New York....

We decided a few months ago it would be fun to take Josh and Abi to New York.  With Josh preparing to serve a mission, we felt it would be a good thing for him to go back and see where the Restoration of the church happened.  We thought next summer might be a little crazy trying to get him ready to leave and squeeze in a trip to New York so we made the arrangements and took off for a few days.  The little kids had a blast staying with Aunt Gina and they know they will get their turn to go when they are a little older.  We also asked Grandpa and Grandma to come along for the trip.  It's always more fun when they are with us.

We first flew into Rochester and immediately out of the airport, we headed for a beautiful golf course for Josh and Russel to golf at.  Since this was kind of a trip for Josh, we wanted him to do some things he really wanted....which entirely pretty much included golf.  And I researched for HOURS about all the golf courses in the area to find the best one.  And I even tried my very best to get him into Oak Hill (home of the PGA Championship this August) but they wouldn't budge.  I did everything I could.....short of buying a very expensive membership.   But they had a great time and Mill Creek was a beautiful course.

From the golf course, we headed to the Hill Cumorah Pageant.  It was awesome!  In fact, as soon as we walked onto the ground, a cute little girl said "HOLY McKennas!"  We were all taken off guard a little and I was searching my brain trying to figure out how we knew her.  Well it turned out she was a classmate of Nick's.  What a cutie.

The next day we visited all the church sites.  It was really cool to see where Joseph Smith grew up, where the Book of Mormon was printed, where Joseph Smith prayed and saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ in the Sacred Grove, the Hill Cumorah, and of course the beautiful temple.  There was such a palpable special feeling at these places.  The Sacred Grove was amazing this was a favorite of the day.  It was so beautiful and peaceful and the spirit was so strong.  It could not be denied that this was a very sacred place.  I think we all came away with a greater appreciation of the Restoration of the Gospel and how it came about and also for the many trials that Joseph Smith had to endure.  And what an amazing thing to see how the church has grown and how the Lord's work has continued over the last almost 200 years.  And also really neat to realize our little Josh (not so little anymore) will be sharing that gospel for two years in just a short time.  

Here are a few pics from the Hill Cumorah

Joseph Smith's Home 

 The Sacred Grove

 The Palmyra Temple

We had a wonderful time and it was truly amazing to be there and feel of that special spirit.  We didn't feel like we had enough time in Palmyra but it was time to leave and get ready to head to the Big Apple.  So we packed our bags and caught the next flight into La Guardia.  

Wow what a difference in scenery.  We were dropped right into craziness.  After our taxi ride to the hotel, Abi said "I definitely liked Palmyra better."  The taxi ride was just a tad bit scary!  But we soon got our bearings and hit the ground running.  

We found our way to Central Park which was so beautiful.  The only bad part is that we walked....which turned out to be quit a bit further than we expected....so by the time we got there everyone was pooped!  I really wanted to rent bikes and ride all the way around Central Park but we spent an hour trying to find the bikes (which really shouldn't have been that hard), but we finally gave up and started on a quest to find some yummy italian food.  

On our way back to find some dinner, Russel realized how close we really were to the Manhattan Temple.  It's totally crazy where it is located....kind of reminded us of the Hong Kong Temple.  If you weren't careful you could miss it.  It was just right along the street with the other high rise buildings but pretty soon we could see the angel Moroni sitting on top, above the rest.   It was awesome to see, especially since our cute niece, Elise, is getting married there in April.  Can't wait to go back!

We finally got to our dinner destination....and of course I had salad.  Yay for me!  Not so many gluten free options.   But the rest had calzones...which got mixed reviews.   I decided I wasn't in charge anymore of finding the perfect place. :)

After that, we headed to the Rockefeller Center and Times Squares area.   It was so cool to see the sites you see all the time on TV.  Really cool stuff.

The next day we were able to visit the 911 Memorial Site.  What a humbling and amazing place to take in.  It brought back all those memories of when our nation was attacked and was definitely a somber part of our day.  But it was also amazing to see the beautiful tribute and memorial to all those who lost their lives that day.  It was amazing to see how our strong our nation is and realize the loved ones left behind are survivors and show us all that we can keep going amidst adversity and trial.   It was truly something we will never forget.

This little tree is really what struck me as a symbol of enduring through it all.  There was one tree that survived the terrible attacks that day.  It was the only tree of it's kind....all the others did not make it.  They took this tree and planted it in another park and nourished it back to life.  In 2010, they returned the "survivor tree" back to the 911 memorial site and it stands as a beacon for all to see....that we can survive even the most difficult times and stand strong.

 The New World Trade Center

The policeman are seriously the coolest in New York.  So classy....we couldn't resist getting a picture of Abi with one.

The Statue of Liberty was our next sight seeing adventure.  Really really amazing!!  Just breathtaking really.   When we flew into La Guardia we got a beautiful view of it as well.  It is such a beautiful symbol of freedom.   We just soaked it all in.

We decided to just wander around the financial district and saw this amazing sand castle right in the middle of the block.  Pretty cool!

 Veteran's Memorial Park

 Wall Street

And yes we found the AMAZING pizza!  Still salad for me :(  But it smelled super good!

We were able to meet up with our cute niece and her fiancé for dessert that night.  And YIPPEE they had the most amazing chocolate mousse cheesecake thing EVER!! and YES it was gluten free.  YUM!!!  It was so fun to see Elise and James.  They are darling and we are so excited for them.

The next morning we had scheduled Josh and Russel for a round of golf at Pebble Beach.....well Josh wishes it was the real Pebble Beach.  But my philosophy, if you can't go to Pebble Beach, let them bring it to you.  There was a really cool place that had an amazing golf simulator  and very close to our hotel (Josh says thanks mom for working so hard and doing all the research to find all these great things...I'm positive that is what he is thinking).

After that, Russel and Josh met James at the Chelsea Piers Driving Range.  Russel bought 300+ balls worth and they just went crazy.  They didn't  even have to tee the balls up, they just pop right up out of the ground.  It's a really amazing place.  It looks like you are hitting the golf balls right into the river (there is really net that catches them), they had a great time!  While the boys were golfing, we did lots of shopping.  We definitely HAVE to go back.  There is way too many places to go and I didn't feel like I was totally on my A game.  It was so hot and humid and we walked a lot but we did find a GIANT TJMaxx which was AMAZING!!  I put on my A game there for a little while.  Abi found lots of fun little stores she liked and found some cute school clothes.  Watch out New York, we will be back!!

What a great trip.  We were so sad to see it end!  So many things to do and see, we will look forward to visiting many times again!!