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.

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A Chocolate Celebration

Last Friday we learned that James passed the California BAR exam. Talmage's two comments were as followed: 1) Does this mean Daddy doesn't have to go to work anymore? and 2) So now Daddy's a real lawyer because before he was only a pretend lawyer? Our comments to his comments: 1) no, sadly. and 2) yes, but sadly he still feels like a pretend one!

 

On Saturday the boys and I decided to throw him a congratulations party at Max Brenner--a chocolate restaurant near Union Square. And yes, I said chocolate restaurant. T had chocolate pizza and Ever had a chocolate milkshake...for dinner. Because we party hard! James and I had real food, and then poached some of their desserts. Oh yeah, and then we brought home our own dessert too. Because it was a serious party, people!

 

I was a little nervous about bringing the kids to this place because it's nicer than our usual dining establishment (eh hem, 5 buck pizza) but the music is loud and the vibe is friendly and shoot, everyone's dining on chocolate so smiles are worn by all.

James and I went back and forth about what to order, but I ended up with the mac and cheese and holy Hannah, that was such a dang good decision. If you go there, try it. The end.

Talmage's pizza comet with an ice cream snowball, and gummy bears that survived only seconds after being placed before the kid!

Everett was ever-so-serious about his chocolate milkshake. I laughed really loud because the waiter said that the portions were not very large. Ha! Yes, that's Ever with his tiny little milkshake ;)

After having dessert for dinner, and ordering dessert for later, James was treated to a celebratory dessert at the restaurant. That waiter, boy did he deserve a big old tip (and got one!) He brought James a piece of chocolate with a candle and the boys and I sang a rousing "Congratulations to you" to that lawyer of ours. Proud is an understatement--that James is something else and we are so lucky he's ours. And you know, all four of us worked our individual tails off for that degree (and that BAR) and that celebration did a family good!

Parting was definitely sweet, sweet sorrow this time. We love you Max Brenner, and you too James!

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Grand Central Train Show

I was in charge of playgroup last week and we went to the holiday train show at Grand Central Station. My boys were having a rough morning, but nothing that a blow-pop couldn't solve...at 9 am! As you'll see throughout this post, Talmage dressed us all in matching clothes. He does that sometimes.  

 This exhibit was the perfect size for busy toddlers with short attention spans. My littlest conductor loved inspecting all of those trains.

The whole train area was a model of NYC, here is the Empire State Building.

 

 And here is a mini Grand Central Station!

 Oh yes, and Everett had to wear his train sweater, which may just be my favorite piece of clothing he owns--so cute. And since neither of them were willing to smile for pictures, I just took ones like this and pretended I meant for it to turn out like that :)

 

Me and the boys in our train hats! 

We ate lunch and watched the ice skaters at Bryant Park until it was time for naps. Overall, such a good playgroup.

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My fruit stand

{back in better days, when parkas weren't necessary for survival}

 

When I lived in New York as a bright-eyed undergrad I wrote a piece for posterity about how this city had lovingly accepted me as one of its own. I felt at home here, and sobbed when I left for fear that I would never see this great city again (ha!). It's fun to read my old journals and remember all the things about New York that won my heart over some ten years ago.

When we first moved here, I would walk down the street always wondering whether the people I passed thought I was a tourist or a local (not that they cared or even noticed, but still). Actually, I walked down the street knowing darn-straight that I wasn't fooling a soul--I was a California girl that had somehow wound up living in New York, again. The city wasn't knew to me, I felt comfortable in our surroundings and we were having a great time, but it just didn't feel like home.

And then yesterday happened. I dropped Talmage off at soccer practice and took a sicky Everett Knight to pick up some vegetables I needed so that I could make dinner for the missionaries. If I'm doing a major shopping trip I'll head to a grocery store, but if I'm just looking for produce then I usually buy from a fruit stand on the street. And so it was yesterday, I went to the stand exactly halfway between my house and the temple and started throwing onions and apples in bags as Everett excitedly pointed to his favorite finds, hoping those would end up in my sack as well.

I went to the back of the stand, hoping to buy a Fuji for my friend, when I was met by one of the vendors who said, "Good afternoon, you're looking just as beautiful as always!" We talked for a few seconds about the holidays and his stand and I flash-backed to my 19-year-old self being handed a bag of cherries by my favorite fruit-man downtown with a simple, "Your smile is payment enough for me!" Both times I was touched, not by the compliment but because those friends recognized me as a "regular" to their fruit stand. As crazy as it may be, I am a local--and they knew it.  

As I slipped back to the front of the stand I saw the other vendor, cooing and talking to my Everett, that little boy whose smile mirrored the big banana that was now in his hand. "How did you get that?" I asked him, pretty sure I already knew the answer. "He gave it to me!" he said, giggling with excitement. And the vendor was giggling too, clearly tickled that Everett was enjoying the gift.

