Happy Birthday John

John turned the Big 4-5 while we were in NYC.   And once again, he was the oldest one around the table....until Tarek's birthday two weeks later!  After our delicious Thanksgiving at Ryan and Tarek's, we needed to let someone else do the cooking.   And after our big day as tourists, we were ready!   We dined in Manhattan at Quality Bistro.   It was such a treat to enjoy a fancy dinner out.   And William can sure hold his own with a bunch of 40-year-olds.   He had prescreened the dessert menu and was ready when that order came around!  

Thanksgiving in NYC

When I realized our schedules weren't going to line up to host Ryan this winter, I pulled an audible and made plans for Thanksgiving in NYC.   Turned out to be a really fun adventure!   New York was busy but not its usual oppressively busy self.   On Wednesday we took a very early flight and had the whole day to explore.   After dropping our bags at our Manhattan hotel, we hit up the Lego Store, saw the tree going up in 30 Rock, did some window shopping, walked through Central Park (the leaves were gorgeous!) and then did a walk through of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons as they were being inflated along Central Park West.   We enjoyed a delicious late lunch in Midtown and were re-energized for the walk back to the hotel, which included a trip through the Nintendo Store.    It was an amazing day!  

On Thanksgiving morning, we slept in and grabbed Starbucks for the walk to brunch.    I made us reservations near Central Park with the idea that we would see some of the parade route.   The parde moved much faster than I expected, so by 10:30, most of it was past the restaurant (on 55th) and we could watch the coverage at 35th on the TV at the restaurant!    On our walk from 43rd & 5th to 55th & 7th, we stopped to see parts of the parade and even had to cross the parade route at a designated spot.   The walk back after breakfast was crazy to see an empty 6th Avenue!    One of the strangest things for me - besides empty streets - was that the street light poles had to be opened like a gate to allow the balloons through.   

Thanksgiving evening was a fabulous dinner at Ryan and Tarek's.   The food and company were superb.   We enjoyed seeing the guys, their cats, and several friends - some new, some we hadn't seen in awhile!   And what family event would be complete without a few rounds of Exploding Kittens?!

On Friday, Ryan joined us on a Statue of Liberty Tour.  It was the first time for each of us.  We took the ferry from Battery Park to Liberty Island for the pedestal tour.   It was a blustery day, so those face masks were serving dual purpose!  While we were inside the statue, we went through the museum there, so only did a quick run through the other museum.  Then we reboarded the ferry (getting hot dogs and chips for the ride) to Ellis Island where we spent time reading the various exhibits before returning to Manhattan.   John and William were most intrigued by the construction of the statue.  I was most intrigued by the stories of the people through Ellis Island.

Touching New Jersey and New York at the same time.  

Inner workings looking up from pedestal to the crown.   This framework was Gustave Eiffel's idea.  Yes, that Eiffel.   About 10 years before Paris's Eiffel Tower was unveiled.

The original torch now resides in the museum.

Math Contest

History and Math are William's favorite subjects at school.   They have a Math Club but it met online last year when he was finally eligible to join, and it wasn't any fun for him.   This year it might meet in person, but he decided not to do it.   Church youth group meets the same night, so I didn't press it.   But when weekend math contests rolled around this year for the 7th and 8th graders, I signed him up for one!   He wasn't super excited but his buddy was signed up, too, so he went with it.  And luckily that mom drove them in morning, so I only got to see the aftermath at pickup!   

I got to the gym a few minutes early to watch the award ceremony.   The team had picked the furthest corner of the bleachers to sit....Of course they did!   ASCA had two teams there - a mix of 7th and 8th grade boys and girls on each team of 5.  

Luckily I got there early, because the very first winner announced was William!   He got 5th spot 7th grader in the individual contest.   So glad I got there to see it!  His buddy got 2nd, and their two teams placed 2nd and 4th!   Now he's really high on math contests!  :-)   He's got another one coming up in January.

The math contests are fun for the kids, and they're also a nice way for the local Catholic high schools to bring in prospective students.  This competition was at Marmion Academy, which is an all boys school that has its roots as a military school.  It's not on our list of schools, but William was impressed with the canon on the football field!   

Disney's 50th Anniversary

With a few days off school in November, we used the long weekend for visit Mickey and Friends.  October 1 started Walt Disney World's 50th anniversary celebration.  There were several new treats and activities and souvenirs.    It rained quite a bit, and it had been so long since I packed for WDW that I didn't consider the need for rain coats!   But we survived and had a lovely time, as usual!  

Highlights from a few of the parks:

Animal Kingdom:  this may be our favorite park anymore.   It's just so lovely to get a Starbucks or an adult beverage (for the adults) and wander the paths and finding new surprises.   We were lucky to see one of the macaw fly ins at the tree of life.   And we saw the baby gorilla on the trail!

Resorts:   We stayed at the Swan since most of the resorts were sold out.   But we did a walk thru at Beach Club, our favorite resort, to see the gingerbread carousel and walk through the lobby and gift shop.

Restaurants:   We ate at William's favorite restaurant, Teppan Edo in Japan at Epcot.   He ate every bite of his food and then ordered (and ate) this fancy dessert.  

 Hollywood Studios:   This day didn't go as planned with the early breakdown of Rise of the Resistance, but we were able to ride most of our favorites and have lunch at Hollywood Brown Derby and my favorite cobb salad.

Magic Kingdom:  The park looked beautiful for both Christmas and the anniversary.   We enjoyed souvenir shopping for some anniversary merchandise, and since this was our first day, I didn't yet realize my favorite souvenir Christmas ornaments would be no where to be found.