I am one lucky girl!!! I got to take a trip with just Brooks and I to New York City and celebrate my 30th birthday in December!! I've been talking about wanting to take this trip together for a few years now and honestly did not think it was going to happen, but I'm so thankful we did it. Living over here we don't get the opportunity to get away and take a trip for just us so this was the perfect chance!
I'll start off by thanking my wonderful family... my mom and sister in laws for keeping our kids for 5 days while we were away. We know they were in good hands and were so happy they had loads of fun with their cousins and grandparents! Thanks y'all!
We started our trip by driving from LC to Houston and flew direct from Houston to NYC. It's hilarious how easy and no.big.deal a 3 hour flight is. I guess that's one aspect of my life from now on that will never bother me again. So we got to NYC around 5pm and made it to our hotel to unpack, change, freshen up before hitting the town! We ate at Guy Fieri's (the man from Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives) new Restaurant. We had NO IDEA there was so much controversy and horrible reviews about it before hand. We just happened to stumble across it because the restaurants we wanted to go to in that area had almost 2 hour waits. Brooks and I enjoyed our meal.
We might have enjoyed more the fact that we were sitting at a restaurant, eating dinner, alone without any kids, no one interrupting us, no one to take to potty, or feed a bottle, or give snacks to while waiting for their food. Anyways.... To be honest, the food wasn't anything special. We kinda tried unique items on the menu, but didn't go too crazy. The food wasn't the best we've ever had, but definitly better then like a Chili's or Applebee's (that's our big restaurants here in Saudi).
After dinner and dessert, we headed to Time Square just to see the city and the lights and start taking in all the tourist sights. It is amazing how bright the area surrounding Time Square is. After that, we decided to walk to Rockefeller Center and see the big Christmas Tree. It was gorgeous and beautiful and was the first moment it hit me that we were in NYC at Christmas time. It was neat!! The place was packed, too! There were so many people around it was hard to walk at times. We decided to leave the area since it was so crowded and just walked the streets for a while. We were tired from traveling, but weren't ready to go to bed so we went to the movies. Yep. We went to the movies. Not really something you'd think to do while in NYC, but since we don't have movie theaters in Saudi we took advantage of the opportunity.
Brooks always talks about how things can never just be easy and his trip began by having to figure out how to attach the shower head to a bar in the shower without it moving. We were put in a handicap room, which had an opened shower and the shower head is made to move up and down, however ours wouldn't and it was so low on the bar, even I would have to squat to get under it. So, my wonderful husband woke up 45 minutes before he needed to in order to fix it so that I could take a shower. Thanks babe! Love how handy you are!! After breakfast we decided to walk around town and tour the area. We went to Bryant Park and did some shopping in the market area and took in the sights.
Then........
I got my birthday present!!! Brooks and I went to Carlo's Factory (the Cake Boss) and took a cake decorating class! Oh yes we did!!! When we planned our NYC trip, I knew we were going to to go to New Jersey and visit Carlo's Bakery, but I didn't know they had cake classes until a month or two before. It worked out that they were offering one class the entire time we were there so we signed up. My WONDERFUL husband agreed to go, however, he didn't realize until days before that he was actually going to participate in the class. Awww. Brooks thought he was going to sit with me and watch me decorate cakes. Nope. I will say, he has worked on almost all of my cakes that I've made the past 3 1/2 years so he does know what he's doing and he did amazing.
The whole experience was a blast. I was giddy and excited and did my best to not act like a nerd. What can I say? Stuff like that just gets to me. I've watched everyone of those episodes, learned techniques from some of the shows, and really enjoy the bakery atmosphere so I was stoked to be there. We took a taxi and found the factory by locating their delivery trucks inside a fence. We waited inside with all the other people taking the class until our instructor came to get us. Her name is Marissa and she was the winner of The Next Great Baker competition. She was really sweet and laid back and funny. She gave us a tour of the new factory and walked us around the different rooms.
The decorating room was set up with 2 long tables and every spot had all the materials and supplies needed. There was also an apron that was a gift to take home for each of us. Marissa began the demonstration showing everyone what to do step by step then we were sent to work. It was interesting to watch the various levels of people with their cake decorating skills. Brooks was awesome!! He was almost always the first one done with every step. He kept up with me!! =) We were asked if we did this professionally and then were called the experts! We laughed, but appreciated being noticed! The theme of the cake we made was Winter Wonderland. We covered our cake with fondant and got to use their roller machine. We made fondant bows by hand and snowflakes with small cutters. We steamed our cakes to help make the sanding sugar stick to it. You were allowed to do whatever you wanted with all the materials and had free reign to add snowmen or snow, etc. Brooks made a cute snowman on his cake and even mixed his fondant to have two toned snowflakes-- fancy!! The class lasted about 2 hours and we had the chance to ask questions about baking and decorating cakes and more about the show. It was such a fun and neat experience and we learned some stuff, too. I'm thankful Brooks was willing to go through this with me and be an eager participant! He really made this a fun birthday present and definitely something I will always remember.
