Over the river and through the woods . . .

 . . . to great-grandma's and great-grandpa's house we go.

{This post is mostly for the Weilers and for posterity's sake.}

The day after Thanksgiving we drove up to Pennsylvania to see Michael's grandparents and extended family. The drive was lovely.

I wish I had gotten pictures of everyone with the kiddos, but here's a handful.

 Playing on the swings with second cousin, Brianna, daughter of Megan and Travis.

 Robbie with Great-Aunt Chris at her lovely home in Dillsburg.

 Robbie with Great-Grandpa Weiler!

The Weiler line continues.

 Clara with Great-Great Aunt (is that right?) Mickey--Clara absolutely loved her--and Great-Grandma Weiler, who gave Clara a precious bunny rabbit stuffed animal with two little baby bunnies. Clara was in heaven.

 Michael with Amel (sp?), a little wooden monk that his grandparents have had since his childhood.

 Robbie with second cousin Grayson and his parents, Ben and Jess.

 Clara with second cousin, Lily, and first cousin once removed, Sarah. Clara also loved Sarah and wanted to be with her most of the time.

After our busy day in PA, we drove down to D.C. and went to the night lights of the National Zoo and spent the night in a hotel. The lights were cool but the animal exhibits were disappointing--it was only 6pm but nearly all the animals were either asleep or closed off from view. Bummer.

But it sure was fun to stay in a hotel that night and go to the temple the following day.

All in all it was a great Thanksgiving, even if we didn't really get to relax, per se. But we are realizing that with kids, you don't really relax even when you are on "vacation." And that's okay. Guess we just need to plan a little getaway next year.

Thanksgiving and a birthday

We enjoyed a quiet Thanksgiving this year. In the morning, Hyrum babysat while we went on a walk.

 Then Michael organized a family olympics, which was way more fun with Hyrum being here to bring in a little competition. Some of the events included an egg carry, a 50-yard dash, long jump, tennis ball throw, bean bag toss, and wagon pull.

 It is a pity that they weren't filming when I totally biffed it during the wagon pull. I know I looked awesome.

Then we ate the spread I made. These homemade crescent rolls I am unashamedly displaying with gusto.

 Even though I brined the turkey, it still deserved just  a "meh."

 Michael's 34th birthday fell on Thanksgiving this year, so we celebrated by putting candles in the apple pie. He did get presents, of course, but he had to make do with turkey instead of meatloaf or steak.

I think this guy is pretty great.

Roommate weekend

Two weeks ago I enjoyed a quick trip to Richmond to see two dear friends and former BYU roommates, Joy and Chelsey. We missed you, Karisa--someday we'll make it all together.

In addition to eating some of the best ice cream (gelato) ever, we visited Maymont, which had a great petting zoo/farm/nature center area.

 It was quite an adventure trying to get a photo taken by a petite six-year-old (hence the kneeling) while trying to watch our other kids at the same time.

A time for reflection.

A cool metal sculpture was one of the attractions for the kids in addition to just meandering around without an agenda. It was a lovely time. Thanks again for hosting, Joy.

Hess Farm visit

A few days before Halloween, we visited one of the traditional pumpkin patch places 'round these parts with some old BYU friends, Bill and Lisa Fredericks, and their four adorable boys. We have some classic pics of carving pumpkins with Bill and Lisa from our early years at BYU, so it's nice to come full circle.

 Most of the clan. Here we are waiting for the pig race to begin.

 And they're off!

 And they've stopped.

It was so hilarious--they would run a few feet and then stop to root around in the track for food, so the guy would have to whistle and shoo them along to make it around the track. Apparently these pigs weren't bred to compete.

One of the "race heats" had pigs named from Pirates of the Caribbean, er, Piglets of the Caribbean, such as "Captain Jack Spare-rib," "Miss Elizabeth Swine," and "Captain Boar-bosa."

