In NEW YORK!

My lifelong dream since childhood came true in July as I finally made it to the Big Apple!  New York I have arrived!  Too bad I couldn't stay...although as I've learned before, humidity is not made for natural curly/frizzy/wavy hair.  The trip was a generous gift from my MIL Robyn who took my sis-in-law, Britney, and I for our birthdays.  Get ready for lots and lots of pictures! 

Our first stop was right off the red eye flight at eight in the morning at the Today show where we caught a glimpse, literally, of Blake Shelton singing about his 'Honey Bee'.  He was great!

Next we went straight to see the Statue of Liberty!  My MIL and SIL were great to go do all the touristy things with me even though they'd gone several times before and done the same things!  There's nothing like seeing this monument up close and in person.  It's truly majestic!

We loved the iPhone's 'flip the camera so you can see yourselves' feature on this trip!  We like it much better than bothering strangers to take your picture :)

 Times Square!  It was so cool in person!  And oh so many people everywhere.  I could people watch in New York for days on end I'm sure.  We wanted a picture with the naked cowboy and he forced this pose upon us.  I was unaware of his hand position until after I saw the picture.  I'm sorry if it's offensive grammy! :)

Seeing this piano at FAO Shwartz was so great!  My dad, sis, and I have watched and laughed at Big several times over the years.  It was a lot of fun to see this childhood memory in person.

 Now what I've been waiting for...a broadway show!  There wasn't anything in particular I was dying to see, so Momma Mia was a great choice since it's an all around fun show.  There was no disappointment here!

 We waited in a long long line to go up the Empire State Building for the view.  It was quite remarkable and worth the wait!

The night life in times square!

 On the last day of our trip we got to go on a bike tour through central park and eat lunch at the boat house!  (From the adorable movie 27 dresses).  Don't laugh at my awesome bike helmet that was necessary for such an intense ride on paved roads :)

The boat house!  We are smiling despite the stifling heat.  If you look closely you can see how sticky I am!

I've seen this shot in like 3 movies since I've been home!  I watch a lot of movies and I can't believe how  much  NYC is used.  Bryce is already sick of me saying "hey, I've been there!"

Taking pics on top of the J.W. Marriott where we stayed.

We walked approximately 5 miles a day, rode the subway, and hollered for cabs.  We shopped, shopped, and shopped some more.  We stopped by Ground Zero which is a giant construction site that will have a new large world trade center, a transit station, and a memorial for Sep 11.  The church across the street which housed thousands of volunteers during the cleanup was really neat to see.  I love the powerful men and woman in our country! We had DELICIOUS food, but amazingly stayed the same size because of all the walking and heat!  I loved shopping on fifth avenue and looking at all the window displays.  I got some cute clothes and a purse from Chinatown (now THAT was an experience!).  We even went to church in the building that has the Manhattan temple!  I really feel like I got a taste of New York.  It was a great girls trip!  I sure missed my hubby, but if Robyn has an inkling to go again, I'm always going to be up for this trip!