The Metropolitan Museum of Art. A NY visit must. 

Our last selfie had been on top of Mount Juneau. Rooftop garden at the Met is good,  too. 

See what she did there?
Can you see the dragonfly hanging out with us? 

So much to see, so little time 

One of those was mine 

It was a goal of mine to eat a New York hot dog from a cart. Check!

Boats on the pond in Central Park (xoxo GG)

This is our attempt at getting frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity. Line was too long for us. 

Got Sprinkles ice cream instead! This is their red velvet flavor. Not too bad. Not my favorite though. Also, I was warned not to eat the ATM-style cupcakes. I guess you can order your cupcake from outside. But only try it if you like your cupcakes stale. ;)

This midtown Hilton has some great stories. Not only is it the Hilton in which Keira has stayed for her model UN, but it is the same place where we share a special Larson memory. 

Last year, we flew into JFK for a quick weekend in Connecticut when Nick (BIL) got home from an LDS mission to Brazil. Our flight from SLC had been circling over Pennsylvania awaiting permission to land. We circled so long, we were getting low on fuel and were directed to Detroit to land and refuel. 

This part of the story is so that you know that we got to the hotel MUCH later that anticipated. Since we didn't check in, our rooms were probably given away so Bruce stood at the desk while the desk attendants attempted to find enough room for 7 of us that had arrived at 2:00am. The attendants whispered to each other, clacked away on the keyboard and then went 'in the back'. One guy came back and asked, 'Mr. Larson, would you be willing to be upgraded to the penthouse suite for no extra charge?' 

Yes! Duh. 

We grabbed our bags and followed an attendant to the correct elevator, got out at the highest floor and followed to the next elevator. This very small elevator opened only with our room key. What?

We stepped out into the two-story penthouse, gawking at everything. The spiral staircase. Modern art. The view. A secret bookshelf door that led from the study to the kitchen. There were huge rooms with canopy beds and plenty of room for us all. It was lush, spacious and amazing. Too bad we were only there for a few hours to sleep. 

We discovered that it used to be Lucille Ball's private apartment. Nbd. 

A dandelion fountain in front of the hotel. 

A rocking horse bush. By Jeff Koons. (He's a really big deal.....according to cabs across the city, fashion loves him)

We were running low on battery for our phones so we cheated the system and visited Grand Central Apple Store and charged our phones while we played games on the demo iPads. 

The Brooklyn Bridge at night is stunning. The brightest light out there is the Empire State Building. 

Downtown Manhattan

My man <3

Keira!!!!

We brunches at Kitchenette! It is cute and delicious! 

The strongest lemonade ever. But very, very real. Not a speck of powdered or artificial flavor in that jar there. 

Omelette was delish. Great biscuit (still love Ruth's Diner mile high biscuits more) and yummy potatoes!

This area is the public use area of the Hudson in which a volunteer group operates a free kayaking place! 

All volunteer operated means they run off of donations so bring a few bucks because it's worth it. They have everything you need: life jackets, paddles and the kayaks. If you're a kayaking veteran, be aware they don't have spray skirts so dress accordingly. You WILL get wet. 

Love him! 

We were taking fun group selfies until we realized we were missing the best back drop. 

There we go. 

One of those identical buildings out there (far left) is where we have been staying.

We were all funned out. Keira and Taylor got nice and burned. 

The classic touristy map 

Keira had Bellingham, Washington covered. 

Taylor and I pinned Utah county :)

Cannoli from Caffe Dante. L-E-G-I-T

We have been trying to eat our way through a list 'Best Thing I Ever Ate' from a good friend who is a major foodie. It's still ongoing. This list is loooong. 

Washington Square park gems. Yes, she made paper pigeons...

Keira's dream guy. Desperately looking for her all over the East Village. 

Vietnamese sandwich from heaven. I looooved it. Grilled pork, cilantro and pickled carrots. YUM! 

Taylor got the pork over rice. He said he still likes Oh Mai in Holladay, UT better though. 

Matchy matchy saltwater sandals in Times Square. 

This girl got soooo close to Keira on a subway car with broken A/C. At one point, she was mimicking Keira's posture. Cutie. 

I brought her out to the balcony as soon as she got here. The view took her breath away the first time she saw it. We had to go say goodbye here, too. 

Love you, dearest Keira!

Actually it wasn't all bad. Taylor, Nick, Jon and I went to Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey and had a 'six flags day'. Because I didn't want to wait alone all day while Taylor, Nick, and Jon had all the fun, I had to ride the rides. All except Zoomanjaro, of course. No, thank you. 

This is what the subway stop looks like at 8am on a Saturday. On our way uptown to meet Nick at the George Washington bridge. 

The superman ride. I had to do it for my brother Danny who is a real life superman. Pretty nifty ride that makes you feel like you're flying!
Instead of returning to Manhattan for the night, we drove up to Connecticut to attend the meetings held in New Canaan, (where Taylor lived in his most formative years). I have only been here once before but the people were as familiar as any back home in Utah. We will always love New Canaan.
Sunday was Nick's 22nd birthday! He forgot to tell anyone until about 5 minutes before he was headed to the airport so he didn't actually get out of the impromptu singing! Dinner in the Read's backyard was lovely. We're grateful for wonderful friends!

Train from New Canaan back to the city. I love love love Grand Central station. It's a beautiful place.
This is random but let me tell you something funny about Taylor. He is the easiest person for which I will ever make a sandwich. Probably. After growing up with my father and brothers who delight in elaborate sandwich creations, Taylor is a mystery. He eats his sandwiches completely dry. Doesn't like any condiments of any kind. I don't blame him for hating mayonnaise (any returned missionary from Argentina is likely to have the same aversion) but he won't even kiss me after I eat something that had mustard on it. 

It's ok. I kind of love it. It means making him a sandwich takes about 10 seconds. No complaints from the chef!

We got home (anywhere we sleep turns into 'home') and prepared for another crazy, wonderful week. 

For those interested, we have all of our belongings with us that we will take directly to London. We had a great stroke of luck and had dear family members able to check some bags for us so that we would only have to pay extra baggage fees once. Turns out to be quite more economic than international shipping! 

But for anyone looking into shipping abroad, make sure you don't forget about the USPS and options like media mail. We weighed and measured a couple of boxes for shipping our winter clothes at a later date and it turned out to cost just under $200 for a 50 lb box of our own measurements. There's a handy dandy link on the USPS website to help calculate the cost for you! 

We also tried FedEx which is not a bad choice. However, I have to clarify that we decided not to bring much more than our clothes, electronics and some kitchen tools. If you are shipping more or larger items such as furniture, you'll definitely have to look elsewhere. 

Posts will come more frequently now. Promise! Thanks for reading!