NEW YORK CITY- DAY 3

Day 3 started nice and early with a jaunt up to Rockefeller Plaza where the NBC Studios are. Shane and I wake up every morning and watch the Today Show- I guess you could say that we are fans of Matt, Meredith, Al and Ann. (yes, we're on a first name basis! haha) We ended up being on the show and didn't even know it. We were watching through the window behind where they sit at the news desk and you could see Shane and I walk up and look through the windows and then walk away! We recorded it here at home so we realized it after we got home. Hilarious! It was fun to see them live out on the plaza and watch the shooting process through the windows. It was fun to see-

After the Today Show we stopped at this little cafe for breakfast and it was to die for! I had a stuffed ham and cheese croissant and Shane had a breakfast sandwich and they were both so YUMMY!!! ( I have to write about the food because it was all something to be remembered!) Then we began our trek along and through Central Park to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. WOW! Talk about a lot of walking and it was actually a chilly morning. Central Park is awesome. It's so beautiful and green and full of all kinds of people. I loved seeing all the people running and jogging and on their bikes and roller blades. It looked like so much fun!
The MET was a really cool museum. You could probably spend an entire day there, it's enormous! Shane and I were lost half of the time trying to find our way around. We really enjoyed the Egyptian Art and the Coats of Armor. They were really interesting!

This is my favorite picture of Shane. He looks just like that statue, doesn't he?

This was on the roof of the museum. The balloon dog was so cool! The view up there was amazing. New York has such a great skyline!

After the museum, I must say we were a little burned out. We love the arts, but all in moderation! So we decided to catch the subway back to 5th Ave and shop! This was so much fun. We shopped all afternoon and ate at the Carnegie Deli, which was so GOOD! Their sandwiches were huge and delicious and the cheesecake- well let's just say, nothing can out do Carnegie Deli's cheesecake. Absolutely AMAZING! With their sandwiched being so big, Shane and I could only eat half of ours, so the waitress insisted that we pack them up and take them with us. We weren't about to argue with this New Yorker, we knew we'd loose that battle so we packed them up and thought we'd give them to some homeless person on the street. The first bum we tried to give them to refused! What? How can a bum refuse food, especially from Carnegie Deli? But then the next one we came upon was SO excited to have it. We did our good deed for the day!
After a long afternoon of shopping we headed back to the hotel and took a little nap- we were exhausted. Since we ate a late lunch we decided that we'd eat after "Wicked" that night. Wicked was AMAZING! We were on the 2nd row and to story is so cute and funny and the music is awesome. Shane and I loved it!

AAfter "Wicked" we stopped and ate some NY pizza and walked around the shops a little more. We definitely had a eventful day and doesn't it sound like all we did was walk, eat and shop? Well, I guess that's all we did do this day- my kind of day!

NEW YORK CITY- DAY 2

For warned- these entries are LONG!
Day 2 began with our first adventure on the subway headed to Battery Park and the Statue of Liberty. The subway is such a fascinating thing to me. With everything being underground and the people- there's so many people. There's no such thing as someone's personal space on the subway. It's all about getting as close to someone as possible. NUTS!
After our fun subway ride, we walked towards the shoreline to where you could see the Lady Liberty. It was so amazing to turn the corner and see her out in the water and to know the history of her and why she was there is so awesome. We loaded onto this Ferry and went to the island. Once on the island, Shane and I rented these head phones that you can listen to that tell about all the history of the island and the Statue of Liberty. We were so impressed by the size of her and especially with how she was built. Truly amazing! I can't even imagine immigrating from Europe and seeing the Statue of Liberty and knowing that you had finally made the journey. What a feeling she must have brought to so many people!

Then we got back onto the Ferry and headed to Ellis Island. I'm sure I learned about this place in American History or something, but I didn't know much about this island until actually going there. What a crazy place this must have been during the time of immigration. Everyone had to come through Ellis Island and they all had to be checked medically and physically and the officials determined whether or not they felt like they were fit enough to come to the U.S. Some stayed while others were sent back to Europe. What a crazy but exciting time in history it must have been. Seeing the Statue of Liberty and going to Ellis Island were definite highlights of the trip!

