Oma and Opa in NYC

We’ve had a great visit with Rein and Christa. Last weekend we took a trip to one of my favorite spots, the Transit Museum. Ellis loved walking around the old subway cars and “driving” the bus. I am constantly surprised with how different the city and the places we visit feel with her walking everywhere. I can’t wait for warmer temperatures and weekend adventures in the spring.

Rein and Christa were so kind to babysit last night so Erik and I could enjoy a movie out on the town. I knew it had been too long when I exclaimed “what...tickets are $13?” at the ticket counter. We saw and loved The King’s Speech.

Erik has been busy designing new projects under Studio Vrielink and Ellis is doing great adjusting to her new daycare. It was really sad to say goodbye to Kara, Michele and the Blue Room. We realized that it was exactly a year (Jan. 4th to Jan. 4th) that she was under their care. While I used to enjoy the extra snuggling with Ellis during our morning and evening commutes, I was pretty excited to read a book and listen to my ipod on the subway again.

Cancellation Vacation

We were scheduled to fly back home Tuesday evening. Mike was flying back that afternoon, so we rode to Tampa together. While many flights had been cancelled the two days after the blizzard, we were hopeful that our “on time” flight would get to NY that night or at least the next morning. We sadly found out JetBlue cancelled our flight right before we made it to the airport. At the check-in counter, we laughed in shock when the agent said the earliest flight he could book us on was for January 1st . . four days later! We booked a nearby hotel for the night and considered our options. Instead of fighting our way back home waiting in stand by lines, we decided to turn our family visit into a little beach vacation. Off to Clearwater Beach for three days. Erik found the same hotel we had stayed at eight years ago: The Beachview Inn. It’s a wonderfully shabby little place, with amazing views and kitchenette rooms. We rented a car, bought some swimsuits and did our best to change gears and embrace a little extra time off.

Christmas in Florida

We flew down very early Christmas morning to celebrate the holiday with Mommoms, her sisters and Mike (in from California). Our flight was on time and we witnessed the most beautiful sunrise at JFK from the sleek new JetBlue terminal. The weather was unseasonably chilly in Florida, or so everyone told us. Compared to New York temperatures, 50 degrees felt pretty balmy. We had a great visit, mostly relaxed and ate and then talked about what we were going to eat for the next meal. Now that Ellis is a lot more mobile, she did not like being held down in the plane or strapped into a car seat. Erik and I pulled out every possible distraction to keep her in one place while traveling. Once on land, Ellis had a great time playing the piano and harmonica with Mommoms and snuggling with uncle Mike.