Merry Christmas!

OK, so I'm not off to a good start keeping this blog thing updated...but it's Christmas! It's a busy time of year! We are in Illinois right now finishing up our celebrations with Chris's extended family. It's been a long week here at the Holiday Inn and we've kept really busy going back and forth between all the family around here.

Prior to coming out to Illinois, we made a trip up to New York to check out what Christmas in the city is like. Let me tell you. It's crowded. It's cold. We stayed at the Hilton downtown through Priceline (love it!) right across from the World Trade Center site. It was pretty crazy to see a bird's-eye-view of the construction going on but if anyone plans on staying there I would bring your own ear plugs as they only break from the construction between midnight and 6am. (view from our room in the pic) Overall it was a nice location right by a Subway and a fabulous new store I found, Century 21!

We saw two Broadway shows for my birthday present. Our only options were what TKTS had on-sale, so the first night we saw Spamalot (with Clay Aiken, ha!). It had a lot of pretty funny moments and one laugh out loud scene. Overall we liked it, but wouldn't see it again or recommend it unless you get cheap tickets. The second night we saw Chicago and it was pretty awful. We weren't the only ones who thought so as there were people leaving during the show and intermission. The voices were just OK and they took out the tap dancing! That's my favorite part! This is one of the few cases where the movie is without a DOUBT better!

Being fans of the Food Network we had to try & eat at a restaurant of a chef we knew, so we tried Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill near Union Square. Being from small town USA it was outside of my box! I don't know what all those sauces and spices were on the pork quesadillas but they were good! Our entrees were OK but the quesadillas were definitely the star. It's worth a try and reasonably priced for the city! For lunch, we paid just about the same price at a junky diner near Times Square and the quality of service and food is a million times better at Mesa Grill.

Of course, we had to see Rockefeller Center. The tree is absolutely HUGE! I never imagined it to be that big. I bet getting that into the city is a sight to see. It was again, extremely crowded so we glanced at the ice skaters and got outta there. Next we were off to see the Statue. We've only seen it from the road so we figured it was time. By the time we got down to the pier we were on the last boat trip and couldn't get inside the Statue so rather than walk around Liberty Island in the cold, we went over to Ellis Island. The restoration of the building is really beautiful. The exhibit area was too large to conquer in an hour, but we enjoyed our time there.

We were also too late to look up our family history on the computers but we found one 'LaRochelle' on the monument outside who immigrated in from Canada. I guess we'll have to go back again to see inside the Statue and search the archives. We caught the boat back just around sunset and had a great view of Manhattan. (Did you notice the boat part!? Yes, I got on a boat stuffed with people and didn't freak out!)

Our experience in New York is one we'll always remember, but I can't help feel a little disappointed. Growing up New York seemed like such a glamorous, glitzy, cool place. As an adult I took more notice of the crowds, the rude pushy people and the trash and stench that seemed to be everywhere. Broadway shows & museum exhibits tour and good food can be had anywhere. It's nice to visit because now I have more of an appreciation for Panhandle, Texas. I would never trade country life for city life!

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**** Last, but certainly more important than all this other stuff.....we met an old youth Pastor of mine for breakfast one morning and had a great time catching up. Sterling, Jenna and their girls have been missionaries in New York for nearly 3 years and I'm so glad we were finally able to catch up with him. I just read an email that Jenna gave birth to their new baby girl, Avery Hope, premature on Christmas Day. Born at 2 lbs 4 oz please keep Avery & her family in your thoughts and prayers as she continues to grow!