New York

This month Mike continued his travels. Sadie and I were able to join him on a trip to NY. Sadie and I spent a relaxing day in the hotel while Mike interviewed, then we all ventured out that night into the city.

We took the subway.

And decided not to go into the Ripley's Believe it or Not exhibit.

But we did see Time Square.

We saw people ice skating.

And we saw a big Christmas tree near by.

We loved the decorations.

But the Rockefeller Center tree wasn't as amazing as we had always imagined.

Neither was the Empire State Building.

The next day we went to Central Park and were surprised how beautiful it could be in the winter.

We went to Strawberry Fields.

And to Serendipity.

Then we went to Grand Central Station and took the train back to our hotel.

Hershey!

This week Sadie and I got to meet up with Mike in Hershey, PA. Our friends Suzi and Abbey were so sweet to drive the 7 hour trip (more like 9 hours with toddlers). We had a blast!

Here is Sadie and her BFF. Everyone kept asking if they were twins. We don't think they really look alike, but they were both sporting pig tails & are the same size. What cuties!

Sadie and I have had some real quality time together since Mike has been on the trail. Interview trail that is. I don't know how single moms do it... especially church. This picture melts my heart and almost makes me forget about the failed attempt at reverence today.

The chocolate factory tour had singing cows, which happen to be Sadie's favorite animal. I guess it is because she sees real cows at her Grammie & Papa Button's house. This is a picture of her feeding the stuffed cow in the gift shop the candy sample she got at the end of the tour.

Our Hershey experience involved:

Christmas decorations

A 3-D show

Carousel rides

(Sadie would have ridden the horses all night long if we let her)

Other kiddie rides

Family train rides

Funny encounters with talking candy

(Abbey was not a fan!)

Looking at ducks

And reindeer

Daniel's Visit

Daniel drew my name for Christmas and came to visit as an early gift. Not only did he fly Sadie back home to us from Arizona and spend a week with us, he also gave us a reason to go to D.C. and did chores for me. It was the best present ever. We had a blast, and I have clean cars and floors. Thanks Daniel!

Here are some pictures from D.C. It rained while we were there, but we didn't let that stop us from having a good time. Daniel was able to visit a friend from Arizona and so did I!

We also went to the Festival of Trees and the Festival of Lights here in Winston-Salem. Sadie loved the trees and lights, and wasn't so sure about Santa. I was just glad she would sit on his lap and didn't cry!

Sadie loves her Uncle Daniel. We miss you already!

Halloween

This posting is a little late, but I just had to share pictures of my cute little tiger!

She never actually ate a piece of candy, but she loved the packages. She wouldn't even let go of the candy in order to get more!

Above: church friends at the ward trunk or treat. Below: neighborhood friend during trick or treating.

I loved watching Sadie progress through the night from excited to exhausted.

Lazy 5

Just before Halloween we went to the Lazy 5 Ranch. Our first visit was in May '09. Who knew a few months would make such a difference. Sadie couldn't get enough of the animals. She wanted to feed them all... no matter how slobbery they were!

This just doesn't look natural!

We went with Melanie, Emerson and the twins.

Kristin, Will & Audrey were there too!

The goats may have been Sadie's favorite.

The giraffes were mine. Here is baby Fin who dressed up as a giraffe for Halloween. So cute!

Can you believe this girl?

Pumpkins!

We took our annual trip to our favorite pumpkin patch.

Sadie picked out her apples...

And her pumpkin.

Then we went to the Grace's for pumpkin carving. With Sarah's inspiration and carving tools, we came up with this:

Okay, so I really can't take credit. Mike carved the zebra and Christine carved the owl. Amazing!

Blue Ridge Parkway

Aunt Stacey came to visit us during a layover in Charlotte a couple weeks ago.

We took her driving on the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway.

It was so cold and windy. But with Stacey, everything is fun! She managed to get a few good pictures.

And Mike took a turn behind the camera too.

This little girl sure loves her aunt. This smile was for her!