Baby Has Arrived

Sunday, Jan. 31, 2010

Well, today is Kathryn's due date and we're happy to announce the baby is already here! While most people seem to be getting Newman-related news off of Facebook these days, there is not a complete audience intersection (for example, I know my Arkansas readers don't get the Facebook news so I figured it's worth posting here, too. Apologies to my duplicate readers for hearing the same stories and jokes twice....

Thomas George Newman was born on Monday night (Jan. 25) at 11:33 p.m. He was 8 pounds 7 oz.

Kathryn had been having some contractions for the week or so prior, so I didn't think too much of it when she said she was having contractions when I called at 5:30 to say I was heading home. She got me at the train station at 6:30, and then had about a 1 hour Family Home Evening (not sure why we did an extended one that night but we did. Kathryn ran it which included some requirements for Webelos). In between teaching, she was recording her contractions on her new i-Phone app that allows you to just push a button to record the start and end of each contraction and then it tracks it and does all the math for you. (You can even email it to your doctor....now that's one cool App).

At 7:30, I ran the bedtime routine while Kathryn labored in front of the TV watching the new Jane Austin "Emma" movie that she had taped from PBS the night before. At 8:30, I had the kids all to bed and she started to get serious. Knowing that most of the labors go all night, I wasn't worried and spent the next hour doing work email to delegate things off as I figured I'd be out on Tuesday.

When Kathryn started packing around 9:20, I figured she was really thinking this was it. At 9:45 I started timing her contractions. At 10, I called our neighbor Heather to say that we'd probably be calling her that night to stay with the kids.

At about 10:20 after Kathryn got out of the shower, she agreed we should call the midwife. The contractions were only about 40 to 45 seconds long but they were between 2 to 4 minutes. But she was handling them so well, I don't think either one of us thought it was imminent. The midwife said "get in here."

Heather arrived by about 10:40 and we were on our way by 10:45. It is a 30 minute drive to the hospital which is in Sleepy Hollow. All of our other kids were born in White Plains, but we changed for Thomas as policies had changed and we couldn't do a V-BAC at White Plains.

I ran about 5 stoplights....there wasn't any traffic so it seemed silly to wait at the light. Heck, I even drove in the left lane!

About 3 minutes to the hospital, she said she wanted to start pushing. Kathryn later said the drive was like one long contraction. We went in through the ER and the attendants didn't seem in too much of a rush so Kathryn said "Hey, I'm having a baby here, let's get this show on the road....Let's move!"

She was in the hospital room at 11:15 p.m. and I got up there a few minutes later after parking the car. She was at an 8. At 11:29 she started pushing. At 11:33 we were holding our new baby.

It's funny because Josh had always said the baby would be born on Monday, Jan. 25. As the labor started going fast, I told Kathryn that hey, this could still happen.

She got into her private room around 1:30 and then we waited for them to return the baby. So I slept on the Murphy bed in the room until about 4:20, saw the baby again, then drove home to share the news with the kids when they woke up. Sammy had crawled into bed with Heather. I found Matthew wandering around the house wondering where I was. Each kid was so excited. Josh was sad when he heard my voice because he assumed the baby hadn't come. I said no, it happened so fast I'm already home! They just couldn't stop dancing and celebrating. Josh later said we should all kneel down and have a prayer of gratitude.

I went back to the hospital after the kids went to school (and Sammy to a neighbor) and stayed til about noon, then picked up Sam and got the kids out of school early so they could come meet their brother. They fought over who would enter the room first and who would hold him first but if that's the only side-effect to the family dynamic, I'll take it.

Because he was born before midnight, it counted as "the first night" at the hospital so Kathryn was released on Wed. afternoon.

Two final things:

• At one point, the nurse came in during Kathryn's stay to ask a series of questions, one of which was "do you want us to inform your pastor". She pointed at me and said "Well, he's my pastor...." I thought afterward that I wish that when they said "Do you want us to alert your pastor" she had said "No need. He already knows....after all, he's the father". Or "No, that's OK. He knows since it's his baby." Missed opportunity.

• Whenever you tell someone a new baby name and they respond with "Oh, is that a family name", I think that means they find the name unusual and so they are looking for a justification for such a weird name. We haven't really heard that much with "George" but I just thought about that as I think I do the same to others when I hear names outside the "top 100" list of names. (For those wondering, Thomas is at about 50 on the charts).

Living a watch-less life

So I broke my watch in mid-December. It fell onto a tile floor during my monthly interview with President Bench and hasn't worked the same since. I haven't gotten around to replacing the watch.

I can't remember a time living without a watch strapped to my wrist. In fact, I literally check my watch about every 3 or 4 minutes for an update, so I was curious to see how I'd survive without knowing what the exact minute was.

Surprisingly, the withdrawal has been painless. There's plenty of places to check the time (like my computer and my i-Phone) but I do miss it the most while walking to the train (to ensure I don't miss the train) and in business meetings (when I like to have the watch laid on the table so I can keep to the time limits -- checking the phone isn't a real kosher option as it looks like I'm checking text or email, which is rude).

