Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays and we were so lucky to have Grandpa and Grandma Smith with us.  We had nice dinner at home.  Pretty much your basic menu, but it was delicious.  We had:

brined and roasted turkey

mashed potatoes and gravy

asparagus

Lion House rolls

red cranberry jello

sausage/cornbread dressing

corn

cranberry sauce

cheesecake

berry pie

love this picture!

The food was great and it was so nice to have some extra helping hands in the kitchen.  Grandma made the dressing and the gravy and Grandpa carved the turkey.  These guys have got skills. 

Grandpa also bought us some fresh flowers for our holiday table, but I can't seem to find the picture I took!

It was very, very cold, so we didn't do any outdoor activities, but we did watch Superman on DVD, then Grandma and I did go out to do some Black Friday shopping.  It was a great day and was extra special because we were able to spend it with family!

Fun Times and Belated Birthday

The day after we got home, we belatedly celebrated Dave's birthday with the girls and his parents.  Everyone had the day off so we packed in the fun.  We went bowling.  Ashley was excited to show off her new skills.  Grandpa was the only person that could hang with Ashley.  Overall, I think it was fun although both the girls get so frustrated if they aren't bowling perfectly that we had to get after them a few times.  Besides learning to be a skilled bowler,  I can definitely foresee that some lessons in keeping your cool, sportsmanship, and managing expectations and frustrations will also need to be learned.  Geez!

In addition to bowling, we also went to see the movie, "Catching Fire."  Awesome!  Loved it.

After the movie, Dave chose Katy's Dumpling House for his birthday dinner.  We love the handmade noodles they have there.

We ended the day with birthday cake!  Grandpa and Grandma bought Dave a delicious coconut cream cake.  It was perfect for him and huge!

More NYC

The next day, we scheduled a late evening flight home so that we could spend the whole day sightseeing.  Our first destination was Central Park.  Of course, it wasn't the most beautiful time of the year to visit the park but it was still pretty cool to be there for the first time.  It really is a treasure in the city.  It's vast and of course we just walked a small portion of it, but we loved it.  I really don't know how to describe it in words, but it is definitely a place I want to visit again.

  Here we are in Strawberry Fields and the "Imagine" tribute to John Lennon.

This is the big fountain that it's in all the movies
 (think dancing scene in Enchanted.)

As we were walking we came up on this lady who was feeding peanuts to the birds and squirrels.  This was a huge treat for us because she had attracted at least 8 or 9 Blue Jays.  We just sat on a bench to watch them.  We had never seen so many at once and so close.  It was pretty cool.  Next time, we definitely want to come during the spring to do some birding.

After a few hours in the park, we were ready to eat and to make our way downtown to the 9/11 Memorial and the Statue of Liberty.  We decided to try and take the subway versus pay a fortune to sit in a cab stuck in traffic.  Fortunately, there happened to be a little place called the "Shake Shack" near the subway station.  This is a place that people line up to eat at, fortunately, our timing was perfect and we didn't have to wait.  The Shake Shack is a burger place along the lines of Five Guys and In 'n Out.  We have now eaten at all three and hands down Shake Shack is the best.  Seriously, it is so good!  I can't wait until one comes to Chicago.  The burgers come on a potato bun which is delish but the best thing is their special sauce.  I don't even like "sauce" on my burgers but this stuff is divine.  Yum, yum, I'm drooling just thinking about.  I was so rapt with my food, I didn't even get a picture.

After lunch, we hopped on the subway for a ride downtown.  Yep, we figured out the NYC subway and rode from Uptown all the way to Downtown and the Financial District.  Our original plan was to go to the 9/11 Memorial.  The tickets for the Memorial are supposed to be purchased in advance, but since this was a last minute trip we had to take our chances walking up and waiting in line.  We started off in what we were told was a 45 minute line, but honestly after 20 minutes we had hardly moved and realized that the wait was going to be really long, so we decided to try for the Statue of Liberty instead. One thing I will say about the 9/11 Memorial is that it is still under construction so there is a lot of rebuilding going on down there still.  It's moving and pretty eye-opening to actually be there and see the destruction and also the regrowth.  It's a solemn place in the midst of a densely packed place of people and buildings.  

The ferry to the Statue of Liberty is not far from the Memorial so we decided to walk.  As were were walking we ended up deciding to buy tickets for a private boat tour rather than go to the actual statue itself.  It was cold and rainy and the only tickets available would just ferry us to the Statue of Liberty but we couldn't go up or do anything like that.  The boat tickets would take us to the Statue and also give us a tour, so we could learn about and get great views of the Brooklyn Bridge, Ellis Island and everything else along the Hudson River.

The only bad part about this was that our ticket operator told us that our boat was just "a few steps away, near the Stanton Ferry."  Let's just say as we started our walk, that kept going and going, we learned that it was quite a distance to our designated pier, which wasn't too fun.  Had we known how far it was, we would have just taken a cab, but oh well, we survived and walked at least 5 miles each way in the rain and cold.  Thank goodness we were happy with our tour!

