DC to NYC: NYC

The view from Abbie's window. That's the Hudson and George Washington Bridge (to New Jersey). I totally ran across that bridge. And it was awesome.

This post could also be called "Conquering NYC with Cousins".



Holy smokes this was fun. The kids all did fantastic. They loved one another to pieces. We loved Abbie and Forrest to pieces. We had good fun, saw fun things, rode the subway billions of places and just generally had some serious fun.

Playing doctor the evening that we arrived. Audrie's curls are almost too much for me. I just want to squeeze her and play with her hair all day.

After riding the super clean and super awesome (seriously the best way to travel) Amtrak train from DC, we embarked upon NYC via Penn Station. WOW. Talk about the definition of chaos. There were a million people going a million different directions and somewhere near a millions smells. And then there was us. :) When we stopped to get our bearings (all the while clutching our children and luggage), Milo was kind enough to attempt to help a homeless man who was looking for something in the trash ("I think he lost something Mom!") and he was also thrilled to point out a grown woman dressed like a mermaid (thankfully wearing a trash bag over her torso to shield others from her seashell pasties).

Subway cousins.

We made our way to Abbie & Forrest's adorable apartment (on the Columbia Medical campus--this close to Harlem), had a yummy dinner, and watched the cousins play their little hearts out.


The next day, we were off to picnic in Central Park!!

Too much cuteness in front of Bethesda Fountain.

Isabel threw every last piece of change she had (leftover from souvenir money she got from Grandma Kim and Grandpa Manuel AND from Great Grandma and Great Grandpa) in Bethesda Fountain. Even the smooshed-flat penny she made at the National Zoo. Because she lives big like that. Milo cried for her. Because he's a sensitive guy like that.

Cutest Keeler ever.

Our picnic was soggy hot but so fun. The kids ran and played and ran some more. All in their church clothes. Then we rode the subway to New York City church. It was highly entertaining.

A bunch of LDS folks in their Sunday best definitely stand out on the train.

2nd cutest Keeler ever.
Living it up in the big city.

The next day was pretty much a 6 year old's dream come true. FAO Schwarz. Hot dogs and shakes for lunch. Ginormous natural history museum. Oh, and cousins and more cousins.

Pure joy.
Eating a hot dog in New York City.

We are big Mo Willems (greatest children's author ever) fans around here and let me tell you, there were more than a handful of pigeon-wants-a-hot-dog jokes told that day. Milo was a little horrified that his hot dog had 'kraut on it.

Notice the two snoozers on the left. Notice the nonsnoozer on the right. Cutie pies all around. This is us triumphantly eating our Shake Shack food. Because it wasn't so easy to get to and it was a bit of a line. But all well worth it.
Why cousins are awesome: they will ooohh and aaaahhh at everything with you (while assuming "the Anderson" stance).

Why cousins are awesome part two: they will let you lead them around by a leash/they will lead you around by a leash so your mom can have a break from the leash.

Keeler thought the barriers to the exhibits were totally lame.

Isabel requested that we take a break from the animals and dinosaurs to "go check out all the dead stuffed humans". Also known as the "history of western/eastern civilization". Future anthropologist that one.

Keeler was totally in awe of the dino fossils and skeletons.

FAO Shwarz schwag.

Yup. They totally played on the piano. No, they haven't seen BIG.

Day three was our Statue of Liberty day. I&M were so psyched to see Miss Liberty--they had even done "research" and checked out some books at the library about how she was made, why France gave her to us, and who made her. Too bad their lame mom didn't realize that it would have been best to plan the Liberty Island excursion well in advance. Oh well, the view from the Staten Island Ferry was pretty good too. View from the ferry. Just as pretty in real life as in pictures.

Adorable. And what is with the same ears??

Ferry Family

This one wanted to try out the view from every bench and seat and rail of the ferry.

Nautical Milo

Next it was on to the financial district. Wall Street is one crazy place. Can't imagine working there. I can, however, imagine eating a this yummy Patisserie in the financial district every day.

If it's the last day of vacation, your mom will let you eat waffles with chocolate syrup for lunch. And your sister will tell the lady waiting in line for the bathroom that it's probably gonna be awhile because her brother is in there pooping and he takes FOREVER to poop.

Just trying to blend in with all the suits.

So much fun! So many yummy meals. So many laughs. So much cuteness. An entire pan of brownies in one sitting (no kids to blame on that one). Forrest is going to ditch med school and be a life coach. Abbie is a fantastic cook and cutest mommy. NYC is crazy fun. We're going back. The kids asked on the plane ride home when we could go back. As in, tomorrow? (That may be all that I remember of the return flight. I've blocked the rest. Let's just say it wasn't the easy peasy occasion that the flight to DC was.)

Blogging about it already...DC to NYC: Part 1

My apologies (Deena, Grami Tami, Grandma Kim, Aunt Stacy etc. etc.) for the delay in posting. Turns out, I needed a little vacation after my vacation. Except, as is always the case, life was marching right along.

