macy*s thanksgiving parade escapade

I grew up waking on thanksgiving to sounds and smells wafting from the kitchen of onions and celery cooking together waiting to be stuffed into a giant raw turkey. Every year my sisters and I would sit on the couch and watch the macy's thanksgiving day parade. Yes even into our college years when we were stuck out west unable to go home for the holiday. Together it brought us comfort. And heaven forbid you forget to make cinnamon rolls.

I have lived in New jersey for 4 thanksgivings now and have yet to see the parade live, reason being I have been warned numerous times of the millions of people, the cold and the waking up super early. I felt it was due time that we ventured into the city to see it. Test it out, maybe it would become a turkey day tradition for our family. Our plans soon dissipated when Camila woke up every hour during the night. Afraid she was getting sick again we canceled our family fun day at 4:30 am. But I COULDN'T SLEEP!!! I drove Felipe mad. I REALLY wanted to GO!!! I swear my adrenaline was rushing. I was like a kid on Christmas morning. I finally decided at 5:30am to go alone with Raquel.

We took the train from our town in. Here is the Summit platform at 6:30am on a holiday. Any other weekday and it would be filled with city workers.

Raquel was so excited for the train ride. ALL ABOARD she kept saying along with TICKETS PLEASE!!!

nope, sorry not our train:

ahhh lovely Newark. And look at the smoke stacks of NJ before we headed under the hudson. The not so pleasant parts of the state:

We got into penn station and were bombarded with people everywhere. We walked up 8th avenue (the parade was on 7th). And saw lots of parade members along our walk. Here are some in front of the New Yorker Hotel. I wonder how you get the great privilege to be a taxi or a big apple? :

We headed over to times square at 42nd street and stopped on a corner. It was not a good idea. Way to many people, people even on ladders and the only spot we could stand at was over one of those big grates blowing hot air up from down under who knows nasty where. Raquel was not a big fan, nor I so we moved on. Many times there were so many people I could not push Raquel in a stroller and had to fold it up and carry it and her.

At 8:30 we headed up to 46th street and 7th avenue. Right in the heart of the melting pot. I found a good spot on the corner and we waited. And waited. and waited. So here we go. I am not going to sugar coat this post or our experience. Here it is, in the raw:

Tinky started yelling at me "Mommy PEEPEE POTTY MOMMMY!!! PEE PEE POTTY!!!" ughhh. I told her that she had a diaper on and to go in it. She thought I was crazy and kept yelling it. For an hour. Can you blame her though? It defiles everything we have been working on for the past two months. Definitely no bathrooms where we were standing and we were stuck surrounded by people everywhere. They kept encroaching and encroaching on us.
our spot in the heart of times square:

Raquel became bored and miserable waiting for the parade to come. I had a big bag of snacks but she didn't want any of mine. I became that woman. The one who couldn't control her two year old. Even friendly Asian tourists were giving her cookies and candy to try and entertain her. The funny thing is that I still can not understand why she wasn't entertained. We were in the middle of times square for crying out loud!! I was frantically texting felipe "can you see where its at on TV??? why isnt it here yet!?"

I almost gave up. I almost took my miserable two year old through the crowds right back to penn station and home. I was so mad. I was about to, almost in tears when the friendly Asian woman said "no no wait. wait, I hear something". It was 9:30. Finally, FINALLY!!! Two yellow Macy's balloons popped out of the buildings along with a huge Spiderman. I yelled and jumped along with the rest of the crowd. Raquel went nuts!

She loved all of the floats. It was great to see the good old Macy's Thanksgiving turkey up close. Or maybe I should say in real life:

Raquel flipped when the sesame street float went by. She was so excstatic I held her up on my shoulders and she yelled and waved "Hi Elmo!!! Hi ELMO!!! BIG BIRD, here!! I'm here!!!" and then came the balloon, Abby Cadabby. Everyone around us was laughing at Raquel's reaction. It was priceless. It made the crowds, the nasty urine smells and my tired feet and arms all worth it. She was SO HAPPY!!