Our finished cakes:
Once we left the factory, we headed over to the bakery and stood in line for 45 minutes until it was our turn to go inside. Once we made it inside, we were handed a number and told to look around and wait to be called. It was so surreal to be there and see everything that we'd see on tv. We picked out our favorite treats and sweets we wanted to try and placed our order! Since we went on a Sunday, no one from the show was there (or at the factory), but that was okay!! We LOVED everything we got at the bakery and felt like it worth the wait! It was beyond words a great, great day!!
To finish off one of the funnest and busiest days, we went to The Empire State Building right after sunset. Our trip up to the Top was entertaining. Let's just say we met with a guard who somehow we started speaking Arabic to, we spent 10 minutes going through airport like security, then we
kinda intentionally walked behind a group of ladies who were holding Fast Passes where you don't have to wait in long lines and we got on the same elevator with them and went right up. Oops! =) After checking out all the view and standing in amazement at just how big NYC is, we headed off to a well known steak restaurant, STC, and ate some of the best food we had the entire trip-- we're talking about gourmet mac and cheese, amazing steaks, and more. I think it might have been my favorite restaurant. The best part was just getting to visit and talk together without any interruptions!!
The next morning we woke up
really early to go stand in line at
Live! with Kelly and Michael (been gone from the US so long I didn't know Regis wasn't there anymore). I tried requesting tickets for us the month prior, but didn't have any luck. We were told you can wait in the stand by line and once all ticket holders enter, you can have a turn. So we decided to give it a try. We arrived by 6:30am and found a line had already been started. We waited until 8:00am when we were given a piece of paper with the numbers 28 & 29 on it. We were also told to return in 45 minutes where we would find out if we'd be allowed inside for the show.
Since we had some time to kill, Brooks and I headed over to Central Park and walked around arm in arm. Much of the area was fenced off due to maintenance and closed for the season, but that didn't keep us from enjoying the views and the huge trees. We then made our way back to the standby line and waited. They began bringing people in by groups of 10. 1-10 went inside. Then 11-20 went inside. WOW--- we were getting closer and might actually make it inside. Then they called for 21-24. At this point, security closed up shop and people were told that was all. A majority of the people behind us ended up leaving. For some reason we stayed in line with the group of 5 people in front of us, whom we had gotten to know throughout the morning. Next thing we know, they call 25, 26, 27 and said that's it folks. Seriously??!
Brooks and I had the door closed on us. We just stood their in disbelief. The pic below is literally us being the next ones in line before going inside. We waited in line for 2 hours and nothing. Oh well, we knew that could happen and promised ourselves we wouldn't be disappointed if it didn't work out. It was worth a shot though....
BUT WAIT A MINUTE.... check it out!!! Here's us inside the building. One of the producers came outside moments later and said, "I'm going to try to get y'all in, wait here!" Not sure why we were still in line but it was a good thing we hadn't left. Sweet. At this point we started getting a little jittery and excited hoping all that time spent waiting in line wasn't for nothing. Sure enough she came and got us and the 2 ladies behind us. It was perfect!! What a great way to spend my birthday!
The show had already started by the time we were allowed inside so we stood behind the stage and got to see Neil Patrick Harris and his team of people waiting for him to be called out. As soon as the first commercial break began we were escorted to our seats in the balcony! It was a fun show to watch. NPH was pretty funny and the other guy was a big name star (from X-Men and Lord of the Rings). Don't remember his name though. They also made it a Christmas show and had a Broadway group who sang. Fun, Fun! We were so happy that it all worked out and we got to be there and see all the people. Actually, when our show finished taping they had us all stay so they can prerecord a show that was going to air in January. They said the guests were Matt Damon and Ben Afleck..... I got all excited thinking these two guys were going to come out, but their parts were being taped later! Oh well! We still had fun and enjoyed the show!
We spent the rest of the day enjoying being together, taking it easy, doing a little shopping.
