Icatar Family Blog

Usually, a four-day weekend by itself is something to be thankful for, but this past Thanksgiving weekend was especially great.  Our weekend started on Thursday, by watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.  Later, we went to my Mom’s for the traditional Thanksgiving lunch/dinner.  It has actually evolved from a traditional Thanksgiving dinner to include several filipino and Indian cuisines, but yes, we still have turkey and stuffing.  The food was excellent as we all ate until we were full (and then some).  Afterwards, we gathered around the TV to partake in some traditional video games, Rock Band and some Super Mario Bros. Wii.  In between games, we ate some more. 

On Black Friday, we made sure to avoid the shopping areas, but instead hung around the house in the morning.  Later in the afternoon, when it was safe, we ventured out to the stores and picked up some items.  The stores weren’t too crowded by the time we went out, so I guess most people got their shopping in in the morning.  Afterwards, we continued another long-standing Thanksgiving tradition and went back to my mom’s to finish up the leftovers.  On Saturday, we decided to relax and stick around the house.  The weather was so nice, we were able to play some baseball out in the yard.  Annalise, Isabella, me, and even Nathaniel took turns pitching and hitting.  Sunday was an even better day weather-wise than Saturday.  We decided to go to a nearby beach to get some fresh air, and apparently everyone else did too as the playground at the beach was packed!  The weather was also better than expected because it wasn’t windy at all as we were expecting.  Check out the pictures below to see some highlights from our weekend.  Click on the picture to see the original size, hover your mouse over the picture for a quick description.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So for the first time in my 38 years of existence, I was finally able to attend a championship parade for my beloved New York Yankees.  Since Annalise was home from school anyway, I brought her along.  We also went with my mom and aunt, and the Morin family who go to the same school as Annalise.  I have to say that we were disappointed in the experience, as it was way too crowded where we were, which was right at the end of the parade route at City Hall.  We weren’t able to get near the parade route and could not see anything so we ended up leaving before the parade ended.  We ended up taking the subway back to Times Square where we watched portions of the parade on the jumbo screens there.  It was a pretty cool experience in the end, just being there with thousands of other people, but we’ll have to plan it a little better next year.  (That’s right, I expect another championship next year!) For example, we will need to get there much earlier, and go further south along the route away from City Hall.  Anyway, here are a few pictures that we took to help capture the day.  Click on the picture to see a larger version.  Go Yankees!

Sometimes, the Yankees are referred to as the “Evil Empire”.  If you look closely at this next picture on the left, you’ll see Darth Vader enjoying the parade (although I would think he’d be able to get a better seat).  Later on, we saw Darth showing his obvious disappointment with the Mets.

The sea of humanity was daunting.  

This was the stage at City Hall where the players ended up. 

 We finally ended up at Times Square where the girls played cards.

Congratulations to the New York Yankees who won their 27th World Series Championship after beating the Philadelphia Phillies 7-3.  The last time I saw them win a World Series was in 2000 when they beat their cross-town rivals, the New York Mets.  At the time, Annalise was just 6 months old and we were living in Hartford.  Since then, we've moved down to Norwalk and added a couple more kids.

I must admit after watching the Yankees win 4 championships in 5 years from 1996 to 2000, we Yankee fans got a little spoiled.  Before 1996, the Yankees hadn't won since I was a little kid in 1978.  So this one will be cherished a  little bit more not just because it's been 9 years since the last championship, but it's also the first one in the new stadium.  I know it sounds a little greedy, but I still hope they win a few more!