December 1, 2015

Tanya's Daily Scoop
NEXT GETAWAY DEPARTS IN: 4 DAYS

A Full Month of FUN!

Well Helloooo there!

The countdown for Christmas has begun!! It's gonna be a busy month filled with lots of fun...

And then before we know it Christmas will be here and one week later it will be 2016 with so many wonderful things/trips to look forward to!!
​
Can you tell that I'm excited?!

But for starters and not to get ahead of myself or overwhelm you, I'll tell ya about the week that is in front of us.

Today is Travelin Tuesday, I'll be giving you a quick update on trips that are coming up (see below).

Tomorrow the kids will have their first Christmas Performance of the season and perform for the Carson Tree Lighting Ceremony. 

At a 2014 Tree Lighting Ceremony

Thursday will be a stables day for us.

Friday the kids have another performance!

Saturday we were scheduled to leave bright and early and head to San Diego for a weekend of shopping, eating, and holiday fun - but now we have to leave a few hours later as the kids have yet another performance before we hit the road.

Sunday we will still be in San Diego, but it is
St. Nicholas Day - so come Sunday night we will have our annual secret Santa ornament exchange and a big family dinner.

Monday the kids have yet another performance.

And then low and behold we will back to Tuesday all over again and my NEXT GETAWAY countdown will actually read the same as it does today 4 DAYS, and we will be heading to Santa Barbara for some sightseeing, shopping, eating, and festive fun!

Following the trip to Santa Barbara we will take a few weeks off to stay put for the holidays and for Mika's and my mom's birthday.
Our next trip won't be until early January when we go to yet another National Park - this time it will be Death Valley NP. I've never been and am looking forward to finally checking it out!!

But that will only be the beginning for January and for 2016. Once we get back from Death Valley, we will have only 4 DAYS until we leave for Colorado, our first ski trip of the season and we'll be gone for the remainder of the month - not returning until February 1st and only 3 DAYS until we pack up and leave again for our trip to Quebec and the very fun Winter Carnival!!!

Quebec City (2015)

The rest of the winter and ski season will be pretty much like that...returning home from one destination and having just barely enough time to unpack, re-pack, and head out on our next trip!

2016 is pretty packed full of trips, but what it's missing is a cousins trip...
SOOOO Elisa and I have to figure something out and put some type of Travelin' Cousins fun on the calendar!!

Last night I had another Travel meeting with the IPC to discuss plans for the 2016 Summer NorCal tour - our turnout was mostly new families and it seems the meeting went well - deposits are due on December 14th so we shall see how many are willing to commit by that date.

While we were at choir, Dave and I got to chatting with a couple of friends about recent trips and it so happens that my friend Kathy just returned the night before from a Thanksgiving trip to London. 

So LASTLY but certainly not least, we have something very exciting to mention...but you'll have to mark your calendar and set your alarms for tomorrow - Guest blogger - Jason Biondo of TrekEffect.com is sharing with us
10 Free Things to do in London
Which of course is a perfect fit for W2GW!
I can't wait...can you???

On this exciting note, I'm gonna sign off and wish you a wonderful Tuesday! See ya back here same time same place tomorrow! :)

Ciao 4 Now,
​-T

Elisa's Daily Scoop
NEXT TRIP DEPARTS IN: 17 DAYS

Broadway Memories - Old and New

HOWDY FOLKS!!

How are you doing this Tuesday?  A big Happy December to ya!!! As Tanya kindly pointed out in her Blog - only 24 Days till Christmas!!

My kids will be very happy to begin opening the goodies in their Advent Calendars, starting today!

I must say, I'm getting more and more excited for Christmas and my upcoming visit with my Mom and Dad. At my age, I'm so blessed to have both parents in my life.  ​

It will be the first Christmas that have spent in Florida in a long time.  

We had a family trip to Disney back in 2007, when Kelsey was a mere year old!! What great memories!
This Christmas will not be in Disney World, but it will be in the warm weather and there is nothing wrong with a little swimming in December, while celebrating!

Broadway! Broadway! Broadway!
This week is pretty exciting...I'm taking the girls to see School of Rock The Musical on Broadway!!  It's very funny how I ended up getting these tickets.  

I belong to a number of theatre groups and one day the mail came with a special offer to see the new Broadway show "School of Rock."

Well, the girls were doing their homework early in the school year, while I was going through the mail and Gianna spotted the brochure.  She inquired what it was and I told her that there is a new musical opening on Broadway in a few months based on the Jack Black movie, School of Rock.

Important to note that my kids have viewed this movie about 20 times. Well, with that, they both scream, "Mom, we have to see it!!!"  So, it didn't take much to twist my arm, especially after I read that the music was written by Andrew Lloyd Weber!

So, this Friday is the big night!  I warned them that the play may differ slightly from the movie and of course, the hilarious lead, Jack Black, is not going to be in it, so they need to keep an open mind.  

I do think they will enjoy it since the cast is made up of kids, which should be a treat for them to see kids their own age in a Broadway production!!

For more information, and for tickets, CLICK HERE.

Last year around this time, (well actually, a week prior), Tanya and her gang were in New York for Thanksgiving and we all saw a Broadway show together -- Honeymoon in Vegas with Tony Danza.  

We cousins manage to see shows whenever we are in the same city together.  Our whole gang went to see Aladdin in the Summer of 2014.

That included my sister Danielle and her kids!!  What a fun evening...and a great show!!!

The girls have been begging me to see Wicked for a year now.  Well, you never know what Santa might surprise the girls with this year!!

I feel so fortunate to have lived in New York my entire life and be so close to theatre capital of the world!!  There is just something so magical about Broadway and I'm glad that my girls have grown up from the ripe age of 3, as avid theatre goers as well!

A few more Broadway Memories...
GIANNA'S 9TH BIRTHDAY - MAY, 2013 AT JERSEY BOYS WITH JOHN LLOYD YOUNG

​ME AND MOM IN JUNE 2014 AT BEAUTIFUL

ME IN JULY 2014 AT A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVE & MURDER WITH PAMELA BOB

ME IN JANUARY 2015 AT THE RIVER WITH HUGH JACKMAN 

​KELSEY'S 9TH BIRTHDAY - SEPTEMBER, 2015 AT AN AMERICAN IN PARIS

WOW - just some of my Broadway memories!
Can't wait for 2016 - more great shows!!

What is your all-time favorite Broadway show?  Well, you know I have a huge box in my attic containing all of the Playbills from all of the shows I ever saw!!  

And when asked which was my favorite show, I have to tell you that it is so hard to pick one!! So many great ones - dramas, musicals, comedies and amazing performances!!

I can tell you that my top ones include: Phantom of the Opera (which I saw 3 times), Jersey Boys (3 times), The Boy From Oz (with Hugh Jackman), 700 Sundays (with Billy Crystal) and A Bronx Tale (one man show with Chazz Palminteri).
 
Here's to a wonderful day!!

Toodles,
-E
xoxo