New York City!

Bob had the great idea for us to all spend a few days in New York around Christmas.  The kids were excited about the idea, so we booked it about a month ago.  We left Thursday the 15th after school; they had to miss a half day of school on Friday, which was a fun party day and Christmas dress down day, but they were still ok with missing.  We flew out of RDU on a 5pm flight to LaGuardia which had no issues other than some weather-related bumps.  We got sandwiches and wraps to take on the flight for dinner.  We admired the "new" LaGuardia terminal on our way to the free shuttle bus to the subway, which we rode to near our hotel.  

We stayed at the INNSiDE at New York Nomad in Chelsea, which is the area that Bob usually stays when he goes for work since that's where the Google office is located.  By the time we got to our rooms, it was almost 8pm, so we just unpacked and settled in.  It should be noted that this was the first time that we have gotten 2 hotel rooms.  This hotel was a good deal, but only had 1 queen bed per room.  Rather than bringing 2 air mattresses, we opted for separate rooms.  We ended up with rooms across the hall from each other, which worked out great because the kids then got the quiet side of the building while we had the street side.  It was also good that we got the two rooms because they were rather small and it would have been tight to get 2 air mattresses and 2 more bags into a room!

We slept great and headed out on foot to the nearest Brooklyn Bagel and Coffee Co.  It was crowded and we felt like locals there!  The parents got bacon, egg, and cheese bagels, Anna got a bacon and butter bagel, and Erin got a plain bagel.  Everyone except Erin was a big fan!  

It was raining this morning, and the rain continued all day into the evening, so we considered our list and decided to go visit the Google offices first since it was nearby and we could stay indoors.  We had a quick walk (each hotel room had an umbrella, plus Erin brought one, so we were pretty well equipped for the rain) to one of the buildings and got ourselves checked in.  Bob gave us a great tour for a couple of hours, showing us where he sits when he's there, his coworkers' desks, and all of the Google fun items like scooters, Lego room, game room, microkitchens, cafes, artwork, special seating, soundproof pods, meeting rooms, etc.  We really enjoyed the tour!  

From there, we went to the next building over (Google inhabits 3 buildings in a row) and looked around the first floor Chelsea Market for a little while, then went upstairs and had (free) lunch at a Google cafe.  It was really good, though a little too healthy for some of us (Anna).  

After a short tour of that building, we hopped on the subway back to the Rockefeller Center area and saw the tree and a few brave ice skaters in the rain.  Since it was still raining, we decided to check out some of the famous stores in the area (Lululemon, Nike, and Nintendo, to name a few).  The girls had a blast with that!  

After some shopping, we went to the highly-rated NY Pizza Suprema for dinner and had a super yummy pizza dinner.  We each got 2 slices, and they were huge!  All of the types we got were really good.  We then walked over to Macy's and admired the store from the outside as well as from the inside.  The kids got some souvenirs there.  We also went into Forever 21 (not a New York icon, but Anna wanted to see it).  Then it was back to the hotel via subway for the night.

After the bagel issue on Friday, we opted for Dunkin' Donuts near our hotel for breakfast on Saturday instead.  It was a hit all around.  We discussed our priorities of what we wanted to see that day, which ranged from ballet to a show to ice skating to a museum to more shopping.  We knew it would be tough to do all of those, so we first tackled ice skating.  I had not booked any skating tickets ahead of time, so the Rockefeller Center, Central Park, and Bryant Park were all booked.  It was probably good that I hadn't booked them for Friday with the bad weather.  So, we took the subway over to Bryant Park anyway in hopes that there would be walk-up tickets (there weren't), but we checked out the rink and walked around the really cute holiday market there.  

From there, we found an ice skating option in Brooklyn and decided to go for that.  It was about a 35 minute subway ride each way.  We hopped off at Prospect Park and had a nice walk through the south end of the park to get to the ice rink.  We got our skates and just made our 11:00am skate time.  Erin gave skating a good try, but decided that it was not for her and watched us for the second half of the 90 minutes.  Anna had recently been ice skating with friends in Cary and was pretty good.  Bob was the most skilled skater of all of us with his backwards skating!  

