New York City

I'm trying to catch up on our blog. So many exciting things have happened in our lives recently and I want to share them. So here we go back to November 2010.

After spending time at Kyle and Jess' house we had the opportunity to visit New York City with them before we headed back home to New Mexico. If I were to describe NYC in one word it would be FABULOUS! I loved every minute we were there.

Our first night (Friday, November 12th)

We arrived to the city right at dusk so some of the pictures have poor quality.

Our first stop was the Statue of Liberty and it was closed so we took a boat ride across the river and from there we walked and walked and walked.

Here we are enjoying a dinner of New York pizza!

At the top of the Empire State Building. It was amazing to see the endless lights of the city from up there. It was also very windy and cold!

Second day (Saturday, November 13th)

(It is so amazing, the endless rows of tall buildings)

We went to Toys R Us and it was massive!

Ryan and Kiera looking at a T-Rex in Toys R Us.

Kiera's favorite part of the store. She didn't want to leave!

Times Square. So much more exciting at night!

Central Park

Kiera had no trouble at all making friends the entire four and a half months we were away from home. Every park we went to, she immediately sought out a friend and played with them until it was time to leave. Usually it was someone two or three years older than her. The funny part, she was always the leader and telling the other kids what to do, no matter how much older they were.

Kiera and her Central Park friend!

Before going into the Museum of Natural History we got some lunch from a street vendor.
I love this picture of Averi and Kyle!

Inside the Museum of Natural History

But my most favorite part of the whole experience...

Cannoli's from Ferrara's!!!

Uncle Kyle and Aunt Jessica's House

On our way home from North Carolina in November we had the opportunity to drive up to New York to visit Uncle Kyle and Aunt Jessica. We planned on staying just a few days but once we got there they talked us into staying for another week and taking a trip to NYC with them. We are so happy that we did because we had the BEST time at their house.

No story of the trip would be complete without mentioning Averi and Maddy, their cat. Averi drove the poor cat crazy because she was completely in love with her. Averi followed her everywhere and tried countless times to pick her up.

Kiera had so much fun dressing up in ALL of Aunt Jessica's things. This particular night we headed out to the town and it was cold. When we left for North Carolina in July, I didn't think much about the weather we would encounter on the drive home. Nor did we have room to pack anything extra. Thankfully Aunt Christy made these hats for the girls and sent them to us. Anyway, so here is Kiera sporting Aunt Jess' scarf and gloves. On a different day (I didn't think of taking pictures) Kiera tried on just about every dress Aunt Jessica had. She put on her own fashion show which was adorable.Then there was the hot tub! These three spent nearly most of their time in the water. It was cold up in New York, but that makes a hot tub even more fun! Kiera asked to get in several times a day.One day when Uncle Kyle was at work, Jessica took us for a hike. It was so beautiful and felt so good to be able to get out and enjoy the wilderness. See the difference between New Mexico and New York?

We had an absolutely wonderful time at Kyle and Jessica's house and are so grateful we had the opportunity to visit them! After our amazing time at their house, we all headed to NYC!!!

Ryan's Birthday

This year daddy didn't get much of a Birthday. I think the girls and I enjoyed it more than he did. It just so happened to be the busiest week he has had during this training. He woke up that morning, we gave him his presents and sang 'Happy Birthday' to him and he was off to work not to come home until after we were all in bed. I think it was Saturday before he had time to have a slice of his ice cream cake.

We love Ryan so much. He is an amazing husband and daddy.

Kiera was the most excited about Ryan's Birthday. She was thrilled to go shopping and pick out all the great things for his "party"! She wrapped the presents and decorated the table with candy bars. She was also the most disappointed when the party lasted all but 10 minutes.

I decided it was time for a new tent after our last camping trip. Four people do not fit very well in a three man tent. But the deciding factor for me was that when we woke up sweating bullets all our friends were just fine. There is no ventilation in the tent unless you take the rain cover completely off and then, there is no privacy. So for Ryan's Birthday I upgraded 'him' to a 6 person tent!

Washington D.C.

In September we were blessed with the opportunity to vacation in Washington D.C. with Ryan's younger brother and his wife (aka Kyle and Jessica).

Once we arrived here in North Carolina, Ryan and I agreed that it was a must for us to travel up to Washington D.C. We couldn't be this close and not go. So we planned to meet Kyle and Jessica there over Labor Day weekend. It was only a seven hour drive and well worth it. I can't even explain how green it is on the East coast. After growing up in Utah and never understanding why they call it a desert, I am reminded why every time we travel back to this side of the country. Anyway the trip was absolutely AMAZING! It was one of the best vacations Ryan and I have ever been on together. I wasn't sure how the girls would do because of all the touring and just looking at things, however they pleasantly surprised us and seemed to love it just as much as we did.

1st Day
(the Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery)

(Arlington House)

2nd Day

(Riding the tourmobile)

(Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum - We spent an entire day here)

( What a silly daddy!)

(Averi loved playing in the suitcase every chance she got)

3rd Day
(waiting for the metro train)

This was the same weekend that Hurricane Earl was coming through. The night it hit us in Jacksonville, I kept waking up to see what havoc it was causing, only to find a trickle of rain all through the night. We were truly blessed to have had it impact us so little. It actually brought wonderful weather to the D.C. area and it was beautiful the entire trip.

We truly could have spent a whole week there. Three days just wasn't enough time to go to all the places we wanted. It was a wonderful trip and we are so grateful we got to spend time with Kyle and Jessica!

Kiera making Averi laugh

Kiera has the most amazing gift for entertaining Averi. She is so good to play with her all the time and is always concerned about Averi. Kiera shows more patience with her baby sister than any siblings I know. She is so gentle and kind to Averi. She is the best example to me.

Here are two videos of Kiera making Averi laugh and I would have to say that these are the times when Averi has laughed the hardest.