Sunday, July 31, 2016

Day 7

What a glorious day Friday was...because we had some family coming in town to visit! Ginny, Dave, Miller and TJ drove in from D.C. To spend two days with us and we could not wait to see them!

We met them for lunch at JG Melon for burgers and even though the food was not that great, the company made up for it!
After lunch we walked to Central Park so the boys could sail the small sailboats at Sailboat pond.
 

 

Each boat is powered by a remote control but there is no motor on the boat. There remote control controls the sail and the rudder so you have to be strategic with the timing of the wind and the sail. 
 

Walker and Miller have really grown theo relationship over the last year and they are just the cutest little buddies. They literally talk and talk and talk without taking a breath.

 

After our time was up with the sailboats, Renzi and I sent Ginny and Dave to their hotel so they could get ready for our date night by themselves and Ren and I took all four boys to play frisbee and to play on the playground.

While the older boys played frisbee I got to spend some one on one time with TJ. Love him.
 

 

After playing for a bit it was time for Renzi and I to take everyone back to our apartment so we could get cleaned up for date night as well...but on our way back we, of course, had to stop to get the boys ice cream (before dinner! Yes!).

All four boys were together at our apartment with a babysitter that night and Ginny, Dave, Renzi and I got to go out all together! We had drinks at The Mark Hotel before dinner, had dinner at "Orsay," and then a night cap at The Surrey Hotel near our apartment.

 

We had such a fab time! And the boys did great. We came home to this:

 

Day 6

This morning the boys and I headed out on the short walk from our apartment to the Central Park Zoo. 

The Central Park Zoo is smaller than most zoos but it was awesome! 

The boys love love loved the Penguins (and so did I!) Jackson did a research project earlier this year on Penguins and Puffins so he was overly excited when we got to this exhibit.

See those big Penguins in the picture? Those are emporer penguins and they are four feet tall!!!

 

 

In the center of the zoo are the Sea Lions. While we were there we were able to see the Sea Lion feeding. So cool.
 

After the zoo we went back to our apartment for lunch and some rest time. After Renzi finished working we all jumped on the subway and headed over to SoHo to check it out. 
 

SoHo is one of my favorite spots in NYC. We walked around and wandered in and out of shops. We people watched and we took in all of the sights and sounds of a different part of the city we are living in.

After a bit, the natives were restless and hungry so we walked over to Little Italy. We found some spots that are pretty special to the Stone family. Many meals were spent at La Mela during Christmas time when the Stone's would all come in the week before Christmas from all over the country and spend time together during the holiday season.
 

We even found the bar we went to two years in a row after we would eat at La Mela.

 

 

We ended up at this cute restaraunt called Sambrosio. We ordered way too much pasta and we ate every bite. Delish!

Day 5

Today started early as we headed out the door to see The New York Times building. We were supposed to have a tour but the guy who was going to give us the tour came down sick, but it was still fun to see the building where some of the greatest reporters work.
 

We had some time to kill before our lunch reservations so we went to the new Discovery Zone museum and saw their Star Wars exhibit. This exhibit had almost all of the costumes worn in ALL of the Star Wars movies!

 
 
 
After the tour we hit up Bryant Park for their free park library and a ride on the carousel.
 
The we headed 
over to the infamous Sardi's restaraunt for lunch before we took the boys to see Aladdin on Broadway!
 

Jackson asked the waiter what you had to do to get your picture up on the wall and she answered that you have to have acted, directed or produced something on Broadway. Walker did not seem to understand this because he kept asking over and over why his picture was not up on the wall. Someday buddy. Someday. :)

After lunch we walked the short walk over to the Amsterdam Theatre to see Aladdin!
 

The show was incredible! The boys loved it and I don't think Walker has ever sat so still for so long. He was mesmerized! The colors, the music, the costumes and the amazing set designs were so eye catching. We had the best time!
 

We finished up the night at "Up Thai," a place near our apartment and the food was so so good. Jackson has been such an adventurous eater as of late and it's been fun to watch him try new things. Walker, well, he still sticks mostly to carbs but he did have some soup at the restaraunt that he ended up loving. 

