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!

Day Three

So day three (Saturday) was another great day!!! We planned to get up @ 7, but really got up about 9, and walked the mile from our hotel to central park. We passed the David Letterman sign so I had to be tourist and take a picture:) Here we are all fresh at the entrance to central park. We ran 5 miles - Nikki's farthest outside:) There was a race going on so we had plenty of water stops:) After our run we stopped to stretch and had to take a picture of this guy - He apparently had a really fun Friday night - he was out cold!!!Then it was back to the hotel to get ready and meet Nikki's friend Nicole, who moved from Colorado to New Jersey last spring. Here are Nikki and Nicole in Little Italy (did I mention we got the best cannoli's there:)) We went to lunch at a place called 5 Napkin Burger - I had a vegetarian burger made of beets, pine nuts, and any other veggie you can think of - it was soooooo good!!!Then we hopped on the red tourist bus that let's you hop on and off all over the city and saw some sights.

The New Years Eve ball in times Square - It's a lot smaller than I thought it would be! I love this building - the Flatiron Building.

We stopped and got out near Little Italy and shopped around, then had to walk through Chinatown to catch the bus again. THAT was an experience. Dirty, noisy, crowded (even more than a normal NYC sidewalk!!!)

BUT.. Because of our jaunt through Chinatown we came upon this! Jill Zarin (of the New York Housewives fame) Fabric shop!!! I was really hoping to see any of the ladies from the NY or NJ houswives, but this is as close as we got:) It's good enough for me (this time around)!

What show is this from???

We topped our night off by stopping at the Magnolia bakery (again) for cupcakes and then walking Nicole to the train station, but we didn't want to deal with the crowds of times squre so we walked a block over. What a difference a block makes!!! We were a little scared for our safety, and on the way back we just dealt with the crowds. But not before we stopped at a popcorn shop my friend Lynette told me about with the yummiest popcorn! It's on one of Oprah's lists and we got the Chicago blend (Oprah's favorite) which was yummy cheesy popcorn mixed with yummy carmel corn. I don't like Oprah AT ALL but I must say she does have good popcorn taste! It was funny, the kid at the counter told us he could tell we weren't New Yorkers because we were too happy! (give me a few days @ home with crabby kids and I could be mistaken for a New Yorker:))!!! It was another fabulous day in New York!!! (Only 2 days left!!!)

and even more NEW YORK!!!

Right after getting pretty we decided to walk the Brooklyn Bridge. The girl who did our makeup said we had to eat at Ignacios for pizza and we HAD to go to the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory. It was SOOOO worth the walk:) Some views from our walk of the Brooklyn Bridge: Pier 17 - where they shot Real World NY

I love that city!!!

The girl was right - it was THE YUMMIEST pizza!!! I have to say, the food was almost my favorite part of the trip:) (the "coach" purse buying on Canal street I think was my #1 favorite part!)

even more NEW YORK!!!

From Greenwich village we took the subway to ground zero. We were a little nervous, but we were pretty successful - we didn't get on the wrong train or anything!

Jarrie buying her first subway ticket!
Getting on the subway train!
We got off of the subway at ground zero.This was a huge plaque that dipicted the attack on the world trade centers. It's a little haunting, it shows the firefighters and police and the towers smoking.So this is a fire station right across the street from ground zero. The firefighter in the middle was on duty on Sept. 11So after some solemn time we stopped by sephora just down the street. It was "fashion's night out" and this particular one was doing this airbrush makeup thing. It felt so good - very relaxing. Here we are in all our airbrushed makeup prettiness! Doesn't Nikki look great w/ red lips!!!