NYC!

We started a tradition that we copied from our friends. Some people may think we are nuts, but that's OK.  We decided to take each child, when they turn fourteen, on a weekend trip of their choice. So, when Katie's birthday loomed near, she chose the Big Apple.  She also wanted to invite her grandparents along for the ride!  We were all so excited to go! 

Our first adventure took us to Brooklyn on the Subway.  Here's Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge once we got there.

We ate at Grimaldi's for lunch. Pizza was great, and the company was even greater.  We sat by and talked to some great New Yorkers.  They were so funny!

Next, we ate yummy ice cream at Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory and started to make our way back to the city across the beautiful Brooklyn Bridge.  It was so cool!

We stopped by Grand Central Station.  It was neat.  I've always described my house as Grand Central Station when my kids come home from school and all of their friends show up, and now that I've seen the real place, my description of home is pretty accurate!

Then, we finally caught up with Grandma and Grandpa and took a bus tour of the city.  It was nice to sit and see a lot of this amazing city!

The next day we went down to Battery Park to see Lady Liberty and Ellis Island.  Both were so great!  We also met up with our friends from home!

Our next stop took us on a hunt to find the best Lobster Roll in NYC.  I haven't tried all of them to know, but the ones we ate were SO GOOD!!! I ate mine so fast, that I didn't get a picture.  It started to rain pretty hard at this point, so Grandma and Grandpa went to the hotel, our friends went shopping, and Katie, Ryan and I went to the WTC museum.  It was so moving and I'm so glad that Katie could see it.  That night, we went out to a fancy dinner with Grandma and Grandpa to celebrate Katie's birthday trip. The three of us then went to Top of the Rock to see the city at night.  Our pictures didn't turn out great, but it was neat to see this amazing city from up above all lit up.

The next day we went up again, this time to the top of the Empire State Building.  Again, what a beautiful city!!  It was so neat to experience that with the people I love!

Afterwards, we shopped and shopped and shopped at the historic Macy's and along 5th Avenue.  We wore Grandma and Grandpa right out, so we went to Central Park and they went to chill.  Central Park was great!  Perfect weather and people watching!  The ice cream was good, too.

Then it was time to get ready for Broadway!!  Katie chose to see the musical Phantom of the Opera. It was a great show in a great theater!

So, that's our trip to the Big Apple in a nutshell.  We had a blast, and I'm glad we started this tradition with our kids. Braiden is already brainstorming over where he wants to go!