nyc 2015

Our family had such a great time in New York City a few weeks ago. It was packed full - fun, exciting, and absolutely thrilling for Hannah and Joseph. In addition to the marathon, New York was also hosting the World Series. There was a lot going on!

The last time we were in NYC was for my 30th birthday, December five years ago. Joe wore Hannah in the Bjorn the whole time and I carried Joseph in my tummy. That was a great time, too. As we like to say in our family, New York is a trip, not a vacation. Both trips were exhausting. You go, go, go. There is so much to see and do and we manage to pack in as much as possible.

This time we were there for four nights. We flew in on Saturday early afternoon, checked into the hotel and went to the NYC marathon expo. While it wasn't their first, the plane ride was a highlight for sure. When we got to Laguardia, Hannah and Joseph changed into Pocahontas and Captain America. It was Halloween after all.

...Captain America was flat out exhausted and fell asleep at the expo. It was a long day, coming right after an emotional day with Chloe. Joe's mom and sister met up with us at the hotel, and we found a classic New York pizza place for dinner not far from our hotel, near Madison Square Garden, and then hit the sack.

Sunday was the marathon. Joe was up and out super early (5:30!), taking the Subway to the ferry to get to the start of the race. We had a much more leisurely morning, having breakfast and then taking the Subway and finding a spot along the race route. It was crazy crowded and I questioned our slower pace, but we ended up not only getting to see Joe as he ran down the Queensboro Bridge ramp, but he saw us!!

I loved having the race app on my phone; we knew exactly where Joe was along the route, his pace, projected finish, etc. Very convenient for a large city and a huge race. The NYC marathon is the largest in the world with about 60,000 runners. Imagine that plus all the spectators and police, and you've got quite a crowd to maneuver around.

As is the case with all of the big races, there is a lot of waiting. We wait and wait and then, if we're lucky, we get to see Daddy for a few seconds. It's still exciting and we make the best of the waiting part. Here we are in Central Park, with the Plaza Hotel in the background:

We made our way inside the park, found a great place around mile 25 to watch him pass. We then followed on the app as he crossed the finish line.

Then came the difficult (and frustrating!) part: finding him after the race. There is usually a family reunion spot which is great, but getting to this one was almost impossible. It took us an hour and a half to get to Joe after we saw him run by. There were so many people, barricades, and detours. But we made it and got our family pictures!

Joe finished the race with a time of 3:15:03. He would have liked to go a little faster, but still he did great. He said it was the hardest of all the races he's done. There are five bridges (they go into all five boroughs), numerous ups and downs, and the pavement is very uneven. There are potholes, repairs, and all the road issues you'd expect in a big, northern city. Runners like to settle into a rhythm and put their focus forward, but in this race you have to watch where you step most of the way. We were amazed at how many runners we saw stop with cramps. It's a tough one! We were proud of #5067 and now he has another major under his belt.

After a little relaxation (and a bloody mary) at the hotel, we dressed and headed to Little Italy, always one of our favorite stops in NYC. Again, the Subway and escalators were exciting enough on their own for these two littles:

After the yummiest dinner at Angelo's on Mulberry Street, we walked to Ferrara's for dessert!

Day two down. On Monday morning, we toured the September 11th memorial and museum. It was incredible and such an awesome experience, a must-do if you are planning a trip to New York.

We walked down to Battery Park and along the Harbor, catching views of the Statue of Liberty.

Hannah jumped along the rocks and Joseph tested out his new FDNY fire truck. It was quite a bit of walking, so we are glad (as we were several times on this trip) that we brought the convenience stroller. The kids took turns riding, I gave piggy-back rides, and we also made a pit stop at Starbucks.

As afternoon turned into evening, we walked/ran to the top of the Brooklyn Bridge. The skyline was beautiful as the sun set behind it. I didn't want to miss the view from the top of the bridge, so I ran while pushing Joseph in the stroller. When I got to the top, out of breath and sweating, I realized he fell asleep. Classic. The others hurried too, not far behind me. We stayed for a bit, and even got to witness some unplanned excitement. The President flew in on an Osprey, landing not too far from us, and traveled right underneath the bridge in his motorcade. Very cool.

The day ended with a visit to Grand Central Station, where we ate dinner in the dining concourse and Hannah twirled around the terminal.

Tuesday was another gorgeous day. Seriously, we had incredible weather the whole time. Only needed a jacket at times, and not a heavy one at that. It was perfect New York fall weather and playing around Central Park was the perfect start to the day.

