Oh MARCH!!!
What a wild ride you were.
We started off the month with our three years in the making family trip to New York.
We have been talking about, saving for and planning this vacation for the past 37 months.
We told the kids like 4 years ago that when they turned 16, we would take them individually on a trip to a destination of their choice with just the parents.
Peyton stated right away that she wanted to go to Maui.
Boo! I thought.
How terribly boring.
You fly for 6 hours to do literally NOTHING but lay on the beach
But okay
Then Maui burned down
So we told her sorry, you'll have to pick somewhere else.
Kaleigh infatically and without hesitation said
"I am going to New York NO MATTER WHAT
I don't have to think about it, I just know that I am going there"
Walt said... "New York would be cool, I'll go there too"
And then Peyton said "fine.... I'll choose New York too."
Well now wait....
I love New York, but going 3 years in a row didn't sound fun to me.
SO we decided to combine all three 16 year old trips into KK's year.
We made a list of all of the places we wanted to visit in Manhattan and researched the history of them.
We had enough sky miles to pay for the flights, stay in a lovely hotel and eat several meals for free.
We bought clothes at Christmas with NY outfits solely in mind.
And the kids saved all of their Christmas money.
March finally arrived
I was OF COURSE a wreck.
I had a terrible month in February healthwise.
I was no where near optimal in my thought processes
and I traded health stress for mental health stress.
I didn't sleep well for 9 days leading up to our departure.
I thought of every possible scenario of every bad thing that could possibly happen.
I had already lost a couple of pounds when I couldn't eat anything in February and then....
I couldn't eat anything because everything made my stomach more upset.
I tried to feel excited, but I just couldn't do it.
We packed 5 very heavy suitcases the whole week leading up to the big day.
THEN at the last minute, we had to change our entire wardrobe plan because the weather went from a blizzard and highs in the lower 40s
to highs in the upper 70s in one weeks time.
Our week in New York would be blessed with Springtime temperatures
No puffer coat needed.
KK's darling Pea Coat that she got for Christmas..... OUT.
March 7th
On our way to the airport
None of these kids have ever been on a plane.
So they would all be experiencing that traumatic event all together at the same time.
Yes, I played out all possible storylines in my mind.
Peyton was stressed mostly about getting through TSA lines.
Kaleigh was worried about her luggage being too heavy and not being able to maneuver it.
Ryker was worrying about take off.
They are delightfully obedient and well behaved children.
They followed every instruction perfectly and they hid their emotions from me.
We all got pretzels and diet cokes while we waited for a couple of hours....
Raleigh dropped his pretzel on the airport floor.
But he was so starving, he just wiped it off and ate it.
ONE MORE THING FOR ME TO WORRY ABOUT....
Which disease he now had.
Our plane was delightfully empty.
You would think that would be a very cool thing.
But instead of having a ton of space to stretch out, they had to
distribute the weight evenly throughout the cabin and they were
intensely strict about staying in the seat that you had been assigned to.
Instead of being across the isle from the kids we were in the row in front of them.
Raleigh could see them, but I couldn't unless I stood up, which I didn't do.
So I had to just keep asking him how they were doing.
We took off and did so without any problems of any kind
and had a very lovely but very LONG flight.
None of us slept even though we were all hopped up on Dramamine,
so we felt super extra crappy by the time the plane landed.
It was midnight thrity at JFK when we landed and we walked slowly and painfully toward the baggage claim area which was at least 7 miles from the gate and gathered up our
luggage and headed out to meet our Uber Driver.
It was so cold there and none of us had any real coats, we left those at home.
We could see our breath.
We were so tired.
And Vladamir from Uzbekistan was taking his sweet time getting to us.
He was driving a tricked out Toyota Caravan. And he was as nice and patient as could be as he helped get our very heavy bags in the no trunk of his rig. I took one for the team and sat in the very back row. He had the seats raised up on some sort of platform, so the people who had to sit back there could see over the heads of the people in front of them. That way they could see the road and wouldn't get car sick.
Very thoughtful, but it was jerry-rigged and part of the floor was missing so my legs were just
dangling down wiggling all over..... and unfortunately....
Vlad was THE WORST DRIVER IN THE HISTORY OF ALL DRIVERS.
