Nothing says "Merry Christmas"...

...like a happy little boy posing for his holiday photo!!


Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!
David, Kathryn and William

Snow - Good for Shoveling and Sleigh Rides

The first snowfall of the season arrived on Friday - delivering nearly 8 inches before ending in the evening hours. Dave worked from home and it's a good thing he did...at noon the road was in whiteout condition.

One hour later everything was covered in a couple of inches of snow. Will could hardly wait to get outside during the blizzard conditions to shovel (pronounced fa-vel).

Father and Son preparing to dig out! I think Will learned from the last cold outing...he let us put gloves on his hands.

We had fun shoveling the driveway but each time we cleared a few columns the snow had covered our hard work. It was impossible to keep up but we had fun.

In this rare picture, William is seen shoveling in a straight line. He usually makes swirl patterns...much like crop circles.

He looks like a natural. I wonder if William will still like to shovel when he's 16?

On Saturday we finished the shoveling with a team effort so that we could drive to one of our favorite places - Lawrence Farms. The family owned fruit and vegetable farm provides year-round enjoyment for our family. In the Summer, Will feeds grass to the horses. He was excited to see them up close when we arrived for a sleigh ride.

We completely lucked out to get the sleigh all to ourselves. Kevin Lawrence and his dog Sam took us for a ride around the farm. We had such a great time - this was a first for each of us...and this may sound hokey...but our sleigh ride experience was every bit as fun as the classic winter song, Sleigh Ride.

Our adventurer charging on through the snow that was up to his knees.

Ahh...a good place to rest after climbing my little Everest.

Then we went inside the Orchard store for hot chocolate, hot cider, and yummy cider doughnuts. We petted a reindeer (not sure which one) and spotted the jolly Ol' Man himself...

Will was a little shy around Father Christmas - Santa offered a piece of chocolate and a sleigh bell - Will carefully accepted the holiday gesture under the watchful eye of Daddy.

It snowed again on Sunday - about another three inches fell - bringing the grand total to 11 inches.

It must be getting close to Christmas -- we've seen reindeer scouting out landing spots for Santa's sleigh.

So...you better not pout...you better not cry...I'm telling you why...

Choir Boy

Getting ready for the show to start!

William was a proud member of his school's "hand bell" choir as part of the Christmas Show! The children wore choir robes adorned with large velvet ribbons, and one red-gloved hand with jingle bells on the tip of each finger!

The children sang songs for eager parents for 15 minutes! William was not really into singing songs. However, at the end of each song, William made a loud shriek/yelling noise and then clapped loudly! One of the other moms said she just cracked up each time William "finished" a song for the group of 45 three-year olds!!!

The cutest choir boy is third from the left on the top row!!

Mrs. Clause arrived to bring greetings from Santa...the children were quite excited!

Posing with Mrs. Clause after his party and show. William was less interested in the photo op and more interested in getting his favorite holiday candy... a candy cane!

NYC in November Part-2

Ahem... (cuing up Johnny Mathis)

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas Ev'rywhere you go;

Take a look in the five and ten glistening once again

With candy canes and silver lanes aglow.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas Toys in ev'ry store..."

We're really feeling the holiday spirit! So, after only two weeks since our last visit, we drove back to NYC for a little R & R. I'm beginning to think that my dad likes to drive in the city...more on that later. This time, we came to the Big Apple for shopping and to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade...from Times Square, baby!


Thanks to a few bizillion points earned from my dad's work-travel, we were able to get a great room at the NYC Marriott Marquis Hotel in the middle of Times Square. It's just a short walk to most everything we enjoy doing in the city.


After lunch and check-in we headed to Build-a-Bear Workshop whose mission is to Bring the Teddy Bear to life. This is the place where you select a bear, fill him with stuffing, insert a heart, stitch him up, then dress him in any one of two hundred outfits. Kinda makes you want to be a bear...so many fashions and accessories sized One-Size-Fits-All.

With Daddy's help, I selected a very traditional bear. Here we observe the Filling Station where our bear is pumped full of soft stuffing.

OK, Bear is fully stuffed - we're on our way to the dressing table.

I picked out the FDNY uniform for Bear. Mommy claimed the last pair of boots from the shelf. From here, we registered Bear's demographics and received his birth certificate.

Whoa...Daddy! I love Bear!!

Editor's note: William does not permit Bear to wear any outfit other than the firefighter uniform. We're hoping that he'll relax this standard soon.