Clara rode on the "cow train" with Sammy--poor Sammy didn't love being in such tight quarters but I was very very proud of Clara for getting and staying on the train by herself without us.

 Picking our pumpkins and gourds.

 Clara loved hanging out with these sweet boys.

Of course the grown-ups had to have a turn, too.

It was a fun outing on a beautiful fall day.

Halloween

Is anyone else noticing the gradual decline of blog posts amongst bloggy friends (I am guessing due to Facebook)? I don't post much on Facebook but am a lurker and even I have found myself being less bloggy of late. In fact, I thought I had already posted these on the blog, only to discover I had just put them on Facebook instead. What are your thoughts about the rise of FB? 

Anyway, this Halloween was pretty low-key. We took the kids to the church Halloween party and then we opted not to take Clara out on Halloween night because she'd gotten plenty of candy and didn't really seem to care. Instead, we stayed home and watched The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Way more fun than braving the cold!

 Clara was "Wonder Girl" from the PBS Kids show--I am not sure she has even seen a full episode (maybe at school or something?). Anyway, there was a lot of anxiety about what she was going to be, and this was a day-of decision. It worked and she got candy, so no complaints there.

 Michael borrowed a fellow dentist's mascot costume, Timmy the Tooth. Clara absolutely LOVED it. In fact, I will probably have to do a whole separate post on Clara's adoration of "non-talking mascots," as she calls them.

 Me and my little pumpkin.

Two handsome fellers.

The temple

Just like the temples described in the Old and New Testament, we have temples on the earth today. It was a perfect fall day for a trip to Washington, D.C., and we were so grateful for Hyrum coming to babysit.

So grateful for families. Truly a divine institution.

The rest of NYC

We enjoyed FAO Schwarz, of course. My question is does anyone actually buy the lifesize animals in the main display area? Not only are they hundreds of dollars, but how on earth would you transport them home?

 Loved the giant candy--yes, that is one single Snickers. It says "Slice 'n Share" on it. Wish I'd gotten a pic of the giant Reese's Cups.

 A Circle Line boat tour was a highlight of the trip--it lasted two hours and we got to see the beautiful skyline of Manhattan as well as learn about the various landmarks. Seated from left to right are my brother Bryan, his wife Emily, my brother Ben, and his wife Jaclyn.

 Seated from left to right: My brother Clay, his wife Amie, my brother Adam, and his wife Wendi.

 Seated from left to right: Us, then my sister Heather, and her husband John.

 The tall building on the left is the new Freedom Tower, which will be finished in 2014, I believe. By the end of construction it will be the tallest building in the United States (or maybe the continent?).

 Lady Liberty--she looks a lot smaller in person than you'd think.

 Enjoying a brisk breeze on the top of the boat!

 Lots of neat bridges, too.

 One night we all went out to Tony di Napoli's before everyone--minus us--went to a Broadway show. It was fun to share lots of pasta dishes around the huge round table.

 Can I just say how much smartphones were used on this getaway? Unfortunately Michael and I don't have them yet, but thank goodness for texting because there was no way--at least, not as easily--we could have done all this without them.

 The ubiquitous phones again. (Apparently Ben just got some bad news. Either that or he was checking the scores.)

 Getting a decent breakfast is always a must for me, and I loved Jamba Juice's protein smoothies and oatmeal. Michael loves fresh juice and was digging his freshly squeezed OJ.

 With Wendi on top of the Rockefeller Center. My left arm felt like it was going to fall off from holding Robbie like this so much when he'd get sick of the Ergo.

 Handsome brothers, but missing John (since he and Heather lived here, they didn't feel the need to go up to the top again) and Matt.

Sisters-in-law! So fun, but again we missed Heather in this pic as well as Tana.

The view of Times Square from our hotel window.

It was so fun to hang out with my siblings. I confess I am not a big city girl in any way, shape, or form. I loved walking through Central Park to get a sense of peace again. But I am so glad that we went and got to experience the Big Apple. And it made me so glad I have such great brothers and sisters.