Glorious Parks

Later that evening we went down to Madison Square Park to get some dinner at the Shake Shack (you must try their caramel milkshakes- delish!).

Our view of the Empire State Building from there. (We also saw the Flatiron and Chrysler buildings, but the pictures didn't turn out.)

After 3 days without napping, Teaguey boy finally crashed!

Our weekend went way too fast and it was suddenly Monday morning. We said our goodbyes to Mom, Papa, and Kris (thanks so much for our wonderful time with you, we miss you already!) then hit the road. We weren't quite ready to leave yet, so we drove around Central Park. 70 minutes later we were on the freeway heading home. We ended up only doing half of what we had planned (being 6 months pregnant and having 4 young children will do that), but we loved every minute and look forward to going back someday!

Coolin' Off

Walking back to our hotel from the subway we passed the Samuel Seabury Playground. We decided to let the kids run around for a bit. They had a blast! (Note to self: we don't need to take our kids to New York to give them great summer memories, we just need to take them to the park- ha!)

By the time we got back to the hotel, my ankles were the size of my hips. We decided it would be nice to take a dip in the pool. Our little ducky and frog had fun floating around.

These 2 are little fish and swam back and forth the whole time. The cool water felt so good and it was nice to be weightless for a while (I could feel myself shrinking!).

The little guys got too cold after a while. Luckily, Gramma and Grampa were there to snuggle with them!

Junior's

We went to Junior's hoping for a light lunch and some of their famous cheesecake.



Their lunch portions were so huge (and tasty) that we had to get our cheesecake to go. We got a slice of strawberry shortcake and carrot cake (my favorite!).

Times Square

On Sunday, Papa and Kris went to the Yankees v. Athletics game, while the rest of us went down to Times Square.


The main purpose of the trip was to visit the huge 4-story Toys 'R Us.

Of course we had to take a ride on its Ferris Wheel.

Kaleb, Gavin, and Mom rode on the Little People School Bus.

While I got to ride in the Barbie Pink Convertible with Noe, Teague, and Leonard.

Afterwards each of the kids got to pick out a new toy. Gavin chose some new Thomas trains to add to his collection, but he was also very happy to meet King Kandy from Candyland!

Teague was exhausted by the end of it and had a slight (really huge) meltdown while we were checking out. Once we were outside he felt much better, but he's still showing how tired he is with his right thumb in his mouth and his left arm pulled into his shirt. He was a trooper though!

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

On Saturday evening the boys went out for some Delizia Pizza, while us girls went down to 42nd Street to see...

Mary Poppins at the New Amsterdam Theater!

Noe was just so excited!

The show was fantastic! However, it was almost 3 hours long, so instead of waiting for a turn to take a picture with Mary, we took one the next day- tee hee.

Peanut Butter (and Jelly or Ice Cream)

We went to Peanut Butter & Co. for some lunch. We had some traditional Peanut Butter and Grape Jelly sandwiches.


As well as the Fluffer Nutter (peanut butter and marshmallow cream),...

...and the Elvis (grilled peanut butter with banana).

The best part was the peanut butter ice cream sundaes of course!

Mom also bought us a jar of their White Chocolate Wonderful peanut butter. It's as good as Nutella- yum!

The Manhattan Skyline

On Saturday morning we rode the subway (fiery inferno) down to Battery Park. We saw this sculpture "The Sphere" that was badly damaged, but survived the attacks on the World Trade Towers on 9/11. There is an eternal flame in front of it for all those that lost their lives that day.


We boarded (the free) Staten Island ferry to get a look at the famous skyline. We went a lot further south than our harbour cruise took us last year and we got good glimpses of New Jersey and Long Island as well.

The main purpose of this journey was to see the lovely Lady Liberty. Last year I remember feeling so much emotion when I saw her and everything that she stands for. Unfortunately, this year all I felt was the heat and humidity. I am still so proud for the hope and freedom that she conveys.

We love to see the Temple!

After a beautiful (but long) drive through New York State, we finally arrived in the concrete jungle that is the beloved New York City. We went straight to the hotel where Mom, Papa, and Uncle Kris graciously watched the kids for us, so Len and I could do an Endowment Session at the Manhattan Temple.

Don't let the plain exterior deceive you, it is very ornate and stunning inside! It was so wonderful to serve with Leonard, and this makes the 32nd Temple we've been able to worship in!

Addicted

Last year when I visited New York City for the first time, I fell in love and hoped to make it back to see her every year. Well this year, my wish is coming true! We were really disappointed that we couldn't make it out west to see our families and friends this summer. My parents and youngest brother from Vegas are spending the week in NYC and made it possible for us to join them for the weekend! Wahoo! We're driving down tomorrow morning and will head back home on Monday. Even though it will be a quick trip I'm excited to see them and we have some fun things planned. I have to hear this song again, I'm so pumped! (Blogger's link tool isn't working, so here's the link old school: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UjsXo9l6I8)

The End of an Era

Len and I went to see the final installment of the Harry Potter films with the Cameron's and Martin's last night. It didn't disappoint! I started reading the books back in 2000 after the 4th had come out, and finished them up in 2007 with the last. Len and I went to the theater to see each movie as they came out as well. I've loved living in the world of wizards and witches for over a decade. It's kind of sad that it's over now. If you're a fan you need to see this one on the big screen!

Mini-Golfers

Since we're not heading out west this summer, Len's just taking one solid week's vacation in the middle of the school holidays. For the rest of his vacay time he's taking a long weekend every week- wahoo! This way we can do some major projects on the house & yard on Saturdays, worship & rest on Sundays, and have a day for family play! Today we took the kids for a round of 18 holes of miniature golfing.


Kaleb really got into it and tried his best for each hole.

Noe had gone before with her Activity Day group from church, and was so excited to have a pink ball. (We all ended up with our favorite colors- Len= purple, Kaleb= blue, Gavin= green, Teague=red, and I had yellow!)

Gavin would hit the ball with his club for the first stroke, then he bowled with his hands until he got the ball in.

Teague was another serious little golfer. Although he really played more like shuffle board pushing his ball around.

Our girls.

And our boys had a great day!

Park Play

We've already clocked a lot of hours at the park this summer. We're hoping to make it to all 8 parks with our church play group on the schedule this season. You can tell Teague's my 4th (or that I'm pregnant), because I don't hover over him like I did with Kaleb and Noe ready to catch any fall. He's a great climber too. He can get to the top of tall structures with stairs, ladders, and nets. He's doing great and I'm enjoying myself more too.


We went to this park twice this week. They just put in new play equipment and all the kids are enjoying the toys.

I've always wanted to ride in a motorcycle side car.

The boys said it was great fun!

I love my 4 cuties, but this is a typical picture of them. Gavin won't look at the camera and Teague won't smile at it, while Kaleb and Noe are seasoned veterans.

After playing in the hot sun, it's nice to cool off in the shade and damp sand.

And then eat a pic nic lunch!