So, we skated for awhile and then got lunch at the cafe at the park.  We then rode the subway back to Manhattan.

Upon arriving back, we decided that we wanted to try to get last-minute show tickets at the TKTS booth that we had used in the summer of 2018 when we had that unexpected 2-day layover in the city.  Erin and I stood in the line (which looked very long but was really not that bad).  Bob and Anna checked out the M&M, Hershey, and Krispy Kreme stores nearby and brought us some snacks in line.  We were able to score tickets to the Rockettes at 4pm that day, which was our first choice!  Yay!  We decided to ride the subway and drop stuff back off at our hotel and have a short rest, but it ended up being a very short rest once we realized how early we needed to be to Radio City Music Hall.  So, it was back on the subway (we tried a bus, but it didn't show up) for a short time.  We got to RCMH, got in, and found our seats just in time.  This place is huge and is super pretty inside.  We loved the chandeliers!  The seats were great - in the first (of 3) mezzanines, in the middle section, on the aisle.  AND - they were way less than half the price of buying tickets ahead!  

We enjoyed the show very much - there were some fun effects, awesome music, and great dancing!  It ended around 5:30pm and we entered the super crowded and crazy area outside.  

For many blocks, it was just people everywhere and we vertically challenged people couldn't see anything.  After trying to find another dinner option, we gave up and got Chipotle, which was not too crowded and was yummy.  From there, we walked to St. Patrick's Cathedral and saw it by night.  It was very pretty and also crowded, even at 7pm on a Saturday.  We enjoyed seeing the Christmas decorations and nativity.  

After that, we walked over to Grand Central Station and admired the red and green lights inside of it, and then rode the short S train to another subway to our hotel.  

Sunday morning, we got up and repeated the Dunkin breakfast, then walked a short way to St. John the Baptist church.  It was a beautiful church!  Sadly, there was probably fewer than 30-40 people in there for the 9:30am mass.  We enjoyed it, though.  

We then walked back to the hotel, listening to the World Cup final game.  We packed up our stuff, checked out of the hotel, and made our way back to LaGuardia via subway and bus.  We got lunch in the terminal and enjoyed the fancy new fountain there, complete with Christmas-themed shows every 15 minutes.  We saw the end of the soccer game (Argentina won it in penalty kicks), then sat at our gate for awhile.  We got on the plane as scheduled, but after getting almost to the runway, they discovered a mechanical issue, so we had to turn around for repairs.  The whole delay ended up being almost an hour, so we called neighbor friend Kellie in as our backup to pick Finley up from the Pooch Pad.  Once we got going, all went well the rest of the way.

So, it was a really fun trip!  All of our pictures can be found HERE.  We loved seeing all of the awesome Christmas decorations around the city.  They really go all out.  We had some delicious food, did some really fun things, and just generally enjoyed seeing it all!  

December!

December was a blur of holiday busy-ness and fun, as it always is!  We jumped right in with going back to work and school after Thanksgiving and had a busy first week of the month with school, work, and activities.  Anna's basketball team beat St. Michael's on Thursday for their first (and only, so far) win of the season!  Way to go!  

I had a busy week helping extra at school between Santa's Secret Workshop which was back on after a covid-related hiatus in 2020 and covering in the cafeteria so another lady could help run SSW.  It was a fun and busy week.  Saturday the 4th, we started really getting in the holiday spirit with Anna and me going to watch Sarah, Ella, and Lily in the dance school's holiday cabaret, which was lots of fun. 

Meanwhile, Bob took Erin to and from her piano holiday mock recital after some initial excitement of getting 2 birds out of the house that had somehow gotten in.  Bob also fixed the oven that had a burned coil and also a fuse issue.  I got my covid vaccine booster on Sunday the 5th - they're now recommending that people who got the vaccine more than 6 months ago get a booster shot to help protect them from the virus.  The girls made a pretty gingerbread house that day as well.  