New World Trade Center Tower

The Brooklyn Bridge

View of World Trade Center sight

Ellis Island

Statue of Liberty (it was a gloomy, rainy day, so the lighting is not ideal.)

After our tour, we hopped back on the subway and went to Times Square, where we picked up a whole cheesecake from Junior's to take home and get our suitcases.  We decided to go a little earlier to the airport because the weather report for that evening was looking a little ominous and we didn't want to get stuck in NYC for Thanksgiving.

This day was also Dave's Birthday!  I would have liked to take him for a nicer birthday dinner but instead we had cheesecake and New York style pizza in the airport.  He is such a good sport!  Love that guy!

Our flight was the last one of the day out of New York.  We definitely had to be on that flight, because the weather report indicated high wind and fierce rain coming in at 2 am which would result in cancelled flights for the next day, which could mean not getting home for Thanksgiving.  We had a big scare when our plane had "an unspecified mechanical problem" and would be delayed "until further notice."  Then they offered to rebook people on flights the following day.  Uh, oh.  It wasn't too encouraging to see mechanics swarming around one of the engines with flashlights but after an hour or two they all of a sudden started boarding us.  I think we were so happy to get out that we didn't give much thought to safety!  

So we were a little later than expected but we did make it home and to find everyone happy and healthy.  We couldn't have left our girls in better hands.  Grandpa and Grandma were awesome and we are so grateful to them for taking care of the girls.

New York, New York!

I had never been to New York, but it was on my list.  Well, the stars aligned and Dave and I were able to take a quick trip a couple of days before Thanksgiving.

2 things made it possible:

1)Dave had a one day meeting in New York City for work, which equaled a flight, hotel room, and ground transportation at no expense to us.

2)Dave's parents were visiting us in Chicago and SO kindly agreed to watch the kids for us for two days while we were gone.  How often do we have babysitters available for us to take a trip?!

It was a super quick trip, just two days, but I really wanted to go to NYC and this was a perfect way to wet my whistle.  I've already got ideas about what I want to do the next time I go and what we should do when we have the girls with us.

So about the trip:

Dave and I took a 6am a flight and got to NY in the morning.  Dave had to go directly to a meeting and would be doing work stuff until 8pm that night.  This left me a whole day to myself.  So I started out on 5th Avenue, stopped by Bryant Park and then over to the Rockefeller Center, where they film the Today Show.  There is also a huge mall there, so I shopped around for a while, walked into a the filming of a tv show on the street, and ate a delicious tri-tip steak sandwich.

skating rink on the plaza at Rockefeller Center

Look who I met in NYC!

I might mention that it was FREEZING COLD, so I tried to spend time indoors as wells as out.  After lunch, I headed over to Radio City Music Hall to watch the Rockette's Christmas Spectacular.  I had originally hoped to see a Broadway Show but it was a Monday, which is a blackout night for most shows.  Fortunately, Dave mentioned that I should check into seeing the Rockettes and viola, tickets were not only available but on sale for 50% off!

AND...I was not disappointed.  The Rockette's are awesome and their Christmas show is definitely spectacular!  I can't tell you how much I loved it.  It is such a visually stunning show.  The hall itself is gorgeous, the costumes are beautiful, the dancing, music, lights, and 3-D effects are fabulous.  I would definitely see it again and I for sure want to take my girls.  It is such a family friendly event, it would be a perfect holiday tradition.  The show ended by snowing on the audience, it was so fun to just be covered in confetti.

Crystal Chandelier in foyer of Radio City Music Hall

Nativity scene from the show

Rockette's Christmas Spectacular

Confetti selfie

After the show, it was starting to get dark and colder, so I took a cab to Times Square and checked into our hotel.  It was nice to put my feet up for a while and warm up my chilled bones.  After a short rest, I decided to walk around Times Square and find a place to eat.  Dave came back to the hotel too and then had to go out again for a business dinner.  He walked out with me and then we went our separate ways.  I made two food stops.  The first was to a hole in the wall pizza joint on Broadway for some authentic NYC pizza.  The second stop was at Junior's for New York City's "most fabulous cheesecake".  A friend recommended it and bless her for doing it.  Seriously, this cheesecake is heavenly, it's soooo good.

Times Square

After taking in Times Square, I returned to the hotel.  When Dave got back later that night, we decided to go to the Empire State Building.  It's open until 2am and we figured that we might as well try to do the most we could.  We decided to walk over it was only 10 blocks and we got to see more of the city.

5th Avenue, window shopping

I loved the Empire State Building, the art-deco style was so beautiful.  It just felt, city-glamorous to me. The design and architecture awed me.  Honestly, my favorite part was probably the lobby and the stunning mural.  Although, the views of the city from the top of the building at night were pretty cool too.  Plus its just fun to be up there and recall all the times you have seen this place in the movies.

