"It NEVER snows in Seattle"

Shortly after Justin and I officially started dating, he asked me if I would come up to Seattle to visit his parents during Christmas break. Of course I was nervous to meet the folks and worried that people would think things between us were pretty serious (we hadn’t even kissed at this point). Anyhow, as the weeks passed leading up to our trip to the Northwest our relationship did become serious. In fact it was in his parent’s living room, 10 years ago this very week that we decided to get engaged.

We ended up having to spend the majority of those few days at his parent’s house because of snow. His Dad told me over and over that it NEVER snows in Seattle. According to him it was a complete fluke.

As Justin neared graduation from BYU a few years later we thought about where we wanted to move to. His Dad (knowing I don’t hot temperatures and driving in snow) continued to sell us on Seattle by telling us that the summers were NEVER hot and that it NEVER snows.

Well, we’ve been in the Northwest for almost 8 years and its snowed EVERY SINGLE year. I actually like the snow as long as I don’t have to go anywhere. It reminds me of home.

Unfortunately, Seattle is completely unprepared for any amount of snow. Even a half an inch will close down the schools, everyone stays home from work, the city basically shuts down. School was closed last Thursday and Friday, church was cancelled yesterday, we’re staying at home and the kids are loving the white stuff.

I think this year we’ve received the most snow. Abigail measured nearly 12 inches this morning. Looks like we’ll be enjoying a white Christmas.

The girls found it a little difficult to get down the slide.

Look at those cute little frozen cheeks! He really didn’t want to come inside.

Day Six - Statue of Liberty

On our last day in the city we decided to take the ferry to the Statue of Liberty. I wasn’t too excited. I thought that seeing it from Manhattan was good enough. I was wrong. I am so glad we took the time to go over. Seeing it up close definitely gives you the proper perspective.

(We were able to go up to the top of the platform – this is how close we were to Lady Liberty)

Our hotel was right next to Grand Central Station. On our way to the airport I quickly took a picture. I went in and out of that building countless number of times.

It’s a good thing we came home when we did. The following day hundreds of flights from NYC were delayed and/or cancelled. The kids had a great time with Grandma Fletcher while we are gone and we’re so grateful she was willing to spend that time with them.

Day Four & Five - Rockettes and Broadway

Two of the many things I was looking forward to about our trip were: One, being kid-free and Two, being kid-free AND husband-free. On Monday Justin started his two day conference and on Monday I started my two day… well, I started MY two days. I’m a city girl. I love the crowds. I love riding the subway. I love the fast pace.
Monday was unusually warm – in the 60’s while Tuesday was snowing. The days flew by too quickly. I spent most of these two days shopping. I don’t love shopping, but how can you be in NYC and not shop? I was disappointed that I didn’t come home with everything I had hoped, but come to find out I have the same issues finding clothing in NYC that I do in Seattle.

Monday night Justin and I attended the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. It was, well, spectacular. The Rockettes are amazing… worth all the hype and boy can they kick! The show was fun and we’d definitely like to take the kids to it someday.

Tuesday night we saw Wicked on Broadway. Wow, it was awesome! If anyone ever has the chance to go – do it. I’d definitely put it up there with Les Miserable and Lion King. Excellent show!

Day Three – Adios New Jersey, Hello Big Apple

Mike serves in a Spanish branch at church so we attended his branch meeting. Both Mike and Justin served missions in Spain so they could understand the meeting, but for me, not at all. It was interesting though.

After church Jen dropped us off at the train station to make our way into the city.

We visited the New York City Temple (the building was closed so we only got as far as the front door).

Then we walked through Central Park. Even in the winter it was beautiful. There was so much to see. Such a dramatic change from the city.

That evening we met my favorite roommate from BYU for dinner. We hadn’t seen each other since I came to NYC to visit her over five years ago. We had a great time catching up. Over the past 10+ years so much has changed, yet we are still so much the same too. I guess I didn’t expect that. It was a great visit… this woman is amazing (talented, beautiful, strong, classy….)

Day Two – Hershey, Pennsylvania

Saturday was our day to spend with the Gibbs family. In the morning Justin and Mike took the kids to George Washington’s headquarters while I slept in a tad and Jen did a little shopping. Justin enjoys historical sites, me – not so much.