But I think it has relaxed me a bit not having a way to check the time every few minutes.

FREE! (or mostly free)

With the high cost of living in New York, anytime you can pull off a free (or mostly free) activity, it's worthy of shouting it from the rooftops.

Some recent successes:

• We went to the New York Hall of Science in Queens on Dec. 29 (Wed)...total cost (beyond tolls): ZERO! We purchased a Brooklyn Children's Museum pass that allows access to other museums including this one, so entry was complementary. Found street parking. Ate lunch in the car on the way home.

•  Date night with Kathryn to see Invictus on Tuesday night (Dec. 28). My boss gave me a fully loaded Fandango gift card, so the movie was free. PLUS we had watched a couple's children a week or two ago, so the wife agreed to stay here at the house while the kids slept and we were at the movie....no babysitting fee!

• Post Thanksgiving Friday night date night. We went to a free concert performed by local musician students at the New York Historical Society and found free street parking. We then went to dinner at Hill Country down by my office. Yes, you guessed it -- free street parking! Just had to pay for dinner (yummy bbq). We even took the non-toll way home from Manhattan into the Bronx.

• Our office party was virtually free because the party was free and -- yup -- free street parking right in front of the venue. BUT we had to pay for a college-age babysitter, so that was more expensive. But when the only cost is babysitting, well, that's batting above average

• Kathryn took the three older kids to the Chipmunks movie the day after Christmas with the Fandango gift card....FREE OUTING! Bonus: I got to stay home with Sammy and he fell asleep so I had 1.5 hours of quiet in the house on an afternoon. Unheard of!

• We also had a free outing to the Wrights' Christmas party a week before Christmas as the party was free and our favorite babysitter said that she had to perform free service prior to her Catholic Confirmation, and babysitting counted. So she asked if it would be OK if she babysat for free that night. Um, OK! But, we did pay for it on the drive home due to a bad snowstorm that made me think we wouldn't make it home -- and then I wouldn't make it home from taking the babysitter home.

• And lastly, we look to start the year off with a free date tonight. There is a Primary party tonight that is a drop-off -- and Sammy is now Primary aged! So we have a 1 hour 15 minute window and going to Panera Bread for dinner thanks to a gift card from another friend for Christmas.

Happy New Year!

Best Day of Week for Christmas???

Hi all:

For starters, now that the official Christmas Newsletter has gone out -- and potentially resulted in some more viewers to the weekly Christmas newsletter -- I wanted to welcome any new readers and to state that I'm going to make a renewed effort to provide an update to this blog at least once a week by Friday afternoon. I know, I've said that before, but here's to a New Year.

So I'm a big calendar man in terms of studying it and debating in my head the value of which calendar mode is best. To clarify, there are only seven types of calendar options (forgetting Leap Year) based on the year starting on a Sunday, a Monday, a Tuesday, etc. The only dates that get affected are birthday, 4th of July, Thanksgiving (early or late in Nov.) and Christmas as so much else is just a default Monday.

For years, I've said Tuesday was the best day for Christmas. But I'm leaning toward Friday as being right up there. I really liked this past week at the office as it's just a tad too short and too close to Christmas to be taken too seriously. (A Saturday Christmas does result in a more serious work week, I feel). Christmas Eve on a Thursday is great (I'm making the assumption that I get two days off for Christmas....so the Friday Christmas ensures I get Christmas Eve off).

I like having the day after Christmas being on Saturday....a perfect day to just enjoy your presents before having to go back to Church on Sunday. We had Christmas on a Friday 5 years ago, and get it again in a mere 5 more years. Lucky us!

While Tuesday is a great Christmas Day, I do remember that we spend Sat, Sun and Mon "running out the clock" looking for ways to keep the kids busy while we wait for Christmas to come. Then, as soon as Christmas night is over, it's immediately back to work. Not good.

Do you have a favorite day for Christmas? If you are like my kids, I'll bet it's not Sunday! :)

Post your thoughts as to which day for Christmas is best. (And sorry if this incoherent....the kids are making a ruckus behind me so it's hard to write cohesively and concisely).

Merry Christmas!!!!

Mark

Palmyra et al Family Vacation - PT 2

A now a continuation of our trip to Palmyra (see last post for the first half)

Saturday was our church site day. The weather was a lot warmer than Friday (which was cold) and it was actually a very pretty, a bit crisp fall day.

We went first to Hill Cumorah, which was about a 20 minute drive. It's a nice visitor's center, and they were just waiting for us to come in (it was a slow day). The sister missionary was really wonderful and did a great job engaging the kids. NOTE: always better to get the sister missionaries as tour guides than senior elders. The sisters are fun, engage the kids, know how to gauge their attention temperature and move along whereas the senior elders kind of have forgotten what it's like to have antsy kids.

I've never really spent a lot of time at the visitor center, but could have spent longer in the back with the exhibits. With kids, it's about a 20 minute visit...with no kids it could be an hour. The boys then climbed the Hill Cumorah and the girls drove to the top.

