Merry Christmas to All and to all a goodnight!

We have arrived at the end of another Christmas Day. This was a very good Christmas, everyone was happy with presents and with one another. We spent the day in family harmony. Perhaps it was the unexpected addition of extended family on this day; my sister, Kristina and her husband Chad, joined us today.
We are so grateful for this day. We are grateful for the birth of the Savior. We are grateful for the light and life that he brought to this world 2,000 years ago and continues to bring every day. We are grateful for his sacrifice that brings peace and hope to a troubled soul. We hope that this day has brought all of you peace, joy and happiness.

Where did Christmas Start?

Gabe announced today that he has determined in which state Christmas started. He said "Christmas started in the state of Germany. I used to think that it started in Bethlehem, but now I know that it started in Germany." He wouldn't reveal his source. Hmmm, maybe I need to work on a few things.

Brrrrr!

Brrrrr! After months of blazing sun and heat, the cold weather has finally arrived. It is drizzly, windy and cold today. I am grateful for the cold weather. It feels a little more like Christmas when you have a tingle in your toes and a nip on your nose! Thank goodness for hot chocolate.

Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving this year, we headed out to the traditional family gathering of aunts, uncles and cousins in the not so traditional location of Carlsbad. Unfortunately for us, we underestimated thanksgiving day traffic. After 2 1/2 hours in the car, we were in Anaheim in the midst of never ending stop and go traffic and 60 miles to go. We took a family vote and decided to head home and have a non-traditional Thanksgiving. We ate aebleskeevers, a family favorite, for dinner and had a great day.


We returned to tradition the following day and headed to the beach with three extra kids in tow. The Busco children accompanied us to give their parents an easy day with their one week old sister. It was a beautiful day at the beach. It was a little nippy, but that didn't stop the kids from going in the water!

An "Enchanted" Halloween

Continuing with our tradition of Halloween themes, we were characters from the movie Enchanted this year. Once again, Allie won the title of princess as Giselle, Gabe was Prince Edward come to save her, and Maddie descended to be the evil queen, Narissa. She is so obliging to take on the role of the dastardly character every year, but I do think they do have the most unique and fanciful costumes. Jayd originally agreed to the role of "a lawyer" (Robert), but then degraded to businessman, then dropped out entirely and was a commando army corporal. He declined to be pictured with his siblings. As always, we enjoyed the fun and lighthearted side of the Halloween season.

To Be in Boston...

Like the war for independence, our historical adventure began in Boston. On a wet, rainy yet warm day, we walked the Freedom Trail. Intuitively, one would think the Freedom Trail is a way to follow the footsteps of our forefathers. In reality, it is a literally a red brick line imbedded in the sidewalk leading you to the tourist sights. We loved it. The kids felt a measure of freedom and control since we allowed them to direct us through the city. I enjoyed seeing all of the sights as we walked along. We saw the Boston Common, Old & New Massachusetts State House, Granary Graveyard, several churches and meetinghouses where liberty was discussed at large, the Paul Revere House, the Old North Church and the Constitution, the oldest commissioned warship still afloat. It was a great day, but it would have been slightly better without the rain. Despite our preparations, by the end of the day we were soaked.

Our stay in Boston was brief, we departed the following day. We drove to Lexington and Concord where the first battles of the Revolutionary War took place. We loved to see the fall colors. The forests weren’t ablaze with color, but there was the occasional red, orange or golden tree that would pop out of the sea of green surrounding it. I enjoyed the drive through the forest covered countryside to Sturbridge Massachussetts where we saw a working early 19^th century village. We enjoyed seeing the farmer’s wife preserve the summer’s crop, watching the blacksmith pound the metal while sending sparks flying, and the sawmill smoothly and consistently knaw through a log without the use of electricity. But the most intriguing operation was the apple press. We couldn’t decide if we liked it or not. The smell was sweet and savory, yet pungent and rotten. It was warm and sticky, yet unsanitary and disgusting. We were fascinated with the process, yet revolted at the thought of actually consuming the product! It was a very educational day at the Old Sturbridge Village!

The City of Love - Philadelphia

After an overnight stay in New York, we headed to Philadelphia. Once there, we went to the Franklin Institute. Like Ben Franklin, this museum was dedicated to the exploration of science in a very hands-on environment. It quickly found a special place in the hearts of my children as they raced from exhibit to exhibit to experience it all. We capped off the day with Philly Cheesesteaks. Pat’s and Geno’s are the rival cheesesteak diners that are conveniently across the street. We bought one of each, then left the “hot zone” to taste test them for ourselves. We all agreed the winner was: Cheesesteaks in Philadelphia, regardless of origin!

Tuesday we headed to the City Hall first. It was an unscheduled stop on our tour, but one that we were advised not to miss. Originally they split us up because they were afraid the elevator to the top of City Hall couldn’t sustain 6 people plus the operator. But they decided to give it a whirl. That was a very strained elevator ride as it shuttered and creaked all the way up 44 floors. But we couldn’t have seen a better view of the City of Brotherly Love than from atop William Penn’s perch on City Hall. Our favorite sight was the blue fountain. The water had been dyed a brilliant teal blue, so naturally it was our next attraction!

My favorite attraction was the Independence Hall. There the foundations of our county and government were laid. It was very inspiring to be there. Equally inspiring was Valley Forge where the Continental Army wintered during the war to bring about the ideals set forth in Independence Hall. The kids loved climbing on cannons, and yelling “The British are coming!!” while shooting their guns (sticks that they had collected). Then they would be blasted by cannon and die ignominious deaths. It was quite entertaining.

