New York, New York!

Hey Team!! Can't believe that December is more than half way over. And that means that it has been a whole month since we last checked in. I know there are some unhappy people out there. We have had a busy month to say the least. To recap a few things:

1 - I am proud of my Utes for the way they beat down the Cougs. I wish more than anything we could head down to New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl. But we will be cheering hard the same.

2 - Nate turned 32 a couple weeks ago. He celebrated with a night out with Hill at the movies - something that doesn't happen nearly enough. We went to Twilight. I didn't mind the movie, but I just couldn't get past the special (or not-so-special) effects. Deep down I'm a closet Twilight fan.

3 - Seth and Leeah visited for a few days. We had a great time with them, and if nothing else, they ate well. Seth and I had a bang up game of frisbee golf. Seth won.

4 - I am currently on vacation and enjoying a few days off. We just got home from an awesome trip to New York. Ever since we moved out to the East coast, we have wanted to go to the city. We hope you enjoy the pictures as much as we enjoyed the trip.

Grandma and Grandpa Carter flew in to Charlottesville and Hill and Claire drove up with them to NYC. Between weather, traffic, and an 18-month old, it was a long trip (taking 10 hours to travel what is normally 7). Luckily Elmo came along with his Sesame Street friends to keep Claire company. Claire has actually gotten much better in the car (for those of you who have bad memories of her earlier days). Luckily for dad, he was able to fly up to meet them the next day. And then the fun truly began...

Our hotel was in the heart of the big city - right on Times Square.

Mom and Dad in the Hershey's factory...without Claire. We loved being with Hill's family, and we were also happy to have a couple extra babysitters to give us a break. You would think that the "factory" would be cheaper than picking something up at the regular store. You would be wrong, especially since that "factory" is in the middle of NYC.

That's one big m&m! I guess that is why they call it m&m world.

Friday evening we went to the Metropolitan Museum. We had a very short amount of time and we tried to make the most of it. Claire was so much fun to watch at the museum. She just ran around looking at all the Egyptian displays and yelling. Just yelling for fun. She has so much to say these days. Unfortunately not very much of it makes sense. The words that do make sense, she repeats over and over. She is adding alot of words to her vocabulary.

The Egyptian display was amazing. They brought in a full temple ruin from Egypt. Highly recommend the Met.

Happy Birthday to me!!! For my birthday, Alyson took us to Radio City Music Hall to see the Rockettes in the Christmas Spectacular. The show was so much fun. We had a great time. Thanks Al!

They did a great number when they dressed up as toy soldiers. At the end, they shot a cannon and did this whole fall down in slow motion. Very cool. Could not recommend the Christmas spectacular any more highly!!!

Thank you so much to Grandma Carter for allowing us a night out on the town. She and Claire had a great time at McDonalds.

Claire had a great time on the Subway. She was of course always moving around, wanting to sit by herself, wanting to stand up and grab the pole. Whe always made friends with her neighbors on the train. She even learned what the Choo Choo Train says ("choo choo" - in case you were wondering).

Claire had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa Carter.


We took a trip down to south Manhattan to see the Statue of Liberty. It was FRIGID!!! The line was way to long to get on a boat. We just waved to Lady Liberty from a distance.

There are all kinds of strange things in NYC. Claire has never seen an Elmo so big. She liked him alot more from a distance.

"Popular! We're going to be Popular!" Being in New York, we had to see a broadway. At the top of the list was "Wicked." Of course the night we could go see it, it was sold out. We almost blew the bank and bought a couple tickets off of scalpers. Luckily that fell through. I walked up to the box office and saw a bunch of people in line. I found out they were waiting to enter the lottery for front row tickets. To make a long story short, luck smiled down upon us and Hill's name was drawn out. We got the tickets for $25 each. What an awesome night out. Thanks to Alyson and Cydnee for taking such good care of their niece!

Monday morning we made a trek out to Rockefeller plaza to see the tree. It was all we ever hoped and dreamed.

Claire had a great time in Times Square.

Lookin' good ladies.

The window displays were great - "Magical," according to Hill.

Aunt Alyson was a champ to carry Claire around through the night.

Come on Claire!!! This is the time for laughter and smiles.

Despite some great meals (and some that weren't so great), we always found ourselves starting the day out right - at McDonalds. They do have a pretty good breakfast menu.

On Monday we made a trip to the FAO Schwartz mega toy store. Claire was in heaven. That is a great store. What I liked the most was the gummy bear selection. I heard someone ask why they would add candy beads to the outside of the gummy bear. Obviously the answer is "More Sugar!!!" Al, we hope those gummy bears made it home like promised.

Claire had a great time playing with the stuffed animals. Aunt Alyson got her a small one to remember the trip. I said, "Claire, what do you want to name the dog?" She said "Woof." So, we named the dog Woof. Claire takes Woof to bed with her now. Sometimes in the morning we will hear her barking in her crib. So cute.

Just playing with the dogs!!!

After the toy store and a stop for lunch at Pop Burger, we headed to the legendary Central Park. The girls took a great ride in a horse drawn carriage. "Neighhhh, Neighhh." Claire does know what a horse says.

Daddy and his girl.




On Tuesday we got up and headed down to NBC studios to try to take in the Today show. We were of course too late to meet Al out on the plaza. This is the face that Claire was going to make if she met him.
Love my girls!!!

Of course their were many more details that I will spare you. We had a great time with the Carters (Grandma, Grandpa, Alyson, Cyd). The drive home was tolerable. The best thing about this trip... I still have (had) five more days (now two), before having to go back to work. I have been able to take a vacation from my vacation. Back to work on monday.

But not before I make my maiden voyage out into the woods tomorrow morning for my first shot at hunting. My goal is to shoot a turkey and eat it for Christmas!!