We also had some landscaping done this week - removing most of the shrubs in the front yard, expanding some of the borders, redoing the border rocks, and planting new shrubs.  It looks great!

The next week was Bob's last week at Red Hat after 6 great years there.  He came across an opportunity at Google and decided to take it.  It was a good time to make a change, and so far, he is settling in pretty well!  Other than that, I had book club on Monday, we had the usual activities including 2 basketball games for Anna, I helped with the teacher cookie exchange, and Erin and I went to see the Nutcracker at Holly Springs High School for the first time on Friday evening.  It was a modern spin on the ballet, and we really enjoyed it!  

Saturday the 11th was a fun day - Erin went to Olivia's birthday sleepover, and the rest of us had a fun time at the Knowlands' party.  It was so nice to see them and some other friends!  The 12th was Finley's honorary 3rd birthday, which he celebrated with some presents and a whipped cream treat.  Anna also had friends Sarah, Addie, and Madeleine over for cookie decorating and a gift exchange that they had done.  

The rest of that week was the home stretch of school before the break, including a fun holiday event at school on Wednesday evening where Erin's chorus elective sang some songs and the band classes played for everyone, in addition to food trucks, sleigh rides, and crafts.  

The 16th was Christmas Feast day in the cafeteria, which was plenty busy but successful.  Erin's grade had a movie party with treats that afternoon as well as did a service project.  Anna scored 2 points in her game on Thursday - 2 of the 10 for her team!  Erin had parent observation at ballet on Thursday.  

Then it was break time by Friday at noon, and we were ready!

Anna went back to the eye doctor on the afternoon of the 17th and got the green light for contacts.  She's been wearing them full time ever since without any issues.  It is so nice to see all of her face again without those dirty glasses!  It will be good to not have glasses for basketball and soccer as well, plus it helps with the mask wearing as well, which continues.  Both kids had to come home early on the half day due to Erin not feeling well, but they didn't complain about that!

Saturday the 18th, the parents had a few events - Bob went to the Eric Church concert in Greensboro with Chris and stayed overnight there, and Anna and I went to Ms. Karen's cookie swap in the afternoon which was lots of fun!  I then went to a neighbor ladies' gathering at Stephanie Rook's house after that and had a great time.  We ladies enjoyed takeout from Los Tres for dinner.  Sunday, Anna altar served and then we all went to the NCSU women's basketball game that afternoon which was lots of fun!

Monday, Anna got her second dose of the covid vaccine and Erin had her 13-year checkup.  Both went well and were uneventful.  Erin was pleased to not have any vaccines due this time.  I have learned to not promise either way because I am usually wrong!  The next few days were full of Christmas prep - baking, wrapping, planning, etc.  Bob had a farewell party with Red Hat friends on the 21st.  We did a little last-minute shopping on the 22nd and had family PJ night.  

Anna had Sarah over and we had a fun day with neighbor dog friend Ruby on the 23rd. We each took turns cooking dinner one night this week, which was lots of fun and very yummy!

Our porch project finally began this month!  As of January 2nd, the footers are poured and have passed inspection (after 3 of them failing inspection the first time and needing to be dug deeper), the lumber has arrived, and we eagerly await framing to begin next week!

On Christmas Eve, we made a day trip to Concord for lots of family fun and a yummy lasagna lunch!  It was a great time exchanging gifts and playing volleyball with Ansley's new set.  We also got to facetime with Cole and family during the present-opening.  Then we headed home and enjoyed the annual Elf Party at the Tierneys, which is always a great time!

Christmas morning, we opened presents, went to church, and enjoyed a very warm Christmas...too warm, according to some of us!  It was really great and we had a nice pork dinner that evening in the dining room.  

