What Would Your Last Meal Be?

 I posed a question tonight at supper to desperately try to stop the bickering. It turned out to be pretty funny so I thought I would write it down. 

What would your last meal be?

Bryce: Chicken Noodle Soup, Wagyu Steak

Caleb: His first answer was whatever will take me the longest to eat so I don't die. Oh Caleb! His other answer was Crawfish boil with shrimp, Steak and a chocolate shake.

Abby: A giant fruit plate with half of it just being strawberries and a lemonade to drink.

Emmy: Sloppy Joes with Manwich mix, lemonade, chocolate covered strawberries, corn on the cob.

Robb: Tomahawk Ribeye, Crab legs and corn on the cob (Mexican street corn style)

Erin: Homemade Chicken noodle soup, apple pie and corn on the cob.

We are an interesting group!

Christmas Decorating

I felt like the universe was against us when it came to decorating the tree this year. Abby and I had been sick for Thanksgiving and had to stay home. I still wasn't feeling great that weekend but Emmy's persistence that we get the tree up made me try. I always carefully put away the lights and wrap them nicely, but there are always strands that are burnt out each year when we go to put them up. This year we got lights on the entire tree and the top strand went out. I grabbed a couple of boxes at Target when I was there. When I opened them up, I realized they were twinkling. If you know me, you know that this will never work! Twinkling lights inside are very annoying and I hate them. So, attempt #2 was by Robb. He grabbed a couple boxes at Target when he went into town and returned the twinkle lights. Here was try 2. Obviously very different lights. I also tried the True Value in Hickman but somehow our lights were outdated, and everything has moved to LED and my lovely soft white lights are super hard to find. There was even talk about having to use colored lights and again if you know me, you know that colored lights won't cut it. Attempt #4 was by Caleb and I. We drove into Menards on Sunday night so that Emmy's entire weekend wasn't ruined. Caleb found 1 box of the lights we needed but it had been returned and taped up. We bought it against our better judgement and 2 boxes of lights that could twinkle or stay on. We pieced it together and it wasn't a perfect match but by this time I didn't even care. Oh Christmas Tree Oh Christmas Tree- Why are you trying to kill me!

The girls helped me decorate while the boys watched a game.

Emmy was the only one small enough to get on Robb's shoulders while he stood on a chair. Danger? We laugh in the face of danger!

The tree is finally up, lights on and decorated. It seemed like quite the feat this year. 

This is Scouts first Christmas, and she is a little worried that we have put a tree in the living room. She has also claimed the tree skirt as her new blanket.

 

Thanksgiving

 This Thanksgiving was a little different than most. Last year we stayed home due to the increase in Covid cases and this year we were excited to be able to get together and see family! However, that's not how it played out. Abby ended up having a terrible stomachache and cold/cough and Tues night into Wednesday morning I started to feel crummy too. Bryce and Caleb were really disappointed about the possibility of having to miss Thanksgiving and Abby and I didn't want everyone to miss because of us. Robb, Bryce, Caleb and Emmy headed to Norfolk Wednesday night and Abby and I stayed home with the dogs. We went to bed at 7:30 that night because we felt crummy. On Thanksgiving Day we felt a little perkier and decided to make some of the Thanksgiving food. We didn't eat until almost 4 because we took an afternoon nap, but we made the best of it. We even shared out Thanksgiving with the pups.

Lutz's hosted Thanksgiving lunch and Steph hosted Thanksgiving supper. We facetimed in so we got to say hi to everyone. Robb forgot to get pictures of them at Thanksgiving. He was too busy eating cheesecake and pie, I guess.

Deer Hunting

Robb and I did not realize that our trip to Rhode Island was going to fall on the one weekend of the year that you can deer hunt with a rifle. Thank goodness for Aunt Steph and Lester, who did not forget and planned to take Caleb. Lester and Caleb went out to the farm and attempted to get a deer in the morning. They saw a couple, but they weren't shots that he could take. One was in front of the outbuilding and the other was too far out. They were disappointed but Caleb still had fun. He can try again next year.

 

Last Day of Vacation

Last day of vacation. We had a lot that we wanted to fit in today. We got up and checked out of our hotel early. We drove to Jamestown, RI where we ate a delicious breakfast in a cute little costal town and then went to Beavertail State Park. Sal had really wanted us to go here, and for good reason. It was beautiful! We did a hiking trail and walked down on the rocks that overlooked the coast. This was also the place of the first lighthouse. It had been destroyed in war and this one was built in its place. There is a lot of history in these old towns.

