Pie for Breakfast

'Nuff said.

Chasing Balloons

Clara slept in. That's really the only important thing today. The child didn't wake up until after 9am. Mind you, we had her up late last night, and her biological clock is a few hours behind. But the sun was up. There was light in the room. She was in a Pack N Play, not her regular bed. And she managed to sleep in. A gift from the gods. Kristin and I were VERY thankful.

What a delightful way to start out our Thanksgiving! But there is so much more to be thankful for: Today is a beautiful fall day in NYC. And there is a little parade happening. One short train ride and we found ourselves in Times Square ready to spectate.

We decided that sleep and warmth were more important than camping out early to get a good view of the parade. Additionally, what 2-year-old wants to sit and watch a parade for multiple hours? We all figured 30 minutes would be long enough. And we were right! After 30 minutes they were MORE than done. We saw a couple of floats go by, saw a few of the huge balloons, and even saw some interesting people. Selected photos follow.

It's Kermit!

Shrek ambling through Time Square

The Statue of Liberty (and Will Smith)

The Big Apple

Michael, David, and Clara taking in the world

Moving in for the kill

Daddy showing his age (do you see those wrinkles around the eyes?!?)

Them in Times Square

Us in Time Square

After the parade, David and I hit Gristedes for a few must-haves (read Cherry Coke Zero and Just Black Cherry). On the way home we looked back towards Time Square and saw Horton heading downtown. What an "end" to the parade.

Balloons in the Park

Did you know that you can go to Central Park on Thanksgiving Eve and watch them inflate the balloons for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade? David learned about it from someone at work. After the pizza (insert sigh of delight here) we headed uptown on the subway to 79th & Columbia. As we came out of the subway station we ran into police barricades directing us down, around, under, and through. As we walked passed a row of TV vans, I knew this was more than a quick little walk in the park.

Welcome to the production. The balloons are inflated along 79th and 77th streets. By the time we arrived, they were done inflating, but sat weighted down, prepared for the parade. The crowds weren't too bad on 79th street, and we stopped to take pictures of most of the balloons. I love the Shrek, Buzz Lightyear, and Kermit the Frog balloons. Despite my post a few days ago, this was one pre-Thanksgiving moment where I was okay with hearing Christmas music. It was contextually relevant. And I wasn't being sold anything. Wait. Doesn't Macy's sponsor the parade? Okay, maybe I was being sold something, but it wasn't overt, so I can overlook it. My principles aren't that strong.

The crowds were amazing. Tons of people everywhere the eye could see. The excitement and energy was palpable. I feed off the energy and walked alone, taking pictures, drinking it in. Small children looked up at these towering balloons with awe in their eyes. Adults held out iPhones to take self portraits with their friends. I even saw two ridiculous old women (okay they were early 50s) in their fur coats smoking and pushing their way through the crowds, angling for shots with each of the balloons.

I took a ton of pictures, which are posted to the right, but a quick finish to the story. As we headed over to 77th Street to see the second half of the balloons we ran into a wall of people. After slowly moving along for ten minutes we decided to head home. The crowds were immense. It was like 4th of July on the Mall in D.C. On our way home we decided hot chocolate was in order. That was the true inauguration of the holiday spirit: hot chocolate on a cold city night. Bring Thanksgiving on!

Four more necessary pictures. I was fascinated with how they weighted the balloons down. It seemed there were sandbags every foot, if not more frequently.
The two little Yahoos and the entire group with the two Yahoos being highly distracted.

And what would any gathering of people be without someone practicing their First Amendment rights?Agree with the message. The yelling at people as they walked by, not so much. How about something more like this.

MA-BA!!!!

One of my biggest fears for this trips was that Clara would not remember Michael. Clara loves to watch videos of her and Michael playing, so we started watching them as often (not offen) as possible in the hopes that it would help her remember Michael, who she hadn't seen for four months. Bonnie had a similar concern. I really shouldn't have worried.

