Thursday, May 28, 2009

The Big Apple!!!

Last week Justin and I got to take a little (much needed) vacation. We had some free plane tickets, that we had gotten a little over a year ago when our flight from the Philippines got delayed like three times. So we decided to go see New York neither of us had ever been there and thought it would be fun to see. I'll tell you what, it is everything you would expect New York to be... busy, loud, exciting, busy, crowded, busy, dirty, and busy. It is defiantly a trip you need a vacation after. We had such a good time, and packed in as much as we could in the 6 days we were there. We didn't stop going for a minute, everything from ground zero to broadway we tried to do it all. It was so fun and so educational. There is so much history there and it just reminds you how blessed we are to be in this country. Plus it's always so nice to get away with just Justin and really just enjoy each other and then come home and remember how much you do miss your kids! and a big Thanks to my Mom who is always so willing to watch our kids so that we can get away together. I love you Mom!

NYC, BABY! Here We Come!!! (Justin in front of Time Square)
Central Park, It was so pretty, and relaxing.
just some little boys sailing their boats at the park.
On one of our double decker Tour Bus rides.

The Phantom, so Awesome! I think Justin even enjoyed it a little although he won't ever admit it!

At the Yankees Game!!! (of coarse it was the coldest day we were there, and I decided to wear short sleeves and capri's, I was freezing until Justin got sick of me complaining, went to get a hot dog and came back with a $65 Yankee's blanket. What a rip off, but worth every penny, it made the game enjoyable, and even came in handy for a little snuggling on our tour bus ride later that night :)



Just doin' a little people watching :) One of the funnest things to do on vacation, right? Seriously NYC has some interesting "characters". I wish I would have taken more pic's of some of the things we saw!!! Check out this hottie :)
Elmo just hangin' out on the streets.
My favorite treat there, roasted NUTS! ummm!

Us at Live with Regis & Kelly, so much fun! One of the highlights of the trip. The studio was so small (it's looks so much bigger on screen) The front row literally sat like 5 feet in front of their desk (we were on the 4th row). oh, and yes we got on T.V. for like 3 seconds.
Regis, Kelly, Gelman, and guest Simon Baker chatting with the audience during commercial breaks. We also got to see J.T. (winner of survivor) and Ricky Gervais. I was really surprised how much they interacted with us, they were so friendly and down to earth, especailly Kelly, she was so funny!
We also went to The Little Mermaid on Broadway! because it has always been my favorite Walt Disney Movie. So Cute!
The Manhattan Temple, we were able to go do a session one of the days. It was so weird to just walk right up to it on the corner, just like any other building, there were no pretty grounds fences or anything. But it was beautiful inside!
The Metropolitan Museum, we heard it was a must see, that we would want to spend a whole day there. Okay, so I guess Justin and I are not history buffs or educated enough or something we were dying after 2 hours, bored out of our minds. I guess maybe it would have been better had we have known who any of the people in the paintings or statues were. ( My cousin Melissa will be completely ashamed, it's probably like one of her favorite places, but seriously we could have used her and her knowledge that day.)
We did find one kinda cool floor full of knights, all their garb, and swords and stuff. Justin was digging it anyway!
Empire State (bottom right) and some other cool looking Buildings and churches. Some of the buildings there are so old and just detailed, their beautiful.
The Statue of Liberty, amazing to see in real life!
Just a street vendor trying to earn some money renting out his snake for pictures. We gave him a few bucks because we thought the kids would love the picture, and heck, why not waste more money when your on vacation :) ( it was ALOT less than the Met. Museum anyway, and a little more exciting!)

12 comments:

melissa said...

You got to see the naked cowboy! No fair, he was MIA when I went!

And hey.. the Met even wore me out! I made it about 4 1/2 hours and then had to go get ice cream!

I wish we would have talked before you went. I know some GREAT restaurants I would have told you about!

Looks like you had a great time! It makes me want to go back

melissa said...

Oh and I love Ricky Gervais! Couldn't you have brought him home for me :P

The McClellan Clan said...

dang girl, that is awesome! I love the SNAKE picture. I dont know how you did it, but I bet the kids were impressed!

jessica said...

I've been waiting to see this post! How fun!!! And sheesh you guys did do Everything while you were there...did you get a chance to sleep? You've inspired me to try to take a trip with just Lars sometime soon. Maybe this next year for our 10 year anniversary. So glad you had such a fun time! Welcome home.
And yes I swear we are seriously living similar lives with our kids! Not fun getting stitches is it? I wanted to bawl right along with Ashton. How's Jett's finger?
We are pretty free to get together for the next couple weeks before Ashton's little summer program starts. Call me!

Janalee Hubbard said...

Awww, man! I really really want to go to New York! That looks like so much fun! I love Kelly Ripa, and I love J.T., so that would be a great show to see. I bet you guys had a great time just the two of you in the big city.

Amy Jo said...

I am so jealous! I dream of NYC, and I can't wait until Joe and I get to go there! I am so glad you had fun together!!

Hailee said...

Hey Ash!! Looks like you guys had a fun trip! I want to go to NYC so bad. Looks so fun. I left you a comment on one of your posts a while back but maybe it didn't work. So fun to see your cute little kiddos. Your daughter looks just like you. They are all adorable. I'm glad We can keep in touch this way. Where are you living?

Rebecca Leigh Hall said...

So I blog stalked you guys from Jake and Traci. I'm so jealous that you guys went to NYC. I loved when I went last summer and I'm so excited to go back again.

Honeybee said...

Ok, so I blog stalked too like Becca from Jake & Traci! It looks like you had a great time. I am JEALOUS you got to see Regis & Kelly, they are my favorite!! We went & saw Martha when we were back there & she DID NOT interact with the audience :) Are the Ballards planning on another 4th of July in Lewiston- hope so. Melissa H.Q.

Hayley said...

I'm so jealous it hurts.

houseofgirlsandjohn said...

How fun, I didn't know you were going. John and I went when I was pregnant with the twins and the smells seriously about killed me there. Looks like you had a great time and did everything there was to do. Did you make it to China Town?

Jared Heather and Taegen Pete Johnstun said...

It looks like you had tons of fun! I love to just hang out in NYC, did you go to China town? That is Jared's favorite place! When did Justin become a USPS guy?