happy new year !

we hope that 2013 leaves you with lots of fun memories

and 2014 will bring many more

Merry Christmas ..

Merry Christmas from my family to yours !

ice ice ice baby ..

just enough ice to be pretty .. 

not enough to make the power go out !!

tizzy ...

elf has gotten himself into a bit of a tizzy ..

snow day ..

we were out of school last week for snow ..

we love snow days !!

we started with a very happy breakfast ..

cash then got bundled up and went to work about getting some firewood for a fire ..

he loaded it on the sled and then pulled the sled up a hill and onto the patio .. 

he make several trips .. we had a nice pile of wood when he was done .. 

ellie and i however .. we stayed inside where it was warm !!

we made cocoa cubes ..

we melted white chocolate ..

mixed in some broken up candy canes .. 

and poured it into an ice cube tray ..

you let the chocolate harden and then add a cube or 2 to some warm milk ..

then you sit by the fire and watch your kids play outside in the cold !!

ag ..

one of the top 3 reasons for going to new york was to take molly to american girl ..

ellie and i had big dreams of letting molly run wild in the bitty baby section saying oh aunt jenny

i would love this .. and look at this ellie .. bitty baby needs this to .. 

and then we would follow molly and say oh yes sweet molly you must have that and this to ..

well .. that isnt' exactly how it went .. 

but as you can see molly did get a few things for bitty baby ..

and thank goodness we brought cash along so that he could carry the girl's purchases ..

hoboken ..

while in new york we took the train to hoboken ..

why would we go to hoboken you ask .. 

because that is where carlo's bake shop is ..

cake boss !!!

this was on ellie's list when we went to new york for the marathon ..

we didn't quite make it there then so it was top priority this time ..

we had to stand in line for 47 minutes .. 

jeff was the official time keeper so i am certain of the minutes ..

when someone walks out they let more people into the store itself ..

there is a "bouncer of sorts" .. he motions you to come in and then hands you a number ..

i was excited once we made it into the bake shop ..

thinking that things will start to move much faster ..

not really ..

they were on #5 when we got inside .. we were #20 .. 

after waiting another 51 minutes we walked out with 

turkey cupcakes, chocolate dipped cannoli's and sugar drop cookies ..

cash carried the bag for a bit .. after the 3rd high swing in the air i took the bag back ..

poor turkeys .. 

they were worth the wait if you ask the kids and i ..

not so much if you ask jeff .. 

more importantly .. ellie got to scratch that off her bucket list !

the rocks in central park ..

right outside from the central park zoo are these huge boulders .. 

when you stand on them you have an amazing view of the city .. 

we love rocks to !

central park zoo ..

while we were in new york we visited the central park zoo .. 

this is the clock from the movie madagascar .. 

cash had to have his picture taken under the clock ..

not sure why 

we caught the sea lion show ..

they are such entertaining little animals ..

the kids want one for the pool ..

you know .. to go along with the dolphin that they want to ..

i love the zoo !

we are home ..

we made it home last night from NYC

as soon as i dig myself out from the piles of laundry i will tell you all about it 

thanksgiving eve ..

 usually the kids and i spend thanksgiving eve baking pies ..

this year we spent it watching them blow up the balloons for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade ..

i will have to say .. this was just a little more fun than baking pies .. 

even though it was raining/snowing just a bit it was quite an experience ..

they had a semi trailer with huge helium tanks on it .. 

you would hear the blast of helium and watch the balloon begin to inflate ..

i will have to say it was magical ..

to watch those huge balloons come to life ..

the wind would pick up and the balloons would sway and move pulling at the lines attached to the sandbags holding them to the ground ..

almost as if they couldn't wait for the parade on thanksgiving day ..

we are going to go to the parade this morning and then will hop on a plane home this afternoon ..

yes we will spend thanksgiving in the airport all day ..

but we will spend it as a family .. reliving the memories of this magical city .. 

retelling the stories of our week with kim and patrick and molly ..

we will be thinking of all our families and friends as they celebrate thanksgiving today ..

thank you jeff for this experience .. 

i promise it will never be forgotten and will be talked about for a very long time 

happy thanksgiving from new york !!!

the napkin contest ..

the kids and i play this game called napkins ..

it goes like this ..

i tell them what kind of event and they design a napkin and flatware layout ..

i know .. crazy .. i am surprised that i am even sharing this ..

 but it leads to interesting questions ..

besides the layout they also have to explain why . .

* this game is best played at a nice restaurant where there is lots of silverware *

challenge #1: outdoor bbq at 1 pm

questions asked: C - what food is being served .. bbq chicken, bologna, brisket and ribs .. so i will need my steak knife he says .. 

cash says that outdoor bbq's are simple .. all about the food .. everyone just cares about the meat so the napkin doesn't have to be fancy .. 

spoken like a meat loving man .. 

ellie's is made to look like the sun rays at the top to represent the outdoor location .. 

challenge #2: formal funeral reception at 7pm

cash .. the forks represent the tears because people are sad .. 

ellie .. the napkin is hugging the silverware like the family is being hugged by all their friends .. 

challenge #3: 60th wedding anniversary formal reception with sit down dinner .. 

cash .. the diamond represents the love the man has for his wife because he bought her a big new diamond for their anniversary .. thank you Mrs. Pool for teaching cash shapes !!!

ellie .. the napkin is shaped like a boat because he is surprising her with a first class cruise around the world 

it is amazing how much time this little activity will buy you at a nice restaurant .. 

i also count this as presentation and public speaking skills ..

i know super corny ..

i have to go and eat another cannoli now !

norman ..

while in norman we played a little football ..

we went to the great reading room in the library ..

i showed the kids the decks ..

rows and rows of books ..

they thought that it was pretty neat ..

especially the clear floors .. 

we found a book titled how to turn people into gold ..

we checked it out for uncle greg !