Christmas 2010

We are so lucky to have family in the same city for the holidays. It has been great to see all of our extended family and friends over the past few weeks. We have been nothing but busy - sorry for the lack of posting. We have either been coming or going it seems. The holidays never seem to slow down. In fact time seems to speed up.

(Side note - halfway through Christmas I realized while I had been taking pictures there was not actually a SD card in the camera and I don't actually have pictures - to those who are not featured - sorry! Please know that it was not because we don't care but that we don't have pictures!)

Patrick, Griffin, Clayton, and Angie all were shooting Santa into the chimny between cities being built and Facebook being checked.

Grandma and the girls

A puzzle is a MUST during the holidays.

Sophie playing with some of her new toys.

Dirk and Judy

Dave and Jeanette

Like all good things Christmas must come to and end. Dave and Patrick decided one afternoon towards the end of the week to clean up the Christmas tree.

Goodbye holidays. See you next year when it will all go by so fast again.

December Adventures in New York

We spent a few weekends before Christmas exploring the city and all the festive activities for the holidays. Here are few of the highlights.

Macy's Holiday Windows and decorations

(I believe in Santa!)

Bryant Park gift show

Dad - You were totally ahead of the times! These were being sold for tons!

People everywhere

Visiting the Rockerfeller Center Tree

Even more people everywhere!

Wintauk By Cirque du Soleil

Driving in the city

Sitting in traffic in Times Square

An accidental picture as a taxi was making up their own rules as the bus was trying to switch lanes.

The Holiday Train Show at the New York Botanical Gardens

This was spectacular. Someone has taken the time to make recreations of famous buildings and structures in New York. They are made totally out of plant material. Even the windows are made of resin from the trees. 

St. Patrick's Cathedral

JFK Airport

Yankee Stadium

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Grand Central, Empire State Building, Rockerfeller Building and the tree

Statue of Liberty 

Thanksgiving

We were lucky enough to go back to Utah for Thanksgiving.

The plan was to fly in and then drive to the cabin in Wyoming the next day - but mother nature had different plans. According to the weather people the storm of the decade was supposed to hit. It was going to be super cold, lots of snow, and really really bad driving conditions. Schools and businesses were closing so people could get home and stock up before the madness of white began to fall. With all the warnings about snowfall and such we decided to not go to the cabin and enjoy the weekend here. (I think the deciding factor was with the wind chill the outside temp would be -20 degrees)

We had a great weekend. We went to lunch with Pat's parents, we saw our wonderful friends, we got to see Utah beat BYU, we played tons of games, we got to see our adorable niece Sophie - She has grown so much in just a few months. She even warmed up to Pat by the end of the weekend. We are super excited to welcome a nephew in March (the best month to be born!)

We cooked enough Thanksgiving dinner you would have thought 20 people were coming over. I got to take leftovers home!!! Airport security didn't even have a problem with the cranberry jelly. About a third of the stuffing was gone by the time it made it to the table for dinner. We cooked in our comfy clothes and ate in them too! This was a first!

This is the only picture I can steal off Facebook of the big dinner.

We watched it snow all day Sunday and secretly hoped our flight was cancelled so we could stay longer.

Treat

One night last week Pat and I were out running errands. We realized the time and that if we went home and cooked dinner we would be eating when we should be asleep, so we stopped by our local diner for dinner. It was a really cold night. I thought I would give the hot chocolate a chance. I have had high hopes for hot chocolate before at other places and sometime it just doesn't add up to what I wished for. 

Not this time! It was lovely.  (and cheap! only $2.15!!) The chocolate is smooth and rich and the whip cream on top is perfect. (occasionally they add a little chocolate syrup drizzled on the top!)




This has now become my new favorite treat!

As you can see we went for brunch on Saturday and I just had to have a wonderful cup. I even made Pat get his own this time since he enjoyed it too and my mug seemed to disappear too fast.

P.S. Pat just told me I was crazy for posting about hot chocolate. I replyed - if something is so good you can't keep it to yourself! Plus we have both been sick and there was nothing else to post about since we have been at home.

It's Novemeber

I love this time of year!

I love getting to decorate each month.
I love the changing colors.
I love spending time with family and friends.
I love the colder weather.
I love snuggling up under a blanket.
I love sipping hot chocolate.
I love tights with skirts.
I love pea coats.
I love seeing the glimpses of Christmas going up around the city.
I love holiday music even if it comes on a little early.

Oh how I love the holidays!

Autumn Colors

I have dragged Pat all over the state and to a few others to see the leaves this fall. He has been so sweet to put up with me. You never know when the leaves will be at the best or when they will fall off. This year the trees didn't all change at once. It was interesting to watch the changes each week and to see how two of the same type of tree would change at different times. 

I love autumn.

Norman Rockwell

Pat and I took a drive to the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA. I've slowly been collecting things to do on the weekends while the weather is still decent. I knew the fall colors would be starting to pop out.

Norman Rockwell was introduced to me by my parents when I was younger. He has a way of capturing American everyday life so well.

Here is one of my favorites:

Here is one of Pat's favorites:

We got to learn about Rockwell's process of painting. He was very meticulous about the angle of the faces and the colors he chose. He never just painted. If he was working on a large canvas and felt it just wasn't right he would paint over it and use it for a different painting. There were several versions and drafts of every single piece. If you get the chance to go see an exhibit or the museum you should check him out. He had a career that spanned over 60 years and 4000 works.

Here is sneak at the fall colors we saw:

The colors are only getting better! More to come!