One NY Photo

Mike and I and an incredible NYC view

We had such a wonderful vacation to the East Coast last weekend.  We've been home now for almost a week, but with school and all the post-trip chores to do, I am just now finding time to blog again.  Mike is almost through editing all the other pictures we took while we were there which I will post sometime soon.  Until then, let me recap our trip for you:

Wednesday-- Arrived in Newark, NJ at 11:00 pm.  Lucas did great on both flights (OKC to Dallas and Dallas to Newark). He mostly slept but when he was awake we kept him happy by feeding him a steady stream of Cheerios and Goldfish.

Thursday-- We spent the entire day with Mike's brother Juan and his family at Sandy Hook Beach on the Jersey Shore.  Lucas loved the sand and the waves.  He slept in the warm afternoon sun snuggled up with his Aunt Tracy.  Mike and I swam out into the cold Atlantic water and jumped in the waves like we were eighteen again.  There was also plenty of boogie boarding, body surfing, shell collecting, and sand castle building.  When we finally left the beach in the early evening hours, we headed back to Juan and Tracy's house in Cranford, NJ where we snacked on cookies, then headed outside after dark to let all the kids (and adults) light sparklers. 

Friday--We spent the morning hanging out with Mike's sister Rachel and her daughter Velda.  Around 2:00 we caught the train into New York City.  While waiting for the train to arrive, we overheard this conversation (so typical of Jersey).

Man (with a very thick east coast accent) buying a train ticket says to the woman behind the ticket counter:  "I like what you're doing with your hair."

Woman:  "Thank you."

Man:  "It looks just like my mother's hair.  That is, before someone killed her." 

Once we met up with Rachel's husband, Juan, at Penn Station (Yep, I have two different brother-in-laws named Juan), our first stop was to visit my cousin, Katie at her new New York City apartment.  Katie just moved to the Big Apple a month ago to begin law school at Fordham University.  I'm so proud of that girl!  After our short visit, we then proceeded to meander around the city stopping to take a few pics or to grab a snack.  We did have a celebrity sighting while crossing the street near Columbus Circle.  Glancing to my left in a sea of people all trying to get across the street, I spotted Steven Tyler from Aerosmith!  He was smoking a huge cigar and once we recognized him, we could hear lots of whispers from other people in the crowd also figuring out who he was.  Mike whipped out his phone and got a quick video.  Friday ended with all of us meeting up with Mike's parents,his Uncle James and his fiancee' Linda at Dallas Barbecue for a rehearsal dinner.  Let's just say, it was nearly 8:00 by the time we were seated and Lucas had not been able to take an afternoon nap, so he was out of his mind fussy.  After trying all the tricks in the book to calm him down, Mike's mom offered him a lemon slice out of her water.  Surprisingly, he started sucking on it, acting like he loved it!  It calmed him down and we were able to stay and enjoy the rest of our dinner.

Saturday-- Wedding day!  James and Linda were married in a beautiful outdoor ceremony under a tree in Strawberry Fields in Central Park.  Just a few yards away from the Imagine Circle, we were serenaded by many people paying homage to John Lennon.  Lots of James and Linda's friends from their acting class came to support them and lots of tourists walking by stopped to listen in on the vows.  My brother-in-law, Juan Martinez, officiated the ceremony, Rachel took photos and Mike did the video.  I chased Lucas around. :)
The reception was the most amazing part of our trip.  It was held on the rooftop of the most swank penthouse I've ever been to (Ok, it was the only penthouse I've ever been to!).  Think of how Donald Trump might decorate an apartment and that is basically what it was like.  But we didn't spend much time inside the penthouse at all because it was the view from the top that took the cake.  There was a 360 degree view of New York City at sunset.  Jazz was playing, fancy h'orderves were served and everyone was just walking around, champagne in hand, filled with awe at the incredible views-- The Empire State Building, The Chrysler Building, The East River.  That's where Mike and I are in the photo above.  The photo cannot even do it justice.  It was such a beautiful night.

Sunday-- We flew through Chicago this time as we made our way back home to the flat lands of Oklahoma.  Lucas again slept most of the flights and I managed to finish a really, really good book entitled Same Kind of Different as Me (a review to come soon!).  It was a short but sweet trip, and I was so glad to be home and hug my girls' necks.  I really missed them.  We're already talking about driving up there next summer, and I can't wait!

I'll post some more photos soon!