Since it was the boys first time back east (at least that Jaylen can remember), we had to take the opportunity to go see NYC since we were so close!
We headed up on Monday morning and spent until Wednesday morning there. We stayed in New Jersey and took the train in on Monday and Tuesday. The boys loved taking all the different trains and subway cars in! They were some long, full days! Very fun!
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| First coming out in NYC at the World Trade Center |
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| A common problem we had the entire time in NYC was constantly finding a bathroom for our little tiny bladder boy. Jaylen needs to pee every hour and there aren't many bathrooms accessible. It seemed like we constantly had our eye out for every chance at a toilet we could find. So look for Jaylen's need to go potty face throughout the pictures. :) |
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| World Trade Center memorial |
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| Headed out to on the Staten Island Ferry to see the Statue of Liberty. We didn't mean to, but it was timed perfectly. We got on the fairy as the sun was setting, so it was beautiful watching the sunset from the boat. |
After the Statue of Liberty we made it up to China Town! Jaylen was so excited to see all the Chinese characters throughout the streets!
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| Potty face. |
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| A co-worker Aaron worked with in New Mexico is from NYC and recommended La Mela- a real Italian place in Little Italy district. It was DELICIOUS! It was served family style and we all shared big platters. It was very interesting food and we loved it! The restaurant was an incredible maze- they took us throughout to try to find a seat and we were walking down skinny hall ways, through the kitchen, into numerous rooms. It was quite amazing to see how they operate such a big business in such little spaces. A very fun experience for sure! |
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| Getting sleepy on the subway |
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| We headed up to Rockefeller plaza. It was SUPER busy. People everywhere and you'd get pushed along in the direction of the crowd. Quite amazing to be in that big city. |
We watched the movies play across the Macy's building and walked around. We then headed to Times Square.
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| Jaylen's favorite was M&M world! The boys were blown away by the chocolate EVERYWHERE and all up the walls! |
The weather was great on Monday. A little chilly, but nothing too severe. We loved walking around and seeing all the big buildings, huge lights and thousands of people bustling around.
We got back late on Monday and the boys were exhausted. The conked out on the trip back. They were so cute all snuggled in together sleeping.
I had looked up the running trails at Central Park (a big bucket list item for me!). I wasn't sure how to pull off running at Central Park and not being freezing, sweaty and gross the rest of the day. But it was a big enough accomplishment for me that I was going to do it regardless. It ended up being PERFECT! The temple and chapel was a block away and up on the chapel floor there is a shower in the bathroom!
It was MUCH colder on Tuesday morning when we headed in. A little more windy and definitely cold. I was SO, SO excited to tackle Central Park- a 10K trail all the way around with plenty of other trails and off shoots to take. Aaron took the boys to some play areas and said to go explore as long as I wanted (love how supportive he is about these goals I have!). It was amazing running along, seeing the city, the huge ponds throughout the park- I had no idea the park was that big! It was an amazing experience for this small time, country Kansas girl.
I ran the main path past all the horse trolleys and play areas and then started exploring off the main loop into the trails. So pretty!
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| I found a beautiful pond/lake? Incredible views! So fun to see and experience so much in a quick amount of time when running! |
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| Once I made it around it took awhile to reconnect with Aaron (he was giving me directions to where he was with an upside down map). By the time I found him, I'd clocked over 10 miles. I felt like I had explored, conquered and saw most of the park. It was incredible! |
After I showered up, got all our phones charged at the church/temple (we were always battling battery issues because we'd use our phones for the Subway map), we headed up the Seinfeld cafe. Our favorite show to watch together!
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| After the Seinfeld cafe, we headed down to meet and see Kiley Edgley, one of the cousins from Oregon! It was amazing to have hot chocolate with her and meet. So grateful she took a quick break from work to be able to chat. |
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| Afterwards we headed to a warm, indoor mall place to wait for our SVU friend Marissa Garff who happened to be in town visiting with her new boyfriend. They were in the World Trade Center memorial and it had gotten bitter cold out, so we enjoyed going out on the dock for a minute, watching the ice skaters and chatting with some senior missionaries we saw in the mall. |
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| Once we met up we headed to Times Square for dinner at a fabulous burger joint. Oh man, we were hungry. It was awesome catch up with her and eat some yummy food and cheesecake. |
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| It was late when we got out from eating- the kids had fallen asleep during dinner. It was a quick dash to the subway to head home. We stopped to see the Empire State building all lit up, and could see the starting of them setting up for New Year's Eve bash the next day. |
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| Gavin was conked out the ride home. Such a tired, sweet boy! |
The next morning (the last day of 2014!) we woke up and hit up the pool for a few minutes. The boys loved being tossed and we loved having some playful time together. It was a very fast and furious couple days so it was nice to have a slower morning to play and pack up.
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| These two melt by heart! |
After we played, we packed up and headed home for New Year's Eve with the family. It was awesome to play some games (pictionary was pretty funny with the kids), watch some movies and eat some yummy food to bring in the New Year!