As I mentioned in the previous post, they met us in Penn Station this evening. Michael and Clara were both in their strollers and when they saw each other they started giggling and laughing. They recognized each other! When we got back to the apartment they immediately set about wrecking havoc.
We decided on pizza for dinner. David and Bonnie have found a place they absolutely love called Patsy's. The name sounded familiar. A friend in the MBA program gave me a list of restaurants to check out, and Patsy's was the pizza place on the list! We ordered one pepperoni and olive pizza and a sausage pizza. And I must say, the stuff was AMAZING! They use fresh mozzarella cheese and cook in a fire oven. The olives on the first pizza had a briny bite that made the pizza. The sausage pizza paled in comparison. I told everyone we have to eat that pizza again during this trip.If you are ever in New York you must get the pepperoni and olive pizza from Patsy's. Kristin has promised me that we're going to get to eat it one more time. Bliss.

Clara goes Modal

We're off to New York! The pull of friends in NYC is taking us out of town for the Thanksgiving holiday. We left the house at 7am to head up to the Salt Lake City airport. From Utah to New York, Clara experience five modes of transportation. A pretty big event in her life; I figured it'd be fun to chronicle each.

1. The Bus - we took a shuttle bus from the economy parking lot to the main terminal. Clara sat in a seat sans car seat. She was ECSTATIC! She kept looking around, smiling, giggling, and generally enjoying herself. She even stayed seated the whole time, thankfully.

2. Plane - Clara is quite adept at saying "airplane." When we boarded the aisle seat was empty. Clara plopped herself down and started messing with the seat belt. She was having a grand old time ... until the girl who had paid for the seat showed up and she was pulled into Mom & Dad's laps. To say the flight was a struggle would be an understatement. Plenty of distractions failed to satisfy her constantly shifting demands. The four hour flight, plus an abundance of taxi and wait time, took its toll. We ambled off the plane into the Newark Airport.

3. Monorail - we took the Air Train (Newark Airport's monorail system) over to the NJ Transit station. Clara was in her stroller, but kept grabbing on to the handrails, claiming them for her own. At one point Kristin was told to move her hand as the rail was "mine!" Kristin, not wanting to put up a fight after four hours of doing so, obliged.

4. Train - from the Newark airport, we took the New Jersey Transit train to Penn Station. Clara was fascinated by the train, and a handicap row allowed us to keep her in her stroller. And the people watching was money.

5. Subway - David, Bonnie, and Michael met us at Penn station, which was a total zoo. The number of people heading out of the city was astounding. I caught a quick picture (right). The people, the noise, the chaos. I love cities. We walked back to their apartment. We decided to head out after dinner (next post) and we rode the subway. She smiled each time a train rumbled through the station, and sat in her stroller on the train, loving the sites and sounds.

One day. Five modes of Transportation. And that's not even considering walking, stroller, and the car.

And before we leave, one last cute picture of Clara from the plane. Enjoy!

It's That Time of the Year Again

Well, folks, it's time for my annual "What in the world are they thinking" post.I was driving home tonight and decided to drive around the circle*. As I came up to the road that runs behind our house, I saw the above. I pulled over, pulled out my iPhone, and snapped a photo. Perfect fodder for a rant!

The Christmas Season DOES NOT being until the day after Thanksgiving. There should be NO Christmas music on the radio, NO Christmas displays in stores, NO Christmas lights on houses, and NO Christmas trees up. If you must put up your outside lights before, as you will be traveling or there are extenuating circumstances, they must NOT be turned on before the day after Thanksgiving.

We Americans are getting a little over-worked about our holidays. We spend so much time building up to the main event that the hubbub overshadows the event itself, and meaning is lost. (See calendar here.)

I'm ready for Christmas. I'm ready for Christmas music. I actually collect the stuff. But I can wait until Friday. And then, it will never stop until New Years Day. I can't wait for the REAL Christmas season to begin.

After Turkey Day.

---

*My family grew up living in a cul de sac that was surrounded by two roads that created a circle. When driving home we would often ask, "Circle, please!" so that the driver would take us around the circle. To this day "Circle, please!" carries special meaning in my family.