We went to the Museum of Natural History right at opening and toured all four floors. That place is so neat, halls designated for mammals, ocean life, ancient peoples, and space science exhibits to name a few. The kids loved it (as did the grown-ups)!

Next up was The Empire State Building. Joseph was very impressed with all the buttons on the elevator. The adults were impressed at how short (non-existent) the line was to get to the top. We walked around the observation deck for a while and tried to locate things down below. {I even got a kiss from my little boy.}

Tuesday night we went to Times Square, had dinner at Hard Rock Cafe, and visited the Hershey store. Joe was in chocolate heaven.

The day ended with Aladdin. The Genie stole the show; he was hilarious. We all loved it!!

Wednesday was our last day. Before heading to the airport, we said hello to Patience and Fortitude, the stone lions outside the NY Public Library, stopped by Rockefeller Center (and gawked in the window of the Lego store - it wasn't open yet), and strolled down 5th Avenue, posing in front of St. Patrick's Cathedral.

Oh yeah, we also had to stop and pick up a few things from the American Girl store. Joseph was thrilled to pick out something of his own: an AG Dalmatian puppy he named Chloe. Happy ending. :)

When the captain on the airplane let him check out the cockpit, Joseph was beside himself.

It was a really good trip, filled with memories we will not soon forget. So thankful for the opportunity to go, for Joe getting to race in the NYC Marathon, for the kids loving every minute, and for Meme and Gran Gran (and for a part, Aunt Sarah) being there with us.

halloween

The week of Halloween was busy as it always is. We kicked off the fun with the fall festival at church on Sunday, the 25th. Pocahontas and Captain America were very excited!

Their costumes were so much fun this year. Joseph was super pumped to be Captain America. Those little kid muscle costumes are hysterical. I had to buy the shield separately, but I mean, come on. How could I not?!

As for the little Indian girl... She really wanted to be Pocahontas and I could not find a single costume online that actually looked like Pocahontas - lots of Indian/Native American ones, but none exactly like Pocahontas. All the cute ones we saw were homemade. So what did I do? Make one myself? Of course not. But I did go to Hobby Lobby and pick up some material while over in Milledgeville while Joe was swimming one day. And then I got home and sent a message to a Facebook friend who embroiders. Turns out her mom can sew and she'd be glad to make little Hannah a Pocahontas costume. She was also very inexpensive. Score! Hannah and I were both thrilled how it turned out!

Hannah informed me that her hair did not look like Pochanotas', so I remedied that by ordering a black wig off Amazon. Throw in a turquoise necklace of mine and her turquoise Minnetonka booties (couldn't go barefoot!) and she was good to go.

Joseph's best friend, Weston, was also Captain America. They didn't know the other was. Can you believe it?!

Love those two. Captain cuteness is more like it...

Joe signed us up to take part in the trunk-or-treat again this year. We've volunteered our "trunk" four out of the last five years and we have always done something elaborate, me letting my creative mind have fun with themes (spooky candlelit ghost trunk, race day, under the sea...). This year there was too much going on, but we still needed to participate.

Enter the teepee from our playroom. Stick Pocahontas in there with her basket of corn (er, candy corn), and set some pumpkins outside.

It worked out just fine. And minimal clean up!

That Tuesday was "School Rocks with Mom" for the pre-K. I enjoyed every minute of being with my little guy, completely in his element at school. We made an adorable little owl, too.

If there wasn't enough going on, it was also Red Ribbon Week and each day had a theme. Thursday was jersey day as the kids "teamed up against drugs". We proudly supported Georgia Tech and Auburn. With all the Bulldog shirts, my kids definitely stood out!

That day was also Hannah's first performance in the Oratorical Club. Joe and I met her at a local nursing home and watched her recite her part of the grandparents program. Look at her in this outfit. I mean, really. Off to prep school...or Hogwarts.

Then we had class Halloween parties at school. Joseph's was Thursday afternoon, Hannah's was Friday. They both ate plenty of sugar.

Joseph also went on a field trip to trick-or-treat around the square downtown, as Hannah did last year. It is so cute watching all the kids in costume parade around the town square, filling up their treat bags. The businesses all take part and even dress up, too. The morning is grand fun for the little ones.

Joseph pulled off that little mum in my hand from a plant as he passed. He loves to pick me flowers - even those he is not supposed to!

fall fun

Now that October is more than half-way over (how can this be?), I'll follow up that last post with more fall fun.

