NYC

My whole life I have wanted to visit New York City at Christmas time.  Scott had to travel to New York for work earlier this month so the boys and I tagged along to make a weekend of sightseeing.  And let me tell you, it was WAY better than I imagined.  You can smells the tree in Rockefeller Center a half block away it’s so big.  The Rockettes were to be as expected but the experience in Radio City was spectacular.  And one of my favorite moments of this entire year is captured in a photo below when we stumbled upon a chance to see Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” at the Museum of Modern Art for FREE on Friday evening while walking around the city.  The boys got a impromptu art lesson from a security guard on the painting and their eyes got so big at how awesome their experience was that it brought tears to my eyes.  The whole thing got me into the Christmas spirit and check multiple items off of our bucket lists.

Monet’s “Waterlillies”

“Starry Night”

The light show at Saks

The Christmas tree at the Rock

Souvenirs at the M&M store in Time’s Square

The crystal “icicle” chandelier at Radio City

Our favorite number – all the dancing Santas were hilarious!

Court loved the subway

Lego displays at the Lego store 

Court and I had to stop and see the tree one more time before we left!

Aiden and Scott toured the Air and Space Museum 

Christmas prep

The weather has turned winter in a flash this year in these parts. So we’ve been enjoying the Christmas tree lights beside the fire. The boys begged to have a slumber party under the Christmas tree.  However, it didn’t last when neither one could fall asleep and bailed out for the comfort of their own bed. (Pretty sure we’re raising pansies!)  It was lovely while it lasted though!  Here are some other Christmas preparations here.

Gingerbread houses

Does one really need a shirt when decorating gingerbread?  Court thinks not!

Our elf, Winston, dropped in to play a little billiards

The final gingerbread village

Uncle Glenn sent us slime and it was awesome! Thanks for the early Christmas gift!

Running into December

Where does the time go?! I try so hard to be present in the moment and enjoy every second that this life affords me. But it still seems like the treadmill of life is going faster than I can! Alas, here are some of the things we have been up to!

The boys tried golf lessons this fall. This is the final “tournament.” It was super fun:  parents rode in golf carts following the players. They were divided into two teams and Aiden and Court’s team (the red team) won! Court is in black with red hat and neon yellow shoes. Aiden is in black shirt, gray pants, red hat, and red shoes.

We painted (and colored) pottery for Christmas gifts (if you’re lucky – you might get one for Christmas!)

These boys painted for 2 hours nonstop! Hyper-focus!

We scored court-side seats for the Hornets vs. Pacers game through Scott’s work. The kids LOVED it!

Court and Aiden ran their first 5K! Scott and Aiden ran together and Aiden crushed it – never stopped and finished his last mile in 8 minutes, 30 seconds. Court had to stop (a lot) but had a great attitude and pushed through until the end (where he ate a doughnut the size of his face).  The race was in Grandma and Grandpa’s great neighborhood and they cheered us on – thanks for hosting us!

Pre-race stretching

Aiden, Court, Bruno and I took a long weekend at the beach.  We love the beach in the fall. Even though it’s cold, the kids don’t care and we have the whole place to ourselves!

Bruno likes to bark at the seagulls.

They got into the freezing water every day and then warmed up with a toasty bath each afternoon. 

This is what Bruno and I looked like on the beach…with three jackets on!

Aiden and Court really wanted to try octopus when we were at the beach. Carpe diem!

Needless to say, it was a hit

We had “snow!” It was more like ice balls that had piled up but it’s still fun to make snowballs and snowmen with, right?!

This is Bruno’s favorite part of a snow day.

Court got his first ever barber shop haircut. He wanted to look like Christian McCaffrey.  

Aiden and Court started basketball. They get to play on the same team this year and Scott is their coach.  We love efficient sporting activities! 

Thanks for the great photos Grandpa!

Tell ’em coach!

Third grade play

Here are some photos Grandpa took of Aiden’s school play about the magic school bus going into space. It was a musical and was fantastic. His storyline had 50s music and dancing and the boys acted like the tough guys in Grease. Isn’t he dreamy?!