We also drove over the Newport Bridge and saw Newport Beach. Sal had told us about the cliffside mansion hike, and I was intrigued. I like cliffs and mansions. It was a neat but busy trail. You walked right along the cliffs and got to see some of the oldest mansions and houses in the area. Many of them were now owned by the university and not by private owners but the history behind them was still neat.

I thought this one looked like the house in my favorite show Downton Abbey. It of course is not but I love the look of this old castle like house!

After a short but fun packed trip we headed back to the Boston Airport to return our rental car (which now had a decent sized door dinge on my side, not my fault we valet parked everywhere). The Boston Airport is about as different as you can get from the Lincoln Airport. Robb got flagged for lighting up the scanner in security. I had to give him a hard time wondering what in his pants had lit up the screen. He had to get patted down and them they flagged his backpack to search. Robb had picked a cool rock and decided to bring it home. While it's not against the rules you will get a very odd look from the person that searches your bag. Glad it was him and not me. My stress level was through the roof, and it wasn't even me in question. Our first flight was painfully long, and we were exhausted by the time we arrived in Lincoln. I am so thankful that we got to spend this time together. I don't think it has been surprising, but I have been struggling since my dad passed away and to have a sense of calm for a couple days was amazing! 

*A funny side note is that Robb and I found out that we ride in planes very differently. Robb had booked his trip through work, and we booked my flights on our own so without some rearranging we couldn't sit together. We didn't bother going through that trouble for a couple hour trip. Robb sits down and immediately puts on his headphones and makes it very clear that he is not interested in any small talk. I don't even really enjoy people I don't know for the most part but on a plane, it is different. I figure if something bad happens you are going to need the person next to you so you might as well know them. Before our plane from Lincoln had even taken off, I knew the guy sitting next to me, his job, how many kids he had, and that his wife didn't know anyone in town. I had offered to meet his wife and offered to have Abby babysit. On the longest flight home, I sat by a grandma and a young mom with a 4-month-old baby. They apologized right away saying she might be fussy. I told them that I was a mom of 4 and it wasn't going to ruin my day. By the end of that flight, I had held that baby, played peak a boo and found out that she had just been in the hospital for RSV. It's a good thing that she was cute because when I got back home, I got the worst adult cold I have had in years. Probably adult RSV. Robb told be that's what I get for holding a stranger's baby.

 

Ocean visit

Another place on my list to check out was the indoor arboretum in Providence, Rhode Island. It was neat but nothing exceptional.

Vende Raviolli on the other hand was out of this world! This deli in Little Italy was recommended to us by Sal (Robb's co-worker), the list of must do in Providence and a random lady that I talked to on the street. This looked like a big deli but they had about every kind of Italian food you could think of and you could buy a combo plate that they charged by the pound. Haha, yes, the pound. Robb and I split a plate of everything from sausage and peppers to manicotti and ravioli. It was delicious. I guess that is why it was a packed. We would frequent this place if we lived close. Robb was still regretting not getting the giant hoagie that looked amazing. If we could have brought food back, he could have done all of Andy's Christmas shopping here!

We then headed to the coast which took us about 45min to get to. We were meeting Sal and his wife Katie for supper at a seafood place close by that evening. The water was beautiful, but it was very chilly on the beach! Robb laughed at me because I did my best to pet every dog that I saw on the beach. I miss my dogs!

We ate with Sal and his wife and had a great time. They were very easy to talk to and we stayed at the restaurant chatting for about 4 hours. None of us had tried clams before so we got a clam sampler platter. I can now say that I tried one and it's not really something I want to repeat anytime soon. Everyone else did better with them than me but that's ok. I have grown leaps and bounds since I got married to try clams! Robb got the raw tuna Poke bowl which he said was delicious and I got the grilled yellow fin tuna which was also delicious. 

 

New York New York

On Friday we slept in and got breakfast at the hotel and walked by the river front for a couple miles. When we came back, we were talking about what to do for the day. I had mentioned that we were only 3.5 hours from New York. I have always wanted to see New York! I was just joking actually but after Robb finished with his work calls, he said, Lets go to New York City! I'm not going to lie, I was thrilled! We didn't have much for plans other than I really wanted to see the Rockefeller tree and The Statue of Liberty. So, we set off. We soon learned that the Interstate to NY was painfully slow and busy! At one point it said we had 10 miles to go and 60 minutes. That's a little different than NE. When we had told Sal, a guy that Robb was working with on this project, that we headed to NY, he thought we were CRAZY. He lives in Connecticut and hadn't been to NY due to the crazy traffic and driving. We didn't even know what we didn't know but I knew that 3-4 hours away was the closest that I was going to get anytime soon. It sure beats the 19 hours from Nebraska.

