NYC/DC Part 1

As promised... back today with a fun summer update. 

Daniel had to spend 10 days in Germany for work so the kids and I loaded up in the swagger wagon and headed north. Our 1st stop was a quick layover in Washington DC to see Beth and break up the drive. Beth is a good friend from college who just moved into the CUTEST apartment in Alexandria, VA. The kids thought it was fabulous. Beth was a saint to sleep on the couch while the 3 of us took over her bed... and bathroom thanks to a stomach bug Avery couldn't seem to shake. Let's just say Avery reverted to pull ups for this trip since public NYC bathrooms are few and far between. 

Strollin' Alexandra, VA in the stroller I purchased specifically for this trip! PSA- Don't sell your stroller until you're really really sure you'll never use it again! That said, this Baby Jogger City Mini Double was awesome and super easy to use in NYC! I couldn't have done this trip without it!.

We loved walking around Alexandria but my favorite part (other than Beth's company) was dinner at Austin Grill where I consumed a burrito the size of a small child along with beefy cheese dip and one of the world's best margaritas.  Obviously, I was very diet conscious this trip. 

The next morning, we continued our journey to NYC. We got a bit of a later start than I intended so that put us in the middle of Manhattan at 4pm on a Friday. Driving a minivan through Manhattan at 4pm on a Friday could be a blog post in and of itself but let's just say it took an hour to drive what my GPS said would take 12 minutes and ended with wine when I arrived. I have to say, I was really proud of myself (and the kids!) for making the trip. I'd do it again but I think next time I'm going to try the DC to NYC train! 

After Kelly (my sister) got home and my hands regained feeling and blood flow, we walked to dinner at an authentic NYC pizza shop. It was a hit!

That night, we needed to run some wiggles out so we met Kelly's "special friend" Zack for ice cream and a stroll to a park in Brooklyn. The kids loved seeing the city from Kelly's rooftop at sunset. Parker was on the look out for superheroes and bad guys the entire 4 days we were in NYC.

The next morning, we were up and out by 9am. The kids insisted that I pack their costumes so they could fight bad guys. Their basis of knowledge of NYC comes from Spiderman and Avenger books so understandably so, they expected to need to fight some crime. Much to their dismay, everyone we met was wonderfully nice except for the 40+ ladies in the line for the bathroom in Central Park. I could have really used a superhero then! 

One of the things they were MOST excited to do was ride the subway. It was a hit! The kids loved the whole subway experience, homeless people, jazz musicians, turnstiles and all.  I did NOT share their enthusiasm for the stinky crowds and lack of windows/natural light but I definitely enjoyed watching them have fun!

The best part about this picture is that no one cared that my kids were in costume. Most people didn't look twice. Gotta love New Yorkers. Not much phases them.

 We went to FAO Schwartz before it closed in July. This was so cool for me because it's always fun making memories with your own kids that your parents made with you. Once the temp hit in the 90's, I took the kids superhero costumes off and promised them if I saw a super villain, I'd put them back on.

This lady photo bombed EVERY ONE of my FAO Schwartz pictures with the iconic Toy Soldiers.

Avery loved the "BIG" piano!

Parker's dreams came true when he got to meet Iron Man. $28 later, we are the proud owners of these photos. At this point, I was unaware you can take pictures with every character under the sun at Times Square for a $3 donation.

We left FAO Schwartz with a $28 photo, $5 kitty in a purse and Kelly on the verge of an anxiety attack. Central Park was our next stop. We enjoyed the Central Park Zoo, lunch on Shepard's Field, hours at the play grounds, consuming street hot dogs and riding the carousel. 

The kids loved these tall, steep, metal slides. Screw safety.... these were a blast once you got past the initial rump roast.

Playground Fun

Petting Zoo in Central Park

Avery took petting a little far and began hugging the animals.

They both loved this "spider web" in the Central Park Zoo

 After spending hours of fun in Central Park, we made a Starbucks stop then headed to Times Square. Parker immediately knew where he was based on Spiderman books! Avery napped on the stroller ride from Central Park to Times Square and woke up just in time for a photo op with Olaf!

Parker was SO SO excited to see all the superheroes in one place. He kept running to me asking for $3 to give (insert superhero). He's already requested I frame these photos for his room. They've become a prized possession.

Spiderman

Iron Man Mark 42

Iron Man and Iron Patriot

Times Square!

After Times Square, we grabbed a street pretzel before walking the streets and soaking in the city. Eventually, we hopped on the subway and headed back to Brooklyn for a quick rest before heading back out to walk the East River area. Brooklyn also has some beautiful parks and riverfront views! If you visit NYC, make sure to pop over the river!

I obviously struggle to select only a few photos so I'm going to stop here and do a part 2 tomorrow (hopefully! No promises!). 

This trip was so successful because we did mostly kid friendly activities which was still a blast for my sister and I. Traveling to NYC was a wonderful experience and I absolutely recommend taking your kids! In my next post, I'll add a few tips for doing NYC with little ones.

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I've decided to end {most} post with a "what I'm listening to" video since 2 of you messaged me that you loved the last song I posted. That's about 50% of my readers, so I figured I'd keep it up.

Today I've got "Holy Spirit" performed by Kim Walker (Jesus Culture) at the Passion Conference on repeat. I love this song of invitation to the Lord.

Enjoy your Sunday evening, friends!

