Miami, Florida
After the cruise was over, we didn't fly out until 10pm so we spent the day in the Everglades and South Beach.
After enjoying and learning about these amazing animals we thought we'd try them fried...not a good idea. Even though it was just the tail, we felt bad (and it was not very tasty)
What a beautiful beach! We could have spent a week there
We did win ourselves some trophies. Tyler for "worst fitting sweater" and me for "cutest mug!"
Highlight of the weekend....OUR FIRST SNOW OF THE SEASON!!
Love Scarf Project (LSP) defined as a bi-coastal project of love for people living with cancer. I thought it was a great idea but me? knit? no, I'm not that crafty...our Relief Society started a knitting group with the LSP being the first project. I went just to socialize but had knitting needles and yarn put into my hands. I fell in love! I love knitting!
57 scarves to represent NYC and 3 of them are mine!! I'm so proud. :)A friend gave me this hilarious story as to why she thinks Santa Claus is a woman. I read it and was like "wow, Santa really can't be a man" until I read the rebuttal...
"There is absolutely NO way Santa is female. Here's why: First, Christmas would be late every year. The line at the department store would never move because Santa would feel the need to "bond" with every kid that sat on her lap. The elves would never get any toys made because they'd be too busy telling her, "No Santa, those red pants do not make you look fat."
What woman would be caught dead in a chimney? Gosh, she might break a nail in there. Also, men don't care if they would get covered with ashes and soot while sliding down the chimney.
And what about Santa's beard? I'm sure you'll agree that most women look significantly better without facial hair. Besides, she-Santa would not go out without makeup.
If Santa was female, she sure wouldn't have white hair. And she would never wear a hat because it would mess up her hair.
The tradition is for cookies and milk to be left for Santa on Christmas Eve. If Santa were a woman, the tradition would be chocolates and Latte's. Also, a male Santa would judiciously takes a bite from each cookie to prove he was there. If Santa was a woman, the whole darn box of Snackwells would be devoured and there'd be a sea of empty Ben & Jerry's containers all over the kitchen floor.
Santa doesn't need to ask directions. A female Santa would get her directions from landmarks. Up in the sky there are no landmarks and no place to ask directions. Besides, she-Santa would never go out driving in the snow and rain at night. She would make Mr. Claus do it and then complain about the way he drove.
She-Santa would never say "HO HO HO". She would analyze it too much and think it was somehow demeaning. "
Not only did we have perfect seats, we had perfect weather. 50 degrees!
Even with a broken foot my friend pulled out an amazing feast. It was a great Thanksgiving.
We decided to participate in Black Friday for the first time at Woodbury Common Premium Outlets. These are not just any outlets, it was like an outlet mall on steroids! Over 500 stores. It was another 4:30am morning but definitely worth it. We had a great time and got some great stuff!
We decided to go to the tree lighting at South Street Seaport again this year (can we call this a tradition yet?) Before the lighting we went to dinner at a great restaurant on the pier.
We have had a fabulous Thanksgiving weekend! We were so thankful to spend it with such great friends and each other. 
Tyler and I decided it was a good excuse to take a weekend away. Neither of us had been there before so we decided to go to Boston!
It was so much fun!! We spent Saturday in Cambridge, MA where Harvard University is. The campus and town was so quaint and historic. I loved the old buildings and gates (as you can see below) It was just like I'd pictured with the colorful leaves falling around us and the students wearing the same Harvard sweatshirts (seriously like 60% of everyone we saw). 
My obsession of bridges continues...
The next day we spent in downtown Boston. We started in Public Garden. It was 68 degrees and sunny! The fall leaves were so beautiful. We loved the park
and Newbury St.
and Beacon Hill
and the Cheers Bar
and Acorn St.
and Faneuil Market
and Long Wharf
and ALL the cute streets in between!
This city had so much character and charm. love love love Boston!
I thought this image was a good one to sum up the feeling of this city...
Lots of anticipation and great plays.....
AND THE YANKEES WON!!!
We went to the annual Halloween party at the New York Design Center. Tyler was out of town last year so I was so glad he came. We had so much fun! (please try and guess which one is my boss!)
Yes, Lady Gaga was at the party (recycling her outfit from the VMAs).
We also had a party with our ward. Our friends that went as Juno were my favorite! Miss Cruella de Vil made a killer pumpkin chili (it won the chili contest)I was on the fence about joining the Facebook craze for about a year until we moved to NYC and I decided I should join to stay in touch with family and friends. Who knew it would bring to pass miracles in my life!?
Miracle 1:
It started in 2004 (a LONG time ago) ... I would get a phone call probably once a month or so asking to speak with Stacie (name has been changed). I would (over and over) tell them they had the wrong number. Over the years the phone calls continued always asking for the same Stacie. Through these "wrong number" calls I always knew what was going on in Stacie's life. I assumed she was getting married when I got calls from photographers galore asking about shooting the wedding and wishing her and David (name has been changed) luck. After the wedding I assumed they were looking for a house and I got calls from a million different mortgage companies. Not long after that, calls started coming in from shipping companies, apparently she was trying to ship a vehicle to Missouri for some reason. Anyway those are just a few of the specifics that I learned about Stacie's life over the last 5 years! But the last few months it has been at least 1-3 calls A DAY! It was so annoying. I came to the conclusion that she must have a phone number close to mine so she changes one digit and uses mine as a fake. Finally one of the shipping companies left a message for her using her full name and it dawned on me...LOOK HER UP ON FACEBOOK! There were a couple of matches in the Ogden area (of course I knew where she was from) so I sent the most awkward and random message that I have ever written. I mean what do you write to someone that you know everything about but they don't even know you exist and ask them to stop giving out your number?! She responded very kindly and said that she was so sorry, she never really realized that might be a real phone number. And that was it! No more phone calls. MIRACLE!!
Miracle 2:
(this one is not as long of a story)
A couple weeks ago I got a message on Facebook from someone that I didn't know. He said that he had found my drivers licence on the sidewalk near his building. I didn't even realize I had lost it! I wrote back thanks so much and asked him to leave it with his doorman. I picked it up the next day and that was it! Easy Peasy!
What an awesome tool Facebook is!! I'm so glad that I have it not only to keep in touch with friends and family but also to find and contact total strangers for whatever situation might arise.
We didn't do it on purpose but we went on a park-a-thon. The weather was PERFECT all weekend so we ended up visiting 6 parks throughout the city (and over a couple days).
And of course we had to do a round at Chelsea Piers. It was so fun double dating with my parents :) Thanks Mom & Dad for staying a few extra days to play with us.
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