New Year's Eve in Newport

We spent the day before the last day of the year recovering (doing laundry) from NYC. Kent and Noelene headed up to Gloucester/Cape Ann for a drive. After they got back we tried an Italian restaurant in the North End together. The restaurant G'Viannis was fabulous--wonderful atmosphere and amazing food. Our trouble was the waiting outside for over an hour in freezing temperatures. No one was too comfortable and I was kind of afraid we'd never thaw Noelene out. I guess that is what happens when there are only 6-8 tables in the whole place. We felt pretty bad that our awesome friend/babysitter for the night had to stay an extra two hours than she planned! Sorry Sarah, we owe you one!

I wanted to see the Newport Mansions in all of their decorated glory so that is what we did for New Year's Eve. We walked through the Breakers and I was in awe of the classy Christmas adornment.

Outside the Breakers

The view from the balcony across the grounds and into the ocean wasn't as breathtaking as it was in the summer. The outdoor balcony is closed off by a temporary window structure (and rightly so...BURR) but it takes away from the shock value of the landscape.

Kent and Noelene toured another mansion while we fed the boys lunch and looked around some of the quaint little shops. Grandma and Grandpa took the boys home so we could run a few errands on our way back.

We drove out of Newport a different direction than we'd come in and we got some astonishing views of the ocean. Brad was pretty sure we drove by the Navy base where he'll attend officer training during the summer of 2012.

We were able to make a return at the Bass Outlet and by splitting up later (since most everything closes at 6 on New Year's Eve) a very quick stop at BJ's and Ikea. After we pulled out of the outlet mall I asked Brad if he could believe it had been an entire year since we'd been to Phoenix together. He said yes, it had been a really hard year. I know he's felt busy and a little frustrated with school but I had no idea he felt quite that way. He says the second semester of second year and the first semester of third year were the roughest so far. I wish I could have been a little more supportive!

The NYC Ornaments!

We walked by A LOT of snow while we were in New York City. Many of the snow piles had trash on top. I never really thought about it before but where else would you put the trash on garbage day?!

We noticed several LARGE bags of ornaments a department store had thrown out. I hinted that I wanted an ornament and Kent was happy to "dumpster dive" to get one for me. The only problem was that several were tied together with a metal ring. It was all or nothing...and of course I made out with all of these beautiful cast offs.

I would have taken more had there been any way to get them back to Boston. Many other people were taking bag fulls (Or bags full?) it was a marvelous moment. Brad was completely embarrassed. Kent even remembered to find huge shopping bag at Toys R Us so they'd be easier to get back.

COMING CHRISTMAS 2011 AT THE CAMMACK HOME:

OUTRAGEOUS DISPLAY OF DEPARTMENT STORE ORNAMENT CAST OFFS

NYC Day 2

We ended up staying in the Roosevelt Hotel because with a priceline discount it was cheaper than other places that weren't nearly as nice. It was a good location--right near Grand Central Station. We found out that the Roosevelt Hotel has been in a few movies set in NYC including Maid in Manhattan. You better believe that I watched it as soon as we got home!

A snapshot of the beautiful lobby. William was upset so he wasn't in this picture.

We made our way back to Times Square and ate breakfast at nice and tasty place that I wish I could remember the name of. Even though we took up a lot of very limited space with our strollers they were quite accommodating which was a great bonus.

I remember riding the ferris wheel inside the Toys R Us in Times Square with my sisters and I wanted to do it with the boys. I forgot that it would be busy the week between Christmas and New Year's. The line was longish but went quickly. Just our luck...we got the Little Tykes Car!

David and Mom...forgive the messy hat hair.

Brad and William

All of us!

The boys seemed to have fun. I felt a little bad for taking up the morning with my activity. But Grandma and Grandpa didn't seem to mind even though there were plenty of other things to do. We spent some time searching M&M's world for a souvenir for someone at Kent's office.

Kent and Brad went back to the hotel for our bags and Noelene and I took the kids to the train station. I thought Boston was stroller unfriendly but I felt like NYC was even worse! We tried two entrances and asked several people before we found a good way to get in. Of course it was somewhere strange and even more difficult to get to because of the snow.

