A Girls Trip to NYC!!!

When Jill and Katie were itty bitty, we told them that when they were 6 we would take a girl's trip to New York. Well guess what happened this year... they turned 6!!! Donna and I could not have been more excited. This was one promise we did not mind keeping! So on Tuesday, November 22, Donna, Anna Beth, Katie, Jill and I boarded the 6:15 a.m. flight to New York City, New York! After a little delay in Birmingham due to fog in Charlotte, NC, we were on our way. We made it to New York shortly before noon and we hit the ground running.

Now, I have to apologize because the pics are in no particular order as I am trying to do this post quickly. We were in New York from Tuesday to Friday and we packed as much into that short time as humanly possible. Donna and I laughed each morning as we re-charged ourselves with a Starbucks and Motrin. And by the time we made it back to our hotel each night, the girls would almost fall asleep before their heads hit the pillow. As a matter of fact, Jill and Anna Beth almost missed dinner on Tuesday night when they nearly fell asleep at the table. And on Thanksgiving night, Jill was less than impressed with the dinner so she did fall sound asleep. Hope you enjoy the pics and I apologize for the poor quality of them as many were made on my phone...
Top of the Rock... (Rockefeller Center). The Empire State Building is directly behind us. We decided to do Top of the Rock verses The Empire State Building as there was no line. We walked right up, bought our ticket, hopped on the elevator and made the quick trip to the top. It was freezing and very windy but the view was UNBELIEVABLE!!!

No trip to New York would be complete without a hot dog or soft pretzel from a street vendor. Here the girls are enjoying theirs.

One of the beautiful catherdrals. I wish I could remember which one this is.

This was our ride to the airport on Friday. The girls flipped when they realized the limo was for us!

Ice skating at Rockefeller Center. Behind us you can see the famous Christmas tree. At this point the scaffolding is still around it but on the day we left they were starting to take it down to get ready for the lighting.

Anna Beth enjoying the ice skating.

And little Katie enjoyed herself too!

We had to stop in Toys R Us so the girls could ride the Ferris Wheel. Jill, Katie and I rode in the M&M car while Donna and Anna Beth rode in the pink Barbie car. We hit Toys R Us on black Friday so you can only imagine what a mad house this place was!!!

On our first night in New York we went to see Mary Poppins... AMAZING!!!! Even though we had to walk 1.3 miles back to our hotel in the freezing cold rain afterwards, I would have done it all over again just to experience this show. Poor Jill and I didn't even have our big coats as my big suitcase didn't make on our flight. My scarf had to act as a shawl for Jill and by the time we made it to the hotel I could wring out her socks. But she was a trooper!!! We got my suitcase around midnight that night and I studied the NYC map so as not to feel so lost again. By the next morning we were good to go!

One of the girls favorite things about our trip was the American Girl Store. We had brunch there on Wednesday but of course we had to go shop as soon as we got there on Tuesday. All three girls got the Girl of the Year, Kanani. We loved shopping all three floors of this store and if the girls could have, they would have bought the place out!

The girls inside Radio City Music Hall waiting to see the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular. What an amazing show it was!!! The girls were not able to take their Kanani dolls to brunch on Wednesday because it was raining so they were so excited to be able to take them to the show.

The Nativity scene at the end of the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular had to be my favorite part. They had live camels, sheep, and donkeys.

On black Friday we apparently were glutens for punishment and decided to hit Macy's. Standing outside were 4 of New Yorks finest, members of the NYPD. They gladly posed for a photo with our sweet girls. Macy's was unbelievably crowded but so worth the experience. The girls loved seeing the wooden escalator and we rode it all the way to the ninth floor.

Windows outside the American Girl Store.
Our trip to the Plaza hotel to shop at the Eloise store. While we waited for the store to open we took a bicycle "rickshaw" tour of Central Park.
Of course one of the main reasons we went to New York at this particular time was to see the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. We got to our spot around 6:45 a.m. and had to wait until around 9:15 for it to make it to our location. The wait was tough but the parade was worth it! Ironically, in all of New York City, we ended up watching the parade next to a college friend of my sister's!!!

I had a blast with you three sweet girls! Where are we going next?