I paid for the bagged fruit and as I walked away I felt the same emotions I felt 10 years ago when my love for this place was something of the movies. This city is remarkable and it's stealing my heart once more. Yesterday wasn't the first time I realized that we were home, but it was definitely a good reminder.

And then there is Talmage, who danced all the way home from soccer singing, "Look at me, I'm the king of New York!" Yeah, I think we're doing ok.

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the most beautiful of fall days

On one of the most beautiful fall days of my life, I had two dates invite me to the park for a Sesame Street picnic (thanks be to GG for those too-cute bags). We had business take us to the east side in the form of Christmas shopping, and after that was done we decided to stay awhile and see what life was like on the other side of the park: and so we did, and it was great. To tell you the truth though, on a day boasting weather as charming as this day presented, we were going to have a ball regardless of what we did. It was really, truly a magnificent fall day. Coming from me, that means something!

We ended up at a playground on E 67th with this killer granite slide. I've been wanting to take the boys there for a while now, and you know, since we were in the neighborhood. The slide is 45 feet long, and T soon knew all the tricks of how to whish down that baby in lightning speed.

Speaking of lightning, Talmage told me this morning that he was going to name his first kid Lightning McQueen Wigginton. I asked him how many kids he was going to have and he said, "I don't really know yet. I'll have to talk to my wife and figure that out." While you're at it T, how 'bout asking her what she thinks about your name choices! I did tell him that Heavenly Father should be apart of the decision-making process as well and he answered, so knowingly, "Yes, I know. Heavenly Father is going to tell us when it's time to have a baby." Wise kid, that T.

And about Everett, you will see no pictures of him going down the slide because he didn't. Except for one time where I took him down on my lap. When we got to the bottom he said, "Dank you fo dat beautiful wide. Now I don't want to do it again." He was mostly happy just sitting on a nearby park bench eating an apple and enjoying the craziness that is Talmage Scott on a 45 foot slide.

I feel like with most activities with children, it's fun until it's not. And that window is just so very, very small. One second everyone's having a blast and the next it is extremely apparent that a nap is needed...NOW!!! And thus it was with our park day, and so we left. But oh, the walk home. I just can't imagine that a more beautiful walk home exists.

We walked under one tree and I heard T gasp, "Mom! Look up!" and this canopy of flaming red leaves covered our view of the crystal blue sky. It was magnificent.

And then we looked to our left:

Ahhh... It was just one of those days, you know. Those grateful beyond words kind. Because wow, we're blessed.

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he bakes

Banana oatmeal chocolate chip cookies is what he made for me {almost} all by himself.

Gosh, they were good and boy, is that serious cat cute!

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5 Pointz

The highlight of Talmage's trip to 5 Pointz was getting to take the 7 train, because you know Talmage and trains. Never mind that we were visiting Queens, seeing remarkable soon-to-be-obsolete street art and a killer view of the city, he was thrilled that he could mark another train off of his bucket list. That kid knows his stuff. When we were somewhere under the East River he told one of our friends that he wanted to see Newsies for his birthday and she told him he should take the 5 train to see it since he'll be turning 5. Oh no she didn't! He kindly and confidently reminded her that, "Um, da 5 train actua-wy doesn't go to Times Square where Newsies is showing on Broadway. I'll probably just take da 1,2,3, or maybe da C." If she just would've spent a few hours studying the Subway map she would have known that ;)   

 

5 Pointz has been called the "graffiti mecca of the world" and it lives up to that title. The building is completely covered in street art, and not just the typical tagging you see on tunnels or bridges--these are masterpieces. Supposedly you have to audition and be approved to paint on this building, and it shows. Sadly, 5 Pointz is being torn down at the end of the year and will be replaced by high rise apartments so I'm glad we went to see it before it's too late.

POST-EDIT: 5 Pointz was painted over today. All of those amazing art pieces are now just white-wash. Wow...is it kind of corny that my heart is seriously sad?

T was thrilled when he saw that Sister Weinberg (the new Primary President) was joining us on our outing. His first words to her were, "I'm going to play with you all day long!" and that kid never lies.

 

 

 

Look at how tiny those boys look compared to that light bulb guy! This place is massive.

 

 Heck, look how tiny I look next to that caged elephant!

Yep, going to 5 Pointz was definitely one of the coolest things I've done in a while. When we got home and showed James the pictures he just shook his head and said, "Wow, what a crazy and unique upbringing these boys are having." I took that as a compliment ;)

5 Pointz is really close to the Pepsi sign on the East River so we had to go check it out. While the boys played at the playground, I oohed and ahhed at that landmark and happily enjoyed this view:

 Why hello Chrysler Building, Empire State Building and United Nations. How are you doing today?

 And remember T's promise to Sister Weinberg? He definitely made good on it, bless her heart!

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