10 Year Anniversary

Scott and I have been married for ten years now. TEN. That's about a third of my life. They have been good years, very good. I could write a bunch of sentimental goo here, but I'll save that for the man I love. We celebrated the milestone on July 3rd. Well, we actually celebrated the 2nd through the 6th. Guess where just the two of us went (and all our kids got were these lousy t-shirts)?(Here's another one with Lydia giving Josh a zerbert, because it's funny)

Here are a few of the things that made this trip awesome:

Riding the Staten Island Ferry from Katie and Noah's house to the city (this whole trip would not have been possible without the hospitality of the amazing Shafers -- thanks again guys) which gave us a great view of the Statue of Liberty and the city as we rode in.

Riding subways.

Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge. Eating delicious pizza at Grimaldi's where there was a long line that was worth it.

Getting rice pudding at Rice to Riches in Soho. This was a big hit with Scott, they had all kinds of fancy flavors. Me, I don't go much for rice pudding. But I enjoyed the hilarious signage all over the shop that said things like, "Go ahead and eat some more rice pudding, you're already fat." and "Three square meals a day will ruin your appetite for rice pudding."

Taking in the lights and crowds at Times Square.

Sleeping in.

Grand Central Station. It's beautiful and I loved seeing all the people with little suitcases in a hurry. We also had lunch in the lower-level food court type place. I had the yummiest ham and cheese croissant I've ever dreamed about.

Walking to the Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building.

Eating at Otto's (one of Mario Batali's Manhattan restaurants) with Katie and Noah for the real anniversary meal (they totally copied us and got married on 7/3 too). Gelatto for dessert. Then for second dessert we headed to Crumb's bakery for some deliciously huge over-the-top cupcakes. Mine was s'mores, Scott's was cookie dough.

Shopping around Soho (and making a real, actual purchase at Anthropologie).

Checking out the Ed Sullivan Theater (very sadly, the Late Show is on hiatus until mid-July so we missed our chance at seeing Dave) and Radio City Music Hall (which had the funniest marquee of the trip "This week: Dave Matthews...Next Week: His Holiness the Dali Llama").

Enjoying the architecture of the upper west side and eating at Papaya Dog.

Seeing the temple. So beautiful, so strange to see it right in the middle of a big city. We learned the Church does not own the building, they have a 100 year lease.

Playing around in Central Park. I love the water park with the little inch-deep canal water maze feature. I love the huge rocky parts for climbing. Look carefully and you'll see a handsome man in a green shirt at the top (with his little nephew to the left of him).

Getting in free to the Museum of Modern Art (thank you Target). It was just so cool to see in real life all those paintings that you see in books and as prints all your life. My favorite thing to do was to stand a few inches from the canvases and see the brushstrokes and sometimes the pencil lines that were painted over. I mean, it's cool to see this:

but how much cooler is this?:

Enjoying the excess at Dylan's Candy Bar. More candy than you can shake a stick at. I wish I had taken a photo of the candy stairs.

Feeling like a detective for finding the Burger Joint for dinner. In the swanky lobby of the LeParker Meridien hotel there's a big, dark curtain on one wall and an inconspicuous neon burger at the end of a long hall to direct you into a tiny little room that is the polar opposite of the hotel. Marker and cardboard signs tell you what's available to order and "we don't spit in your food, so don't write on our walls". The burgers were really good by the way.
Walking around Rockefeller Center.

Watching fireworks from the battery.

Walking around Ground Zero.

Being mistaken for locals and asked for directions (ha!).

The best dinner of the whole trip at Chocolate by the Bald Man. You think you're just going for the desserts (which you are, really...please do yourself a favor and just peruse the menu, it's incredible) but the dinner was 100% delectable. Scott got a milkshake (so good no other milkshake can compare) and we liked the cup so much we bought our own to take home.

And finally, seeing a Broadway show. A few of our first choices were not available for the discount prices we were after, so we ended up seeing Spamalot which was not disappointing. Lots of laughs and some fun audience participation.

All in all, the big apple did not disappoint and we're already mentally planning our next trip. Next time: more gelatto.