NYC mom's pics

 Early morning flight.

 Smoothie truck.

 View from our hotel room.

 Playing games while waiting for dinner at Juniors.

 Subway riding on our way to the Statue of Liberty.

 Not quite awake yet!

 We happened upon the start of the Women's World Cup Champions Parade.

 We got to see a ticker tape parade in NYC!

 This float had the trophy on it.

 Riding the ferry.

 When Alex was in 5th grade I was in charge of Immigration Day, where we simulated a trip through Ellis Island. It was very cool to come to NYC and see it in person.

 Dan getting him some rice pudding. The kids had ice cream instead.

 Alex took tons of pictures of this tower. Happy tourist!

 Sunset at Top of the Rock.

 Dan and Ryan went on a flight simulator. Ryan liked to ride upside down and backwards!

 Two dizzy guys!

 While Dan and Alex were at Billy Joel, I took these two to see the Blue Man Group. I never made it to a 'Broadway' musical, but this was so fun that it doesn't matter!

 This is why we are in NYC! I am so glad that the choir brought us here. We had such a great time; we never would have picked to come here otherwise.

 Bragging rights shirts!

 Central Park.

 Chess in Central Park. Dan took the kids to finish the scavenger hunt...

 and I went to Carnegie Hall to learn the backstage stuff.

 The staff was very kind and accommodating for our huge group.

 The kids and teenagers sat in these boxes to perform. The music was much improved by having them sit in these seats.

 Macey and Madi just before drop off.

 More delicious burgers. This time at Bill's.

 Catching the subway home before we had to get dressed up.

 Elevator fun!

 I was volunteering at Carnegie Hall during the black out. Here we are trying to put all the participants on one street before we begin dismissal. The staff was hopeful the power would come back on in time to resume, but it got too late so the show was cancelled. But they made the news and went social media viral, so more than just our parents and grandparents were able to experience the power of MCO music.

 A mom is never really on vacation!

 Lego store. Batman watching over us all.

 Hippy painter guy.

 Sphinx at the Met.

 A Homer painting.

 A Tiffany's glass window.

 Alex and I also went to the Natural History Museum to see the dinosaurs!

 The Homer (Simpson) burger at the Stardust Cafe.

 Our last nights activity. Off Broadway play called "The Puffs". It was a spoof on the hufflepuffs from Harry Potter.

 While Dad was recuperating, we were eating bagels!

 Last visit to Time's Square.

 Juggling in Bryant Park.

 We also played Uno and tabble tennis.

 3rd trip to the Lego store.

Good-bye, New York!

NYC fam pics

 Good-bye, Dallas!

 Macey and Dad were flight buddies.

 Manhattan!

 We took a shuttle bus service from the airport to near our hotel and had to hoof it the rest of the way. It was a hot day for trekking through the city with our luggage!

 Day one had no agenda other than to get oriented in the city. Lunch at a deli near to the hotel.

 Alex picked this shoe store as his #1 store to visit in NYC.

 Macer's holding the city's dirtiest rabbit.

 Dinner at Juniors where the kids were introduced to beets! 1st delicious hamburger of our trip.

 M&M world.

 Herhey's store, Ryan's #1 shop to visit.

 Times Square.

 Day 2 started our planned events. Dan and Ryan planned on the matching shirts. Alex cooperated. This is in the hotel lobby.

 On our way to the statue first.

 On the ferry leaving the dock.

 Best museum of the trip for me. Loved the information and all the stuff you can touch!

 Lunch at Lombardi's, first pizzeria in US. Ryan had a calzone.

 Ryan getting misplaced at the World Trade mall.

 Twin Towers memorial.

 Fire fighters memorial.

 Observation deck from the top of Rockefeller Center.

 Alex took about 200 photos while on the observation deck. I think he enjoyed the view!

 After a LONG day, Ryan got to pick our dinner plans. The worlds largest Applebee's.

 Day 3 began with breakfast in Hell's Kitchen on our way to the Intrepid Air and Space Museum.

 An actual space shuttle!!

 Dan and Alex had tickets to Billy Joel. We only got 2 tickets because at the time of buying the tickets I didn't know Macey's schedule for choir. We probably should have got 3, but it was a rushed decision. Ryan was super sad to miss the concert.

 D&A said it was awesome. I'm sure it was!

 Day 4 took us to Central Park. We downloaded a scavenger hunt to do in the park. It was a very hot day and it took hours to complete it. Maybe it wasn't the best idea... Sorry, family! I thought it would be cool. They did see a lot of the park. Including this Carousel Ride.

 And the Balto statue.

 After that excursion it was time for Ice Cream!

 And then, time for Macey to perform in Carnegie Hall! In Stern Auditorium. It was a fantastic concert! And such a beautiful venue.

 Post Concert.

 Day 5 I spent the whole day at Carnegie, so it was a dad and kid day. They went to FAO Swartz.

 And the Gazillion Bubble Show.

 And back to Lombardi's. (where Ryan gagged on his super cheesy Calzone. whoops!)

 They were down south of the NYC 2019 Blackout range. They walked back into it. Fire trucks were dispatched to all the elevators with occupants trapped. Half of Times Square was dark.

 View from our hotel. Only emergency lighting was working throughout the blackout area. They got back to the hotel and climbed 10 flights back to our dark room.

 Day 6 was another agenda free day. We wondered around back to some favorite stops. Here we were enjoying ramen.

 And a trip to Magnolia Bakery.

 We stopped at the temple.

 And the Guggenheim.

 Day 7 took us on our last day of adventures. We split up, came together, and then split up again. Al and I had a museum day. We had waffles in Central Park and then went up Madison Ave to get to the Met art museum. ,Meanwhile Dan and the littles rented bikes and rode around Central Park. We met at Columbus Circle and then decided to split up again.

 This time D,M&R went to Shake Shack. 

 And then on to ride the Beast.

 Cruising through the harbor at 45 mph seems a great way to cool off on a hot NYC day!

 We regrouped at the hotel. A&I had already eaten dinner, so Dan and the littles went looking for food. But perhaps Dan grabbing tacos from street vendor wasn't his best plan of the trip.

 Day 8, I spent the morning with the children while Dan rested. He survived the tacos and was able to get packed up and to the airport.

 We were suck in a traffic jam on the tarmac for a very LONG time. Our wiped out dad fell asleep early.

Good night, Dallas! It was good to come home. 8 days of travel was awesome, but it was time to recover!