It's beginning to look a lot like...

The last few days of the Big Wig's visit were pretty Christmasy! 

 

The boys decorated both of our tiny trees all by themselves.

They were so good with all of the cute little ornaments.

Oh Christmas T!

 

Nothing like decorating for Christmas in your PJ's.

Winter's Eve is the UWS's Christmas party, and these stilt dancers were probably my favorite part.

Just a few pictures of our freezing family!

Hands down Everett's favorite part of the night was watching this guy chainsaw a huge block of ice into a bear.

On the last day of their visit we went to the Natural History Museum to see the origami tree. This was my first time seeing this tree that so many people rave about, and now I see why. It is so entertaining.

 



 

The dinosaurs--all hand folded at an origami party held by the Natural History Museum.

Why do I love that panda bear so? They are darling.

Sayville

When Papa was young his family lived in a Long Island town called Sayville. He was 13 years old when they made the cross-country move from California and as if this age isn't hard enough, he was the "new kid" who had no New Yohk accent. The snapshot of his Sayville experience was dark, so when they moved back to Sacramento three years later he never had the desire to return.

 

But a few weeks before coming to visit us in the city, he decided that it was time to make peace with Sayville and we started planning our journey. We rented a mini van and drove to the most charming of New England towns to take a walk down memory lane. I think all of us learned a lot during that visit, but this most importantly: sometimes we demonize a period of time based on a few negative events, but when we really search our soul we can see that the same time period was also full of joy and so much happiness. I'm so glad for the reminder about the beauty that can be found in life, and I'm especially glad that Papa was able to see Sayville through adult eyes and share so many amazing memories with his grandchildren.

 

The only word that truly describes this town is charming. It just was. All of it. This was the house the Biggest Wigs (Great Papa, KK, Papa, Uncle Buck and Auntie Lynn) rented when they first moved to Sayville.

We walked to the local elementary school to see where Papa used to pick up the papers for his route. You see how we were walking in the dead middle of the street? Yes, we surely had left that big old city of ours!

 

That sweet little Ever Knight playing at Aunt Lynnie's school.

 

We visited the United Methodist Church where Papa attended as a child (and munched on 50 donut holes from the Dunkin Donuts across the street, which was not there when Papa was a child mind you). That sign outside the church was completely meant for me, I think.

They turned Papa's middle school into the community college and boy, how I would have loved to go to a middle school like that. It was absolutely beautiful.

The boys gymnasium with all those crazy boys!

The girls gymnasium with just the two of us!

There were a couple of places at the middle school that brought back bad memories, specifically the crying tree and the fighting steps. We went back and "owned" those places, and reenacted it a little bit too ;)

 

We went to the Sunset home that the family moved into a year after landing in New York. It was across from a canal where the children could boat in the summer and ice skate in the winter. It was so picturesque and I can definitely understand why KK chose to move her family there. Shoot, I'd move in if the commute wasn't so wild to the courthouse! 

Next, Papa took us to see the East Bay. We listened to the waves, enjoyed the colors of the boathouses and listened to stories about Papa and his friends driving their boats to Fire Island. 

We finished off at Sayville High School before heading back to the city. The boys slept for the whole drive home and we all talked about how much we enjoyed seeing a piece of Papa's childhood. It was a great day.

A Delightfully Wiggy Thanksgiving

The Big Wigs were in town for Thanksgiving and holy Hannah did we pack a lot of fun into the week they were here. I know I've said it a million times but the very soul of my apartment loves company and it never feels totally complete around here unless there is someone sleeping on every single piece of furniture under our roof. Shoot, I'd take a few on the floor and a crib or so as well! You would think that having six people in 480 square feet would be chaotic and crazy, but not in this home. Our tiny apartment was bursting with love and felt perfectly cozy, and I truly wish they could have stayed longer. And if our walls could talk they'd tell you the same thing. I'm not kidding about this apartment longing for more loving inhabitants, I feel it oh-so deep. So, you can imagine how we are feeling since they left...blah! But instead of feeling glum, I'll share some of these pictures and think about how our time with them rocked. Because cold and all (yes, sick am I) it really did.   

 

The night before Thanksgiving we braved the crowds and the cold to watch the parade balloons be inflated outside the Natural History Museum. It was raining and freezing so while the crowds were minimal, the cold was a mighty foe indeed, especially for little Everett, who seems to be a California-boy through and through. The evening ended with a walk home full of uncontrollable tears, a delicious Shake Shack dinner and sitting on the radiator to warm our tails!

Dad McKee--this one's for you! James made me take a picture of this guy every time we saw him--he will never be able to see the Kool-Aid man again without thinking about you ;)

The Dinosaur Tree is all lit up outside of the Natural History Museum and the work that must have gone into making that awesome thing was not lost on us!

Pictures like this. Be still my heart, pictures like this. Our little boys have been blessed with some amazing people in their lives.

Little Spiderman was pretty much stoked beyond belief to see the BIG Spiderman!

As I said, I have had a cold/flu attacking me for a while now so the night before Thanksgiving I was majorly waffling about the parade the next day. It didn't help that it was fa-reezing outside and we had heard to snag a seat for the big event you have to be outside by 5 am. Me and 13 degrees just don't get along very well, you know. But that James, he acted all hero-like and was out the door by 5 so that I could get my wish of seeing that parade in person. True, he kind of loves the cold but geez, he sat out there for hours by himself and there was never even a hint of a complaint. I'm so thankful for him! 

You want to know what front row at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade feels like? It's kind of one of those ugly crying experiences because, hello, I've been watching this parade on TV for my whole life and now somehow I'm experiencing it all in person. It was emotional. And PS, my congestion made my crying much uglier than normal and I was so thrilled to be there that I didn't even care.  

 

Let's just say, below are a few of my favorite parade things. Except below you will not find a picture of Jimmy Fallon and the Roots because James and I were too busy screaming and jumping up and down to photograph them. We love us some Jimmy Fallon. And Kelli Pickler, Georgia Florida Line, Fall Out Boy and Kristin Chenowith: we saw them too, same story. This parade was out of control.  

And then at the end of the parade, Santa looked right at me and waved, and I got all goosebumpy. Can you feel the magic, 'cause shoot, I don't know that there's ever been a time where I was more in the holiday spirit than that moment right there. I feel like I need to write a thank you letter to Macy's or something.

We got home just in time to get seriously busy on our Thanksgiving feast. This was my first time cooking Thanksgiving dinner and can I just give a major standing ovation for anyone who has ever done that. Wow that takes some mad organizational skills! Our dinner was delicious and hey, everything was done by the time our guests arrived so that in and of itself was a major accomplishment.

T and Ever were on turkey duty...apple turkeys, that is. Talmage said his favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner was the turkey, and this is what our little vegetarian was talking about. Can you blame him? Sour patch kids, chocolate chips and a big, juicy apple = yum!

We filled up our living room with tables and chairs and I was just as antsy as could be about everyone coming over.

Talmage's other job (besides making our turkey's) was helping me write the name cards. That kid is spelling and writing and sounding things out like it's nobody's business and it's so darn cute to see the smart things he comes up with!

We felt so blessed to have friends and family with us for Thanksgiving dinner. Suzanne is Talmage's primary teacher, and Chris served a mission in Ukraine along with James, and of course Papa and GG were here from Sacramento. At the end of the night I thought back on our day and realized that I was so, truly thankful for a Thanksgiving as amazing as this one.