Creating the last day of Spring Break - Sunday

Sunday, the last day of Spring Break and the day of the concert arrived!!!

Needless to say people were excited!  

We woke up that morning with a plan.  We had to pack up everything and clean Bridget's apt. before we headed into the city.  We knew we would be getting back late and had to immediately jump in the car to head out of town.  It was sad to be packing up but okay since we still had another fun day in front of us!

Once our chores were done we headed back into the city.  Our first stop The Natural History Museum!!!

In the Subway tunnel outside of the Natural History Museum :)

We only had a couple of hours and I could have spent several days in this museum!  Some of my favorite exhibits included the Native American exhibit hall and the Mineral exhibit!
Here I am with a giant piece of Amethyst that looks like an owl!  One of the things I loved about this place it that you could touch things!!!  

Amazing sculptures of goddesses made out of precious stones.  I love rocks!!!











There were so many AMAZING pieces on display!!!  The history was so cool - I loved some of the first art pieces - ancient carvings!!!

After the museum we rode the subway to the "top" of Central Park and popped out at Columbus Square

 

 

We walked across the park on this beautiful day headed towards FAO Swartz.  We had to take a break and get a bite to eat at a sandwich shop since people were fading fast!

 

We played around at FAO toy store for a bit and then it was time.....

Joe and Bridget took a train back to Brooklyn so Joe could get a nap (after only having 4 hrs of sleep due to the Disco party the night before) and Bridget could relax (we wore her out!) The girls and I took a train to Times Square...

The Marque of the sold out concert they were attending!

 The line for the concert was over 2 NYC blocks's long!  We waited in line over an hour before they made it in!  The line wound its way through Broadway theaters which will definitely be in the plan (and budget) next time we visit!

Emma, Sammie and I people watched in Times Square while we waited. We also got a snack at a famous burger joint and met a fellow Texan who was our waiter, a musician and playwright!

After the show - they were beyond happy!!!

 The above picture is worth a thousand words of why we made the trip to NYC!  It was definitely a trip of a lifetime and one I think that will go down in the Awesome memory book!

We made it back to Brooklyn by 11pm.  Everyone switched into their jammies and grabbed their electronics and loaded into the car.

Driving out of NYC through the Holland Tunnel picture by Emma B.

 

Creating Spring Break's Special Saturday

Dear friends,

Last Saturday we woke up to a beautiful day in Brooklyn, NY.  Bridget, Joe and I woke up early and headed out walking parkside for about a mile to reach the top of Prospect Park and the farmer's market!  Squeeeeee.  I love farmer's markets, the samples, the colors, the variety - so much fun!

After the farmer's market we walked a couple of blocks up to Bridget's food co-op where we bought the girls some fresh NY bagels and chocolate croissants for breakfast, picked up some Kombucha for us and hiked back to the apt.

Once we ate and got organized we headed out for Coney Island.  This was the only morning that different factions wanted to go different ways.  The teenagers wanted to go straight to times square to try and find the boy band they had come to town to see (can you say needle in a haystack) since they were stalking them on Instagram and the rest of us wanted to go check out Coney Island.

A Panorama from the boardwalk looking at the 

Coney Island from the Subway 

After Coney Island  on the long train ride back into the city I snapped this shot - It made me smile the girls had acclimated well enough in 3 days that they were acting like the locals and sleeping on the trains!

Eating lunch in Bryant Park in Times Square

 We made it back to the city and had lunch (thanks Liz!) from an eatery in Grand Central Station that was on Emma's must do list :)  She was excited about their panini's!  We picked up lunch and walked a couple of blocks to the park to eat outside on this stunning day!

After lunch we headed to the free Staten Island Ferry so we could ride across and see Lady Liberty!
 

A view of the city as we rode the ferry back

One of my favorite pics of Sammie and I

Picture by Sammie G.

This picture is for my friend, Maria P.

After the beautiful ferry ride we decided to head back to Brooklyn and make it an early night.  The girls thought BAP might be staying there from some pictures they saw :)  They also had a chance to swing in Prospect Park on the walk back to Bridget's apt.

A picture of sunset from the subway

The moon shining through trees in Prospect Park, Brooklyn

Joe and  Katie at the start of the Silent Disco :)

My sister, Katie, invited us out to a silent disco party in the NY Subway system.  You wear headphones and dj's are playing music and the group goes walking/dancing through the city.  I knew that I wouldn't be able to function the next day if I went so I opted out and hung out at the apt. with the girls who played cards.  It was great.  I also got a chance to meet a friend of Bridget's I'd heard about for years and chill a bit.  Joe went out dancing until 4am and had a blast!

It was another successful day in an incredible city.

Wrapping you around with infinite love and smiles,

Christine

Creating Spring Break - Last Friday Funday :)

Dear Friends,

Last Friday was a fun day in NYC.  We rode the subway into the city and got off at the Natural Science Museum stop across from Central Park.  Just being in the subway was stunning due to all the mosaics!

I loved this owl mosaic!

And the Dragonfly

Joe and I in Central Park - picture by Eva Burns

 We didn't make it into the museum on Friday  but we did take pictures of some of the murals in the subway tunnel!

We were on a mission.