He was one of those drivers that couldn't just put his foot on the gas pedal and maintain a speed...
he excelerated and decelerated 47 billion times between JFK and Manhattan as our bodies rocked
back and forth 205 billion times in all directions until we all wanted to cry.
It was too late and we were too tired and too plane frazzled to mentally handle THIS unexpected transportation nightmare.
Everyone was elated to get as far from that van as possible
We stayed at the Marriott Marquis right in the middle of Times Square.
It was THEE coolest hotel.
The elevator system was insane.
We were on floor 40 of 50 floors and the elevators were glass and they went up and down
REALLY fast. So fast that you had to yawn twice every time you went up or down to unpop your ears.
And if you were brave enough to look, the floors would zoom past so fast that you couldn't really tell they were floors and you'd get really dizzy, so I always stood right by the doors and looked straight ahead at a fixed focal point. I was always a little whoosie for about 5 minutes every time we got out and had to walk it off. And heaven help you if you had to make stops to pick people up along the way. Putting on the breaks when something is going that fast is not a pleasant experience on the inertia or the vertigo.
They finally checked us in at 2:00 am.
Which was now really 3:00 because on top of being two hours ahead
now, it was also Daylight Savings Night.
Good thing we had NO concrete plans for the next day and we could sleep in
as late as we wanted to.
Day Two
We slept in until 10:30.
The black out curtains in both of our rooms were fabulous.
We were 40 floors in the air, but you could still hear the horns honking and the sirens blaring down below.
I love that sound more than any other sound in New York.
It is baffling to me that the ambulance and fire truck drivers choose Times Square as the preferred route to any Manhattan emergency. You would think that they would know all of the back roads or less traffic-y avenues to take to get them quickly to the destination where surely a person is counting on them to get there as swiftly as possible, but instead they choose everytime to travel down Broadway or 42nd Street where no less than 400,000 people are walking in the street and equally as many spazzy taxis are rolling along at a snails pace. And they honk and and wait until everyone tries their best to move over to nowhere. There is literally nowhere for them to go. They tryin. But for crying out loud... you are on the busiest street in the whole country.
Also, without fail, every single time that we would get up to our room after our adventures and we were relaxing on our beds, all hell would break loose down in the square. Sirens would start up and go on for so long. You would think that the end of the world was happening down there for how intense the sirens were. And they would blare wildly for what seemed like hours. It was crazy.
We took our time getting ready and by the time we were... it was well into lunchtime.
We found Shake Shack and we were so lucky to also find seats all together
We took our time eating and making a plan for the day.
We decided to walk down to Macy's
We were at Macy's for over two hours.
It was divine.
We found some amazing deals
From there, we walked over to my very favorite place
Grand Central Station.
I love this place with my whole heart.
I don't know why I am endeared to train stations, but I am, no
matter where I am.
When we were in London, we visited as many train stations as we could find and
every one of them made me swell with happiness.
They just cause emotions in me
Not long after we left GCS, Peyton had a little bit of a breakdown.
I think she was completely overwhelmed.
There were a lot of people.
There were a lot of noises and it felt chaotic and she just needed to go be calm and quiet.
So we went back to the rooms and ordered Chipolte and we ate it on the floor.
It was really fun and I loved it.
It was good for everyone to unwind and feel safe
I was proud of her because after we sat for an hour in the room, she said that she wanted to try and go out again.
So we walked out to Time's Square and went to the M&M store and the Hershey's store.
It was really fun and we found some really good desserts
Day 3
This day was gorgeous.
There wasn't a cloud in the sky and everything seemed a little cleaner and brighter and more happy.
We received a suggestion from a friend that we HAD to go to Ellen's Diner while were were in town.
We hadn't ever heard of it.
But apparently the waitors and waitresses are "off broadway" actors and they side gig at the diner.
While they are serving you, they perform songs from Broadway Musicals.
It was the most fun surprise.
We really loved it
And they are all really really good and the whole place is filled up with
fun cute songs and people singing along.
It's a super great place to go if you are in New York
so we just walked along without any sort of plans.
We were just enjoying the day
We walked past Radio City Music Hall.
