New York + Nyack, or Bust!

A few weeks ago, we made a road trip to New York to visit our friends, see the sights, tour the family's homeland, eat peanut butter, and have some fun.  Dad said we needed to visit New York City and Nyack before we moved.  It was a great trip, but it was not without hard work.

 

 

Upon our arrived (after a prolonged, traffic-filled 7.5 hour drive), we were greeted by a melee of leaves covering the driveway at Brendan and Oscars (our friends who were just in DC a few weeks prior).  The next morning, Amelia and I were put to work - here I am raking and cleaning the driveway of leaves.  I was told I have a future in yard work, but I still am awaiting payment for my first job (not much of a future evidently).

 

Because I was never paid for my work and since B&O had to work (while I was on vacation), I decided it was time to have fun with the leaves!

 

Later that day, we went to an exciting playground with diggers, saw a damn, went to the Hudson river, and ended the evening by running around a big house like a crazy man! 

 

The next morning we woke up early and went to see the sites from Grandpa's childhood.  We visited the house he lived in while he was a Big Guy.  We went to bakery where Amelia and I picked bagels and pretzels right as they came out of the oven.  And we visited Hilburg Ct, a street named after us.  Although we could not find Phin or Amelia Ct, so silly. 

 

Oh, and I learned how to use the camera!  You can check out some of my photos as part of the whole NY Visit album.  The photo below shows me taking a pictures of Mom, who was taking a picture of me, who was taking a picture of Mom, who was taking a picture of me, who was taking a picture of Mom, who was taking a picture of me, who grew tired of Dad trying to be funny at this point.  I gave him back the camera and ran back to the car.

 After our Tour of Nyack, we celebrated by having a multi-course dinner cooked by Dad and a celebrity chef (not sure why Dad cooked, but maybe he learned something).  The next day, we woke up early and drove into 'the City.'  I have been in Washington DC a lot times (as well as St Louis, Boston, Milwaukee...), but it was nothing compared to NYC!  We saw cruise ships, an old aircraft carrier (with a Space Shuttle on it), lots of taxis and buses, really tall buildings, and about 10 Elmos walking through Times Square.  I had no idea Elmo and his Sesame Street friends panhandled and posed for pictures for money - I guess income disparity is worse on PBS than I knew about (probably from recent budget cuts). 

After a visit to the nation's largest toy store and Hello Kitty chasing us for several blocks, we visited the NYC Transportation Museum in an old subway station!  As you can see in the picture below, I drove the bus there.  Dad said he was so proud that we made it there without any accidents, but said I should have still stopped to pick up passengers (we needed the money for the tolls on the way home).  

 
After the museum, we dropped Brendan off and he caught the train home (lucky guy), while we drove back to DC.  Oh, I forgot to mention, we also ate lunch at a peanut butter restaurant.  Can you believe it, they have a restaurant that just serves PB?!  Oh NYC, you are so fun; maybe I can open a PB restaurant in DC or Portland.

You can check out the entirety our NYC photos here - including the ones I took.  Had I know what the school pictures would have looked like, I would have offered to take those.

Peace Out,
Phin

Worst Class Pictures Ever

I love my school.  I love the people in my class.  I love my teachers.  I love the new playground.  I love the activities that we do at school.  I love that they let me build trains and cars some days.  I love doing art there (I know, what a change from 2 years ago).  I love going to school and being a big guy.

But, I do not love having my picture taken.  And I do not love my class photos.  

A few highlights are shown below... there are many more terrible ones in the full album and a couple of decent candids (but nothing formal or really that great).



My class photo.  I cannot remember where I am going here (far left in stripes), maybe it was to check out the road in the background. 
How bad is this photo?  The teachers are not even looking.  In the subsequent photos, the class descends into chaos. 