After Build-A-Bear, we headed to Macy's for some shopping. The Christmas section is amazing! There are dozens of trees distinctly decorated with beautiful ornaments and lights. We picked up some gifts for friends and a few souvenirs for our tree!

The Macy's storefront and windows are beautifully decorated for christmas

After shopping we returned to the hotel for some delicious sushi - Bear joined us for dinner, though he didn't eat much...he said he was stuffed.

The historic location location popularized in the 1947 film, Miracle on 34th Street.

Day II of our adventure - we grabbed some coffee and headed outside to claim our place to watch the parade among one million spectators. Huge thanks to our friends who helped us get into one of the best parade-viewing locations in the city.

It was cold and blustery with wind-chill hovering in the teens - perfect conditions for William refusing to wear gloves. Not to worry, he's adapting nicely to the wooden replacement fingers.

Harold the Fireman - originally seen in the 1948 Macy's Parade. In 2001, a large group of children of NYC Firefighters and Police Officers escorted Harold along the parade route. We've proudly added a Harold ornament to our Christmas tree.

Macy's stars and balloon cruising by Toys-R-Us.

Buzz Lightyear to the rescue!!

This guy is huge...! He measures 67 feet long, 39 feet wide and 34 feet tall.

The two-hour parade climatically finished with Santa arriving on his sleigh. Everyone was excited to see Ol' St. Nick!

So, recall me mentioning that my Dad likes to drive in the City? This is truly a sight to see. It's fun to watch the smirk on my Dad's face as he merges into the swarm of NYC traffic. Just as Mom is tightening her seat belt (for the fifth time), Dad is lunging and swerving through traffic to the envy of the Taxi cabbies.

This is sport for my Dad.

I really need to get him a set of golf clubs for Christmas.

November in NYC Part-1

Editor's Note: This series was originally scheduled for publication in the November edition of LCN. We regret any inconvenience our dawdling may have caused - however, normal billing rates still apply.

Business and pleasure brought our family to the Big Apple in November. I always enjoy feeling the pulse of the city and connecting with my people...it's also good for me to get my parents out of the house (they'd be so boring without me).

Mommy and I tagged along with the ol' man on the first trip - he was meeting important customers, or so he says. I dreaded a dull slumber in a small hotel room, so I asked my staff to work up an itinerary - They suggested a trip to Ellen's Stardust Diner, Central Park Children's Zoo, Toys R Us and dinner at one of my favorite spots - Carmines (you really should add this place to your little black book). I added some play time at the FDNY Fire Zone to the agenda.

We arrived in NYC in time for lunch at Ellen's Stardust Diner - a retro 1950's theme diner filled with nostalgic stuff and singing wait staff. I was a little restless over lunch - my parents wanted to linger while all I could think about was toys. I warmed up to the experience when one of the waitresses sang a song to Daddy and me. The lunch was very delicious - I recommend the Frank Sinatra burger. It's topped with mozzarella and marinara sauce...yum!

"Momma Mia, here I go again. My my, how could I resist you!"

After lunch we headed to my favorite place - The Toys-R-Us in Times Square is incredible. The 60 foot indoor Ferris Wheel was in full effect as we entered the store. This is where we started our experience. The wheel has 16 cars - I was hoping to ride in the fire truck but as luck would have it, we landed a ride in the ET - Extra Terrestrial car. I think my parents enjoyed riding round-n-round - passing each floor of the store several times.

The Ferris Wheel actually provides an excellent vantage point to plan for shopping. While my parents were looking for a coffee shop from atop the store, I made a list of toys to check out.

I'm not smiling in this picture (my standard tactic) but secretly I am having a great time.

I decided to check out the 25' tall Empire State Building built entirely from Legos and the five-ton, 20-foot-high and 34-foot-long animatronic Jurassic Park T-Rex dinosaur - amazing! Daddy and I practiced our dinosaur roar....grrrrrr! Very scary!

Next, we headed to the FDNY Fire Zone - an interactive fire prevention exhibit hosted by the Fire Department of New York Foundation. I played in the fire truck, pumped water to a building, and talked on the radio to dispatch!

No trip to the Theatre District is complete without a visit to Carmine's Family Style Italian Restaurant. Carmine's is about wonderful Southern Italian food served in huge portions. The sounds, smells and flavors of this place make it one of my favorite hang outs.

The interior reminds me of the quintessential NY restaurant

I can never escape the Paparazzi - My Dad likes the attention...I just sometimes need a break from the camera's flash!