We continued with our theme of armies and battles and visited Gettysburg the next day. We were amazed at the extent of the museum in the Visitors Center, we could have spent all day in the maze of artifacts and movies that were offered there. We were lucky to escape in just over an hour. We drove around the field, making stops at Devil’s Den, Little Round Top and the sight of Picket’s Charge. The field once littered with human casualties is now littered with monuments of all sizes, shapes and characters. We couldn’t even attempt to read them all. The kids enjoyed playing battle against a different foe at Devils Den, as they brought the area to life with shouts of “The Rebel’s are coming!”

DC meant Delightfully Contented

Thursday was our BIG day in the Washington DC. We had tour reservations for the White House at 9:30, then reservations for the Capitol Building at 2:30. The number of items admitted to the White House was fairly straightforward, they didn’t allow anything! You were required to bring ID and nothing else. That made the day a little challenging. But we enjoyed the White House and are glad that we made the effort. We managed to squeeze in a tour at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and the Library of Congress before reporting to the Capitol. Unfortunately, due to limited resources and a severe lack of drinking fountains, the Capitol tour was too frequently peppered with requests for a drink to make it profusely enjoyable!

Friday was a little easier day. We went to Mt. Vernon with our friends, Brandon and Stephanie Eliason. The house was just as I had remembered it from 20 years ago, although I hadn’t expected it to change. However, an extensive visitors center has popped up during that time period. We enjoyed completing a scavenger hunt there, but declined to take the National Treasure II tour of the cellars. We simply amused ourselves with the ample grounds and view of the Potomac. We finished the day with a stroll on the Battlefield of Manassas. Then back home for a hike over the creek and through the forest in the Eliason’s backyard.

We headed back to the city on Saturday, but this time, the Eliason’s came with us! We saw the Washington Monument, the World War II Monument and the National Archives. We were amazed at how worn the Declaration of Independence was; we couldn’t read any of the signatures. We speed ran through the National Gallery of Art, then headed to the number one stop on Jeff’s list, the National Air and Space Museum. We saw more planes, and many spacecraft, Jeff was in heaven. We ended the day getting lost several times on our way to the Jefferson Memorial, but finally arriving just as the sun was low in the sky.

We had a treat for conference Sunday. We headed to the Washington DC temple. We wandered the temple grounds for a bit, then went in the stadium style theater to watch conference. The prophet was larger than life on the 70 foot screen! We made a stop by the National Cathedral, which was very nice, but as usual, pales in comparison to the temple.

Monday was our last day in DC. We went to the Lincoln Memorial, and Ford’s Theater before ending at Arlington National Cemetery. We were able to see the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. I wonder how long they must train to be able to perform their duties with such accuracy. Even the footpaths in front of the tomb were in perfectly straight lines with exact right angles for turns. It was a very solemn assembly. We saw the statue of Iwo Jima, then headed off to New York.

New York, New York!!

Our final destination was New York City. We exchanged our faithful companion, the minivan that had taken us so many places, for a handful of subway passes and hit the streets. This was not very popular with Gabe, he kept asking when we were going to get another rental car. But the rest of the kids enjoyed swinging like monkeys from the bars in the subway, while I tried to navigate the confusing NY subway system.

Our first day was a “miscellaneous” day. We just went where the wind took us exploring the city we are so familiar with through movies and television. We went to Times Square (movie: Enchanted), Rockefeller Center (movie: Home Alone), FAO Schwartz (movie: Big and Elf) and Grand Central Station (movie: Madagascar). We stopped by the M & M World store and St. Patricks Cathedral. We ended the day at the temple, where Maddie and Jeff were able to do baptisms for the dead. It was a full day all about “Being there”. Now we can say “We’ve been there!”

We were up and out early the next day to go to the Statue of Liberty. We were so worried about lines that we were the first ones there! No problem. We enjoyed the Statue of Liberty, and even completed the booklet to receive our Junior Park Ranger Badges for Liberty Island. We made a quick stop at Ellis Island, then it was back to the city. I think the best part for the kids was the boat rides around the bay. We finished the day with Trinity Church, Ground Zero, the New York Stock Exchange, and a visit to my sister’s, Jenny, office. Jenny took the kids back home while Jeff and I went to see Spam A Lot. It was very silly, and entertaining if you are familiar with Monty Pythons Holy Grail. Jeff loved it.

For our final day, my mother joined us from Denver. It was a great opportunity for her to see two daughters and half of her grandchildren. We started the day with the Empire State Building, a staple of all tourists. After that, we headed to the Met. My sister, Kristina, had created a scavenger hunt based on her visit 2 months earlier. We really enjoyed finding the treasures on our hunt. After the museum, we wandered into Central Park. We found Belvedere Castle, then unknowingly entered the Rambles. It was a series of wandering paths through a forest. It was so fun to be “lost” in a forest, yet if you looked up high, you could always orient yourself with the buildings that rose above the trees. We eventually emerged to find Bethesda Fountain. We finished our tour of New York by playing on a playground and eating New York Pizza.

Allie, Gabe and Jeff flew home the next day. Maddie and Jayd stayed with my sister for two days. Their activities were not reported to me, you will have to ask them. My mom and I spent the two days relaxing, shopping, eating different food and going to plays and comedies. All in all, it was a great vacation. We learned so much, had so many different experiences and enjoyed being together as a family. The whole vacation just came together without any complications and I am grateful that we had the opportunity.