Pit-stops on our trip home.

Our new thing is to find points of interest everywhere we go. So, on our trip home for Easter we made a few stops.  We stopped at Wheeler Dam and looked around and I explained the significance of the dam and the dam system. (Fun daddy, right?)  Since we stayed an extra night our "missed school day" turned into a fun but educational trip home. Our first stop was the The Iron Man at Vulcan park in Birmingham. We strolled through the museum and I explained some of the things and why the steel industry was so important to the South and we also talked about some of the Civil Rights pieces on display. Then it was up the elevator to the platform of the statue. I will say that I was with Mary on this one. The floor of the platform, which was several stories up, was made of a thin metal grate that moved and that was an uncomfortable feeling. A few pics and down we went. One of the park workers gave me directions to Fanny Flagg's "Whistle Stop Cafe" so off we went. Lunch at the cafe was great and I even ate fried green tomatoes. Our next stop was the Jimmy Carter Presidential Museum in Atlanta. That was very interesting. I even learned a few things I did not know and saw some great pieces of history. The girls had loads of fun just walking around and listening to the different interactive videos. Next stop.....home.   This was a fun daddy and daughter day.

Click to see album.

Easter.....with our extended family.......

The Easter Bunny found us in Elgin, what a wily little rabbit. My sister made me cook my own breakfast, not staying there again. ...Just Kidding...... Uncle John made Ave Grace an omelet, because she likes them, and decided to just make them for everyone. Yummy..... Then it was off to hunt eggs at Mimi's.  Of course we had to eat first, what a spread! We had ham, dressing, cheese grits, green beans, mac&cheese, mashed potatoes and even more. Aunt Danielle, Little Miss Ace of Cakes, made the bunny cake and it looked great. Unfortunately I did not eat any, I think it was the seconds or maybe the thirds that did it. Anyway, it was all fantastic but what should you expect when you eat at Mama's house. The egg hunt has become somewhat famous, at least within the family, and we were able to be there  this year, which was great. For those who don't know, over 350 eggs are hidden each year and some have money. Lots of fun. I think Saylor found the most money this year but fun was had by all, even the adults. Afterward, I threw football with Ian and Dylan then my little helper joined in, Willa, and she is just too cute. I was having so much fun that I did not want to leave and the girls did not either. But, like all good things they must end. We loaded back up with the intention of driving home. I had a planned stop in Decatur to see Betty, Amanda's grandmother, and then a quick stop at Philip's house to drop off Morgan's b-day card. Both stops took the rest of the evening so we just went back to Carol & Les's and stayed for the night. This Easter was one of the best.

click pic to see album

Being Sneaky

This past weekend the girls and I loaded up and took a trip home (Lexington will always be home no matter where I live). We made a pit-stop overnight at Grandma's house (Carol & Les) then off to Mimi's & Papa Ron's. We did have to stop and see Saylor & Charlee of course. We had some fun one-on-one time in their environment. Saylor came and sat in Uncle John's lap but Charlee is still not sure about that furry man. I had been craving some real BBQ and had stopped at Whitts. When we got to Mama's we walked into the house and were in the living room, could not find anyone, and I hear Mama, "Where did this BBQ come from?", I poked my head around the corner and she screamed and ran with the biggest smile. I thought she was not going to let me go, best hug. So we spent the day talking and the kids playing. I threw the football with Dylan for a while, which I really enjoyed. Then it was off to Aunt B's for the night. Enjoyed spending some time with Kimberly & Nick while the girls were off playing with Ava. Oh, and what a pan of lasagna, good eats. (below are a few pics from day 1)

Breakfast with MamMaw

They made another Blog.....

Silly girls....

Happy, Happy, Happy

What?

Here.....

Monkey 'n around

Papa Ron

Just sitin under a tree talkin to Mama and Ron

now that Kimberly stopped laughin......(just had to be there)

5,000th picture with my camera.....and it didn't break......

Back to routine.....

Not much to report this week. We are still trying to get back to routine. Mary finished up her CRCT (standardized testing) this week. Both girls, especially Alexandria, are already getting the "Summer itch". Thursday night was a milestone for Amanda; she finished her last night-shift and is hoping that days will be the change she needed. All-in-all just a boring week at the Newton house. I've let my camera cool down this week, only taking a few pics but nothing to post. Just a few of the flower beds. Anyway, looking forward to Easter weekend. HAPPY EASTER !!!!

Picture instructions

I had posted instructions below but I added more pictures so you may be confused. The best bet is to scroll down to "Day 1 (4-6-11)". Click on the picture and it will take you to an album. No downloads required, just be patient. After you view, copy or whatever (just please do not share or re-post anywhere else) you will need to go back to the blog and go to Day 2 an so on. This was the easiest way to post a large amount of pictures for you to see the most. If you want to see more, I have more. Just let me know. I hope you enjoy.

Day 7 (4-12-11)

Day 6 (4-11-11) Roadtrip up the Hudson

Day 5 (4-10-11)

Day 4 (4-9-11)

click pic to see album

Trip pics

Okay. So as you can see below I have posted what looks like one picture per day. If you read the caption below you may get a surprise (follow the directions). Each is a link to an album of some of the pictures from that day of the trip. I have narrowed each day posted down to less than 100 even though I took on average about 400+ each day of the trip. I am still working on the daily activities posts but should have them in a few days. This playing catch-up with the blog along with getting back on track with normal routine has not been easy. I hope ya'll enjoy the pictures and get a good idea of what all we saw and were able to do. Thanks again for being patient and following along.

