Things to Do in New York City {By Area}

When my friend found out we were going to NYC she put together a list of things to see by areas of NYC. It helped out so much, I knew I needed to share this information with all of you! We weren't able to do everything on this list but it will give you a good idea of things to see and do!

We stayed three nights in New Jersey at an Airbnb and had two full days to explore and that was perfect for us and our kids!

Before we get into each area here are some things to know about this city while traveling with kids.
-The subway system is not very stroller friendly, so be prepared to carry the stroller up and down stairs.
-Bathrooms are hard to come by, unless you're at a restaurant or museum.
-Most restaurants have spot to put your stroller while you eat.
-We have always found good deals using City Passes in big cities (Boston, NYC, etc) so do your research before you go! We ended up getting the C3 Pass and it was perfect for our time there!

-There are so many playgrounds around the city! We took many breaks and to let the boys run free!

UPPER MANHATTAN
CENTRAL PARK AREA:

Museum of Natural History (Donation Based)

*Jacob’ Pickles

*Patsy’s Pizzeria

Central Park

Riverside Park

Central Park Zoo

The Metropolitan Museum of Art 

UPPER WEST SIDE AREA:

Manhattan LDS Temple

*Levain Bakery (best cookies ever!)

UPPER EAST SIDE AREA:

*Barking Dog Cafe

Guggenheim

5th Ave (shopping!)

MIDTOWN
MIDTOWN EAST AREA:

Empire State Building

Chrysler Building 

Grand Central Station 

*Magnolia Bakery (banana pudding is delicious!)

New York Public Library 

TIMES SQUARE AREA:

*Black Tap-milkshake 

*Famous Original Ray’s Pizza

Top of the Rock/Rockefeller Center 

Radio City Music Hall 
St Patrick Cathedral

M&M Store

CHELSEA AREA:

Chelsea High Line (free to walk)

Chelsea Market 

*Los Tacos No. 1 -In Chelsea Market (THE BEST tacos!) 

Madison Square Garden 

LOWER MANHATTAN
FINANCIAL DISTRICT AREA:

911 Memorial & Museum

The Oculus 

Battery Park 

Statue of Liberty

Circle Line Liberty Cruise

Staten Island Ferry (free to ride)

Brooklyn Bridge (walk across!) 

LITTLE ITALY AREA:

*Lombardi’s Pizza 

*Eileen’s Cheesecake

CHINATOWN AREA:

*Eggloo (yummy ice cream treat!)

GREENWICH VILLAGE AREA:

*Cookie Do

Washington Square Park 

NYU Campus 

Random Pictures from our NYC trip!

Hey everyone!

I'm finally getting around to sharing some pictures from our NYC trip! We packed so much into the two full days we were there and were exhausted by the end, but it was so worth it! It was so fun to see all of these places in person!

Chelsea High Line

Central Park- Sheep Meadow

Top of the Empire State Building

9/11 Memorial & Museum

Street Hot Dog (B loved it but my husband and I thought they were disgusting!)

Brooklyn Bridge

Weekend in Keene, New Hampshire

My husband's easy rotation ends in less than a week so we decided to take a trip up to Keene, New Hampshire last weekend and have fun in the snow! 

We left on Friday afternoon and once we got there we found a hiking trail to pull the boys on their sleds.

B was so excited to be staying at a hotel. He and Baby E had so much fun exploring and playing in the room. We even lost one of Baby E's shoes and had to leave without it.

On Saturday morning we watched an ice sculpture being made outside, napped (Baby E wakes up so early!), and hung out.

Once we checked out of the hotel we headed to the ski resort Granite Gorge to cross country ski! Everyone got skis except Baby E. B only lasted 5 minutes on his skis but luckily we didn't have to pay for him so it was okay!

The boys did great riding in the sleds for about an hour and then there was so much crying because of the cold, so we headed back to the lodge.

Baby E was SO happy to be back in the car!

After skiing we went back to downtown Keene to check out the other ice sculptures and then we headed home!

We may have been a little crazy for taking two kids cross country skiing, but I'm sure we'll look back at this trip and only remember the good moments!:)

Travel Tuesday// Annapolis, MD

Another place on our Virginia bucket list is Annapolis, Maryland. We got to cross it off a couple weeks ago! 

We met a group of our dental school friends there and had such a great time exploring this city! If you've seen Meet the Mormons, this is the city where the Navy football coach lives.

We got there a little before most of the families, so we decided to get a yummy crepe! It gave us a newfound motivation to use our new crepe maker we got for Christmas!

Afterwards we went to Main St. where they had a MLK Day parade. 

B's favorite part of the parade was the fire trucks at the end!

After the parade we were all freezing so we warmed up inside and ate yummy lobster rolls. It was my first time having a lobster roll and both my husband and I were a little nervous we were going to get sick while eating them, but if we didn't look at the meat we were fine! They really did taste good!

