The adventure continues. NYC edition.

The boys are so excited for their new shirts!

Watching dad cross the street without us.

He was making sure our car was parked on that block.  

Not abandoning us, as Jack thought.  

Tired.  Tired.  Boys.

Trying to take a picture with the boys at Ellis Island.  We gave up, and it was a solo shot.

We went up to New York this weekend.  As almost all things go, we had planned a few things that didn't happened, but also ended up with some unplanned adventures.  We didn't get to Katz Deli and we didn't have any New York or New Jersey pizza- we did eat in a New Jersey diner and had some street Halal food.  We replaced the boys "I 'heart' NY" shirts, and I picked up a few fun things.  Ben got a parking ticket; even after trying to explain to the parking police that he was more than three feet from the fire hydrant.  We are sad we didn't get to see any of our Jersey friends.  

Overall it was a good time.  We were all really happy to see New York before we leave in a few weeks for Sri Lanka.

My favorite quotes:

Jack when asked if I was cool:  "No mom, you are not cool, you are pretty."

Jack when asked what he wanted for breakfast:  "I want a donut.  With chocolate frosting.  And sprinkles.  No pink ones.  One hundred sprinkles.  Green Sprinkles."

I am sure I said my share of funny things, but I certainly do not want to embarrass myself.

One Last Time.

We decided to go into NYC one last time before we left.  We walked around Times Square, picked up some cupcakes, ate street food, and took a ride in a taxi. 

Visits

Last week, Ben's dad and his wife, Lani came to visit us. It was wonderful. They were able to meet Thomas, Ben and I were able to go on a date, and Jack added to his car collection. (They also bought Jack the backpack, which now carries his cars in it.)

We love when visitors come- it gives us a great reason to go into New York. We went to Central Park, had pastrami sandwiches at Katz's Deli, and went down to Canal Street (I bought some amazing designer sunglasses for $12! )

Ice cream was the perfect end to a hot, humid, New York day!

Oh what fun.

My mom is here, and it is such a great help. Last week Ben and I had a night on the town. It was AWESOME!!! I forgot how easy it is to get around when you don't have a nearly two year old to take.

We went to the LDS Temple in Manhattan, which we haven't been able to do since we moved here. I was so excited because I was having contractions during the entire time we were there. They were just a tease, because the stopped as soon as we left. Oh well, at least we were able to enjoy the rest of the evening together.

Then we went out to a GREAT dinner at a Brazilian steakhouse. YUMMY. We finished up the night just walking around NYC and taking in all of its glory.

We stayed at a Marriott Hotel using Ben's reward points, so it was FREE. In the morning we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and went for cupcakes at a yummy place called Crumbs. What an exciting date. We loved it. We are both so grateful that my mom is here.

After watching Anthony Bourdain No Reservations, in New York City over a month ago, I really wanted to go to Katz Deli and get a pastrami sandwich. We finally went, and it was so good.

I wish we lived closer to the city so it would be easier to get there, but it is still great to be able to go.

Katz Deli is where Harry Met Sally was filmed when the lady said-I'll have what she's having.





The food. Really delicious, really filling, and really expensive. Definitely worth it. We had a great time.

A few good things.

What a great day it has been. It all started this morning when Jack woke up at 5:50 pretty upset to be awake, but not enough to go back to sleep. We finally calmed him down, and my wonderful husband said that I could go back to bed. That was nice. I slept in until 8:15! That was amazing.

Then, I was doing some research for the double stroller I want. This has been a process since I found out I was pregnant. I don't like very many of the double strollers out there, and the ones that I like are WAY EXPENSIVE. A few weeks ago, I picked out the Phil and Ted's Vibe stroller, we even went to a store near our house to test it out. Since it was so expensive, Ben and I have been putting money away every week to be able to afford it. Today, I thought I would take a chance and look at Craigslist to see if there were any for sale. I found one on Craigslist in NYC, I contacted the person, and worked out the price. These people must have had some serious money-they lived in Midtown Manhattan, in a very nice looking apartment with a doorman. When I picked up the stroller, I asked what stroller they ended up with and the man said that they had five or six, they just didn't want this one anymore! SCORE for the Whitaker's!!!! It is practically brand new with several accessories for less than the price of just the stroller! I love it! Oh, and if your wondering about the kid in the back not being able to see, Jack loves it. I think it's kind of like a fort back there.




After we picked up the stroller, we were driving around and Ben asked me if I wanted a cupcake from my favorite little cupcake place- Magnolia Bakery. So we stopped and I got some cupcakes!!! YUMMY!! We ended our drive by going by the Temple in Manhattan.



What a great day!

NYC!

We made it to NYC! Ben had to work there this week, and so Jack and I decided to take the train in and play. We had such a good time! The weather was perfect, and Jack was so good! Ben was working nights, so we saw him for a little while in the morning, and then we would have dinner together. What an awesome time! We were able to see so much, but we can't wait to go back!





We had lunch at the Carnegie Deli, and for the price of $33, Ben and I shared a sandwich! Too bad, Jack won't be able to go to College!




The view from "Top of the Rock". Amazing!






We made it to the Today Show, this is Al! My face was blocked, but little Jack had his debut!




Jack spent A LOT of time in his stroller, and most of the time, that was fine with him. He LOVED watching everyone and everything around him!





The Carousel in Central Park, he didn't want to sit on a horse, but it was still a lot of fun!




We went to M&M world, and Jack took out his binki as soon as we walked in, and tried to eat everything with a hard candied shell. He loved it!





Our little family takes on Time Square! It was so crowded and just so much fun!

We loved our NYC adventure!