The Ruth and Arthur Smadbeck-Heckscher East Playground, Central Park, NYC

The last playground we visited on the East Side was the Ruth and Arthur Smadbeck-Hechscher East Playground. This is an amazingly small little playground. The water feature was similar to the one at the Adventure Park tots playground, but it didn't have much water pressure so Cohen wasn't that in. Luckily there were some little girls playing with water balloons and Cohen was a happy kid.

James Michael Levin Playground, Central Park, NYC

The next East Side playground we visited was James Michael Levin Playground. The play structure was ok, but Cohen really liked the water feature. It was just a bunch of small sprinklers in a row going around a little fountain in the middle. This meant that a lot of kids could sit and play in the water at the same time and the water wasn't too powerful. Cohen just filled up his bucket over and over again and LOVED it!

E72nd Street Playground, Central Park, NYC!

For the past couple months Cohen and I have been working on visiting every playground in Central Park. Since we live on the West Side we have seen most of those with friends and for playdates, but we haven't been to many of the East Side playgrounds. Well, since the weather was so amazing last week, Cohen and I did a little tour of some of the East Side playgrounds.

We started with the E 72nd Street Playground. We actually didn't spend a lot of time here. While the playground was nice and clean, we weren't that impressed. They have a huge concrete structure with sprinklers, but it seemed like a bit much. There was a lot of concrete with not that many sprinklers. It seemed kind of like a waste. Also, they have the same concrete pyramid structure they have in the playgrounds near our house, so it didn't really offer anything new for us.

Joy School: End of the year party!

A few weeks after we moved to Manhattan, Cohen and I joined one of the Joy School groups in our ward. It has been an amazing experience. Cohen loved making friends and learning new things. I enjoyed getting to know some of the kids and moms in the ward! It was a great group of kids and I'm so grateful for the other moms and all their hard work and willingness to put up with Cohen. He's totally a handful!

We had a little party in Central Park today celebrating the end of the program. Cohen will be going to pre-school in the Fall and I know he will miss seeing his friends during the week. Hopefully we will be able to schedule playdates in the park!

 

Snow Storm Stella - Playing in the snow!

Cohen and I had a blast sitting insight (toasty warm) watching Snow Storm Stella dump A LOT of heavy snow on NYC! It was a little tricky getting to Joy School the day after because the side walks were cleared, but not all the curbs had been cleared (or cut into) from the plowing. I had to carry Cohen's stroller several times to make it.

After Joy School we came home for lunch and then headed to Central Park to Play in the snow! The snow was really heavy and hard, so it wasn't really that much fun to play in, but that didn't deter Cohen from enjoying himself 

I need help....what do I do with a kid that will not look at the camera to have his picture taken! We were out there for probably 30 minutes and I took over 150 pictures. Why? Because every time I told Cohen to look at the camera he would shout, "LOOK AT THE CAMERA!" Oh, and while he yelled he looked anywhere and everywhere but the camera. When I told him to say cheese and smile he would yell at the top of his lungs, "CHEESE!" So, probably 99% of the pictures I took are of him yelling and looking down. I've said it before and I will say it again... Cohen is the worst model ever! Luckily....he's cute.

Grandma and Grandpa Anderson come for a visit....Day 1 - Central Park

On our way back from the Plaza we walked through Central Park. Grandpa Anderson was totally impressed that Cohen walked with him the whole way. It was such a beautiful day in the park and Cohen enjoyed jumping in all the mud puddles. You will notice the chocolate on Cohen's face. He had just complete a black and white cookie.

Happy Halloween from Peter Pan!

This year Grandma Anderson was kind enough to make Cohen a Peter Pan Halloween costume! We took it to Disney World with us in September and got some very cute pics with Tinker Bell (I will post next week). We've had such a fun Halloween. Friday we had a fun Halloween party at play group and then we had a church Halloween party on Saturday night. Cohen has had sooooo many sweets! Tonight Cohen will be trick or treating in our building.

I took Cohen to play in the park this morning and decided to dress him up so I could get some pictures. People in the park kept saying, "Hi, Peter Pan!" It was so much fun. There were a few people that called him Robin Hood, but it's all good. They look so similar! :)

Cohen's first trip to the Central Park Zoo

After a couple games of chess, we made our way to the Central Park Zoo. If you're thinking that the Central Park Zoo is anything like the zoo in the movie Madagascar, I'm sorry to be the one to inform you that it is NOTHING like that zoo. Ok, maybe there are some architectural elements that are similar, but there are no lions, hippos, zebras, or giraffes. There are penguins and Cohen just loves penguins so a total win for us. I actually really like the Central Park Zoo, but there really isn't much there. It was Cohen's nap time, so he was getting fussy towards the end of our trip, but I made him sit through the seal feeding. The trainers come out and feed the seals while they do some tests which means they do some cool tricks. It was totally worth waiting around for.

Central Park Chess and Checkers House

Many of you probably already know this, but I lived in New York City for awhile after I graduated from college. I lived on the Upper West Side close to Central Park and use to walk through the park all the time.  I'm ashamed to admit that I never knew that there was a Chess and Checkers House. I've seen the building before, but I had no idea that you could go borrow chess and checker sets and play a game. Well, my nephew heard about it and wanted to stop by and play a game on our way to the Central Park Zoo. It's a really cool facility and I'm glad we stopped by.

Bubbles in the park with G-Ma and G-Pa!