The next day was the biggest shopping day of the year for Santa's Secret Workshop 2022, which was a family affair.  It was back after missing last year.  Erin and I left the house at 6:30am and returned around 1pm with a car full of stuff, which Bob, Anna, and Erin then sorted, logged everything into the spreadsheet, and packed into the Suburban while I went to a few more stores that afternoon.  Then, Erin and I paused shopping and went to Spanish mass at St. Bernadette that evening.  It was a busy day!

Monday the 27th-Wednesday the 29th, Grandma and Ansley came up for a visit!  We had a blast making more cookies, shopping, cooking, playing games, and unloading shopping stuff at school.  Despite a quick stomach virus for Erin, Anna, and Bob, the rest of us avoided it and everyone had a great visit.  

The 30th was the sad day of taking down Christmas decorations, which always goes faster than putting them up, but is still sad nonetheless.  I had a nice dinner out with some mom friends from school that evening.  We had a nice New Years Eve at home, playing board games, family basketball in the pool parking lot, enjoying a yummy Hello Fresh dinner (thanks for the gift, Bob!), and Anna, Bob, and I made it up until midnight!

So, that was December.  It was busy and fun, and we were so happy to have more of our usual holiday events back this year that were missed in 2020.  While things are still not back to normal, and the current drama is the spread of the "omicron variant" of the covid virus causing travel issues and general stress, we continue to hope that things will improve overall, though it's been a very slow process thus far.  The question of the year from some of us is "why did I bother getting vaccinated?" because many things have not changed, but we are trying to hope for the end of this at some point in the near future.  Hopefully this will just be a "funny" story some day!

December!

Well, December was busy, but was not the whirlwind that it usually is, thanks to several of our annual events being canceled this year.  We missed the Red Hat holiday party, neighborhood Santa/hayride, and school Christmas Pageant, Liz and David's annual party, among other events.  Covid continues to be in the forefront of everything, though the good news is that the vaccines are now being delivered to the states and health care workers and those in assisted living, etc. are beginning to receive the first of two doses of the vaccine. Hopefully the distribution will go fast!

I had the excitement of going to Costco on December 1st to get new tires for my car.  That place was hopping!  Our new refrigerator also arrived on Friday the 4th, so that was an exciting week around here.  We enjoyed Santa coming through on a trailer pulled behind a fire truck on the evening of the 4th.  We had a busy day on Saturday the 5th with Erin's virtual mock piano recital in the morning, gingerbread house making, cleaning out our old fridge to sell (the guy who bought it ended up claiming that it didn't work, so we refunded most of his money...hopefully he was telling the truth, but it was working fine when he picked it up!), then Erin had Olivia's birthday party that afternoon, and Anna had a bonus soccer practice, which was a lot of fun.  Whew!

The week of the 7th was pretty routine.  I had the fun of helping my boss in the cafeteria deliver hot cocoa and donuts to all the teachers on the morning of the 9th.  I have never been so popular!  We made a few cookies during the week.

Erin and I went to confession on Saturday the 12th because she had missed her class's time in November.  She also had a virtual audition for the Carolina Ballet summer intensive that day, and while she was already leotard-ed up, she also made her video for the HSSOD 2021 Dance Theater production.  She got the good news this morning that she got a part in the Dance Theater show!  Way to go, Erin!  We probably won't hear back on the summer camp for awhile.  Hopefully the summer camp will be in person this year, and hopefully she will be a part of it!  We were supposed to go to Concord on the 13th for Ben's birthday, but poor Elliott had been exposed to Covid at his preschool and tested positive for it.  Luckily, he never had any symptoms, and the rest of the family all tested negative.  

The following week was the last week of school for the year, and it was busy!  The kids got out of school at 11:30 on the 18th and were ready to relax.  Erin and I enjoyed helping at Brown Bag Ministry in Apex on Saturday the 19th...they modified their structure and don't allow nearly as many people to volunteer, but we still had a great time and made 98 lunches for a site in downtown Raleigh!  In the afternoon, we made some sugar cookies and watched Santa come through the neighborhood for a second time, with a surprise appearance by the Grinch!

