New York and New Jersey

We decided to use Steve's cousin, Melissa's wedding in New Jersey to make a week long vacation out of visiting New York and catching up with family. 

After arriving, we spent our first night checking out Times Square. It was not far from our hotel in Midtown. 

Day one: doughnuts at Dough for breakfast and then the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum. 

 We toured the submarine Growler.

There were lots of interactive things for the kids to do on the Aircraft Carrier and the Enterprise Space Shuttle is on display as well as lots of armed forces airplanes and helicopters.

After lunch and a nap, we took the subway to Central Park. This was actually one of my favorite parts of the trip. The kids loved the subway and playground. The weather was perfect and it was nice to just relax.  

Dinner at The Smith, a short walk from Central Park near the Lincoln Center. Jae got a shoulder ride home since we decided to walk off dinner instead of take the subway. 

Day two; American Museum of Natural History. I LOVE this place! 

After lunch and a nap, we got some coffee at Stumptown and hung out in Washington Square Park. 

Dinner was at Mario Batalli's restaurant, Otto in Greenwich Village.The kids were sooooo good and the dinner was awesome. 

Day three: bagels for breakfast and then a ride on the Statten Island Ferry to see the Statue of Liberty. 

We walked from Battery Park up to the World Trade Center. Steve and I saw the twin towers in January of 2002 so we really wanted to see what the new memorial looked like. 

We said goodbye to New York and drove to New Jersey for the rest of the week. Kellen and Jae got to spend lots of time with Steve's cousin, Jenny's son, Jon.

On Friday, we had a large group meet up at Lavalette to play on the shore.  

The picture above has just a sample of kids there: Alana, Kellen, Jae, Jack, Peter, Jon, Duncan, Steve, Kai, and Luke. 

Jae actually fell asleep on the beach! She slept while Steve and Joe played in with the water with the kids. 

Jae met her new found best friend and distant cousin, Ava (who turned 3 in February). 

Kellen, Olivia, Jon and Connor hanging out before dinner. 

We went to Point Pleasant to check out the boardwalk and have dinner. 

Kellen and Jae had fun with Olivia and Jon on the rides.

Wedding prep, Jae got her nails painted with Aunt Diane and Olivia.

Jae, Olivia and Ava were ready to see Melissa and Bobby get married.

Most of Steve's cousins and their kids at Melissa and Bobby's ceremony.

Kellen as it turns out LOVES photo booths. 

Here he is with Ava, Jae and Olivia.

And again with Duncan and Jack.

And then with Jon, of course.

And we got in on it too...

We had such a good time at the reception. The kids played with each other and danced ALOT. The best part is they headed to the hotel room with a baby sitter after dinner and some dancing.  

Sunday morning after church we met at Steve's grandparents' house to celebrate Kai's 6th birthday. We ended up hanging out the rest of the day. Kellen and Jon had a blast. 

What a fun trip! We are so glad we took the kids into the city. What a great experience! New Jersey was both relaxing and fun, we had a great time seeing everyone and loved seeing the kids play together. We are happy to be home but thankful to have these awesome memories.