The Big Apple

My last day in New Jersey (or what was suppose to be my last) was spent trying to see as much as New York as possible.  We started early and packed in the day.  We first went to the memorial at ground zero.  This was really neat.  The waterfalls and reflecting pools where the towers once stood was such a peaceful setting.

Surrounding the outer perimeter of the pools are all the names of the 9-11 victims.

I hadn't really heard of the survivor tree until I saw where it stood adjacent to the two falls.  This tree survived the rubble at ground zero and is now being nursed back to health.

A view from the memorial looking up at the new freedom tower.  I cannot imagine what it looked like with 2 towers standing that tall from this point.

We visited the fire station across the street and dropped off some SB swag to the firefighters.  They were running drills so were unable to come out.

 I loved the murals that depicted that day and some of those lost on the exterior of the fire station.

From there we ran across town and caught the ferry going to Liberty Island and Ellis Island.  Looking back at Manhattan....

I'm not going to lie, Lady Liberty is massive, however I kept thinking it didn't seem that big.  I really thought it would be bigger.  In fact when we were looking out from the empire state building I could not see it.  We got off the ferry just long enough to snap some pictures and get back on...although we missed the first ferry and so decided to grab a quick bite to eat on the island....worst burger ever.  I think it came out of the Hudson!

We opted not to get off at Ellis Island just because of time.  It was bitterly cold on the water and we were ready to get back to land.

While rushing through the streets (pretty sure we were lost) we stumbled across Wall street and the New York Stock Exchange.

We also happened upon Trinity church in lower Manhattan. We popped in to take a quick snapshot and get warm.  A beautiful church.

Our last stop was the Museum of Natural History.  We made it just a few hours before they closed and so we had to prioritize what to see.  I have no doubt you could spend a few days in this 4 story museum.

I was mostly interested in seeing the exhibits used in the filming of Night at the Museum which we were told was not actually filmed there but they did have a few exhibits from the movie.  You may recognize Rex, who might I add is not at the entrance and although massive kind of hard to find.

 This guy...."Dum Dum".

And I was looking for the Teddy Roosevelt head (from the movie)to send to Chase since he is doing his President report on him when we ran into the life size replica.

It was an exhausting fun day in the big apple!  I was ready to go home.

NYC at Night

Although days in New Jersey were long hours we all know that you have to make time to see the city.  In this case we decided our first week there before things got crazy busy we would venture into NYC...at night.  We took a train (well a few) and luckily made it safely into NYC.

Time square is like a whole different world.  There is so much to see but one thing I learned very early is there is 2 paces in New York....move fast or get out of the way.  I was surprised how accurate movies have depicted the city streets, people move at an alarming pace and I mean a lot of people!

Because it was late and we had to catch our train back we really just took in the city by foot and decided to fork over the ridiculously priced ticket to get a view from the top of the empire state building.  Totally worth it!  I would highly recommend doing this at night.  The views (although freezing up there with the whipping wind) were amazing!

I realized after I got home the only picture I took of the empire state building was from the 86th floor.  I promise you it is massive.

Looking out on the city was really surreal.  If you look just adjacent to the H&M building (down to the left) you can see the ball that's dropped on New Years in time square.

 I suggest if you go to New York you experience the nights there...and maybe go in the summer :)

SB XLVIII

After being gone for 27 days working in New Jersey, I am finally home!  My time this year working Superbowl was again a great experience and it was nice to see another city.  The view from my office this year changed drastically every day it seemed.  This is the view from the office day 1.....

One of my favorite views was of the sunrise and sunsets there.  This picture does not do it justice, it was so orange/pink it took your breath away.  Some thought this was an omen the Broncos would win.

Then, we experienced fog (mind you this is the same shot of the stadium from the same vantage point).  The fog was so thick there we had to use our GPS to find the office.

Then came the snow....oh the snow, snow, snow, snow!!  I thought when I saw the weather there I was prepared...I was not!  I cannot even describe the humid cold.  You could not be outside for more than a few minutes before every inch of your body literally hurt.

I took this picture for Matt as we were commuting home after they decided to shut down operations for the day.  The traffic was as thick as the snow.  Matt's reply was it was 58 degrees back home and he was outside reading a book.

After the snow was the lingering bitter cold as they shoveled snow and began the stadium transformation.  Although I did get a brief look inside the stadium the field was always covered making this the first year I haven't actually got to see the field.

There were a couple of days they practiced for game day with the choppers flying over, and over, and over.  Not sure if they showed much of this on Sunday, but it was pretty cool.

This is about all I saw of the game on Sunday as I stepped outside to get some pictures of the fireworks.  It was spectacular!!

I'm not sure why anyone would ever pay that much money to sit in an open stadium to watch a game in freezing NJ but the up side was I got to hear all of the halftime show.  Although it was a great experience, I am really looking forward to SB next year in sunny Arizona!