We left after we saw sponge bob to beat the crowds (or so I thought) and catch an earlier train home.

Penn station was mad. MAD I TELL YOU! When they called the platform number for our train it literally felt as if it was the end of the world and this was the LAST train out of the city. Everyone for themselves. No mind for the women and children. Everyone was carrying flowers and cheesecakes for their New Jersey thanksgiving destinations. We had no choice but to stand with others in a train car until finally a lovely gentleman stood giving me and tinky his seat after many just looked away.

Is this going to be a turkey day tradition? No way jose. At least definitely not with small children. Maybe once or twice when they are older. There is no way we could have taken Camila. Definitely not in a stroller. And who can carry a 20 plus pound baby for 4 hours? So it was a good thing she stayed home with Felipe.

Raquel is still is talking about Abby Cadabby. Two nights ago we put her to bed. About an hour and a half we figured she was sleeping but I heard her in her room. I went in and said "Raquel, what are you doing?" She was laying in her bed and said "mommy, Abby Cadabby!!!!!!!".

a letter from the obamas

Wow, did you know that little Mila Bella got a letter from the Obama's?? They wanted to send a congratulatory for her great accomplishment of learning to crawl much earlier than her sister. I think they must follow our blog or something.
Read as follows:

ok ok so they don't follow our blog. But they did send her a congratulations letter for her birth. The Bush's sent one to Raquel too. To get a free letter from the president for your baby, send a birth announcement to the President of the United States at
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500.

remembering abuela

Felipe's wonderful Abuela and my girls great abuela passed away recently.

Our visit to Chile in Febuary 2006

Felipe and Abuela during his visit to Chile in October 2007

We miss you Abuelita. You were a strong, humorous and beautiful woman!

typical tuesday

Fall right now here in new jersey is wonderful. We thoroughly enjoyed it today. It was perfect! Sixty degrees with a light wind.
We picked out some balloons from the florist and went to the park,

kicked around in the leaves

and I noticed my girls are growing too fast





and we window lusted (look at tinky pining over those pradas and jimmy choos).

The shades of autumn are quickly fading, but I am happy to welcome the holly berries of winter!

I am excited to head into the city tonight to meet up with lauren and to see the rockettes at Radio City for the Christmas Spectacular. Look for our thanksgiving post too! We will be going to the thanksgiving day parade as long as the weather holds out.

lets hear it for new york

there we were. flying high around the jungle. the concrete jungle. nothing beneath us but a leather seat and the dirty hudson. And I loved it. I LOVED IT!!! Now, I am not going to lie. I was a bit nervous on the ride there with flashes of the previous summer's news reports of the helicopter and small plane crash over the hudson. But once I got in the helicopter and put my seat belt and headphones on I was psyched.

Now Felipe. He grew up on an air force base in the desert of northern Chile. He can tell me what any plane that flies over head is. To tell you the truth, I don't ask, he tells me anyway. He would make a fine pilot. So Felipe, well he was acting the same as his giddy 9 year old brother Matias was (who was so excited, funny story, stepped on the "no step pad" climbing up into the chopper after the pilot had just finished telling him not to. CLASSIC).

This was a once in a lifetime opportunity to fly around the city for an hour given to us by Felipe's boss. Come and see !!

flying over the meadowlands in New Jersey:

  view of us approaching the city

approaching lady liberty and Ellis Island:

 Beautiful birds eye view of Ellis Island:


Lady Liberty in the sunset over New Jersey:

We circled around the Statue of Liberty and headed towards Manhattan:



















I was astounded by the huge hole where the twin towers were. I have seen it on the ground, but to fly over it... it is a huge open wound on lower manhattan. If you look closely at the picture you can see it,and also the pilot's control:

Here is the USS Intrepid (the front ship) a Air Sea and Space museum that was used during World War II. I actually played on it in 10th grade for a band trip. Dont ask me why.

