Lately

I have actually been busy lately. I went to New York City last weekend with some girls from the ward here. It was incredible! I had never been and we got to see all the sites. We parked down the street from Times Square. Got to see Rockefeller Plaza, street dancers, the Temple, and of course go shopping! Really it was very cool- and one of the coolest parts about it was that it only took us shy of 2 hours to get there!!!
Yesterday we went to our friend Pete's parents house for Thanksgiving. It was great- everyone was so nice and Pete and Amanda are such good friends (thanks again!)
This morning I went with another friend Carrie to New Jersey to do some shopping. It was CRAZY busy of course- but so much fun to be out and about getting the deals and just being a part of it all. I will post pictures later...

What's a Mormon?

Funny story- I went to a local salon last week to get my hair done (definitely needed!) and while I was there the girl doing my hair was asking me questions. She asked me where I was from and I told her that I had just moved here from Utah. The guy in the next booth said, "Oh are you a Mormon?" I said yes and she looked at me and said, "What's a Mormon?" That was definitely a first for me. Yet another example that I am definitely NOT in Utah anymore!!!

Dad's Visit

Last weekend my Dad came to visit us! We first went on a "little" drive to Virginia to have Turkey dinner with my sister Kristi- it was delicious! Then Sunday my Dad got to experience what going to church in Philly is like. His comments were, "Well you have a very diverse ward!" Way to be politically correct Dad! (Really our ward is great and very entertaining!) After church we drove him around Center City and we stopped at the Rocky Statue and The Philadelphia Museum of Art - aka the Rocky stairs. It was really funny because he insisted that we run up them- so funny - and of course Aubrie just loved it. He and Aubrie had quite a lot of bonding time and she keeps asking when Grandpa Holt is coming over-Unfortunately his trip only lasted a few days and now I am REALLY homesick, but I really loved seeing him. My Dad is so great and a wonderful example to my whole family. Thanks for coming Dad- you can come anytime!

Halloween Pictures

Halloween was so great! Aubrie is only 2 and she was SO hyper all day. I hadn't even let her have candy yet!(it really made me miss teaching on Halloween- that sounds silly but I really did miss my classes this year!) I did several crafts and Halloween games with Aubrie since she is starting to get fun and is able to get into things like glitter and glue!

Trick-or-treating here was different than in Utah - (what isn't different here?) we started out on our street - but after the 5th house and NO one being home we went to another neighborhood. Needless to say, Aubrie loved it and caught on really quickly. It was different, because here if you want Trick-or-treaters you decorate your porch and sit outside with the candy, and only about every 5-6 houses people are doing this. In my neighborhood growing up it seemed the opposite- if someone wasn't home it was weird. We went for about a half hour in one neighborhood with one of Brent's friends and thier kids and then to a neighborhood that is in our ward. Then Saturday they had the ward Trunk -or- treat! By this time Aubrie was a pro. So fun!

Phillies Parade

Go Phillies!!! Since winning the World Series on Wednesday night it has been INSANE here, but actually a lot of fun. Wednesday night was so wild- people were driving down the road honking, firecrackers were going off and you could hear people cheering amidst cop sirens wailing. Thursday morning we discovered that about 700,000 people had been in the street cheering and unfortunately vandalizing as well. (got to love Philly) then Friday they had a parade. Over 2.5 Million people came to Center City for it. I didn't dare take Aubrie but watched it on TV. Poor Brent was stuck at the hospital but got to see some of it out the window. Luckily he made it back in time to help take Aubrie trick-or treating. Red is everywhere here - even today people still are wearing red and have their cars painted- windows etc... so funny. But is has been great to see the city united like this.