Philly, Christmas

(I got my pictures all out of order- I still need to learn how to do this!) This is my workgroup celebrating at Emory's at Silver Lake (from bottom left- Linda, me, Hilary, Stephanie, Christy, and Kimberly.

"The museum" Sparsely decorated, this is my new home in Philly. Its wood floors and high ceilings remind me of a museum- hence the name. We have few windows- we face into a courtyard, but not much light makes its way down to the 4th floor of an 8 story building. My room has a cut out at the top to let in some natural light, but no sound privacy for jamming out without disturbing my roommate. (It would be very disturbing.) Overall, the apartment is amazingly nice- complete with security guard at the entrance. There is a gym on the second floor and pool tables on the 3rd floor.
So far, my urban experience fits every preconcieved notion I have of the urban experience. I know there are beautiful areas of town and interesting things to see- but, I haven't seen it yet! My work is a few blocks away, and I already cut the "commute" as close as possible. But, I am excited about all that I will learn and experience. It will probably consume most of my time here just to get all the reading assignments done!

The traditional outing to Fazarri's for the Shotsy pizza made of German sausage, sauerkraut, and mustard sauce. Yum! (clockwise from left corner- James, Grammy, Poppy, Suzanna, Heidi, Laurel, and Jonathan)









Suzers looking extra cute in her new hat. What a face!














Laurel went right to work decorating her princess crowns.












James was very happy with his new horsey- Diamond.












Grammy and Poppy created a treasure chest of goodies, complete with clues and a map- making Christmas extra special.
















Christmas mayhem! At least the sun was shining when we started to open presents! (no pre-dawn unwrapping)











I couldn't resist taking a picture of this Christmas decoration headed back to Santa's toy shop for repairs.



















Torrey and I at the Seattle Center before Christmas- we had a fun time looking for creative shots. Torrey also had fun with photoshop- one picture made me look like I could have been the fourth chipmunk!