Random exploration

Since we both did not have to work today, we decided to get out and explore a new neighborhood in the city. There are so many different areas within Manhattan, each with its own personality. For today, we started down near NYU and enjoyed Washington Square Park - it was very cold out, we shivered watching a wedding party trying to take photos in the beautiful square. We wandered up through the West Village, enjoying a cupcake along the way!

Our First Thanksgiving

We started the day with a trip downtown to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. We arrived a little late, but were happy because within a half hour, the majority of the big "balloons" had gone past us...so we headed back home, grabbed Sarah & Randy's bags & headed down to Penn Station to send them on their way to the airport. Afterwards, we relaxed and started in the preparations for our very first Thanksgiving feast together. Of course, everything took a little longer than expected to prepare so we didn't end up eating until MUCH

later in the day, but since it was just the two of us, there was no pressure to have everything ready by a certain time.

California friends visit

We were really blessed to have our friends, Randy & Sarah Botts, visit us all the way from California! They had been visiting family in upstate NY and grabbed a train down into the city to spend a few days with us before traveling home on Thanksgiving Day. We had a great time exploring the city and sharing our lives here with them. And as always, it was terrific to be among friends.

Favorite fall photos

Our fall came very late this year... I loved experiencing the colors of a New England fall. Here are some of my favorite photos from this time of year.

Visitors from DC

For Columbus Day weekend, we were blessed to have our friends from Washington, D.C., Megan & Michael drive up for a visit. It was such a treat to visit with friends for the weekend.

NYC Marathon

Jason ran this marathon 3 years ago, so we decided to go down & cheer on the runners getting close to the finish line. Watching them come in & thinking about their accomplishment brought tears to my eyes. That, along with the sight of New Yorkers actually out in full force cheering for runners, it was quite touching. We watched the professional men & women come in at just over 2 hours, then went & had lunch, to return a little after the 4 hour mark when the non-professionals were coming in. It was so exciting & invigorating to cheer on these people who had just ran 26 miles!!

Visitors from Spokane

Jason's parents came out for a visit this weekend. What a nice time we had with them! Jason took a day off of work and showed them around some of the touristy areas of NYC. They even braved the Bronx and went to see his school. On Saturday, we headed up to Cold Springs, a small town up the Hudson River about an hour. It is across from Westpoint which is always impressive to see. Unfortunately, the day was rainy, but we still managed to have a great day, taking the 25 cent trolley around town and eating a delicious lunch down on the river. They'd hoped to catch the fall colors, but were a little ahead of mother nature's schedule this year.