Last year Brian went to Chicago for an accounting conference and I was so bummed we didn't plan better for me to go. The school paid for his flight and hotel and I could have just paid for my flight and done some sight seeing while he was busy during the conference. We talked about that and when I asked where it would be in August 2016, he looked it up and it was scheduled to be in New York City! I was so excited and we put it on our calendar right then and there. We counted down the months and that amazing trip finally came and went and here it is in words and pictures:
To make a trip like this happen, you have to have amazing people in your life that will watch your kids for SIX whole days. Yes, it was six days. Lucky enough for us we have a few of those amazing people in our lives and when I asked Kristen in the spring if she would keep our three kids she didn't even hesitate and said, "Of course!" I think initially I said it would be 3-4 days and turning it into six was kind of an accident. When we got planning the trip we realized we needed an extra day and half so Brian could spend some time in Connecticut to see all of our friends and go to church. He had not visited since we moved and he really wanted to catch up with a lot of faces we don't see nearly enough.
We dropped our kids off at the Duke's on Friday afternoon and I don't think one tear was shed by any of us. In fact, Thad and Wes were anxious for us to leave so they could finally spend their six days with the Dukes! We got to the airport and enjoyed our trip eastward because traveling without kids is probably one of the best things ever.
Brian looks mad here, but he was just as excited as I was to be traveling solo.
We loved getting this cuteness from Kristen during our flights-
Each kid took a turn getting circled by all the others and they thought it was hilarious. I think they were all just super happy to be together!
Kristen loved that Eve was a good little eater. I was glad that it was something she didn't have to worry about. That girl can put it down!
And at the end of the first day Eve was happy to cuddle up with Kristen because no nap was to be had! Kristen is long past the nap phase and Eve doesn't mind skipping them as often as she can, so it was long forgotten. I'm so glad we have people that love our kids.
We landed at La Guardia around 10pm and by the time we got to our rental and drove to the Farr's it was a little past 11:30 p.m. I have to admit, that was a wonderful reunion, especially for Tracy and Brian because it had been 3+ years. Hanna and I were over the moon to be in the same place together, so it was a pretty wonderful reunion also. The Farrs have purchased a home since we moved and so I had to have a tour and soak it all in. I love seeing where my friends live so I can imagine it when I talk to them and think about them. They have an old home that has been updated/renovated and I loved everything about it. Old homes can have funny quarks and their basement was my favorite. Half finished, half unfinished and a funky walk through bathroom. I love the character that old homes have and hope to have one of my own one day! We talked and talked like irresponsible adults until 2:30 a.m. We could have kept going but figured we better get some shut eye so we would be coherent for our fun the next day.
After a delicious breakfast and more catching up and house admiring, we headed to Tod's Point for some fun at the beach.
Hanna and I didn't venture too far into the water and the girls were as pleased as punch to wander out with the dads.
Little Miss Eden sure has grown up since I saw her right before her first birthday and I loved getting myself reacquainted with my favorite Farr girls!
Hanna is the best mommy and I loved watching her in action the entire weekend. Watching her definitely gave me some resolve to do and be better. I love that friend of mine.
We couldn't have asked for a better day at the beach and it wasn't because of the weather or water, but the company!
After our fun afternoon we headed back to the Farr's to spruce up for a trip to Norwalk for a walk down memory lane-
Seeing Exit 16 for the first time in a long time felt really, really good!
We drove by 23 Cottage Street, but Emmy and Ernie were not home so we just cruised through the streets that we walked/ran/drove so many times over our three years and loved it.
Our first stop was Stew Leonard's, of course, and we had so much fun!
These pictures might be confusing about why it's the best to those that have never been, but if you've been then you know. It just is.
And Thad cried about this cow more times than I can count! Still makes me smile every time.
Valencia's for dinner with our favorite people at our favorite restaurant was our next stop.
