New York - Girls Trip

DAY 1

Mom and dad gave the girls a trip to New York over fall break for their birthdays. Although it was dad's gift, he stayed at home to work while the girls played. A few weeks before we left Aysia's good friend Izzy informed her that they would be in New York at the same time. So we planned a few activities around the same time so the girls could get together. Izzy's younger sister who is a year older than Auri came along as well. Our flight didn't leave until 2 pm so we were able to sleep in and pack the morning that we left. Dad dropped us off and we said our goodbyes. It was a straight flight which was nice, but we didn't get in until 9pm. We took an Uber to our hotel so we could get a good night's sleep for an early morning the next day. We stayed at the Grand Centra Hyatt which is super convenient and attached to the Grand Central Station so it is very easy to get around.

DAY 2

After waking up, we looked around Grand Central Station and made sure to take our ponchos since it was supposed to be a rainy day. It was definitely a rainy one so we planned most of our activities for the day to be indoors. Our first stop was St. Patrick's Cathedral where we said a prayer and lit a candle for Susan who is currently being treated for breast cancer. We walked by Radio City Hall and stopped at the Rockefeller Center where they were just setting up for the Christmas Holidays. No one was ice-skating that morning since it was raining. We were near F.A.O Schwartz so of course we had to make a stop at one of the most famous toy stores in the world and where the movie ELF was based on. We then took the Subway to the Museum of Natural History where we met up with Izzy's parents and the two girls. The girls loved seeing the areas in the museum that were part of the movie "Night of the Museum". After a couple of hours of being there we raced through the remainder of the exhibits since we were tired and hungry. So we walked the streets of New York and made it to the famous Levain's Bakery. Each of the girls bought a warm cookie that we enjoyed as we walked to Jacob's Pickle for lunch. Dessert before lunch is always the best way. We weren't too hungry after the cookie so we split an eggs benedict that topped mom and the girls off. After lunch, we separated since they had a Broadway show to get ready for that night and we headed to ground zero where they had the 9/11 museum. The rain continued on and off so enjoying the museums was a perfect way to stay out of the wet cold day.  The girls loved the museum and learning about the events of that day. Mom remembered it clearly and saw the 2^nd plane crash into the other world trade center live on television from work. It was such a horrible day, but grateful we can remember the people who lost their lives. We decided since the weather had cleared up that we would head to Time Square at night. We shopped for a while and just enjoyed being outside, that was until we saw the extra-large, over-stuffed gorilla that was trying to dance. The girls were obviously nervous about the sheer size so we tried to steer clear. However, we had a couple that wanted us to take their picture and they took a few for us. It was all downhill from there. Our first couple of pictures were great but we didn't realize the gorilla was entering our bubble until it was too late. Auri's look of pure disgust can be seen on the first picture as she looks past Ayisa in horror. Then Aysia realized what was going on and felt a large hand tap her arm at which she shrieked and pulled her arm in. Mom just kept smiling for the camera and laughing at the event unfolding before her eyes which was all caught in sequential order from the lady taking several pictures over a few second's time. We came away unscathed and with a funny story to tell.

DAY 3

The next morning, we grabbed a quick bite to eat in Grand Central and headed to China town where we walked around, shopped and ate dumplings. Little Italy was next where we found the "Christmas in New York" store which we spent a good amount of time enjoying everything and anything Christmas. We bought some gelato and walked the streets before finding cannoli's and a bakery to enjoy another snack. We walked to the Lego store and saw the Flatrion building before heading to Chelsea Market where we met up with the Wards again. We had an amazing pizza and boba drinks there and walked through the shops. We headed outside where we walked part of the High Line and enjoy the views of the city there. We headed over to the Little Island park where the girls explored and we talked as we looked over the Hudson River. We said our goodbyes and we went back to the hotel to get ready for our Broadway play, the Lion King. It was incredible and the costumes amazing. We met uo with the Wards in Time Square so the girls could get a few pictures with each other. We were craving dessert after the show so we headed to Lincoln square for a molten lava dessert before heading back to our hotel.

DAY 4

With it being Sunday the next day, we met up with the Wards at the church located inside the temple. Unfortunately we weren't aware that it was Stake Conference so we arrived 30 minutes late. We stayed for the remainder of the meeting and then headed out for pictures and to say goodbye to our friends since they had a flight to catch that afternoon. We went back to the hotel to change into warmer clothes and headed to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island where we toured the museum and learned about how our early ancestors would have had to begin their lives in America within the exact building we were standing in. The girls loved the history of it all and luckily for us it was a beautiful day to tour the bay. After our tour we headed to the Brooklyn bridge to walk and shop the little vendors set up on the bridge. Aysia found the perfect bracelet to give to Isaac. The sun was getting ready to set so we raced over to Pier 35 where we enjoyed the views of the sunset over the city while swinging on a bench swing. We were ready for a great dinner so we took the subway to Black Tap diner in Soho. The girls got burgers and we shared and incredible shake for dessert. We had to hurry back to Summit One Vanderbilt where we had tickets to ride to the top and see the city from above. While we were in the Subway station Auri noticed the little girl that played Nala in the Lion King the night before and pointed her out. Her mom noticed us pointing and brought her over to us for some pictures. Auri had a great eye! At the Summit One, we loved all the lights and balloon room as well as the glass bottom floor that we could see all the way down to the street. Auri was a bit nervous but she did a great job and gave mom just enough time to snap a quick picture. We were exhausted and ready for bed after such a long, fun day.

DAY 5

The next day, we packed up our suitcases and checked them at the hotel so we could enjoy more of the city before heading to the airport.  We took the Roosevelt Island tram over to the island where they had an old abandoned hospital used for patients with small pox. The island itself is very small but the views of the city and the tram ride to and from the island are definitely worth the ride over. We shopped a little longer and headed to Central park where we rented scooters. The fall leaves were changing colors and the weather was perfect for an incredible ride around the park. The girls were amazing how big the park was and we didn't even have time to ride through the entire park. We made it back to our hotel to grab our suitcases and head to the airport. We got there in plenty of time but unfortunately our flight was delayed due to a pilot being sick. Mom was worried we wouldn't make our connecting flight and voiced her concern to the stewardess. She mentioned there were other people on our flight that were on the same flight so they should wait. We were near the back of the plane so one of the last to deboard. We ran as quickly as possible to the next gate and even heard our names being called. We were at the gate 2 minutes later and saw the gate attendant actually shut the door. We yelled down the hall that we were there and she said it was too late and that she couldn't open the door. We were so sad. She let us know that somehow everyone else on our flight made it on time and insinuated that we hadn't hurried fast enough. The girls wanted to get home to see their friends. Instead, we were stuck in Boston. We were given a voucher for a hotel that night. While we were waiting and waiting for the shuttle to come and realizing there wasn't much to do around our hotel, Aysia asked if we could go to Salem since we were close and it was October. Mom is always up for an adventure so she said Of Course! So, we quickly rented a car and off we went. We walked the streets of Salem and even ran in to Freddie Kreuger. We looked at a few shops and stopped by a few famous buildings and houses in the movie Hocus Pocus. We sat down for a quick dinner and were on our way back to our hotel. We would get very little sleep since we had to leave our hotel at 4 am the next morning in order to board our flight back to New York where we had a layover back to Utah. Not exactly the extension we were expecting but it ended up being super fun. Making Lemonade out of Lemons!