new york city 2009 :: the good, the bad and the ugly

good:the kids were so good on the drive to brooklyn and we got to visit with some old friends in Springfield, VA
bad: it took 14 hours
ugly: we averaged a stop an hour. there were at least two times where we got on the interstate and less then ten minutes later had to stop again.

Prospect Park Zoo- we went to the zoo on Monday. It was a beautiful day. The kids were instantly friends with the kids they hadn't seen in over two years and I loved catching up with some of my dear friends.

good: the van worked perfectly on the drive north.
bad: sunday morning the latch on the back door of the van broke. with no release inside the van there was no way to open the door.
ugly: wednesday night the front driver side tire went flat- while driving through brooklyn. with no access to the spare (it is released from the cargo area but we can't get the door open because of the broken latch) michael dropped me and the kids off at a friends and drove around to find a tire shop. luckily, there was no damage to the rim but the tire was DEAD. The garage put a used tired on the van for $35.

Far Rockaway- Aunt Diane invited us to spend the day at the beach (they live three blocks away). She was so kind. She made us a delicious lunch and even outfitted the kids with swimsuits! Sutton's was a little small and her bum hung out in the cutest way. A couple of days later we went out to Far Rockaway again for dinner. Aunt Diane spoiled us!

good: the FOOD!
bad: i ate too much.
ugly: i gained four pounds in eight days!

The Subway- The children LOVED the train, of course!

good: the weather was amazing!
bad: michael and i loved walking around the city. the kids... not so much
ugly: at one point i was carrying ezra and michael was pushing liam in the stroller with sutton sitting on liams lap. whimpy suburban kids!

The High Line- The High Line is a new city park that was built on abandoned elevated train tracks on Manhattan's Westside. It was so awesome! I could have stayed there all day. I kept thinking to myself "my dad would LOVE this place". We also saw Diane Keaton on the high line. Michael has a talent for spotting celebrities (it is one of his gifts he says) I am much to oblivious.

good: friday night was spent in Central Park eating shack shake, listening to the philharmonic, and talking with a dear friend and her boyfriend.
bad: we got rained on.
ugly: we escaped the rain by running to the subway but we had to wait forever for a train. i forgot how hot and humid it is in the train stations!

SoHo and the West Village- We spent a couple of days wandering around two of our favorite neighborhoods- SoHo and the West Village. Both so beautiful in different ways. The kids hated walking. There was LOTS of whining! While in SoHo we stopped at one of Michael's favorites- Olive's. They have the most delicious sticky buns. Mmmmm.

good: we saw a photo shoot outside of the Michael Kors store in SoHo.
bad: the models were extremely tall and skinny.
ugly: there faces were surprisingly... meh. ahh, the magic of photoshop!

Going home- We all were so happy to spend time with Gran. Sutton especially took to her this trip. She is a special lady and I am thankful to know her. We took I-81 home. It is a cheaper, less congested and more scenic drive. So much better than I-95! We stopped at a park part way through the day for a break from the car and to enjoy the sunshine.

good: we had such a great time visiting gran and catching up with friends and attending our old ward.
bad: we only knew a handful of people at church.
ugly: a couple of dear friends were out of town or had moved since we last visited and we missed them lots!

Random- A few random pictures that I loved but couldn't squeeze in anywhere.

good: michael took the interior door panel off the back door of the van so he could manually open it. we were able to load up all of our luggage!
bad: ezra was sick and cried/whined almost the entire way home.
ugly: remember the $35 tire from the brooklyn tire shop? well, it was a bad tire. we discovered this when five hours into the trip the low tire pressure light came on and van started wobbling. there was a bulge on the interior of the tire. as the tire got hotter and hotter the bulge was expanding. if we had kept driving the tire would have blown. thankfully we now had access to the cargo area so we were able to put the full-sized spare on.