Christmas Break

We really didn't see a ton of Brandon in the month of December, so during his school break we tried to make up for lost time, which usually constitutes a little site seeing with a lot more of the family traditions that I love!

Christmas Eve around our tree!

Tori loves the old Rudolph movie, so decked out entirely in reindeers made her feel especially like Clarisse. 

SANTA CAME!

"Baby with a strollee" as specified. Those smiles make it so worth it!

Tori and Brighton got Daddy a small gift that she was very excited to give to him.

Brighty's race track.

I love this kid!

Tori didn't waste any time breaking it in.

Already has the city-mom brisk walking pace.

Brandon had only been to the Met once and it was in the first week or two that we lived here, so needless to say, we weren't experienced in NYC site seeing and ended up leaving early. While my mom was visiting back during fashion week, I realized that we had seen maybe a tenth of the exhibits with Brandon. They also have a new Andy Warhol exhibit that I had wanted to see and want to see again and again (so disturbing like a car wreck, you can't look away). Moreover, you get a free piece of candy, a chance to see the sun rise over the Empire State Building in black and white (and I mean a gambling chance), and a room full of silver, rectangle balloons that you can bat around at leisure. Dream come true for Tori...and me if we're being honest. No pics allowed, blah, but I did get to document Brighton's first chance out of the stroller.

Freedom! 

Probably our favorite family spot is Central Park, so we had to take Dad to this playground with the absolute best slide ever!

Brighton's 1st turn on the slide.

For our anniversary, Brandon had purchased a snowboarding package for us from LivingSocial, which thanks to his classmates, we got totally for FREEEEEE! I was so excited for this trip, and at one point didn't think it would work out for me to go, so I was so thankful for friends that jumped in to help with my babes. I didn't realize how trunked out I was about being in the city. Getting out, back to the mountains not only made me realize it, but it also rejuiced me because unbeknownst to me, I was heading for a bit of a city-life fall out.

On the drive to Hunter Mountain. 

Happy 7 years!

This is my future backyard!!

Brandon's awesome classmates. It was great boarding with a group, and I really adore Brandon's colleagues. Grrrreat group of people.  

Brandon planned out the final Saturday of his break, which included a trip to Madison Square to try a new restaurant called Schnipper's and to visit the latest art exhibit. 

Another sort of peddler I suppose, these guys make giant bubbles. It's pretty awesome!

The Bucky Ball! This is such a cool part of town, and I wish this exhibit was going to be here in the summer! If you want to see it in person, you only have until February!

Now that's a big ball!!