Trains, Planes, Automobiles... and Chicken & Waffles.

It's difficult to believe, but just twelve hours ago I was crammed into a subway car with an overnight bag, surrounded by the swirling mass of humanity and the odd array of smells that mark prime commuting hours in New York City. I had popped up on the train for a fundraiser for a charity run by some friends of ours, and spent about 16 hours in town before grabbing a train back and heading straight in to work.

Then again, we had gotten back from Army-Navy weekend in Philadelphia about 16 hours before I headed to New York. Maybe it was some kind of curse. (I mean, it is: the curse of "biting off more than any sane person can chew," and to be fair, it runs in the family.)

And what a weekend it had been...! Full of friends and tailgating 

and galas (and of course that double OT win.)

Oh, and all of Ford's Rocky dreams came true.

Just before that, I did a turn-and-burn to Denmark for work, which was wet and cold and reminded me of 1) living in Bremerhaven when we were kids, and the number of times we must have watched the "Hans Christian Andersen" movie, and 2) the extent to which I am convinced that the customs line at JFK is the seventh level of hell. 

But the highlight of the last month was our insane road trip to Arkansas for Thanksgiving. 

The drive is absurdly long, made longer by horrendous holiday traffic, but the world's best road trippers had a blast,

we lucked out, and had great weather for hiking and tractor-ing,

Mom made her famous pizza (and rolls!),

and cousin time was magical. As always.

Plus, no one caught on fire. 

Although there were a couple close calls.

After a travel-heavy couple months, we think we're going to stay put for Christmas. Which means plenty of relaxing all the local holiday things like knockoff German Christmas markets in the Inner Harbor,

the holiday pops show at the Kennedy Center,

work Christmas parties necessitating ridiculous attire, and holiday brunch. ('tis the season for chicken and waffles?!)

We wish everyone a restful (ha!) holiday season.

Here Go the Holidays....!

Having a November baby means your holiday season- already wildly extended by school holidays, daylight savings time, neighborhood peer pressure, and rampant consumerism- lasts for two solid months. Ours starts at Halloween, since Finley's birthday is only a week later. It all kind of blurs.

We survived what felt like one hundred Halloween parties, myriad costume changes, 

and a rainy, blustery, Halloween night.

No resting on our laurels here, though: Finley's birthday week kicked off mere seconds later, with Grandma Jayne's stunning confectionary, hibachi,

a cupcake extravaganza at hurling,

and- because Finley picked a family trip instead of a party- a whirlwind weekend at Williamsburg and Busch Gardens. Which included hot tubs and mini golf

and (for some of us) terrifying roller coasters. Which, it turns out, Finley and her grandfather love.

Ford prefers the baby rides, and has no compunction about it.

Although Amazon continues to deliver regular tributes to the big new 8 year old (thanks, all!), we did eventually move on. For Veterans Day weekend, Seth kicked off hunting season out in western Virginia, and I ran my first ultra in a year- a 50 miler that turned out to be a muddy 52.5 miles, and which I would not recommend under any circumstances. Long, miserable day, but it was wonderful to see these hooligans at the finish line!

Also for Veterans Day, Seth did this awesome spot on Monday Night Football, and the Niemans got to spend the night on the field at the Commanders- Eagles game. Jayne was proud of her son but arguably more excited about meeting Carson Wentz :)

Some of us had wrestling duty that night, but more on that in a sec.

Now, with lots of excitement and a recent cold snap under our belts, we are staring down winter (and, to my chagrin, winter sports.) Somehow, we have found ourselves wrestling parents. It's a whole thing. Both kids love it. Stay tuned... and good luck tackling this cold but hopefully joyful holiday season!