When KK was little, she loved to watch "The Kicking Girls" (The Rockettes)
on TV and we told her this is where they perform, so she put Radio City Music Hall on
her list of places to see
Then we popped over to Rockerfeller Center to watch the ice skaters and
show them where the Today Show is filmed
So this lady, just out of nowhere, super aggressively jumped into our picture.
Like she couldn't have just waited 30 more seconds to take her selfie.
She was so clueless and pushy, knocking herself into Peyton and securing herself a spot.
Good Job, Sheila....you did it. And now you are not only in OUR picture,
but from this very second until the end of time, we WILL make fun of you EVERY time we see this.
I swear some people have no common sense or awareness of their immediate
surroundings and how their oblivious actions affect other people.
We tried, but we COULD NOT HOLD IT IN ANY LONGER....
Look at her serious face.
"I look so good, I am sending this one to all of my friends"
Poor little Kaleigh. She is only 5'0 tall.
So she ALWAYS gets put up front. And she isn't happy about it because
she feels like she is all close to the camera and her face is distorted.
It's not, but that is how she felt
So we put her a little bit in the back in this ONE picture.
And then.... back up front, she went.
Sorry small child.
You were 4 lbs when you were born and you have never
not been the smallest.
We just kept walking right into Central Park.
Look at this SO cool building.
This is the Louis Vuitton Building.
I guess this is what we will do today.
It could not have been a better day for it.
The weather was perfect. In fact, we were dressed too warmly.
There were so many people there enjoying the upper 70s.
People brought their blankets and were laying out in their bathing suits
and roller blading in their sports bras
This little impromptu Jazz Band set up right here in the park entrance
on a dirty snow bank from last Sunday's blizzard
Walter obediently stood by Walter Scott's statue
Parts of the lake were still frozen and the ducks had to walk on the ice
The Boathouse
Tavern on the Green
We ate dinner in our room again and got our second wind
Day 4
Day 4
This was another gorgeous day. The weather report was telling us that this would
be the warmest day of the week, so we thought choosing this day to go on a boat over to The Statue of Liberty would be the best idea. And we were correct.
We rode the Subway. The kids' first time.
I gave each of the kids a pair of gloves and STRICT instructions to put them on
and NEVER touch any surface of the subway.
They didn't listen.
No gloves were worn. Luckily, we all were able to find a comfortable seat right away and we
rode on down to the bottom part of the island making 11 stops along the way.
The second we got off of the Subway and came up to the street, we were bombarded both physically and mentally by what looked like Battery Park personel telling us to go THIS way if we wanted to go on the ferry over to the islands.
Even though Raleigh's instincts were telling him to go the other way.
But what do we know, we're not from here.
So we went where they told us to go.
Little did we know that we were being hustled.
And I am sure that the second this little Utah family surfaced, they knew they had us.
This man was standing at the entrance of the park.
And he says to Raleigh, I need to see your tickets to the ferry.
Raleigh said.... "I haven't purchased them yet"
Which was the very most wrong thing a person could say to a Statue of Liberty CON MAN.
"Well", he says, "you can't go in here without a ticket".
And as he is saying this 4 people walked right by him without having to show him their tickets.
Raleigh picked up on this immediately and knew instantly that something wasn't right.
And all ot the sudden, he started talking back to him in a very argumentative tone.
I was SO confused.
Why are you arguing with him Rals?
Just... let's just go over here and buy our tickets and then we can show the nice, very large man our tickets and he will let us in and not hurt us....PLEASE???
But here is the thing. The man didn't want us to purchase tickets on the Statue City Cruises boats. The REAL ferry with ligimate and honest personel. He was trying to trick us into thinking that purchasing tickets through him and his "company" is a waaaaaay better deal and morever, we would NOT be able to gain access to any boat unless we bought HIS crap tickets on his FAKE boat, because he stood between us and access to the park and we weren't getting through.
And he starting using shaming tactics and words on us...
Like.... "why you gotta give me a hard time bro. I am just trying to do my job here. Why you gotta come here and be defiant and be combative?"
And it was completely working on me.
I was totally falling for it and feeling guilty.
But....
