New York City - Day 4

For our fourth and final day in NYC, we had a little less on our agenda. But still, had lots to check off our list of must-see stuff. First up, we walked to the Flatiron Building, which was much farther than we had anticipated... 10 blocks! It was really cool once we got there. If you don't know which building that is, it is triangular in shape and gets blown up in all those disaster movies.

Then we checked out the shopping on 5th and Madison Avenues... window shopping, that is. As in Louis Vuitton, Van Cleef & Arpels, Bulgari, and the mother of them all: Tiffany & Co. It was like returning to the mother ship, the birthplace of sparkle. Magnificent. We didn't bother with the first floor, but took the elevator up to the 3rd floor... DIAMONDS people. We saw a 10 million dollar necklace and a few 6 million dollar engagement rings. Breathtaking, and unfathomable that there are people who actually purchase them without even breaking a sweat.

Then, we took a taxi to the Metropolitan Museum of Art... one of my most anticipated stops of the entire trip! We could have stayed there all day long! We lingered for quite a while, just gazing at Renoirs, Monets, Van Goghs, Seurats, and Latours. And I was quite privileged to see in person my favorite painting of all time, Springtime by Pierre-Auguste Cot.



It was so special, seeing the actual pieces of art that I had studied and admired only in books. We were incredibly reluctant to leave, but we couldn't leave the City without seeing Central Park. On our way there, we stopped to sample a real NYC hot dog... surprisingly, it was quite tasty!!!

We strolled through Central Park, (by the way, I've always wanted to say that!) and saw the Bethesda Fountain, the Bow Bridge, the Dairy, huge boulders that Reilly would've loved to climb, and "The Mall". (Which isn't a mall at all, but the main walkway at the entrance to Central Park.)

Then we took a taxi back to Serendipity for our last meal in NYC. I was thankful just to have made it out of that cab, since the driver actually hit 60 mph on our way. This was not on the freeway, mind you. It was on the way from Central Park!! Those cab drivers are certifiably insane. It's actually amazing to me that we only witnessed one accident during our trip. Anyway, after the adrenaline of that experience wore off, it was on to the food: It was outstanding. Joey got the meatloaf and mashed potatoes, and it was the best thing we had eaten in a long time! Seriously the best mashed potatoes on the planet. I concluded my burger tour of NYC with a wonderful cheddar bacon burger! And of course, we couldn't leave without another Frrrozen Hot Chocolate! If you're ever in NYC, trust me and don't miss this treat! We definitely ended our trip on a high note.

We headed back to Jersey City to pack up our things and head for the airport. Which was bittersweet, since we couldn't wait to see Reilly & Avery, but we had such an amazing time and hated to leave!!! We'll cherish these memories forever, and can't wait to go back.

Till the next time, Big Apple!

New York City - Day 3

We started out Day 3 with a nice brunch... New York Style Pizza at Stella's!! And may I say... delish. It was a real hole-in-the-wall, Mom & Pop kinda place- where they spoke Italian, and we LOVED it! I had a slice of cheese pizza, which is mine & Reilly's thing... I missed him BAD by the way. And Joey enjoyed their savory pepperoni. It was one of those New York experiences you just can't miss. ;)

Next on our agenda... another can't miss New York experience, the Empire State Building!! It was a thrill, to say the least. (That building casts quite a shadow, by the way.) The lobby looks just like it does in the movies! It was quite an ordeal to actually get up to the observation deck- we had to go through a metal detector, up an escalator and 2 elevators to get there. And when we did, we were giddy! It was just too surreal. But awesome, iconic, And COLD. No glass partitions to block the icy wind. We actually liked the view from the Rockefeller Building better, since we could see the Empire State Building. The view just isn't as good without that one. After we just couldn't take the cold anymore, we went down to the gift shop and got a coffee mug for me! I was sad to leave, but we had an appointment...

We had to be in line to pick up our tickets for The Late Show with David Letterman at 2 p.m. Which I actually won tickets for by requesting them online a week before we left. Someone called me a few days after my request, and informed me that I had to answer a trivia question about the show in order to receive tickets. The question he asked was, " Who is Rupert G ?" (For those of you who don't watch the show, Rupert G works in the Deli, which has been a fixture on the show for at least 10 years.) We waited in line for about an hour, and then had to wait in another line in an old concert hall across the street from the Ed Sullivan Theater for another hour or so. We had to line up in order by the numbers on our tickets, and then walked kindergarten-style over to the Late Show. No hats were allowed in the Theater, the men were fine with it, but all the women were mortified to have to remove our hats! Hat hair, with the possibility of being on national television didn't seem an appealing prospect. But, we made the best of it and it was so much fun! After being instructed not to utter any "WOO"s, we laughed at the warm-up comedian, and were completely charmed by David Letterman himself. So funny. Before the taping began, he came out and answered a question from the audience. Which was, "If you were a stripper, what would your stage name be?" Paul Schaeffer told him that he was supposed to put together the name of his first pet, with the name of the street he grew up on. So he said "Tuffy Indianola"... and became quite tickled. He even said "I'm Tuffy Indianola" during his monologue. The at-home audience must have been quite confused by that one!! The first guest was Amy Adams, who was promoting her new film, Leap Year. The second guest was Zachary Levi, from the NBC show Chuck. (Which we are big fans of!) He was so adorable! The musical guest was Vampire Weekend, and they had quite an interesting sound. It was so cool! The camera panned the audience a few times, and we could actually see ourselves on TV. And I think I heard myself laughing too- well, cackling really.