By noon we were all on our way to Hershey, Pennsylvania. Once there we learned a little about how chocolate is made and took a very cheesy tour of the town. It involved a trolley full of tourists singing Christmas carols, a teenage boy speaking (and singing) in a fake Irish accent, and a visit from Santa Claus. The most disappointing however was the kazoos Santa passed out at the end of the tour (mine didn’t even work). Kazoos – at a chocolate factory – where is the logic in that? It thought it was cool to see the big Hershey kiss street lights along Hershey street, nice touch.

It was a fun day trip and we really enjoyed spending it with friends.

Day One - New York City

We had a great time in New York City. There is so much to do that even after spending 4-5 days there I still feel like I missed out on some things. We took a ton of pictures so be warned these will be long (and probably quite boring) posts, but I need to write about it while it’s still fresh otherwise I won’t remember what half our pictures were (I’m actually on the plane home as I type, can’t get much fresher than that.)

We spent the first few nights staying in New Jersey with our good friends Jen & Mike Gibbs. It worked our really well because Mike was in Seattle for business so he flew into New Jersey on the same flight as us. On Friday morning Mike needed to work in Manhattan so we bummed a ride into the city with him. This was our first day in the city. After a quick look at Time Square we jumped on the subway and headed downtown to the World Trade Center site. The area his actually under construction so there wasn’t much to see. We did see a memorial to the firefighters lost on 911 and a sculpture that survived the tragedy of that day.

We walked around Wall Street. Justin took some pictures of financial buildings and we found a street bearing our name (see Justin’s post below). There were a group of policeman on a corner and one was holding some serious artillery. I suggested that Justin take a picture of him from a distance (in a totally-play-it-cool way), instead Justin walked right up to him and took his time taking the picture. I tried to pretend I wasn’t with him… seriously, aren’t tourists crazy? Justin also took a picture of a parking garage. He thought it was pretty cool that in order to maximize space the cars are moved around on an elevator. Another of Justin’s pictures was of a torn up street. In a city this big there will always be plenty of construction going on.

We spent a little time at South Street Seaport (took a few quick photos of the Brooklyn Bridge (and Manhattan Bridge)).

Then it was time for lunch. So where does one eat in a city with a bazillion restaurants? I decided to try to find Penang, a Malaysian restaurant a college friend took me to when I visited NYC in 2003. My friend had ordered spicy mango chicken. It tasted great and the presentation was memorable. So we headed to SoHo and were disappointed to find that that location was closed. Justin and I ate at another Penang location on a different day. Presentation was still impressive, but the chicken didn’t measure up to my strict chicken standards.


Luckily, I had done my research and had read great reviews about Lombardi’s Pizza (the first pizza restaurant in NYC). We both thought it was excellent. After lunch we walked around Chinatown and ate a pastry in Little Italy.

Our next stop was probably Justin’s favorite of the whole trip… the Top of the Rock. The views were amazing (even on a cold, cloudy day). As Justin mentioned, my favorite is seeing Central Park. It’s incredible to see such a huge park surrounded by one of the largest cities in the world.

Justin was equally taken by the Empire State Building. He took SO many pictures (including several self-portraits). We went to the very top of the Rock – the only thing taller than us were the antennas.

(see Justin's post below -here- for our favorite pictures of the city from atop the Rockefeller Center)

We stayed long enough to see the views by daylight and after the sunset… definitely the best way to do it.

Back in Rockefeller Center the famous Christmas tree was lit (gorgeous… it made me rethink my previous preference for all white Christmas tree lights). We watched the ice-skaters and looked at the Saks windows before it was time to meet up with Mike and head back to New Jersey for the night.

Wow! And that was only Day One.

Snow Day

Today the kids and I are enjoying a snow day. Normally I would LOVE to have a day where the kids and I are stuck at home. However, after being out of town for a week I have a lot of running around I needed to get done today. Oh well. The kids got bundled up this morning and joined the neighborhood kids in the fresh snow. Even Jason got in on the action (he loved riding on the sled and running around with the big kids).

I’ve got lots of pictures to share in NYC so stay tuned. I typed most of it on the plane, but I need Justin to email me the file. He made the mistake of trying to go to work today. It took nearly 3 hours for him to get to the office only to find out nobody was there. For the past two hours he’s been trying to get home (he thinks he still has a least two more til he actually gets home.) Justin is NOT enjoying his snow day.

Betrayal

When Abigail was about Jason’s age I went to NYC to visit a college roommate. I was gone for five days. When Justin and Abigail picked me up from the airport five and a half years ago, she initially smiled at me, but then she gave me a look of betrayal. Like she sudden realized I had left her for so long. I remember it took several days for her to forgive me.