The Ship behind the Intrepid is the USS New York. It is a beautiful ship forged out of the steal of the World Trade Center. It was actually commissioned earlier in the day!:

November sunset over New Jersey:

me and the view under Felipe's feet up in the front (eek!):

On our way home flying back over New Jersey:

Giants stadium in NJ Meadowlands:

gook, ER and poring rain

the only way I can describe our halloween weekend! Filled with gook, the ER, poring rain and lots of candy!

this year I made the girl's costumes. Elvis and a hippie!

It started a little rough a week before. Our beautiful Elvis was very sick with high fever and inconsolable crying. She needed a trip to the ER early saturday morning. The ER Doctor assured Felipe she was fine and just had a virus. But the inconsolable crying at night and fluctuating fever lasted days. I took her into the Doctors on tuesday where two doctors looked in her ears (I was convinced it was an ear infection, she had one three weeks ago). They both stated she was fine and again that she had a virus and possibly teething. But the crying at night and high fevers did not stop! I was so frustrated. Thursday evening was AWFUL! She was screaming screaming screaming and I was putting orajel on her gums and she was so MAD at me! The next morning she seemed better. I was hosting the playgroup party at our church so I had no choice but to really go.

Poor Elvis. It wasn't until I went to draw on her sideburns at the church that I saw gook oozing from her ear. I mean the girl has so much hair, I didn't even see it until then. Her ear drum ruptured the night before! Our Dr was unavailable until tuesday so we took another trip to the ER with an ear infection and ear drum rupture diagnosis. I am learning to trust my mother's instincts. I apparently know my baby better than anyone!
Now for the fun times!

flower child. Hopefully no one from Glorious Gardening Gals at our church sees these pictures:

after the party we went trick or treating in downtown Millburn:

Logan and Raquel got lots of candy!

that afternoon, Camila in the ER. She looks so sick right!? ;)

Halloween day we spent with friends at the mall. Then on Halloween eve it was poring out! We spent it at a friends home and Tinky only got to go to about 4 houses. This is Camila with Abuela! I brushed out her hair and look what happened:

meet my brother in-law

Matias. He's 9. Yup. A 19 year difference between him and Felipe. An even greater difference between him and Patricio, who is a few years older than Felipe. Well anyways, Mati is a little spoiled. You see, he loves the New Jersey Devils. And you see, my great friend Lauren gets awesome suite tickets to the games. And now, well now Matias has seen them quite a few times. In style too. Last night was no exception.

such a Felipe face

This time he got to bring his friend Jacob because little Mila was sick so Felipe stayed home with her (also convenient for him that the Yankees were playing). It was the Buffalo Sabres vs The Jersey Devils. So, two buffalo gals vs two jersey boys. And guess who won...

the buffalo gals!: 4 to 1 baby

4 to 1 MATT!! 4 TO 1 !!!!!

the sore losers walk of shame:

The ride home was great. We were stuck in traffic in downtown Newark at night. Can you think of any other city you would rather be?! HA! Well before Lauren got out at the train station she shared with us her story of how she almost got mugged by a homeless lady in Newark not long ago. She got out, we locked the doors and the boys started playing the "what would you do" game.
Them: Tina.. if a carjacker came up to you right now would you...
A- jump out of the car and let him have it
B- hit him with your purse and take off
C- shoot him with a gun
me: hmmm A
them: what about us!!?

Tina.. if a carjacker is in that truck next to us would you...
A- risk your life and blow it up
or
B- shoot it with a gun from 10 miles away
me: hmmm A
them: what? why A? you would risk your life?
me: Duh, you can shoot a gun from 10 miles away.
No worries though, I felt protected. Jacob told me he was really good with knives.

Did you know that when I first met Mati, he was 3! Here is it documented in the JFK airport where I first met Felipe's family. When Felipe and I would hang out with him, people use to think he was our kid (even at church).
awwww....

remembering my grandpa

My grandpa passed away last night. I am not too sad, I am more grateful that he is now with my grandma. His "old pill"... what he called her during a heated argument they had in front of us when we were young to prevent from swearing in front of us.

