Mothers Day Weekend

What a great weekend!  We kicked it off friday night with pizza at Johnny's Pizzeria with Liz, Lily, her sister Madelyn and their boys.  Liz wanted to take us there before we move and let me tell you.....I'm so glad she did! We are totally going to miss new york pizza...there really is nothing like it!  Of course, the girls begged to have a sleepover, and I'm such a sucker and said yes to Lily coming over.  They only have a little more time together! 

 

Saturday we decided to have one more tag sale to try and get rid of the rest of our stuff.  We did ok.   Erik took Co to his game at 9 and I managed to keep the fort down and I actually sold the kids bed in the hour he was gone!  Yeah for me! $100 less than what we wanted for it.  OOPS!  But, ya know what?  We're getting down to the wire and haven't even had a bite with it on Craigslist!  And BIG thanks to my Halle girl for taking care of Crew for me.   I'm glad we did it even though we were SO dreading it and not in the mood.  The kids had fun doing a lemonade stand.  Halle was so upset that I didn't have stuff for it last weekend so I promised her I would be ready for this weekend;) People were really cute and gave them $1 and $2 dollars for a glass.  They were excited!  It was fun. 

 

Later that day, Curt and Brianna had invited us out to New Jersey for a BBQ.  Even though we were dog tired, we knew this would probably be one of our last opportunities to hang out with them and we didn't want to miss out!  The kids love them and so do we!  Always a good time with the Chambers;)

And, Mothers Day!  What an amazing day with my Loves!  Crew actually slept in til 7, which is a real treat these days, so thanks for my Mothers Day present buddy!  Halle and Co were so cute with their cards and gifts they made me!  I LOVE this special day:) I feel so blessed to have such amazing kids!  We got ready and went to church at our usual time, and then they treated me to breakfast at a diner. Something different than our usual Sunday at bagel zone;) That's another thing we are going to really miss!  I NEVER in a million years thought I would love bagels the way I do now.  New York bagels.  Amazing.  After breakfast we came home to give Crew a nap and relax for awhile.  Co actually ended up taking a nap too.  He was a tired dude.  

Halle's gift and cards

 

 

 

 

 

 
 Costa's cards
 

 


 

 

 

Later in the afternoon we had planned to head to City Island with Curt and Brianna.  We've heard awesome things about this place and have been wanting to try it out before we go.  Lots of seafood restaurants! It was a super cool place!  I loved it!   We ate dinner at a place called The Blackwhale.  Cute little place.  The weather was amazing so we sat outside in their little garden patio.  We really enjoyed it!  The food wasn't as great as we were expecting, but decently priced and not horrible.  Good company and drinks!  After dinner we took a little walk to check out the water and  of course, get some ice cream!  

 

 

 

 

I'm a pretty spoiled Mama!  Thank you God for my amazing little family you have given me!  I'm so thankful today, and everyday:)

The Crogans visit New York

My bestie, Lique and her adorable little family came out to visit us last week for Spring Break. Such amazing friends to plan a trip to visit us:) We have such a great time with them and look forward to MANY more Contreras/Crogan Family vacations!

We were brave and did the city a couple times with all the kids!  It's so crazy, I don't know how people live in the city having to deal with trains, subways and taxis constantly with strollers and all the other stuff that comes along with babies and kids.  Anyways....it's fun for a short while to be tourists!

The first day we headed to the 9/11 Memorial, which opened recently in the last year since we've been here.  Wow.  Amazing.  It's just unbelievable to me that something so horrific happened right there at that exact spot in the city of New York.  So sad.  The memorial is so beautiful.  There's two huge pools where the towers once stood, with the names of everybody who lost their lives. 


On the train ride into the city
Grand Central Station

The new towers


 












This tree was saved from 9/11 and then replanted at the Memorial Site





Afterwards we were hungry so we grabbed some lunch at Katz Delicatessen.   The Deli where there was a scene filmed  from the Movie  When Harry met Sally.  So fun!  They're known for their pastrami sandwiches.  YUM! 



Then we headed over and hopped on the Staten Island Ferry so we could get a good look at our beautiful Lady Liberty.














Day 2 we hung pretty close to home since we had such an eventful day in the city the day before.  It exhausts you!  We got some Starbucks and took the kids to our favorite park, Flint.  They had a great time!  Halle and Costa get so excited to show people our favorite little things about New York;) We did have a babysitter for that night, so the adults were able to get away for some sushi and some cocktails.  Erik had been wanting to take me to a bar in the Ritz Carlton that has a pretty awesome view of the NYC skyline.  So perfect time to share with our great friends!







Day 3, Erik and Dustin had planned a boys day in the city to watch a game and do boy things.   Well, big boys anyways;) So, leave it to Lique and I to do something fun with all the kiddos!  Yep, we decided to brave the city again.  Brianna joined us for the fun!  We took the train in and then took a taxi to Rockefeller Center and did all the fun stuff close the there.  The American Girl Store and the Lego Store.  We had dinner at Bill's Burger, a pretty good place inside Rockefeller that isn't outrageously priced.  Oh, and can't forget about cupcakes at the infamous Magnolia Bakery!


















Well, since the boys got to have their fun only fair that the girls get to have a little, right?  You got that right!  Lique, Brianna and I planned an afternoon in Soho!  I haven't really been there and have been wanting to check it out.   We just walked around checking out all the shops and ended up stopping in at a  little Mexican Restaurant.  We indulged in some  fabulous mojitos, chips and guac!  Delicious!  Fun afternoon with just the girls! Later we met up with the boys and Eriks cousin, Monica and her wife Jen for dinner at a place called Jules.  They were in town visiting also.  It was great to catch up! 












After dinner we planned to walk around and check out some of the bars where we were at.  Dustin had a list of places that somebody had recommended to him.  Most of them were "Speak Easy" places, which means you have to be on the list or wait hours to get in.  So, we had fun walking around checking out places that looked cool.  Fun times!  Our last stop of the night was Times Square!  It's such a spectacular place!  Lique had never been to New York so it was her first time seeing it.  I think she was pretty in awe;) I think everybody is, every time they see it!









Love you guys!  Great memories!  Thanks for making a trip out to experience what our life is like in New York!  Amazing friends, we are so blessed to have you.  Can't wait for our next adventure with you guys!  COACHELLA 2013?!?  XOXO