The first part of this post will be a selfish one... I tend to keep the blog focused on the kids, but part of this will be focused on a trip Jess and I took in December. Many of you know that I have the opportunity to travel every once in a while with Edward Jones. This gives me the opportunity to both further my knowledge of investments and opportunities available for clients, but also see the country. Our most recent trip took us to NYC in early December. Jess and I were so excited because this is a place that neither of us have ever visited. We did many touristy things, but also got off the beaten path a bit.
First of all.... we loved the food. The whole trip seemed to be centered around our next meal! I'm glad Jess and I share this passion. We received helpful hints from friends and family who had been to The City before and we were fortunate to have one of Jess's highschool friends along - he is also an EJ financial advisor.
Here are some pictures and captions from our trip....
The famous Carnegie Deli... fabulous Corned Beef sandwiches enough to feed 4 people!
Love Bouchon Bakery right outside the Today Show Plaza. A few people mentioned they saw us in the background of the show that day, hope we weren't stuffing our faces!
Radio City Music Hall. We attended the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular. Let me say, December was a fabulous time to visit NYC - all the lights, music, sounds.... it was fabulous.... couldn't live there... but fabulous!
Of course we headed to the financial district one day for a picture with the Bull and the NYSE.
This was the most emotional part of our trip.... the site of the World Trade Center memorial and soon to be the Freedom Towers. What a moving experience at sunset. We were both reflecting on where we were that day, September 11, 2001 and how that has affected our county and our lives since then.
Rockefeller Center one morning, ice skating. Jess lasted about 5 minutes but it was totally worth the experience!
Central Park. We visited Strawberry Fields and many other memorable sites.
All in all, it was a fabulous trip, beautiful weather, wonderful company and such a neat place and time or year to visit. We would definitely go back again.... but 4 days was enough. NYC wore this girl out! Everything ached by the last day. We estimated that we walked 5-6 miles per day. We left the children at home since this wasn't an ideal vacation for a 4 & 1 yr old. Thanks to both grandparents for loving on our kids while we were away. It's so nice to have that opportunity.
The rest of December flew by.... plenty of baking (as pictured below). Both kids love to "help"! Jack shows a real interest; Nolan just wants to make a mess!
Plenty of Grandma time.
This is their favorite spot to eat their baked goods/breakfast, etc. Pull up a chair to the coffee table and watch their favorite shows.
The 2nd annual "Totally Unrehearsed Live Nativity" at Christ United Methodist Church. Jack was a shephard and Nolan was the angel that he is!
We went to Monie and David's before Christmas to celebrate with them. We are thankful for our kids grandparents but also their adoptive grandparents. Monie and David spoil the boys with their time and gifts!
Lots of play time with cousins and each other.
Christmas with our extended families. Here is a picture of Grandma Debbie with her sisters and mother.
Jack with his cousins, the Singleton's and Wagaman's!
Nolan and Great Papaw Williams.
Aunt Teresa and Nolan.
Or better yet, why wait on the weather, let's just ride them inside!
Nolan loving in his oversized dog at Grandma Susie and Grandpa Joe's Christmas Eve.
And sweeping with his new broom.
Papaw Joe showing them their new barn he made them for their new..............
Combine!... and other farming toys.....
Christmas morning at our house. First up, stockings!
Second, the big mysterious sheet in the corner of the basement.... their curiosity was hilarious! Here's the play by play.
To this day, the Gator is still in the basement and they ride it all the time. Nolan is loving that he has a place to sit next to his big brother. We are anxious to get this out and up in the garage!
That was the big gift for the boys. They did receive some smaller gifts from us, mostly centered around farming, trucking, and logging. What boys we have!
We did find some time to enjoy the snow.... and what crazy snow we had. Over 12 inches and some spots as deep as 3 feet with wind drifts. Since we didn't have much last year, Jack was loving it. Nolan was not. That's probably my fault... it was his first time wearing actual shoes. To date, we have just worn moccasin type shoes. Plus it took us around 30 minutes to get all our gear on. I decided to stay home from work on this day to spend some time with the kids and I'm glad I did. These are memories that are precious. Does Nolan not remind you of the boy in Christmas Story in the below picture!
Jack had fun hitting mommy with snow balls. This was perfect snow for that!
Having fun while Daddy shovels snow and they try to help! They fight over their kids' sized shovel!
But it's also nice to come in and warm up with some good ole wrestling.
This picture shows how we ended the year.... with red cheeks, fever, vomiting, diarrhea, and more. Both kids were sick, but especially Nolan. We ended up at the Pediatrician after 4 days and we found... the flu, 2 ear infections in one child, 1 ear infection in the other and both with bad sore throats. It was a rotten 6 days with antibiotics and a child (Jack) who doesn't take medicine well, but we kept saying "the New Year can only get better from here"! On a plus, I found that flavored medicine hides well in Jello. I used some experience from my days in college to figure that one out! :)
As we close out the year. I reflect on the fabulous year we had.... Jess and I celebrating 6 years of marriage, Nolan turning 1, Jack turning 4, first year or organized sports, another successful year of business for Jess and I and much more. We have been blessed with health, happiness and most of all 2 children that light up our lives. Who knows what 2013 will hold for us!?
.JPG)
