Be Merry.

Ever wish the holiday season could last a few extra months? Well, read our blog and it can. My gift to you. You're welcome.

This Christmas was lovely. Megan, Collin, Noah and I converged on the Pace home for a week of holiday cheer. Our intentions were pure (we'll come to you...) but mostly, that just meant we reaped the benefits of their wonderful hospitality. We wished desperately that Koryn and her clan and our parents could have been there with us, too. I have a feeling Christmas 2013 is going to be off the chain. Because you know how we Furnisses have a tough time staying on the chain...

In addition to delicious home-cooking, fun game nights and belly laughs, the Pace home added that oh-so-delightful ingredient that really makes the holidays magical. The kiddos.

I know it may be obvious and oft-expressed, but oh! how those little ones make the holidays memorable.

Highlights included our dance party - complete with whisk and spatula mics, the most quaint Christmas Village and train ride to the North Pole (Ashley has a much better recap), and serving as Abbey's cheering section when she bravely pierced those lobes. She'd been a little worried about doing it on the previous attempt, so it was definitely something Ash and Justin played cool and let her take at her pace. As someone who has mild panic attacks anytime I even think of pain/needles/anything remotely medical, I knew how much it meant to be brave and git 'er done. I was so proud of her!

(Upon seeing these photos, Ashley nervously asked, "Is that you?! Did you pierce her ears?" No, no. Don't be silly. The 17-year old who certified yesterday pierced her ears.)

 Such a perfect holiday season. Come again soon!

Giving Thanks and Wedding Bells

We celebrated Thanksgiving in Utah - and what a celebration, indeed. Christopher (or for anyone who met him after age 7, "the boy") and Krystal immediately secured highly-favored status in our book by setting their wedding date for the weekend following Thanksgiving. So we were lucky to spend the holiday and the week thereafter with nearly the entire Christine and Alan Riley clan. An impressive feat, with Riley addresses spanning the globe.

We kicked off the week with a morning run along Riley Drive {you know you're in Payson when...}, the menfolk skeet shooting in the hills {you know you're in Payson when...} and a delicious Thanksgiving dinner. We also celebrated Grandpa "Alli's" 60th birthday with cute gifts of 60 favorite items from the grandkids and a list of Gramps' 60 best tales. If you know Alan and his penchant for storytelling, you know that coming up with a list of 60 was a breeze :). Noah also initiated Laine into the "cancer test" club. {If your hand is bigger than your face...} Thanks for not actually hitting that sweet little face, Uncle Noie!

Then it was off to St. George for the reception and wedding. They could not have ordered a more gorgeous weekend - I'm starting to understand the appeal of St. George.

The morning of the wedding, all seemed to be humming along smoothly. Way out of character for a Riley family gathering. Eerie, even. Fate did catch up with us, however, when in the 11th hour, we had dead car batteries, a bride separated from her dress/make-up/vehicle, a forgotten marriage license passed out the window of a moving car, a temple recommend locked in a car {the keys were inside the temple in my father in law's suit coat pocket... in a locked locker... that was occupied. that's a fun story.}, forgotten shoes and tender mercies. When all was said and done, we all made it to the ceremony. Perhaps just a little worse {read: sweatier} for the wear. And it was such a lovely ceremony.

Ben and Laine were flying home to Australia from St. George, and none of us could bear to part a moment too soon. So we all ended up staying an extra night with Grandma and Grandpa Riley in St. George. We had a great evening together, playing cards late into the night and keeping Grandma awake against her will. The next day, we also made great use of Aunt Nan and Uncle Scott's gracious invitation to use their cabin and four wheelers.

While the girls were quite content to "go fast" and find gourds along the route, the boys embarked on a slightly different adventure and returned with this slithery fellow. And now I'm petrified at the thought of raising boys.

We welcomed the Christmas season with a visit to Temple Square to see the lights {where Jesse had yet another run-in in a crowded place with the same sweet family he bumped into on a crowded NYC 4th of July} and the little ones ate the apples out of the wedding bouquets.

 

Those Autumn Leaves

I'm bundled up inside. I can literally hear how cold it is outside. And from all reports, Davis County will blow entirely off the map today. {or, at least, it was the day i actually started penning this post.}

I'm in denial that winter weather is actually coming 'round the bend, so it seems like the perfect day to hold on to those last few memories of the gorgeous fall we enjoyed with a pictorial of our weekend outings.

We had a whirlwind weekend with the Collins and the Moodys. Collins' visit came to a close just as the Moodys pulled up in front of our place, so the guys enjoyed a quick Forest Gate apartment reunion on the sidewalk for a few minutes. Central Park was basically begging to be enjoyed that weekend. One does not turn down a lovely day in Central Park. We enjoyed ample time in the park, where we caught a chess tournament, sang along to some Beatles tunes at Strawberry Fields and - ah, heck. i'm just going to say it - I had the best hair day of my life.

On a whim, we headed up to Sleepy Hollow to run the Sleepy Hollow 10k with our Connecticut Barlow family. The course was the perfect way to enjoy this Halloween town in the fall - a headless horseman atop an actual horse was the course marker at some turns and race participants are encouraged to dress up. We were slackers in the costume dept, but Alyssa's costume had us - and everyone else - cracking up.

For the last few years, Noah's had a tough time grasping the appeal of apple picking. To this orchard-raised boy, apple picking just means chores. But we've been in the city long enough that the prospect of picking fresh apples from the tree really spoke to him. We enjoyed the most gorgeous fall day picking apples and indulging in one too many apple cider donuts with a great group of friends. And Noah impressed us all with his knowledge of apple varieties, his insight into how the trees ought to be pruned {apparently these trees are suffering from serious neglect} and his ability to break an apple in half with his bare hands. That's right, ladies. He also does laundry. I hit the dream man jackpot.

The following weekend, winter tried to sneak attack us with a snowstorm in October. Rude. But fall bounced back, thank goodness, and we made the most of its return with an afternoon at the Cloisters and Fort Tryon Park with the Hydes. 

And last, but certainly not least, I made my way to the Upper East Side on a lovely Sunday afternoon to catch mile 23 of the NY Marathon. A client of mine was running, so I met up with Zach and pals who were also there cheering on their friend. They made these great signs for their friend {the other one said "do it for the cheeseburger."  because really, who's NOT thinking about meat and cheese after running the equivalent distance of Times Square to Scarsdale?}, and I was holding on to one of the signs when my client ran past. I was all about high energy and yelling his name, jumping up and down, you get the drill... and the sign was right there in the mix of my hoopin' and hollerin'. It wasn't until after he passed that it dawned on me that I had the "extremely good looking" sign. Hoping I didn't send an uncomfortable message...