Justin and I arrived home late last night. I checked on the girls before I went to bed and gave them a kiss. I was looking forward to seeing Jason’s reaction this morning. When he woke up Abigail and I went into his room together. He smiled at me, but immediately held out his hands to Abigail. I’ve tried to give him hugs, but he won’t have it. I’ve offered to pick him up, but he wants his sisters. He’s been betrayed.

NYC

Abigail, Carly, and Jason

We are having a great time in NYC and with the Gibbs but we sure miss you guys. We are glad that Grandma is taking good care of you. We wanted you to be able to see a few pictures of our adventure to NYC. There are so many people and lots of sights to see...

Times Square

Fletcher Street


NYSE building decorated with the American Flag




View of Central Park (Mom's favorite)




Rockefeller Center
You can see the huge Christmas tree and the skating rink below.



NYC at night from Top of the Rock
(awfully windy and cold but incredible views)


Chocolate World in Hershey, PA

My COOL Brother

In preparation for our trip to NYC I realized I needed a winter coat. Seattle typically doesn’t get very cold so I usually get by with wearing my leather jacket. If I need a little added warmth I have a large black wool coat I wear. It’s hugeungous. So big in fact that I can wear it while pregnant AND still button it up. I looked way back in the coat closet and found a few other coats from long ago and they were equally TOO big. In high school I guess everything I wore was way over-sized. In fact this is the shirt I wore to work at McDonalds (it’s a XXXXL). Mind you I was thinner back then as well.

Anyhow, I pulled out a particular jacket I acquired 20 years ago. I was twelve years old when my oldest brother went on a two-year church mission to Norway. He was the COOLEST brother. He took me for rides in his Mustang, and even in the winter he’d take the T-tops off. His stereo system could seriously be heard from five miles away. I’m pretty sure our house shook when he pulled into our driveway. I felt COOL just being with him. He listened to the COOLEST music and had tons of CD's. He stood up for me when I had arguments with my friends. (He also tortured me to tears on a regular basis, but that’s for an entirely different post). I wrote him often and even though he was 20 years old, he wrote his youngest sister back. When he left I slept with his huge stuffed dog (a Christmas gift from his high school girlfriend). I kept that dog up until last year – with three kids I just simply didn’t have the space for it anymore. While he taught the people in Norway the gospel, I was given the charge to take care of his massive CD collection… so COOL! I wore an old coat of his everyday. Remember I’m pre-puberty, 12 years old, scrawny – he was eight years older. It didn’t matter that it didn’t fit, it reminded me of him.

I found my brother’s coat in the back of the closet this week and tried it on… it’s still too big. I went to Burlington Coat Factory on Monday night and bought a coat that reminds me of my COOL brother. It’s a tad more feminine and slightly more modern. I tried to convince Justin that he could wear my brother’s coat and we could be twinners.

( My brother was COOL. Not tall.)

If someone out there talks to my COOL brother, tell him I have his jacket. I’ll send it to him if he wants it back. If not I think I’ll hang onto it.

It’s here!

I picked up Justin’s ginormous TV yesterday. We won’t have time to set it up before we head to the Big Apple, but when we get back we’ll be able to watch life-size videos of Jason.

Our Weekend

Holiday Festivities

I recently wrote about our serious lack of holiday traditions and festivities (see here). I’m pleased to report we are improving.

Friday night we picked up Justin from work and walked around the lights at the botanical gardens. It was unique in that the lights were created into flowers, plants, and butterflies.

Saturday morning was our church Christmas breakfast and our first opportunity to sit on Santa’s lap. Abigail went first and immediately recognized Santa as a member of the congregation so that ruined it for Carly as well. It didn’t stop Abigail from asking Santa for a Nintendo DS for Christmas. Last year her simple request was for $1.50 icebreakers… how did we jump up so much in just one year? Thankfully, Carly saved Santa some cash and asked for the $1.50 icebreakers.

On the way home Justin took the kids to see the real Santa at our neighborhood community center. I told him to take a picture of all three kids, even if Jason freaked out. He did.

Saturday night we put together our first ever gingerbread house (Justin received a kit for his birthday from work.)

A few Sundays ago Justin started what he then referred to as a “tradition” of having hot cocoa on Sunday evenings. I think this is our third week. The girls love it, but we’ve decided we may need to cut back on the cocoa.