We then drove to the Joseph Smith farm. The area has changed since the last time I went there. For starters, they had found the original site of the first Smith home (site of the Moroni visit) and have rebuilt that to be as authentic as possible, down to homemade nails. (In fact, they had to use manufactured nails at the end to be done in time, and Hinckley saw them and commented on that during the dedication...he was assured they were temporary. The whole house was built by hand to keep it authentic).

After you visit that house, you walk down a trail to the Smith's second house, which is the original house and has stood since 1820s. (I had visited that before). You can see the hearth where the plates were actually hidden at one point. And the tree planted in the yard when older brother Alvin died (now it's a big tree). Then you can walk into the Sacred Grove.

I would have enjoyed more time in the Grove, but the kids weren't really going for that. So we took the short path But at least we made it there. Afterward, we drove to the temple which is also on site (and is also new, too). Across the street is the stake center. (Incidentally, the old stake center near the Hill Cumorah is now the city's town hall).

We then drove into town and saw the Grandin Printing Press building, which was a favorite of all of us. We again got a sister tour guide and had a wonderful time. It's spiritual, historical, and interesting. Fun to learn how they actually printed it. Kids do enjoy this part. From there, we drove out of town, saw the Alvin Smith grave site, the Erie Canal (which Josh is studying) and then the Martin Harris farm.

From there, we stopped at McDonald's near the Thruway and drove to the Whitmer Farm. It's about a 45 minute drive and not tons to see there. There is a chapel which has a small visitor center, but nothing too earth-shattering to see at the visitor center. The highlight is to go to the re-created cabin out back where the church was organized. We have a senior elder here, and it kind of dragged.

We drove back to our hotel and went to Chilis for dinner. Go for the "2 for $20" which gives you an appetizer, two main courses, and dessert. Not bad!!!

Then swimming and off to bed.

Sunday, we tried to go to church in Canadagia but found a locked building (stake conference?) and started the drive home through the Finger Lakes and through Ithaca. It was a pretty drive, but a bit windy, and Josh felt queasy for much of it. And the drive felt longer with the kids awake and not always happy. Plus, why do kids always say they need to use the bathroom 5 minutes after you just stopped for someone else to use it?

We went through Ithaca, and down through Binghamton so we could go see Harmony Penn (near Oakland, PA). It's a little road that takes you to the Harmony site, which just has a statue and some historical markers (plus a cemetery) but no on-site presence. A little out of the way, but worth the visit.

Instead of doing I-80, we came across I-84 just to make things different.

All in all, a very satisfying vacation, not overly expensive, and I really enjoyed it. Wouldn't really do anything differently. Family was at the perfect age to do this trip before the new baby in January....

Palmyra et al Family Vacation

Hi all:

Some friends have asked for details about our Church Sites trip on Nov. 6 to 8, so here's a little travelogue that may help in your planning, along with our highlights.

We left on Thursday night around 5 p.m. as the kids had Friday off for a school conference. I was surprised that the mapping systems said it was fastest to go on I-80 through NJ and Penn. to Scranton and then up through Binghamton and Syracuse, and then on to Rochester.

Driving at night definitely has its perks and its drawbacks. It was great the kids all fell asleep at some point. But I had some heavy rain in NJ, and then snow going over a peak outside of Syracuse, and all that in the dark wasn't fun. But the new Honda van drives smoothly and that was part of the reason for the trip.

We arrived at the Homewood Suites in Victor, NY around 11:30 p.m. -- it took us about 6.5 hours with stops, snow, and rain. I'm a big fan of Homewood Suites as it has sleeping for 6. This unit had one big bedroom with two doubles, then a small pullout couch for the little boys in another room -- along with full fridge, microwave and oven. The rate was $150, but we knew of a promotion that got it down to $135. We felt it was the perfect location as it was just off the Thruway and perfectly situated between Rochester and Palmyra, which was convenient. We liked the free hot breakfast each morning, the pool was the right size (and actually warm) for the kids, and low hassle.

On Friday, we got in the van again and drove to Niagara Falls. I had never seen it and I was actually very impressed. It's about a 1.5 hour drive, I believe. We arrived around 9:30 or so. The Maiden of the Mist boats close in late October, so we couldn't do that. But the state park was free except $10 to park (which allows you to park at the welcome center and then over on Goat Island....I never mind paying a little into the system to keep it up and running).

I knew that the view is more impressive from the Canada side, but I also knew that all U.S. citizens need a passport when driving into Canada now. Unfortunately, I didn't look closer to see that kids with a birth certificate can go sans passport so we could have driven across as Kathryn and I have passports, but alas, we didn't. Something for next time.

But the view from where we were was amazing. I'm surprised we could get so close to the edge at the top of falls. It's not really very fancy but I like that it's just kinda simple and I like that the safety experts haven't shut down such close access. All in all, we spent about 1.5 hours there.

(For the record, the towns on the NY and Canada side look very cheezy and dated...yet again, kind of refreshing to not see everything all "Disney-fied". It is what it is)

We then drove back to Rochester to the National Museum of Play (and Toy Hall of Fame). We felt this is the best kids museum we've been to. We arrived around 2 p.m. and stayed until about 5:30. Lots of open space, no crowds (as it was a weekday), and fun things for everyone, including a well stocked arcade of video games familiar to me (Asteroids, Tapper, Defender, Q-Bert, Popeye, Ultra Bowl, Berzerk). From a career perspective, it was fun to walk through the Toys Hall of Fame and identify the Hasbro stuff.

