Deicker Heights In Brooklyn NY

A week before we left for NY I was watching HGTV. There was a special on Crazy Christmas lights. They highlighted this awesome neighborhood in Brooklyn where we were staying with Ben's sister Erica. So we had to go see it, and of course pictures don't do it justice. It was crazy. I have never seen people so excited about putting up lights! There were themed houses.. Scrooge, Mickey mouse stuff on had a carnival feel with minature rides all lit up. After seeing it on TV and hearing about all the work the neighbors go through to put this on, it was great to see in person. It got us in the Christmas mood!

Like father like daughter!

While I was packing up our house I heard Abbie giggling. When I looked, she was taking pictures of herself. She found the camera and these are just a few of the pics we got. What can I say? She is just like her Daddy! He loves to take goofy pics of himself to make everyone laugh. I think he laughs more than anyone else.... (unless his friend Jamin is around!:)) Ben and Abbie keep us entertained! We love them!

Izza and Belle

Best buddies for life. Even though Izza is only 18months she still talks about Belle in her own little way. She loved chasing Belle around and I think secretly Belle liked being chased by her. When everyone was gone they sat in this chair for a while. Izza was just laughing and hugging her, Belle just let her do it. It may have been because Iz was sharing her raisins:) I think Belle always knew she could get a good little treat out of Iz! Either way they were cute together and we LOVE them both. We can't wait to get back to NY to see Belle!:) (and her owners!:))

Rockefeller Center

We walked from Macy's to Rockefeller Center hoping to Ice Skate and enjoy the rest of the afternoon. The walk ended up slightly longer than we had planned and I was wearing heels.... yikes and ouch! Needless to say by the time we all got there we were tired and wanted to sit and relax. We found out that you have to stand in line for 45min to skate. Izza was tired and cranky as well as a few nameless peeps:) So we opted out and just watched for a while, took some pics, and went to the NBC store. It was great to see the tree and the rink, the stuff you only see on TV. It is such a beautiful city! I love NY!

The REAL Santa Claus in NYC

Macy's (in NEW YORK) big ad: THE ONLY PLACE YOU CAN FIND THE REAL SANTA !!! We couldn't miss out on that opportunity! We waited in one of the best lines ever! We rode on a train, you could see out the windows as we rode closer and closer to the North Pole. Just off the train was a huge talking tree, singing Christmas songs and asking everyone to join in. Then we saw elves building toys. Choo Choo trains climbing up a track around a Christmas Tree. Then we met a couple of elves who led us to Santa Claus. He was so nice. Abbie asked for Dog for Christmas, he told her he would try but puppies have a hard time staying in the sleigh. It was so fun to watch Izza in amazement of all the hype and then having to sit with some old man named Santa. All she knows about him is that he says,

"HO HO HO"!
We all had a great time watching the girls meet Santa Claus!

Macy's

After Martha Stewart we met the rest of the family for lunch in Macy's. We had a full day planned out in the city!

Pictured LtoR:

Izza, Ben , Aunt Janene, Uncle Mike, Jay(Ben's Dad), Me, and Abbie

Martha Stewart!

Erica got us tickets to the show. We had so much fun! I couldn't believe all the work that goes into a live show. They have a crowd warmer! A guy that comes out and tells a few jokes and gets everyone excited. He has us clap on cue and say things like ooohhhhh and awwww or MMMmmmm. On comercial breaks they pump loud dance music through the studio and hand out gifts to keep everyone going. It was a lot of fun! Martha Stewart is so on top of things! She is definately a new hero of mine!!!!

bottom pic left to right: Alex (Ben's sis), Linda (Ben's Mom), Me, and Erica (Ben's sis)

Lincoln Center

The Nutcracker Ballet at Lincoln Center! I wish I had more pics of this amazing event! Abbie sat on the edge of her seat watching the whole thing and picking out what part she would want to play in the show! I was blown away by the talent of the kids involved, they are all young kids starting at age six! Both Abbie and I got our pictures take with a Sugar Plum Fairy! It was an awesome girls night out in New York!

We also got to see the Manhattan Temple at Lincoln Center. It was raining and we were in a hurry so it was hard to take a good picture. I had to take several to get this not so good shot. I took the pics while waititng at the cross walk with a lot of other people around. I got some funny and confused looks from people wondering what I was taking a picture of, they kept looking around and looking at me like "what am I missing?" I guess thats the wild world outside of UTAH! The Temple was beautiful at night all lit up in the rain! Its awesome to see that glow in the middle of that busy city with all the tall buildings and people hussling around it.

Marching in Style

Christmas jammies from Grandma Linda and Grandpa Jay! The girls put on thier jams and came marching around the corner for a little show. We were able to celebrate Christmas while we were in New York with Ben's family! We had such a great time with everyone! Thanks all!!!We love you!

Muddy Day

Playing in the MUD!! This is our backyard, we have an awesome "pond" made from rain. The girls had a blast throwing rocks and mud and watching them splash! Izza's hands got covered with mud, when she realized they were messy she wiped them on her jacket to get them clean!:) We love our little Iz. Abbie, of course, got one hand slightly dirty and maybe a little mud on her shoes! She had more fun hunting in the yard to find things that would float. She even found a really cool rock, she couldn't believe the shape (it was a broken pvc pipe:)).Its so awesome to watch these amazing girls grow up! They are so much fun!!