iDecember...

It's April, and finally spring, and I'm just finishing up blogging about Chrsitmas!  Eeek!  Better late than never.  Here is our Month of December through my iPhone.  

Visiting Santa at the Old James Store / Mitch blowing out the candles on his "Take 5" birthday cake. 

Dieter and Remi during their normal crazy shenanigans / Dieter with his best bud Ossie

Dieter and me at his Nativity program at preschool.

Me, being fixed up by Mitch with anti-nausea meds after a bout with the flu / Drive-thru light show

Westminster Gardens / Finnley's class Christmas party

All dressed up for Mitch's work party / Our little family on Christmas Eve

The Sorber's leading our Christmas carols / Our funny and dysfunctional nativity

Finnley on Christmas Morning / Singing her heart out on her new microphone

Dieter in his new gator / Remi taking a little break on mom's lap

Mitch's gift from the DeHarts, a halter for his horse / Our tree before the storm

It was a great month!  More pictures to come....

Cabin Paradise...

If there's one thing I miss the most about Utah, its definitely the mountains.  And that includes my parent's cabin.  We hadn't been up there in over a year-and-a-half and it felt so good to be up in the great outdoors, relaxed, and enjoying all the natural beauty there is to be seen.

The fall colors were unreal, and we couldn't get enough of our four-wheeler rides through the yellow aspen groves.  My whole family made it up to watch conference and it was so much fun (although very hard to listen).  The kids played non-stop and we were able to get Sansom family photos done with everyone there.  Utah keeps a tight hold on us with all it has to offer.

The men of the family.

We made sure to take a trip into Park City and ride the Alpine Coaster on our way home.

The Sansom Family.

The Duckworth Family!

Port Jefferson Harbor...

Here I am, playing catch up, again.

If you're like us, Sundays are beautiful, relaxing days.  But, there comes a time - usually around 4pm - that you just have to get out of the house.  One of our favorite spots to burn off some energy is down by the Port Jefferson Harbor.  There are rocks to be thrown, sea creatures to discover, and when we remember to pack them along, bubbles to be popped.  

A beautiful bonus, we usually get to watch the sun set over the harbor, and spot boats coming and going.  We can't wait until the weather warms up again, so we can resume our Sundays skipping rocks in the harbor.

 

Central Park Zoo & the Highline...

 

 

We have had such a busy summer that we weren't able to get into the city much.  One day I decided we were going to hop on the train and head in to the Central Park Zoo.  We had a great time and did a ton in a short amount of time.  We started at the Zoo and Children's Zoo.  After, we spent some time exploring Central Park, had an ice cream and hopped on the subway over to Bryant Park.

 

 

 

Bryant Park had a lot of fun things for the kids.  They had a game center set up with Connect Four's, Domino's and tons of other fun games for you to play.  The carousel is always a hit.  Mitch was working up in Westchester, so he was able to come meet us after work.  He met up with us at Chelsea Market where we ate way too much and enjoyed playing on the Highline for a bit. 

 

We had such a fun day, and can't wait to get back there for another great day of exploring the city.

Avalon...

 



Mitch has been on call the last TWO Saturdays.  Bummer.  Double bummer, they've both been rainy kind of depressing days.  So, when my kids started going stir crazy inside, we decided we were going to go on a hike in the rain.  We'd been hearing about a place called Avalon, but hadn't been.  It turned out to be beautiful, and the perfect "hike" for kids.  There were all sorts of trails leading to different places.  My kids took the lead and I just followed with Remi on my back.

 



 

I was nervous that my kids would poop out, or that Dieter would want to be held or something like that, but they did great and it was a really fun, and much needed, outing.  Remi was her usual happy self.  This girl amazes me with her happy personality.  She would just tap on my shoulders or cheeks with her dainty little finger tips, or sing a little "song" as we walked. 

Finnley wanted my ipod and earphones to listen to music as we "exercised" because her jacket had a hole for the headphones to fit through.  She was singing along to whatever song she was listening to, and it was so cute to hear her.  She didn't know hardly any of the words, but she was belting it out.  I'm sure in her head she sounded amazing!  Love this little sass. Her very favorite show right now is The Voice.  She knows all the contestants names, songs they've sung, and even remembers how they wore their hair, etc. 

