Tuesday, November 30, 2021

NYC - Day One

Oh, where do I begin??? We had SUCH a great time in NYC.  It was so much fun discovering a new (GIGANTIC) city together.  We always have fun checking our new places as a family.  Earlier this year, Danny and I thought it would be a good idea to go to New York for our 15th anniversary.  After we went to Florida for spring break, the kids asked if we were going to go to Chicago this year (they really loved it there).  So, instead of going to a city we've been to before, we thought we'd take a trip, all together, to the city Danny and I wanted to visit so badly.  Once we talked about what there was to do in New York, the kids were on board with the idea.  They also liked the fact that they were going to miss a couple of days of school.  We decided to schedule our trip so we'd be there for the 20th anniversary of 9/11.  What better time to visit such a great city?  We knew the kids would learn a lot and we'd all take a lot away from the experience.  We flew out on Friday morning...

The kids were a little nervous to fly.  They sat next to each other on the way there.  Look at them holding hands!!! 😍

Here's the view from the airport right after we stepped off the plane - Flushing Meadows and Citi Park.  Pretty huh?

The kids were getting antsy as we waited for our luggage.  I had asked my friend, Ashley, for some travel tips and Danny talked to his co-worker, so we had a good idea of how we wanted to get around while we were in town.  We ended up getting MetroCards for each of us so that we could ride on the bus and then get to the subway to get to our hotel.

Riding the subway!  Little did we know how much we'd be on the subway during our trip.  We saw LOTS of interesting people on the subway and at the subway stations.  

Our first stop after checking in at the hotel was Times Square!  Even with COVID, there were a ton of people around.  It was really neat to see it all in person.

Cadence wanted to model.

We saw them ringing the closing bell on Wall Street!



We stuck around for a little bit to watch some guys breakdancing on the sidewalk.




The MTV VMAs were going to take place that Sunday.


The M&M store was really neat!  Three floors of M&Ms of all types and lots of merchandise.  We got 3 big bags of assorted M&Ms.  They were so good.  I think my new favorite are the caramel and the fudge brownie.

They had neat dispensers that you could use yourself - I was a little surprised by this with COVID.

Kids always like weighing things, don't they?

We took a stroll through Chinatown - not some place I'd want to go back to visit.  It was just meh.




Ewww

I laughed a little too hard at this sign

Back on the subway!

Our view from the hotel room

Danny snapped this pic of Madison Square Garden

Colin and I were beat (I was coming down with a cold) so we got ready for bed and stayed at the hotel while Danny and Cadence went back out to see Times Square at night!  They're cute 😀



Monday, November 8, 2021

Little League World Series 2021

The day after the AJR concert, Danny, Vince, and the kids took the 11 hour round trip trek to Williamsport, Pennsylvania to attend the final game of the Little League World Series.  We had been watching all of the games and staying up to date on the standings.  The team from Hamilton, Ohio was representing the Great Lakes team in the series.  Danny's childhood friend, Bryon, has a son, Brady, who was playing on the team.  Attending a Little League World Series game is something that was on Danny's bucket list, so going to the game was a no brainer for him!  And to watch a team we knew made it even more special.  I already had plans for Erica's birthday, and wasn't so keen on the idea of being in the car that long in one day, so I stayed behind (it was a tough decision - if it was closer to Columbus, I probably would've gone!).  It was only the kids' second week of school, so they were sure to get back on Sunday night as to not miss school on Monday.  Even though Ohio didn't win it all, Danny and the kids had an awesome time.  I instructed Danny to take a lot of pictures - in between what he took, along with what Vince took, we got some great pictures to remember the event!















I had fun pausing the game as I was watching it to capture the family in the stands!  They made it onto TV quite a bit!