This is so gorgeous

Notre Dame Football Freeze

So another reason Grandpa and Grandma came to see us was so that they could go to the Notre Dame/BYU football game.  Only problem, the game was on November 23rd and we knew it would be cold.  Little did we know how cold.  In fact, it wasn't cold it was bitter, frostbite, I can't feel my extremities cold.  The windchill factor had us at 9 degrees at the start of the game and it only colder from there.  We prepared the best we could, multiple layers, hand and feet warmers, gloves, hats, blankets, and boots (for some of us), but honestly it still wasn't enough.

After a long drive, made worse by a traffic jam and a 10 year old girl who was a complaining nightmare, we got to campus early which is always fun on game day.  Unfortunately, it was so cold no one really wanted to stand outside so we didn't even watch the team procession or listen to the band play.  We did eat a brat and then headed straight for the bookstore.  It was good to get out of the cold in the bookstore, but it was, as is always the case, packed.  Seriously, wall-to-wall bodies packed.  And honestly, the warm only felt good for about 5 minutes before you started to sweat.  I had to peel my coat, hat gloves, etc. off because I was starting to cook.  The good side, is that it is always fun to browse and shop in the bookstore so its worth the inconvenience of the crowds and having to undress and re-dress yourself!

After the bookstore, we headed to the stadium for the game.  It started out great, we got wrapped up in our blankets and watched ND score a touchdown, but then we started feeling pretty cold.  We braved it through the first half but decided to leave after the half-time show.  Grandma and Ashley couldn't feel their feet anymore.

Grandma (almost completely covered), Jenny and Paige

All smiles at the start of the game, the cold hadn't set in yet!
(Paige, Dave, Ashley, Sydney and Austin (friends from church))

Before leaving South Bend, we had one more thing to do.  GET SOME CHOCOLATE CHARLEY!  Every year, Kelley asks if we can get it in Chicago and the answer is no.  It's made by a South Bend company and they only ship by the case.  I'm pretty happy that we remembered to buy some while we were there!  At least one thing turned out good.  

Visitors!

Hurray, we have visitors!  Grandpa and Grandma Smith, no less!  We have been eagerly awaiting their arrival.  They came to stay for over week and spend Thanksgiving with us.  As always we had a lot of fun with them.  For the first few days they were with us, they got to follow our family routine.  The girls were in school and Dave was working, so I got Grandpa and Grandma all to myself, which may or may not have included some shopping.

On the Friday after they arrived, I took them to downtown Chicago to meet Dave for lunch.  We took the train into the city and were pleasantly surprised to find a cute Christmas bazaar in the main hall of the station.  We then hopped in a cab and went over to Macy's.  We took a quick look at the Christmas windows, because it was pretty cold outside.  I have to say, I'm not loving the look of the windows this year, they went with a "toy, play, puppet" kind of theme and it just seemed okay.

The main reason we went to Macy's was to have a Christmas lunch in the Walnut Room under the big tree.  This is a famous Chicago tradition, and now Jim and Carolyn can check it off their list.  Dave came over from his office to meet us and we were seated right away.  Lunch was good, although the pictures we took weren't too hot, as you will soon see.  Surprisingly, Grandma ordered a hamburger and said it was one of the best she ever had.  Now, I have to go back to try it.  It was a bacon cheeseburger with tomato jam served on a pretzel bun.  It does sound pretty good!

The Big Tree

Too blurry

Definitely need to rethink our positions in this photo...my head looks freakishly
tiny or maybe someone's head looks freakishly big!

After lunch, Dave drove us all home, where we hung out with girls and Grandpa and Grandma played cards with them.  Later that evening we went to Oberweis for some ice cream and even bought some quarts to bring home for later!!

Young Women In Excellence - Superheroes

Every November, we have an a recognition night for the Young Women at church.  It's called Young Women in Excellence and we as leaders try to make it a fun and special evening for the girls.  This year we had a "superhero" theme.

Fortunately, I work with a great bunch of talented and creative ladies who are also Young Women leaders.  Thanks to a team effort, we had a great evening and recognized the amazing girls in our ward.

Here are some details of our program that evening.  First up here are the decorations:

Each Young Woman and her parents received this invitation - a sucker dressed-up like a superhero with cape and mask.

We carried this look onto the table decorations, etc.:

At the beginning of the program, we had each of the girls come up and we introduced them and described their "super powers" or what makes them "super."  We asked the parents in advance to describe what's super about their daughters and this is what we used to introduce them.  At this point, each YW was given a personalized cape to wear.  One of my counselors made/sewed a cape for every one of the YW.  They were so awesome, she knocked it out of the park!

After this, we had a "souper" dinner

Following dinner, we watched a slideshow that talked about what defines a hero and how Young Women can be superheroes too.  It also included all the adult leaders dressed up as superheroes representing the YW values.  This was my part of the program.  It was definitely a project, but I was happy with how it turned out.  Here are some silly pictures I had the girls and leaders pose for:

We ended with talks by some Young Women and our Bishop.  It was a fun and light-hearted evening, I hope our girls had fun!

Ashley, posing by her Personal Progress display