New blog

Hello everyone- sorry that it has been a while. I guess now that our New York adventure is over I haven't felt like I've had that much to say. But I finally decided to start a new blog and close this chapter of our life. My new blog website: www.mdroubay.blogspot.com
Hope to see you there!

Home at last

Well, we finally made it back to UTAH. And besides losing one of our 8 pieces of luggage, the 6 hour flight and all day travel extravaganza went fairly well. Unfortunately the one bag was, of course, mine. All my clothes, makeup, toiletries were in that suitcase. Hopefully it will show up- apparently about 20 other suitcases were lost too because that's how long the line was for the Jetblue office for missing baggage. I just don't understand how your luggage can get separated when you check it in at the same time and then can't make it to the airplane even though it leaves 45 minutes late. OH well. We're home and that's what matters most. It feels a little strange to be back here and although I'm so happy to be back, I'm sure there will be things I will miss about our family's summer in New York City.

Things I'm Going to miss about New York City:

1) The energy, bustle, and lights of city life

2) Always having something to do, somewhere to go, or something to see

3) Being close to Alan and Maline and having our kids play together

4) Shopping, shopping and more shopping, especially at H&M

5) Not having to work and hanging out with my kids all day long

6) Watching Tyler get excited every time we ride the subway and telling me how many stops we have left, what other trains we pass, and which trains he wants to go on the next day

7) My morning jogs with the kids along the Hudson River Walkway

8) Riverside Park and all of its fun playgrounds for the kids

9) Watching the kids catch fireflies at sunset

10) Grimaldi's pizza, Max Soha's gnocchi, and the Burger Joint's cheeseburgers

Things I'm NOT going to miss about New York City:

1) Our tiny tiny tiny apartment (oh, did I mention how tiny it was?)

2) Flipflops all day, every day or suffering the consequences (blisters)

3) Hearing colorful language every time I walk down the block

4) No car

5) No central air conditioning

6) HUMIDITY!!

7) Coin-operated laundry

8) Expensive rent

9) Having to use public restrooms all the time or finding a tree, bush or other secluded area for Tyler's emergency

10) Being yelled at by ornery people who don't like kids and don't think I should be on the subway or bus with them even though I paid just as much as they did

Invasion of the Droubays

This weekend Mike's dad, brother and two nephews came out to New York City to visit. We had so much fun showing them all of the sights. It was a whirlwind of a trip which included a Yankees game, Times Square, Grand Central Station, Empire State Building, Central Park, FAO Schwartz, The American Museum of Natural History, Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge, Fifth Avenue, Wall Street and World Trade Center. CRAZY!! Above the group gets together in Central Park for a picture.

Mike, his dad, and the boys down on Riverside Park at sunset to catch fireflies.

Makenzie and I on the staten Island Ferry on the way to see the Statue of Liberty.

Me and the Manhattan skyline

Here we are eating in the Grand Central Terminal at Junior's.

The boys in Grand Central Station's main concourse

A family photo in Times Square

We all went to church on Sunday morning. Every week it's interesting to see how many visitors come to this church. This week over half the congregation were visitors.

The boys looking out at the statue of liberty on the ferry.

Here is the subway station that lets you off at the Yankee stadium (as you can see). Everyone had so much fun even though it was super super hot. They all got to see A. Rod hit his 500th home run.

Mike and his brother on top of the Empire State Building.

Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge. Kenzie wouldn't put her umbrella down even though it wasn't raining. Unfortunately Tyler decided he had to go potty about half way through the mile long walk so I had to hurry and speed walk across the second half before he had an accident.

The kids in Times Square

Our Schooner Trip

On Thursday we took a 2 hour trip on a schooner boat to see the Statue of Liberty up close and views of the Manhattan skyline. It was fun to be out on the water with the breeze. The boat was beautiful when the sails were up and it was very relaxing.

Here is the boat we were on. Once we got out to the open river, they put the sails up. It was a different experience and the kids enjoyed it.

A sailboat as it passes by. Ellis Island and the statue of liberty are in the background.

Mike got this great shot of one of the masts and its sail.

Tyler is making a funny face in this picture but it's the only one that he's in.

Bronx Zoo

Over the course of the summer, we have gone to the Bronx Zoo twice. One rainy day Maline and I took our kids and then Mike and I took Ty and Makenzie on Wednesday. We had a lot of fun although it was crowded and was really hot by the time we left.

Makenzie on the carousel. This carousel was fun for the kids because it had all types of bugs on it from lady bugs to caterpillars to praying mantises.

Savanna, Jackson and Maline on the bug carousel

The Bronx Zoo has a children's zoo which of course includes feeding goats and sheep. My kids LOVED feeding them and got very good at doing it all by themselves.

Here Tyler pops out of a peep hole, just like the gopher in front of him.

The kids climb on the rope spider web.

Because the zoo is so big they have shuttles or skyfari rides to take you across the zoo to other parts. This was Tyler's favorite part of the zoo- taking the Skyfari up over the zoo. It was very nice to take this back to the entrance instead of walking.

Look how big these fish and turtles are. Tyler and Kenzie loved watching them swim and get close to the glass.

Tyler and Makenzie pose for us outside of the butterfly garden.

This was my favorite part of the zoo- The monorail that took us through Wild Asia. It was so nice to sit down and watch as we passed animal exhibits. This is the way to go. Plus, it kept the kids from getting too tired.

Mike and Makenzie in front of the monkeys in Jungle World

Tyler and I decided to go on a camel ride. Alright, I'll admit that I convinced Tyler to go because I really wanted to try it. It was fun although very bumpy and not comfortable at all.

I like this picture of the guy in front feeding the camel with a squirt nozzle on the hose. Nice shot!

Just Another Day

These are pictures of Riverside Park which is less than a block away from our apartment. It has many long walkways and paths that go along the Hudson River for a few miles. This huge park is where a lot of the parks are that I take Tyler and Makenzie to. The Dolphin Park, Hippo Park, River Run Park and Dinosaur Park are all of my kids favorites and they are all down this Riverside Walkway. The parks have kept my kids sane here in the city. It was what we have done almost every day. And I think I actually might miss taking our evening walks in this park.

Here is just another typical day that I wanted to capture to remind myself and the kids. I ran with the double jogger along Morningside Park until I got to Central Park West which is the street that runs along the West side of Central park(hence the name). I let the kids run around at this park and we ate our sack lunches and finally I jogged back to the apartment for nap time.

Tyler on the bridge

Tyler in the water

My kids love the tire swings at some of these parke. Tyler is always wondering why they don't have any in Utah.

This is a typical picture. Makenzie knows that I always bring us sack lunches when we go to the parks. So now she has learned that as soon as we get there she can eat. So that's what she does. She has always been one to love her food and I can't really blame her because so do I. Here she eats as soon as I park the jogging stroller.