Welcome To: Classmates

Since starting b-school I have met a number of amazing people and am making some great friends. They range from crazy to normal, mildly insane to out-right loopy. Many of them are my type of people. So here's a quick list of everyone I've added to the list of links on the side:

	Dave & Jamie - Dave is on my team, is tall, and very agreeable. He is amazing at every sport he plays. He killed me the other morning at racquetball.
	David & Mandi - David is on my team, has a very unique name, lives near us, and is *slightly* obsessed with BYU sports.
	Ken & Emily - Ken is also on my team, hails from CA, is a finance genius, and has a Mac, which I covet.
	Chloe - there is too much to say and not say about Chloe. We co-chair the Social Committee, she is amazingly forthright, and knows how to party.
	Julie - I sat next to Julie when we had Seating Chart #3. She spent past few years in Boston and has a total East Coast vibe.
	Ronell & Briawna - Ronell and I shared a room on the marketing trip to Moab, have studied together many a late night, and are taking all the same classes next semester.
	Mathew & Monica - Mathew and I worked together on the opening social and Monica is on the Social Committee with me. They have an adorable daughter!
	Thamina - Thamina is very cool, calm, and collected. She also has a great first and last name.
	Devan & Erin - Devan is David's best friend and an honorary member of our team. He is also killer at fusbol.

So welcome, Dear Classmates & Families.
Readers of the blog: Go! Give pageviews! Read their blogs.

The Envelope, Please...

So who wins? Will Oliver's family curse be broken, or will it be mine? A boy was the predominant guess (by a 2-to-1 margin) by you, our loyal blog readers, which would break my dad's all-girls-all-the-time curse.

Will Clara be able to impart her vast feminine wisdom to a new sister, or will she need to learn to speak the language of trucks, trains, and bugs with a new brother?

We have the answer.

Oliver's family curse stands no longer.

We will be the first of Oliver's siblings to have two girls! Baby girl #2 was very accommodating; we didn't even need the ultrasound tech to tell us what we're having, it was that obvious. Everything looks good, she is measuring right where she should be at 20 weeks...well, except for her legs. They're long. They're measuring about a week-and-a-half ahead of where they should be. Big shock there. I'm pretty sure I wrote the same thing about Clara two years ago.

Now we just need to come up with a name. Pray for us on that one. Seriously.

(For those of you adept at reading ultrasound images, here is a sample for you.)

An Election-Day Post

Good day, my friends. Wanted to share with you a little piece that I wrote for the MBA Newsletter titled "My Vote Doesn't Count." Thought it was appropriate to share today of all days.

My Vote Doesn't Count

Growing up in the Washington D.C. suburbs and later working for The Washington Post, I've been exposed to my fair share of politics and politicians. My father's professional career was spent working for the federal government, and public policy, political ideas, and the realities of our political system have long been a part of my vocabulary. Over time, however, youthful ideals of my ability to influence the political process gave way to the harsh reality that as a rank-and-file American my vote doesn't count.

I don't believe this is true for everybody. Thus far in my life, however, this has been true for me. I've lived in Virginia the entirety of my voting life. And Virginia is a Red State: the state's presidential electorates end up in the Republican's column. With a clear majority, it doesn't matter if I vote or not as my vote won't change the outcome.

But this election is different! The Democratic leanings of Northern Virginia are gaining enough of a strong hold that it is becoming a swing state. As party nominees were announced and vice presidential candidates chosen it became clear that Virginia would be a battleground, where each vote could have influence. Virginia is a player in this year's presidential election. And my vote would count … except I moved to Utah. Back to square one.