We returned to the hotel (about a 20 minute drive) and tried to go to Chilis, but a 45 minute wait at 5:15 at night. Well, what else do you do in Victor? So we went to Denny's which was surprisingly fun and good. The highlight was Sammy making a biscuit snowman. Then a visit to the pool and everyone collapsed into bed.

Sat and Sun. to be covered in my next post....

General Conference

So it's general conference weekend, and I was thinking about how my listening and/or viewing of it has changed over the years while being in New York:

• Single, living in the city from 1994 to 1998: We would have to go to the stake center (which is now a temple) to view all the sessions. Sometimes, on Saturday, we'd go to Dallas BBQ between sessions 1 and 2.

• Newly married and living in Tuckahoe: We actually got a session or two on cable, but as I recall, they had a habit of cutting off after one hour.

• Married and living in Tuckahoe: the cable option stopped after LDS member David Checketts stopped being the CEO of the cable company. We'd take turns attending sessions at the Scarsdale chapel with the other parent staying home with the kids

• More married and living in Tuckahoe: Internet broadcast seemed to work well, but just audio for us. We "only" had one computer and it wasn't on wireless, so we had to squish into the upstairs "office" room and listen to it up there.

• More married and living in Tuckahoe: Kathryn's greatest upgrade suggestion: still broadcast the audio on the computer on the 3rd floor BUT broadcast it downstairs via the baby monitor

• Even more married and living in Tuckahoe: Wireless router and a laptop at work (that came home on the weekends) allowed for us to have conference "live" (no baby monitor) in any place in our house. Video wasn't reliable enough for us yet

• Eastchester house: video better and we can watch it as a family on my laptop or our bigger desktop computer. The system "skips" a bit and a 2 hour session ends up taking 2 hours and 10 minutes. I bring home a speaker from work to amp the sound.

ª Oct 2009: Eastchester, four kids, one on the way: we can now plug the laptop into the flat screen and watch it on TV (just like Utah!) We will plug the laptop into the internet router with ethernet cable to hopefully enjoy a 2 hour session in 2 hours.

GOOOOO Conference!!!

Mark

Good thing I market "Boys Toys"

Well, we'll continue to need Star Wars toys and be playing with Transformers for many years to come .....

Our 5th baby, due Jan. 31, will be a boy. Fun times!

Mark

Summer Travel Recap

Hi:

I'm welcoming a co-author tonight as Josh helps me recall the best and worst moments from our summer trip out west. These are in no particular order:

GOOD
• Cherry Hill water park
• Josh and Kathryn going to Yankees game at Angels Stadium (and taking Amtrak there from San Diego)
• Dad's birthday breakfast at the diner in Coronado with just Josh and Caroline
• Kids' reaction to finding out that we're having a 5th baby in January
• Our "first night in San Diego" hotel including nice pool
• Collecting sand dollars on the beach
• Seeing Dad when he arrived in Utah after being away from the family for a couple of weeks
• Dad taking Sam and Matthew to Legoland....LOVED the water park portion
• Seaport Village on our arrival day in San Diego
• Day 2 of the Rytting Family Reunion in Utah
• Being with the Sackewitz kids for most of our time in Coronado
• Lagoon, for those who went -- Fun Day with Parker for Josh, who didn't go
• Going with Grandpa to Shivers -- just Josh and Caroline
• Mommy and Daddy getting their i Phones -- and the little ones getting to play with them
• Mommy's high school reunion and trip to San Fran (including seeing Uncle Don and family)
• Marching in Children's Pioneer Parade
• Annual Sackewitz BBQ and fireworks
• Hiking Desolation trail with older kids -- though it was longer and harder than anticipated

BAD
• Waiting in the hot sun for autographs that didn't happen at Angels game
• Matthew getting lost at the "first night" hotel for a very short spell...just long enough to panic his parents
• Mom falling off the wagon....literally...at This is the Place State Park
• Enterprise claiming we had damaged the rental car and then having to deal with the paperwork

Returning to Blogging

Hi all:

If I haven't alienated my one follower -- and the one fan in California who, during a 'author mix and mingle' at an LDS chapel said she loves the blog -- then I'm going to get this blog active again.

As rain is forecast for this weekend, washing out the trip to our boss' pool, I'll have time to actually post something witty and insightful....or at the very least, my travel highlights.

Cheers.

Mark

I've lost my medallion status :(

Well, I now have to be part of the huddled unwashed masses when flying Delta. I've been defrocked. Delta took away my medallion status . Turns out they expect you to fly often to keep that status.

Last week, I had my first Delta flight since last August. I checked in and found out I had to pay $15 for baggage. I asked when they started charging for medallion passenger. They said "We don't.....you aren't." ARGH.