On the 21st, Erin had her 12-year checkup and passed with flying colors!  She is perfectly healthy and had no issues other than some eczema, which is ongoing for her.  Grandma A. then came up that morning and stayed with the girls while Bob, Finley, and I went to Lake Gaston for 2 nights!  We had a great time checking out the area, hiking, and enjoyed the (dog-friendly) Rosemont Winery.  The girls and Grandma were busy with several craft projects, walks, and playing games!  We were so thankful that she came!  

Grandma went home on the 23rd, and we mostly hung around here since sadly the Summer Family quarantine was going into January.  We all made the most of it by having a fun Zoom Christmas Eve present opening and played a Christmas song game that Erin made up.  

After that, there was some excitement with our washing machine that ended up requiring a part that was going to cost at least $200...so we decided to order a new washing machine instead.  Then we went to the Tierneys' Christmas Eve party which was lots of fun, even though we were the only guests this year.  We had a great time eating yummy food and playing Ticket to Ride!  Then it was to bed for Santa to come, and he sure did! 

We had a fun Christmas morning opening gifts and then went to church at 10am, where Erin was an altar server.  We spent the rest of the day checking out our new gifts (Erin got a phone!  Anna gets to redo her room!).  It was a very nice day.  The rest of the week was very relaxing - I got to visit the laundromat 2 times and also borrowed neighbor Karen's washing machine.  It is crazy how much you take things like washing machines for granted!  The laundromat has been a good experience, though - just more expensive than I expected!  

The rest of the week, we were busy painting Anna's room a light gray with a darker gray accent wall, cleaning, playing with our new presents, and just relaxing.  It was great!  

It seemed weird to me to not be shopping for Santa's Secret Workshop this year...since the school didn't have the shopping for the kids this year, we are going to try to save everything to sell next year.  Hopefully that will work!  We had a fun outdoor playdate with Tom, Pam, Jimmy, and Danny on the 29th.  Tom was very happy to try out the hot tub!  

We ladies plus Sarah got pedicures on the 31st, which was lots of fun!  True to 2020, we stayed home on New Year's Eve and had fun playing games and enjoyed Jello cake and cheese fondue.  Yum!  Anna tried her hardest to make it to midnight, but 10:30 was the best we could do.  

So, that was December.  Their school announced that they are going to have remote learning at least for the first week in January due to more cases of Covid in the community and within the school.  So, it continues.  I have heard of more people getting vaccinated lately, so we eagerly await our turn!  May December 2021 be back to normal, because we really missed a lot this year!

December

Whew!  December was a whirlwind and was lots of fun!  Erin was an altar server on Sunday the 1st...she is loving doing this, and seems to be getting more comfortable each time she does it.  Bob started out the month with a trip to California, and we ladies were busy with the usual school, activities, volunteering, etc.  We enjoyed an extra day off on Monday the 2nd from the Thanksgiving break and had a ladies' lunch at Olive Garden.  The following Saturday was Erin's first piano mock recital for the year, and she enjoyed being in a new age group of 5th-7th graders this year.  Anna, Finley, and I went to see Santa at his kennel/groomer. 



Sunday, we had a super fun day trip to Concord for Ben and Cole's birthdays, plus a football extravaganza and cookie decorating!



The following week was probably the most busy because we had some extra fun holiday events at school. First, we made cookies over the weekend for the teachers' cookie exchange (I laugh every year that the parents provide the cookies for the teachers to "exchange"...they have it made!), then was the Christmas pageant, which Anna was a part of as an angel.  I got to help with two dress rehearsals and the main performance as a "dresser"...making sure the kids had their costumes on the right way and watching them backstage.  It was busy and fun!  Erin also sang carols with her music class in the lobby of the church before the pageant began.  It was a great evening! 



That week was also the Santa's Secret Workshop at school, but I only got to volunteer one morning to help the kids shop because of the pageant stuff.  And, finally, the 4th grade Christmas party was Friday morning before the early release, and it was a blast helping with the "winter wear relay" race station!  Whew!  After all of that, the kids had their dentist appointment Friday afternoon (no cavities, and Erin gets to wait 6 more months before a possible orthodontist visit), and then the Red Hat annual holiday party that evening.  The girls enjoyed having old babysitter Annie, who was home from college for her winter break.  That Saturday, we ladies went to see Bellamy do a beautiful job dancing in the Nutcracker at the Fuquay Arts Center, then Anna went to friend Noella's party.  What a week!

How could I forget?!  Finley's honorary first birthday was on the 12th, and he enjoyed some gifts and a homemade dog cake.  He's not spoiled at all.

  

Sunday the 15th, Anna had friends Caroline and Gerald over to play, as well as Nina and Laney...they decorated a gingerbread house, played outside, and, of course, played video games.  

After that, we went to the annual Wescott Cookies and Cocoa with Santa and hayride, which we missed last year, and had a great time! 



Bob left Monday the 16th for a week in Dublin and enjoyed seeing a new city and country.  He reported that the people and beer/whiskey were great, but food wasn't as good.  Erin had a great field trip (despite some rain) on Tuesday the 17th to the Eno River Park in Durham for a program put on by Schoolhouse of Wonder on Native American and early settler life in the region.  I had never heard of this group, but it was a really great hands-on program!  I enjoyed it as well. 



Then, Erin had her checkup after school and got a great report.  We are so proud of her!  Finley was under the care of neighbor Cate that day while we were all away and apparently was on a potty strike, but did fine otherwise.  Friday the 20th was holiday dance sharing day, so I got to camp out at dance and see two really great dances!  We were all happy to have made it through the 3 busy weeks and enjoyed some relaxed cookie-making on the 21st, followed by a fun time at Liz and David's annual soiree that evening.



Sunday the 22nd, after Erin served as an altar server at mass, she and I went to the dance school and watched the ballet company do a quick Nutcracker performance.  Monday, we ladies went caroling at Ms. Mona's assisted living center and really enjoyed that...followed by a chick fila lunch, Sarah playdate/trip to Defy, and game day.  The 24th, we went to Concord for fun family Christmas! 



Then, back home for the Tierney Christmas Eve Elf Party (we were in charge of prizes, which seemed to go over well), and then to bed for Santa to come...and he did!  We all, including Finley, had lots of fun opening presents on Christmas morning, then off to church where Erin served again.  Then, back home to relax and enjoy the day and set up our new tv in the bonus room (!).  It was a really fun day!



The next day was the big shopping extravaganza for the 2020 Santa's Secret Workshop at school.  This year, Erin wanted to help me, and we had so much fun hitting 8 Walmarts in one day!  Then it was home to log and organize everything and load the Suburban for transport to school. 





The 27th, we did a little more shopping and then had a fun Christmas celebration with the Callaways and Flanagans!  On Saturday the 28th, Grandma A. and the Summer family came to visit, and we had a blast in the hot tub, playing inside and outside, and had a taco dinner!  We all got to meet sweet Bonnie, their new doggie, and she and Finley had a great time playing/wrestling for hours! 





Sunday the 29th was church and a few errands while Anna went to friend Maddy's house.  Monday the 30th, Anna had Sofia here to sleep over and we started taking Christmas stuff down.  On the 31st, Anna went to Caroline's house (Anna must keep up her social calendar even over break) while the rest of us had a great hike at Hemlock Bluffs. 



We went to a fun New Year's Eve party at neighbor Karen's house. 



And, just like that, December is over!  Whew!  We were thankful to remain healthy all month and had the best time celebrating all of the birthdays and holidays with family and friends.