New York City!

New York City bound....woooo hoo!

We left for New York on Friday morning with Ari in our car, Brittney and David in their rental van, and Mom and Dad in their car. Family road trip! The drive just took a few hours, and we were ready for a fun adventure! Cami was excited to see New York City, filled with skyscrapers and lights. We kind of joined the party last minute, seeing how we didn't even know we were going to PA until last minute. But luckily, my dad had reserved 2 hotel rooms at a really nice Sheraton Hotel along the water. We joined Mom and Dad in their room, and everything worked out perfectly. Brittney planned out an excellent itinerary, and we were just along for the fun ride!

This was our view when we first arrived at our hotel and got out of the car. Beautiful!

To get anywhere in the city, we rode the ferry across the Hudson River. It's quite pricey for 12 people to do that twice a day, but that's the price you pay for a good time in New York City!

The kids thought it was super cool. And Mom LOOKS cool in this picture. For real, I like this picture of you, Mom!

Once we got across, we hopped on a bus, and got off in the middle of somewhere. Brittney knew where we were going, luckily! From that point on, we constantly looked towards the sky, to appreciate all the beautiful massive buildings that surrounded us. Holy cow, who thinks up these creatures, and actually builds them? Crazy. Oh, and there's Jake. :)

We decided to walk to see the Manhattan Temple, which I'm so glad we did. What a sight to see amid all the hustle and bustle! I saw it years ago, and actually did baptisms inside when I was a young adult. But it was fun seeing it through grown up eyes, and appreciating it all the more.

We peeked in the beautiful stained glass doors inside. "I love to see the temple, I'll go inside someday."

And then we walked down to Central Park, which was beautiful and massive! It fills like hundreds of blocks, so we only saw a tiny part of it. But the kids were so excited about the giant boulders and rocks to climb on. Oh and we bundled up really well that day because it was freeezing!

A musician on the street was playing a fiddle, and invited the kids to help him out. They all were so cute and proud of themselves.

What trip to New York is complete without a visit to FAO Schwartz? Here's a Lego soldier.

And look, we got to see the Statue of Liberty!

"Everything is Awesome!" These are characters from the hit movie The Lego Movie.

From the toy store, we walked on...and on....and on. And saw this beautiful cathedral.

And this massive spectacle.

And passed by the Rockefeller Center. The tree! It was so packed on this wintry Friday night, that we didn't even try to get closer.

It was exciting to walk by NBC Studios, and see where this awesome show takes place.

There's Radio City Music Hall! And a super cute Lex!

Fun Grandma and Grandpa picture

And I just couldn't resist posting this second picture, solely for Bryan's awesome smile. :)

As we walked on, along Broadway, I looked up and saw that lovely red square on the bottom left....He Is The Gift! A message from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! That was so cool, and uplifting!

And sorry Jake's eyes are closed in this one, but it shows all the glamour and glitz of Times Square!

It really does feel like daylight, with all the bright lights lighting up the square. And of course, New York City comes alive at night, so there were people everywhere! We stopped in at The American Doll store, so that Ari could buy new jammies for her baby doll. Then we went into the giant Toys R' Us with a cute ferris wheel and huge dinosaur inside. Then we were on a mission to find somewhere good to eat dinner.

I was kind of in charge of finding somewhere that had gluten free options that I could eat, so I led us to a place called The Counter. It had really good burgers, sweet potato fries, and onion rings. Mmmm. It was worth the long wait and cramped table space. The kids were wild and crazy, and we were just glad to be warm and fed.

We called it a night, took the bus back the ferry, ferry back to the hotel, and bedded down for the night. The girls slept on the floor in sleeping bags, and before I went to sleep, I snapped a picture of the spectacular view that Dad had been so enthusiastic about. I thought Mom was asleep as I stood by the window next to her bed to take my picture, when I heard her say "Hand me my camera!" haha it startled me. She wanted a picture of the view too. She was also procrastinating falling asleep, because she was afraid of snoring and keeping us all awake. Aww Mom. :)

Don't worry, Dad kept me awake, too. In the morning, we had a makeshift breakfast of things we had brought along. Oh look, there's my wig in the background- I just noticed. baha. Pay no attention to it.

We left our lovely hotel that morning, and rode the ferry once again across the river. This time, however, it was raining.

Our first stop off the bus was Ground Zero. What a serene, peaceful, heartbreaking place. These angel wings made of the old fallen buildings were beautiful. There are two pools, in each of the two buildings' prior locations, which have waterfalls going deep into a hole in the ground. On the outside of the pools, are all the names of the people who died on 9/11/2001.

It was cold, and a little snowy, but we walked around and read all the names, and explained to the kids some of what happened here.

It's a reverent place. People paying their respects in somberness. It's just unfathomable to think what that day must have been like...for the victims, and their families. And the people who stood nearby and watched helplessly, or ran for safety. I remember the first time I heard about 9/11, I was sitting in a science class as a Freshman at BYU. They announced it, we watched the news on TV, and we were dismissed early and left in shock.

This wall is near the pools, down the street, and serves as a beautiful tribute.

After Ground Zero, we walked to Battery Park to catch a glimpse of the real Statue of Liberty. We thought about catching a ferry and doing the whole island tour, but it was way too cold and wet to even consider doing with kids. But Mom pointed out this famous statue, representing the immigrants arriving in America.

There she is- Lady Liberty!

Our family New York photo. Good times. Dad bought lots of yummy roasted nuts from a street vendor for us all to munch on in the rain.

We decided to be brave, and conquer the Subway. The kids wanted the experience, and we wanted to get somewhere that would have some good pizza. The sign sounds so hip- Uptown & The Bronx! Yeeeah.

After the exhilarating Subway ride, Dad, in typical Dad fashion, picked the first pizza place they came across when we walked up from the Subway station. I couldn't eat anything there, so I found a good gluten free pizza place nearby with my trusty Find Me Gluten Free app on my phone. Pie By the Pound...it was lovely! Even had dairy free cheese. I ate and admired the warm, friendly atmosphere, complete with board games and books to enjoy.

We all met up again, and were ready to head home after our 2 day New York adventure. First, though, we had to catch the right bus! That proved to be trickier than anticipated. We were all sooo cold, wet, and tired of walking by the time we did find the right bus stop. Lexi and I ducked into this shop to keep warm until the bus came. At least she still had smiles left!

We caught the ferry, made it back over the Hudson River, hopped in our cars, and made a stop at Cabela's on the way home. It was so nice to be back at my parent's house that night, warm and cozy- home sweet home! But what a whirlwind 2 days of New York adventure. I'm SO glad we went and that Cami and Lexi got to make those memories. They went from Los Angeles to New York City within one month! So awesome. Until next time, New York- I already can't wait to go back!