Wednesday in NY...

On Wednesday Lars and I got up and walked down to a different place and got breakfast, then when he left for the trade show for the day I got in the shower. I knew that the wife of one of the guys from Lars' work that was also out there was going to show up really early that morning and we had plans to get together later that morning after she got some sleep. So after I got ready she ended up texting me and said she couldn't really sleep and was ready to head out. We met down at the Jamba Juice that I was so happy was right next door to our hotel!

I got my jamba, then we went over to the subway entrance and figured out how which one to get on that would take us down to Chinatown and Little Italy.

We wandered around down there for quite awhile, mostly trying to get out of Chinatown and into Little Italy.

We had a hard time even finding anyone to ask which way to go that we thought spoke English. Anyway Chinatown was interesting for sure, but not anywhere I'd really want to go again.
Tons of interesting food...
I thought the way they cut these pineapples was so cool...

Wonder what they use this for??

This big dragon was cool...it went on for a long ways...

 I don't think a single person there smiled at us or spoke to us besides a guy in a store that told us to not take pictures.
So when we walked a few streets over into Little Italy it was amazing how different it felt immediately.

 The air was fresh, people were smiling and laughing & it was just so much more inviting.

 Exactly how I would picture walking down a street in Italy. We walked around for a few minutes, then decided on a cute little Italian place to eat lunch outside. It was such a beautiful day, so much warmer than Tuesday! And yummy Italian food.

Stacey and I got along great and had lots of fun catching up. We'd hung out at the guys' work Christmas parties a couple times before.
After we ate we continued to wander around, I think we ended up walking through Soho and Greenwich village & went in a couple stores.
At one point we walked past a food stand and there was a huge line of people waiting at it, so I walked up to the front to see what had so many people waiting & it was Belgian waffles with toppings.

They looked so good and I was wishing I wasn't so stuffed from lunch! I took a picture and made sure I looked it up online that night so that we could try to find it again later :)
Anyway eventually we got back on the subway and made our way back to Times Square in time for when the guys were getting done with the show.
That night we found a Cuban restaurant to try out and it was GOOD!

 I loved these plantain chips and salsa and we also tried some really good ceviche.

After dinner we walked around some more and Lars was craving some NY cheesecake, so we found a place and got some. It was really good too.

I was laughing at the old guy serving it, he kept saying "Come get yummy, yummy, creamy, creamy cheesecake!"

 We were so tired, we didn't stay out too much later after that, just went back to our room and went to bed. I couldn't fall asleep forever with all the noise!


New York City!

I was lucky enough to get to experience New York City last week when I tagged along a work trip with Lars. It was SO much fun! Lars has been a couple times before, but it never really worked out for me to join him when the boys were younger, so this year when he asked if I wanted to go, it seemed like a great year to do it and it was. We were also lucky enough to have Aunt Kelli offer to come watch the boys while we were gone. I am always SO grateful for her :) It is such a good feeling to just be able to leave them in good hands and know they are totally fine with her. And the boys were super excited for her to sleep over for 5 whole nights!

We flew out on Monday, April 22nd about 11:00 I think, then got back home on Friday the 26th right about 5:00.

Getting ready to head out...

I have to say that New York is not someplace that I've always dreamed of visiting, but I really did have such a great time and loved getting to go! It was an awesome opportunity to do it when we didn't have to pay for the room etc...

When we got there on Monday, I got to experience my first cab ride. We took a cab to our hotel and it was probably my least favorite part of the whole trip!

I hate riding in the back seat in any car and this one smelled like an outhouse and just the way NYC cabdrivers drive...it's exactly like you'd imagine it. Crazy!

So needless to say I wasn't feeling too well right when we got to the hotel. But I got over it quickly and we decided to go find a place to eat dinner and wander around Times Square for a bit. We stayed at the Renaissance Times Square, and it was obviously right down in Times Square.

 We had a guy that Lars works with, with us that night and we decided on this Brazilian place...

It was really good. Then as we were walking around this interesting guy approached us and started showing us some magic tricks and made this balloon heart and puppy for me...it was pretty comical actually.

And that was just the beginning of many people trying to sell us anything and everything as we walked around town all week.

We ended up walking around Rockefeller Center for a little bit, then headed back to our room...we were tired!

 This was the view from our room on the 12th floor...

The noise didn't really bother me that first night, but wow it sure did the rest of the nights. The city really doesn't ever sleep!

Monday morning we got up and walked down to a little place across the street and got a bunch of fruit and some breakfast for Lars. Then he had to catch the shuttle over to the trade show for the day.

Before we got out to NY, I really had no intention of venturing out on my own while he was at the show, but after walking around the on our first night all my nervousness about it went away and I decided I needed to take advantage of my time while I was there (and not just sit in a hotel room!) and I got ready for the day and walked down to Central Park that morning.

