Macy's Thanksgiving Parade—In Person!!

Amazingly, we had the chance to go see the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Parade in New York City. Our friends from the ward invited us to go with them and split the cost of gasoline and a $75 apartment for the night. You just can't pass up an opportunity like that! Thanks to the Zvirzdins for being flexible and having Thanksgiving a day later! (Pictures forthcoming.)

So once we got there we . . .

• went to the Met (saw Death of Socrates, Van Gogh, and Monet)
  
• enjoyed NYC rush-hour traffic
  
• walked through Central Park and saw a few balloons being blown up
• had an incredible lasagna dinner and chatted
• dropped dead from exhaustion

And the next day we . . .

• got up at 5:00 am (but not at 3:00 like some other people did), took the metro to 72nd street
• found places four rows of people back from the street (we wouldn't have been on TV because that's where the real crowds go) with a perfect view of the balloons
• enjoyed the Macy's Parade immensely. My favorite character was Bob (the now old man) from Sesame Street, although Kermit the Frog was there (in the flesh--er, felt) as was Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch
  
• walked through Central Park again
• took the metro to the Rockefeller Center, saw the tree and the ice skating rink
• went to Times Square and were blown away. It was a lot of fun and good to be around people
• looked at the Manhattan Temple
• walked along an overview of the Hudson River
• relaxed in the apartment, packed up and headed back
• had a great Thanksgiving meal at T.G.I.Friday's--non-traditional but enjoyable
• got home, brined the turkey for Friday's feast
• dropped dead from exhaustion

And here are the pictures to prove it (the trip, not the exhaustion part)!

Fall Sports and Andrew's First Carved Pumpkin

Running!!! Michael's Meet.

Leah's field hockey game! It was absolutely freezing and I wished I could've played with Leah. Why don't they have field hockey in Utah?

Getting pumpkins at Abbott's Farm (...and Apple Cider and an Apple Turnover)

Andrew's first pumpkin! We had a great Halloween.

Good Times Visiting the Zvirzdins

Playing Apples to Apples, a family favorite.

Another favorite family game with Bonnie the Dog. Andrew, Michael, and Joshua are The Human Wall. Bonnie got so tired but she didn't want to stop.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Other great HAL quotes:

I am putting myself to the fullest possible use, which is all I think that any conscious entity can ever hope to do.

It can only be attributable to human error.

Just what do you think you're doing, Dave?

Look Dave, I can see you're really upset about this. I honestly think you ought to sit down calmly, take a stress pill, and think things over.

Love you, Dad! Happy Birthday!

A Good Chuckle

I promise I'll do a real post about our lives one of these days, but this is simply very funny.

I Used to Like Spam

Once upon a time my family ate Spam. Then I suppose it was considered unhealthy, so it disappeared from my life. Today my blog was spammed for the first time, so that means I have to turn the word verification thingy on, which is a pain (those things are getting harder and harder for me!). So blame the spammers.

Mm, I'm hungry.

I Heart Funny Physics

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Spanish Practice

Does this count as Spanish practice, Bethany? :)

Sigh of Relief Concerning Politics

Wow, what a good, calming read. I've been feeling angrier and angrier at Glenn Beck, or rather angry at the fact that many of my friends are taking what Beck is saying and translating it into Mormon doctrine. But I am angry no longer. The Church has laid my fears on that score to rest by recognizing that there is a lack of civility in political discussions. The part that REALLY made me feel better was this:

"Thus, the political diversity of Latter-day Saints spans the ideological spectrum. Individual members are free to choose their own political philosophy and affiliation. Moreover, the Church itself is not aligned with any particular political ideology or movement. It defies category. Its moral values may be expressed in a number of parties and ideologies.

"Furthermore, the Church views with concern the politics of fear and rhetorical extremism that render civil discussion impossible. As the Church begins to rise in prominence and its members achieve a higher public profile, a diversity of voices and opinions naturally follows. Some may even mistake these voices as being authoritative or representative of the Church. However, individual members think and speak for themselves. Only the First Presidency and the Twelve Apostles speak for the whole Church."

[Sigh of relief.] Glenn Beck is not God, nor is he the prophet. Praises be.

Read the whole article and you'll feel better too!
http://www.newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/commentary/the-mormon-ethic-of-civility

In addition, I talked to my grandma (my mom's mom) and she suggested something revolutionary--revolutionary to me, anyway, that hit me at that moment--she said don't get emotionally involved in things that don't make you feel good. Is that avoiding the problem? No, you can still be informed and participate, just have a cool head and remember that there are many other great things in life to enjoy.

Thanks, Grandma.

P.S. Andrew learned this same lesson about not being emotionally involved when BYU had their disastrous game against TCU on Saturday.

Pixar Parody

http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1921845

A little morbid, but very clever and well done nevertheless.