New York & New Jersey

December 24 was our travel day.  We haven't flown with the boys since we've had to purchase them seats, but decided to take the plunge this time.  When we bought the tickets we thought that it would be nice not to have to drive on snowy roads.  As it turns out, there was no snow to be found this Christmas which made for very smooth flights!  The boys have been talking about getting to ride on an airplane for months so the anticipation of flying with them was exciting!  It was an adventure for them.  When we took off, Levi said "we're on top of the world!"  He also asked me, "Can we land on earth please mommy"  :)  It was also nice that it only took us 11 hours of traveling door to door instead of 22 hours which is what it would have taken to drive.

Christmas Day!  The boys each had a stocking filled with many fun surprises waiting for them when they woke up.  The whole family was able to be together!  We opened presents, went to church, and ate delicious food.

When we got home from church, the boys wanted to go and help Grandpa walk Bruno.  The boys were very excited that Grandpa and Grandma have a new dog!

I love Dorian's expressions on these pictures.  It just shows his joy!

Fun!  Dorian and Levi opened a guitar and a drum!  Dorian, we discovered, is a natural on the drum!

Uncle Drew was excited about the drum and the guitar as well since he could now have jam sessions with them.  :)

Nathan's mom made all the girls silk scarves which were beautiful!

In the evening, we went to Grandpa and Grandma Tintle's house.  As usual, their house was packed!  The boys discovered an antique pinball machine downstairs which is where they spent a good part of the evening.  :)  Grandpa had fun watching them.

December 26 was the day that Dorian and Levi made gingerbread houses with grandma!  I love this picture of Dorian because it shows him contemplating with excitement how he is going to decorate it.  He is good at making patterns and making sure everything is just right.

They are proud of their work!

In the afternoon we went to the veterinarian office to see where Grandpa was working.  The boys had a blast holding Tweety and letting her walk on them!

We also went to Jumping Jakes where the boys went on inflatable jumping toys and ran off some energy.

December 27:  Grandpa and grandma wanted to take the boys to their first movie in the theaters. So we watched Chipwrecked with the Chipmunks and ate popcorn!

December 28:  After lunch we drove down to spend some time in New York City.  As we were walking there, we passed many characters that wanted us to take pictures with them.  Dorian was feeling brave and wanted to do it too.  But Nathan didn't know that the stocking that each of them were holding weren't filled with treats, it was where you were supposed to put money in for the privilege of taking your picture with them.  :) 

Yeah!  The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree!  I'm not sure why it's so exciting to go and stand shoulder to shoulder in crowds to see it, but it is!  :)  The boys had lots of questions about city life as we walked for miles from our parking garage, to the tree, and to go out to eat.  I know we're not cut out to live there, but it was fun to visit.

 

December 29:  We spent the morning hanging out together.  The boys ate up the attention from Aunt Jillian. 

After eating lunch with the Tintles, we left to drive to the hotel that we were staying at while we visited with Brian, Katherine Mikayla and Caden!  It was fun because Kerry, Ashley, Emma and Claire were also visiting so we were able to all be together!  The hotel had a pool and the boys couldn't wait to go swimming!  After swimming Katherine made tacos for all of us and they were delicious!

December 30:  In the morning, everyone came over to swim again.  In the afternoon we took the kids to the bowling alley.  In the evening, we ordered food from Big Jims, Nathan's favorite place to eat when we are visiting.  It was wonderful because after the kids were done eating, they played so well that we could just sit and talk together! 

December 31:  Katherine's dad wanted to take the kids to the fire station to see the fire truck.  The boys were thrilled with that idea.  They sat in the truck, tried on the Firefighter gear, rang the bell and watched the bright flashing lights.

We left right after lunch to head back to the Newark airport.  It was so cute to see the boys with their backpacks and carrying their own luggage.  :) 

After we landed Nathan went to get our van while I pulled off our bags from the baggage claim.  You know you have too much luggage when you get asked, "Are you moving to Omaha?"  :)  Let's just say that we came home with more than we left with.  :)  It's great that bags are free on Southwest!  We arrived back home at 11:30, just before the New Year!