The Young and the Restless

New York: Day 1

We rolled into New York around 11:00 pm. We thought the kids would be asleep at that point and were planning on going straight to our hotel in Long Island but since they were still awake we decided to take a detour through downtown Manhattan, and as cheezy as it sounds, it was magical.  There was a big fireworks show illuminating the skyline as we pulled in and I loved seeing the kids with their noses pressed against the windows and their wide eyes taking in all the lights and people.  We passed a club with paparazzi and crowds gathered around the exit and Kylie just knew Justin Beiber would waltz out at any moment.  It was the perfect way to kick off our three day New York trip. 

Getting around

We walked....

and walked....

then walked even more...

We warned the kids that there would be lots and lots of walking and we prepared ourselves for lots and lots of whining, but they actually did really well. It helps that there is so much to see on the streets that the kids didn't have time to complain.

The subways are not my favorite because they're so dirty but the kids thought they were great, even though they were disappointed that we didn't see any rats. We kept the hand sanitizer easily accessible at all times and it made me nervous when Jayden wasn't shy about making friends with the crazy strung out lady who talks to herself.  He politely answered all her random questions but when she paused long enough to break out into her own rendition of "Green Acres is the place for me..." he turned to Kylie and informed her that she needed to take a turn talking to her.  They loved when the subway performers would hop on our train (Jason and I weren't quite as excited because it meant we had to open our wallets again. I swear we could have fed a small country with the amount of money we donated, but what a sad life to live), the one man band guy was Kylie's favorite.

With all the amazing things to see and do, I still think Jayden's favorite part was playing the DS every chance he got (along with the lego set we bought him for the plane ride, going to the huge lego store, FAO Schwartz and the ultimate Toys R Us). Next time I think we'll just leave him at home with a new lego set, a McDonald's happy meal and permission to play the DS and wii all day and he would be just as happy.

Every day on our subway ride to and from our hotel we would pass this abandoned warehouse covered in graffiti.  There are some pretty skilled taggers out there, some of the pictures on the other side were really good.  Kylie and I would get excited every time we passed it and pressed our faces against the dirty subway windows trying to memorize all the artwork before the subway would speed past.

Grand Central Station
It was so fun taking the kids to famous spots that they had seen on movies.  Kylie got excited to see the clock at Grand Central station that was stuck on the Giraffe's head in Madagascar.

Rockefellar Center
Of course all they could talk about when we got to the ice rink at Rockefellar was how they were skating on the same ice as "Elf".  Me being in my state of pregnancy and Jason being in his state of "It's too cold", we decided to pass on the skating and instead sent the kids off to fend for themselves.  The first several times around they both clung to the wall for their dear lives and we were waiting for the water works to come every time they fell down.  We made a bet that in 15 minutes tops they would be crying and begging to leave, but we understimated them.  Two and a half hours later they were still going strong and we had to pry them off the ice.  Thankgoodness there were like 5 Starbucks with their steaming hot chocolate within walking distance because it was a cold 2 1/2 hours. They both got a hang of it not too long after they started and even though their knees were covered with nasty bruises, they didn't cry once (except Jayden who cried because he had to wear baby gloves when I accidentally packed Maddox's mittens instead of his gloves).  They both said this was their favorite part of the entire trip and begged to go back every day.

Chinatown

The motherland was callling.  And she was calling loud. Ever since Jason discovered the shaved noodle shop on our trip to NY last year, that's all he can talk about.  It was even featured on the Food Network's "The Best thing I Ever Ate" and Jason saved it on our DVR and made me promise to never delete it. It was only fitting that this was the first meal we would eat in NY (and we made a second trip back the next day).  They are actually REALLY good and the kids even loved them too (well Kylie was a love, Jayden was a like).  I love the look on Jason's face in this picture, he's like a kid on Christmas morning who is about to burst with excitement.  If there was a way to ship that dough to AZ I would do it for every one of Jason's birthdays.

Jayden was wiped out and took a little snoozer right there at the table....

We couldn't go to Chinatown without shopping for cheap crap on Canal street.  Jayden found some Pokemon cards he swore he couldn't live without, and yet they are still sitting in his coat pocket as we speak. We got grossed out by the open fish markets and chickens hanging in every window, devoured the fresh fruit we got from the stands and couldn't stop laughing at the informational "bum massaging" video (you can kind of see it in the background of the second picture).

Times Square
This place never ceases to amaze me. You'll never see that many lights anywhere, the glow can be seen from miles away.  The temperature is about 10 degrees warmer with all the electricity and bustling people. When they say NY is the city that never sleeps I think they're referring to Times Square in particular, no matter what time of day or what kind of weather that place is always shoulder to shoulder packed with people.  The kids were just as amazed, but of course the pictures don't do it justice.

Introducing "New York's finest". You wouldn't want to cross this guy in a dark alley :)

After a long day we just melted into our beds that night and geared up for another exciting day on the streets of the Big Apple.