New York New York!

It's no secret that Amanda LOVES New York City!

When her dance studio said they were doing a trip in July, she begged and begged to go.

Even when I said no car for your 16th birthday.

Even when I said no big party for your 16th birthday.

She didn't care, she just wanted to go!

So we scrimped together the money and she and I went to New York July 14-19, 2014

We took a red-eye out on the 14th and arrived about 7:00am.  After grabbing the bus and dropping our luggage, everyone was up for breakfast.  We traveled as a group looking for food and the main group when to Panera.  Mike and I always try to avoid places we have at home when traveling and so we kept going with two other mom//daughter groups and got bagels from a street vendor and sat on a plaza for our first breakfast in the city!  Look at that smile!

It started raining and raining and raining.  Amanda and I decided not to hang with the group and hopped the subway to go tour Madison Square Garden.  I took this picture because we have one similar from Amanda's first trip to NYC when she was 8.

So between the rain and the humidity and the no change of clothes, we stopped in at Old Navy and bought socks and a cheap tshirt so that we didn't look like we came from the desert!  We were so proud of ourselves for navigating the subway by ourselves.  Everyone in our group was so scared to try the subway! Even the people who had been here before…..whatever….Amanda actually did better than I did.

The tour was really cool.  The Garden has been remodeled recently.  They have a 'moment in Garden history' circling the arena walk area with everyday represented.  This one of Michael Jackson was his last public concert.  They  had Justin Bieber, as well as the first Rangers game after 9/11.  Pretty cool.

Wayne Gretzky's last game...

 At one point we were the only group in the entire arena. It's so big!  There is suspended bridges with seating and a restaurant. We walked on it and it was triply.

This is us sitting in the 'president's or someone special….the private seats.  Never get to sit there again ;)
It was a good time and really interesting and something we haven't done before. When we met back up with the group, some of our friends said they should have gone with us because the big group just went shopping at stores we have in Utah….what a waste of time ;)

I love this picture of Amanda and Chaylor :)  We went back to the hotel to 'freshen up' (this phrase was our tour guide, Tim's, favorite thing to say…it got so annoying!  The girls had a dance class to go to, so they changed and it was pouring rain!! We walked a couple of blocks to the studio huddled under umbrellas!  Good thing I remembered to pack them ;)

The mom's just sat in a small crowded hot hallway, but we caught glimpses of the class. Amanda is in black in the middle on the far side. So hard to see her, but the class was fun.  What an opportunity to take dance in NYC!

The teacher, 2nd in from right back row, was darling.  The girls had a blast!!  After this, I think we went to dinner and then everyone was exhausted, so after a little more walking around, it was bedtime!!