Maybe someday Utah will become a swing state. Or I will move somewhere where the pendulum doesn't sit firmly on one side of the aisle. But in the meantime, I will continue to vote, as I have, in each election. The question remains: "Is a cast vote enough?" The First Presidency has counseled us:

"As citizens we have the privilege and duty of electing office holders and influencing public policy … Latter-day Saints as citizens are to seek out and then uphold leaders who will act with integrity and are wise, good, and honest … we urge you to register to vote, to study the issues and candidates carefully and prayerfully, and then to vote for and actively support those you believe will most nearly carry out your ideas of good government. " -- Letter from the First Presidency dated September 22, 2008

The First Presidency says we should do more, that we should not only vote but also "actively support those you believe will most nearly carry out your ideas of good government." Active support can take many forms, from engaging in dialog about the state of our society and how to influence it, to working for a campaign, to running for office. Few will ever do the latter, and a slightly larger group will do the penultimate. But the former is something that each of us can do, and not just during election years. In fact, productively sharing our thoughts about family and the gospel can be more than missionary work, but also active participation in the political process.

So, yes, I still believe that my vote doesn't count. But there's more than just my vote. And hopefully those actions will count for something someday.

This is Halloween, This is Halloween...

Halloween, Halloween...

Our Halloween festivities began the weekend before the big day with a trip to a local pumpkin patch to find the perfect pumpkins to color on with markers; I figured this was more appropriate than handing a two-year-old a knife to carve one, don't you think? The little farm we found also had some other activities set up for the kids to enjoy, and enjoy them Clara did. I think we spent nearly three hours there before we had to drag her away for lunch and naptime. She probably would have been content to stay the whole day if we would have let her.

The farm had a little petting zoo set up and once Clara was comfortable with pigs, chickens, goats, and cows walking right up to her she decided she wanted to feed them. We spent the rest of time trying to convince her that we didn't have any more change for the feed dispensers:


They also had a 20+ foot tall slide that Clara wanted to try; I know her face looks a little scared in this picture, but every single time they would make it to the bottom, she would jump up and say, "Again, again!" and run back over the steps of the slide.


She loved this little animal train they were running (a bunch of drums decorated to look like animals and pulled by a tractor). She convinced Oliver to do this one four times, despite the fact that it was not designed for 6 1/2 foot tall individuals:


This farm also does a huge corn maze each year (which we didn't do), but they also have a pint-size version for the little ones. This is Clara standing in the middle; the goofy smile is what we now get when we ask her to smile for the camera:


Once we finally pulled Clara away from the joys of slides and animals, we went on a hay ride over to the pumpkin patch. Here she is trying her best to navigate the very rough field:


And again with a Clara-sized pumpkin in tow:


She had a grand time, and I'm guessing this will be a part of next year's celebration as well.

On Halloween night Oliver came home from campus a little earlier than usual, so we had time to decorate pumpkins and get Clara ready for some trick-or-treat fun. Like I said, I didn't think my not-quite-two-year old would do well with a carving knife, so we pulled out the washable markers instead. Her drawings never did dry completely, but I didn't really want to try and get permanent marker or paint off her clothes or her skin. Again, note the goofy, goofy smile in the first picture. When do they outgrow this little quirk?




I made a little pink tutu for Clara's costume and paired it with an old bead necklace from a past Halloween costume, a tiara from her Grandma, and some fake flowers she likes to carry around. We called her a fairy princess; anyone have a better idea as to what we might have called this little outfit? (And yes, she is barefoot outside at the end of October. It was around 70 degrees that evening. Crazy.)




Trick-or-treating consisted of a trip over to Bryce & Lisa's house (Lisa is Oliver's cousin & Bryce is a second year in the MBA program). This is Clara heading up the stairs to knock on her one and only door of the evening:


She's still too little to really get what Halloween is about, and she can't eat most of the candy anyway, so we figured one house would do the trick. Bryce & Lisa were great, though, and gave her Skittles & Starburst (both Clara-friendly), which she enjoyed immensely. We stayed and chatted for a bit while Clara & Sophie played, and headed home for bed when the melt-down potential reached the danger zone.

It turns out she's very fond of her costume, too; she keeps asking to wear her "hat" (the tiara) and as we were heading out the door somewhere she grabbed the tutu and insisted on taking in the car with us. Maybe we can recycle it for next year too...