Not sure why a photographer would even send this photo to the family.  Was this the expected reaction, "We have a lot of great photos of Phin, but what we really need are photos where Phin's face is obstructed."  I'm glad I no one else wore my orange and blue hoodie, otherwise we would not know this was me.   I told Dad not to complain too much, because I am smiling in this photo.

Bet you did not know we had such great, tall grass at school?!

Be sure to check out all of the photos (seriously, you will get a chuckle) from the 'professional' photographer school hired.

Peace out,
Phin

I'm a Big Girl (in case you didn't already know)

In case you forgot, I just wanted to remind you, I am a Big Girl now - not a baby.  Even though I'm a Big Girl, I still love hugs, toys, being silly, and crying really loudly for extended periods of time for no reason (I'm only two).  I earned my "Big Girl Stripes," as Daddy calls it, by sleeping through the night, wearing undies, sleeping in undies, and as of today having a Big Girl bed!  For today's nap, Dad removed the wooden side to my crib and inserted the foam bumpers.  Now, I can roll out of bed or get out of bed (which I know not to) whenever I choose!  It also means that I can use a Big Girl Pillow when I sleep, like Phinny (not pictured below).

 

Good bye diapers, changing pads, and bed rails!

 

Laying in my new Big Girl bed as practice

I'm so excited about my new bed!  We've been talking about it since our trip to Oregon.

Lots of Love,

Amelia Rose 

Pumpkin and Apple Picking with Our Neighbors

Last month, we rounded up our neighbors, the Driscolls, and went apple and pumpkin picking.  We love picking food and we do it a lot (it is a good escape from the City).  This time, we went back to the same place we went pumpkin picking when I was a baby (Hollin Farms).  Look how much bigger I am now, 4 years later.

They had pick your own potatoes, sunflowers, a corn maze, all the apples Amelia could eat (which is about 17 in one morning) and pick, and pumpkins!  When we get together with the Driscoll kids (either at our houses or in one of our courtyards), silliness and good times always ensures.  Dad likes to have the Driscolls over because when we play, we are all well behaved and quiet (something he says is rare; but, I'm always good). 

Regardless of what Dad says, we had a fantastic time, enjoyed some apples, got lost in a corn maze, rescued Mom from the corn maze, got lost again in the corn maze, rescued Mom again from the corn maze, got lost in the corn maze again, and were rescued and barred for life from the corn maze by Dad.  Oh, and we picked pumpkins and potatoes too. 

With Amelia, Audrey (the oldest), and Emma (the middle child) in front of a tractor.  Why?  Because it's a tractor and cool!

Digging our own potatoes.  I used a pitchfork and a shovel.  Amelia used a shovel that was as tall as she is

Hiding in the corn maze with Emma.  Bet you cannot find me.  BOO!

Using my binoculars to help Amelia find a pumpkin.  I think we were facing the wrong way.

We used the pumpkins we picked to make our Halloween Jackolantern.  We used the apples to make an apple cake - I made it nearly by my self (Dad measured the ingredients).  You can check out all of my pumpkin and apple picking (and MeMoo's apple eating) pictures here.
Peace out
Phin

Hapy Halloween 2014!

Happy Halloween everyone!
What a fun holiday.  People put out silly decorations.  We get dressed up and go check out their decorations.  People get really excited to give you candy and treats.  Then you rush home and share your candy (and fruit snacks) with people who knock on your door looking for candy.  I'm not sure who thought up this holiday, but thank you.

For Halloween this year, Mom and Dad made Amelia and I choose a family theme together. It's not easy agreeing with Amelia - she wanted to be a monkey and a pacifier.  I wanted to be a train.  Finally, we agreed on emergency vehicles.  I was a fire truck, Amelia was a police car, Dad was traffic light, and mom was a firefighter.  Someone called us the "Safety Family."  We were pretty safe trick-or-treating, so they may be right (we went out early, stayed on the sidewalks, and only knocked on doors with lights on).

You can see more pictures of our costumes and our carved pumpkin here.

Peace Out,
Phire Truck Phin