I want to be a part of it.....New York....

This weekend our friends Shannon and Greg were gracious enough to host us at their home for a night and take us for our first trip as a family to New York City. It's something I've wanted to do with the girls for awhile now and this weekend was a great pick because we had gorgeous fall weather. Matt and I are not city people and while I think we could have done fine with just the four of us, it was so much more fun to be there with good friends who just happen to live close enough to be pretty familar with the city and how to navigate through it.

I looked through all the pictures and I realize we don't have any amazing NYC pictures - the ones that just shout out - "hey, look we're in NY". That's mainly because we didn't get the camera out while in Times Square or the mega Toys R Us (because a certain giraffe was there and we were too busy calming the girls). We had a great day - Ferry Ride, Bus ride, Subway ride - I think the kids were most excited by the various forms of transportation they got to try out. Ella actually starting through a fit when we got off the bus because there was so much traffic it was easier to walk. She was loving looking out the windows and checking out the sites. Most of the pictures are from the Central Park Zoo. I think I could have spent all day walking in Central Park -and people watching. After a long day and LOTS of walking we were all exhausted and the kids passed out during the car ride home. I think they had fun and were so interested in all the different off beat attractions that are so common in New York City. In fact, Ella told us her favorite part were seeing the Statue of Liberties. That's right, plural. At two different points we passed street mimes fully dressed as Lady Liberty and she found that fascinating -go figure! But we're scared of Geoffrey the Giraffe??

And now the pictures. There's a bunch so enjoy!

Ella and Jack on the Ferry ride from Weehawken

Catherine wasn't so sure about the boat ride at first, but she warmed up to it

Catherine, Ella and Jack enjoying the Sea Lions at the Zoo. For those of you who know Catherine, you'll realize what a breakthrough this is - for the last year she's been very scared of animals - her interest in the animals this weekend was so surprising.


Super cool Polar Bear. He would swim on his back right over to where we were standing and then use his feet to push off against the glass and go back.

Ok, here is a progression of pictures that I found entertaining. We want a picture of the four kids under the eagle. Cade wasn't having it and tried to escape.

Good grab Catherine- not gonna let him get away...


Ella's helping out. Meanwhile Jack is chillin with his water bottle...

The girls are working hard to get Cade in the picture. They think this is great. Jack, still chillin...

If you look closely, it seems like Catherine is scolding Cade. Jack's still waiting for us to take the picture. After the scolding Cade took off for good so this was as close as we got with all the kids together.

Ella in a turtle shell

Catherine on the stone bunny

On the ferry ride home, exhausted after a long day.

The real Statue of Liberty is over there in the distance...

The view from New Jersey. I love the NYC skyline at night. It made me want to take another boat across and join in the nightlife. Instead I was asleep by 10:30!

The reason for the title (besides the obvious) is that I kept singing the song "Start spreading the news... "for Ella since it's part of Madagascar which she loves and there were buses promoting the 2nd Madagascar all over so it was in my head. On Sunday she kept singing/saying "New York, I want to be part of it." over and over -in a totally different tune. I honestly had no idea what she was talking about when she asked me "why does he want to be part of it?"

It's too hard for me to put into words, but I know I liked being a part of it, if only for a day!