Happy Birthday!

 Another year around the sun for me. Recently it was my birthday and of course Andy and Max spoiled me like they always do. I started a new job the week of my birthday so my birthday was a very busy day at work. It was nice to end the crazy week, and day, with flowers from my boys. We then went to dinner at Elliott's in Chandler where Max order the filet topped with crab and caviar. The manager came by to ask how our food was but I think she did just to see the kid that ordered the filet topped with crab and caviar. We had desert before we headed home.

We celebrated with gifts and a gluten free buntini...which is my FAVORITE.

Max and Andy always know how to celebrate me on my birthday! I do appreciate them.

A Night Out

 The night after we got home from New York I attended the NKOTB concert with my ladies. Whenever the New Kids are in town we make sure we get good seats to attend and this year was no different. Thanks to Jessica, and her concert ticket skills, we ended up in first row and the Meet and Greet with a backstage tour. I mean, this was my dream when I was 10 years old. I would love to go back to my childhood and tell myself that I will get to meet my crush in about 34 years. It's not that long of a wait. 

I do want to share that the concert was held in the outdoor pavilion on a day when it was 116 degrees out. It was insanely hot. I hat to start hydrating for this concert the day before. To prepare for the concert I drank Liquid IVs and ate bananas. I did not want to be that person who passes out due to the excessive heat. This plan worked, but almost too well. Once the sun went down I ended up having to use the bathroom every 30 minutes. Plus, I was wearing a jumper that was hard to get off and on. 

We arrived for the check-in at the hottest time of the day. On the drive over I was questioning my life choices to purchase tickets to the concert, that is outside, IN JULY. Once we arrived and I got to see the giant fanbase of crazy middle-aged women it was all worth it. The crowd was something else. That is all I can say because you really had to be there to see it.

Once we checked in we got funneled to a waiting area that had shade and they were handing out waters. We waited here for a bit and then got our backstage tour. The tour wasn't much and it's quick, but while backstage we got to walk right in front of the New Kids and take a super quick selfie as we walked by.

Once the tour was over we were funneled back outside in the heat to sweat. Eventually, we got our meet and greet photos. We hugged, exchanged a few words and then took our photo. 

As they were heading back inside from the Meet and Greet they were all commenting on the heat. They were definitely struggling with the Phoenix heat.

After the meet and greet we found a picnic table in the shade where we hung out for a couple of hours until the concert started. Once the sun went down it wasn't too bad. We did witness a handful of people get wheel chaired out due to passing out from the heat. These people did not prepare like I did.

It was concert time and front row did not disappoint. It definitely was not as hot as I thought front row was going to be. Front row did not disappoint and I thoroughly enjoyed every second of the experience. 

I got another selfie with Jordan as he walked by performing. This was my childhood crush.

It was an extremely hot day and the experience started with 116 degree heat and ended the night at 102...at 11pm. It was HOT, but it was also an amazing time. I have to give all the kudos to Jessica who got the fantastic tickets and coordinated the whole evening. She is truly a rockstar when it comes to getting tickets! 

Until next time NKOTB comes to Phoenix, but hopefully they will perform indoors because 116 degrees was insane.

First Day of 5th Grade

On July 17th Max started fifth grade at Basha, but the night before he had Meet the Teacher. He was happy to learn that his teacher seemed to be really nice. She is also from Wisconsin and got her degree at UW-Madison. If that isn't a good sign for a good year I don't know what is. However, Max was more excited to learn that he had four really good buddies in his class.

Max has grown two inches since the start of fourth grade. He is now 5 feet 1.5 inches tall. In 2.5 more inches he will be as tall as me, so probably next year he will be as tall as me. For reference, I was 4' 10" in seventh grade. He is much taller than I was in seventh grade. That just blows my mind. Obviously he is getting this height from his dad's side of the family. He still wants to be a chef when he grows up.

I am very excited for Max's year in fifth grade. I am sure he will have a great year with his closest buddies in his class. 

Summer Trip: Part V

 We started the day off with a walking tour of 9/11. The tour was only OK, but definitely not a necessary thing to do. I would not recommend the walking tour. Here is the Freedom Tower with artwork to memorialize the World Trade Center.

The highlight of the walking tour was visiting the memorial for the firefighters that perished from the firehouse across the street from 9/11. They were the first on scene and had the most firefighters succumb to that day. The memorial was nice to see.

We saw the memorial for the twin towers, but you can see this without the walking tour. This was definitely a moment to take in.