New Year 2014

HAPPY NEW YEAR!



CHRISTMAS

Merry Christmas!...heard at 5 a.m.  Chase had asked me the night before what time he could get up, I said (without thinking) "oh not before 5".  I don't know for how long he was standing over me but at exactly 5 a.m. he was wishing me Merry Christmas.  We got everyone else up, and got ready to see if Santa came.  Lined up ready to run down the hall.....

Santa had indeed stopped by our house, and brought everything they had asked for.  Kelsey got some new clothes, a very nice toiletry bag, makeup, lotions and shower gel, new ear buds, makeup accessories,  scarfs, a new movie, Starbucks and quite a few "green" bucks in her stocking.  From Mom and Dad were new clothes, Nicholas Sparks new book, and a new blanket I made her. 

Chase was ecstatic to get a Nintendo DS, DS games, and the rest of the Diary of a wimpy books he doesn't have.  From Mom and Dad was a blanket, book, and new clothes.

 He was pretty much content to sit on the other side of his game player all day.

Sadi was in monster heaven.  She had asked for 6 Monster high dolls specifically and Santa had left her 10!

Besides her monsters she got a Monster High movie, her 3 chocolate bars she asked for, and new hat and gloves (monster high of course).  From Mom and Dad was a new blanket, new Junie B. Jones books, and new clothes.

Santa even left a great big gift for Broozer.  He must have been a good dog.

We received some really special gifts from the kids.  They had made ornaments in school and Sadi had made us a new calender that was really a surprise.  Helping out so much in school I usually see some of what they are making for the parents, but I didn't have any idea about this calender project they had been making.  Each month has a different art project and they wrote in all the days, and months themselves. 

We spent the day playing, eating, and visiting.  Matt's parents brought his Grandma down for the day, and Kyle also made it out for part of the day. 

We had a big Christmas dinner and then everyone wanted pictures of this and that, him and her, the generations, the girls, the guys, etc. 

Some may think this picture didn't turn out, but this is a true Christmas picture to me:  Someone jumps out of the picture, someone is blurry, someone can't be seen all the way, someone is seeing if they are taller than their mother (no you are not), someone is staring so hard in one direction they looked possessed, someone is missing, and someone is making a dorky face.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Christmas Eve

This year we had Matt's parents and his brother visiting for the week of Christmas.  It changed up a bit of what we usually do for Christmas Eve but we did try to keep with most of our traditions.  It was hard to pull the kids away from all the electronics, but I at least got one helper to bake cookies for Santa (I may or may not have used Chocolate to bribe her).

We had lots of delicious food and then it got pretty loud in here!  It was time to cheat  play games.

The first year I moved out here I started a tradition that has really been the one tradition that I look forward to every year.  Each member of the family has to come up with a short Christmas related game for everyone to play.  I don't know how I missed getting pictures of some of them(guess I got caught up in the fun).  This particular game was called Christmas in 10....

You had to sit back to back and one person had to tell you what to draw using only shapes/lines in 10 clues and then you had to guess what the picture was when you were done.  We got some really great drawings, and some that were pretty funny.

Kelsey's game was called Do you want to build a snowman.  Using a dice taking turns you had to try to be the first to build your snowman.

Chase decided on a game he did as a presentation with his class called Face the star (played like face the cookie).  Pretty funny facial shots you get when you are playing this one.  Grandpa was determined to win this one.

I didn't get any pictures of Sadi's game.  She read us a story about Hanukkah, which she learned about in school and was really excited about, then we played dreidel and even got a piece of gelt(chocolate coin).  It was definitely nontraditional but fun.  The kids and David made up a cute little play they preformed for us complete with props and costumes they made themselves.  Can you guess what character Sadi played?  I particularly loved the red paper glued to her nose.

As always this jolly man stopped in for a surprise visit.  He even brought a few surprises. 

Sadi thought she knew this Santa but was really very hesitant and not quite 100 percent sure she wanted to sit on his lap.

Kelsey still sat on Santa's lap even though his bag was empty...or so he said.  Way down at the bottom he dug out a nice little gift card for her.

 

Time was passing quickly and as it was getting later it was time to prepare for THE big guys arrival.  We tracked his progress on Norad, selected the best cookies to leave him, and got the stockings ready to be filled.

 Sadi and Chase sprinkled their magic reindeer food out back for Santa's helpers.

Santa had written a special letter saying before they went to bed that he would lift our elves magic for just a few minutes so we could give them a hug and say our goodbyes.  He promised that if they were good they would be able to return next year.  Although they are a bit naughty, these little guys have really been a big part of our family for the past month. 

FINALLY it was time to get everyone nestled in their beds...easier said than done.