Aidan Turns 16!

 Aidan had a giant week! On his last day of being 15, he went for his first job interview and landed a summer job at Bahama Bucks! He follows the footsteps of my cousin Meredith who worked there in high school! After passing his driving test on his birthday, we celebrated with family at our house that night. He got his license the next day, drove himself to school the day after, then we had a joint party at our house that weekend with his friends Brady, Cade, and Layton. What a week! It is surreal having a teen drive in the house, but he is doing great and I am loving it! Happy 16th birthday Aidan!!

NYC Part 4

On our last day, we woke up to a chilly Easter Sunday and headed to the MoMA. I love this art museum more than the Met and could spend all day there! I think Avery took a thousand pictures! Afterwards we went to lunch at Black Tap, which was a favorite place Aidan and I had gone when we went with my friends for his 13th birthday trip. They are known for their milkshakes, and Avery's Oreo milkshake did not disappoint! It was a great way to end a fabulous trip! While we were there, I gave her letters that her grandmothers, aunts, great-aunts, and I had written her with encouragement, memories, advice, etc. She read a few each night of the trip and they meant so much to her! I enjoyed every moment of my Big Apple trip with Avery and hope it's one she never forgets!

NYC Part 2

 Day 2 was Downtown-centered! First I ran to the drugstore in the morning while Avery slept in, and I caught a glimpse of Usher who was doing a roller skating segment for the Today Show! Afterwards Avery and I took the subway to Chelsea to see the Friends apartment (one of the highlights of Avery's trip!), then we had lunch in Little Italy and walked around Chinatown, saw the 9/11 Memorial and the Occulus, and then we took the Staten Island Ferry to see the Statue of Liberty! It was a little crowded and we didn't get as close as I was hoping, but it was still fun to see! After we got back to Manhattan, we caught a little of the Good Friday mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral (got to see a little of Cardinal Dolan!), stopped by NBC Studios for some shopping and a picture with Jimmy Fallon's marquis (a huge bummer was that NBC isn't giving studio tours right now), then after a rest we had a hot dog cart dinner and saw The Music Man with Hugh Jackman, which was playing right across from our hotel! The show as AMAZING and worth every penny we paid and every month we waited. So fun!

NYC Part 3

 We spent most of Day 3 in uptown! We went to Central Park where we saw the Strawberry Fields memorial, the Bethesda Fountain, then had brunch at the Loeb Boathouse. I planned our schedule around this brunch because the mac and cheese, which is only served on the weekends, is RIDICULOUSLY good and it did not disappoint. We really lucked out because the weather was gorgeous so we enjoyed walking around! We spent some time at the Met (they had a dress exhibit called America: A Lexicon of Fashion which was so cool!) and then we took a Lyft over to Serendipity which ended up being a waste of time because we needed reservations. I had a feeling, but didn't ever make them because I didn't know what our schedule would be. Oh well! After a rest at the hotel, we went for dinner at a restaurant in Macy's downtown because I realized we hadn't seen the Empire State Building yet. Dinner was okay, but our view was great and we also saw the piano from Big!