After we left The Late Show, we saw a store called Strawberry, which I saw in the movie ELF. It made us really miss our little Strawberry Avery girl, so we took some pictures of that.

After a quick stop at Starbucks for a Peppermint Mocha Latte to warm me up, we walked down Broadway, looking for a place to eat dinner. We stopped at the Stardust Diner, which was a 50's style diner with a singing waitstaff. While talking with our waitress, we learned that many of the servers had been on Broadway before. It was like seeing a Broadway show without the exorbitant ticket prices! The food was good, I had a cheeseburger of course and Joey had a $15 Philly Cheesesteak... which was really tiny! He was slightly irritated, and that was funny. ;) It was exceptionally entertaining, especially when 2 of the servers sang a song from Grease! Loved it.

Then, we went to Junior's for dessert. They're famous for their cheesecake, so we had to check that out! It was really cozy, having cheesecake and coffee, just off of Times Square. We called to check in on the kids, and felt so thankful they were being loved so much while we were away.

After that, we just strolled until we found ourselves back at Rockefeller Plaza... where of course we had to ice skate under that beautiful tree! It was the most perfect night, the best date we had ever had.

Now here are the pictures for these thousand words...

New York City - Day 2

After a wonderful night's sleep, Day 2 began with the first sunrise I've seen in a LONG time. And it was well worth the missed sleep to see it. ;) After we bundled up... and I do mean BUNDLED up.... we took the PATH train to Manhattan, and stepped out into the light in Times Square. It literally took my breath away. Within the scope and magnitude of that setting, I felt like an ant. It was surreal, to see all these things in person that we had only seen in movies. It also felt hopeful, like if I was standing here in the most amazing city in the world, then most anything can happen. And some really awesome stuff did!!!

The first thing we did in Times Square was buy souvenirs for our families... magnets, hats, t-shirts, and a special "snow globe with tall buildings in it" per Reilly's request. :) Then, it was on to Planet Hollywood to pick up our New York Passes. (Which, when purchased, allows the holder free access to museums, and top tourist attractions. Along with our favorite feature... the line-jumping!!! Which allowed us to jump to the front while pointing and laughing at all the suckers waiting in those long lines!!!) Our first, being the Top of the Rock. (The observation deck of Rockefeller Plaza.) The view was awe-inspiring. And lovely. And exhilarating. And beautiful. And majestic. My favorite place in the world I've found so far. There was hardly a breeze, thanks to the glass partitions, and so so quiet. Peaceful. Spectacular. And yes, that's how I really feel about it. ;) I fell in love with The City right then and there, as we gazed at the Empire State Building. It was like a dream. And that was just the beginning.

While at 30 Rock, we checked out the NBC Studios Tour. Which was completely cool. We started with the set of the NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams. Then, one of the highlights of the trip, the Saturday Night Live set!! Then, on the last stop of our tour, they asked for 2 volunteers. Joey & I raised our hands- of course we did... we were on vacation!! I got to read from a teleprompter for a mock newscast, and Joey was so adorable during his stint as the weatherman. (We got a video of it, it's pretty cute.) Then, as the tour was concluding, a man walked in and asked if anyone would like to come listen to Jimmy Fallon practice his monologue to help decide which jokes would make the cut. Of course we volunteered for that too! So, they took us to his set and he was really nice and funny. They instructed us to laugh hard at the funny jokes, and give him the silent treatment for the duds. So we did, but it was Jimmy Fallon- so there were no REAL duds.

Then, of course we admired the famous Rockefeller Christmas tree. I don't suppose "tree" accurately describes it... it was more like the size of a building. Seriously huge. And sparkly. Loved it. It was a magical, childlike moment for us. Well, me mostly. There was lots of giggling. (Me, again.)

After we left NBC, we just strolled for a bit until we stumbled upon Magnolia Bakery. We spoiled our dinner thoroughly with a medley of cupcakes! Our favorite was the vanilla cupcake, and although they weren't as good as the ones I make at home, the atmosphere more than made up for that.

Then, we strolled back to Times Square and then on to Hell's Kitchen to eat dinner at 5 Napkin Burger! It was scrumptious, and aptly named. ;) It was then that I decided to do a burger tour of NYC, so I ordered a cheeseburger everywhere we dined in NYC. More on that later.

