New York Day 1 ( a novel by Kristen)

Going through all the pictures tonight was just like living through it again..I cant say enough how wonderful it was, NYC at Christmas time is truly the best! I decided on this trip that I was not going to be a photographer, rather just a mom with a camera and Im so glad I decided ahead of time! I really enjoyed not worrying about that "perfect" shot or pose and just rolled with it. In fact, the point and shoot battery died the first day there, so we used our camera phones and a disposable for most of the trip..it was grrrrrreat :)

getting ready to board!


On Monday, I told Buddy "heh, lets go to New York this weekend" and on Thursday night we were on our flight :) Lets back up a day though. The week was spent scouting all the best hotel deals and bidding to no end on Priceline with no luck. Not knowing the areas of town, it was scary to think we would wind up paying $300.00 a night for a flea bag motel in the middle of the ghetto. On Wednesday afternoon, Buddy sent me a link to wonderful hotel that was price and location we wanted, but it was sold out..ug. So I searched for others on their search engine and came up with one perfectly suited for our needs! After reading several reviews, mostly good, but some ghastly..I decided to book it.Afterall, it was only a place to sleep. As we were getting ready to leave for the airport, Moses projectiled everywhere! Im not kidding, he had some serious barf happening. He didnt have a fever...and didnt seem sick otherwise. I got scared for a brief moment thinking our trip would have to wait. Buddy gave him a blessing, and he was better and we felt good about going. Unfortunalty, he stayed a little sick that whole night and into Friday, he took a million naps in the stroller and was ready to party on Saturday. Our flight left SLC at 1145pm and we arrived at JFK at 530am! We took a taxi right to the hotel, which was like taking our life into our own hands..Sam was giving Buddy a contact high..if you know what I mean.



Anyway, we were very pleasantly surprised at the hotel! The neighborhood was...AWESOME! and the staff couldnt have been more friendly. They let us check in right away, 12th floor..yikes! and pointed us to a great Cafe, Key West, around the corner for breakfast, which we were at by 730am! We ended up on the Upper west Side, just a block from the Subway and 3 blocks from Central park. In the blocks surrounding the hotel are beautiful brownstones and shops and restaurants...perfect. Most importantly, we felt so safe and very centrally located, how conveniant.

Moses gives us his thumbs up approval the morning we arrive to check in. I have a better picture of the hotel for day 2...but no cute moses in front:)



craaaaazy NYC tourists!


this picture is funny because its so nyc attitude, but its really only attitude because they didndt want me to take another pic...


We took the subway 2 stops and were in times square. (like 6 minutes) We thought the subways were terribly easy to manouver, especially with our handy subway map. When we go again though, we learned out lesson every time we had to buy another metrocard. We would have just purchased the all day fun pass and been better off. The *only* bonus I can think of having a stroller in NYC is that you can go through the emergency door. A terrible alarm goes off, but nobody seems to care and it meant 1 metro pass was enough for the whole fam. Thanks friendly new yorker for the tip! anyway, Bella really liked the subway and started swining like a monkey (on the empty cars anyway from pole to pole. If you've been to NYC, you can likely relate to the feeling of complete awe stepping into times square. Holy cow!! I could have stood on the corner and stared all day, theres just so much to see and do! I was giddy with excitement! First stop, Toys R US. They have a 4 story Ferris wheel with all sorts of fun cars...of course, the kids didnt want to ride it, but they liked watching it.













We then walked to Fifth Avenue and gawked at the holiday window displays, Bergdorf Goodman had the best, but they were all fantastic! I was a little excited about Trump tower..I wanted to pretend to be Omarosa for a minute. But I think I fell a little short...wouldnt you say? I was just all too happy to be there :) I also told Buddy he could stop by Tiffany's, I wouldnt mind ...at all!



Since all of the shops didnt open until 10, we grabbed an insanely expensive hot chocolate (or two) and croissant and waited until 10:00. At first, I felt very much out of place, our server was in a tuxedo and everyone around us was speaking italian.shoot...we may as well have been in Italy! It was a posh place for sure...and here were are with our stroller and camelback. They were so nice though..and so was their tip.