My Utah Lover thought this was nothing but a fun game and he started pushing all of the man's buttons and quickly got him all riled up and they verbally fought back and forth for a couple of minutes before I said "hey kids, let's go over here far far away."
Walt was like.... NO WAY, I am staying here and watching this. This is fun and Dad is funny.
So the girls and I sat on a bench and took pictures of our surroundings in case we never got further than this.
For the next 10 minutes, that felt like 10 hours, Raleigh demonstrated his multi tasking skills as he verbally faught with a complete stranger while simultaneously purchasing real tickets on the REAL boat
in just the nick of time and somehow we were able to get through the human roadblock, board the ferry
and off we were to Lady Liberty
The grounds make it look like a literal prison.
It is not a pretty place especially in winter
See what a little green grass would do for a tourist attraction?
Everytime I see this and I imagine what it must have felt and looked like on 9/11
it is almost overwhelming
It ONLY goes around the island. It doesn't stop, you can't get off
What a scam
We also popped over to Ellis Island.
Although it was almost entirely under construction.
Raleigh's great aunt is Minerva Teichert and supposedly
she painted a picture that is somewhere on the island, but
due to the renovations, we couldn't find it.
We diligently looked for a really long time
These were the bunk rooms.
300 people would be crammed into these cots.
CRAZY
I felt increasingly rocky.
As long as I was moving, I did alright.
But if we stopped, I felt like we were still on the boat.
Some of us had worked up an appetite and one of the things on our list
was to eat NY pizza on the street.
So some of us did just that.
The other of us ate a gentle bagel.
Then we were off again, walking off our lunch.
We didn't have a real plan except to head in the general direction
of the Brooklyn Bridge.
We found some cute things along the way.
Like jungle animals playing cards at a table.
And a gigantic red cube
We were to say the least, exhausted before we even started on the bridge,
but we all committed to making it to the first arch before we turned around.
It was uphill the whole way. Our feet hurt and it was very warm.
But we did it and the city looks really pretty from up there.
Back to the subway for our journey home.
I was the only one obeying the "wear your gloves rule."
But I suppose they weren't really touching the stuff, so it was kindof okay
When we got back to the hotel, I had to take some dramamine to help with
my rocky body. I put some headphones on and listened to this week's Come Follow Me lesson
and Rals and Peyton searched for a really good place to eat.
I fell asleep in 2.5 minutes and slept for a couple of hours
We decided on Serendipity.
100% good choice.
than the average human.
It could be one of my very favorite foods.
Almost everything is better with guac on it.
This guac was SO good. I would have been just fine to only
eat this
BUT...... then the waiter brought this to our table
And this too....
And we ate them with our eyes closed, so we could take in all of the flavors.
If we hadn't walked 400 million steps this day, we might not have ordered this
sinful indulgence.
But.... we had. So we did.
Worth every step.
I put some of that delicious whip cream on a spoonful of guac.
OH MY.... divine
Heading once again back down to the lower part of the island
Day 5
We began this day on the Subway again.
to see the 9/11 m
Memorial.
It was on our lists but I don't think the kids really understood the impact or what had really
happened on that day until we got there.
It felt so reverent and quiet and they were somber.
They seemed to be taking everything in with the right emotions
They just wanted to sit and listen to how quiet it was
This was my second time here, but these next two pictures really go to me
this time.
I cried and kindof couldn't stop for a minute
This was a good experience and I am so glad we were able to show the kids
We told each kid that they could pick a souvenir.
We encouraged them to look in every place at everything and then
on the last day, we would go get that thing after they had looked at all the stores.
Ryker had seen the thing he wanted the day before at the bottom of the Brookly Bridge, but
it was $25.00 and he felt like that was too expensive.
He looked in several other stores for a cheaper version.
But he couldn't get this one out of his head.
So we walked the next day again over to the Bridge so he could get it.
They tried to get the man to come down on the price, but he wouldn't so
they just bought it
And I have never seen a teenage boy so happy about a purchase.
He had a grin from ear to ear as he walked along with his treasure in tow
We ended Day 5 back in the hotel with desserts that we bought at a little hole in the wall
I absolutely love more than anything... making my little boy so happy.
He is the best kid. He is so obedient and kind.
He is respectful and sensitive.