We walked by the main NYC Post Office and that was a treat. The building was beautiful and HUGE and more of a Greco-Roman something you'd see in DC. It was especially nice because it kind of appears in an area that didn't seem very pretty to me.

I also chuckled to myself as I read the inscribed "Neither SNOW nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays the couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds." I might be wrong but I think we even missed a day or two of mail (maybe we didn't get any those days?) in Boston after or during a bad storm.

We made it into the station and had a little more confusion trying to find where we were supposed to be. After what felt like ages Brad and Kent finally arrived. Six tired people boarded the train for Boston. The best view of the NYC that I had the whole time we were there was at dusk pulling out of the station. The boys watched movies and enjoyed a trip to the snack bar. It was fun for them to eat and play cars at the tables. The trip was fun but also very soggy and I don't think anyone was disappointed to get back home!

NYC Day 1

Our first stop the next morning was back at the Amish market where David had picked out his birthday cake. It was a good place to get breakfast. Lots of buffet style choices and a really neat atmosphere. We took the bus to our boat tour. It wasn't easy to get our strollers over the massive amounts of snow on the sidewalk and curb (!)

A Circle Line Boat Tour

I like this photo of David with the Empire State Building in the background.

At least the boys started out enjoying each other!

I've been at the foot of the Statue of Liberty before but this view (from the very cold bow of the boat) was amazing.

We trudged a (sort of) short distance through varying degrees of sidewalk--cleared, semi-cleared, not cleared at all, cleared but not big enough for a stroller and so on. We found good puddles at each intersection and I don't know how poor Kent survived the trip without waterproof shoes! We wandered through times square to our next destination:

Photo of David on the porcelain throne.

We made this stop and took this photo in honor of Brad. He got stuck in NYC almost exactly two years ago when a snow storm hit and he didn't make his connection to Phoenix. According to him the Charmin bathrooms were the nicest you could find in New York.

We headed back to the hotel to give both boys a nap. Kent and Noelene met a friend for lunch and we all met back at swanky hot chocolate place. It was too busy to sit down so we ordered some refreshment to go. Another fun-but-treacherous walk and we were at the Macy's department store holiday windows. We pushed our way through and were able to see every single one. They were made entirely of paper but were so life like I found it hard to believe other materials weren't used!

Decorations inside Macy's

William smiles as we wait for Grandpa to buy something.

On our way into FAO Schwartz...

The kids seemed to like the toy store and David was in heaven. He got to purchase not one but two sets of legos--his birthday present from his grandparents. The store closed earlier than we thought we didn't get to try out the huge piano that the Tom Hanks movie Big made so popular but we did see it.

Grandma Noelene was kind enough to stay with the boys and put them to bed. Kent, Brad and I took a trip up to the top of the Empire State Building. It was cold but worth it. Brad found found the Flat Iron building for me. We had walked by it earlier in the day. I was going crazy the whole time we were in the flatiron district...where was the Flatiron Building?!?! I'd seen it with my parents years ago, but its features are only noticeable when you are standing away from it.

The Empire Lobby all decorated.

Brad and I trying to stay warm!

Tonight was a nice end to a fun but slushy day.

David's 3rd Birthday

David (and Will) had a fun time opening a few gifts from Grandma Kathy and us. We gave them some new DVD's and Grandma gave them a race track for Hot Wheels cars:

.

On David's birthday we woke up to this:

I would say it was the worst snow storm we've seen since we moved here in 2008. We were sent home from church after sacrament meeting on Sunday as a precaution. The snow started in the evening and continued to fall through the night and most of Monday morning. It took Brad and Kent about 90 minutes to shovel out the driveway. It was impressive.

Today was also leave for New York City day. If we'd planned it any different (gone by bus or car or even planned to go at an earlier hour) we probably wouldn't have made it. Our home teacher Ben came and picked us all up. How do you properly thank someone for a favor like that? I'm sure it took him all morning just preparing to come and get us!

Gilbert St. wasn't looking very plowed....

Winter Wonderland

We made it to the train station with lots of time to spare. Dave and Will had a lot of fun just looking at a toy train going around and around. It didn't hurt that the train had Toy Story figurines on it!

We found that since we had kids we could get on the train first. Let me see...no baggage check, no security, and first dibs on seats? Thanks, I'll be taking the train again!

