"New York at Christmas"

We can honestly say there is nothing like New York at Christmas!! We spent a wonderful 24-hours in the city enjoying all sorts of holiday fun.

William told us he wanted to take a picture with a Rockette... so we did!!  This was our first time seeing the Radio City Christmas Spectacular.  William summed it up in one word... WOW!!  He was so focused on the performance... dancing, clapping... he couldn't sit down!! 

After the show, William rode in his first taxi to Carmine's for dinner.  He was smiling and staring outside throughout the entire ride.  In this shot, he didn't want to take his eyes off the lights or the ride!

At Carmine's... William told us he was drinking "apple juice on the rocks"!! 

We planned to go to the Rockefeller Center tree lighting... but it was raining.  So, we headed back to the hotel, grabbed a couple of lattes from Starbucks, and watched on TV.  William fell asleep just as they lit the tree!

The next morning we headed to FAO Schwartz after the Apple Store... both my boys wanted to look at toys!

William loved, loved, loved playing on the Big Piano!!  He even practiced his baseball slides!

After a quick stop at the FDNY Fire Zone so William could drive the fire truck, we had to see the tree!!

What a wonderful start to the season!!

And we're back!

We have neglected our blog.  There.  I said it.  We have been so captivated with the ease of Facebook that we have not update our blog since MAY 2009... what is up with that? 

Seriously, our blog is such a part of our family history and a chronicle of our adventures.  We often refer to it just to recall an event or to marvel at how much William has grown.

Stay tuned.  We are updating as I write!

Spring at the Falls

On a recent warm Spring day, we could not wait to enjoy the day by hiking one our favorite trails. William brought his magnifying glass and made all sorts of discoveries about tree bark, bugs, leaves, rocks and sticks!

Hiking down to Awosting Falls...William is already making discoveries.

Mommy and William in front of the falls

Beautiful...cool breeze from the water...loud...loved it!

The boys climbed on the rocks and ventured close to the waterfall.

Mommy and William throwing sticks and watching them head downstream.

We had a picnic on this rock surface...relaxing.

After our hike, we walked back to our car to finish our picnic and to cool down. William waved to other hikers and yelled to one group, "hey, we're eating grapes." Guess he thought that was a little bit of information worth sharing!

Skyscraper-mania!

Empire State Building (downloaded image!)

William loves skyscrapers! So, one morning we had to pick Daddy up at the airport. Instead of heading home, we headed into the city to see a really famous skyscraper, The Empire State Building! Thankfully, the lines were short. We rode the elevator to the 86th floor observation deck. What a view! The only problem...we couldn't see the Empire State Building!!!

On our journey to the top, we even saw King Kong!

We cannot resist tourist photos...we take them everywhere we go. Oh the fortune we have spent...

The boys taking in the view...looks like David is more captivated with his little boy!

View of Chrysler Building

Mommy and William...it got a bit chilly!

This is one firefighter who is quite proud of the skyscrapers we built. The one he is holding is made out of toothpicks and gum drops; the other is taped to the sliding door...we spent the afternoon coloring in all the windows!

This is a great children's book about the building of the Empire State Building. It is historically accurate and provided us with lots of info about the construction of the skyscraper.

Skyscraper-mania continues! We build skyscrapers out of Legos, cans from the pantry, empty boxes, books, etc. What a great adventure we are sharing with our little boy!

Easter in Mississippi

We spent our Easter vacation in Mississippi visiting Grandpoppy and the rest of the Covington clan! We had a wonderfully relaxing trip and enjoyed spending so much time with our family! Dave spent quite a bit of time fishing at the pond....hours and hours....casting and reeling!!

Grandpoppy and William on the tractor...a dream come true for one little boy!

Sitting at the pond with Daddy and the new John Deere tractor from Miss Bessie

Fishing with Mommy at the pond...Grandpoppy looks on!


Riding the four-wheeler with Uncle Noel

William and cousin Samuel getting ready for the Easter egg hunt at Grandpoppy's house!

In search of eggs...it was so much fun to see William, Chloe, Samuel, and Joel running around the front yard!

CANDY!!!

Dyeing eggs with cousins....Chloe, Samuel, and Joel!

Easter Bunny!

Cherry Blossoms in DC

The White House on a gorgeous Spring day!

Just a few weeks ago, we were daydreaming about Spring, and I mentioned that some day I would love to see the cherry blossoms in Washington DC. My Mom always wanted to see them too!

Fast forward a couple of days from this conversation and we get a call from our dear friend Amanda...she just moved to DC...what? So, we planned a weekend trip that just so happened to be the weekend of the Cherry Blossom Festival!

William and Mommy drove in from NY and Dave flew in from CA for the weekend (luggage didn't arrive but that's another story). Aunt Amanda and William snuggle at dinner!

Walking to the Cherry Blossom Festival parade...guess what we stumbled upon!

In the parade grandstand...Washington Monument behind us...The White House was in front of us...what I view!