Two days before we left on our trip I found out my sister, Katie, was also going to be in NYC at the same time as we were.



We didn't tell the kids but we pre-arranged to meet in Central park.  So that morning we went into the middle of Central park heading towards Belvedere Castle.



We stopped at a beautiful bridge over the lake and took some pictures before we continued on our path.

As we were approaching the castle (Sammie was in the lead) Aunt Katie and her friend Karyn ran by.

The whole gang was thrilled to meet up with Aunt Katie

Sammie's mouth literally dropped open and her head followed the jogger's progress as they ran by - priceless!
It was actually Emma and 
Eva who shouted - "Hey!  Isn't that Aunt Katie!!" At this point she turned and grinned her huge terrific grin and stopped for hugs!

Over the doorway at Belvedere Castle in Central Park

We toured Belvedere Castle together and went on a miles long walk/hunt for public restrooms.  We stopped to swing in Central Park - so fun and a terrific idea of Eva's.  We then went to lunch at a favorite spot of the locals - Big Nicks with authentic NY Pizza and burgers.  Afterwards we went to Trader Joe's to pick up ice cream and kid champagne for a rooftop picnic.  On the way to Katie's friend's apt. we passed Jason Jones and Samantha Bee (The Daily Show) walking down the street - so cool!!!


 

A NYC rooftop picnic with a great view and ice cream and kid champagne - Aunt Katie is so cool!

Strawberry fields in Central Park

The whole gang took a break for a long swing in Central Park!

After our picnic we walked back across Central Park towards the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  We stopped by Strawberry Fields along the way.  The energy was definitely tough in that spot and it made me long for a giant smudge stick to clear it.  It was a beautiful memorial but did not feel peaceful to me.

One of my favorite pics of Bridget

One of the many fascinating exhibits at the MET

Taking a stroll through Central Park

A print of the painting on the left hangs in my master bath - This gallery was roped off so the picture is not as close as I would like it to be.

I realized this trip - everywhere I go I look for flowers and art.  How lovely it is to see both in Monet's paintings!

Monet's Lillies

My "Hot" husband at a street vendor :)

 After the MET Joe was tempted by the food carts and then we headed "home" on the subway.  As we exited the subway it was right on time for the last show at the movie theater 3 doors down from Bridget's brownstone.  So the teenagers were delighted to go see Divergent and Joe and Sammie went to see Captain America while Bridget and I went home and soaked our feet, had a cup of tea and relished a moment of quiet.

It was a fun filled and terrific Friday - One that will definitely go down in the memory books!  We walked over 6 miles this day too - so not only was it fun it was athletic too :)

Wrapping you around with infinite love and great thoughts,

Christine


P.S.  Here is the picture I was trying to find for yesterday's blog:

The gorgeous pic Sammie (11) took from the skylift on Thursday at dusk

Creating Spring Break - Last Thursday- NYC

Dear friends,

So last Thursday we woke up in Allentown, PA and after a quick hotel breakfast we were on the road.  We made it through New Jersey laughing at our misconceptions that it wouldn't have trees and went straight to Hoboken to check out Carlos Bakery - home of the Cake Boss.  It is a T.V. show my girls have watched for a couple of years and love about cake decorating. Carlo's Bake Shop was on Sammie's list of must see.  I got my first experience at parallel parking in years - that was funny!

The gang in front of the bakery

 The girls bought and ate Cannolies and Tiramasu as their treat and it was a great start to a full and busy day!

 

 

 

 

After Carlos Bakery I drove to Brooklyn.  Through the Holland Tunnel and then on Canal Street through China town to get to our friend in Brooklyn!  It's not driving in NYC that's crazy it's finding parking!  After we unloaded, drove in circle for 40+ min and then finally parked a mile away, the girls were ready to hit the subways!

 

We arrived at our friend Bridget's apt in Brooklyn it is located right across from Prospect Park!

There was so much art to be found in the Subway stations like these pics of Marilyn Monroe that several of our crew wanted to imitate :)

The NY Public Library

One of our first stops after lunch in China Town and a quick walk around Little Italy - the NY Public Library!So cool!  It has beautiful artwork, paintings and a neat exhibit about children's literature that was fun!

Emma is the only one who has taken driver's ed so far but it doesn't look good for Alex!

I love this picture of the girls engaged in the exhibit and the reflections on the glass :)

This is an exhibit of "banned" books - I told the girls to take a pic so we could have our reading list!

 We went to Grand Central Station to check it out!

Grand Central Station - Yes people really do run for trains!

 And to Times Square - the girls wanted to make sure they knew where the concert venue was.

Times Square

The Statue of Liberty made out of Legos

Toys R Us in Times Square is so big it has a ferris wheel inside it!

 We all had a blast in the Toys R Us checking out so many cool displays!  We saw the Statue of Liberty, the empire state building, a T-Rex and More!

 Towards the end of the day we went to Roosevelt Island to ride the tram across the river at sunset.

The skylift we rode :)

A fun day of riding the subway!

Sammie took a stunning picture of the bridge and river but I'm having trouble finding it and will have to post it later.  It's way past my bed time and I'm off to get some sleep.

Wrapping you around with infinite love and beautiful dreams,

Christine