As we prepped for our trip to New York in March, we looked through pictures of our past trips and wrote a list on a big poster board of all of our favorite things that we'd like to do again, or new things we'd like to try that we hadn't done before. And it was a pretty comprehensive list! Jordan was leaving LostMyName (Wonderbly) and beginning work for Teachers Pay Teachers and decided to take a week off in between so that our whole family could explore together in New York.
In the past, we'd usually fly out on the weekend and do something fun Saturday then have Sunday together before Jordan started his work week. Then I'd take things slow with the kids during the week enjoying the neighborhood we were staying in and taking a few little adventures out as well (while Jordan worked and often met up with friends/coworkers for the evenings.)
So this was our longest time for our whole family to spend time together in New York, and we were amazed at all the things we got to check off our giant list! And it was so fun because it had been long enough since we'd been that everything was pretty new and exciting for the kids, and it was so fun to experience the newness with them.
I'll put up two little videos I made, and here are
NYC 2018 Preview (1 minute) (Whoops! We went in March, not April :)
NYC 2018 Video (4 minutes)
+ We stayed in Brooklyn for the first time and it was fun to have that new feel. Our apartment was a great old brownstone with fancy woodwork, creaky floors, and doors and cupboards that didn't quite close all the way anymore. The kids made the top floor into a Lego Headquarters and we had plenty of space to spread out (though our kids aren't use to living with neighbors who share walls so it was sometimes a little tricky to be quiet!)
+ Probably my favorite part of the trip was having dinner with a friend of Jordan's and their family who invited us over one evening. We ate lasagna and salad and cherry pie and played Settlers of Cataan while our little boys ran and tumbled and played swords together.
+ A favorite new thing was visiting the New York Public Library. I read somewhere before our trip that the famous lions in front were named Patience and Fortitude, and I used that little fact to encourage the kids during our trip when we hit some rougher traveling moments. :) (Fun thing - I was telling one of the kids about the lions' names and a man walking by stopped and turned around -"what did you say they're called? Huh! I've lived here all my life and never knew!) The library was just beautiful inside and out, and they had the sweetest children's area that was so peaceful and welcoming (especially at the end of a long day)!
+ The Sunday we went to church in Brooklyn, they happened to be having a missionary day with a few people sharing their experiences in joining the church and then a big lunch gathering afterward instead of classes. It was fun to meet some new families and have that extra time to visit too.
+ Landon had some little legos that he got at the Lego store by the Rockefeller Center and he had them out playing with Porter and Owen on every subway ride through the week. Other subway fun: playing little mind games like spelling words using the portuguese alphabet and someone else guessing the word. Or saying three numbers and the other person has to connect them with math problems somehow... And, nobody got lost riding the subway - phewph!
+ But, we did lose Isaac once and it was a few minutes of awful panic. We were all watching the Sea Lion show at the Central Park Zoo and sometime while we all became focused on the animals, Isaac wandered off! About the time the show ended, I looked around and couldn't find him and we all went frantically searching for him through the crowds till one of the kids (I think?) found him wandering happily nearby (as I was telling a worker 'I've lost my toddler!'). Whoosh. That was sure an awful feeling.
 |
| Looks lovely now... |
+ Lots of other things:
We visited...
Times Square (late at night with bright lights and sleepy-silly kiddos) and M&M world
The Manhattan temple + ward building for church on Sunday. I love the music in Sacrament meeting in that Manhattan ward - it is always amazing, every time we visit!
Central Park and the Central Park Zoo
The Brooklyn Bridge
Top of the Rock with incredible views of the city
Brooklyn Army Plaza and the Brooklyn Library. We made these stops on the way to dinner one evening, so they were a little quick.
The Lego Store (twice? three times? Enough to really feel like I knew the place -- I can tell you where to find the nearest bathroom...)
The Big Piano (now at Macy's since FAO Schwarz closed -- not quite so magical anymore, but now we know :)
Teachers Pay Teachers, where we got to meet a lot of the people Jordan would be working with and get a tour of the offices. I was super impressed with their authentic teacher-focus. There was very much a feel of 'what can we do to make life easier and better for teachers?' (And Jordan has continued to find that to be true as he's worked there for the last 6 months or so.) And they had little swag bags for all of us which the kids thought were fabulous!
The Liberty Science Center - a favorite place to visit in New Jersey from past trips. Two new things on this visit were the cool wall of tubes/vaccuums to play with balls in, and a fun exhibit about wind and skyscrapers.
The new One World Trade Center.
Union Square Park
J. Owen Grundy Park. This is a little picnic/stage area that I'd visit in New Jersey when we stayed there a few times. It was a great place for Landon and Ellie to run around and climb a little (and was either in walking distance or just a light rail ride away). It's a great little spot and it has a fantastic view of the lower Manhattan skyline.
We walked and we rode...
Airplanes
Uber, but no taxis! That was a change since our last trip!
Lots of subways
Escalators :) (We don't see these much in everyday life, so they kids always think they're fun when we're traveling!)
Buses
Light Rails
Ferries and a super fast water Taxi
Staten Island Ferry (this was new for us -- very fun and a great way to see the Statue of Liberty)
and strollers too :) (Isaac, and Porter sometimes)
We ate...
 |
| image here |
Pringles (Ha! Jordan got these for the kids one day when we were out and about, and the kids thought they were so great that I think they each bought themselves a can at some point in our trip!)
Fun dinner and dessert at Max Brenners.
 |
| Leftover pizza another night for dinner :) |
Chicken and Wafffles. Several people from TPT live in Brooklyn, so we asked for restaurant recommendations, and this was one "A very Brooklyn thing to do is go for chicken and waffles. Our favorite place is Sweet Chick" Sounds great, right? We ended up stopping there for dinner on our way home on the crazy slushy wet night. So by the time we got there, there weren't really any other options. We were frozen through and we really didn't have the stamina left to venture any further. And it was fine. But it was like - a waffle, and a piece of fried chicken for $17. (And we were feeding 7 of us!) There's this saying about how New Yorkers will talk about the crazy price of real estate, but never the crazy price of food, but sometimes there are crazy prices for food!
Bites of lots of things shared from Amy's Bread (another place I'm excited to visit again - this may be my favorite place I've eaten in New York!)
Oatmeal and Cereal and cheese roll ups and sandwiches in our little kitchen at our Brooklyn airbnb.
Pretzels and hot dogs and candied nuts from street carts
 |
| If we went back to this spot, I'm pretty sure I could find that most delicious cookie bakery... |
The best peanut butter cookie filled with chocolate fudge inside from a bakery near Central Park. (I can't remember the bakery, though I've tried because I want to find a recipe for these!)
At the shake shack and a yummy salad place nearby.
 |
| pre-lunch fun at the Science Center |
Some yummy pizza (plus cheeseburger pizza to try) at the Liberty Science Center.
Some fancy pizza (including one with guacomole!) at a pizza place by the Brooklyn Bridge. (And some crazily priced ice cream nearby... I can't help it, I guess I'll never be a true New Yorker. Ice cream shouldn't cost that much!)
And that's a wrap! I flew home with the kids (and the airline check in woman was so super nice and gave me an extra seat for Isaac so we could have two whole rows to ourselves, which meant Isaac got a great nap and we all had a pleasant flight! Jordan stayed and worked his first week at TPT and had a great time getting to know people a little better. And he'll soon be off for another visit!