I had to walk about 12 blocks to get down there and then I walked around the park for a long time. It really is pretty. Even though it was FREEZING that day!

  Really cold and windy. After I had walked around for quite awhile I decided to start heading back, but then I kind of didn't remember where I'd come in at, so I had to retrace my steps and I eventually found my way back to the street our hotel was on and headed back. After I'd gone a few blocks, I decided to walk into this place and get some hot chocolate.

 And while I was waiting in line I looked at their croissants and decided on a chocolate/almond one. It and the hot chocolate were delicious!!

And I found myself being so grateful as I sat there with my treat. Grateful that it had been cold that morning, or I never would have stopped in. Also grateful that I was on my own that day, or I never would have had to learn my way around. It was so fun to be by myself doing whatever I wanted and going wherever I wanted.

Blessings are everywhere :)

After I finished my hot chocolate and croissant I walked the rest of the way back to our hotel and warmed up there for a little bit before I looked at my map and ventured back out to find St. Patrick's Cathedral.

It was really close to where we were staying actually, so I didn't have to walk far. When I got to it, all I could really see was lots of scaffolding. It is under construction inside and out, but it was still beautiful. I walked around inside for a long time and stopped to light a candle and pray for awhile.

 So peaceful...

After I left there, I slowly walked back towards the room and on my way I walked by a Running store and almost just kept walking, but decided to go in and finally get my feet/arches measured.

Something I've been meaning to do in Logan for a long time, just haven't gotten around to it. And I was so glad I did. The guy was so nice and helpful and brought me out a few pairs of shoes to try that would be good for my feet and the type of running I do. I loved a couple of them, so after calling Kelli and having her look them up on Amazon to make sure I couldn't get them cheaper (I couldn't) I ended up buying the Brooks ones, and I LOVE them! It was fun to finally do that and get some new shoes now that I'm running more.

 Then I went back to the room for a little bit before it was time to go find the Gershwin Theater where the Wicked show plays on Broadway. It was also really close and Lars had read online that every day a couple hours before each show, people can come put their names in for a lottery to win tickets to the show. So we figured I might as well do that before we bought some. It was the one show I really wanted to see while we were there.

 So at 4:30 I walked down and found the theater and put my name down, then waited around till 5:00 when they drew the names. They drew 13 names for a pair of tickets each. There were about 100 of us standing around, so when they said "Jessica Larsen"...I couldn't believe it!!!

I was so excited! I think I screamed...haha. And yes I had the guy in front of me take this picture. It's just so fun to win something! Especially something like that!

 At that point I didn't even realize that they were FRONT ROW tickets too! Seats that sell for $300 each...we got for $30 each. You just had to show ID and pay cash. I couldn't wait to tell Lars. So I actually texted him really quick and just said Bummer :(, thinking he would text me right back, but he didn't. So then I had to text him again and say "Just kidding! I won, I won, I won!!!" So then I think he didn't quite believe me, so I called him and he was shocked and excited too! Kind of funny, he told some guys that were standing next to him that I won the lottery and the one guy was like "oh my gosh!! So how much did she win?!" And he had to tell him...that no, not the real lottery, just the Wicked lottery...haha.

 So then I had to tell Lars to hurry and get back to the room so we could get ready, go eat and make it to the 7:00 show!

We ended up eating at this place that was right across the street from the theater and it was really good and fast.

 Then we rushed over to the theater to go find our seats and they were awesome! We could touch the stage and could look down below right in front of us and see the orchestra. So fun!

And I just can't even explain how amazing the show was! We loved everything about it! The two main actresses were just amazing, and I just loved the story.

Definitely a highlight of the trip. Really that whole first day was just the best day :) For sure a day I will never forget...

Up next...the Subway to Chinatown and Little Italy.

Nana's banquet for woman of the year...

On Saturday, April 20th we drove down to Salt Lake to attend mass at the Cathedral of the Madeleine and then a special banquet dinner that Lars' Mom and Dad were attending because Nana was nominated and won Woman of the Year for her parish in Price.
That was our first time going to the Cathedral...it is beautiful.

 I think the boys were in awe of it all. They sat through the mass and did so well!
Then we went over to the hotel where the dinner was at and they had to sit for a LONG time there too before our dinner was actually served after 8:00, and they did so well being patient there too.

 We were so proud of them. And they looked so cute dressed all nice!
 Doesn't happen very often anymore...haha.

After we ate, Nana (and all of the other women who won) each got called up by themselves to receive their award and stand up there with the Bishop while they another lady talked about all of the things they did for their parishes.

Our waiter was this cute old guy who told us he was from Bosnia...that was about all we could understand, but he loved Gunnar! He kept giving him hugs and brought him out extra dessert. And then kept bringing more and more dessert! 

Ashton made Nana a nice card for her birthday that was the following week...he was so proud of it and she loved it :)

 Anyway I'm glad it worked for us to come celebrate with you...thanks for inviting us!