Happy Hallowsnow Weekend

Our church services this morning were cancelled due to this:

The original forecast predicted 6"-12" of snow, but I'm guessing we only got 4".  However, the snow was super wet and heavy so many people in the Durham area are without power.  Our power flickered a few times, but fortunately, we never lost campus power.  One benefit of living on a college campus!

Norah and I took advantage of the snow this morning, as I'm guessing it will all be gone by this evening.

Norah was adding some hair to our snow person.

Papa Dino and a spoon make the perfect snow toys.  Snowballs are fun.

Eating snow is fun, too.

Good times.

Lord, give me patience for the rest of this day as Norah is abnormally bratty.

Love to you, all.

SLK

The Post Wherein We Destroy Something Entirely Edible and Good Simply to Be Festive

Check it out... Norah's first time carving a pumpkin.

Robots are People, Too

One time, in Grad School, my boss' boss was in a meeting with all of the graduate hall directors and was talking about the departmental administration being accessible and approachable for all members of the department, regardless of their title. In explaining her accessibility, she said "it's not like we're robots or anything!"

But... Isn't that exactly what a robot would say? "Hey guys, don't worry... I'm not going to crush you with my ultra grip-tastic metal pinchers or anything. I'm not a robot or anything. Just be cool and come hang out with me."

And then, next thing you know, you're being enveloped in an icy metallic grasp. Robots are tricky like that.

NYC!

I went to NYC  this weekend to visit a friend I've known since middle school.

This started our weekend:

Jealous? No?  You should be.  If you ever get the chance to see this show - take it!  

You will have no regrets!

And pictures!

Strawberry Fields, Central Park

A cute spot by the water we found...

Central Park is probably my favorite part of New York - so beautiful!

I LOVE willow trees!

NY Public Library - Stephen A. Schwarzman Building

We were able to walk through the "Celebrating 100 Years" exhibition.  

Noteworthy sights: Malcom X diary entries from his Hajj, a real KKK uniform (creepy!), 

and an original letter from George Washington.  

MK is way better with history, but this exhibition was pretty rad.

Flatiron Building!

 K, what square was this?!

Washington Square - AMAZING!

Street Artist - all done by hand with sand.

We also were able to walk through parts of NYU.

The World Trade Center : Freedom Tower.  

MASSIVE.

I won't say much about our walk by Ground Zero...that's not so zero anymore.  We didn't go into the Memorial (you have to reserve a pass ahead of time, etc), but I still got an eerie feeling.  I don't know how else to describe it.  I hope to one day go to the Memorial, too.

Battery Park : The Sphere.

Statue of Liberty.

A huge THANK YOU to my lovely friend, K.

So glad we had the opportunity to reconnect and just have fun!

Who knew a couple of Iowa girls could enjoy a big city so much?!

Much love, SLK.

Best Design, Ever.

Dear Ma & Pops,

Have I told you lately how thankful I am for the crib you bought Norah before she was born?  

Well, THANK YOU!

I realize I picked out the design... but we have been SO pleased with the choice.

Parents-to-be out there, I HIGHLY recommend a 3-in-1 or 4-in-1 crib.  I've never understood the rationale behind buying a bassinet, then buying a crib, then buying a toddler bed, and then buying a kid bed.  

Talk about EXCESS, in my opinion.

Anyways, big news in our household.  Norah has gone from this:

 TO THIS!

To my surprise, the transition has gone smoothly.  What a huge relief and answered prayer.  I don't even know if NRK can be classified as a toddler now.  She's a kid.  AH!  How does time pass so quickly?!  But, I'm thankful for every moment.  I love that NRK's ability to formulate sentences is getting better every day.  This went down a few days ago:

I was crying about something (no, this does not happen frequently).  

Norah looks at me and asks, "What's wrong, Mama?"

I respond, "I'm just sad about so-and-so, honey."

Norah gives a small, "Oh." and looks down at her blanket.

She then quickly lifts her blanket up to me and says, "Here you go, Mama!"

Follow that up with Norah cuddling in to me and resting her head on my arm... and you have one Mama who ended up crying for a whole new reason.  What a sweet child MK and I were given.  Please God, let me remember the sweet moments in the midst of sheer 2 1/2 year old evilness. 

Hugs and love. SLK.