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