Just to give you an idea of the number of pictures I am having to sort through; 3000-3200  (21.2gig )

Day 3 (4-8-11)

click pic to see album

Day 2 (4-7-11)

click pic to see album

Day 1 (4-6-11)

Day 1 (4-6-11)

Trip updates

Okay, this proved to be a more daunting task than I thought. Our days were long and I did not seem to have the time to keep everyone updated. The upload time of the pictures was longer than expected. I foresee that I should have the daily activities posted by the end of the weekend. However, I have 21gig (approx. 3,000) of pictures to sort through so it may be next week before I can post the majority of the pics (about 50 or so) but I will try and get some up by Monday. Thanks for following. We had a blast. 

April 9,

The last few days have stretched into the night and have been starting early so here is an update.

April 9:  We made an attempt on the 8th to the see the Statue of Liberty but the line was long and we had lots to see. As it turns out this was a great decision. Because of the possibility of a government shutdown many people canceled their reservations which was a bonus for us. We arrived about an hour before time and purchased our tickets only to find that we had "pedestal access" (for those of you who are unfamiliar that lets you go up to the bottom of her feet) yea us! After a two hour wait we were on our way to see the Grand o' Lady. What a beautiful site to behold. The day was extremely windy but clear. We spent several hours touring the island taking pictures, exploring the museum and going up inside the pedestal and out onto the viewing platform. (excellent view of Manhattan. The wait for the boat ride coming over plus the wait for the boat to go back left us short on time for the day so we opted not to get off at Ellis Island, some regret but after 6 hours we needed to move on. Back on the walking trail. We walked up to the site of Ground Zero. You really cannot tell anything happened in the area and the actual site is a big construction area. Still very sad. Back underground and across town to Brooklyn and Katz Deli. "Best pastrami & corned beef sandwiches". After a long and tiring day a cab back to the hotel where everyone passed out.
More updates to come tonight.

Day 3 part 1

Just an update in brief of day 3. More will follow.  
   For those of you who saw we were on the Today Show for a few seconds, then off to see Lady Liberty. The wait was long when we arrived so we opted to come back (Day 4). We proceed uptown to the Financial District and walked around Wall Street and went into Trinity Church. Took a short tour bus ride to Chinatown and hopped off. We strolled around Chinatown, ate lunch (best Dim Sum), then strolled around Little Italy (the most wonderful cheese/meat shop, the smell was heavenly) then back over to tour bus stop for a quick trek up to the UN. We hopped off and did a little walk around the area and inside some and pictures of course. It started to rain so the tour buses were full and we ended up walking about 10-15 blocks back to the hotel for a quick rest. had snafu with the Julliard tickets (time related to traffic/taxi+distance; NYC math, must be upper level masters class), anyway we made it back to Times Square and it is spectacular at night. We ate at Junior's (cheesecake restaurant) then looked around Times Square some more. It was time to come back to the hotel so we took the subway back. As we were walking back through Grand Central Station we stumbled into the middle of an HBO tv show shoot and were able to see a few famous people (check FB for pics). Today was another eventful day jammed full of fun and mystery, not knowing who or what was around each corner. Day 4 should prove to be just as much fun.  (I will try and post Day 3 pics tomorrow. It is late and it takes a while to upload.)    "From New York, this John Newton saying, "Goodnight and Big Apple Dreams"."

NYC Day 1 & 2

Here are a few pics from day 1 & 2. So far we have made a good run at "Plane, Trains, and Automobiles". Flying to NYC was terrible but worth it. The horrors of day 1 ended with a "rain-out" at the Yankees game.




Day 2 was much better. The weather was windy and cold this AM but got better by days end. We started with bagels at the corner shop and ate them on the street corner. Then we walked  6 or 7 blocks to the Empire State Building and up we went to the 86th floor. "WHAT A VIEW". It was a little overcast but as you can see below we were able to get a few great pics. After an hour or so down we went back to the hustle and bustle of the streets. Next stop was 10 blocks up Broadway to "Times Square". We ate lunch at Planet Hollywood just to get warm for a bit. Then we walked around the area and took it all in. Next trek was to our stop at the "Hop on Hop off" tour. On the way over we saw a movie shoot and were able to glimpse Will Smith. Took our bus uptown past The Lincoln Center, past Central Park West and Columbus Circle, and hopped off at the Natural History Museum. We spent the nest few hours looking through all the excellent exhibits and really learning and having fun. The best parts were the Asian Peoples and the Dinosaurs areas. We could have spent the day just trying to see everything. It was time to come home and get to diner so a subway ride down to Grand Central and a short walk got us home. The day ended with the best Steak I have ever eaten. Diner at Peter Luger's in Brooklyn was the best. We ordered the steak for three and it was the size of a small cow, a little stretch but not much, and we demolished it. The cab ride back was great, as we crossed the bridge the city lights at night were one of the most beautiful I have ever seen.

Today was an awesome day. Cannot wait until tomorrow.

Our Bedroom window.

Grand Central Station

warming up