We invited a few more friends that weren't able to make it, but were happy as clams to have the smaller group. We sure love the Farrs, Jensens and Francias and miss hanging out with them on the weekends. Good food and good friends are good for the soul.
On Sunday we got to New Canaan bright and early to visit the Darien Ward.
We were weirdly a little nervous to go in, but all the nerves were gone the second we walked in and were greeted by so many of our favorite people. Several people mentioned after sacrament that it wasn't even surprising to see us because it seemed like we belonged there. That was exactly how we felt. We caught up with so many people that we wouldn't have otherwise and enjoyed our three hour stay to the max! We got to meet a new couple that just moved there to start at the FASB from Utah State and I told then to SOAK IT UP! I told her (can't remember her name) it would be the best year/s of her life if she would let it. Trust me, I know from experience.
After church we headed straight to Dave and Lizzy Jensen's for lunch. They weren't at church because 1. They moved to New Canaan so they aren't in Darien Ward anymore 2. Their baby boy was only a few weeks old and 3. Dave got a nose job to address issues a twice broken nose can create. They were so amazing to host us and I felt bad making her do it, but we couldn't let a trip go by without seeing them.
This is the only pic I got of our visit. There was lots of catching up and house gawking going on!
After our three hour stay we had to hustle to get our stuff in Greenwich and head to the city that night for a reception at Brian's conference.
We also got some great Sabbath day updates from the Dukes-
Eve Started out with Kristen but she said that Eve figured out who the "cool parent was:
Haha! Kids love dads!!!
And big brothers-
I have to say that my kids were pretty lucky to make the Duke family one of nine instead of seven-
Seven kids looks good on Kristen!
They would manage just fine...
Happy, happy, happy!
Brian started off the week with a big run around NYC and saw SO MUCH in the city-
-Intrepid-
-Freedom Tower-
-Brooklyn Bridge-
-Lady Liberty-
-Central Park-
I don't know why I don't consistently run because he sure covered a lot of sight seeing in one morning! He was even back in time to send me off to Grand Central to catch a train back out to CT so I could spend the day with Hanna and Camille while he did his conference stuff.
He got some more awesome views when Tracy took him up to his office in 30 Rock before they headed to lunch-
If you have to be in the city as much as Tracy does, I'm sure this view takes the edge off every now and then!
I ran to my train, made it by the hair of my chinny chin chin (sweat included) and went straight to the beach after arriving in Greenwich. It was so fun and all the memories of beaching it with Hanna for three years came flooding back. It's always fun to remember those early years even though they weren't that long ago.
And for some coo coo reason this is the only picture I got.
I love these ladies and their adorable kids with all of my heart.
I also got to see some puppy training in action with their new dog Indy-
Yes, he was sweet as he looks...except when he kept peeing in the same spot on her carpet. Other than that he was pretty dreamy. But take note: it did NOT make me want a puppy or any pet. Sorry kids.
The rest of the evening was spent just lounging with Hanna and her girls and I couldn't have asked for a better day. We talked and talked and talked some more and we could have kept on talking if I didn't have to catch a 9 p.m. train back to the city. We did get some ice cream before she dropped me off and I reluctantly said goodbye to her sweet babies that I wouldn't be seeing again during our trip.
And this picture was not staged or planned, we truly did not want to part.
Those Farr girls make me happy!
Brian met me at Grand Central and on our walk to our hotel we stopped and admired St. Patrick's Cathedral that was covered with scaffolding during our three years on the east coast-
These pictures don't give it justice, but the restoration work they did definitely paid off and it was a sight to behold! We didn't get to go inside, but will on our next trip.
Tuesday was set aside for Brian and Shelley fun day! At church on Sunday the Potters recommended that we see the show Beautiful about Carole King's life, and since we knew Hamilton wouldn't be possible, we planned on that. Brian and I got to the theater around 8:30 a.m. and waited for the box office to open at 10 a.m. so we could purchase rush tickets. Our sacrifice paid off and we got four Broadway tickets for $160...can't beat that! From there we decided to head down to Washington Square Park and on our way to the subway we stopped at the New York Library because we realized we never went in the entire time we lived there! Brian walked by the building every day for two years. Yeah, we're crazy like that.