Commence memories. My (again) apologies for the number of poorly lit/poorly framed photos. That's how we roll folks.

But seriously, funnest trip ever. EVER. This was amazing. Incredible. So much fun. No one freaked out. No one melted down. No one puked. No one got lost. No one even cried (except for Keeler and that's totally allowed).

Public Transportation. That was the theme of this trip. We were so adept at subways, metro cards, taxis, shuttles, and giant transport stations (Union and Penn) by the end of this trip. And to think that those skills will go to waste here in little ol' Fort Fun.

Eating in bed. That's Keeler's new favorite thing to do. Because that's how it goes in a hotel (which we stayed in for our 4 day/3 night foray into Washington D.C.). Also, it turns out that a baby can subsist on Fig Newtons and peanut butter alone for a remarkable period of time. Because hunger strikes are his m.o. on vacation.

Stressed out. Doesn't even begin to describe how I was feeling about the prospect of flying across the country with three children. I was mostly worried that someone would hate us (like the poor passenger stuck in 26E or F). But, turns out, my worry was for naught. We got the seats we wanted (back of the plane, all in a row). Keeler slept. No crying. The flight attendants kept our kids loaded (and I mean LOADED) up with snacks and juice. The kids each had their own rolling carry on and backpack and we checked NO luggage. (No checked luggage = one less stop after deplaning and trying to navigate to the hotel.)

Auntie Juliann. The woman is amazing. Seriously, amazing. She is a busy, busy lady (as a Legislative Assistant to Senator Orrin Hatch) yet still found time to show us the time of our lives (literally) in D.C.. She showed us around the senate building she calls home, arranged for a VIP tour of the Capital Building, joined us on a VIP and totally amazing tour of the Library of Congress (possible the most beautiful building in America), treated us to a delish lunch at the Senate Buffet (Hello Trent Lott. Had no idea that pink was your color.), and even joined us on a whirlwind sightseeing/museum-crashing whirlwind two days later. The twins are officially in love. With Auntie Juliann AND her adorable dog, Boscoe.

Peering up at the ceiling of the Library of Congress. Told you it was beeeeautiful.

Checking out the infamous "egg and dart" architectural detail with our super awesome tour guide (and also Legislative Assistant to Senator Hatch) JJ.

Keeler practicing his fork skills at the Senate Buffet. He was a doll and completely adorable throughout. He loves that Ergo baby carrier--thank goodness. And, oddly, that carrier sparked several conversations with men in Juliann's office. Apparently, their wives are all very into baby-wearing as well.

The latter half of our first day was spent at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. It was...okay. See NYC post to come. Their museum was way better. But, this one did have this (stuffed and dead) panda that Milo thought was super cute.

Jam-packed first day plus swimming=face-plants into their pillows that night.

The next day was spent traversing the National Zoo in D.C.. Amazing and totally free. Crazy. Milo got to see his beloved giant pandas up close and personal. Well, their bums at least. Because they were both sleeping the entire time. He still loved it. Phew.

Milo with his stuffed red panda in front of the red panda exhibit. Second only to giant pandas in love in Milo's world. Raise your hand if you even knew that their were red pandas before you met Milo...that's what I thought. Now that you know, please do not insult him by accidentally calling his stuffed animal a "raccoon". It will not go without reprimand and degrading looks. Ask the hotel manager.

A meerkat in front of the meerkats.

Our last day in D.C. was a whirlwind of monuments, memorials, and museums. And it was awesome. We could have stayed their for two more weeks and still not run out of things to see and do. Isabel was a big fan of Dorothy's shoes (Smithsonian Museum of American History).

Milo, on the other hand, nearly died upon entering the museum to see this site.

Lincoln Memorial to Washington Monument (Capital in the way background).

Lincoln was huge. Lincoln was breathtaking. Lincoln was amazing and reverent. (It was also stiflingly hot and humid which made it a much shorter stop than we would have liked.)

Isabel sat out for Jefferson. Partly because of her walking boot and the heat, partly because she has an aunt-crush on Auntie Juliann and she got to stay in the air conditioned car with her. Milo thought it was super sweet and wanted to know if "he really was that tall". Not quite.

The White House was much different than we thought it would be. Had no idea it was right in the middle of...everything. It was very cool. The kids were pretty bummed that Pres. Obama was out of town that day.

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On the last day, we also hit the Daughters of the American Revolution Museum (which was cute and interesting and sooooo air-conditioned). Isabel loved it and nearly killed over at all of the selections in the gift shop. That girl is slightly enamoured with history--and especially women in history. She was bummed that she didn't bring her bonnet. No joke.

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After all of that fun, it was off to ride the Amtrak train (highly recommend it) to NYC to see Abbie, Forrest, Eli and Audrie. Phew. Post to come.