Manhattan, Miscellaneous

We enjoyed walking all around Manhattan!  There is a LOT to see and do, and the children did remarkably well with all the walking/picture taking/going to toy stores but not buying toys/etc.

Walking through the wall of water:

Hanging out on Times Square: (this was at the end of the day - not sure why they're out of order...)

We joked that I couldn't get everyone looking in the same direction because of all the screens everywhere.  Look at Grins' 'screen face'!

Macy's Store on 34th Street!

I did not tell Angel to pose this way - I don't know where she got that, it was making me laugh!

Wiggles did not appreciate all the noise of the city!

The Empire State Building (we planned to go up to the top but ran out of time!)

We sat in the "LOVE" and enjoyed some local hot dogs and pretzels!

The Mr. and I took turns attending the Manhattan temple while the other played at Central Park /  went sight-seeing  with the kids.  It was incredible how beautiful and serene the temple was, right in the midst of the hustle and bustle!

Not a fan of self portraits (especially of myself!) but I wanted proof that I was there! :)

Wiggles fell in LOVE with a little Lightening MacQueen toy at  the Disney store!

 The Statue of Liberty:

Unfortunately, at the time of our visit, the Statue of Liberty (and the island it is on) was closed for a year for renovations, making it impossible for us to visit it or see it up close.  So the closest we could get was to take a trip on the Staten Island Ferry, which sails fairly near it in the New York Harbor.  The Ferry ride boasted a breathtaking view of the harbor, city and sunset!  Despite the cold wind, it was a lot of fun and we met some New York City locals who told us all about the city and complimented our children on their good behavior. :)

The Statue of Liberty seems so far away in this picture, but we were able to get much closer at one point!

Not a great shot...but there it is!

Ground Zero - the 9-11 Memorial:

Unfortunately, we didn't plan well enough ahead (since this was a spontaneous, last-minute trip!) and get the advance tickets necessary to enter the 9-11 Memorial site.  We did, however, get to see the construction underway and plans for the new memorial, and it promises to be spectacular!

M & M World (Times Square):

I can't believe I didn't take a single picture of M & M world! (I found the following online).  Truth be told, it was not exciting in the least for me - nothing much to see but a bunch of M & M paraphernelia - and really, who buys those dispensers?  And who in their right mind really wants a stuffed M & M, when their worth is only in how they taste?  Seemed like an awful waste of space to me.  (Aside from the walls of chocolate, of course!)  And at $13 per pound, I had a hard time even enjoying the chocolate.  My children, however, were very impressed!  When asked what their favorite part of our trip was (even weeks later), their very first response was "the M and M store!"  So, apparently, it was worth the trip!

We let each child get a few of their favorite color.  Wiggles chose red, Grins, teal, and Angel, aqua.  Yes, they have teal AND aqua - and they are different!  This was before we realized there were also different FLAVORS (the next floor up!)

I had NO idea there were SO many different kinds of M & Ms!!!  We saw mint, raspberry, coconut, almond, pretzel, peanut butter, dark chocolate....too many to count!

So, then we each had to get a few of our favorite flavor...really, just a few!  But our tiny little bag of M & Ms end up costing us a whopping $18!!!  I was almost too sticker-shocked to enjoy the flavor (especially when the bag ripped in the middle of Times Square!   For $13 a pound they should have better bags! but I digress.....)  But WOW - raspberry M & Ms are a new kind of delicious.  And we all agreed that all of the M & Ms seemed to taste so much better than usual.  I must admit - the cost really bothered me - but after returning home and hearing over and over how much the children enjoyed it, I eventually got over it (mostly.  I still find that price completely criminal...but that's NYC for you.)  (For the record, we ended up having a picnic dinner made of snacks from the diaper bag to compensate for our overspending, so we didn't break the bank.)