If all I need to do is buy him a
measly little $25.00 King Kong scaling the Empire State Building figurine
to show him how grateful I am that he chose our family to come live in...
it is the least I can do
Times Square Bakery
The view from our hotel window at night
We walked 17 blocks in the piercing ice rain back to Grand Central Station
Day 6
We woke up to rain and dark clouds.
The temperature had plummeted 25 degrees overnight.
We were flying home this day and check out was 11:00, but the Uber
to the airport was not coming until 3:00, so we had to figure out a warm place to
go for 4 hours
It. Was. Freezing
Chick fil A kept us warm for an hour.
I loved this mural that they had on their wall
of all of the places that we had visited
They saved me on this day for absoultely sure
We took an Uber Shuttle bus to the airport and it took
2 hours to go 17 miles.
We were a wreck by the time we got to JFK.
I honestly thought we were NEVER going to get there.
We were so frazzled and spent.
This day was not our best.
Our terminal was the very farthest terminal in the entire airport.
Like I am not lying. It was at least a 10 mile walk.
The ticket agent said so and she tried not to laugh that we had to walk that far
while she was trying to sound like she felt sorry for us.
We stopped off at the Delta Sky Lounge and had a really
gross dinner and got harrassed by the waitress, who just could believe
that we were supposed to be in there for some reason.
I don't know what she had against me, but every time Raleigh would leave to goget more food she would come over and say things to me like.....
Who let you in here?
Who told you that you could sit at this table?
Where are your receipts?
How many people are with you?
Finally Raleigh got really mad and her and told her she was very aggressive
and needed to leave me alone.
She apologized but it was too little too late.
It is literally like down in a basement
We were SO tired.
SO cold.
SO ready to get home
But first they had to de-ice our plane
Now that we are home, not kidnapped and not dead, totally safe, totally healthy,
totally happy... I can say that we had the time of our lives and I am so glad that we
took this memorable trip with our kids.
It was so much fun to be with them. It was fun to watch them experience a different culture, different way of life and to see how it works on the East Coast.
Thank you New York.
I love you with all of my heart.
Once we were back home, we had to get back into our routine again.
Peyton had a dance coming up quickly and we hadn't even thought about a dress.
She and I spent the Saturday searching for a green dress this time.
We picked through the left overs and found one that she liked... thank goodness.
She and Easton were once again dance dates.
They are good friends and have a good time together.
And NO she's not a giant....
She is just standing next to really tiny girls.
She is only 5'6
Our company celebrated "Employee Appreciation Day" at Crush Golf.
I don't know how the humiliation of golfing makes one feel appreciated, but
I suppose it was nice not to have to work for a couple of hours
KK is excelling in her sewing class.
Like we knew she would.
This is her latest creation.
Those are photos of her with her best friend, Avery.
Our ward had a Camp fundraiser this month, which was a car wash/bake sale.
Every girl was supposed to bring something to sell at the bake sale.
But we totally forgot until like 9:00 the night before.
So Rals and I were up baking until waaaaaaay past my bedtime.
But our stuff was cute and made lots of money for the girls.
And the kids were up at the crack of dawn
practicing their car washing/sign twirling/baked goods selling skills
Finally Ryker started 7 on 7 again.
Since he grew 2 feet over the last year and took all of his weight up with him,
he plays offense now
They changed up his position the night before his first game.
He was literally learning the plays on the sidelines while the defense was in and then
he would run in, run the route and run out and go back to studying.
He scored a couple of points for the team though.
We are SO glad it's this year and not last year.
He had a horrible coach last year, which resulted in a horrible experience.
This year he is back with Coach Bishop Judd and the other 9th grade Crimson Cliffs coaches.
SO much better and so much more fun.
He is on a team with most of his friends and they have a really good time together.
This month flew by and had so many exciting events.
I am so happy we were brave and went to New York even though we were in the middle of a war with Iran.
Even though TSA workers were working for free in the middle of a government shut down.
We were all blessed for the experience.
It was wonderful. I couldn't have asked for a better trip.
I am so glad it is over though and it is a really good memory.
I love this family more than I can express.
We have the best time together and we genuinely love being together.
No comments:
Post a Comment