Here are the boys as we boarded. They were loving the lounge seats.

David.

Riding on a real train for your birthday. What more could a boy ask for?!

William

Watching a movie with Grandma.

It took between four and five hours to get to New York City. Dave and Will did get restless but with four adults to two kids and no airplane like limitations (you can get up and walk around whenever you want) we did pretty well. Both Brad and I found the whole train experience fascinating. It was nice to cruise through the countryside and make stops at both quaint little places and bigger cities.

We took the subway to our hotel and since it was late I put William to bed. David got to go with his Dad and Grandparents to pick out a small cake from a little Amish market. He chose one with Santa on it. We sang Happy Birthday to him at the hotel. Kent even remembered matches. David was thrilled with the whole thing. I think part of the excitement was because he's been to few parties this fall and really likes the Happy Birthday song. I've caught the boys singing to one another these past few months. David recently told a friend that he had a "Santa Birthday."

Reflections on David's Birthday

With David turning three and the New Year just around the corner I wanted to record some of the memorable things he's been up to!

David is still an early riser, he's up and excited to be awake by 6:30 AM most days. He runs nearly everywhere he goes including back and forth down our narrow hallway. I'm sure our downstairs neighbors love this about him! He gave up a regular afternoon nap a LONG time ago. David still spends hours playing with cars. He really enjoys books, I often find him quietly pouring over one he's found. When David doesn't want something he says, "I can't like it." Vegetables are at the top of his I can't like it list.

I've noticed really interesting things change with his vocabulary and memory especially in the past six months. I've been able to have some really fun conversations with him. David likes songs and music too--I wish I'd taught him more! He seems to remember places and people very well. Grandma's and Grandpa's in general, Grandpa's truck (clear from last January and February!), and aunt Danielley. He'll make connections and surprise us with some random comment about somewhere we've been together. Upon seeing a cat next door--I want to see baby Jesse's cat--whoa, we've only been to Jesse's house once...how did you remember that?! We moved just after a vacation and he made distinctions between our Philly hotel, our Maine cottage house, our Waltham house and finally...our Watertown house that has a garage.

David traded diapers in for some Lightening McQueen undies just after Halloween and minus a few mishaps and relapses has never looked back. PHEW. He's working on getting himself dressed and is mostly there minus socks and Mom having to constantly remind him to stop playing and put the clothes on!

We've had our fair share of disasters this year too. The most notable by far was letting himself our of the house this past spring. Our kind neighbor found him unharmed and he was safely returned home. Other close seconds include (but aren't limited to!) putting Desitin in his friend's hair and drawing on the couch and walls with super permanent marker just before we moved. There was also the oil all over Mom's bead spread. Lots of other more minor and less destructive incidents include helping himself to ice cream from the freezer (while sharing some with Will of course), and spreading dry oatmeal all over the carpet. I'm left wondering how I could have possibly survived these and countless other incidents, but--knock on wood--there hasn't been once recently. Perhaps he's left these "small" feats behind and is planning for bigger and better? Or maybe during age 3 we will see less mayhem?

Amid some serious sibling rivalry or what my father-in-law coined "big brother/little brother syndrome" we've had our fair share of not sharing along with hitting and taking toys. But I've also seen things that warm my heart. David usually makes sure to give things like sippy cups and treats to William. The boys often enjoy a good friendly wrestle or playing any number of things together. Often it is noisy--jumping off the bed, horse, or train--but sometimes we get the quieter moments with cars and books.

Lately David loves giving and receiving hugs and "squashes," a more vigorous version of a hug. He would probably splash in puddles and play in the dirt (or snow) all day if I'd let him. He really likes "helping" out with cooking. While this interest might be the death of any real productivity in the kitchen it (in theory) makes me happy that he wants to help and be involved in things that Brad and I are doing. Coming from a family of girls I'm always surprised by the things David finds enjoyable (and the mess said activities tend to make) but I really wouldn't trade the excitement and adventurous spirit for anything else.

David you've stolen our hearts. Happy 3rd Birthday!

For Mom

The boys really love their tent. They've explored their options and decided that putting as many toys as possible inside is a good use for it.

Sleeping David.

Someone had too much fun on Christmas!