After the parade on Thanksgiving, we all went back to Jen's place (where B&B and fam were staying) for lunch. Her place is bigger than mine and actually has a dining room table! It was definitely the best place to share a meal together. We decided that with the time and space we had, it wasn't worth it to cook a big meal so we didn't. We had one of the famous Greenberg Turkeys from Tyler, TX shipped to Jen's that week and then we had very minimal sides...mom whipped up some delicious roasted squash and a salad. For dessert, we had a couple of store bought pies. It was probably the most low-key Thanksgiving meal we've ever had and that was perfectly fine.
We stopped by Starbucks after the parade. Ryder
tried a sip of my iced Chai and wouldn't give it back!
I think he could be Starbucks' first child model.
Late in the afternoon, we all left for a bit of an excursion. First stop? The NHL Headquarters! Mom and dad had seen the office before and B&B were jealous, so I had the whole family added to the security system so we could all go up and explore my office.
We bundled Shep up in his Dino fleece to brave the cold temps!
Entry to my floor. Notice Beau sleeping in the back of the stroller.
Beth thinking, "You really have to sit at this desk all day every day"?
Ryder, "Ew. Really? All day? Boring!"
Shep had fun exploring!
Beau, clearly ecstatic that he woke up for a photo op. And with
wrapper evidence that we raided my co-workers candy drawer.
Drawing pictures and our names in the Ice Bar!
Main entrance to the office. The boyz striking their best hockey poses.
The Mac fam got put in the penalty box!
After the office stop, we went to see the Rock Center Tree and some of the decorations along 5th Avenue. At that point, we were all about to crash from the early morning wake-up so we called it an early night and went on back to our respective homes.
Family pictures at Rock Center! Unfortunately the tree was still not lit yet.
Windows at Saks. Lady Gaga wore this dress!
Buster working to get the boyz on the train.
A family singing Christmas Carols in the subway station on Thanksgiving night.
Friday and Saturday were more fun-filled NYC days. Mom, dad, and I got a late start on Friday while B&B got crazy and took their clan to Century 21 (they totally regretted it and I told them that if I had known they were going there I would have insisted they not. That store is always crazy, but on Black Friday?! Yuk). We met for lunch in Brooklyn at Grimaldi's for some good pizza. I'd taken mom here before and she loved it so I thought dad and everyone else would enjoy it as well. We did! Great pizza in a fun environment. We got there right when it opened so we had no line to wait in - perfect!
Strike a pose.
There's nothing to it.
Vogue.
From Brooklyn, we went to lower Manhattan to catch the Staten Island Ferry. The boyz had to see the Statue of Liberty up close! And the boat ride is always fun with great city views.
We all took a bit of a breather in the afternoon because the adults had a big night out! We hired my friend Katie to babysit and I got free tickets for all of us to the NHL suite to see Michael Buble. He was at our New Jersey arena, but it's pretty easy to get to. Beth and Brian had seen Buble before (in fact, they'd seen this exact concert in Dallas), but they love him so that is why I got the tickets. He's not someone I really listened to before at all, but I actually really enjoyed his concert - we had a lot of fun!
Waiting for our train in Grand Central. The boyz are easier when
waiting for things these days. They're always up for a game of
eye-spy or rock-paper-scissors.
Silly poses.
The Botanical Gardens are really pretty and I'd like to get back there in the springtime!
Train conductor on stilts!
Ah, another Statue of Liberty!
St. Pat's.
All the famous BMW bridges were represented (Brooklyn-Manhattan-Williamsburg)
Thomas the Train was there, too!
Shep was released from the stroller for a bit
Yankee Stadium!
All the famous buildings... Empire State, Chrysler...
Central Park Gazebo
Love Beau's face in this one.
After viewing the trains, we grabbed lunch in the cafe - it was very cold that day, so we had chili! From lunch, we decided to check out the Gingerbread Adventures exhibit. We couldn't really figure out what this was and it was not very organized so we didn't end up doing the activities, but it was in an area of the Gardens that is for kids. There were rocks to climb and a maze made out of bushes.....Ryder and Beau loved it and ran around for quite a while before we had to head back to catch a train back to the city.
Getting a little bit rowdy at lunch!
We had a great family dinner at OTTO. I love that place...so fun to try different foods and eat family style. We had pizzas, pastas, and a couple of their veggies. It was all great! And because that restaurant is so loud and crowded and busy, it was a good place to take the three wild ones.
Mom, dad, and I had a date with Katie on Saturday night to see Driving Miss Daisy. I used to love that movie when I was younger and it was really fun to see the play - especially with Vanessa Redgrave and James Earl Jones. We were all pretty tired by that point, but we still enjoyed it!
Saturday was day 6 with family in town and we were 2/3rds of the way through. One more post on our final 3 days coming up!
1 comment:
I LOVE their cheesy smiles in all the pictures but the picture of the two older boys hanging on the rope is my absolute FAV!!! You guys were quite busy. Can't imagine what you did the last 1/3 of the trip.
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