NEW YORK!

So pretty much, my 24th birthday was the best birthday I have EVER had. Before Luke and I move back to the West Coast, we booked a last minute trip to New York City! One of our best friends from BYU, Chelsea Sue, was born and raised in Brooklyn, and has been begging us to come to NYC ever since we graduated.  We were so blessed to be able to stay with her.  She and her mom are the BEST hosts, and we loved every minute we got to spend with them. Also, let's all just drool over this view of theirs!

On our first full day in the city, I'm pretty sure we walked 500 miles.  We started in midtown where we checked off all the highlights: Grand Central Station, St. Patrick's Cathedral, the shops along 5th Ave, Central Park, the Manhattan Temple and many more things.  And btw, the weather could not have been more perfect. High 50's with beautiful sunshine!  New York is spectacular during the Christmas seasons, and we especially loved seeing the 5th Ave store fronts, and of course the Rockefeller Tree!

Let's just pretend we had tickets

Central Park in all its glory!

She really is our favorite

We made our way south and saw Time Square (Luke's absolute favorite) and the empire state building.  Chelsea had to leave to babysit, so Luke and I just loved walking all the way down 5th Ave Greenwhich Village. We happened to be in town for one of Luke's close high school friend's birthday party.  We so enjoyed getting to finally see Christie again and celebrate with her in their New York apartment with a view of the Empire State Building!

On Sunday, we started the day by going to church, and were lucky enough to meet Elder Rasband. He was in town and it looks like we timed it so well!  Later that day, Chelsea showed us lower Manhattan. We walked through the financial district (Luckily it was a Sunday, so it was nice and quiet) where we saw Mayor De Blasio!

We visited the 9/11 Memorial that day as well.  When I was in New York 10 years ago with my family, ground zero was still there.  I remember as a kid just looking at all the rubble as we looked through the chain linked fence. Now years later, it was such a peaceful place.  The monument is incredible.  I've seen many different monuments, and this one is my favorite.  The sounds of the rushing water and the pure size of the monument remind you of not only the severity that happened that day, but the strength that also came with it.

We took the Staten Island Ferry out and back just in time to see the Statue of Liberty against a beautiful sunset.

Needless to say, the highlight was my birthday! Chelsea and Luke got up at 4:30 AM to be on the Today Show with me at Rockefeller Center. Such a great experience! I may be young, but I admit to watching the Today Show every day before I go to work.  It was so cool! And Savannah Guthrie personally wished me a happy birthday! Such a fun experience.

We were so grateful we could finally visit the beautiful city together, and most importantly, see our dear friend Chelsea (Susan) Sue!

Thanksgiving in NC

This Thanksgiving, Luke and I got in our car and drove to North Carolina! Almost all of Laura's (Luke's mom's) family lives in the Durham/Raleigh area, so we were surrounded by lots of family!  Laura and Bob drove down from Virginia, along with Anna and Cameron and little Henry.  I was so excited to finally meet our new nephew, Henry! We had so much fun playing with him!

On Thanksgiving morning, a group of us ran the Durham Turkey Trot!  It was a great way to start the day, and made extra room for food later in the day. The turkey hats were a great addition!

Well, Luke is getting old.  We run all the time, and of course it'd be a relaxed 5k that threw his back out.  The pour guy could barely walk that day, but was a trooper! By the end of the day, Luke was dead on the floor, and so Cameron showed unconditional brotherly-in-law love and gave Luke a massage to try and help out.

The week was a wonderful one, getting to know so much family better, and eating GREAT southern food!