New York City 2018: Day 1

Let me preface this by saying that I haven't traveled anywhere (outside of the surrounding states of Kansas) in the last 10 years. And I was 100% okay with that. We went to Puerto Vallarta in Mexico for our honeymoon and that was the grandest of my traveling adventures. It's just not in my blood--traveling isn't something I feel the NEED to do.

My sister on the other hand.....she'd be a gypsy if she could :) That girl will go anywhere and everywhere and for the last few years, my mom has been happy as a clam to tag along on some of those trips.

Between the two of them, they talked me into a girls trip to New York City (said in the fashion that the Pace Picante Sauce cowboys always said it, of course. If you don't know what I'm talking about, click here). We left in the evening on Tuesday, January 2nd and got back in the afternoon on Sunday, January 7th. My mom wanted to be there ON her birthday (January 3rd).

As we got closer and closer to leaving, I got more and more nervous about flying and leaving my kids. I may have written letters to each of them and my husband so that in the event I died, they would have a keepsake.......maybe. Ahem. I've never been away from my kiddos for more than 2 nights. And of course, I had learned that while I was gone, Tommy was going to have his first basketball game of the season and Tessa was going to have her first basketball practice EVER. And then Tessa got a loose tooth and I just KNEW she was going to lose her first tooth while I was gone.

We got to the airport on Tuesday and I struggled SO much with saying goodbye to them. I was trying really hard not to cry! It worked while they were with me, but when I walked into the airport....whoo man. Tears came.

Then it was time for the security line. It wasn't too bad! I was nervous because I hadn't flown in so long and so many policies have changed since then. But it was fairly simple. I had read the sign that said any electronics larger than a cell phone had to be put in bins, so I somehow deciphered that to mean I could leave my cell phone in my pocket. Oops. The walk-through scanner didn't like that. But no worries--I tossed it in a bucket to send through the rolling scanner and everything was fine. My mom, however.....Ha! She had to be swabbed or patted down at every security check point we went through. It was so funny! We have no idea why or what was triggering the sensor for her but she was so over it by the time we were done.

And then we got Chick-fil-a and waited.....and waited and waited. In the airport......

 And on the plane.....

 We FINALLY took off after what felt like forever. I discovered that I still don't like take offs or landings. But the in-between was fine! We flew from ICT to Minneapolis, Minnesota (or Min-Min as my mom liked to call it). Then from Minneapolis to NYC (JFK)!!! It was crazy to see New York City from an aerial view at night. SO pretty.

We hadn't dressed TOO warm because we knew it would be stuffy on the plane. So once we landed around 2am and got off our flight, we found the nearest bathroom and added several layers of clothing.

 It was the weirdest thing because when we came out of the bathroom, there was literally NOBODY in sight. The lights were turned down low and all of the gates were deserted. SO weird. I just kept wondering where everyone that was on our flight went and how they disappeared so quickly. Apparently, they hauled hiney out of there, so it was just us and some janitors. We found our way to the AirTrain and tried to figure out how to get to the subway. Luckily, Brooke's got it pretty figured out. I would have just sat on the same train all night trying to figure out where I was!

We eventually found our way to our hotel and got checked in around 4am. We were SO tired. But our hotel location was great and everything looked so nice and clean!

 We stayed at the Holiday Inn in Times Square. The room was small and I don't think it would have been comfortable if we had more than just the 3 of us (just due to lack of space to put luggage, etc). But it was perfect for us and the beds were comfy and the shower was hot and the view was great! I liked it the best at night time, but in the day time, you could see the shore line. After we unpacked a bit, we tried to get a few hours of sleep and then we were up and running around 9am!

On Wednesday, January 3rd, we did a lot of just walking around and sight seeing. We didn't really have a specific destination. We went through Times Square.

 Brooke found a bunch of confetti left over from the New Years Eve ball drop!

 We were going to eat breakfast at Ellen's Stardust diner, but the line was soooooooo long. So we ended up at Lindy's and it was really good! I had the crunch french toast and it was enough for me and mom to share.

 Then we went to Central Park to walk around for awhile.We debated taking a carriage ride but knew that it was supposed to snow the next day, so we wanted to wait and do a carriage ride in the snow.

 We had a caricature drawn of the three of us (which was super awkward because the guy kept telling us to look at him and smile). But it turned out super cute!

We watched the ice skaters for awhile. And then....

 ....that's where I decided that I wasn't enjoying myself. Let me just say that I had bought SIX pairs of boots to try before coming to New York because I knew it would be cold and was supposed to snow. I had finally settled on some Tommy Hilfiger duck boots and let me tell you.......they were the MOST uncomfortable pair of shoes I've ever worn. EVER. They were making my toes go numb and rubbing my heels SO bad. Which made walking miserable. And that's the best way to get around New York. So I was NOT a happy camper (add to that 4 hours of sleep and you can imagine how.....friendly I felt :). I tried to just stay quiet rather than whine. It worked for the most part! But I was SO ready to be done.

But since I had NO idea where I was or how to get back to our hotel by myself, I kept on truckin. We stopped to watch a couple taking wedding pictures in the FREEZING cold.

 We went in the Plaza and saw the BEAUTIFUL tree and lights.

 I have no idea why my mom's not looking at the camera in this picture!

 Then we walked to Trump Towers, which was GORGEOUS inside. SO pretty. Brooke was dying to go into the Nike Town they had there that's like 5 stories high. Mom and I relaxed for a few minutes while she found the perfect pair of Nikes!

We walked around Rockefeller Center and saw the big Christmas tree and the ice skating rink.

 The cutest thing happened while we were there. A guy had apparently paid to have the whole rink for him and his girlfriend. She was so confused when everyone else got off the ice and they stayed on. Then a love song came on over the stereo and he proposed! So romantic (Nick, are you taking notes?).

 We got to see Radio City and Jimmy Fallon's studio!

After Rockefeller center, we went shopping at a few places and I got some souvenirs for the kids. And then I called it quits. Couldn't walk another step in those blasted boots. Mom and Brooke walked me back to our hotel. On the way home, Mom and I went to 2 Bros Pizza and I got a few slices for dinner and took it back to our room. I ate and took a long, hot shower and then snuggled up in bed and watched TV and dozed off. They went to Wahlberger's (mom's dream come true) and looked at the lights at Rockefeller Center at night time and got back to the room around 11:30pm.

We talked for a little bit and then we conked out and FINALLY got some good sleep! While it wasn't my best day ever due to those stupid boots and sheer exhaustion, it was neat to see so many new things and to experience the busyness that is New York City!