Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Thanksgiving

Wow! It's already Thanksgiving! We got to spend this Thanksgiving at the Watkins with the whole gang! It was so fun to see and be with everyone and enjoy a great meal of course. Before the annual feast, since the skiing wasn't too great, I talked my family into a Turkey Trot. Some were more excited than others, but off we went to the Farmington Turkey Trot. We met the Mattson family there, who all ran the 5k with me. I ran the 5k (my first one every, scary huh), and the kids and Blake ran the 1k. They all did great, some enjoyed it more than others (ok maybe just me). Needless to say it was a great way to work off a few extra calories before we consumed many more than our share.

Here are a few photos from the race.




After dinner we all played the bi-annual family kickball game. The kids love it and are getting much better than in previous years. Soon we may have to move to the park so the kids have more room to really give the ball a boot! Overall, a great day! We have much to be thankful for and always appreciate a day to help us remember how blessed we are.

Friday, December 4, 2009

Fun Times Back East

Blake and I made a quick trip back east this month. Blake had some business to do in Maryland and Virginia so off we went. We arrived in Baltimore late on Wednesday night but then decided we would venture down to DC and see what sights we could see. We were able to see the Washington, Lincoln and Jefferson Memorial. Once it was about 1 am we thought we better head out to find our hotel room. It was so quite and nice to be able to visit the places without the crowds and crazy people. We will be making a trip back there with the kids next time!



The next morning Blake had a client meeting in Reston, VA so I tagged along for that. After wards we headed out to towards the Delmarva Peninsula. On our way we just happened upon the Washington DC Temple, so we made a quick detour. What a huge temple!

Next stop was Annapolis for lunch. We wandered around the Naval Academy a little bit and enjoyed some lunch at the bay.



After Annapolis we headed out to Salisbury area to visit some friends we meet while living in Washington State and another client meeting for Blake. We had a great time visiting with Bobby and Molly. They treated us to the best food in town and showed us a great time. We got to go visit their "farm" and ride the new 4 wheeler, shoot the cross bow and play in the corn crib (well actually only their son Mason played in the corn crib). They took us out to Ocean City for dinner one night which was the yummiest filet mignon ever!!




From there we headed down to NYC to visit some great girls, Whitney & Carly Mattson! Carly is back there working for Goldmann Sachs and loving it. Whitney is finishing up her schooling at FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology). They were such great hosts! The night we arrived (which was very much delayed, due to some delayed luggage), we headed out across the Brooklyn Bridge for pizza! We visited the world famous Grimaldi's Pizza and had promised our Brookelyn that we would get pictures of "her" bridge!


The next day after our luggage showed up (thank heavens), we headed out to see the sites! We had a delicious breakfast at Clinton Street Bakery! We got to ride bikes through Central Park, which is the best way to see the park! We had yummy custard from the shake shack (yum, I can't stop thinking about how yummy that was)!





We visited Grand Central Station, and Blake and I talked to each other in the corners. This is really a cook phenomenon if you have never done it, give it a try. We saw Whitney's school, the new NYC Temple, made a stop at the candy store, rode the subway (lots), saw Walls street and ground zero (best view is from Carly's place) and of course saw the sights of Times Square.








We also had to get in a NYC show, so we played the lottery and got tickets for "Rock of Ages" which is a show about all the 80's rock music. It was certainly music we were familiar. The show itself was a little sketchy but pretty dang funny. Thanks for enjoying the show with us Whit!



The last day of our trip we went and visited the trading floor of Goldmann and got to see where Carly spends her time. The trading floor was pretty quite while we were there? Then Whitney took us out shopping for some souvenirs in Chinatown! We found some great stuff for the kids and I love the bags I found in those backroom shops! No I didn't end up getting these awesome glasses! I think I might regret it?

We had such awesome hosts the whole time who made sure we were very well fed! Thanks guys!