A week before school started, we were able to take our oldest to New York for a little "bonding" trip. When Matt and I first had children, we decided that the summer before they started High School we would take them on a trip anywhere they wanted to go. Well, this trip came up sooner than expected so it was changed from "anywhere in the world" to "anywhere in the Continental United States that we have enough miles for"! Hailey was thrilled to be going to New York. It's no secret that one of our favorite getaways as a couple is the Big Apple and Hailey was excited to take a bite herself (did I REALLY just write that?) We farmed out the other kiddos (thanks again Hazens, McLaughlins, Taotafas and Papa Paul!) and Hailey and I got on a plane (Matt was on another flight and got upgraded to first class...let's not go there). Both legs of our flight were VERY full and I was lucky to have such a skinny little seat mate. We read, watched movies, talked, and just enjoyed being together. We arrived late at night, ordered Chinese, and went right to sleep. The next morning we took a taxi into the city and checked into the Millenium Hilton. This hotel is our favorite and is right next to the World Trade Center Sight and has a view of the Statue of Liberty. Also, we always get upgraded to a suite so it was the perfect place to stay with Hailey. We had a quick lunch, got settled, and then headed out to enjoy the sights and sounds of New York City! Here we are in Grand Central Station-so pretty.
Enjoying the "chocolate bag" at McCormick and Schmick's
There's nothing like New York Night Life. Hailey said she felt like she'd been here before because everything looked so familiar from seeing it in movies/on tv so many times.
I love these two (notice the Sour Patch fruit in Hailey's hand...this in another one of my favorite things about New York. They have individual packs of sour watermelon, cherry, peach, blueberry, etc.---California only has sour watermelon)
Fun on the Subway (I guess goofiness runs in the family-see previous New York post)
At one point, we were the only ones on the Subway and it was really late at night. Hailey decided to channel her inner goofball and was running back and forth swinging on the poles (good thing she stopped short of pole-dancing...although her mama gave it a good college try!)
In an attempt to provide Hailey with a little culture, one of our stops was to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I LOVE this place and could spend days here. Hailey said it was worse than school. Oh well, at least we tried! On a sidenote: Matt was teased mercilessly by us for walking around in shorts and athletic shoes-SO touristy.
She did kind of enjoy the "modern art" section of the museum. We both thought this face made our of black patent leather shoes was pretty school, if not a little scary.
My absolute favorite picture of the trip
Hubba Hubba!
The "temple"...I kind of like ours better.
Arent' we cute?
A walk through Central Park
Believe it or not, in all our trips to New York, we have NEVER taken a walk through Central Park (maybe that's because most of our trips have been in the Winter?) Hailey insisted that this be part of our itinerary (I think she secretly wanted to run through singing "How Does She Know?") I have to say, this was one of my favorite parts of the trip. It feels like a different world in the park-it is so beautiful.
What's she looking for?
Hailey's attempt at "posing" her parents
An entire day of the trip was dedicated to shopping and finding Hailey cute clothes for High School. Unfortunately, this was our most frustrating day as believe it or not...shopping with a 13 year old isn't so much fun. Matt was a VERY patient daddy until the last store when we'd been shopping ALL day and she still hadn't found very much-that girl is one picky teenager! He actually told her she couldn't leave until she found a pair of jeans! She refused, Matt thought she was being a brat...and the rest is teenage history!
Another "teenage"moment
All better now! Our last day we went to see the Broadway production of "Young Frankenstein". For some reason, we didn't take any pictures. Go figure. The play was awesome (I LOVE Broadway!!!) Hailey thought it was so fun. I highly recommend it.
After a VERY fun, exhausting, and full trip. We will always remember this special time just with our Hailey. We love you Hailey girl.