Thankfully, Robb drove in NY because at times it was scary! We paid $60 to park in the valet lot because that was the only spot to park. We walked to Rockefeller Center first. I have always wanted to see the big lit up tree. As it turns out they do the annual lighting of the tree the day after Thanksgiving. The best view of the tree that I got was seeing it covered in scaffolding while they applied the lights. Bummer! Its ok. It was still exhilarating being in NY. It was busy and bright. Robb and I were surprised how much trash was stacked on the streets and sidewalks. We weren't sure if there was a trash strike or labor shortage, but it was very odd to see 50+ trash bags stacked in front of every business on their front sidewalk. We walked through Time Square, and people watched.

The site of the Today's show. 

This was the tree that I was really wanting to see. Not much of a view huh!

This was the ice-skating at Rockafeller Center.

So many billboards and crowds and food carts and honking!

And people in character, you never know when you are going to see a random Spiderman.

We walked to Central Park and walked around for a little bit but we got out of the crowds and decided it was probably safer to stay where it was busy.

Robb had us take a detour into what we thought was a strip mall to find a bathroom. Turns out if was one of the hallways of Grand Central Station. This building was really neat and huge and busy as expected.

There was a high police presence here and also Armed Military guys carrying AR. Unnerving! 

We saw the Empire State Building. I will say, for the amount of walking that it took, it was a little underwhelming.

The New York Skyline. It was so unlike what we are used to! All the buildings were huge and so close together. 

The bridges were really neat. 

We drove a really long way to a Statue of Liberty viewing site. We were still really far away and the viewing area pretty dark and secluded so we didn't stick around for very long. I wasn't able to get a good picture due to the lights, but it was very cool to see. Tonight, was a night that I will remember! It's not every day that you decide to visit New York on a whim. 

 

East Coast Trip Day 1-2

Robb had to travel to the East Coast for a project and I was jealous and really wanted to go with him. I jokingly told him I was going with him this time. He told me he would be happy for me to come if we could figure it out. From that point on I made it my mission to Tetris everything together so that I could go see the East Coast with him. 

1. I had to find someone to work for me on Wed. -Done

2. I had to find someone to watch the kids. This was a bit more of a challenge. Bob and Susie were in Spain so they were out, my mom had just started a new job so that wouldn't work. So, Aunt Steph to the rescue. Steph agreed to not only come on Wed and stay until Thurs night, she also coordinated Caleb's deer hunting trip with Lester. She must of somehow knew that I really needed this break. Bob and Susie would be back on Thursday so Bob would take over at that point. It truly does take a village and we have an awesome one! We packed, made arrangements for kid rides and booked Scout (the high maintenance doggie into daycare). 

3. Pack my stuff in a carry on and try to relax and just have fun. 

We flew out of the Lincoln Airport at 10:30 on Wednesday. I have never flown out of the Lincoln Airport, and it is a funny experience. We only had to get there about 20 min before our flight and our plan was SO little that we flew out on. Our connecting flight was in Chicago that would take us to Boston. We arrived in Boston at 5;30 but it was pitch black out. It was a little hard to see any of the sights. We had to shuttle to get to our rental car spot. This is one of those times that I am extra thankful for my super laid-back husband that isn't easily shaken by the unexpected. We thought we were getting a Toyota Corolla but turns out we got a Charger. Let the vacation begin. We got our first taste of city driving by driving downtown Boston at rush hour. Again, super thankful for Robb's laid-back personality. We found a pub to eat burgers at called The Black Sheep. Not sure if the burgers were good or if we were just starving!

We stayed in Providence, Rhode Island. Robb had his first day of work on Thursday. He took the rental car to the job site, so the plan was I was just going to walk around town. There were so many neat shops that I looked at; we were staying downtown in the Art district. I had no problem finding things to do for the day. I walked about 10 miles visiting shops, finding a sandwich shop to stop for lunch, I found a park to read my book in and walked for a long way by the waterfront. I even snuck in an afternoon nap before Robb got home. 

When Robb got home that evening, I talked him into going to the Rhode Island design and art school. It was a 6-floor art museum. We aren't usually art people but why not try something different when you get the chance. We both liked the really old art from Greece the best. We had fun looking around and then decided to try out one of the restaurants to eat. We settled on an Italian Restaurant. It was delicious, fancier than we were used to, but the food was delicious! We then walked back to the hotel room for the night. The entire time we were there it seemed so much later than it was. We think it gets dark early in Nebraska! It gets dark around 4 in RI.