Tuesday, November 30, 2010

New York, NY

After Utah, we flew back to JFK and had 24 hours before our flight to Germany. We checked into a hotel, got some sleep, and decided in the morning to have a mini-trip into the city for some holly, jolly fun. (And to wear out kids- very important before a red eye flight, stay tuned for more of Julie's travel tips.)

First stop- Rockefeller Center to see the (in)famous Christmas tree. This place was insane! Silly me, first Saturday after Thanksgiving. The kids were not terribly impressed by the Swavarski crystal star, and it was daytime so the lights were not thrilling either. But oh well, we tried. ;)


After Rockefeller Center we peeked in shop windows and strolled to the Carnegie Deli.


Here we had a traditional New York lunch.

Rob and I shared a Reuben the size of my head and a meat knish, while Charlotte and Toby split a foot long hot dog. Then we decided we all needed a little cheesecake topped with chocolate mousse.

Oh. My. Goodness. This place is good.
(No wonder it is so dang crowded.)
After lunch we had to work off those calories by trekking back (via Subway, train, and shuttle) to JFK airport for the long flight home. It was a good little mini-break though. :)
(Really, for the cheesecake alone I would do it again.)

Utah is the place...

... to see Nichols/Anderson family and old college friends!
We had fun visiting in Utah as well, but I'm afraid I didn't take very many pictures here either. We just enjoyed relaxing and spending time eating, and playing games, walking in the park and Big Cottonwood Canyon, and talking with each other. I have a few photos to share though, and Rob's cousin-in-law(?) Marissa put some on Facebook if you're just dying to see more!

Grandma and Grandpa Anderson were enlisted to read many, many books to Charlotte and Toby. "One more, peease."

While we were in Utah, we all went to the dentist and had cleanings.
Charlotte gets the gold star for best dental patient under 5 years old! Turns out her baby teeth have "malformed enamel" and she will have some problems with them (including 3 cavities filled on this trip.) Thankfully, the pediatric dentist assures us we are doing a good job with brushing and her adult teeth should be fine.

We spent a day at the Children's Discovery Museum in Salt Lake, thanks to Cousin Annie. The kids loved playing here in the pretend construction zone, house, grocery store, and farm.


Annie's little girl Emma is done grocery shopping. We went to church with the Wolfes as well, and Toby loved being in Nursery with Emma while Charlotte was in Sunbeams with Annie for her teacher. :)


Can't make a trip to Utah without showing the kids Temple Square.
They were still in the process of setting up the Christmas lights, but we saw all of the Nativity scenes and talked with Charlotte and Toby about families being together forever.
Thanks to everyone that we got to spend time with...
and we hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!

Sweet home Pennsylvania

We had a nice time visiting the Kaufman side of our family in PA. :)


We started off the festivities with a group hike at Hawk Mountain. Uncle Dan, Eddie, Max, Charlotte, Leah, Toby, and Connor all made it to the top! (Although we did carry Toby quite a bit.)


Melissa, Dan, Pam, Dad, and Me- Julie. ;)

The views were really pretty with the Fall leaves,
and we did see a few birds.


We also got to meet BEN on this trip... my nephew Allen's son.
He is adorable and likes cookies a lot.
We went trick or treating at Ben's house but I managed to take those pictures on my sister's camera. Pam, please email me those when you get a chance. :D

Our kiddos really liked playing Aunt Pam's piano.
We got to visit with just about all of our family in the area, and also went hiking on the Appalachian Trail one day, did a LOT of shopping, and ate cheesesteaks and chocolate milkshakes to our hearts' content. Thanks ya'll for taking the time to hang out with us!

Monday, November 08, 2010

Iceland... continued


Just a few more photos I want to share from Iceland, and then I promise to move on. ;)


This was the last waterfall that we went to see, Skogafoss. It is at the base of that volcano that was causing all of the mischief over the summer with flights around Europe. You can see the ground is completely black with volcanic ash here.

The view of our car in the parking lot from the top of the waterfall. Rob is the only one who hiked to the top because it was a loooong way and it was super cold and windy out. The kiddos and I watched from the car and ate M&Ms. ;)

There are massive wide open spaces in Iceland. We spent a lot of time driving around on gravel roads in the middle of nowhere. Sometimes we just had to stop and stretch our legs with a quick game of tag in the "highway." (Those resourceful Icelanders are hauling that same volcanic ash around to make these roads.)

We returned to Gulfoss because it is just that amazing.
That is Rob and Toby up on the cliff overlooking the waterfall.

On our last day we went to the Blue Lagoon.
This hot spring was a great way to spend a few hours before a long flight. They have buckets of silica mud on the banks that you can do "mud masks" with and waterfalls to stand under. Rob and I took turns enjoying steam rooms and saunas. The kiddos had swimmies on the whole time and loved splashing around.
Note: We realize it's rather unusual to bring two small kids to a spa in Iceland, but if we didn't, then we couldn't go either, and they really seem to like traveling too. It's just the way we roll. ;)
Below is a bonus video of the Geysir going off.