First up, FAO Schwarz! This place...saweeeet! We went right up to the big Piano, made famous my Tom Hanks of course, that thing is so fun. We watched a little show they put on for us with christmas songs played by 2 of the employees. The store is all about F.U.N, they all but beg you to be 6 again..or 3 with them :) Bella picked out a Paw-Parazzi and Moses wanted a yellow lego Car he affectionatly calls bumblebee. His favorite part was the Huge Lego Batman and Chewy.

Bells with her Hot Cocoa.















Huuuuuge lego soldier and rows and rows of candy


They had this hige racetrack with 2 cars, the kids each had a controller and had a blast racing..it was the first time Moses really lit up that day he wasnt feeling well.


By this time, Moses was really ready for a good Nap, so we headed to lunch at a delish thai/Japense Place. The sushi was to die for! After a little snoozer for us all, it was late afternoon and we headed to have our own little Miracle on 34th Street and meet Santa Clause! Okay, this was the coolest set up! The had a little train car that you take to this whole city within the store! Its like being in a realy life game of Candyland. The murals on the wall, a million Christmas trees, all different themes, elves smiling and greeting at every corner, trains, dolls, bears, nutcrackers ,all animated and singing...and then...SANTA! He told the kids that they had been on the nice list all year (dang it, he foiled our plans for good behavior this month!) Bells told him she would like a Fur Real Puppy, and Moses would like Handy Manny talking tools and the Batcave. Santa told them he would "think about it" Apparently, he cant say okay, or yes anymore. Its sad that some of those kids might not be getting anything at all but to sit on Santas lap and wish. (as if thats not enough to a little child anyway) It made me feel thankful for our blessings, and want to do more to give this year.



waiting to see Santa..can you tell he is excited? look at those eyes, a little nervous and a little anxious..





what a glorious photo huh! Santa and Buddy were apparently unprepared for the camera flash...believe you me... we were a happy bunch :)



We then walked to Rockefeller Center and saw the beautifully famous and glorious, magnificant Christmas tree! What a sight! Every few minutes, several lights would start twinkling giving it a very magical and charming glow. We loved loved loved it. It was a really pretty green this year. Isabella and Moses could not get over the amount of lights and also loved when it sparkled. There were a million people there, of course, but its like you didnt even notice, its that cool to be there.





We headed then to Bryant Park with the intent to go Ice Skating, but apparently I was the only one that thought it was a fun idea and there was no convincing Buddy or Bella to come with me. Rats! I should have just done it for the photo op..but staying with the fam was the better idea :)





The Hershey store..and the M&M store were calling loudly for a vist from us! They are candy stores from Heaven. We didnt spend alot of time there, because we knew we were comming back Saturday..more on that later.

We had a bite of dinner at a pizza place in the middle of Times square and were not dissapointed! (no, it wasnt Ray's) We were told that its incredibly expensive there, and maybe its because we were expecting it, but I didnt find it too far off from prices here at home. We all had our fill of pizza and soda for under $25.00..thats great for 4 of us I thought. Their pizza was seriously delish! I recommend the spinach and cheese..a little slice of goodness on a plate! This was also the night that I was asked if I "really was" or "seriously related to" a certain superstar actress. I tell you...for a 30 something year old gal such as myself, that was a big enough compliment to last me at least another few years :) So cute..SOOO fun for moi!

We ended our night on a sweet note. We took the train to Greenwich Village to Magnolia Bakery. Yummmmm yummmmy! We took our treats to the park kiddy corner and devoured them in the night. We tried their Red Velvet Cupcake, Choc. Chio Cookies, Key Lime Cupcake, a lemon bar and flourless chocolate cake. We took most of it home. We were back at the hotel at about 1130ish and conked out..what a fun first day and SOO ready for day 2!

so cute! Moses loooooves himself a good cupcake!


I am missing a ton of photos..but I blog on my downtime from work..so its hard to catch them all :) I will post day 2 sometime soon..thanks for reading!