Sunday, December 28, 2008
Snow day -- Friday Dec 18
We woke up on Friday just like any other morning. Got up, made lunches, ate breakfast, checked my email, and headed out to walk the kids to the bus. It was a regular day, with nothing too out of the ordinary. The bus seemed late though. And after waiting for 10 minutes or so, our neighbor popped her head out the front door and yelled -- "There's no school today - it is a SNOW DAY!" Are you kidding? Doesn't there have to be snow to have a snow day? I walked straight home and took this picture -- as you can all clearly see -- NO SNOW. I called my mother-in-law who was on her way to school where she is a teacher. In Utah they had gotten 12 inches the day before and were currently getting about 6 more and they still had school!
However here is a picture of our house taken at 12:30. As you can see the snow did in fact arrive. We got 9 inches on Friday and then another 9 on Sunday!
The neighborhood kids all got together to play in it around 2.
However here is a picture of our house taken at 12:30. As you can see the snow did in fact arrive. We got 9 inches on Friday and then another 9 on Sunday!
The neighborhood kids all got together to play in it around 2.
The second big adventure with Melissa
After recovering on Friday from our big city adventure on Thursday, we all (Trent, too!) headed back for more fun in the city on Saturday! This time is was blue skies (thankfully) but the high was only 25. IT WAS COLD! We bundled up and didn't let the temperature keep us down!
The only thing the pictures don't do justice too is how crowded and really unimpresive Rockefeller Center is. If we were to do that over, we probably would just skip it!
The only thing the pictures don't do justice too is how crowded and really unimpresive Rockefeller Center is. If we were to do that over, we probably would just skip it!
Adventures with Melissa!
Trent's sister Melissa came to visit and we had a great time. She got here on Monday and braved the subways and streets to meet Trent in times square to ride the train home with him.
Tuesday and Wednesday we hung out here in Fairfield county, but on Thursday we ventured in to the city. Julianne and Catherine got out of school at 1:15 and in a very well orchestrated timing miracle we all caught the 1:27 train to Grand Central. It was cold and raining -- with occasional downpours. We kept hoping the rain would stop -- IT DID NOT! So once we got to times square, I left all 4 kids with Melissa, grabbed an umbrella and braved the weather to wait in the TKTS booth line. TKTS sells same day tickets to anything in New York for half price. The times square booth opens at 3:00 and I got right in line. 45 minutes of standing in line in the cold, pouring rain and we all had half price tickets to the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular with the Rockettes. But with the weather so bad we still had several subway rides ahead of us. We raced through the subway and even picked up dinner (which we quickly consumed) and made it to Radio City for the 5:00 show (without ever walking in the rain with the kids!)
The show was awesome! Then we headed by Subway to Macy's on 34'th street to go to Santaland. That too was a lot of fun. Everyone had warned us about the lines, but apparently when the weather is really horrible nobody else goes out, so we had no lines at all!
Tuesday and Wednesday we hung out here in Fairfield county, but on Thursday we ventured in to the city. Julianne and Catherine got out of school at 1:15 and in a very well orchestrated timing miracle we all caught the 1:27 train to Grand Central. It was cold and raining -- with occasional downpours. We kept hoping the rain would stop -- IT DID NOT! So once we got to times square, I left all 4 kids with Melissa, grabbed an umbrella and braved the weather to wait in the TKTS booth line. TKTS sells same day tickets to anything in New York for half price. The times square booth opens at 3:00 and I got right in line. 45 minutes of standing in line in the cold, pouring rain and we all had half price tickets to the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular with the Rockettes. But with the weather so bad we still had several subway rides ahead of us. We raced through the subway and even picked up dinner (which we quickly consumed) and made it to Radio City for the 5:00 show (without ever walking in the rain with the kids!)
The show was awesome! Then we headed by Subway to Macy's on 34'th street to go to Santaland. That too was a lot of fun. Everyone had warned us about the lines, but apparently when the weather is really horrible nobody else goes out, so we had no lines at all!
The first play in snow day
On Dec 7, it snowed enough for the kids to want to play in it! (a scant 1/2 inch). They were more than eager to try on all the snow gear (it only took 45 minutes to dress them all). They had a great time!
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Our 2008 Christmas Card!
Dear Family and Friends,
Every year as we write our holiday greetings, we think of the wonderful friends and family with which we have been blessed. If only time and distance did not matter and we could reunite with each of you, but as it is, this digital greeting will have to suffice. We want you to know how grateful we are for all the love and support during this past year. As we were reading last year's Christmas letter, we laughed at how completely unaware we were of all the changes that lay ahead. Here is to the unpredictable future. We are excited for this Christmas season in our home in New Canaan, Connecticut. It will be the first Christmas without any extended family or longtime friends nearby, but we are excited to experience new traditions with new friends. So may your upcoming days be merry and bright and maybe, just maybe our Christmas will be white. (Enjoy the photos -- longer, detailed,boring letter below with links to highlights if you are interested)
We started the year with a trip to Disney world in Florida. We had a great time; much of Jamie's family was there with us. We returned back to our home in Katy and returned back to the normal swing of things. In February, we found out we were expecting our 5th child, due sometime in Oct. At the beginning of March, we celebrated our 1st year anniversary in that home, but by the end of March Trent had decided to transfer with Ernst & Young to their National Office in Manhattan. We took our first trip out here in April and placed our home for rent. At the end of April we excitedly went in for our ultrasound to see what we were having only to get very sad news when they could not find a heartbeat. So many of you helped us through that difficult time-- thanks again! In June we had a lot of family gather with us for Julianne's baptism. We finished out June with another house hunting trip where we found a house! The first 2 weeks of July we were packed up and moved out and we went to Utah for a vacation. We flew to New York on the 30th of July and thanks to a lot of help from Trent's mom who made the trip with us and stayed for 2 weeks-- we quickly got settled. We have since been busy enjoying the visitors who find us way out here!
