Christmas

For Christmas my family came out to Reno again and we spent the week in Truckee and did Christmas at my new house.





We had a great time staying in Truckee. The house was in a beautiful setting overlooking a snowy wood. Blake and I went sking during the day and my dad did a little snowshoeing. My mom relaxed at the house. We took a day and went to Lake Tahoe and explored Truckee.





We came back Christmas Eve and everyone stayed at my house. It was fun being able to host everyone. Christmas day we made a fire and opened presents.

Pre Christmas

So I got back into town on Tuesday and my family was coming out for Christmas on Saturday. I did some work before hand to get a tree and decorate the house. But I think I got everything ready in time.

Christmas time is here!

New York City

Eve had a performance with her modern dance company Belle in New York City. She convinced me to tag along for a little vacation. It was great because I got to see my brother and cousin's family while I was in town as well.





So we took the red eye through SLC and got in at 6am. Eve and I were staying in a couples apartment that we found on www.airbnb.com. As a little plug, it's a great service. It was an extra bedroom that they had and they charged 55 dollars a night. The hotel right next door was 110 a night. I think it's much more comfortable to stay in a house and there is access to a stove, fridge and microwave. I would recommend it as a way to travel for cheaper. That aside, they let us check into our room at 8am and then we met up with the rest of the company for brunch, then went back to the space to rehearse.






I left a little early to go see my cousin Sarah, Donny and their daughter Claire in Brooklyn. It was great to catch up and it was amazing to see how much Claire, had grown. The last time I was in town was for her christening. We went to the park and Claire played, then back to their place for dinner and hanging out.






From there I met my brother who had just finished working and we went out with his roommates for a drink.





Saturday we got up and met the company for brunch again. Eve and I went on a walk through Central Park and were surprised by tons of drunk people dressed as santa everywhere. Some looked like they were in a pretty rough state for it only being 3pm. We had a great tour of the park and got most of the highlights.





That night was Eve's performance. Her company put on 3 solos and a duet and another couple did three pieces together. Eve was one of the solos and did a really good job. It's modern dance, so a lot like modern art. It can be everywhere and be interpreted differently. Blake came out for the show and tried to make out what it meant to him. It was a little hard to get a picture during the performance.





Sunday we had tickets to see Promises, Promises. We met up with Blake for a cuban brunch. I had an amazing Guava mimosa and all of meals were sweetened with plantains. The show was good. It had Sean Hayes (will and grace), Kristen Chenoweth (broadway) and Molly Shannon (snl, etc.). It was fun to see people act live that I had seen on TV, and it really was more like a live action movie.

We stopped by McSorleys for an after show drink and then met up with my brothers to watch the cowboys game.





Monday, Eve and I had the city to explore. We started off in Greenwich at my favorite coffee store. Porto Rico makes amazing coffee. From there we went to the B+H super center and Eve got a camera. We walked down 34th to Macy's, H+M and I got a phone at the verizon store. Pretty exciting. We walked up 5th to Rockafeller center to look at the tree. We got dinner and then went back to Greenwich for a desert crepe.







It was a big day and we were exhausted. Tuesday we got up and flew home. As always New York was exciting and I can't wait to visit again.

Thanksgiving

After the Rally, I went to homecoming which was a whirlwind of friends and fun. From there I stopped into Ontario, CA for a meeting and then back home. A short two weeks later it was Thanksgiving and Eve and I went to see my friends in Portland.





But first I made my first trip by the slopes to get a couple hours on the new snow. It was hard to believe it was before thanksgiving and there were already powder days.




Thanksgiving at Kristina and Aaron's has almost become a tradition. This was the third in a row and just as much fun as all the others. Kyle and John were back and Kyle brought his girlfriend, Jericho. We kept wednesday tame, after being hungover last year. We started Thursday with mimosas and then made a run to the grocery store. Eve and I made a salad and sautaed brussels sprouts with carrots. Kyle made an enormous amount of mashed potatos and served them all. The turkey took a little longer then expected, but football was on so no one noticed.







Dinner was overwhelming and fantastic. After which, we rolled our way out and saw Catfish. We saw it at Living Room theaters, which had huge loveseat chairs like a millionares personal movie theater.








Friday we went out to the Clear Creek distillery and sampled a variety of distilled fruits. We quickly left to watch Oregon beat Arizona. Following that was the hard fought UNR/Boise State game. We watched the second half of the thrilling game.




Saturday, Eve and I did a little tour of Portland. We went to Powells and Eve found every dance book ever made, I picked up a traveloge of a trip through Chile. We stopped by the saturday market which was exciting and vibrant and went to voodoo doughnuts but the line was 100 yards long. We met up with Kristina, Aaron, Kyle and Jericho at the Portland City Grill with a great view of the city. It was a bit dreary and you couldn't see Hood, but it was relaxing all the same. That night we went out to The Alibi for all night kareoke, and I saw the best move ever. This guy got up and sang a song from the Little Mermaid and had every girl singing along with him. Best karaoke pickup line ever.





Sunday we did brunch, packed and did a quick drive around the city. As always it was a great time and I can't wait to do it again next year.