The New Jersey adventure, part 1 of ?

Wow! We had an amazing time visiting the Causey's in New Jersey, and we sure packed a lot into 6 days. I have to start by saying Ava and Luke handled the airport and plane rides like pros, they were absolutely fabulous. We got lots of compliments on their behaviour and obedience, and I think we even gave some confidence to a young couple sitting behind us on the first flight that were expecting their first child in a couple of months. When our plane landed in Newark the husband asked me if I had any advice for traveling with kids, I told him snacks and entertainment, but honestly I have been blessed with great kids and I can't really take all of the credit. I also must take a moment to thank the Causeys for being great hosts, and showing us a great time! The week flew, we just had so much fun together! We love you all! So much to tell about, where to start? Lauri had told me weeks ago that they were planning a surprise for Ava and I, and it turned out to be a trip to New York City and going to a Broadway performance of the Lion King. A-MAZING! All of it! Here is a little bit of our adventure in the Big Apple...

The performance was at 2:00 pm, so we decided to make a day of it. We drove up to Trenton and hopped a train to NYC. Ava was particularly excited about the train ride. She had never ridden on a train before! The train took us to Penn Station and from there we jumped on the subway, to Central Park. We had a picnicand walked around the park a little bit. We came across this ice skating rink in the middle of the park. Kind of bizarre on a 70 degree day. We also did some climbing on the big rocks that are all over Central Park. Isaiah was particularly excited to make this climb!After Central Park we headed over to the one and only FAO Schwarz toy store, the one with the Big Piano (as in the piano Tom Hanks plays in the movie "Big.") A couple of employees were putting on a show, and the kids were mesmerized. It was a little more than Chopsticks, they were playing Bach and Beethoven. With their feet.After FAO Schwarz, we hit Dylan's Candy Bar (a candy store, obviously) and then headed off to the show! Almost didn't make it in time and had to ask a friendly doorman for directions, but found our seats and even managed to go to the bathroom before the show began. And what a show it was. The opening act where all of the animals come together to celebrate the birth of Simba was truly amazing. The singing was spectacular. The costumes stunning. Of course there is no photography allowed in the theater during the performance, but I am not sure if pictures would do it justice. The scale was just too grand. Lauri and I agreed one of our favorite parts was the wildebeast stampede in the gorge. We weren't sure how they would pull that off, but they did and it was impressive. We did get a couple of pics in the theater,and of course with the poster.After the show we hit the Hershey store (what can I say, we love chocolate!), but didn't stay long. It was literally shoulder to shoulder people. You could barely move. One of the things I do not appreciate about New York. The sheer mass of people. Fun to visit once in a while, but I can not imagine growing up and having Central Park be the only grass to play on.After the Hershey store, we headed back to the train station and took a stroll through Times Square.Ava was a trooper the whole day. She walked and sang the whole way back to the train station (something like 14 blocks, impressive for a 5 year old). She had not lost her enthusiasm either, on the train ride home, Andy called to hear about our adventure and Ava excitedly and VERY loudly announced to Andy and the whole train, "Daddy, I RODE ON A TRAIN AND WENT TO THE LION KING!" The whole train was laughing!

I'll try and put up more in the next few days of our other activities. All fun!