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10.14.2013

A Nap in Central Park


Yesterday's weather was sort of unbelievable! It was like the most lovely sweater weather, the air was crispy and cool with a light breeze; the sky was blue and the sun was shining! We decided to bundle Gunner up becuase he's never experienced temperatures below 70 degrees!

We left the apartment after lunch for Zack to get to the temple with our ward from church!  While he was in the temple, Gunner and I were just going to wander around town until he was done! 

First we went shopping because... Well why not? We went into one of our very favorite stores called Century 21. It's basically a TJMaxx or Nordstrom Rack except they have fancy designer stuff as well as normal brands! I went because I'm looking for a winter coat for Gunner, which is proving difficult!! what? Do most people not take their infants out on the town in the snowy weather?!? Well I'm planning on doing it and I need a good coat for him! So after sifting through all the Dolce&Gabana and other discounted $200 baby coats I left the store with some socks, jammies, and 2 AMAZING pairs of blue jeans for the boy! I also got him this stuffed animal that he is CRAZY about. I've never seen him get so excited about a toy! So I didn't get what I was looking for... But I got some other great stuff! 



When we got back into the street the heavenly weather just spoke to me and I decided it was a perfect day to spread out a blanket in Central Park and people watch! We wandered in and walked down a few seperate paths until I found this spot of grass in the shade of some trees. It was right between a baseball field and a surprisingly competitive game of adult kickball...I'm not joking! There was a group of about 30 adults playing a rather exciting game of kickball! So we spread out the blanket, kicked off our shoes and sprawled out!
As we laid there I was just looking around and could just see peeks of the surrounding skyscrapers between the branches!  The afternoon was so relaxing that Gunner drifted off and took a sweet little nap!

It was one of those surreal moments! I was seriously overwhelmed by my own reality! I can't believe I'm living this life!! This is MY life?!? It's probably not the life that I would have chosen, but as with all the best things in my life it's exactly what I didn't realize I needed! It's exactly perfect for me at this time in my life! I'm so grateful for a God who knows me and understands me better than I know myself!

Here are a zillion pics from Gunner and my afternoon in the park!

Once Zack was done we decided to head down to Times Square! All I can say is what a contrast!! Maybe Times Square was so overwhelming because I had just come from this heavenly oasis of nature and peace in Central Park... But to be honest I just don't get the hype about Times Square! Although, Carly was telling me about why they love it and I think if I wasn't pushing my tiny little baby in a stroller through the crowds of people, over strangers toes and through peoples smoke clouds,maybe I would have enjoyed it too! They have the GIANT Disney store and Toys R Us and the M&M factory which I'm sure Gunner would love in a couple years! But since he's still too little to appreciate that and we were there on a Saturday evening we wanted to leave as soon as we got there!  (They also had an insane Forever 21 that took all of my will power not to enter) If you've been to Times Square you probably think I'm nuts for loving NYC, but seriously the rest of the city is like a suburb compared to Times Square! It reminds me a lot of the strip in Las Vegas except its smaller with more people (and less naked women)! 
^^Gunner was a bit skeptical of the whole experience^^

^^Times Square Family Photo^^

So once we'd walked the length of Times Square (which is only like 4 blocks) we just headed off on an unknown direction and explored! We saw where all the theaters for broadway plays are and all the hotels; we saw a ton of souvenir shops which may have tempted me a tiny bit...(everyone needs an I ❤ NY shirt)! It is an exciting and lively neighborhood! Definitely the most intense place we've been in the city so far! 



We decided to head towards Rockafeller center (since Top of the Rock is on our bucket list!) and grab some dinner on the way! We got classic NY hot dogs (which was a new addition to our bucket list), not the crappy imitators that we tried a few weeks ago. These were the real deal! They were pretty yummy but left us feeling hungry! Especially after the 30-40 blocks we had already walked!  

Once we got to Rockefeller Center we realized it costs $27 per person to ride the elevator up and look out the windows!!! Is it just me or is $27 a bit much? When you're living on the Ivy League Tuition budget, that's way out of your price range!!! Haha! So we'll have to put some money aside a maybe do it for a special occasion or something! Even though we didn't make it to the top, the trip was not a waste! We wandered around Rockafeller center for a while... I was just wishing and hoping to accidentally bump into Liz Lemon or Tracey Jordan... but it didn't happen! We did see some people with SNL staff shirts and saw some real live NBC pages!!  The ice skating rink is already icy (maybe it is all year round? Anyone know?) and they have some yummy looking (but pricey) restaurants!



After smelling all the rich delicious food we decided it was time for fourth meal! So we googled the area and came up with 6 zillion restaurants in the square mile and narrowed it down to a pizza place with 4 out of 5 stars (that's really good) and walked back through Times Square to this little hole in the wall pizza joint and spent a whopping 7$ on a delicious meal! This pizza place didn't have any seating so to avoid sitting on the curb we decide to get some dessert from the fancy French bakery next door in order to use their tables! So there we were sitting in this sweet little bake shop chowing down on a few slices of greasy pepperoni pizza and two dainty macarons. I  LOVE this about the city! We spent maybe 12$ total on the meal and got greasy yummy pizza and refined fancy dessert basically all in one. 

By the time we finished eating all three of us were ready to head home! We took the express bus home which is always my first choice! It's comfy like a tour bus and it drops us off at the front door of our apartment!! That is Priceless!! 



It was another fun and rich day full of contrasts and juxtapositions! From Central Park to Times Square, the pizza and the macarons! This city surprises me every single day I take to explore it! I am beyond grateful to be living here and to be on this insane journey with my two favorite boys! They are the best traveling companions a girl could ask for! I thank God everyday for those two!

Sending my love to everyone!!
Xoxoxo 
SD

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