bookends in NYC (part 2)

We start school TODAY here in the desert.  And I’m sure there will be lots to say about that, but for now I’m in denial, so let’s go ahead and continue with the adventure in NYC with my bookend children.

Part 1 is HERE.

This trip was a little tricky because we were constantly trying to find a balance between showing Lucy all we could, yet helping her enjoy it all at the same time (not rushing and trying to go more at her pace).  That’s a tough balance to find but I think we found a happy medium.  Max is a master at that and I was so grateful to figure all that out together.  When I try to cram in too much he sometimes looks at me and just smiles in a way that says “you’re crazy mama”…but in a nice way that makes me realize that smile just might be right 🙂

We paid a visit to the lovely STATUE OF LIBERTY.

So now all that “walking-distraction” has gotten me and Max our own little collection of mother/son pictures 🙂

I like this angle of the Statue of Liberty she got too 🙂

By the time we walked around that lady and talked all through her history, I had two kids who were much more interested in going get a burger at the Shake Shack than than they were in stopping at Ellis Island.

And I had committed to “going with the flow” so we googled all the history of that place as we sailed  right on by, and thought about all those immigrants coming through.

Loved that I got to stop there with my girls last time I was here (back HERE).

This was on our walk to Shake Shack:

That city is so chock-full of tourists (including us!) you could hardly even see the bull.

We walked by the beautiful TRINITY CHURCH:

And past the Oculus Mall…

I had never been there.  It is a very beautifully done, and incredibly somber.

I didn’t take many pictures, but here are just a few:

These are the stairs that they call “survivors’ stairs” since so many people escaped the horror through them:

They were preserved because they symbolize survival to so many.

This exhibit was beautiful.  If I remember correctly, each of these squares of blue are meant to represent what color different people said the sky was on that fateful day.

This (below) is the “slurry wall” built to hold up against the Hudson River and keep the foundation safe.

It is so gorgeous.

Black & White:

I just love the intersection of all those lines mixed with humanity.

We let Lucy dictate the rest of the day from there on out.

She directed us right to the Lego place she had heard was awesome.

En route we got to see the FLAT IRON BUILDING.

More spectacular architecture right there.

And then there’s the architecture of those Legos:

Oh yeah.

Lucy was in hog-heaven.

Her next agenda item was back in TIMES SQUARE where we grabbed dinner at this taco place (also recommended by my brother):

And man alive, that place did not disappoint.  I’m dreaming of those tacos.

We found a little semi-quiet street corner to sit and enjoy those puppies.  It was a moment where all was right in the world.

I hope I’ll always remember that little spot.

…on to the REAL reason Lucy chose Times Square as our next spot…

M & M WORLD.

Milk chocolate m&ms are like mana from Heaven in her opinion.

(Got some good ideas for her birthday next year 🙂

I snapped this picture when we went a couple days before…have to include that one because that shirt suits her well right now…

…and head back to Eli and Julie’s for card night with Lucy’s beloved golden cards we had picked up after crossing the Brooklyn Bridge the day before.

I let my two travel companions sleep while I headed out for a run/walk the next morning.

I LOVE my brother’s neighborhood.

There is so much energy and I felt so alive exploring that place.  I love New York!

How I hope Dave and I can live there some day…even just for a summer.  How cool would that be?

I found myself at the AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY and I was on cloud nine I tell you!

(I was madly snapping pictures because I figured I could kind of “take” Max and Lu there that way since there wasn’t time to bring them back 🙂

I’ll let the pictures tell the story:

…don’t skip past that GIANT squid up there above.

Yikes!

Loved seeing some of the stuff from the Night at the Museum movie.

(So good)

What’s that everyone is crowded around in that picture up there?

Oh, there we go:

Love that I got to study so much of this stuff in my Boston University art history classes.

I love that even the walkways are works of art:

This was one of the modern art pieces that kind of spoke to me:

I love when they have a description of the artist’s intentions.  This one talked about how the beautiful art is only peeking through…you have to seek it.

Isn’t that how life is sometimes?  There is so much beauty, but sometimes we have to be brave enough to dig through the tough stuff to find it.

Sometimes we have to be content and patient enough to be satisfied with a peek of the good stuff.  And have faith and trust that the whole big picture will all make sense some day.

I liked this too:

And this other one below…looks like a scattered mind, shifting off in a million directions of good intentions.  I can relate to that one too 🙂