I now don't board in group 2....I boarded in group 8. Bye bye potential upgrades. No more access to the super secret toll free line that goes to U.S.-based operators. I'm just like everyone else.

Then again, the price for Medallion is flying often, and after this last flight, I realize that's a high prize. I think if they want to torture terrorists, they should have them fly coach in a window seat on Delta. Tack on a red eye on the return, and it's one of the inner circles of Dante's hell. And I didn't even have kids with me!

But the trip was a success. I was in Pasadena for the Transformers Convention, and we got a great big story in the New York Times. So who's complaining?

Mark

I've lost my medallion status :(

Shipping a Car

Well, we begin our ODYSSEY of buying a car in Utah and shipping it to New York to save the cost of a rental car in Utah this summer.

As the only real cost incurred by buying the car in Utah that is unique to the equation is shipping the car, that's really the deal breaker to pursue. So I did some online checking today.

Quite simply, it seems that I can get a rate between about $800 and $1,000. That seems pretty standard. But reading all the bids scares you a little bit because they all seem to warn you how the other guy will rip you off, not ship your car for weeks, etc.

But nothing that has scared me off. I'm confident we can find a good shipper that won't eat up our savings. We may have to pick-up the car in New Jersey vs. have it delivered to our door, but that's do-able.

So I'm going to proceed with the assumption that the fixed cost of buying a car in Utah is $1,000. Next, I'm going to officially reserve a van for our entire trip in Utah to know exactly how much that would cost. I know it's more than $2,000, so it appears we'll at least be $1,000 ahead in doing this.

Keep your hands at 10 and 2, and stay tuned.

Mark

Disney World, Day 5 (Animal Kingdom)

Well, it's time to bring my memories of our Disney World trip to a close. This probably won't be as detailed but since it's been about six weeks, well....

To finish with the last day at Magic Kingdom, once we got home, Josh wanted to go swimming. I had promised him that all day if we stayed to the end. So at 10 p.m. at night, we were out swimming. I get cold kind of fast, but I was happy to do it. I brought back virgin drinks from the bar for me and Kathryn.

We were all really excited for Animal Kingdom as it was a new park for all of us.

We started by having an 8:10 a.m. reservation for a character breakfast at the Tusker House in Africa. That allowed us to enter the park an hour before it opened, and walking up there with the park closed with kind of fun. It felt a lot like the Bronx Zoo.

The meal was great and definitely felt authentic African in terms of some of the tastes from my mission. Definitely one of my favorite meals of the trip. And the classic Disney characters made it special, too.

The breakfast is situated right next to the Safari ride. When the rope was dropped, we scooted over there. Of course, in typical Mark fashion, I raced to get us a Fastpass before we got on it. Not that we needed it, but just because "we could". I sort of bought into the hype and couldn't stop with Fastpass!

The safari ride is fun, and then walking through the exhibits at the exit were good, too. Then Kathryn headed down to Camp Minnie Mickey while I did a fast tour of the park fetching Fastpasses (three for Everest and 2 for Dinosaur). I met her down there in the Camp and they had just had a great experience catching Chip and Dale (Sam's adopted favorite characters) as they came out for their character greetings. It was a very personal experience and was a highlight for Kathryn. It helped Sammy was carrying their stuffed animal counter parts.

Then we just chilled until the Lion King show started at 11 a.m., which is high energy and I felt fun.

The next big thing we wanted to do was the Nemo show, which wasn't until 1:45 p.m. But the time evaporated fast. I rode Dinosaur first, and was kind of disappointed. From the opening of the park 10 years ago, I've always wanted to go on it, but it didn't pack the punch I hoped it would. Just felt like driving around in a jeep looking at Dinosaurs. Pales big time to Indy ride in Disneyland. Then I did Everest, and the theming and all that is great from a distance, but I thought the roller coaster experience didn't deliver on it feeling like Everest. Maybe my bar is too high.

Kathryn and the kids did some of the dinosaur area rides during this time. Then we did traditional fast food type lunch before rushing to the Nemo show....can't believe it was time already.

The Nemo show is the best show in Disneyworld, and the best thing at Animal Kingdom. Worth the price of admission right there. As good as Lion King on Broadway. The puppets and all are just really really great.

I believe Kathryn did Everest next while I watched the kids. At 3 p.m., they did the bird show, which they all enjoyed. Sammy was asleep so I walked around and shopped and scouted out a place for the parade. That's a really great parade, and we had a good place and I even stole a chair for Kathryn to sit in. We then used our earlier fast pass to hit safari again.

Time was already getting tight as the park closes at 7 p.m. I did the Boneyard with the kids for a while, and Kathryn either did Everest now (instead of what I said a moment ago) or did another ride with Caroline on the "Wild Mouse" type ride.

The day ended anticlimatically with us trying to get our last purchases, missing dinner, and my worrying that we'd miss our flight at 9 p.m. Not one of the best Mark moments of the trip.

But we left, made it to the airport on time, got dinner at McDonalds at the airport, and were the first passengers on a new JetBlue plane. We got home without incident.

Overall, a great, great vacation that we will remember forever! When we return (and we will) we want more time at Epcot and more ability to just explore and be leisurely at Animal Kingdom.