Thursday, July 28, 2016

Day 4

Today while Renzi had meetings, I took the boys "park hopping." I googled a list of NYC's top parks, had the boys put on their swim suits and off we went. I'm sad I didn't take any pictures but the boys had a blast. Most of the parks have equipment for all ages and most even have water features, which is super helpful because it is so flipping hot!

After we hit up a few parks we met up with Renzi at Luke's Lobster Shack. I had a soft shell crab roll and lobster bisque.
Unreal.
 

We walked around for a bit after lunch and the boys got haircuts at a barber shop and I went to an awesome deli for some snacks for the apartment and dinner for the boys for that night. We had a babysitter (a former Saxum intern who lives here now!) watch the boys and Renzi and I went to see Hamilton on Broadway.
 

 
Our seats were incredible and I have to say this show totally lived up to the hype. It was breathtakingly amazing. I loved each song, every word, everything. What an honor it was to be in the same room as these talented people. The best show I have ever seen.
After the show, Renzi and I went to the famous Carlyle Hotel to listen to some music, have a drink and have a bite to eat. This place was so old New York and such a cool place to experience. It was very dark, small tables, and the waiters all wore white gloves. The musicians that night were a jazz band and they were awesome. So much fun.

Afterwards we headed home to our sweet boys.
 

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Day 3

This morning we woke up and had breakfast at our apartment. The boys worked on their workbooks (Jackson, Math, Spelling and writing in his journal-Walker, tracing, same and different and coloring a picture of our adventures from the day before), and then we headed out to the Natiral History Museum.
 
 
 
We had a great morning seeing all of the dinosaurs, the planetarium, and learning about all of the different mammals.

After lunch we headed back to the apartment to rest up for our night in Queens at Citifield, home of the NY Mets!
 
Sadly, the game was cancelled due to the weather me crazy storms but we did get to tour the stadium and get some Mets gear. As you can see above Jackson was devastated the game was cancelled but they will honor our tickets at another game so we will head back in the next few weeks.
To cheer everyone up we rode the subway all the way to Times Square. Walker's face as we came up the escalator from the subway into Times Square will be something I remember forever. Complete and total awe!
 

Days 1 and 2

We arrived in NYC on Saturday and headed straight to our apartment. And boy oh boy did we hit the jackpot. High ceilings, lots of room, beautiful Windows and even a celebrity who loves right next door!!!We toasted with a beer (in wine glasses!) and ginger ale for the boys.
After unpacking we headed out to explore. Central Park is literally across the street from us so we brought a frisbee and played for a bit.
We ate at and amazing Italian place called Serafina right near our apartment and ended the day with some gelato!
Here is a view of the outside of our walk up apartment.

Day Two started out with coffee and pastries in the apartment while we got or game plan for the day together.
 
We had tickets to the Yankees vs Giants game so we hopped on the subway and headed to the Bronx to Yankee a Stadium.
Pictures from our seats before the game. Love this man!
The Yankees won 5-2 and Walker enjoyed the game.
 
After the game we went to dinner at Rosa Mexicana on the Upper West Side and it did not disappoint! Guacamole made right at your table...amazingness! We walked home afterwards (a long walk and the kids did awesome) and all slept like a rock that night. 

Friday, July 22, 2016

Off we go!

We are about to embark on a family adventure! We have rented an apartment in NYC for three weeks. First stop on our way to New York was to Markans to pick up Jackson. He has been staying with my father in law and mother in law in Maryland for the past week. I love love love that he gets to spend this one on one time with his grandparents. He flew all by himself last Saturday to Baltimore and has been fishing, swimming, going to Washington Nationals games, visiting with family, etc. 

Here he is saying goodbye by touching Renzi's face (I'm a face toucher apparently) before he gave his dad the peace sign and headed down the jet bridge onto the plane without so much as a look back. 


 

While we were in D.C.  we got to briefly see my nephews Miller and TJ and my brother in law Dave. My sis in law Ginny was working in Cleveland at the RNC last week and we missed seeing her!
 
 

While in Maryland we took a boat ride to St. Michael's, had lunch at the Jetty,  swam, ate, hung out with Ciney's daughter Chelsea, her husband Brett and their daughter Alaina and just had fun!
 
  

We had such a great time.
Tomorrow we start our adventure in NYC! We will take the train in and check into our apartment in the afternoon. Can't wait!