FHE - Edible Finger Painting

Branden had the brilliant idea the other night to whip up a batch of instant pudding, put food coloring in it and do some finger painting for family home evening. Obviously it was a big hit with Nora!

January Memories

January 2009 was the month Nora learned how to walk in Mommy's high heels. Branden also celebrated his 32nd and we feted by visiting California's Old Faithful geyser and touring the small town of Calistoga.

Philly

Our final stop on our whirlwind trip was Philadelphia. We were very grateful to Steph and Carter for putting us up for so long! And for letting us get out for a day of sight-seeing Nora-free. We saw all the normal touristy stuff like the liberty bell and Liberty Hall and we also ate the best PHilly cheese steaks we have ever had!

Washington D.C.

After Boston, we headed down to Washington DC with Stephartereese. I am really mad at myself for only pulling out the camera at the Navy musem! We saw a lot of cool stuff and really enjoyed museum hopping! I think DC may have been my favorite city on our vacation tour - so clean, so filled with cool buildings, and so free! :)

Beautiful Boston

After a week with Chad and Kristie we headed up to Boston (where Branden served his mission) for two days. The wind was bitterly cold, so it was hard to stay out doors for long, but I really enjoyed the quaintness and cleanliness of Boston. We did get a chance to spend some time with Jeremiah and Tamara's family and were very glad we got to see them. They were great hosts!

Our Holiday Hiatus - New York Style

Our very gracious family members made it possible for us to spend two and a half weeks back east during the Christmas break. We went first to New York, where we stayed with Branden's brother and his family. Their backyard has a great slope for sledding and made great use of it until the snow melted. Nora and her cousin Audrey had a blast together. One of their favorite past times was to play in Audrey's crib, just reading books, playing with toys, or jumping up and down.



We also ventured into the city one day, eating in a kosher Jewish deli, where instead of bottomless chips or fries, they bring you baskets of bottomless kosher and dill pickles! We also saw the Macy's decorated windows and visited the giant Toys R Us store. I took my first cab ride and Nora fell asleep riding on her Daddy's shoulders by the end of the day!