Christmas in New York

 Marci, Mia, Libbie and I took a trip to New York at the beginning of December.  Mia had been telling me she wanted to go to New York to see a Broadway show for some time and Marci was just brave enough to come with us and help us make it happen.  We found a good deal on flights and Marci used her Marriot rewards to get our hotel in Time Square for free (okay it was like 4 dollars).  Anyway, we took a red-eye flight and jammed as much as we could into the 2.5 days we were there.

 It was quite the process getting us out of the airport and onto the Subway but after a good hour or so we were finally on our way. We crossed our fingers the whole time that the hotel would allow us to check in early so we could get rid of our bags and freshen up a bit.

 First subway ride for Libbie and Mia. Exciting!

 Libbie and Mia in Time Square by the Church of Jesus Christ Christmas campaign...A Savior is Born!  So neat! And not very crowded at all at 8 A.M. on a Saturday!

 Thankfully, the hotel allowed us to check in.  It would have been so exhausting to lug our bags around all day, un-showered.  We got cleaned up and headed out to breakfast.  We were STARVING! The food was decent but nothing to really write home about.

 Our first order of business was to check out the sights on 5th Avenue...including these giant Christmas ornaments.

 Rockefeller Center Tree

 Not big fans of the smells of the subway.  Like mother like daughter.

Here we are at the Top of the Rock.  Marci and I hadn't done this before.  We were glad we did.  You had a great view of Central Park. 

 Next we ventured to the Met.  It was soooo big and we were soooo tired.  I may need to go back to NYC again so I can have a redo here.

 Mia later told me she wasn't tired at all and wished she could have spent more time here.  Sorry we wimped out Mia.

 Her favorite was seeing the paintings by well-known artists.  Here she is by a Vincent van Gogh.

 Of course now it was time for a treat.  Sprinkles Cupcakes did not disappoint.  Still dreaming of my chocolate peppermint cupcake.  PS. We went back a second time before leaving for home.  Yum!

 After a quick nap, we went to Time Square for some dinner before seeing Les Mis.  On a recommendation from Marci we tried a place called Wasabi.  The food was good and there was no wait.

In front of the Les Miserable theater.  

Marci and I were great at being silly and embarrassing. 

 All ready for the show! Besides being a little too far off to the side to see the whole stage, the show was really fanstastic. Oh, and Marci had a lady sitting next to her who also couldn't quite see the stage so she decided to practically lay on Marci for the first act.  Thankfully she switched seats for the second.  

The next day was Sunday so we were able to attend church.  So neat that church is held in the same building as the temple.  We were also lucky to be there on the day of one of their Christmas programs.  The organist was amazing! The Spirit and the crying babies of the church really are the same anywhere you go in the world :)

 After breakfast at a yummy place called Paris Baguette, we went to the 9/11 Memorial.  It was an experience of a lifetime.  Such a somber, humbling spirit all around.

 Then we went to see the Statue of Liberty.  Did I mention we are in NYC in December and not wearing coats, let along jackets?  The weather was soooo wonderful.

Looking out from Ellis Island

 After Lady Liberty, we ate dinner at Lomardi's Pizza.  It was delicious! Remember to take cash here as this is all they accept. As we going back to the subway after our meal, we also witnessed a girl being hit by a taxi.  Thankfully she walked away relatively unscathed.  The driving here is unreal!

We went back to the hotel for our jackets before our trek to the Empire State building because it started getting chilly.  We had the thought that maybe Time Square wouldn't be so busy on a Sunday night since people would be turning in early for work on Monday...nope.  We were so wrong.  It was very crowded and exhausting to be in such a sea of people.  As we were going up the escalator to get to the top of the Empire State building, a crazy, drunk lady somewhat attacked Libbie. Luckily Marci quickly realized what was happening and used her assertiveness to prevent this lady from bugging Libbie any longer.  Ha ha.  Next we went to see the Rockefeller tree all lit up at night, did some souvenir shopping, and ate dinner at the very crowded burger joint called the Shake Shack.

 Because we were so efficient during our first days, we hadn't left much for us to do on our final day.  We went to this Yelp-rated breakfast joint.  The homemade marshmallow they put in your hot chocolate was pretty incredible, but unfortunately the hot chocolate flavor was so overwhelming we couldn't enjoy it at all.  The baked goods were so-so.  Luckily the company was great!

 One last stop at M&M world.  These two girls were to shy to strike a pose with Marci.  Totally left her hanging.

 We got checked out of the hotel (leaving our bags there until we needed to leave for the airport) and then went to spend time in Central Park.  It's a really beautiful place.  We also encountered some interesting characters who sang us a colorful, customized song about our New York experience.  The girls chose the topic of stinky smells as a theme.  It was mostly hilarious.

 These guys were all set up, singing Christmas carols. The acoustics of the tunnel made for some gorgeous singing.

 Our last meal was at Vive La Crepe. It was yummy, but the people inside this establishment weren't the kindest.

We fretted most the day about whether we'd actually be making it home that night because Utah had received a ton of snow.  Thankfully, out travel ended up being seamless.  The only hiccup was finding our car buried in about 6-8 inches of snow and some very slippery roads for the drive home.  Thank you Marci for joining us on this adventure. And lets be honest, the girls and I would probably still be wandering in the subway right now if she hadn't come.  She's such a fun, smart, loving person.  I'm so blessed to have been given such wonderful sisters-in-law in this life!