Sorry for the delay on the details of our trip. Things have been crazy with the holidays and all so I haven't had a lot of time to sit and type.
12/9/09
We flew out of Dayton, Ohio on December 9. The weather was very windy and there were massive snowstorms all around the U.S. Ohio was in the eye of the storm so it was 50 degrees and drizzle. There were gusts of high winds. Our flight was delayed about an hour or so. Once we got in the air, the flight was a bit turbulent. The girls were a little nervous at the take off but they "chewed/swallow, chew/swallow" to keep their ears popping.
The girls got a kick out of Skymall magazine. Megan's favorite part about the flight was the mini-pretzels we got as our snack! The decent down was quite bumpy. Much like a roller coaster ride. A few times the bumps got our bellies like the hills of Huntington Township!!!!
The captain announced we would be circling Newark for ~26 minutes due to the weather and air traffic. We ended up circling about 5 minutes before being cleared for landing.
Aunt Toots was waiting for us at the airport. We drove to Aunt Toot's house and Baba was there waiting for us. The girls went swimming in Aunt Toot's community clubhouse pool. After swimming we had a yummy dinner, worked on homework, and just relaxed and hung out.
12/10/09
We woke up and got ready to head to NYC!!!!! We caught a bus to the city. The girls were very excited to go through the Lincoln Tunnel. The bus station was very busy and crowded. We took a taxi to Radio City Music Hall where we had a date with the Rockette's to watch the Christmas Spectacular! We sat in the 2nd row and the show was FANTASTIC!
When the show was over we made our way to Rockefeller Center to see the tree. It was beautiful, even in the daylight. We watched the ice skaters before we caught a cab to head to the restaurant for lunch.
Aunt Toots took us to the famous Tavern on the Green http://www.tavernonthegreen.com for lunch. What a beautiful little restaurant. The chandeliers were gorgeous. The Christmas tree in the room we ate in was so pretty. I can't even put into words the beauty of this place.
After we ate we were lucky enough to be able to take a horse and carriage ride through Central Park. I had never been there and it was very neat to see all the history of the park. Our horses name was Alvin. After the ride the girls fed Alvin a carrot.
We then took another tax to St. Patrick's Cathedral. The church is so pretty.
We walked from the church back to Rockefeller Center to see the tree in the dark. Saks Fifth Avenue was decorated with giant snowflake lights. Every 10-15 minutes there was a show and the snowflakes danced to music played over loud speakers. The tree at Rockefeller was so much prettier at night.
We headed towards Times Square and along the way we found M&M World! THREE stories of M&M everything. Megan was in absolute heaven! I am sure the girls could have spent the rest of the night in this store!!! We had to drag them out of it!!!
As we walked out of the store and crossed the street I saw it...Times Square. It was amazing. The atmosphere. The lights. The buildings. It was amazing. For those of you who haven't been there in awhile the street is now closed off to cars and open only to pedestrians. There are also lighted riser steps to walk up to get a view of Times Square from a higher level. I could have stayed there all night to soak everything in.
We then took a very cold walk back to the bus station to go home! We got on the bus and the girls fell asleep very quickly. The day was a wonderful day. I couldn't take enough pictures and the memories the girls and I have will never be forgotten! :)
Once we got home, we told Baba all about our day and showed her all the souvenir's we purchased. We were all so tired. We crammed a lot of activities into one short day!!!
12/11/09
We slept in and woke up to Aunt Toots making French Toast. It was yummy. Once we got dressed we headed to Jackson to go to lunch with my Aunt Jean(Dad's SIL) and visit with her for awhile. We went to Applebee's for lunch then back to Aunt Jean's house and sat and talked. The girls seemed bored at first then they started to relax and entertain us! On the way home from Jackson, the girls entertained Aunt Toots and Baba by singing in the back seat of the car!!!
That night we hung out at Aunt Toots house. The girls took a bath in the big tub. We were all still tired from the day before so we turned in early.
12/12/09
This day we went to a local mall. The girls and I waited in line to so they could sit on Santa's lap. We looked at the pretty Christmas decorations then ate lunch at the Rainforest Cafe. It was pretty cool. Every 10 minutes the animals "performed" which was cool. Megan had a zebra that "stared" at her the whole time!!!
Once we got home, my Aunt Kathy (Mom's sister) came to Aunt Toot's house for a visit. It was good to catch up with her and hear all about what's going on in her and my Cousin Tim's life right now!
After Aunt Kathy left, the girls put on their jammies and modeled for us. We took lots of head shots of them goofing off. Aunt Toots and Megan also had a twist-tie rolling contest. Whoever rolled theirs up the tightest was the world champion. Megan won!!! Aunt Toots gave Megan a medal she had won in a Bocce tourney in her community!
12/13/09
Our vacation quickly came to an end and it was time for us to head back to Ohio. Our flight was delayed about an hour. Emily was anxious to get to the airport so we left our normal time. The girls and I enjoyed sitting at the gate watching people. Aunt Toots packed us some snacks and I bought the girls a soda to enjoy while waiting. Our flight moved up a couple of times and we ended up leaving about 40 minutes before our original delay. We were loaded on the plane and up in the air in minutes.
The flight home was better than the flight there. Not so bumpy. We were all excited to see Ron waiting for us at the airport. We got our luggage and went home sweet home.
Thank you Aunt Toots and Baba for letting us disrupt your life for a few days. We had a wonderful time and can't wait until we can do it again!!!!
