New York, New York!

Max and I took a little trip to New York City two weeks ago to visit Tim's sister Diana and her wonderful family Clint, Josie, and Sam.  We had such a great time.  It was honestly one of the best trips I have ever taken.  You will be shocked at how much we were able to do in 3 days.  If I could, I would use a massive amount of exclamation points right now but I will restrain myself.

Diana is pretty amazing.  She does so many things with her kids every day, is always taking them out to explore the city on foot, teaching them at every opportunity and she still has time to work out a ton and keep her house very clean and she always seems to be patient.  I was so impressed by her when I left that I set some new goals for myself that I will post at the end.  Her kids are some of the most well-behaved and smart little kids I have ever been around.

It was a little crazy for me to take Max alone through the airport.  I broke off one of the stroller wheels immediately.  A TSA man helped strap it back on but it didn't last long.  We made it through security, onto the plane, into NYC, to the car service, and into Diana's apartment with a bit of chaos but it was all worth it.

We did so many wonderful things and I could write pages about how much I loved all of it but I don't want to make you  jealous or bored or both.  Here is the great view from Diana and Clint's beautiful apartment.

Diana took us to the MET where Josie was able to point out some of Van Gogh's work as well as some interesting features on the Greek sculptures :)  I loved just walking through the museum and seeing so many big and small beautiful things.  There is too much to even take in or process.  So many beautiful things.

 

Josie is admiring some artwork.

  

We rode in style throughout the city with Diana's three person stroller.  It was actually pretty easy to maneuver but I felt like we stood out a bit.  Max loved looking at Josie as seen above.  He thought she was hilarious.
We even took this monstrosity on the subway. 

We went to the Natural History Museum which I really think you could go to for months without seeing everything.  It is huge and amazing. Josie once again knew way more than a 3 year old should and ended up teaching me quite a few things.

We saw this wonderful IMAX movie and I cried.  It was beautiful.  I want to take Tim to see it. So very, very good.  If you ever get a chance to see it, don't pass it up.  I found that it is playing in Milwaukee too.

 We spent lots of time walking through Central Park which is pretty close to Diana's apartment and took the kids to play at the playground.  It was Max's first time on the swings and he loved it.  Josie and Sam were experts.

We sent swimming and had bath time after which was too cute for words.  Josie was so helpful and made sure Max was all washed up.  It was Max's first time swimming and he loved that as well.  Sam is a major swimmer and was very confident that at the age of 1 he did not need his mother's help.  Luckily, Diana knew better.

We took a long walk along Highline Park which is an old railway track turned into a walking path.  My great friend Katelin Rowley recommended this and I was very glad we did it.  It was really cool and had great views of the City.  We ate at a delicious bakery in the area after our walk.

Josie and Sam let Max tag along to their music class.  It was so cute and the kids loved it.  Even though Max ate most of the instruments, he rocked to the music too. It is impressive how much those little ones soak in.

We left the kids behind and went to Porgy and Bess recommended by Clint and it was so wonderful.  Beautiful music and a beautiful story but Bess really is kind of crappy, right?  Not a character with very many redeeming qualities.

 

Sam and Max are 5 months apart but are the same size and love to wear the same clothes.  People thought they were twins even though they look nothing alike.  They were a cute combo but weren't all that interested in each other.  Max and Josie were much more buddy-buddy on this trip.

It has been a bit depressing coming back to the slow pace of Milwaukee life.  I loved being able to walk all around New York, the endless amount of things to do and see, great food everywhere, interesting people, and just the all-around great feel of the city life. A few take-aways from the trip:
1. Make an effort to see what Milwaukee has to offer and take Max to check it all out.  He is able to learn a lot more than I thought he could at this age.
2. Work-out and stop saying that I JUST had a baby.  It has been 7 months.
3. Finally, try to move to New York.  It might be the only place worth living.

Thank you Diana and Clint for your hospitality.  Max and I could not have had a better trip.  We hope to do it again soon and this time bring Tim along.