mlk day in chilly florida

to escape our mild nyc winter we booked a trip to sunny florida for the long weekend. of course it was much warmer than home but we were a bit whiny about the mid 60 degree weather.  

as always, andrea and i took advantage of mom's hot rolling skills. 

dad brought home tons of juicing oranges from a neighbors yard so... i squeezed. it was delicious and even though we had to wear more layers than we would have liked to we sipped it in the sun.

we spent an afternoon at the clearwater aquarium. it was a bit heartbreaking but good to see all the great work that is done at this rescue and release organization. 

the waters were filled with disabled or rehabbing turtles and dolphins. below is the poor dolphin, winter, who was found in a fishing line and lost his tale. a recent disney movie was inspired by his story and has brought tons of publicity and money to the aquarium. 

can you even believe mom was willing to touch the rays? 

we will have to go back and enjoy the warmth and beach again soon! 

christmas in ohio

we headed home to ohio for a traditional christmas celebration. this is the first year rob and i felt good about how we split our time with each other and each others' families.    

i had mentioned to dad earlier in the day how lovely the sunset must be at eastwood lake with the dayton skyline in the background. as the sun started to fade he had us outside of the hopping household just in time to watch and play in the beautiful-ohio-christmas-eve sunset. i can always count on dad for mini 'adventures' and outdoor fun.  

after the annual fiesta we held the second annual gingerbread house competition. kimmy/kayleigh vs gina/karlie vs andrea/brenden vs mom/dad. andrea/brenden won by a landslide. we all knew we were out of the competition when brenden decided to create a combat village. 

as the evening drew closer and closer to the arrival of santa claus, andrea and i headed to the palermo's for their christmas eve shindig. we had a great time chatting, drinking plenty of wassail, dancing, and of course eating!  

presents, breakfast, cappuccino from the palermo's new espresso machine, and feeling well & well rested (unlike last year) made christmas morning wonderful. we had a chat with anne who spent her christmas in a farmhouse in belgium. oh how she was missed!  

christmas afternoon was spent like every christmas of my life (minus two spent in florida). we ate a thousand casseroles, exchanged presents, and laughed and danced with mamaw! 

after the family festivities we went out with friends who we hadn't seen in far too long. guess i was having too much fun to snap any pics. oops. 

until next christmas season. 

liberty and ellis island

i have been trying to go to liberty and ellis island for years. we have had many guests visit and amazingly no one has wanted to take the quick ferry over...until now. pete, kristen, rob, and i headed out this brisk and sunny saturday to 'enjoy the grounds' at liberty island. notice the view of lower manhattan below. the freedom tower (tallest building) is nearly complete!

i really enjoyed ellis island, especially all the photographs of immigrants arriving and living in nyc. we spent more time there than i anticipated and rob was able to look on the manifest for his great grandfather who arrived on ellis island as a solo traveler as a teenager! we aren't sure we found the correct document but it was exciting none-the-less.  

dyker heights holiday lights

this week pete and kristen traveled from dayton to visit nyc during the holidays. they stayed in the city a few nights then came to brooklyn for the weekend. we took them to dyker heights to see the extravagant, sometimes lovely, sometimes gaudy christmas lights.

it was nice walking the few blocks around 12th avenue and 84th street in mid-40's temperature but i'll admit i wouldn't have minded colder temperatures and a nice hot chocolate to help me get in the christmas spirit.  

the homes in dyker heights are beautiful and it always feels like a bit of an escape to be in 'suburban' areas of brooklyn.

holiday fun

rob and my sis decided it would be fun to exchange running shoes for christmas this year.

 

can you believe these two bought each other the same shoes! can you also believe that neither of them were sure if they liked them right away? oh my!

this sunday we enjoyed a little christmas shopping, cookie making and football watching.

rob and i mostly relaxed while andrea whipped up an amazing vietnamese themed sunday dinner. what a lovely way to end a weekend full of christmas parties. weekends need to be extended...don't you think? 

there's always next year

next year i am totally making this adorable advent calendar. wishing i had found it a few weeks ago.