Then, we walked to the DaVinci Workshop Exhibit at the Times Square Exhibition Center, hosted by the Discovery Channel. It was so interesting, but unfortunately (like most tours) they didn't allow cameras. They actually built some of the amazing things from DaVinci's Notebooks, and his genius isn't discussed enough I'd say. Miraculous that God would endow one man with so many talents: Painting, Engineering (Bridges), Physics, Astronomy, Sculpting, Plumbing, Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, (reluctantly) Weapons Design, City Planning, and the list goes on. It was so interesting!

Then, we headed to Madame Tussaud's Museum of Wax for some silliness. We laughed HARD. I'll let the pictures do the talking on that one.

Then, we took our first taxi to go for dessert, it was my most anticipated stop of the day, SERENDIPITY 3!!! If you don't know what I'm talking about, then rent the movies Serendipity and One Fine Day. I've wanted to go there for the Frrrozen Hot Chocolate since I watched those movies years ago. And, let me just say it did not disappoint! It was everything I imagined and more! We actually sat in front of the big clock, where Michelle Pfeiffer sat in One Fine Day, which was so neat. We decided we'd definitely have to come back again! It was just that great.

After that fine dining experience, we took a taxi back to Rockefeller Plaza to see the tree at night, which was quite a sight. And for some pictures of course. Here's the slideshow, but be prepared, it's a long one!

I can't believe we squeezed so much awesome into just one day!! Stay tuned for Day 3 !!

New York City - Day 1

Well, after staying up ALL NIGHT LONG packing for our trip, we were utterly exhausted! We have never claimed to be anything BUT procrastinators- by the way!! Our flight was leaving REALLY early, so Aunt Lana was so sweet to drive us to the airport at 5 a.m!!! We were flying standby, and we were really excited to find out there was a good chance we would get to sit in First Class. As it turned out, there was only 1 seat available, so Joey gallantly MADE me take it... and he sat back in coach. Poor guy. ;)

As far as our accommodations go, they were exquisite- thank you very much. My dear, generous brother kindly offered to let us have (all to ourselves) his high-rise apartment in Jersey City (just across the river from NYC). And he even arranged for one of his friends pick us up at the airport, so we didn't have to risk our lives driving amongst the NYC cabbies. (Which I will expound upon in a later post.)

So, the weather that first evening was bone-chilling... what they called snow "flurries", we Texans would call a full on blizzard. I think it was a wise choice to stay in, watch football, and order pizza for our first day in the Big Apple. I took dozens of pictures of our view, so here are just a few.











Check out the moon!




We can't ever thank Mikey & Honey enough for all they did to make our trip incredible!! Stay tuned for Day 2 !!!

Great Wolf Lodge- Day 2

Day 2 was excellent!! After Daddy brought us a delicious breakfast, it was back to the water park! And after a few hours of that, we did more MagiQuest... and Reilly reached the level of "Junior Magi". He was thrilled! And we picked out a souvenir for Avery at the Buckhorn Exchange, since we missed her so much!

We had such a blast! If you haven't been, you should definitely check it out! We hated to leave, but we had to hurry back home that evening... so Joey and I could get packed for our NYC flight!!!

Great Wolf Lodge- Day 1

Okay, whoever came up with the concept for Great Wolf Lodge is a complete genius!! It's what every kid would dream of, and quite possibly, could be persuaded to sell their every possession... down to their parents- in order to live there. It's that cool.

For those of you who don't know, Great Wolf Lodge is most famous for their INDOOR Water Park. And, since our Reilly Bear LOVES a Water Park, we thought there couldn't be a better place on Earth for him to experience!! It also has an arcade, a Pizza Hut, A Sweet Shoppe, and a game called MagiQuest. (Which is essentially a really expensive scavenger hunt... that takes the kids all through the hotel and allows them to wave magic wands at inanimate objects.) During said scavenger hunt, the kids are forbidden to use the elevators (which makes it easier for all those families hauling their entire closets up to their hotel rooms... And also, all that running and stair-climbing makes for a peaceful night's sleep!)

We had a wonderful first day at the water park, then had pizza for dinner and cupcakes, fudge, and the best cinnamon roll ever for dessert! Then it was Pajama Story Time in the Lobby. After that, we played MagiQuest until they closed it down for the night. It was an absolute BLAST!


Here are the pics from our first day.

A Big Thanks to Mimi for keeping Avery for us! More pics to come!

New Year's Eve

We had a really fun, kid-friendly New Year's Eve... and I guess it's a tradition now since this was our third year to celebrate at the home of our dear friends. ;) Thanks Mark & Keri for hosting!!!

Some Reilly Bear

I realize that there have been a LOT of pictures of Avery lately, so here are a few of our handsome boy. I LOVE this first one!

Avery is 14 Months Old

Our sweet Avery is doing more amazing things every day! Her favorite things are books, remotes, her kitchen, cell phones, yogurt, donuts, her baby doll, and juice. And she's been saying more new words all the time! Aside from everyone's names, she now says "milk" "more" "book" "good" "ball" "bow" "baby", and answers the question "What does a kitty say?" with "meow" And "What does a dog say?" with "woof".

And LOVES to give and blow kisses! She is so affectionate!!!

We love our precious snuggly girl !!!!