The kids have spent countless hours in the backyard. Joe is training for the NYC marathon coming up real soon. We have attended high school football games both at Washington County and Brentwood (homecoming). I decorated for Halloween/fall, and the kids painted pumpkins.

A few miscellaneous photos...

I'm sure you can figure out who painted which.

In other news...

Joseph went on his first pre-K field trip and learned all about emergency vehicles. He did NOT like the loud sirens, but everything else was super cool.

Week before last, Joe and I attended Catalyst Atlanta, a Christian leadership conference, and it was AWESOME as always. This year's theme was "Awaken the Wonder" and was all about awakening God's people to live in awe of who HE is and what He is doing all around us. We heard amazing speakers such as Christine Caine, Brene Brown, Andy Stanley, Louie Giglio, Jeremy Cowart (very inspiring photographer), and Margaret Feinberg. The music was so, so good as always. David Crowder led worship Thursday night and let me just say...wow. The whole Catalyst experience. Wow.

KAOLIN FESTIVAL

Sandersville's main event, the Kaolin Festival, was the day after we returned home. The weather had been terrible, and it looked like the parade might be cancelled. But just before the start time, the rain stopped and the sun even came out for a while. Joe had a long training run scheduled that morning that he was working in around the rain, so I loaded the wagon and the kids into the car and set out for downtown.

It's a short parade, but we knew lots of people in it and Hannah and Joseph had fun.

GEORGIA NATIONAL FAIR

Following the long, Columbus Day weekend, we had more fun planned. Joe and I took the kids out of school a little early that Tuesday and drove to Perry for the Georgia National Fair. We had a blast! After we bought arm bands and toured through the fair, we watched the 4:00 show at the circus. I did not know until the day before that there was a circus even there. It was a bonus, and well worth the 1-hr spent there. The kids especially loved the acrobats.

The lines weren't bad at all as we had hoped when planning to go on a school-day afternoon. We got to ride a bunch of the rides, both kids tall enough to do anything they wanted to do. Like last year, Hannah was the fearless one wanting to ride everything. That's her and Joe at about 7:00 in the picture above.

Joseph was thrilled to be the driver in the bumper car.

We rode a couple of roller coasters, to Hannah's delight. Not so much to Joseph's. He would want to ride, agree to get in and buckled up, and soon after taking off regret his decision. He would have this look of uncertainty, followed by a panicked what-is-going-on look, on his face. I think it was the herky-jerky motions more than anything.

Robinson's Racing Pigs were a must and we did that following a break for dinner: turkey leg and roasted corn for me and the kids, corndog for Joe, and fries for us all. It's entertaining watching those pigs run around the track and swim in the race.

Before we left, we took a ride on the huge ferris wheel. This was the most exciting part of the night for Joseph. He sat real close to me, but thoroughly enjoyed himself as we circled around and around, admiring all the pretty lights throughout the fairground. Joe had to hold onto Hannah as she apparently wasn't afraid of the terrifying heights and kept trying to lean over the side to see farther.

After hunting down some fried Oreos, we headed home. Exhausted but with exciting memories dancing in our heads.


NUMBER 9, FEELING FINE!

My honey and I celebrated our ninth anniversary on the 14th. That day in Savannah was one of the prettiest I can remember, and we had almost identical weather here in Sandersville this year. Perfect temperature, blue sky, a true fall day in Georgia. It was just a typical Wednesday with work, school, and supper and small groups at the church. That night once we got home and kids were bathed, we lit our anniversary candle and waltzed to Moon River, our first-dance song (prompted by Hannah). Joseph took pictures while we danced.

CHLOE'S BIRTHDAY

My college dog and sweet Yorkie, Chloe, turned 14 yesterday (10/21). The kids had a great time over the weekend building a fort "for her" in their little clubhouse. I'm not sure how much she enjoyed it, especially when Hannah sent her sliding down the slide, but she cooperated and was loved on a whole lot!

And that's a wrap! Before I go, I will include these selfies (I am not a seasoned selfie-person, but will take one occasionally.) I was taken aback and felt a little weird when my smart little laptop synced with my phone and organized these in my computer under the category "selfie". I mean, really?

Left: Joseph and I waiting on Daddy and Hannah after church.
Right: One Sunday later, in the driveway with Hannah behind the wheel!

...As of about a month ago, I have bangs. Quite a change and I'm still figuring them out...but I like them!