After getting back from the Statue of Liberty, we decided to walk through the financial district. We saw Wall Street, the big bull, some of the big financial buildings, The New York Stock Exchange, etc. These buildings are so close together. There's just these 2 lane skinny roads that go between these enormous buildings- it's so crazy! Really cool to see these places. Then we knew that Ground Zero was somewhere close so we started walking figuring that we'd come across it. And we certainly did! There's not a lot of construction sites in NYC so when we saw a big hole in the skyline and cranes all around we knew we had hit ground zero. Not to mention there was a completely different feeling there too. I told Shane that I almost felt emotional being there because I so remember 9/11 and will never forget that day.
We ate at this cafe that was across the street from where the twin towers once stood. The owner was there and Shane and I talked to him about that day. He was working there that day and said it's still so unbelievable to him. His cafe and the one a couple spots up from his were the only ones where people didn't die. He account of that day was amazing and one I'll never forget. It definitely was sacred ground and I was glad to see the new construction and would love to see the new buildings some day. The surrounding buildings are so incredibly tall but to think that the towers were twice the size is really unfathomable. It was really impressive to me that there was such a different feeling there. Amongst all the craziness of the city there was this feeling of peace and calmness there. I was touched by that place and was so glad that we took the time to go there. Amazing place!After Ground Zero we hit canal street. I didn't take any pictures but Shane and I had a blast there. We were taken into so many back rooms and I've never had to be so sneaky to make a purchase. It was hilarious! I got a bunch of bags and Shane got a few things himself and it was a lot of fun- a whole other world, that's for sure!
Then we headed back to the hotel to drop off our shopping bags and then off to the Bronx for the Yankees game. We road the subway there with all those die hard Yankee fans- quite the ride! That stadium is over 100 years old and you can definitely tell. This was the last week of home games at this stadium and next year they move across the street to the new stadium. It was fun to be there. We ate our Nathan's hot dogs and hot peanuts and had a great time! Did I mention that Derek Jeter is HOT!

We caught the subway home that night and took in a few shops on the way home. Day 2 was really eventful and fun! I swear we walked miles and miles through that city and my body was really tired that night. Had to get to bed because day 3 started early with the Today Show!

NEW YORK CITY- DAY 1

So where oh where do I start? Shane and I spent the last 5 days in New York City and we had the best time. I've ALWAYS wanted to go to New York and we finally just decided to go. I'm going to just blog one day at a time because who has time to sit and blog a 5 day trip in such a short time- so here goes day 1.

Our flight left at 8:30 am Wednesday morning and so we were up early. I have 4 little girls and it's always hard to leave them and I must say that I was a little emotional to say good bye for a few days. Shane and I haven't left all 4 girls for a long time very much so it was a little different to take off by ourselves. But I'm glad we did! Our plane ride was great- on time departure, smooth ride, we watched Iron Man, and took a little nap too. We landed at 3:30 and after we got our luggage we waved down a cab and off we were to the big city. New York is an amazing city! The history there is unbelievable and I'm so amazed by the buildings and architecture and of course, the people. Driving into it all was just like being at the movies. I've seen the city a million times on TV but seeing it in person is so much more grandiose and incredible! We stayed just south of Times Square at the Marriott Courtyard Hotel and it was really clean and nice- what I would expect for the price we paid to stay there! :)

After we cleaned up a bit, we were ready to hit the city. We had tickets for "Mary Poppins" that night so we only had just over an hour for dinner. We went down the street to a restaurant called Jack's Restaurant and Grill and had a great dinner. Then we headed towards Time Square to our show. Time Square is so amazing! People EVERYWHERE, taxi's cruising up and down, horns honking, steam coming up from under the streets, every kind of smell imaginable- good and bad, and lots of shopping! It was great! The buildings are so incredibly tall that I felt so little in this big city.