Julianne (8 years) is fun and happy. She loved swim team this summer, loves playing with friends, and thinks playing the piano is OK. She is the best helper. This year she got glasses and was baptized. She enjoys her new school (her 3rd elem. school in 4 years) and loves to read.Catherine (6 years) is happy and silly. She too loved swim team . Catherine graduated from Kindergarten, lost her first tooth and is the first child of ours to go to the ER for stitches. She loves to read and play and can make friends with anyone.
Madelyn (4 years) still has us wrapped tightly around her finger. She has eyes that will melt any resolve. She is still in speech and improving daily, but what she lacks in enunciation she makes up for in vocabulary. She says some of the funniest things.
Adam (2 years) is all about trains, balls, cars, and puzzles. He keeps right up with the girls and will not miss out on anything. He still is mischievous and good at making messes, but he is also so loving and tender.
Trent (34 years) is all about trains (commuter ones), balls (juggling life), cars, and puzzles (the accounting kind). He keeps right up with the girls. He still is mischievous and good at cleaning messes, and he is a loving and tender husband and father.
Jamie (32 years) just jogs behind trying to keep up with the family and her projects. She loves being a mom and loves any hobby (she is trying to learn them all).
Come visit us!
Every year as we write our holiday greetings, we think of the wonderful friends and family with which we have been blessed. If only time and distance did not matter and we could reunite with each of you, but as it is, this digital greeting will have to suffice. We want you to know how grateful we are for all the love and support during this past year. As we were reading last year's Christmas letter, we laughed at how completely unaware we were of all the changes that lay ahead. Here is to the unpredictable future. We are excited for this Christmas season in our home in New Canaan, Connecticut. It will be the first Christmas without any extended family or longtime friends nearby, but we are excited to experience new traditions with new friends. So may your upcoming days be merry and bright and maybe, just maybe our Christmas will be white. (Enjoy the photos -- longer, detailed,
We started the year with a trip to Disney world in Florida. We had a great time; much of Jamie's family was there with us. We returned back to our home in Katy and returned back to the normal swing of things. In February, we found out we were expecting our 5th child, due sometime in Oct. At the beginning of March, we celebrated our 1st year anniversary in that home, but by the end of March Trent had decided to transfer with Ernst & Young to their National Office in Manhattan. We took our first trip out here in April and placed our home for rent. At the end of April we excitedly went in for our ultrasound to see what we were having only to get very sad news when they could not find a heartbeat. So many of you helped us through that difficult time-- thanks again! In June we had a lot of family gather with us for Julianne's baptism. We finished out June with another house hunting trip where we found a house! The first 2 weeks of July we were packed up and moved out and we went to Utah for a vacation. We flew to New York on the 30th of July and thanks to a lot of help from Trent's mom who made the trip with us and stayed for 2 weeks-- we quickly got settled. We have since been busy enjoying the visitors who find us way out here!
Julianne (8 years) is fun and happy. She loved swim team this summer, loves playing with friends, and thinks playing the piano is OK. She is the best helper. This year she got glasses and was baptized. She enjoys her new school (her 3rd elem. school in 4 years) and loves to read.Catherine (6 years) is happy and silly. She too loved swim team . Catherine graduated from Kindergarten, lost her first tooth and is the first child of ours to go to the ER for stitches. She loves to read and play and can make friends with anyone.
Madelyn (4 years) still has us wrapped tightly around her finger. She has eyes that will melt any resolve. She is still in speech and improving daily, but what she lacks in enunciation she makes up for in vocabulary. She says some of the funniest things.
Adam (2 years) is all about trains, balls, cars, and puzzles. He keeps right up with the girls and will not miss out on anything. He still is mischievous and good at making messes, but he is also so loving and tender.
Trent (34 years) is all about trains (commuter ones), balls (juggling life), cars, and puzzles (the accounting kind). He keeps right up with the girls. He still is mischievous and good at cleaning messes, and he is a loving and tender husband and father.
Jamie (32 years) just jogs behind trying to keep up with the family and her projects. She loves being a mom and loves any hobby (she is trying to learn them all).
Come visit us!
Monday, December 1, 2008
The American Museum of Natural History
We headed back into the city on Saturday to go to the American museum of Natural History. Every tour guide will tell you that this is a must see. And they were right, it was awesome. Here are just a few things that might interest you.
- There are over 34 million things on exhibit.
- It is the largest museum in the world and is housed in 25 buildings and 45 exhibition halls
- It is where Night at the Museum was filmed and many of the exhibits and items in the movie are found there (that was my kids favorite part -- finding the things in the movie)
We got there around 10 am and left at 3 pm and we saw tons. It is really a nicely kept museum -- everything seemed new and recently done. Definately worth doing!
Fat Squirrels
Every pumpkin seed was shelled and eaten -- the shells you see in the picture are all missing the seed. Those squirrels have skills.
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