Ever since Mia and Alexa saw a show during our vacation in Dominican Republic they were asking us to take them to see another one.  So when I told them that we were going to see Madagascar Live! they were thrilled.  For days they were asking me if today was the day… And for days I was able to use that as a kind of a ‘threat’ to get them to do stuff  – “If you don’t put your PJs on, we won’t go to to show”, “Want to see a show?  Then pick up your toys”… great parenting, I know:)

My sister and her family decided to join us and since we all love hanging out together so it was a super fun day all around!   The place we ended up for lunch was perfect – we were seated upstairs (maybe they did not like the look of us and wanted to keep us away from their customers!) and had the whole place to ourselves.  Mia, Alexa and their cousin Abby sat in their own booth and were very happy to be independent:

they loved looking at themselves in the mirror  and thought it was the funnies thing:)

True to its name, burgers at the ‘Burger Heaven‘ were heavenly:

We stopped by at the Le Pain Quotidien next door to get some desert before heading to the show:

It was pouring out… rainy weather, although not the best for walking around town, makes for interesting images.  And Mia and Alexa loved wearing their new rainboots and using their umbrellas:

It was another great, although very wet, weekend!

They say that a true New Yorker has never been to NYC famous sites – Empire State Building, Top of the ROC, Statue of Liberty, etc.   As a former New Yorker I agree with that – the only time when I’ve been to the Empire State Building was when I was showing around the town to out-of-town guests.  I never made it to the Statue of Liberty either – although Victor and I took a trip to Governor’s island once (during pre-kids days).   This weekend was the closest I’ve gotten to it – during our trip with the girls to the Liberty State Park.

Mia and Alexa absolutely loved it – they were pushing their wagon and admiring the views – well, as much as 2.5 year olds can really admire anything.  The views were simply spectacular – having seen downtown from many different angles, I have to say that this one was my favorite – you can see the Statue of Liberty, Manhattan Skyline, Brooklyn and Verezano Bridges all while walking on a pedastrian walk-way along the bay.  Right now it is hard to believe that we used to live right there among these skyscrapers just a bit under 2 years ago!

I finally had a chance to work on pictures from my birthday celebration weekend in the city a couple of weeks ago.  My in-laws graciously agreed to take care of Mia and Alexa and give Victor and I a chance for some ‘us’ time so we decided to take advantage of our proximity to Manhattan and spend a night there.  We stayed downtown in Tribeca Grand and it was wonderful to spend time in the area we called home for almost 6 years.  We hit a few of our favorite spots to eat (Barbounia for lunch, Capsouto Freres for dinner and Kitchenette for breakfast), walked all over and even were able to buy last minute tickets (love TKTS )for ‘Lend me a Tenor‘ with Tony Chalhoub and Anthony LaPaglia.  We felt completely recharged by our 1.5 days in the city:)

Would you believe it if I told you that this parking lot is located right across Tribeca Grand – one of the most expensive zip codes in the US!

Here is our trusted mini-cooper that being a British import Victor and I affectionately called ‘Penny’ – as in ‘Penny Lane’:)

And here is me – Birthday Girl in all my 34 year old glory: