Thanksgiving 2013

The month leading up to Thanksgiving, we kept up our tradition of a Thanksgiving Tree; each day, we each took a moment to write, on a leaf, something we were thankful for.  I wish I had taken a picture of the empty, bare tree at the beginning of the month, to compare with how it looked by Thanksgiving.  Nonetheless, it was a lot of fun, and a great way to keep the true spirit of Thanksgiving in our hearts throughout the month!

This year, the children seemed especially interested in helping prepare Thanksgiving Dinner.  We had a lot of fun working together on it!

We brined the turkey in the kitchen sink, and when Grins went into the kitchen that morning to wash his hands, he gasped, "Why is there a giant chicken in our kitchen sink?!"  It was so funny!  They were interested in watching The Mr. prepare the bird - but Angel was quite sad about the whole ordeal.  We decided that we'll cook Tofurky instead next year! :)

I had each child select a dish or two to be 'in charge' of.  Angel selected the pumpkin pie cheesecake and pecan pie.  Grins chose the stuffing and pumpkin pies.  Wiggles helped with the mashed potatoes.  And, of course, they all wanted to help with the candied yams! What's not to like about brown sugar, butter, pecans and marshmallows?  It's practically dessert!

When most of the food was prepped, we went outside in the balmy 17 degree, windy weather for our annual "Turkey Trot".  Most of the people we invited changed their minds when they saw the temperature - but one of the heartiest families we know came (though the mother later told me her children cried "Please don't make this a tradition!" during the whole frigid ride!)  We took a little trot around the 5k Back Cove and I wish I'd had my camera!  I took off running, while the Mr. got the kids set up on their bikes (I figured I'd be the slowest, so I didn't wait for them.)  I kept anticipating they would pass me at any moment - and I started feeling particularly speedy when I neared the end and was still 'in the lead'! :)  But I finished to find them all huddling in the warmth of the car.  The Mr. said they were all too cold, so he had piled them all in the tiny bike trailer - but after pushing them part way against the intense wind, they finally turned back around. :(  Needless to say, it was a Turkey Trot to remember! ;)

Then we returned home in time to pop everything into the oven and welcome some friends to dinner.  We had some older ladies from church join us, as well as some friends we hadn't seen in quite awhile, and it was a lot of fun!

The Mr. cooked - and carved - the turkey.  And he did a fantastic job!

We all enjoyed delicious food, good company, and a wonderful evening together!  How I love the holidays with this sweet family of mine!

Thanksgiving 2012

After spending the beautiful, sunny Thanksgiving Day at Central Park, we grew tired from our day's adventures and decided to head 'home' and enjoy a quiet, simple Thanksgiving dinner at home, from the incredible rooftop deck on our apartment!

Though the food was very simple (and bland), the atmosphere was incredible, and made it a Thanksgiving to remember!

(Note the Thanksgiving Placemat Wiggles made at preschool!)

This picture doesn't give justice to the incredible view we had!  We watched the sunset over Manhattan, which was breath-taking - and the lights of the city were amazing!

I had to snap a shot of our pitiful thanksgiving 'feast' that we transported from home: turkey breast (deli style), instant mashed potatoes, store bought rolls, canned green beans and cranberry jelly, and canned sweet potato casserole with store bought pumpkin pie (not pictured).  The food left much to be desired, but what it lacked in taste, it more than made up for in ambiance and atmosphere!  And I will say I enjoyed spending just a few minutes in the kitchen on Thanksgiving!  I didn't want to miss a moment of that rooftop view! :)  As we ate, we reflected on the many, many things for which we are grateful!

More shots of our spectacular view (How I wish I could have captured them better!)

It was truly a Thanksgiving to remember, and will go down as one of my favorites of all time!

Central Park

 After enjoying the Macy's Day Parade, we had the whole day still ahead of us!  It was a BEAUTIFUL, sunny Thanksgiving Day, so we decided to spend the day at Central Park.  And one day was simply not long enough!  Central Park is ENORMOUS!  We certainly enjoyed it!

Angel, enjoying the climbing trees near one of the ponds.

Wiggles crashed in my arms around lunch time - we'd had a late night and an early morning; I would have liked to nap too, given the chance! :)

My beautiful Angel!

The boys, enjoying some sword fighting.

One of the many fountains in Central Park.

 One of the many, many playgrounds in Central Park.  During our few days there, we played at 13 different playgrounds, and that was only a fraction of them!

Grins found many trees which were suitable for climbing.

We enjoyed a delicious picnic lunch together...

Grins climbing, again!

We LOVE Central Park!

NYC Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

Seeing the Macy's Thanksiving Day Parade in person is something I've always wanted to do!  So, when the Mr. found out (last minute) that he would not have to work on Thanksgiving (for the first time in a few years!), we decided to take advantage of the opportunity, and drive down to NYC!  We hopped in the car Thursday afternoon and arrived Thursday evening.  How awesome that we can drive there in just a few hours!!

We were SO fortunate to be able to rent an INCREDIBLE top-floor 3 bedroom apartment just a couple of blocks away from the parade route!  It was a beautiful apartment, with 2 rooftop porches with amazing views!  We decided we want to live there!!

The front of the apartment:

The view from one of the bedrooms.

The living room (I let the children watch a show while I showered...)

Cool staircase inside the apartment (the apartment was 2 stories!)  We also had to walk up more than 100 stairs to get to the apartment - quite the workout!  Couldn't imagine carrying a baby carseat, or groceries, up that every day! :)

One of the bedrooms had the coolest loft bed - the children argued over who would sleep on the top bunk!

We left the apartment around 5:45 and walked about a mile to a good area on the route.  After sitting on some bleachers for quite awhile, and then being told they were reserved, we were worried we had missed our chance for a front row seat.  But fortunately, we crossed the street and found the perfect front row spot! We parked ourselves there and enjoyed our hot chocolate, fruit, and muffins.  This is from very early on when we arrived - closer to the start of the parade, the entire street behind us was jam-packed full of people, for as far as you could see!  I wish I had a picture - it was more people than I've probably ever seen in one place at one time!

The children entertained themselves with little toys they had brought along, watching several news reporter interviews,...

 ...and then playing some games with the families we met who were waiting next to us.  We had a great time! And I was so pleased with how well the children did - we had to wait for about 3 hours for the parade to start, and they didn't complain once!

It was quite cold - Wiggles was holding hand warmers inside her gloves to keep warm!

Playing more games...

There were balloons everywhere - and someone tied so many together, they went up higher than the buildings!

One of our neighbors was very proud of his unique turkey hat.

 As 9am approached, the excitement in the air was tangible!  Thousands of people packed as closely together as humanly possible, many dressed up in holiday cheer,, all anticipating the big event, created a truly amazing atmosphere.  I actually got a little emotional, upon the realization that we were there, experiencing something I've wanted to do for years!  (Warning: TONS of photos - and these are only a fraction of what was in the parade!  I was trying NOT to take pictures, but ended up with some anyway...)

Clowns on skates handing out balloons...

 Wiggles favorite balloon, of course!

These were hilarious - the large, inflatable characters were pedaling the bikes!

Hundreds of people holding each balloon!  It's amazing!

Enormous Statue of Liberty torch!

Mt. Rushmore! Wow!

 Whoopi Goldberg!  Not a huge fan of her since her ignorant comment during the election...but still, it was cool to see her!

Wiggles had the best seat in town!

Lots of people throwing confetti - and Angel and I took some in the face! :)

the Big Apple...

Another of Wiggles' favorites:

In case you haven't heard the story (because I hadn't, before seeing the balloon), this is Virginia, a girl who wrote a letter to the editor, asking if Santa Clause was real.

And last, but certainly not least, Mr. Santa Clause himself!  He was very animated and jolly, and reminded me of Miracle on 34th Street!

 He was so unbelievably jolly that I'm sure he must have been the real deal!  I've never met a more convincing Santa!

And then, just like that, (only, we had been watching for awhile!), it was over.  Magical. Wonderful. Joyous. It was incredible!!!