nyc day 1, part 2
May 9, 2013
We were greeted by this lovely face on our first subway ride :)
It was really, really cold (especially for those of us who are no longer accustomed to cold weather). Sadly, one of our suitcases did not arrive on our flight with us. So I had to bundle Graciela up as much as I could. At this point, she had 3 layers of jackets on.
We met up with Luis’ cousin, who lives in New York. He took us to this place called “The Seaport” located right on the river. According to them, normally this place would be packed with people eating at restaurants, going shopping, etc. When we got there, it was completely deserted. All due to Hurricane Sandy.
Luis’ cousin was hoping to show us a good time, and felt really bad that everything was closed. I, on the other hand, was really glad we ended up going there. For us, living where we live, we heard about Sandy when it happened, and that was it. We don’t think about the aftermath or how it affected and continues to affect some people.
Although all of the shops were closed, we were able to find one restaurant (only 1) whose doors were open. So that was where we ate.
Then it was back to the subway to head back to the hotel. This was how we got Graciela up and down numerous times a day. We got week-long subway passes which allowed us to ride as many times as we wanted/needed. It turned out really great because it got it everywhere we wanted to go, and allowed us to avoid paying for expensive taxis or have to be on foot too long.
Once back at the hotel, some of us went over the itinerary for the next day. Others had a “snack” since they slept through dinner.
While others found new ways to use a neck pillow.
nyc day 1, part 1
May 8, 2013
I’ve always dreamed of going to New York City, but have never had the chance to go. So we used my 30th birthday/Luis’ 29th birthday as an excuse to splurge. After I accidentally booked the wrong hotel, we ended up going to the Hyatt Regency on the Hudson River, right across the river from Manhattan.
We left Las Vegas on a red eye flight, and arrived in New York at 6:00 a.m. I booked this flight thinking it would be great to have Graciela sleep the whole flight. What I forgot to account for was the fact that there is a 3-hour time difference between Las Vegas and New York. Meaning that it felt like it was 3:00 a.m. when we landed.
Right next to our hotel was a little food court with all sorts of delicious pre-prepared foods. So we had our breakfast there, and Luis later went back to get some lunch for us (their salmon was SO good!).
We were lucky enough to get an early check-in, so we soon were able to get a good nap.
I loved the view from our room.
After our nap, Graciela and I went to take a dip in the pool.
Although the pool room was really hot and humid, the pool itself was actually pretty cold. But, of course, that was no deterrent for my little fish.
We swam just long enough for our Tia Carolina to arrive from her flight, and then it was time to go get to know the city.
first dip
May 3, 2013
For the last few weeks I’ve seen a lot of people on Facebook complaining about the weather: it’s too cold, it’s snowing, yadda yadda yadda. Every time I see such posts I am so grateful to live in Las Vegas, when pool weather starts coming around in April.
And don’t worry, the guy in the pool in the background is not some random creep staring at a baby. That is our good friend, Brent, who was in town.
bingo
May 2, 2013
Luis and I love playing bingo. I was recently reminded by some of my co-workers that several casinos around here have a daycare where you can drop off the kids. Normally I’m all about doing everything together as a family. I love having Graciela with us (even when she is grumpy). But it is also nice sometimes to go do something fun together, just like the old days. Plus Graciela had a blast playing with all the other kids at the daycare. There were tons of kids there, and lots for her to do. So we may have to do this more often :)
look who came to visit
May 1, 2013
The Okelberry’s served as missionaries at the same time I was serving. They happened to come to Las Vegas, and were able to join us for church and Sunday dinner afterwards at our home. It was so fun to see them again and catch up on everything they have been doing since that time.
echo
April 12, 2013
If you’ve been around me over the last few months, you’ve heard me talking about how Graciela has been a late talker. She really hadn’t been talking a whole lot, compared to what I hear from a lot of other kids. Which is totally fine (I’ve heard that once they start talking, they soon learn to talk back). Well, our days of our little grunter are definitely numbered, given the echo we heard in our car recently:
easter at ethel m
April 11, 2013
In my quest to take Graciela out for some Easter fun, I found that Ethel M. was going to have a bunny, face painting and balloon animals at their cactus garden. So off we went. The problem? Since I work, we could only go to it on the weekend. And because it was all free, half of the children in Las Vegas were there too.
The line for the bunny was unreal. But since I think the bunny is a little creepy, we passed on it.
We also passed on the face painting and balloon animals because Graciela doesn’t know how to stand in line for longer than 35 seconds.
So we spent our time running around and admiring the cacti. This was actually my first time going there during daylight hours.
Funny thing. Although Graciela would not stand in any lines, she was fascinated by this little pond and stood against the gate for a good 10 minutes just mesmerized. Too bad the lines weren’t formed right next to this thing.
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