I Heart New York

It is now official: I love New York! We saw so much of NYC. Lizzy was very cooperative and so we walked and walked and walked the whole city. We started out in Brooklyn, visiting DUMBO, Prospect Park, and eating at Grimaldi's (for the world's best pizza). Steph and Blake toured us all around their
turf.
We walked the Brooklyn Bridge to Manhattan. We then went to Times Square and got tickets to Phantom of the Opera, on broadway!! Phantom was so good. It was THE greatest broadway performance. Steph and Blake were so nice to babysit Lizzy.

We saw and did so much everyday. A couple stops of note were Ground Zero, Statue of Liberty, Staten Island, Wall Street, and so much more. I was just so grateful that Lizzy was happy and let us push her around in a stroller all day. We stopped in Littly Italy for some authentic pasta!We were walking up the street and Dave says, "Look, its you!" Sure enough I look up and see a giant button. (His nickname for me is "button")

The red sign above us says "No Standing Anytime." These signs cracked us up because everywhere we went there was a New Yorker trying to tell us what we should and shouldn't be doing. For instance, we were walking down a small sidewalk with the stroller and a larger woman passes us by going the opposite direction so we veer to the side as far as we can. However, she doesn't move an inch and slams the stroller with her purse and just yells at us that we need to "step back."

Central Park was huge! We spent the greater part of a whole day there. Before this trip, when I thought of New York I would imagine an over crowded city, chaos, rats, and man made structures. Granted, I did see quite a few rats in the subway; but when I think of New York now, images of beauty are conjured up in my mind.

Dave reluctantly posed for me while I tried to capture a few memories of Cental Park.

Marston Fam

The best part of New York was visiting the Marstons! We had so much fun with them. I loved how Evy would get sooo excited whenever she saw Lizzy and would want to help me change her, dress her, and play with her. She kept saying how she wanted a sister named Lizzy Rose! Dane was adorable and impressed us with his amazing scooter skills going down the hills of Brooklyn.

It was fun to see the Marston Family in the New York environment. I have a new respect for families with kids living in NYC.

Blake and Steph were so generous in letting us invade their home for a week! It was good to see Blake- it had a been a while since we missed seeing him this past holiday.

Stephanie was the perfect hostess as always. She really made sure we had a good time and got to see all the best sites in NYC.

We love you guys and miss ya already!

DC

Since we were already as far away as New York we decided to travel a few more hours and visit DC for a couple days! DC was truly more amazing than I thought it would be. Even though I have seen pictures of most of the sites, it is so powerful to be there in person. Each and every detail of those memorials and monuments is wrought with symbolism and meaning. We did a walking tour of the outdoor sites, admired all the federal buildings, and visited the Smithsonians.

We saw the motorcade three times! At one point I was literally 10 feet away from the President of the United States. (Granted, he was inside his limo so I couldn't see him.)

The Lincoln Memorial was my favorite!
We went to the Holocaust Museum and when you enter, they give you an ID Card full of information about a real person who lived through the Holocaust. You are supposed to imagine being this person as you walk through. It was kind of eerie when I picked up my ID card and saw her birthdate: It was MY birthday! Quite the coincidence.

She had a very sad life story, and it was so humbling and personal.