First Real Christmas Tree

We went to our first Christmas tree farm and picked out our very own tree.  I was waiting for there to be a Griswold Family moment but it went smoothly.

No Michael!! We can't have a 12ft tree.

We want this one!!

At least we had help getting it on top of the car.

We did it! We all agreed on the same tree.

Trying to get it straight!

Woo hoo!!!

Mason just sat and watched us put the decorations on.

Oh, wait a minute! The children just sat and watched Christmas Vacation after helping for 15 minutes.

Our first real tree!

Dylan spent most of his time putting the Christmas village up.

We are all in the Christmas spirit now.

Last Day in New York City

We set the alarm for 7:30am that meant we got to sleep in this morning!

I felt very safe on the subway smooshed between Ricky and Michael.

The first thing of the day was going to the top of Rockefeller Center.  It is called Top of the Rock.  There was a nice view of Central Park.

Then we went shopping at the NBC store so Cass could get a Today Show coffee mug.

Woo hoo!! They took all of the scaffolding off the tree.

Off to ChinaTown we went!  

No purchases except for a Starbucks coffee!

Little Italy was right around the corner

We ate lunch at Salumeria Pizzeria and the pizza was very good!

The weirdest looking building I have ever seen.

We walked across the entire Brooklyn bridge into Brooklyn.

It is held together by duct tape.

View from the bridge

We took the subway back into the city and went to a rooftop bar where they give you robes to wear. We lasted less than five minutes and went inside to have a drink.

This is the firehouse where Ghostbusters was filmed.

They even had a Ghostbusters sign inside the firehouse.

To finish off our vacation we stopped at Magnolia Bakery for some cupcakes. (Georgetown Cupcakes are still the best)

I seriously need a vacation to get some rest from this trip. It was a fun but extremely busy vacation. I would love to know how many miles we walked.

Thanksgiving in New York City

Well, this morning the alarm went off at 6am. We almost never rest on vacation.

The children are even exhausted!

We got on the first cruise to the Statue of Liberty.

It was a cold trip to the Statue of Liberty.

Ellis Island

Statue of Liberty

A view up her gown

The spiral staircase inside.

We took a picture just like this 9 days before the World Trade Centers were hit. 

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade... Hello Kitty balloon

Pillsbury Doughboy

The Pillsbury Doughboy behind us!

Smurf

Candy Cane

Aflac Duck

Elf on a Shelf

Spongebob Squarepants

Santa is always the last float in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Huge ornaments

Radio City Music Hall

The Tonight Show

They were working on the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center.

Ice skaters at Rockefeller Center

Christmas ornaments on the huge tree at Rockefeller Center

Saks Fifth Avenue

Window at Saks

Beautiful decorations on the building at Saks

St. Patricks Cathedral 

Rockefeller Center

We tried roasted chestnuts on an open fire.  They tasted like red beans and rice. (not joking)

Plaza Hotel

The Christmas tree inside the Plaza Hotel.

We took a carriage ride through Central Park.

It was cold but relaxing. We were all tired from walking all over the city.

Fountain in Central Park

Tavern on the Green Restaurant

Then our friends Ann and Ricky got to the city and we went to Carnegie Deli to eat dinner.

Michael said it was the best pastrami sandwich ever.

New York cheesecake.....it was so good!!

Times Square at night...Cass was excited to see the 2014 New Years Eve ball.

The boys being silly in the background.

The boys had to behave themselves in Times Square.

Macy's

The parade ended right in front of the Macy's store.

We decided to go to the Empire State Building at night.

Beautiful city views

Inside the Empire State Building

End of day three!! Happy Thanksgiving!!