Daniel and Taylor Take NYC

This weekend, Daniel and I flew to NYC to visit my sister who lives in Brooklyn. It was the first time we've been away from the kids together for more than 1 night. They had a wonderful weekend with nana and poppi! I'm not sure they even missed us!

I've been to NYC before but Daniel had not. We took a cab from the airport to my sister's apartment which began our NYC cabbie experience. Who knew 1 way streets were just recommended? We finally made it to the general area where Kelly lives and we begged to just be dropped off on this corner RIGHT NOW!

We freshened up (which is humorous when you think about it because our next stop was... the subway) and headed to dinner in the East Village. We ate a yummy dinner at Yuca then met some of Kelly's friends at a bar. This is about the time that we realized we are OLD because by 11, I was about ready to curl up on the bar stool like a cat. Kelly hailed us a cab, the cabbie made a pizza stop for himself and ate it while driving us like Mario Andretti back to Kelly's apartment in Brooklyn. By 11:30, I was OUT!

The next morning, we were refreshed and ready to take in all the sites of the city! We grabbed some breakfast, some coffee and headed for the subway while supporting our Clemson Tigers!

1st we stopped at Grand Central Station. It is SO pretty! My camera wasn't on the right setting so I didn't get any usable pictures there. From Grand Central, we walked to Bryant Park. They were setting up an ice skating rink which will be beautiful at Christmas time! Confession: I got so excited because I recognized Bryant Park from an episode of Dateline with Chris Hanson where he interviewed a guy he found on Craigslist who will "make someone disappear"... so a hit man. Forget that Bryant Park is where fashion week used to be (according to my vast knowledge of fashion... ahem... Project Runway)...and how beautiful it was... OMG Chris Hanson! Dateline!

I really should have written down where all we walked but next we walked by Radio City Music Hall according to my pictures. We are big fans of America's Got Talent (and Heidi Klum!) so it was neat to see the building where that's filmed.

Next we saw Rockefeller Center. I loved watching the ice skaters and hearing all the different languages people spoke.

 We couldn't resist visiting the Lego store at Rockefeller Center. We bought Parker a Lego Batman keychain, Lego cup and minifigure ice cube tray which he LOVED! They also gave us a free Lego Iron Man poster which we lugged ALL OVER NYC and attempted to not crush.... we failed... but Parker was still THRILLED!

We visited 2 beautiful Catholic Churches and passed by FAO Schwartz on our way to Central Park. Kelly was the ultimate tour guide! At this point, I was regretting my choice of only bringing this one pair of boots on my trip. Now I understand the tennis shoes with panty hose and suit look.

Central Park was my FAVORITE part of our trip! It's SO pretty! The leaves are changing and I saw a few families taking family photos. We only saw a small amount of the park but I could have spent our whole trip exploring the park and zoo!

We stopped for a street pretzel before heading to the museum of natural history. You could spend HOURS here so if you ever go to NYC and you really want to visit this museum, allot at least half a day. We didn't have that much time so Kelly and I dragged Daniel through the museum and hit the highlights so we could get back outside! It was too nice to be inside looking at the evolution of man from apes etc... especially if you don't believe in all that crap. I did; however, enjoy the poisonous frog exhibition and watching my sister attempt to debate a curator over the age of the earth and how ridiculous it is to think that alligator anteater looking animals evolved into whales. It was also neat to see where "Night at the Museum" was filmed.... I did not; however, see Teddy Roosevelt or Sacagawea (yes I had to Google "Indian girl in Night at the Museum" for the spelling of that one!)

My pictures kinda stop here because we were TIRED and Daniel was officially done with photographing ourselves at every street corner :) He was a trooper, though!

We walked to Little Italy and ate then strolled through China town quickly because it is a pungent area of the city! Kelly hailed my poor feet a cab and I was happily in my PJs by 7pm, on the couch ready for the Clemson game. By 9, it was clear that my Tigers forgot to show up for that game and I passed out until 11 hours later. We woke up Sunday and toured my sister's area of Brooklyn where we got to see less touristy stuff. We "brunched" at Lokal and visited the Williamsburg Flea Market.

We began our "adventure" home by hailing a cab, only to have it blow a tire and then still charge us for the ride and leave us on the side of the road with our bags to find another cab. Thankfully, we did fairly quickly and made it to the airport without almost dying like our other cab rides! We were flying standby and all the flights to Charlotte filled up so we squeezed into the last 2 seats on a flight to DC in hopes of getting to Charlotte sometime Sunday! Once we got to DC, we ate the most glorious meal... Five Guys greasy burgers and fries. NYC has some great food but nothing beats the delicious grease of Five Guys. The gate agent told us that there was no way we were going to make the Charlotte flight because it also filled up, so we sat at that gate and ate while waiting for a Greenville SC flight. At least we would be closer to home, right?! God must have known how badly I wanted to get home to my babies because a family of 4 no showed and Daniel and I got on the last 2 seats on that flight too!

We really enjoyed visiting what seems like another country compared to where we live! MY sister loves it there and I can see why! It's so "her!" I understand why so many young single adults enjoy living there but other than the Upper West Side, I just don't think I could live there. I need trees, and backyards and a room for the kids trampoline! haha NYC is a great place to visit but I couldn't imagine raising a child there. Obviously, people do but I about had a heart attack each time I saw a child scootering by themselves down the street toward a busy intersection. I can see where summers in the parks would be fun but the winter months would be brutal! I loved seeing my sister and her city life but it reaffirmed my love of the suburbs with these 2!