Brooks was gracious enough to remind me throughout the day that I was 30! We had lunch in Central Park at a Christmas Market. They had different booths with various foods and shops. It was really neat atmosphere and perfect weather to be outside. Since it was my actual birthday, Brooks went along, willingly and cheerfully, with whatever I wanted to do that day. Because of the area we were in, I decided to do some shopping. Actually, we really didn't do much shopping except for an hour in Sak's, but we did do some window shopping at Tiffany's, Louis Vuitton, and other big stores. One idea we'd had to do since before we arrived in NYC was to go ice skating. We attempted it a few times the previous days, but the lines were hours long and well, ice skating just wasn't
that important to us. We found ourselves having coffee in the middle of our afternoon debating on different things we could go do and see and figured there'd be no harm in trying ice skating one more time. It worked out perfect! We showed up, there was no line whatsoever and the next session began within 30 minutes. We got our skates on, put our stuff up, and waited for our turn on the ice. There are several rinks around the city, but we went to the one in Rockefeller Center. The area was decorated in Christmas and was soooo pretty. We skated almost 2 hours and had a lot of fun together. We ended our day by having dinner at an Italian Restaurant in Mulberry that was DELICIOUS and a very romantic place! Loved it! We bought so many desserts from Carlo's Bakery that we generally skipped dessert at the restaurants and had some back at our hotel!
Our last day we had the goal to get in everything we still wanted to do before leaving NYC so we woke up at the CRACK.OF.DAWN and stood in line for the Today Show. Of course, wouldn't you know it, it was the ONLY DAY IT RAINED during our whole trip. BOO! We managed the rain and the cold and got front row around the railings. The funny part was we really didn't care about getting close, but thought it would be fun to do. Within minutes of the camera guys coming out, our group was the first one taped and we were on air! Woo hoo!
This picture was taken of us on the TV. My mom had Gavin watch for us and when he saw us he asked her, "Hey, when did mommy and daddy get into the TV?"
After the Today Show, we went back to our hotel and changed clothes. We were drenched! We then headed out to visit Ground Zero. We knew when we went to NYC we wanted to visit the memorial site and we were so glad that we did! For starters, in order to visit and gain tickets to the site, you have to preregister online for some kind of "background check". We waited in line until we were escorted through multiple areas, walked around fenced in buildings, through more areas until we were brought into a room with airport like security. We literally had to empty our pockets, take off our shoes, put our bags into bins, walk through metal detectors, be searched if needed, etc. It was crazy, but at the same time such a realization of the importance of keeping this site protected. We did read in one of the pamphlets that in years to come you will eventually be able to walk up to the site from a sidewalk and it will be open park type area, but for now... it's not. After going through security, we walked around more fenced in and gated buildings. There was a lot of construction going on around us while they are building more World Trade Center Towers. Eventually, we were allowed in and the moment we walked through the gate there was a humbling feeling that surrounded us. The memorials were amazing. They were huge and beautiful and just awe-inspiring. The sounds the waterfalls made were actually peaceful. It was heart wrenching to read a name and think how that was someone's child, someone's mother, a wife or husband. It was very somber and I was in tears a few times. Just a heavy feeling to my heart to think about and remember that day and lives of all those people who were affected.
On our way to Battery Park, where we were going to take a ferry to see the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, the New York Harbor, and more we walked through the New York Stock Exchange area and got a few pics of the buildings and the bull. This area was fun for Brooks to see and take in the sights.
We weren't able to take a Statue of Liberty tour since the Island it's on was damaged and had tons of debris from the hurricane, but we still got to see her. The ferry takes you pretty close to the monument. It was neat. Brooks and I both had seen the Statue of Liberty before, but it was still fun to do together. It was interesting to hear all the history that goes along with the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and the surrounding areas.
Our last night in NYC we went and ate at a fun little deli close to Broadway before heading to see the Broadway show, Wicked. I love the Wizard of Oz and loved seeing the touring group of Wicked a few years ago. The play on Broadway was even better. I was nervous that maybe Brooks would think it was girly and not like it, but he did. The show is really funny and the songs, costumes, and set up are amazing. It was such a great show and was the perfect ending to our awesome trip.
The next day we decided to sleep in, take our time packing and getting ready to go. We grabbed some breakfast at our hotel before heading off to the airport. Our trip was amazing. We loved getting to spend purposeful time together as a couple and enjoyed the time away from our kids. I think husbands and wives need that every now and then. Brooks and I got to laugh together, reminisce, intentionally talk about goals and dreams we have, ideas for our future, etc. Basically, we got to have a whole lot of fun together and it was so worth it!! Can't wait to take a trip for Brooks' 30th Birthday!!
