Winter Concert

Usually the boys have concerts on different nights but one of the music directors had a death in the family so all concerts fell on the same night. I got to grab a picture of both my boys before heading off to hear some great music!

One parent exclaimed, "Wow! Those are 6th graders? They're huge!" I noticed she was looking right at Xander when she said it, ha ha! Good 'ole Xander, along with a few other 8th graders, were helping out the younger music students.

Was able to spot Noah!

Got him leaving the stage as well.

Xander's turn.

The three amigos!

One more picture of my cute boys! I was so proud of how they did in their concert!

The Boys' Trip to NYC

The whole reason the young women initially decided to go up to New York City was because the young men were going there for a scouting urban hike. Melissa and I asked ourselves "why should the young men have all the fun?" So, while the young women were seeing the sights, the young men were as well, just at different times. They actually drove up Friday night to camp and then headed into the city early Saturday morning. I felt a little sorry for them on Friday night...it was SO cold!! The deacons...

and the older guys! I'm so grateful that Xander has Bradon and Harrison to hang out with!

I stole these pictures from Xander's phone - this is New York City seen through his eye. Unfortunately he took ZERO pictures of himself or his brother. Have to teach him that little trick before he heads to China!

They were lucky and got to go to the temple and see one of the Light the World Giving vending machines put out by the church.

It was definitely a fun day for all of us!

NYC

With so many activities going on in November and David being out of town all the time and my bronchitis kicking my bootie, I was not up to going to New York City with the young women. But we had had to cancel the previous two years when we had planned on going and we were one of the driving vehicles so I toughened myself up and off we went. And I'm so glad I did - we had an amazing day! A three hour drive and the girls were pretty quiet...

A few last minute make up additions...

and we were ready to see the big city.

We took the Staten Island ferry over.

Some awesome views of the city...

and our Coast Guard protecting us on the way in.

There she is!

Although it was a tad cold, the weather was pretty much perfect for a day of sightseeing!

Stopping to see Alexander Hamilton's grave.

Some of those graves looked like they were ready to give up their dead.

Ground Zero Memorial.

Such cute girls!

The subway was probably the most nerve wracking; we definitely didn't want to lose any of our girls!

Our two navigators!

A great view as we emerged from the subway into Times Square.

One of the few stores we braved entering. Every place was super crowded!

The M&M store is always a must visit!

David was in heaven, double-fisting his way through the store. I, however, was NOT pleased with the price on those two little bags and let him know I could have bought 20 bags at the store for what we paid for them. Oh, well, I guess it's the whole NYC experience!

We found the picture perfect spot! We hung out for a bit, taking pictures and giving our feet a little rest. The Christmas lights that were just coming on were beautiful!

The streets were getting packed as we started making our way back toward the subway.

The Christmas tree at the Rockefeller Center was definitely a hot spot. At times, we couldn't even move because of the mass of humanity! We just hooked arms and plowed through the best we could.

Sommer was feeling inspired by the feather shirt we saw in one of the shop windows.

We stopped at one of the local tourist shops to stock up on some NYC gear. Of course David found something memorable, ha ha.

We love being goofy, even at our own expense.

Oh, yes, we walked around NYC like that, minus the glasses. Our young women were so embarrassed so pretty much it was a successful look.

What an awesome day with this group of girls!

Waiting for the ferry.

A guy came up and asked if he could take a picture with us. Of course we obliged and we didn't even charge him, ha ha!

Our beautiful views on the ferry ride back to our cars.

It was a tiring day but one of the best! What a great way to bring in December!