We then walked to the Navel Academy and passed brick streets and cute houses.

At the Naval Academy we walked around the campus. It was pretty empty with it being a holiday.

The Stroller Brigade!

Our next stop was the harbor. Very pretty, but cold!

Our last stop was for a 6 pound milkshake! We shared one between 8 people. It was huge and delicious!

Until next time Annapolis!

Tips for Flying with a Newborn & Toddler

Our trip out West for Christmas break was the first time flying with two kids and let me tell you-It's a lot harder and different than with one! Each way we had one four hour flight, a layover, and then an hour flight. The four hour flight was the hardest, because we all were getting restless and ready to be at our destination.

During these flights I took some notes on tips that I thought would be helpful to someone else who may have to fly with a newborn and toddler in the near future!

-Dress baby in dark clothes in case of blowouts to prevent staining. Baby E had a blowout flying there and one on the flight back. I brought a plastic bag for the soiled clothes and washed them out later. I intentionally put him in dark clothes and they didn't get stained, even after the poop being on it for several hours!

-Dress yourself in dark clothes in case of spills or other matter (poop) getting on your clothes. This saved me because on the flight out to our families, Baby E was being the messiest eater and I had breast milk all over my shirt! Thankfully it was dark blue and you couldn't really tell from afar! Also if a blowout happens on you, it won't stain as easily.

-Get on the plane first and let your toddler play and get their wiggles out. In my last traveling tips post for a two year old I suggested to get on the plane last. Well with a newborn in tow we decided to get on first and get our stroller and kids situated. This also gave B time to explore before we had to take off!

-Bring lots of snacks! Of course we needed to keep B and ourselves happy with food. Plus it was great to bribe him with fun snacks like fruit roll ups because we normally don't eat those at home!

-Bring headphones for toddler and yourself. The long flight we went on had TVs to watch and this kept B's attention span the longest. Sometimes they offer headphones to buy, but it's better to be prepared!

-Wear easy to nurse in clothes. You definitely want to be easily accessible for the baby, so I found it easiest to wear a shirt that didn't require an undershirt. I wore a cardigan over it to layer and to help cover up.

What tips do you have for traveling with two young kids?? I'd love to know!

You may also like my post How to Travel Smoothly with a Two Year Old.

Linking up with Thoughts for Thursday, Thinking out Loud, Penny's Passion

Things to Do & See in Washington DC

Now that the holidays are over we like to plan what we will be doing for spring and summer break! This year's break will mostly consist of moving but last summer we did a lot of sight seeing with my family when they came out to visit us.

  Since we only live two hours away from Washington DC we have visited many times and have our favorite places to take visitors. We always look at the monuments outside which typically takes a minimum of two to three hours depending how fast of walkers you are!

If you are going for just a day, here are the monuments you must see!
The White House
Lincoln Memorial
Washington Monument
WWII Memorial

The White House

Lincoln Memorial

Looking across the WWII Memorial to the Washington Monument

It's so tall!

The museums have some really neat things inside of them, plus they get you out of the heat if you are visiting in the summer and they are all free!

  

Museums we love:

The National Archives Museum has the real copy of the Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, and the Constitution.

 The Air and Space Museum is always a favorite for boys!

The Museum of American History has Dorthy's shoes from the Wizard of Oz and so many others things that anyone would find interesting!

The National Zoo is a fun place for kids and has lots of animals!

Other great museums are Museum of Natural History and the National Holocaust Museum (I don't recommend taking children here).

In the Museum of Natural History.

The trains are B's favorite part about the Museum of American History!

The Washington DC LDS Temple isn't in the National Mall, but is close by in Kensington, Maryland. It is definitely worth the extra time to go see this gorgeous temple. (More about temples here)

Linking up with Tuesday Talk!

Wright Brother's Memorial

One of the reasons we chose to come to Virginia for dental school, was all of the sights we could see while living here! 

If you love history and are in the Outer Banks, North Carolina area you need to make a stop at The Wright Brothers Memorial. It was cool to see the exact spot where the first flights took off and where they worked so hard to make their dream a reality.  

After we went there I came home and read their biography, which gave so many more details of their life before and after their first flight!

The plaque above says:"When the Wright brothers were here, Big King Devil Hill-the hill in front of you-was a massive sand dune. Thousands of times, the brothers trekked up this and three nearby dunes to conduct glider experiments.

Climbing the hill was strenuous. Deep, soft sand caused every step up the slope to slip part-way back down. The Wrights were also burdened with carrying their heavy gliders up the hill for each flight. Their tireless efforts paid off as they mastered their flying skills and refined their flight controls."

Statue of the airplane flown

From this spot their were four flights that took off on December 17, 1903.

 The first was 12 seconds and flew 120 feet,

the second was 12 seconds and flew 175 feet,

the third was 15 seconds and flew 200 feet,

and the fourth was 59 seconds and flew 852 feet.

Happy Travels!