydee was wired and all she wanted to do was watch ABC kids. So While Hayden slept for an Hour, I watched Haydee and then we changed over.
• 7am...made our way to PMH for Haydee's appt.
• 4.30pm she went into surgery to have her arm realigned and pins inserted.
• I slept at the hospital and Hayden went home.
• Haydee was there for another night and then it was home for lil missy.
• A day in the life of the Armies...we had our prayers answered and we witnessed a miracle. The lord looked after us. Not one kangaroo jumped in front of us...we saw them but they just jumped away, Not one single car followed us home in the whole 7 hours, and not one cop pulled us over for no tail lights. haydee is now back to normal and has a lil scar to prove it.