Emmy and I were so excited to be invited to go to NYC with the Smith girls for a long weekend. I have not been in years and I was glad to go with someone who really knows the city. We piled a lot into the four days!
It was really difficult to talk about the 9/11 Memorial with Emmy. She obviously couldn't understand the magnitude, I am not sure I did.
We had plans to bike over the Brooklyn Bridge and did a lot of biking ahead of time to prepare. However, when we got there, the girls weren't old enough to rent bikes.
We ate really, really well! I kept saying that Kara and Keeli were 'foodies' and Emmy was appalled. I think she thought it meant they were overeaters.
Fashion Avenue was quite a hit!
This might be my favorite picture. Emmy carried her brush with her in her purse so when we had to make a quick drugstore run, Stella wanted a new brush. This is the girls walking back to our hotel, just brushing their hair down 34th Avenue.
Emmy and I waiting to board in Memphis.
A pooped girl in the taxi to the hotel.
Our super cute room. It was right across the street from Madison Square Gardens.
We saw Matilda and were blown away. It was so neat to see it on Broadway and can't wait to compare when we see it this fall in Memphis.
Of course, we had to go to the Statue of Liberty too. We didn't get to go to the torch, but that is a good thing, I am pretty sure we couldn't have made the climb!
We got to celebrate Stella's birthday while we were there. I am still so happy with how well she and Emmy hit it off.
Girls on Times Square. Emmy had to put on her new Matilda shirt ASAP.
The Top of the Rock was amazing. We got to go to the roof of Rockefeller Center and see quite a view.
The Smiths left early Sunday morning and Emmy and I stayed until Sunday night. We headed back to Times Square (you can see a little speck of Emmy on this screen) and hit up the M&M and Hershey stores.
Toys R Us was ah-mazing! Emmy walked around taking pictures to help her work up her letter to Santa later this year. They had a Ferris wheel inside the store!
Also on the last day, my friend Amanda Kaut from Arkansas met us. She lives in New Jersey and came into the city with her daughters. We hit up this great Italian restaurant (Emmy was dying for some meatballs), the American Girl store, St Patrick's Cathedral, FAO Schwartz and Central Park. And rain. A lot of rain.
I asked her who her candle was for and she said Papa Richie's surgery. That was over a year ago but she is still really worried about him.
This is a child who is over it. Over. With. Pictures.
Carousel at Central Park. She was a little disappointed that she did not see the cast of Jessie there.
After we left Amanda and her girls, we headed to the hotel and it really started raining. We were soaked!!! Our American Girl bag was destroyed so I ran carrying things in my arms, stepping in a water puddle up to my knees as we got to our hotel. We had already checked out but left our luggage. I asked the bellhop for several towels and a key to the bathroom--we had to change clothes and repack our suitcase now that our American Girl carryon bag was destroyed. Emmy dropped her shirt in the toilet and it almost flushed away but she barely caught it. We called for a ride to the airport and it took over two hours--the tunnels were all flooded! Our flight was one of a very few that made it out that night.
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