New York or Bust!

In an attempt to cross another thing off our bucket list {Only ten months left in RI! }we made a last-minute decision to take the boys to New York for Columbus Day weekend.  Randy had the day off work thanks to his government job and of course the boys had the day off school thanks to Rhode Island's desire to keep five days a week of school to a minimum.  
We arrived Sunday afternoon and walked to Central Park and a little bit of Times Square. You'd think with all that walking the boys would have slept deeply that night.  But nooooo, that would've been too easy. 
It took the boys forever to fall asleep and then Parker woke up at 4:30am and refused to go back to sleep.  Eventually Landon woke up too.  I didn't want them to wake up everyone else so I did the only thing I could think of.  I put them in the bathroom with the DVD player, my phone, and threw in a bag of muffins and told them to be quiet.  By 7am all the boys were hanging out in the bathroom and Randy and I were left wondering if we ever actually slept.  It didn't feel like it.  I can only imagine what the housekeeping lady thought when she saw all the food remnants and toys in the bathroom but whatever.  It got us through.
Despite the rough night the boys were troopers the next day.  We went to the Top of the Rock where I got to enjoy eating cheesecake from Magnolia Bakery with stunning views of the city and Empire State Building.  We toured the Natural History Museum in record time and then it was on to FAO Schwartz.  For some strange reason it wasn't very crowded so Marcus got to play the Big Piano while Ethan searched desperately for a toy I'd approve the purchase of.  He failed.
After relaxing at the hotel and eating dinner at Johnny Rockets {the boys favorite}, Randy and I decided we'd take them to Times Square to see the lights at night.  This wasn't as nightmarish as I expected and Landon got a high five from Iron Man which made his trip complete.

My van driving through NYC

Parker sitting high on the 28th floor of our hotel.  Can you spot the United Nations building over on the right?

The Plaza Hotel $$$$$ - not where we stayed

Mesmerized by a real live concert

Marcus's favorite part of the trip was seeing Matilda

We stumbled upon Rockefeller Plaza on our way back to the hotel.

Back from the show and enjoying a late night snack

Playing with my camera in the bathroom in the wee hours of the morning.  He looks so tired!

Starting the day with big smiles and big plans

Top of The Rock

I love these boys!

Climbing rocks in Central Park was one of the highlights of the trip for the boys

Ethan loved the giant Lego creations

Riding the elevator to the Top of the Rock - the ceiling had a screen and lasers

We got really good at riding the subway

The American History Museum or something

More of Central Park

Central Park Literary Walk - I've always wanted to walk through here

FAO Schwartz

Times Square

We loved our hotel.  I'm sure they didn't love us.

On our last day we went to see the Statue of Liberty. The last time I was there was before 9/11 and things sure have changed.  We had to go through very thorough and annoying security checks before boarding the ferry and even more annoying security checks to go to the Statue.  We weren't even allowed to bring the stroller or carry a backpack.  Lame.

New York pizza for lunch

9/11 Memorial

More Central Park

If you made it through all those pictures you are a true friend!
The trip was so much fun, despite the stress of maneuvering through a crowded city with four kids.  Every time we took a picture Landon would raise his fist in the air and shout, "New York City!" at the top of his lungs.  Marcus proved to be most helpful by going down to the hotel lobby/store to buy milk for our breakfast each morning and thought he was super cool because I gave him his own room key.  Ethan dutifully stayed right by Randy or me the entire time so he wouldn't get lost, which has been known to happen on many occasions, and Parker kept the other tourists happy with his big smile and fist bumps.  If we ever go back to NY again it will be without the boys or when they are much older!