Phew!

Mark

An Odyssey to Save Money on Cars

Hi blog fans:

Yes, I still have one more day to detail on our Disney World trip.

But here's a preview of next big thing. From the family that orchestrated a simultaneous closing on our old and new house, and from the guy who over-researched every last second of their trip to Disney World comes: "Save Money by Buying a Car in Utah and Shipping it to NYC???" I call it my "Odyssey to Save Money on Cars".

I started researching vans to rent while in Utah for our annual visit. We're staying nearly a month due to a High School reunion scheduled at the end. Mini vans for that long cost in the range of $2,000. "Wow -- that could be several car payments right there" said my smart wife.

"Ah, you're right!"

The timing might be right for us to expand our auto family. And the name of this adventure is going to see how much will it cost -- or how much will I save -- AND at what price hassle-wise. I'll bring you along every step of the way as I evaluate such things as:

• Honda Odyssey OR Toyota Sienna
• Turn in the mini van OR become a two automobile family
• Purchase in Utah OR purchase in NYC
• Buy OR Lease
• negotiating with dealers via the internet only
• comparison of prices in NYC vs. SLC
• how to ship a car cross country
• drawbacks of buying in Zion and owning it in Babylon
• Plans to drive the car back out to Utah (i.e. road trip) in 3 years when lease is up (if I go that route)

The goal is to get the van we want with at least a $1,200 savings (shipping a car is $800; a rental van would be $2,000) and taking delivery within the first 3 days Kathryn arrives in SLC. Can it be done? Stay tuned to my special reports.

We may set off a trend amongst my fellow Westchester / Salt Lakers.

Mark

Disney World, Day 4 (Magic Kingdom) (part 4)

Our final hours at Magic Kingdom were fun. After the Haunted Mansion, we weren't quite sure what to do, so I did what I do best, which is ran down to get another Fastpass, this time on the Jungle Boats. Kathryn stayed with the kids by the Mark Twain-type steam boat and had the kids eat their peanut butter sandwiches. But then we went to the fast food place in Fantasyland that overlooks Small World for a real dinner of hamburgers, pizza, etc. It was completely empty and so it was very stress free.

Then I made a mad dash off to Big Thunder for one more ride as I had remaining Fastpass to cash in. Kathryn took the kids to Adventureland and they did the Flying Carpets one or two times. I picked up some more Fastpasses at Big Thunder because why not? Then I caught up with Kathryn just as they were getting on the Flying Carpets. Kathryn asked me to jump the fence and join her on the ride because Sammy was having his biggest meltdown of the trip. I ended up running up the exit and jumping in one of the carpets and taking Sam. It was not a pleasant ride with Sam screaming the whole time and me not quite sure what I had just inherited. But considering how good he was the majority of the time, he's allowed one bad moment.

But I felt uneasy entering the ride through an unauthorized manner....if I did that at an airport, I'd be arrested.

Then we did the Jungle Boats again. It wasn't as fun as Wed. night as the skipper was still very good, but we very much loved Skipper Mike.

Then we headed back up to Fantasyland, and I was thrilled that Josh had finally talked himself into going on Big Thunder (guess that's why I got the extra fast passes). It meant we had to fight the parade crowds to get to the ride, but it was worth it, because I didn't want Josh to leave without going on it as I knew he'd regret it. So Kathryn was happy to keep the three in Fantasyland, and Josh talked all the way down about how excited that he was overcoming his fear and doing it. I could tell he was nervous in the line, but he didn't chicken out. And he actually seemed to enjoy it! Too bad it was at night because for the first time on the ride, daytime would have been better to enjoy all the scenery and nuances. But it was a very big victory for all of us.

Kathryn stayed in Fantasyland and among other things went on Dumbo one more time. She really wanted to ride Dumbo at night, and she had a great missionary experience while waiting in line, so maybe that's why.

It was a challenge to meet up again as they close the access to Fantasyland. Fortunately, the fireworks got delayed, which allowed us some time to escape. We kept on the phone, I saw her as she walked by on Main Street, we joined up and got out of Dodge just as the fireworks were starting. So we saw the fireworks from the monorail and left with that picturesque memory. Magic Kingdom....done!

Disney World, Day 4 (Magic Kingdom) (part 3)

I may now be getting the order mixed up just a bit on our Friday afternoon after 3 p.m.

But I know Caroline and Matthew and I went to Toon Town to ride the Barnstormer Coaster and Josh, Mom and Sam went on Snow White. I took Josh and Matthew on the Autopia again (that was a real big hit for Matthew, so I'm glad we could do it again).

And of course, I picked up another Fastpass, as that was the theme of the day. This time, we grabbed another Winnie the Pooh (why not!) and got a bonus Fastpass for PhilHarmagic. It's kind of a marketing ploy, as I'm sure they knew crowds were light there so they were being sneaky to get people to fill up the theater. But we felt like we won the lottery! Wahoo - bonus!