Our Family Pianist

Justin’s Mom recently let us borrow her keyboard. Abigail desperately wanted to learn to play something so I figured out the keys to “I am a Child of God.” Within a half hour she had it memorized. She’s been asking me to record her playing for my Mom to watch on the blog. So here’s Abigail’s piano debut:

Just some pictures of J

The closer this trip gets the more I already miss him. Not that I won’t miss the girls, but it’s different… he’s my baby. If I could pack him in my suitcase and just take him out for snuggles and kisses every so often I would.

Playing peek-a-boo

TOO BIG!!! right?

Okay, so last week was Justin’s birthday. We got a babysitter and decided to go to Olive Garden for dinner for their advertised all-you-can-eat soup and salad for $6. On our way there Justin went on and on about how great it sounded. After our waitress brings us our water, Justin asks if the all-you-can-eat soup and salad is still $6. She told us they are still offering that special, but that it is $10 for dinner. Justin was seriously upset and insisted we go someplace else. I attempted to talk him out of leaving - “it’s your birthday, it’s okay if it cost a little more”, “you said it sounded REALLY good”, etc… He agreed to stay, but made comments throughout the meal that it would have been so much better if it was $4 less.

Anyhow, after dinner we decided to look at TV’s. We’ve talked about getting a new TV for years. We are among the few who still watch TV on a big black box. Our disagreement was what size would be best. I was convinced that a 40” would be more than sufficient for our tiny family room. Justin on the other hand wanted as big as would fit in our nook. I did my research beforehand, checked consumer reports and compared prices from several different stores. After spending a few minutes in the store, to my surprise Justin was ready to commit. He completely freaked about the $4 at Olive Garden, but dropping big bucks at the TV store was okay??? By the end of the evening we purchased a 46” TV. It wasn’t in stock so they even marked it down an additional $50 (I guess that makes up for dinner.)

Well, we got a phone call yesterday that our TV is ready to be picked up and I’m sick about it. I think it’s too big. There is only three inches on each side of the TV. What has me most concerned it that depending on where you sit on the couch, our mantel may block the TV screen. Wouldn’t that be annoying? I made a mock TV so we could accurately visualize our TV watching experience. What do you think?

The store we purchased it from has a strict return policy. Once it’s opened you can’t get a full refund, only exchanges are accepted.

So, what do we do???

Excitement

Tuesday I’m getting my first ever massage. I have no doubt I will LOVE it. In fact I’m shocked it’s taken over 30 years to get a massage. I swear I’ve asked for one every Christmas and birthday for years. My MIL (that’s mother-in-law) heard my request and gave me one for Christmas last year. I told myself I’d enjoy the indulgence when I got within 5-10 pounds of my pre-baby weight. I would have never guessed it would take nearly 18 months post-baby to actually get there. Especially with exercise (which I loathe with every fiber of my being).

This time next week I will be in New York City - with my husband, without my kids (not even one)

We will visit with close friends
See the Radio City Christmas Spectacular
Wicked on Broadway
While Justin spends two days in conferences I will
Wake up when I WANT
Go wherever I WANT
Shop as long as I WANT
Eat wherever I WANT

Doesn’t it sound splendid? I’m even looking forward to the six hour flight (no massive diaper bag, car seats to lug around, I can even watch a movie with earphones… I could even bring a book!)

As I was smooching on Jason today I’ll admit I was a little sad. I’m going to REALLY miss these kids. Jason hasn’t spent a night away from both of us EVER. Will he miss us too? Will it take him long to forgive me when I come home?

When we come home from our week-long trip we will get to enjoy Christmas.

Side Note: While defending her choice of decorating her Christmas tree with purple ornaments, my sister implied that her husband’s desire for red ornaments is boring. I’m quite certain she would place my white ornaments below the boring description. Oh, and let’s not forget that the entire bottom half of the tree is ornament-free… one of the joys of life with a toddler.

In two weeks I will get to spend two weeks with my kids (Justin even has a few days off too). We will enjoy lazy mornings and schedule-free days. I’m so excited. We’ll even tackle a few projects. Like maybe we’ll be able to open this cupboard without unleashing the tsunami that is craft central.

(While we're at it maybe we should clean the baseboards)

So much to look forward to… if only I could ignore that gargantuous to-do list that MUST get done before we leave.

Would you like some waffle with your butter?

Mmmm, doesn’t Carly’s breakfast look delicious?

Too bad it’s not even real butter – or real waffles.