New York City - Ice skating and 5th Avenue

What a day.  It started out well enough, the boys woke cheerfully and the earliest risers took a bath in our giant bathtub so that they would avoid waking the late sleepers.  As each boy woke he joined the others in the tub which was full of plastic dinosaurs.  Even the kids who couldn't fit knelt on the floor to join the dinosaur play while they waited for their turn.  It was a very relaxing start to the day.  

Breakfast with the kids

Charlie had fallen asleep alone in our bed last night but once he was asleep we moved him over to Will and Jon's bed.  So when he woke up the first thing he said was "What?  Why are there three boys here?"  It was pretty cute.

Christmas displays in the city

Getting into the city wasn't too bad although it took a little longer because we had to make a couple of stops.  We had stopped for gas and a bathroom break for all the boys but just as we entered the city little Charlie began wailing that he had to go potty.  It is easy to stop somewhere when we are in towns or one the road, there is always a McDonald's, gas station, or Starbucks around.  But finding a bathroom, especially a clean bathroom without a twenty minute line, has always been a challenge for us in New York city.  

All the boys were captivated by this street painter and wanted to watch him work.

Chesney asked him to make something from Minecraft

The finished product

Charlie was desperate but we were still far from our destination and we couldn't find any parking places.  So James pulled to the side, Charlie and I jumped out, and James left to circle the block.  I found myself on the streets of New York with a coat-less little boy (it was in the trunk and impossible to grab) surrounded by closed restaurants and very seedy looking shops.  I went into a local pharmacy and asked to use their bathroom while Charlie clutched his pants in a very convincing show.  The kind woman let us use the employee only bathroom and just in time too. 

Wrapped in my coat, a calmer Charlie and I gazed up at the skyscrapers as we waited for the car to come around the block.  We played a super hero game and Charlie gasped, "Look out!  There is a bad guy up there!  Run!"  "We don't need to run" I told him, "a super hero will save us.  Who do you think it will be, Spiderman? Captain America?  Iron Man?"  "No!" he said emphatically, "Mommy!"

The view from the street

Though disaster had been averted the bathroom saga was not over.  Once we were in the city other children had to go too and rather than finding one place together we reacted to each emergency which meant that James would take one child off while the rest of us waited and invariably one of the children who was fine a minute ago would be desperate before he got back.  Eventually we ended up at the New York Public Library where we took turns waiting in incredibly long lines.  Fortunately the boys were able to read while we waited and the children's room had Winnie the Pooh!  The boys were not as excited about this as James and I were, they are used to the look of the TV version.  But they did enjoy reading and Will was sad to leave all the books.  

Three boys and a lion

Outside the New York Public Library.

Inside the New York Public Library

Winnie the Pooh!  And Piglet too!

Will asks a librarian for help and gets his own story time

After the library we headed out to grab some food and we found some fancy, expensive and edible food from a street vendor in Bryant Park.  Chesney had asked to go ice skating and James found a free rink in Bryant Park.  The lines were long and Camille wasn't interested in skating to she headed out to Macy's while the rest of us stood in line for rather a long time.  There was a good deal of grumpiness from the children about how long the line was, whether we would go at all, how hungry they were, etc. but eventually we reached the end of the line.  

The winter skyline. 

Now before we went in, I was supposed to call Camille to let her know that we were going to be skating soon if she wanted to head back.  But I failed.  I completely forgot.  While the back of the line seemed to never move, the front went very quickly and soon we were renting skates and struggling to tie them onto five little pairs of feet.

Heading out onto the ice

The rink at Bryant Park

Once we were all ready, we headed out onto the ice.  I don't think that any of the boys had ever been ice skating although Colin picked it up like he had done it a million times.  Chesney was learning fast and Jon was very brave although he did fall a couple of times.  James was wonderful and took good care of all the kids.  I, however, was in horrendous pain.  I think my skates were too small and I didn't realize it until I was out on the ice and it was too late.  I tried to help the kids but it was hard to think of anything other than the vice crushing my feet.  There were so many people out there that it was impossible for the boys to skate while holding on to the side and it is hard to support more than one kid at a time!  Thankfully though there were a ton of very nice people on the ice who would help up our boys whenever one fell down.

Colin on the ice with the Empire State building in the background

Brothers on ice

We didn't stay on the ice too long.  About half an hour after we arrived they called everyone off the ice so they could go over it with a zamboni and we did not have the time or energy to wait it out.  Only after we left did we realize that Camille had been calling us for the past twenty minutes.  I'm not sure why we didn't hear the calls but when we called back we couldn't get through.  We had another fifteen minutes of worry while we tried in vain to reach her.  When we finally did, Camille had been going through the same worries and was rather upset.  I still feel awful for not calling her before getting on the ice and causing her all that stress.  But we were able to all calm down and we started off towards Rockefeller center to see the tree.

The boys form a train to get through the crowds

All around the rink at Bryant Park were little shops that sold beautiful things.

The crowds on 5th avenue were very thick but the boys were all wonderful and stayed close to us.  Charlie woke up from his nap ready to be out of the stroller and he walked for a couple blocks before James put him up on his shoulders.  The lights of New York are beautiful but alas they were hard to see.  When I was pushing the stroller all my energy went to not crashing it into people and when James was pushing it I was focused on counting heads and holding hands.  We did get to see the tree though and it was beautiful.  

Us and some random people in front of the tree at Rockefeller Center.
Did I mention that it was really crowded?  :-)

We also found the Nintendo store which the boys were very happy to explore.  We had given each of the boys a small amount of money to buy something in New York and they were very excited and searched the store eagerly for their bit of treasure.  I think they were all happy with their purchases.  Camille was wonderfully patient in a store that held no interest for her and she was able to make a few friends while she waited.  I am always impressed by her ability to talk to anyone!  

The boys with their loot!

After the store we briefly considered eating in the city but the crowds quickly dissuaded us.  So instead we headed home and grabbed some take out from Five Guys.  It was too late to go swimming but the boys took turns in their own baths and had a little electronic quiet time.  They all fell asleep quickly tonight and it was one of the best hotel bedtimes ever!  I think everyone was exhausted.  

Tomorrow we head to the Statue of Liberty and I am hopeful for a better day.