I love the fact that he always called us "tiger" or "stump". That he lived for the game of golf, heck he lived on a course. That he still had his Pittsburgh accent the day he died from growing up there, even though he hadn't lived there for 50 years. He smoked a tobacco pipe. I love that smell. Whenever I smell one, it immediately reminds me of him (and always will).

Grandpa smokin his pipe, Grandma and her cig, and dad and Annie circa 1995ish

My grandfather never talked about fighting in the war to his family or my mother growing up. But in the past few years he has opened up to his grandkids, telling us awesome stories. My favorite... kind of gruesome but romantic... was that he told us he sent Grandma a beautiful ring he got off of a dead German woman before they were married. Hmm. I love the fact that he couldn't pronounce my husbands name and called him "filippy".

my wedding reception with my Grandpas when I married "filippy" according to grandpa and "felipo"-according to my italian grandpa bumpa.

Last time I saw him was at the end of August. He got to spend some time with my mom and Camila. He told me that she was beautiful. I look forward to one day saying to my own grandkids... Hey Tiger, Come here stump ;)

dear new jersey

We went to one of your parks today. We walked under your tall oak trees to some secluded swings. Our feet crunched the yellow and decaying leaves, the wind blew, acorns fell and the leaves rustled. Our noses became rosy and cold. My girls swung on the swings, laughed at each other and enjoyed your beauty. And I did too...

tales from the pot

we did it we did it we did it hooray! !lo isimos!
sorry now you all have Dora stuck in your heads. I did nothing. Raquel did it! She has not been in a diaper since thursday night.

It is our second attempt at potty training, but this time its proved successful! I believe back in August she would have been successful and she was ready, but I think it didn't work because of me. I did not know what potty training a stubborn stubborn two year old would entail. Lots and lots of patients. This time I was mentally ready and patient with her and look at her now!

I let her run around in the nude for a few days. She only had one accident on the carpet because I would set her on the pot every 20 mintures. I did not put big girl undies on her until sunday night when I was sure she could let me know she had to go peepees. She even went pee pees at the library and target yesterday. YEA TINKY! We are still working on #2.

These little bribes along with chocolate chips helped too, although the sticker chart is from our failed attempts in august. As you can see, she was definitely ready!

the poconos are for lovers

we took a family trip to the pocono mountains yesterday in pennsylvania

we went to the top of Great Pocono Mountain, walked on a trail and enjoyed the beautiful fall palette around us

we enjoyed a pumpkin general store with animals and fun little kid toys

Raquel is such a city girl. She was calling the dirt the beach but she does sport cowgirl boots well:

the Delaware water gap:

on top of Great Pocono Mountain looking at Pennsylvania:

autumn woodlands

the one and only. No no no, not the chain restaurant with thawed cheesecakes. the one and only!

we had a wonderful day. the car ride home was heavenly with spoonfuls of cheesecake!

President Hinckley

This past weekend was General Conference for our Church. A time to sit and listen to our church leaders give inspirational talks and needed guidance. I must say though, I felt a little sad. I miss President Hinckley, our past prophet who passed away not long ago.

My mom and Ray (my step father) were able to go to a session of conference on Saturday morning in Salt Lake City. They also visited Salt Lake Cemetery I have never heard of. Ray posted photos of lots of different headstones on their blog, many of influential men and prophets of our church. But when I came across this one and looked closely I was touched.

+

That cane. He waved it at me. Ok, not really just me. It was a group of us at BYU-Idaho. We were setting up centerpieces we made for a luncheon for him when they were dedicating the newly built Hinckley Building on Campus. He was being escorted in through a back hallway that we were actually standing down. First it was his petite wife we caught a glimpse of shuffling by, then close behind her was him. He saw us and waved his cane in the air at us.

Yesterday I was also remembering the advice President Hinckley's father gave to him when he was struggling on his mission. "Forget yourself and get to work". I love that. Timeless advice.

Thanks Ray for that post!

love,
Tt