My parents came out for a fun filled weekend in May and Cohen loved every minute of it! Mom and Dad flew into JFK, so Cohen and I met them in the city for some fun in Central Park. Mom/Grandma brought some bubbles for Cohen to play with. It was a lovely afternoon and Cohen loved all the attention.

Central Park, Serendipity, and Wicked

Also old news.

While the fam was here we spent some quality time in NYC. We saw a couple of shows, visited Central Park, and did the traditional touristy things.

One of the days we went to Serendipity3. Dad had never been so we thought it was a must. He loved the frozen hot chocolate, but was a little disappointed that he had to share with mom. I knew better...I ordered my own! I don't mess around when it comes to Serendipity's frozen hot chocolate.

One of my favorite things to do in NYC is to people watch in Time Square. It's totally entertianing. The lady in the pictures below was ranting and raving about something. I think it was religious, but I totally couldn't understand her.

Of course we had to take pictures in Time Square

While walking up to Wicked (after eating at Virgil's BBQ) Jeff decided he wanted a treat. He wanted to walk over to Pink Berry, but totally got vetoed by the rest of the group. He spotted Scoops "R" Us in the Toys "R" Us and decided that was a suitable option. I will say that they had a nice array of treats, but it was totally overpriced for what it was. Sounds like NYC :)

A&E Engagement Pictures

I know these are way out of order, but I realized I never shared these. Ashley and Eric asked me to take some engagement pictures for them. Of course I said yes, but they needed to understand I wasn't a professional photographer so didn't want them to have high expectations.




The pictures turned out....okay. I actually learned a lot in the time I spent with them, so maybe I will be able to find another pair of willing models so I can continue to learn. It was a lot of fun walking around Central Park with them.

Day 2 with Sarah

Is it possible to top the amazing Friday we had? Yes! Sarah and I started off our Saturday with a walk in Central Park. It’s so beautiful in the fall. I really should spend more time in the park.

We then caught the matinee of Hamlet. Wow! I’m not really a fan of Hamlet, but I’m a fan of Jude Law! Yes, Jude Law was playing Hamlet. It was really good. It was so funny! Yeah, I know…Funny? Jude played a very sarcastic, crazy, adorable, prince. It was so fun seeing him in action. His performance took Hamlet to a whole new level for me. There were scenes that I couldn’t remember from previous performances, but the way Jude performed them made them memorable. I’m glad we went.

We then made our way over to Serendipity. We love Serendipity! It was a two hour wait, so Sarah and I got some needed shopping in while we waited. It actually worked out beautifully. We were seated seconds after we returned. The food was amazing! We ended up getting dessert (we didn’t do this the first time we went). We couldn’t decide on what was best so we had the waiter surprise us. I can’t remember what it was called, but it was peanut butter goodness. I really don’t know why I don’t go there more often.

Another great day!

Go, Go, Go, Keila, Go!

Keila ran in the New York Marathon this morning! Ashley and I made a sign and traveled to the east side to see her run before we went to church. It was so much fun. Leslie joined us on 1st avenue around noon. Keila ended up arriving several minutes earlier than expected, so we were lucky that Ashely happen to see her. We started screaming like crazy! She stopped by for a brief visit and then took off again. We actually ended up meeting Liz and walking back to Central Park to see her again. It was beautiful weather and it was so much fun seeing her run. We even made it to church in time for sacrament! The energy in the streets was amazing! Congrats Keila!

Bye Bye Bye Kids!

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The two old kids just left. They decided to take a cab instead of the subway. The subway was a hard thing for them. It was kinda cute.

We went to Alice's Tea Cup for brunch on Saturday morning. It is one of my favorite places in the city. Dad really like it the last time we went, so I thought it would be nice to go again. We spent most of Saturday at Coney Island. It was a long ride out there, but I think they were glad they went. Dad went on Cyclone and loved it. He had to buy the "I survived the Cyclone" t-shirt. I think he left with four or five new t-shirts. We really just took pictures and ate at Nathans. They both enjoyed the Nathans hot dogs.

We hit up Canal Street on the way back home. Canal Street is just one of those places you need to experience at least once. After checking out some of the store, we walked up Little Italy.

I really wanted Dad to try Rice to Riches. He said he didn’t really like rice pudding, but he would try anything for me. Well, he tried some of the chocolate and fell in love. He said if he knew it was that good he would have gotten one of the larger ones. We ended up buying two epics for him to take back to Kari and Mom. Now that's what I call love. Kari is addicted to Rice to Riches. Dad sure is nice for taking it back for her. Aunt Susan didn't try any. She said it looked nasty. Her lose!

We went to dinner at Bubba Gumps and then the kids went to see Mamma Mia! They both loved loved loved it! I was so happy. They paid a lot of money for the tickets, so I was glad that they enjoyed it so much. They were excited when they got back.

We walked across central park today. Then we walked down to the NBA store. Dad sure loves that store. We then went to Bed Bath and Beyond, where Dad bought me a new toilet seat. He's so sweet. The one at my apartment was broken and Dad kept making comments about it. He even put the new one on. Thanks Dad!

It was sure fun having them here. They are bot h so funny and make life interesting. They are now talking about coming back next year to go to the US Open again. I hope! I really enjoy the free dinner! I will nee d to go on a hardcore diet for the next month to lose the weight I gained while they we re here. I don’t think I have ever eaten that much in my life. It sure was good.