There's every kind of store imaginable in New York! This Reeses picture is for my little Shelby! She loves peanut butter cups and this was at the Hershey Store in Time Square. She would have gone crazy in that store! We definitely made our mark shopping in NYC, that's for sure.

One reason I wanted to go to NYC is because of Broadway. I've seen shows from the traveling broadway groups but I really wanted to see some shows On Broadway. And they surely didn't disappoint. We saw Mary Poppins the first night and it was great. These actors and actresses are so amazingly talented. Their singing voices are incredible and the show was really entertaining. I'm glad my husband is such a good sport and doesn't mind going with me. I think he actually enjoyed all the shows. Love that guy! After the show, we took our time walking back to the hotel, taking in all the sites and sounds, picked up a piece of cheesecake to eat at the hotel and we were ready for bed! It had been a long day of travel and we were excited for the next day in the Big City!

Lexi's First Day of Preschool

Lexi started her 2nd year of preschool today. She stuffed her bad full of odds and end toys for show and tell and was up and ready for school. I hope that excitement lasts.
It seems that with my girls that when one was leaving for preschool or school that the next one in line was always in the pictures. Like Shelby and Sage and then Sage and Lexi and now here is Lexi and Libby. They are such good buddies. Shelby and Sage left for Oregon today with Shane's parents and so Libby has asked me 100 times already "Where's Lexi?" "Where's GG?" "Where's Belby?" And those that know my little Libby know that when she talks- SHE YELLS! It can drive me crazy. But I think with all the chaos of having 4 kids at home that maybe I don't pay attention to it as much, but now that it's just her- WOW! She is so loud! Love her, but she's just loud.
Anyhow, as for Lexi, I'm excited for her new year of school, new adventures, and a new year of learning. She's full of energy and excitement and loves to learn new things. School is just up her ally. Love ya Lex!

Times to remember...

Last night a group of us friend went to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner and then went to a movie. It was my friend Camille's birthday so we went out to celebrate. It was really YUMMY! I've eaten there before and it was just OK, but last night I had the Mediterranean Mahi Mahi and it was DELICIOUS! And then to top it off, I had the lemon raspberry cheesecake. It was great too! I don't think I've ever ordered the same kind of cheesecake there- I always try to order something different. It was a fun night hanging out with the girls!
Today we spent a good 4 hours at Classic Skating. It was so great because we got there shortly after it opened and my friend Stacee and I and our kids practically had the place to ourselves. Every time I've been there the place has been packed and it's hot and stinky and just plain gross. But not today. The kids had a great time!
Here's Ann, Kate, Shelby and Sage-

And Sage and Libby- I love big sisters!

And of course, Lexi and her scooter riding tricks. She's so funny! She said today was the "best day ever!"
Check out this video of her roller skating. She was bound and determined to skate all around the track. It took her forever but she did it and fell 100 times along the way! I love Lexi's determination and love for life! She's always game for anything and always has the cute smile on her face, even if she does keep falling-

Camping with the parents and in-laws (not everyone can say they've done that!)

I have to say that a few of the greatest blessing in my life are my parents and my in laws. I have the greatest parents in the world who have been there and supported me throughout my entire life from ball games, to giving birth to my 4 kids, they have always been there. Then I have a mother and father in law who are also an active part of our family's life. They have also been there supporting Shane and I and our children over the past 11 years and Shane and I are so lucky to have such great parents! So why not go camping with both sets of them??? That's just what we did and we had a great time. I often hear stories about people's parents who don't get along or all the horror in-law stories, and I'm sure Shane and I could share a few, but we had such a great time camping with both sets of our parents this last weekend. I'm grateful that they enjoy each others company and don't mind spending time with each other. So just so they know, we love and appreciate all of you and all you do for our family! Our kids are so lucky to have such wonderful grandparents who love them and want to be around them. Not every kid has that and I'm grateful for the influence they have on our children's lives. My grandparents definitely influenced me along the way and I know our parents will have a profound affect on our children's lives. We fished, ate, went on walks, ate some more, slept, ate some more, hung out around the camp fire and ate some more. It was great. Thanks for such a fun couple days!