We ended the tour at the memorial museum. I do recommend doing the self guided tour through the museum as it's a must see if it's your first time visiting. It brought back a lot of memories from that day. Where I was when the planes hit the towers and the aftermath. It was definitely an emotional museum to go back to that day in time.

Following the 9/11 tour, we went to see the statue of liberty via a boat drive-by. Nobody was interested in going to the island and walking up to the top of the statute but we wanted to see it. A boat drive by was the perfect option on this hot and humid day. 

For our last night in NYC we had a fantastic steak dinner at Keens. It was so good and I highly recommend this place. It's a super old school steakhouse where old politicians and celebrities would frequent. Who knows, maybe they still do? Following dinner, we dropped the kids off at the hotel and the adults went to have a couple of drinks at a pub just down the block. We had a great time talking about our trip and enjoying the only adult time we had the whole trip. There was a lot of laughs this night. 

The summer trip was an awesome time. Just like our other trips, I will cherish the memories we made as a framily. I will make a separate NYC book with all the photos from that week so we can look back on all the memories we made together. 

Summer Trip: Part IV

 We started this day off with breakfast at Stardust Diner. This is a unique cafe on Broadway where the servers sing Broadway songs while they are serving. It was a fun experience.

Following breakfast we walked around Times Square and did some shopping.

We got to see the famous Times Square naked cowboy. Of course I had to take a picture.

We then headed to see & Juliet on Broadway. This was such a cool show. Andy was not interested in seeing a Broadway show while we were there but he agreed afterward that it was a good show. Stella picked the show out and she did a great job of selecting one that everyone could enjoy. If you have a chance to see & Juliet, I highly recommend it.

After the show we headed to Top of the Rock for 360 degree views of NYC and to do the photo where we are sitting on the beam over NYC. You are basically recreating the famous picture from way back when of the construction workers enjoying their lunch on the beam.

We stopped by FAO Schwarz for a bit since we had time to kill and Max got to play the giant keyboard just like in the movie Big. This is located at Rockefeller Center and I will say that Rockefeller Center is MUCH SMALLER in person. I thought it would be bigger, but it's not. I honestly don't even know how they fit the ice rink in that small space in the winter.

Dinner was at a good Italian restaurant. We were all hot and a bit sweaty from the day and the restaurant wasn't that much cooler. That's ok because the food was pretty good and my Prosecco helped cool me off. Max ordered the fettuccini alfredo that was prepared table side via a giant cheese wheel. That was the highlight of his dinner. 

It was another hot and sticky day in NYC, but most of our activities on this day were inside so it wasn't too bad. The theme of our trip is hot, humid and a lot of walking...but tons of fun!  

Summer Trip: Part III

 In the morning we headed over to the Tribeca neighborhood to a restaurant that has won a Michelin star for their pancakes. Once Max heard that he was super excited for breakfast and he already knew he was going to order the pancakes. 

Once we got off the subway and started our walk to the restaurant, we turned the corner and saw the firehouse the recent Ghostbusters movie was filmed at. Max freaked out. He was super excited to see that especially since it was a surprise and we didn't know we would pass it on our walk.

After breakfast we had a tour of Central Park via a pedicab. My niece's husband, Batu, hooked me up with his best friend who runs a pedicab business in NYC. I contacted him ahead of time and we arranged to meet in front of The Plaza. We arrived a bit early and wandered around. Max was excited to see where Home Alone 2 was filmed and they had a showcase displaying items from the movie.

It was so great to meet one of Batu's best friends. He was a really nice guy that gave us a tour of Central Park and lots of great information. 

Max was able to see the Spiderman bridge and where another Marvel movie was filmed. He was excited about that. 

The pedicabs gave us a ride through Times Square and dropped us off at a pub for drinks, snacks and the soccer game that was playing.

That night we went to a Yankees game. This was fun to see all the New Yorkers really get into the game. I have never seen so much passion over a baseball game before. I thought it was fun to see. What I didn't like was trying to get back to the hotel via the train. Everyone gets jam packed on the train. Everyone is smooshed in like sardines. Everyone is touching everyone. It was my worst nightmare. I think we had to go three stops before we could breathe. It is something I am not used to and was probably my least favorite thing from the whole trip.

Other than the train ride back, the Yankees game was pretty fun. Max got himself a Yankees hat while we were there. This was another exhausting day in NYC. Every day was hot, humid and exhausting.