So back in Fantasyland, I took Matthew on Dumbo again (he was very happy to wait 45 minutes...he loved the flying elephant). Kathryn used our earlier Peter Pan fastpass for the others. Then they got ice cream, and we joined them once we got off the flying elephant. We did the Winnie the Pooh ride on the Fast Pass, and then the Philharmagic. When you do it right, you don't need to wait in lots of lines!

Getting into about 5:30 p.m., we decided to have me and Josh go on Haunted Mansion (I hadn't been yet) while Kathryn took the rest on Small World. Caroline went on it 3 times, and she still says it was a favorite. I didn't think I was going to get on Haunted Mansion, so I'm glad it worked out. I read later that they have added recently a "stair room" which is like one of those classic drawings where the stairs all go up and into each other, but also look like they go down, too, if that makes any sense. But I enjoyed Haunted Mansion more than I ever have. I'd dare say it's better than Anaheim, which surprised me.

Just one more posting and we'll finish Friday night...then off to Animal Kingdom on Saturday.

Disney World, Day 4, Magic Kingdom (Part 2)

After lunch, we decided we kind of want to make one more full circle around the park before the end of day. My intention was to end early and go home and swim. No, I'm not a big swimmer, in fact I kind of hate swimming, but Josh had said he wanted to, and I was thinking we had or would have done everything.

We started after lunch with the Country Bears show as it was about to start, so no wait. Hadn't seen it in years, so that was fun for me, but it could use a bit of a refresh. The kids liked it well enough, though. And Sammy fell asleep, so thus began his afternoon nap as he did transfer. Yea!

We cut across the park with Sammy asleep in his stroller and went to the Monster's Inc. Laugh Factory show. It's part of their new wave of technology where it's computer animated graphics and such, but it's personalized, if that makes sense. So it's an animated character, but he's performing in real time. We got to text in jokes ahead of time, and some were used in the performance. The premise is that laughter provides more energy than scaring kids, so they need to get us to laugh. It really is just like using the old stadium trick of aiming a camera at the fans and then adding commentary when it shows up on the Jumbotron. But it's fun and you laugh, and Matthew seemed to place this at the top of the list of favorite attractions. (Kathryn stayed out with the sleeping Sammy).

If I'm not mistaken, Kathryn now agreed to take Matthew on the Rockets Ride, which had a 45 minute wait, but for which he was more than happy to stand in line for. After all, he was a Jedi now! Kids CAN stand in line and be patient if it's something they want. Matthew really surprised us.

So I had to kill about 10 minutes until the window would open up to get our next Fast Pass (it was nearly 2 hours since I had gotten the passes for Peter Pan, which we hadn't used yet). So I stood by the machine at Buzz Lightyear just waiting and waiting for the clock to hit 1:15, while Kathryn and Matthew were on the Rockets. It's like the Amazing Race! Once the clock hit, I put in our tickets, then we scooted over to the Castle to watch the Performance that they do several times a day. It has Princesses, dancing, characters, etc. Sam slept through much of it, but it was getting pretty warm over there by the end.

We met up together again around 1:45 p.m. I took my turn on Space Mountain while Kathryn hung out with the kids and I think bought some souviners. Space Mountain is dark....it's even darker when you forget to switch out of the sunglasses! Glad to enjoy one last ride before they start a revamp of it starting today. Can't explain why, but definitely more fun at Orlando than Anaheim. When I had my turn, I let Kathryn go (using FastPass) and I took the four kids alone on the Tomorrowland Transit. That's really a big hit!

Unless I'm mistaken, we got done with that and it was time for our FastPass on Buzz Lightyear, so we did that. I think we were moving out of Tomorrowland (for the last time) around 3 p.m.

Disney World, Day 4 (Magic Kingdom) (part 1)

Wow....being out of town with the Monopoly tournament has thrown me off my writing rampage. Let's return to the narrative.

FRIDAY, MARCH 20
We knew Friday was going to be a less stressful day (and less structured) as we were back for our return day at Magic Kingdom. We had knocked out so much the first day that there wasn't a lot of pressure of trying to hit everything. The kids were adjusting to the regiment of park touring, we had no specific times or schedules (i.e. shows or meals), and we knew the lay of the land.

We had a McDonald's near the hotel, so we brought in breakfast before we left. Then off to the MK. We got there a bit later as we now knew getting there right at 8 a.m. for a 9 a.m. opening was a bit too early. Of course, we were still in position by before the park opened.

Unlike Wednesday, they did a full blown Disney welcome via the train and lots of characters at the entrance. So that was fun.

The race up Main Street is truly a race....should have been smart enough to realize that the lands would be closed, so no need to hustle quite so much. Today we were going off to Frontierland. When the rope dropped, Kathryn led us through a back alley to get ahead of the rope line walkers, but alas, the Disney folks had anticipated that, too, so it didn't matter. And to be honest, we could have been a lot less "hurry up" as the crowds weren't bad. But once you start in that mentality....

