8th Visitor of 2013

We are on our 8th visitor already? Some I didn't blog about so lets recap:

Visitors of 2013:

1. Jerrod - January
2.  Brian & Mallory - Febuary
3. Mommy Schaffer - Febuary
4. Mommy Schaffer - April
5. Jenny & Fam - July 
6. David - July
7. Mommy Schaffer - September

 and our 8th visitor was... 

8. Sis-in-Law Nicole!

 Nicole took the very long trip across the country to spend the short 4-day Thanksgiving weekend with us! She was beyond thrilled to get the chance to see us and see where we lived/worked. We were just as excited to show her around and spend Thanksgiving together.

For Thanksgiving dinner we went to our Diner and had a great meal. (No dishes to clean for us!)

 Joe and I were excited to have time to catch up and not have to worry about cooking a cleaning on the day of Thanksgiving. It has been a while sense the three of us have been able to spend time together uninterrupted and it was much needed. We spoke about everything from her school to Joe's school. I still feel like she's 15 but she has sure grown into an adult. I still can't believe she will be turning 20 in 2014!! One thing that Joe looks forward to every Thanksgiving here on the east coast is the amazing meal that our local Diner makes. They offer everything that you would find on your own Thanksgiving table. I am not sure Nicole knew what to expect when we told her our dinner plans. All three of us ended up ordering the exact same

meal: roasted turkey, cranberry stuffing, and garlic mashed potatoes. When the food came we were all surprised about how good it really was. Great minds do think alike because we all agreed that the stuffing was the best part of our meal. I can officially report that we all ate too much and fell deep into food comas after the meal. It wasn't over there we still had my homemade pumpkin pie at home. Dessert was also included in our meal at the Diner but none of us were able to eat anymore. I asked to have all the desserts packed to go. pecan pie for Joe, pumpkin cheese cake for Nicole, and pumpkin pie for me. (To compare to my homemade pumpkin pie of course.) When we got home and I took my pie out of the fridge, I wasn't too confident but put a slice on a plate next to the slice from the Diner. I am not the biggest fan of pumpkin pie so when I sliced into my own

pie I thought the consistency was a little off. To my surprise after tasting both pies all three of us agreed that my homemade version was much better. Another recipe under my belt and added to the recipe book! I am still not someone that is going to crave pumpkin pie but I did enjoy a slice. The remainder of the pie went to work with Joe on the following Monday and was finished off within one day, I guess you could call that a success. 

The day after Thanksgiving (yes, Black Friday) the three of us took the train into the city to explore and shop. To say the city was a madhouse would be an extreme understatement. We enjoyed it the best we could and just tried to stay off the beaten path. With it being Nicole's first time at Grand Central Station we focused on the usual touristy spots like the main concourse. Then we took her to The Listening Gallery on the lower level of GCT. We were able to get her in one corner and Joe in the other so they could talk to each other across the room. We attempted to so to the Transit Museum but it was just too packed to be able to see anything. We then ventured into Bryant Part where all the Holiday booths were set up for the season. We were able to walk near Times Square but because it was daytime there really wasn't much to see.While we were walking down Broadway it started to snow

unexpectedly. We thought it was so cool that although nothing was sticking Nicole was able to see it snow even if it was just for ten munutes. After a quick lunch we headed to my favorite place, Dylan's Candy Bar! We spent a quite a bit of time here just wondering around the store while Nicole had some chocolatey treats. After this the temperature had dropped pretty low and we were lacking energy so we headed home. Nicole didn't want to stop there, once we got home we went Black Friday shopping around town without one complaint from Joe.

On Saturday, Nicole's last full day in NY we loaded up once again and caught the train. This time we were headed to Joe's school, Fordham University to watch their football team play in the FCS National Championship Playoffs. Once we arrived on campus we do what normal people do, go to the bookstore to shop for Fordham stuff! We picked up a few things and then headed to the stadium. At the beginning of the game the weather was cold but nothing to complain about. As time wore on it began to get colder and colder. No matter how long you sat in one place the bleachers were still ice cold. During halftime we made the decision that because Fordham was so far ahead that we were going to head home. That night we made a homemade meal and enjoyed our last night with our 8th visitor of 2013. We had so much fun during those four days we wished she could have stayed longer. I was an amazing trip and we made lasting memories. We talked about Nicole visiting again soon and we are already looking forward to it! Did I mention Nicole now wants to go to college in NY? You didn't hear it form me!. ;)