AG NYC

The day after Christmas, Robbie and the girls and I took the train into New York City.  My brother Greg offered to go with us (not to lunch for some strange reason!), and we jumped at that!!  He did everything...bought our train tickets, told our cab where to go, met us after lunch, and led the way to Times Square.  We SO appreciate Greg!!

I made reservations to eat lunch at the American Girl store sometime in November.  Our lunch was at 11:30, which was perfect.  We got there just in time to check our coats, then we were seated.  The food isn't the best in the world, but that really didn't matter.  The experience was fun!

In the taxi with my companions for the day...Kanani and Samantha.

The girls in the taxi.  They loved it.  Robbie and I did not love that they kept changing the channel on the tv in the cab to inappropriate shows.  We remedied that by making them stay on the map screen.

In true Mary Claire fashion, we hit the bathrooms at the American Girl Doll Store first!  They are always intrigued with the Dyson hand-dryers.

 I tried really hard to get sweet pictures during our lunch, but the girls were not having it.  That was my cue to put up the camera and enjoy time with my chickies!!

 

This was about the tenth picture that our sweet waitress took!

 

After lunch we shopped with the girls so they could spend the gift cards we gave them.  Both dolls got their ears pierced.  Ellie was a little freaked about making such a commitment, but was okay once she saw how cute Kanani looks with her earrings.  MC chose a hair kit for her doll and Ellie got a cheer outfit and a book.

The AG store is right across the street from Rockefeller Center, so we met Greg and walked to see the tree.  Both girls wanted to ice skate, but once they saw how long it took to just get to the rink because of all of the crowds, they were fine just watching everyone else skate!

 

 Times Square is only a few blocks away, so we followed Greg there next.  I wanted to take the girls to Toys R Us, because they'd already been to FAO Schwarz when they were younger.  Next time we will skip Toys R Us altogether and go to the M&M store or even back to FAO.  Toys R Us was crowded and junky.  All three floors of it.
We loved seeing all of the signs and lights on Times Square.  Ellie was excited to see where they would drop the crystal ball on New Years Eve.
Their favorite was watching a breakdancing troupe that had hundreds of people gathered around.  I, personally, didn't see a thing because I didn't have anyone to pick me up!!
At this point both girls were thirsty and cold, so we knew it was time to call it a day.  Robbie got snacks and drinks for the train ride home, then we once again followed Greg down to the subway.  
The girls were so good about always holding our hands.  They never complained about walking (and we walked a lot!) or the crowds.  I was super-proud!!

We were all thankful to be on the train home with our coats and hats and gloves and scarves OFF for a little bit!

 

 Mom got us at the train station, so we didn't have to find our car or anything.  Mass transit really does rock!!
When we got back to Mom and Henry's house, Robert was waiting for us.  In one of the girls' tank tops.  Mom was worried that Robert would be cold, and she couldn't find any undershirts for him.  That would be because we live in Alabama, Robert is the third child, and we don't have undershirts.

Fun day with our girls, made possible by Mom and Uncle Nick!!