New York Trip

Over Memorial Day weekend, we took a trip to New York to see Auntie Amy get married! We packed the weekend with so many fun things and the kids enjoyed a break from normal life. It all started with a 7:00am flight which meant we had to leave the house by 5... uugghh! So, instead of jammies, the kids wore their clothes to bed the night before so all we had to do at 4:55 was get them out of bed and put them in their car seats. They didn't seem too upset to be up that early! Guess they don't realize how valuable sleep is just yet... Anyway, we had a good flight with lots of snacks and movies. The kids couldn't wait to get the luggage and go ride in the car to see Auntie Amy. We met up with Amy, Granny, and Papa for lunch and then went straight to the hotel to try to squeeze in a nap before the pre-wedding dinner that night. The early wake-up call did it's job because it didn't take more than 10 minutes before both kids were asleep.

After naps, we went to dinner to celebrate the upcoming wedding. The kids were spoiled by the restaurant owner. The restaurant had some delicious food, but it appealed to adults much more than kids. So the owner baked them their own cheese pizza and brought out a giant bowl of fruit for them to eat. We took a short break from the fancy dinner to take the kids to an ice cream place next door as a little treat for behaving so well at the restaurant. So, combine the pizza, fruit, ice cream and a movie on the iPad, and you get some happy kids!

The next morning, we went to the Brooklyn Children's Museum. This happens to be the first museum developed for children. It opened back in 1899! Wow! They got to garden, make their own pizzas, play with playdoh and water, do puppet shows, stack giant legos, go grocery shopping, and much more. It was the perfect way to get out some energy so they could take a nap before the wedding. Anna's favorite thing at the museum was the pretend pizza restaurant and Joseph really enjoyed putting groceries on the conveyor belt in the pretend grocery store.

Saturday evening was Amy and Kenon's wedding. Anna got to be the flower girl and she couldn't have done a more perfect job! She looked absolutely beautiful! The kids played for a while at the church before the wedding started. We got there plenty early to make sure Anna knew what to do as flower girl. Once it was time for the wedding to start, Anna stayed back with Amy and Papa while Marc, Joseph and I went to our seats. I wish I could say the

y were both perfectly behaved... Joseph got a bit restless and wanted to climb on chairs and play the piano... however, Anna was perfect!!

Anna walked with Amy down the aisle and stood with her at the front for a bit. I bet Anna could have stood up there the whole time and wouldn't have made a peep. She was so good!

After the wedding, Joseph was relieved to be able to run around and make noise again. We had some pictures to take with the bride and groom, so we had to keep the kids busy and happy while that was all going on. Marc and I loaded our phones with games for them to play and that seemed to do the trick.

At the reception, Anna was obsessed with all the bride and groom cake-toppers that were decorating the tables. She played with them pretty much the rest of the night. Again, there was a "grown-up" menu, but they planned ahead for our kids who got to eat the BEST mac and cheese I've ever tasted! :) I seriously want that recipe! They got a little goofy towards the end, but what can you expect from a 2 year old and almost-4 year old when it's already 2 hours past their bedtime? I was pleased with how well they behaved during all the wedding festivities!!

It was a beautiful wedding and we are so happy for Amy and Kenon!!

On Sunday, we let loose and hit the big city! Joseph screamed with excitement every time a subway train came by in the stations. He couldn't wait to get on one! At one point during the weekend, I asked Anna what her favorite part about New York was. She told me it was riding the trains... what a goof ball! She has since changed her answer to Amy's wedding being her favorite part. :) Much better answer!

In the city that day, we met up with Marc's whole family and Kenon's whole family in Times Square and then took the double-decker bus tour around Manhattan. It lasted just over 2 hours and the kids behaved that long... we couldn't believe it. Nobody tried to jump off or throw anything off the bus, so that's a plus. We were a little nervous about Joseph :)

On Memorial Day, we got the kids dressed up in patriotic clothes (thanks, Granny!) and hit the town again. This time, it was just our family of 4 so we did stuff just for the kids. We started out on the subway, of course, and went straight to the Central Park Zoo. The kids enjoyed the animals, especially the polar bear. The best part for them was the Children's Zoo. They got to pet and feed animals as well as run around and climb all over stuff.

One of Anna's favorite movies is "Enchanted" so we had to make a stop at the Bethesda Fountain where they sang and danced in the movie. Anna did some dancing of her own too.

A trip to NY with the kids wouldn't be complete without stopping at FAO Schwarz. Joseph couldn't get enough of all the different cars and Anna was in heaven with all the princess dress-up clothes. They each got to pick out one new thing from the store to bring home. Joseph picked cars and Anna picked a princess dress. On the subway ride back to the hotel, Joseph fell asleep while holding his new cars. We had to switch trains at one point, so he woke up when I moved and he noticed that he wasn't holding his cars anymore. After a short 5 second screaming session, he got his cars back and went right back to sleep :)

On our final night in Brooklyn, we ate at a delicious Italian place that I had eaten at last time I was there. It was so good!! Places in Texas try to make New York style pizza and while some places do a great job, they'll never measure up to REAL New York pizza!

This was our final morning in New York... at about 9:15 in the morning... do you think we wore them out??
We had a wonderful trip and can't wait to take our next trip with the kids. Congratulations to Auntie Amy and Uncle Kenon!! Thanks for letting us all be a part of your special day!!