We sure missed our Daddy, but were glad to have a little adventure in the rain and discover a new part of Long Island.  We'll definitely be taking you back Mitchie!

/

Winter Storm Nemo...

We've had quite the year in the weather department - Hurricane Sandy and now winter storm Nemo.  We were excited to finally have some snow to go with our frigid temps, so we headed to Target and picked up some sleds, snow paint, and snowman fixings.  It started snowing and snowing and snowing.  Me and the kids headed outside to play, sled and and build a couple of snowmen.  They were in heaven.

Once the wind started blowing, and my hair started freezing, we decided to head inside and wait out the storm.  I thought we'd get 12 inches max.  Believe it or not, we woke up to 32 inches!  Now, in Utah this storm would have been No Big Deal, but, here in New York, well, it took them THREE days to plow roads.  A Friday night storm cancelled church on Sunday and school on Monday.  It was hilarious, and we enjoyed all our down time as a family.

We woke up to beautiful blue skies, and a fresh coat of beautiful, white snow.  Our half-frozen over bay off the Long Island Sound.

Our snow covered little house.

Mitch had quite the task of shoveling our 500 yard lane!  Our lane is dirt, so the plow stopped when the pavement stopped.  Mitch spent five hours busting his butt (and breaking his back) digging us out. 

Mitch was post-call on Monday, so after catching up on some sleep he woke up and built the kids and awesome snow ramp for them to sled and "snowboard" down.  He couldn't resist trying it out himself.

A few days after the storm, we decided to hit up the sledding hills at St. George's Golf Club.  We had a great time, and Remi was a hoot.  She loved everything about sledding and just smiled and smiled the whole time.  Dieter and Finnley were great sports and so daring.  I can't get enough time with my family.  I know these days will pass by much too quickly, so I'm trying to soak it up while I can.  Here's to better weather!

Boston and Such...

Mitch got a much deserved week off, so we celebrated with an action packed week of fun.  For our first adventure, we headed up to Boston.  We took the ferry from Port Jefferson over to Connecticut.  The ferry, itself, was a highlight for our kids.  Boston was chilly!  I wasn't prepared for the cold...luckily Mitch packed two jackets and let me wear his extra.  

We started off our first day by walking the Freedom Trail.  We saw as many sights as we could, pushing our double-wide stroller with two bored kids inside, and enjoyed just some of the yummy food around the neighborhood.  My first impression of Boston?  I loved it!  I actually texted my sisters insisting we come back for a girls trip.

Sight of the Boston Massacre 

Quincy Market was a highlight.  Fun atmosphere, great people watching, and delicious food.  We couldn't decide on just one thing, so we went with a modge-podge of stuff.  The winner was definitely the Chowda' and the bread bowl it came in.  Mmm, mmm, mmm.  We craved it the rest of the weekend.  

Our kids were troopers, even though it wasn't the most fun they've ever had.  At one point Finnley asked, 'Mom are there any other kids that live here?' Although we had fun, Mitch and I decided we'll be back to do all the sights sans kids one day.

We took our treats to the Boston Public Garden and ate while we watched the squirrels gather nuts, and the 15+ brides get their portraits taken.  Such a gorgeous place.

Day two we headed up to Concord and Lexington to see some more historical sights.  The leaves had started changing, there was a misty rain in the air, and it was beautiful up there!  Our first stop was the North Bridge and Minute Man National Monument where the first shots against the British were fired.  We continued to see a bunch of other sights until our kids needed a change of pace...then we headed to Bedford Farms for ice cream.

Silly Girl!

Remmy liked the ice cream stop too.  Even though she didn't get the ice cream, she sure did love the cone! Did I mention we had lunch at the House of Beef in town?  It was a little iffy on the outside, but the roast beef sandwiches didn't disappoint.

Day three took us to Plymouth, Cape Cod, and back home to New York.  Our first stop was Plymouth Rock.  I have to say, I was definitely under-welmed, but it was fun to see none-the-less.  The Mayflower II was cool as well.  

See that little rock in there?  Well, that's Plymouth Rock.  Expecting a big cliff-like Mountain rock?  Me too. ;)

Our trip up to Boston was a blast!  I love spending time with my little family and get giddy when we're all strapped in one car together.  May sound like torture to some, but its my favorite!  I look forward to making a trip back up the East Coast again soon!