Christmas in Carolina

M & Em heading to Savannah

Em ready to take down that amazing B&D burger

Meg chilling with Gregory

Our final travels of the year brought us down to sunny South Carolina - where the weather felt like July - sunny and high 70's all week - it doesn't get any better than that. Thankfully the weather only confused M & Em. Santa Clause still made his way despite the hot sun!

Early Tuesday morning (very early - 3am early), M & Em packed their bags and jumped in the car to head down 95 to the Keane's. We hit our stride and were cruising along when a sea of brake lights stood in front of us. We parked our car and sat in traffic for 45 minutes - surely we had to be a few hours into the trip. Don't fool yourself like we did - we were 30 minutes into the trip when we hit the construction. After 45 minutes of bitching and moaning we were off again. Ready to take on whatever would come in front of us. Meg pulled her weight the beginning of the trip while Em slept in the passenger seat. Again - don't be fooled - Em managed to bark out instructions on how to drive. Finally, Meg took a hint and Em took over the wheel. Three stops and 8.5 hours later we were pulling into Sun City - ready to kick off the holidays.

Once we pulled in, we chatted and caught up with the family. We ate a bit, Em logged into work and Meg and the girls went out for some shopping in Savannah. It was good times - Meg found herself a killer pair of shoes and the girls had a great time shopping. We headed back to Sun City a few hours later and ate some dinner. That night we settled down for some Celebrity cherades and eventually hit the sack. On Christmas Eve, we played some cards and bummed around before heading to Christmas Eve mass. Afterwards, we headed out for some delicious Chinese food. Christmas morning we woke up to presents under the tree from Santa! We unwrapped our gifts, enjoyed some laughs and hung out before eating our big Christmas meal. On Friday, we prepped for family pictures and then suited up for the 1st Annual Bocce Ball tournament. After the tournament we headed back where Meg made some chili and we settled down for some dinner and conversation. Early Saturday morning M & Em were off to historic Savannah for some sightseeing, shopping and a burger at B&D - the #1 burger joint in Georgia. Those burgers were delicious! We headed back to SC a few hours later and started packing our things as we were heading out in a few short hours. After dinner, we slept for a few hours before hitting the road again back up north. Em was a maniac and drove straight through without having to switch seats. Meg took advantage and slept most of the time :).

It was a great Christmas - filled with lots of fun and family!!

A New York State of Mind

Christmas in NYC - Rockefeller Center

View of NYC from Top of the Rock

Em stuck in the sleet/ice storm!

Gray's Papaya

Bryant Park

Snowy Central Park

A New York state of mind is exactly what Em had when he was planning our one-year wedding anniversary. In true Emmett fashion - he had planned the perfect weekend for our anniversary. Armed with two free airline tickets and an appetite for NYC - M & Em headed out to NYC as excited as ever. The plane ride was quite uneventful - considering we were 2 out of the 10 people on board. Once we landed, we waited for our shuttle to arrive to take us to the airport. Unfortunately, one end of that conversation never got through - we ended up waiting in vain and after Em kindly (read sarcastically) told the customer service agent that we were waiting for our shuttle for an "important business meeting" - we ended up hailing a taxi and heading to our hotel the true New York way.

As soon as we got to the hotel, we checked in and layered our clothing. It was freezing and looked like it might just flurry. Boy - were we wrong. Within minutes of heading out and catching some breakfast, the wind picked up and the snow came falling down. That didn't stop us. We headed straight to Canal St. for some famous knock-off shopping. Within minutes, Meg was armed with her fake Jimmy Choo, a new scarf, a new hat and a new t-shirt. After a satisfying shopping experience, we headed back to the hotel to dry off, re-layer and got ready for round two. This time, we walked our way up to Bryant Park to check out the shops and were hoping to ice skate. Unfortunately, the rink was closed but the snowy park was beautiful and so enjoyable. The wind really started to pick up and the snow started to fall - a perfect opportunity to head to Central Park for a horse-drawn carriage ride. That was a no-go either. The weather took a turn for the worse and we were stuck in a sleet storm - our umbrella flying and our faces getting pelted with sleet and ice. That didn't stop Meg from wanting to check out the Central Park shops. We shopped til we nearly dropped (literally). After shopping left us quite hungry, we trekked to Gray's Papaya for some amazing hot dogs. They give Nathan's a run for their money! Best hot dogs ever!! However, that was quite enough for us. We headed back for wardrobe change #3 and off to dinner we went to Ellen's Stardust Diner to check out the entertainment by the wait staff who so desperately wanted to be Broadway Stars. Afterwards, we went to the Christmas Show at Radio City Music Hall to check out the Rockettes. After watching the Rockette show, Meg wanted so desperately to be a Rockette - they are so cool! Friday was a very fun and very snowy day.

Early on Saturday we headed back towards Central Park. After walking around a bit we were off to the famous Carnegie Deli for some sandwiches. Unfortunately we weren't the only tourists with the same idea. The line was long and are feet and hands were FROZEN! We went to Names & Faces right down the road for a nice warm, comfortable meal. We enjoyed our food and each other's company for quite awhile. Eventually we noted the time and headed to SoHo to see Stomp off-Broadway. What a fun show! We even were lucky enough to have our own commentary behind us. After every move we heard "That was awesome!" or "Awwww" for every time the "little guy" got picked on. Meg and Em had little patience for this but before we knew it the show was over and the two girls behind us were gone - thankfully! We headed back uptown afterwards for our tour at Top of the Rock and to view the Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center. At Top of the Rock, Meg tried to get involved in an engagement. After seeing the guy get down on one knee, Meg immediately wanted in on the action and begged Em to let her take pictures. The rational one of the couple (Em) realized it may not be a good idea and dragged Meg away before getting any pics of the couple's magical moment. Once down by the tree at Rockefeller Center, Meg got a picture of her own. She posed with an Asian Santa Clause - NYC is so diverse!! Once done with the pictures, we headed down towards the hotel for a yummy, hot steak dinner.

Sunday morning M & Em rose early to head back to DC. It was one of the best trips to NYC to date - thanks to Em and all his hard work planning such a romantic weekend!

Turkey Day

Em & Riley making a gingerbread house - Meg not pictured - eating all the candy when no one was looking :)

Christmas Tree Decorating

Happy Turkey Day!

Here we are two months later finally blogging about Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving '08 was spent in good ol' Jermyn with the Smith family - unfortunately, the Watsons and Jen & Mike were unable to join us. We drove in early Thursday morning to avoid the nightmare traffic that happens the night before. Once we arrived, we headed up to the LaPorta's for what was nothing short of an eating marathon. We wined and dined on turkey, mashed potatoes, and some favorite Lebanese dishes. The mood was light and everyone eagerly tried to catch up on what's new in the family. After the huge dinner, the turkey coma hit and we headed back home for a post-dinner nap. As soon as everyone woke, we ate some more and mapped out our plans for Black Friday Shopping.

The next morning, the women headed out EARLY to the Shoppes on Montage Mountain while the men hit up Best Buy and all those boring electronic shops :). Once the women spent their max, we headed home to decorate gingerbread houses with the nieces. After a messy hour of putting together a candy house, we continued to do what we do best - we ate some more and drank some more.

The rest of the weekend proved to be a relaxing one - filled with eating, drinking and sleeping. What a great way to spend the holidays with family :). Next year - Thanksgiving in South Carolina!