The Aspen Food and Wine Classic

Aspen: home of the rich and famous! Aspen is a very small town, but full of charm and class. But the only similarity Aspen has to small town Sioux Center is that you might see someone more than once or twice in a day! People know each other here, but your neighbors aren't the Vander Veen's or Van Strubleheinen's (fake examples)...instead your neighbors are Kate Hudson, Lance Armstrong, and many other celebrities.

So far my time in Aspen has been fun, but very tiring. I've had full days of nannying (10am-12am) since Charles and Kristen are busy with the Food and Wine festival going on. There are thousands of people here for this festival, and its known to be the most elite wine festival in the world! Kristen was nice enough to let me use her pass to go to a wine tasting. I tried wines that are over $200 a bottle! I felt very out of place since so many people here are experts in where wine is from, how it smells, tastes, etc. Over time I'm learning more and more about wine, and I'm starting to have more of an appreciation for it. I met Mario Batali and Giada De Laurentiis, but I wasn't as excited as I thought I would be. In the end all those famous people look just like any other person!

Gabriel, Sabine, and I spend our mornings at the playground, afternoons at the pool, then our nights at the playground again or watching a movie. I've gotten really close to the kids now, and I'm starting to really love and care for them. They are great kids! Sabine and I share the same weird humor, so we laugh a lot with each other.

Tonight Kristen's sister, brother in law, and kids are joining us in Aspen for 4 days. I hope I don't get overloaded with more kids to take care of! The Bieler's treat me well though, I must say! I've had some delicious food from the festival, and playing in the pool and getting sun every afternoon isn't so bad :)

I met a few other nannies at the park, so hopefully tomorrow I will be hanging out with them! We are going to go to church in the morning, then on a long hike in the mountains in the afternoon. Its really nice to hang out with other women my age!

That's all for now! I love all of you and miss you very much!

Mom comes to NYC

This week was a fun one, and I realize there will always be a never ending check list of things to see here!

My mom came to visit on Wednesday, and she stayed till Sunday. We did a lot of walking, and by the end of the trip she had a few blisters and sore feet. I remember when I first got here my legs were really sore as well. If there's another thing I'll get out of this summer, its the appreciation of walking. I hope I'll walk a lot more once I'm back home, because there is no reason not to! I can easily put in 5 miles of walking a day here, so why not walk the small 3 miles across town? :)

Anyways, the first morning my mom was here we decided to take a sight seeing bus tour through Manhattan. We also saw the statue of liberty! I had my first celebrity spotting and saw Matt Damon filming for one of his new movies. That night we had dinner with the Bieler's, delicious as always. Late that night we went to the observation deck of the Empire State building, and was that a view! NYC looked so pretty at night.

Friday my mom and I took Gabriel on a horse carriage ride through central park! It was very pretty. We then took him to FAO Schwarz to look at toys and to buy some delicious candy. Later that day we saw Ground Zero and also walked the Brooklyn Bridge. Walking Brooklyn Bridge has probably been my favorite thing to do thus far!

Saturday we walked to St. John the Divine and also went to eat at a fabulous Mexican Restaurant. Later we saw the Lion King on Broadway! The costumes were fantastic, and the acting and singing were phenomenal. I hope to do one more broadway show before I leave!

Thankfully mom wasn't shocked to see where I lived (in Harlem), and overall I think she had a great time! It's interesting to point out all the differences New Yorkers have in the way they live with the way we do back home. You can't buy a full week's worth of groceries because you can't fit it in your cart, an "easy" walk is at least 20 blocks, produce at groceries would blow our fareway and hyvee out of the water, doors are locked even if you're home, no driving, no walmarts, and the list goes on. I think the thing that is hardest for me to get used to isn't the long walking, but that there isn't a wal-mart! At least it keeps me from spending more money than I need to.

What's up for this week? We're flying to ASPEN, COLORADO! We will be staying there 3 weeks! Charles and Kristen are in the wine business, and there is a food and wine festival that goes on there. Supposedly this is the biggest and most important wine festival in the world, so top chefs and wine makers will be there. I hope to have a run in with all the food network stars: Giada, Mario Batali, Bobby Flay, and Rachael Ray! The first week we're there the festival is going on, so Charles and Kristen will be very busy with their work. Thankfully Kristen's parents are going to be staying with us, so I'll have help with the kids. Also, Kristen's mom is bringing her dog along, so that will give me comfort for being away from Wrigley:) The last week of our time there is vacation time.

I hope everyone is doing well! I miss you dearly. Next time I post I'll be writing about my experiences in Aspen! (Aspen always reminds me of the movie Dumb and Dumber, haha)

So much to do, so much to see

Hello followers! I'm sorry it has been a while since I've posted. I had quite the busy week!

I decided to go to the beach on Memorial Day, and boy was that a bad decision! I had literally only 2 feet of space between myself and other beach goers. Let's just say that the people at this beach weren't the type I would normally hang around either!

This week I expanded my cultural knowledge and went to the museums. I took Gabriel to the Museum of Natural History to see the dinosaurs, animals, and other interesting artifacts. I also went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. All the paintings and artifacts there were so beautiful! I now have a better appreciation for art. The only thing I don't understand is modern art. I feel like half the paintings look like the work of a 2 year old, yet people pay thousands of dollars for it!? I will never understand it. I also took Gabriel to the Central Park zoo, along with 10 other 2 year olds. It was so hysterical seeing them ride the public bus all the way to the zoo.

I finally got to reunite with my friend Leah, who lives on Long Island. Leah is also a nanny.I took the train to her house and spent the weekend there! It was so great to catch up and hang out. I'm so glad I get to see her more this summer!

This week my mom is visiting! I'm so excited for her to come. I love having someone in the city with me so I can experience more things that aren't as acceptable to do by yourself (restaurants, broadway shows, etc). She comes on Wednesday and will stay till Sunday. I think she'll be shocked to see where I live and how I've already gained so much knowledge in transportation and where things are in NYC.

I can still say 3 week in that I am loving it here! The Bieler's are a blessing, and I couldn't have asked to live with a better family! The kids are great, and I feel so comfortable around Kristen and Charles.

I hope all of you are doing well and enjoying your summer! I miss everyone very much.