Fearing the worst (and remembering the day at Hollywood Studios) I grabbed Fast Passes for Big Thunder then I took a crew on Splash Mountain (they are next to each other). I tried to get Josh to go, but he wasn't quite ready for that one yet. So I took Matthew and Caroline. We had talked about doing switch-off (as we knew Sam couldn't go), but the policy has changed, and now it involves the Fast Pass line, but that doesn't open til 9:30 or so. So I kind of felt 'stressed' during the ride wanting it to hurry so Kathryn could ride crowd-free, too. We got done, and the lines were still very low for Kathryn to go (and she took Caroline again, I believe).

I stayed with the boys and they found a little play area that they loved. Very simple and basic, but sometimes kids don't need or want much.

After that, we did Big Thunder in turns (I think Caroline went twice -- once w/ me and once with Kathryn) but Matthew steered away from it, as did Josh (though he went later in the day and loved it).

This is now when I turned into a Fast Pass machine!!! I had learned that you can get a new one every 2 hours and that they don't monitor the expiration time. So I figured that we'd stock up on them and get one literally every 2 hours. So around 10:15 or so, I darted off to Tomorrowland to get two for Space Mountain. (After missing out on Rock and Roller, I wasn't going to miss Space Mountain) and Kathryn kept the kids. After I got back, it was Josh's turn to get to go on a favorite ride, so Kathryn took Josh and Matthew on Haunted Mansion (up very near Fantasyland) and I took Caro and Sam on Small World. It was a good trade-off and everyone was happy.

We did early lunch (again, lesson learned from Hollywood -- even if not hungry, eat early for the kids' sake and for the crowds sake). We walked down to Pecos Bill in Frontierland, which was doing some back tracking. Even sillier, we got down there and then decided to get three more Fastpasses on Peter Pan (right next to Small World). After all, 3 passes were going to waste (as we had two for Space Mountain). So Matthew and I ran up to get those while Kathryn ordered lunch. Matthew loved sticking the cards into the machine to get them.

Lots of indoor seating at Pecos Bill, good "fixin" bar for the burgers, and everyone felt happy and relaxed.

disney World, Day 3 (part 4) (Hollywood Studios)

At the pace and amount of details I add, I'll be writing about this trip until we go the next time! But it was so much fun, I want to capture every moment so we can relive it.

So Kathryn was the queen of scoring us fun meal reservations. At Hollywood Studios, she got us a reservation (two months in advance) at the 50s Prime Time Cafe. It's basically what the title says -- a diner-themed place set in the 50s with old classic TVs and TV shows running.

They make you feel like your in "mom's house". The waitresses tell you to get your elbows off the table. They look for "clean platers". They even "do the airplane" to make Mom eat her greens if she hasn't eaten then when she comes to clear the table.

We had a great waiter who was in character, but not over the top -- which is good because I don't know how the kids would have reacted. But he did ask Caroline and Joshua to set the table. He was originally from Long Island, so we bonded on the NY front. Matthew didn't eat much, but boy was he creative playing with his action figures, gold fish crackers and silverware. It was good food and fun, and came at a good time in the day. I'd go back again. We had S'mores for dessert. Oh yeah, and a vanilla Coke. THAT was needed.

Refreshed and with the hottest part of the day behind us -- and the crowds majorly thinned -- we used our fast pass for Toy Story Mania (at about 5:45 p.m.). Even more fun the second time. That's one ride they've really nailed it terms of perfection. Too bad the line is so long.

It was too early to go wait for Fantasmic, so we had a little time to kill. This would have been a perfect time to do the Back Lot Tour, but alas, it was closed (though it hadn't been scheduled to be closed). That's a good attraction, but we didn't majorly miss out.

So we took the kids on the Great Movie Ride. It's entertaining and relaxing and fine. We had chosen to avoid it because I remember Alien being in there and it was pretty gruesome. We figured the kids would just need to deal with it because we needed something to do. So we warned the kids. Caroline scrunched up next to me as we got closer to that part. Josh was OK. Matthew kept saying "Where's the alien!" He couldn't wait to see it and was very excited at the prospect. (Being a Jedi, I suppose...) The good news is it's not as bad as I remember and you only see him up in the ceiling. So I'm glad we went.

If I'm not mistaken, it was now about 6:45 p.m. and the parks and attractions were fairly quiet. We literally walked right on Star Wars. I mean NO ONE in front. I took Josh and Matthew (his third trip.....he seemed to memorize it because he does repeat the phrases now).

With Fantastmic at 8:15, we decided it was time to go to the arena. Glad we did....getting there an hour early and we sat in one of the last available sections on the far left side. You'd think one hour early would be plenty early but no. The time went relatively quickly with the kids playing games on my phone and Josh/Matthew playing with the action figures.

Fantasmic is great. Matthew fell asleep for it (of course). I wish Disney wouldn't make it so gruesome. The dragon couldn't be larger or scarier. Tone it back a bit!!! But definitely worth seeing. (Turns out they had not been doing shows every night the week we were there....Disney cutting back on performances to save money, so we were lucky).

Then the obligatory exodus with crowds and Matthew asleep in my arms. Easy exit and drive home (no need to take a parking shuttle).

Next up: Friday's second visit to Magic Kingdom....and it was a great one. Then Saturday at Animal Kingdom, which was Kathryn's favorite park.