Our weekend together

It was a tough decision whether to do the parade this year or not. Rachel really wanted to go but it's really not as convenient as it was last year. But, Rachel's multiple doodles of the Macy's parade all over the house with the Hello Kitty balloon and the nice weather (no snow or rain) swayed us to do it. We missed the early train by 30 seconds and caught the next one to arrive as the parade started. We didn't have as good a view but it was a little less crowded further back and we didn't have to break our back holding kids either. Sadly, the crowd also helps with warmth and the kids got really cold. We missed Hello Kitty, but we still saw Buzz and lots of other good balloons and they still had a great time. It was all worth it to capture these smiles on their faces.
After we warmed up in a drugstore, we headed north to see if by any chance our beloved Shake Shack was open for lunch (or maybe just for their pumpkin pie concrete :) Unfortunately it was closed, but on our way we crossed paths with a family leaving the parade that offered us their VIP passes. We headed in just in time to see Santa Claus up close and personal. Which was really great because we missed him last year. Rachel was jumping up and down waving and she was so excited when Santa blew her a kiss. Such a fun surprise!!!
You know, this was my first time back to the city and I was amazed how comfortable it felt. It felt more like home than where we are now. I know it's just a matter of time (we've only been here a few months), but I have been actually feeling a little homesick for the city since then. I never thought I would say that.

Anyway, later that day we enjoyed an amazing meal with some friends from church. With how much we fit it, it still felt like a very relaxed, and also long, day. The rest of the weekend we just enjoyed having Daddy around. He's been traveling for most of the month of November and even back in LA now.

We went to a farm in PA to get a tree and drive through their holiday light show
We were standing next to this big tree enjoying the "snow" (made of soap?) and listening to the Christmas music. Lots of people were taking pictures in front of it and all the sudden I notice Tommy doing this...he had patiently waited his turn then stepped up and smiled. I had to hurry and pull the camera out. I just LOVE this kid!
Roasting marshmallows on an open fireThe kids loved all the lights. As we were finishing up the show Rachel lets out a good sigh and say, "I feel very merry!" Isn't Christmas time wonderful!?
On Saturday Jake and I headed back up to New York to attend his cousin's wedding reception. He hadn't seen Cathy in 15 years, can you believe it? We enjoyed a nice dinner with them and had to miss out on the dancing to get home to our babysitter. Bummer, but it was great to see them.

Giving thanks

For these ones

Getaway

While my mom was in town Jake and I planned a little getaway to the Poconos. We have to take advantage of these times when I'm not nursing or pregnant. It was quick but just enough.

A nice evening walk along the Delaware River.
Jake wanted to be like Philippe Petit (the tight rope walker that walked between the two towers...if you haven't seen the documentary, you should...it's crazy) It doesn't look that high up, but Jake said it was a good 20 feet. Our lovely bed and breakfast. I took way too much time researching these things. Procrastination and indecision are some of my weaknesses.
Jake was in charge of the rental car. This is what we got. Supposedly he got it for only $10 a day. It's got amazing gas mileage too. Jake probably had a little too much fun with this on the country roads. I'm grateful I'm still alive!Unfortunately most of the leaves had fallen but we still got some fun color.
We went to a place called Bushkill Falls. Supposedly it's the Niagra of Pennsylvania. Great hiking and scenery!
This was scary!



After the falls we drove up to a town called Milford, which was really cute. We ate some soup and baguettes at a Pattiserie and took a little walk down the main street. We see a sign on a house and it reminded me that I had seen something about the "Lincoln Flag" in my research. There it was, inside...the flag that was hanging in front of Lincoln at the theatre and used to prop his head after he was shot. Very cool!This is a place called Grey Towers, home of a former PA governor. Amazing view and home, my favorite thing being their outside dining was a table of water. They would pass their food on little boats. I totally want one one day.
Our bed and breakfasts were both amazing.This one even had a waterfall and hot tub in the backyard!As I tell Jake on every date night, "it's been a while, huh? We definitely don't do enough of these!"

Grandma time

We had a great time with Grandma in town. We packed in a lot of fun! We started off at the Please Touch museum in Philadelphia. What an amazing children's museum. It was perfect for Tommy's age, he loved it! He probably could have spent the whole day just in the constuction area.

They had a whole section dedicated to Alice in Wonderland...clean cup move down!Dr. Herway
Kate had some fun too
At first we forgot to get Kate a ticket for the carousel, whoops, we should have known she would LOVE it.Working the big craneTaking us "to church"It's blurry but I really like this picture. What fun you can have in a car that doesn't move!
We went on a walk, or treasure hunt, on the path behind our home. A lot of leaves have fallen but there still was some really nice color.

Arrgh! We found our treasure!
Grandma made us a Thanksgiving dinner. Amazing! Don't you love Jake's plate?...Orange rolls!
A day trip to Hershey, Pennsylvania to visit the chocolate factory!
We got to create our own candy bar! Cool huh? We got to choose the base chocolate, 3 fillings, whether or not we wanted sprinkles on top and the design of the package. Then we got to watch the whole process. Sooooo fun!

We had to wear the aprons and caps because it's a real working factory. We had to keep putting Kate's back on because they were threatening to kick us out. I'm not sure why they were worried. It's not like she has a lot of hair.
At Chocolate world we also got to package Hershey kisses, ride a ride that took us on a journey of where chocolate has come from and how it is made. We also got to see a fun 3D show.You just gotta love this kid!And this grin! She did pretty good with missing some naps.And lastly we headed up to the "studio" to do some creating.

Painting with frostingMaking a gingerbread man
And a delicious chocolate pizza. Seriously, such a blast! Definitely worth the trip!
A few more pictures. The leaves have all fallen now and have somehow magically made these nice big piles. (Such a great perk to townhouse living!)
And Christmas has come full force already with decorations, music, and Santa. This one is seriously the BEST one.