That is a pretty impressive place and I'm glad we took a stroll through it! I was sad the reading room was closed that is in all the movies, but still glad we did it.
This Lego lion was right outside the children's wing and we loved it so we had to get a pic of Brian with the real thing before we left.
We made our way to Washington Square Park, another place we never made it during our three years, and enjoyed the beautiful arch and fountain there.
From here we walked through part of NYU's campus-
Admired sites only cities have-
And found ourselves at a tiny Cuban restaurant for some yummy lunch. I didn't get a picture for some reason, but it was fun to try something new. We ate too much and against our better judgement we still went and had dessert at Rice to Riches.
But you know what? We enjoyed every last bite of that delectable rice pudding and had no regrets...maybe some major fatigue and belly aching, but no regrets!
After some souvenir shopping we went back to the hotel so Brian could attend another session at his conference and so I could nap and read and do whatever I wanted. Yes, childless travel is dreamy.
After some relaxing it was time to meet up with the Farrs for dinner and our Broadway show.
Tracy couldn't meet up for dinner so we just grabbed some salads from Chop't and met Hanna in Bryant park before heading to the theater.
Beautiful - The Carol King Musical
We weren't sure where we were sitting and were happy to be on the second row of the balcony in the small theater. It was up, close and personal and we all loved every second of it!
I am not as familiar with Carole King as Brian, Tracy and Hanna are and I still adored it. I recognized several of the songs and the performance was just top notch. If you ever have a chance, we highly recommend it!
You can hardly see all of us, but here we are after an awesome show with our favorite people.
We knew we wanted a fun dessert and had to stroll through Times Square to get there-
Hanna and I enjoyed our guys catching up with each other and had no problems hanging behind so we could have conversations of our own.
We finally made our way to Schmackary's and enjoyed the biggest ice cream sandwiches you ever did see!
I think our husbands had to finish ours, but boy, they were delicious!
We reluctantly bid them farewell after walking them to Grand Central but were just so grateful for the time we did get with them. I frequently think about Hanna and the what ifs if we still lived by each other and wouldn't mind if us being neighbors ended up in our future once again. A girl can hope.
Our last day in the city wasn't very noteworthy, but still wonderful. It was a cloudy, muggy, rainy day that we started it off with a run in Central Park (I only made it two miles, Brian made it six)-
Since Brian made it much farther than I did, he got some great shots in the park!
He also randomly ran into an old co-worker from the FASB and chatted with her for a bit. I was pretty shocked but so glad it happened!
After our run we got ready, checked out and waited to leave. Our flight was delayed so we weren't in a huge rush, but still got to La Guardia good time. We took a yellow taxi to the airport and Brian was shocked when I told him it was my first time ever in a taxi! The whole time we lived there I never did, so it was another fun little "first" I got to experience on this trip.
Both of our flights were delayed and I felt terrible that we wouldn't be back in time to pick our kids up from the Duke's, but it was another time it was great to be kid-free! Kristen was so gracious to keep them another night and we picked them up the next morning right after breakfast. It was so wonderful to be back together and so great getting back knowing they had a fabulous time with the Dukes.
I cannot thank Kristen enough times for this amazing service that only a true friendship can give. Whenever the trip comes up people ask, "Who watched your kids?" They follow it up with, "She is a pretty amazing friend to do that for you!" And I couldn't agree more. And she didn't just watch my kids, she loved them and treated them like her own. In this picture they are on their way to Waco (an hour and a half away) for an afternoon at the children's museum. Seriously? How amazing is she? We love the Dukes and they hold a special place in "home away from home" hearts just like the Farrs. Thank you a million times a million, Kristen Duke!