Parade party pic!

"Don't sit under the cherry tree with anyone else but me!" We are at the Tidal Basin underneath the gorgeous cherry trees!

We had yummy Japanese food for our picnic. No picnic is complete without a hot dog...with ginger and wasabi slaw on top!

The cherry trees surround the Tidal Basin and lead up to the Jefferson Memorial.

The Washington Monument through the Cherry Blossoms.

We walked back to the White House. William fell asleep in the stroller, so Aunt Amanda sat with him while Dave and I walked closer.

White House party pic

After all that walking, we needed a little treat...."Hello Cupcake" cupcakes!!! YUM!

We rested for a mere hour and then the driver arrived. We were headed out for a "Monuments by Moonlight" tour with Aunt Amanda!! William was so excited!

Just gorgeous.

In front of the Capitol!

We spent 4 hours visiting the Capitol, Jefferson Memorial, Lincoln Monument, Vietnam Memorial, Korean War Memorial, Iwo Jima...even Albert Einstein!

The next morning we headed to the National Air & Space Museum. My boys are waiting for the flight simulator! Loved it. We wandered around a bit and then we went to the IMAX--Fighter Pilots-Operation Red Flag. One little three-year old was literally on the edge of his seat!!

Dave and William exploring space!

We had an amazing weekend...exhausting but amazing!

California R & R

When Daddy told us that his project would take him to California for three weeks Mommy and I decided to visit him for a little late Winter R & R.

We landed in San Francisco and hit the ground running. Daddy greeted us with a delicious cup of Pete's Coffee for Mommy...I was so excited to see Daddy that I ran towards him and almost knocked him over. He's getting pretty feeble in his old age.

After getting our luggage we headed to the Prisidio (former ARMY post) to view the beautiful Golden Gate Bridge.

Next we headed to Lombard Street - the most winding street in the world. It consists of eight hair-pin turns and 27% grade...very steep! We enjoyed the first descent so much that we went around for a second trip!

Daddy and I check out the cross-section of a Redwood that is more than 1,000 years old.

The next day of our trip started with a drive to Muir Woods. The clear, blue sky was chilly in the morning then warmed to 60 degrees in the afternoon - perfect weather for exploring a forest with the Tallest Living Things in the world. Muir Woods is home to Redwood trees that 500 to 800 years old. The tallest was measured at 379.1 feet tall.

Hold on while we look up this very tall tree!

After Muir Woods we drove to nearby Muir Beach Overlook - this place provided coastline defense from 1776 to the early 1970s. We saw historic observation bunkers and amazing views of the coast.

Our road trip continued with a drive through some very rural parts of California...we even met a cow named "40-20." We met the cow in the road and Mommy had to do some sweet talking to get him to move.

We eventually arrived at Point Reyes Lighthouse - built in 1870 to warm vessels away from a treacherous coastline.

Point Reyes is the foggiest place in the Pacific Coast. The lighthouse was built about 300 feet down the bluff...the walk down is pretty easy...the walk up is sure to get your blood pumping. Mommy and Daddy both made the trek (separately to avoid me getting in any trouble).

Press PLAY to hear the foghorn!

On Saturday we headed into San Francisco to do the tourist thing. Here we are posing on a cable car. We bought a day-pass and rode the two separate lines for a great sight-seeing tour of the old city

Here we watch the cable car operators turn the car around at Powell Street.

Passing another cable car on our descent down a hill. We can smell the wooden brake pads burn as we go. Ding..ding goes the bell.

We jumped off the cable car and headed to Fisherman's Wharf at Beach Street to rendezvous with an antique big, red, shiny, fire engine.

Mommy found a couple who restored a 1955 Mac Fire Engine. The husband and wife team sing and entertain passengers as we tour the Presidio then drive OVER the Golden Gate Bridge and on to Sausalito...the town on the other side of the bridge.

I'm the handsome one in the middle.

I don't know why but Mommy took the firefighter gear back to the hotel that night. I could swear that I heard siren noises later that night in my sleep.

Here we go!! Boy it was cold but we had a great time driving in our open-cab fire engine over the Golden Gate Bridge!

Later during the week Mr. Kyle arranged a tour of a San Francisco Fire Station. We enjoyed seeing Truck 18...a Ladder Truck with a tiller driver in the rear. It was amazing to see the very long truck steer through the streets of SFO.

Driver-Engineer William Noel ready to respond. Uh...I can't reach the pedals..oh well...who needs brakes?

Maybe I should try carrying this axe instead...this is very heavy!

On our last day we headed to the JellyBelly Jelly Bean factory for a behind-the-scenes tour. Of course, my Mom and Dad made me pose for another goofy picture. I only go along with their antics to keep them happy. We even had to wear silly hats..I'm sure glad no one I know saw me.

We learned that approximately 78 million jelly beans are stored in the factory at any time...so...subtract the 3,000 we ate on the tour...and that leaves...ah...Mommy...can you help me with the math...please?!