New York, New York

So, this past Sunday evening, the kids and I headed to New York City for a fast and furious visit. It turned out to be a great 24 hours, and I'm glad we made the time to go.

The main reason for going was to see Anna in one of her concerts at Juilliard. The date had been on the calendar for months, and wouldn't it figure that I would get summoned for jury duty that day? Thankfully, I got it postponed until April, so the kids and I were off.

I taught my Sunday School class at church, and as soon as it was over at 2:30, we jumped in the car and left for New York. It being Fast Sunday, we waited a couple of hours before stopping at a Cracker Barrel for dinner. Hmmmm, I don't think Country Fried Steak ever tasted so good!

We were making great time until we hit the Lincoln Tunnel, but even then we got to our hotel on 51st and 8th, dropped off our stuff and grabbed a taxi up to the temple/church meetinghouse at Lincoln Center. We walked in right after the opening prayer for the First Presidency Christmas Devotional. Perfect timing! It was seriously all I could do to NOT throw my arms around Anna, but we did all sneak hugs in the pew. Afterwards, I wanted to take pictures in front of the church, but I didn't want us in our coats. Can you tell that it was chilly, and windy, and dang cold?!

Afterwards, we had a delightful time walking around Lincoln Center Plaza. I couldn't resist taking different photos.

There were these beautiful blue lights covering an entire walkway of trees.

I must have taken 20 pictures of the kids and different poses in front of the fountain at Lincoln Center. It was the coolest thing to see!

I made the kids pose in the middle of this crosswalk when the light was red.

Thank goodness the traffic wasn't too bad.

Then, Anna came back to the hotel with us where we all made the most delicious hot chocolate (compliments of our hotel) and talked for an hour, or so. I didn't want her to go, but we were excited for the events of the next day.

The kids and I slept in--them because they are kids, and me because I knew it would be a long day. After a great breakfast at the hotel, and storing our luggage, we were off for the day. Even though we have been to Times Square countless times, it was like a magnet that drew us all back again. Those lights are seriously amazing.

The kids wanted to go to the M&M store first. Try as I might, we didn't get out of that store with less than 4 pounds of M&M's--they all look so pretty on the wall, and it's so fun to custom pick colors and combinations. Too, the girls tried out the M&M Mood Finder--Glo is pink, and Hannah is blue.

Hannah, picking the appropriate M&M for her. She actually layered her bag with M&Ms to match her clothes for the day :-)

A description of Hannah's M&M "mood"

Glo, standing in front of the M&M Mood Finder

Then, Hannah wanted to do some shopping which is not what I usually like to do while traveling. There was a huge Aeropostale store right there, but I warned the kids that I wasn't paying 2-3 times as much for the same clothes just because it is in New York City. Turns out, there were still $8 shirts and $20 pants, so I let them do their own Christmas shopping. I think our store in State College has about 10 shirts total, so there was a great selection, and I couldn't pass it all up. While Mark and Johannah were trying on clothes, Glo and I were saddled with their coats, hats, and scarves and we were rather bored. Here's how Glo passed the time (and I passed the time watching her pass the time):

Of course, the main problem with shopping while traveling is the need to haul everything around. My ankle had just about had it, so we headed back to the hotel and dropped off our goodies. Too, we sat and played Spades while drinking more hot chocolate. It was good to put the foot up.

We were scheduled to meet Anna for skating at 2:30 so we walked just three blocks to Rockefeller Center. What an amazing place! The kids got their skates, I got Anna's, we met up with her, and everybody spent the next hour skating at Rockefeller Center! Seriously, it's one of those iconic things to do in New York City that I never thought we would do. It's really quite lovely. Christmas music is playing in the background, and there is generally just a feeling of joy and cheer. It was fun to watch them, and I appreciated the benefits of roller skating over the years when the kids had no problem moving around the ice.

The best picture, by far, of the trip!

Aren't they so cute?

Somebody was always holding Anna's hand.

I think we all fell in love with her.

Outside of the LEGO store in Rockefeller Center

For dinner, I wanted to do New York style pizza, but the kids had their hearts set on Hard Rock Cafe. Back to Times Square! I must admit, there is something about fatty bar food that tastes really good after being out in the cold all day. It was fun to walk in again and be reminded of the last time we were there--with Brandon, Travis, Lisa and ETHAN (okay, I've made it through this whole post without mentioning him once, so just give me a break :-))

Finally, we needed to head up to Juilliard for Anna's concert. Seeing as my ankle was done for the day (this was the most walking I've done unassisted up to this point), I lobbied for a taxi. Anna thought it would be better to take the subway, but the thought of all the stairs didn't appeal to me. So, without missing a beat, she was off.

In the lanes of traffic.

Hailing a taxi.

About to die.

I saw her life pass before my eyes several times over the next ten minutes. Yes, it was 6 p.m. in New York City. Yes, everybody and their uncle wanted a taxi too. Anna was undeterred. She WOULD get a taxi.

I'm not kidding when I say that she jumped out into the traffic to hail one. She was in front of moving buses, moving cars, trying to get in front of other people who wanted a taxi too. I was so worried for her that I didn't even remember to get out the camera and take a picture--honestly, I just wanted her to live.

Well, Glo found this all terribly fascinating, and before I could say or do anything, Glo jumped in right behind Anna, sticking her arm out into traffic too.

Oh my heart....

Unbelievably, she got us a taxi. I don't know how she did it, but she did, and my ankle will be forever grateful.

She gave us a quick tour around Juilliard and then took us up to her cute dorm room. Or should I say "her cute cubicle"? I'm amazed that she can even move in such a small place, but due to her organization and cleanness, she makes it all work.

Playing Spades

Anna's assortment of cards for a special someone. Isn't she darling?

We opened Ghirardelli chocolates from her and proceeded to devour most of them while playing Spades. I kept getting nervous about the time--she still needed to change and we needed to get to the concert hall. About 15 minutes before the concert was scheduled to begin, she changed into her black concert attire, grabbed her viola and escorted us downstairs. She headed who-knows-where while we found our seats.

The concert was amazing! I knew the Mozart, the Webern was new to me but fascinating, but the Schumann? I don't think I could have even told you that Schumann wrote any works for orchestra. Mahler tweaked Schumann's Symphony No. 4, but still, it was a fantastic piece! The orchestra was spot-on for the entire concert (naturally, with all of the musicians studying at Juilliard), and we had a direct line of vision on Anna (if you click on the photo, she is the blonde "shine" directly behind the bar on the conductor's podium). The Schumann actually ended with the horns lifting their bells which was indescribably exciting to Mark, but I couldn't resist standing at the end because the music completely carried me away. Granted, I rarely, if ever, give a standing ovation (my kids will tell you that sometimes I'm the only one in a hall NOT standing which is a bit embarrassing to them), but this orchestra deserved it. It was one amazing performance.

Afterwards, we picked up our Christmas gifts from Anna and reluctantly said "goodbye". If I could have packed her away in my suitcase, I would have brought her home with us, but she still has some weeks of schooling before Christmas :-) One last trip back to the hotel where we rescued our car from the depths of a parking garage, crossed through the tunnel again, and found ourselves quickly on Pennsylvania soil.

Thankfully, between sleeping in and drinking Diet Coke throughout the day, I drove straight home and had us in our beds by 3 a.m. The kids slept the entire drive home, Mark and Johannah sprawled out in the back of the Volvo, and Glo curled up next to me in the front.

It was such a magical 24 hours!