Happy Birthday Old Man!!!!

I'm so glad I get to grow old with you!!!

Mom, this is how sharks smile!

Our last Day in NYC

On our last day we truly did get up "early" so we could go exchange Jarrie's purse in the shady shop on Canal Street:) We had talked about getting up early and going to the Today show, but didn't want to get up THAT early. So we got up a little after 7 (we had giggled well into the night so we didn't get up too early) and turned on the Today Show while we got ready. And who is on the screen, outside right where we would have been had we not been lazy, shaking hands with people who should have been us?! BEN AFFLECK!!! I was just not meant to meet any celebrities this trip - it'll have to happen on my next trip to NYC:) So we headed down to Canal Street, nervous that the guy would at least not exchange the bag and at worst shoot us (maybe we watch too many crime shows!) So our plan was to use our friend Jen's tactics, walk in there and act like he has no choice but exchange the bag. So Nikki and Jarrie walked in and did just that, so Jarrie has the purse of her dreams:) I should have taken a picture of the bag - it is super cute!!!
I don't even remember if we had breakfast! But I do remember next we headed over to St. Patricks Cathedral because Nikki has a tradition that she goes and lights a candle there every time she's in New York (even tho she's not Catholic:)) So we all lit candles and took pictures, it's such a beautiful building!

Then it just so happened that there was ANOTHER H&M store we needed to check out (they are like Walgreens here in Colorado - several on each block). This one was much more organized so we found much more to buy:) Then Jarrie had been wanting a good gyros so we stopped and got a few from the street vendor.
Here we are "enjoying" our gyros - they weren't the best we've ever had - the secret's in the sauce and this guy didn't know the secret!!! But it was decent.In Times Square they were doing some sort of "save the earth" thing with lots and lots of plastic bags. This is the 'bag monster'.This is our last picture of Times Square :(A picture of each of us in the cab going to the airport. All of the pictures are blurry b/c as I said before, it's an amusement park ride in a NYC cab!All smiles at the airport - at least it's not 5 am this time:)Our last picture of NYC. Notice the rain, this will be important to understand the next picture...What we look like after 2+ hours sitting on the airplane because they couldn't take off in the rain. (I swear I have taken off in worse weather at DIA)


Now just a few words about the fashion in NYC. It is really interesting. Most guys don't wear the jeans & T-shirt common in Colorado, they seem to be a little more "Metro", wearing button down shirts and nice jeans or pants. We saw very few guys in T-shirts. These 2 pictures were just too good to not take a picture:) But the fashion for the girls was really just anything goes. There were very few "put together" outfits. A lot of nice shirts with sweats or odd combinations like that. So all my worrying about not being "high fashion" enough was not necessary - something good to remember for next time:)!

I'm a little sad that the remembering is over, it was the BEST trip. I think we got to do so much in the few days we were there, and there is SO MUCH more to do and see!!! I kept saying that I could definately live there, but at the same time I love my life in Colorado and wouldn't really change it for anything! Time goes so fast, I can't believe it's been a month since we got back. It will probably be several years until I realistically get to do something like this again, but I had such a good time with the girls - hopefully this wasn't our last trip together to NYC!!!

NYC Day 4

A day by day recap might be getting a little old for all 10 of you who read this blog, but I don't want to forget anything and this is the closest thing I have to a journal- so on to day 4! Sunday we slept in -again- and then hopped on the tour bus for a ride around central park and the Bronx. We didn't take as many pictures on day 4, but we still have stories to tell!

It is so much quieter and less crowded by central park than by times square. They even have signs saying "no honking" Next time we'll stay closer to the park:) Nicole - who spent Saturday with us- brought her kids to central park one Saturday and they "park hopped" to all the playgrounds within central park. So fun! Since it was Sunday we got a little religion in by riding past the church/Manhattan temple:)

this tower has been unfinished for over 100 years - and Ryan thinks it takes me forever to finish projects!!!

Schools don't look the same in NYC as they do in Colorado

I think this is Grant's tomb? Well, whoever it is he was Jarrie's 5 greats grandpa, so we had to get a geneology picture for her!

All weekend long we were trying to get a picture of a bum for Jarrie's son Kaden- so he could see what a real one looks like so he'll like to go to school.

So we got off the tour at Carnegie Deli and had a late breakfast (pretty yummy!) And caught another bus. This tour guide told us that Canal Street was the best place to get "faux" purses, so we headed there. He told us to look for the guys with the white hats - we could trust them when they told us to follow us down a dark alley. So we got off there along with a couple from California to search for the men in the white hats. We couldn't find them, but we did meet up with the couple from California again, who were following a man to get some "coach" wallets, so we followed too:) We ended up in a back room of a little shop looking through purses, with a guy telling us to hurry up, trying to pick out a purse. It was crazy and fun! We all got a cool "faux coach" purse - the closest I'll probably get to owning a real one:) Once we got back to the hotel and got to really look at the purses, Jarrie realized that a grommet piece was missing from hers. It bugged her all night. We went to Century 21 and got some great deals on some cute clothes (we need one here!!!), then because of the rain we didn't go and see the Statue of Liberty like we planned, but got on the subway (which we are professionals at maneuvering now!) and headed back to the hotel.This is on our way to Juniors to eat and then see Billie Elliott. We picked up umbrellas for $2.50. It looked like it was raining hard, but it was really just kind of misting. In NYC when it rains it doesn't smell clean and fresh, it smells like garbage - literally- the bags are all piled up on the sidewalks.At Juniors they gave us pickles, pickled beets and coleslaw for appetizers, like they give out chips and salsa at mexican restaurants. We stood in line in Times Square for 1/2 price broadway show tickets and ended up getting tickets for Billie Elliot. So from dinner we headed to the theater a lot less dressed up than for Wicked, and saw the play (which is coming to Denver!!!) It's a show that Elton John wrote the music for it's set in England. It's hard to say which show I liked better - I think any broadway show is my favorite! I would recommend it to most people - it does have a little language but with their accents it doesn't seem like swearing:) So when we got back to the hotel Jarrie's defective purse was still on her mind, so we made the plan to get up early in the morning and head back to Canal St. and find the little store and exchange her purse!