a new york christmas eve

Christmas Eve 2009 would prove to be the best Christmas Eve I think I have ever had in my entire life! And what a cool Christmas Eve when you are only 3 or 5 years old!?!? The day started off with a very early start. We loaded up into the church bus and headed to the train station for a train ride to New York City!! The train station was really pretty and we were all excited to officially start Christmas!!
The train ride was fun, exciting and all of those things for about the first half of the ride but then the kids started wondering when we would be there! They were good...just anxious to get to town!

After lunch at a local deli, we made our first "tourist" stop at the M&M Store. I had been there before and we had taken the kids there a couple of years ago but this time was alot more fun! The boys were actually excited to pick something out to buy with their "own" money they had in their wallets and we were able to much more easily navigate the HUGE Christmas Eve crowds without a stroller and diaper bag! HA! We were able to sneak this photo by running into place, snapping the picture and running out before the next person nosed their way in for a photo op...

After the boys each chose an M&M themed souvineer (Ash chose a yo-yo and Maddox chose a pen) Brandon went to pay while we continued browsing the store and dancing and singing along to the Christmas music playing in the store!

We took a break to say "hi" to Noni and Papa back in Oklahoma! Wish you were here!

It was finally time for the highlight of New York City!! The girls (plus Ashtyn) had tickets to see the Radio City Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall while the men (plus Maddox & Elia) were headed to do some shopping and entertain the little ones!! We stopped for a photo op with these oversized Christmas lights before parting ways in front of the theater!

The anticipation was growing inside me (literally!!) as we approached Radio City Music Hall and I knew that I was about to see THE REAL Rockettes in THE REAL Radio City Music Hall!!!

I knew the inside of the theater would be nice but I couldn't have imagined how ornate and beautiful it really was! The lobby was all dark red and velvet with a huge chandelier hanging in the center! I only wish my pictures could do the "real thing" justice...

When we went downstairs for a potty break and to get popcorn Ashtyn took a picture next to this oversized toy soldier nutcracker! His mouth actually worked and Ash kept opening and closing it while I took this photo...he said he was making the soldier smile!!

As we entered the theater we were in awe! It's so pretty and so BIG! We settled in and got ready for the show of a lifetime!!

Parts of the show were in 3D and so as we entered the theater an usher handed us our 3D glasses!! Ash didn't think he wanted to wear them at first but once we got settled in our seats he changed his mind...OH! and we purchased our souvineers before the show!! Ash chose a toy soldier globe that when you push its button the insides spin and light up. He let me get one for brother too! And I bought myself a Rockettes coffee mug!

We were told before the show that we weren't allowed to video tape or take pictures, but just before the final song of the show we began to see camera flashes going off all over the crowd, so...what's a girl to do but get out her own camera!? I snapped a few pictures hoping not to get caught!!

Ashtyn really enjoyed the show! When a song got a bit too long he would ask when it would be over but as soon as something new started his interest would perk back up. At one point, during a song where about 30 Santas were dancing at once I looked over to see Ashtyn holding his souvineer in hand and dancing around in his seat! I think he was shaking the entire row but I just couldn't make him stop! He was having so much fun! Also, on the Santa dance Ash literally thought that every single dancer was the real Santa!! As more and more Santas began to appear Ash leaned over and said "Is that magic??" It was sweet to see the show through the innocent eyes of a five year old...

The Rockette show was more then I could have imagined!! I wish I had snuck a few more pictures throughout the entire performance, but take my word for it...if you are EVER in New York City at Christmastime this is a must see for sure!! After the Rockettes Show we met back up with the men and kids and embarked on one of the craziest adventures a person can take on Christmas Eve...we went to Macy's. Dum Dum Dum (doomlike!). Macy's was CRAZY to say the absolute least! All we were there for was to drop the kids letters to Santa into the big red Believe Mailbox but that proved not to be such a simple task. When we first entered the store (or should I say pushed our way into the store) a Macy's worker told us that the mailbox was on the 8th floor. So...(sigh)...we stood in line for the elevator (which came along with pushing, shoving and angry customers) and finally got to the 8th floor only to find out that the mailbox had been moved to the 1st floor. Ugh. Luckily, we didn't go ALL THE WAY back down to the first floor before confirming this information and after we asked another employee where the Mailbox was he told us the 7th floor...so we took the escalator down one level to check there before going all the way back to the 1st floor. SIGH!! Fortunately, the mailbox WAS on the 7th floor and we snuck our way up to the back of the mailbox and dropped our letters in. It took us about 30 minutes to find the mailbox and 30 seconds (tops) to drop in our letters but the kids were excited to know that Santa would know what they wanted come Christmas morning!!

We had been waiting for it to get dark outside so we could go visit the Rockefellar Christmas Tree and Ice Skating Rink. When we finished at Macy's we began the walk to Rockefeller Center. It was freezing out and Ashtyn was so tired that at one point, on the busy New York sidewalk, he literally collapsed and just sat down in the middle of the sidewalk whining and refusing to move any further. It was sad that he was so tired but we had to keep moving. When we made it to the tree the journey had been well worth it! It's hard to explain in words how tall the Rockefeller Christmas Tree is and how many lights MUST be strung onto it!!

We had hoped to ice skate in Rockefeller Center as part of our Christmas Eve experience but when we arrived at the rink the line to ice skate was literally hours long. Not only would it have been a long cold wait, but the kids had had enough fun for one day and were ready to head back home and fall asleep for Santa. It sure was quite the sight, though, to be right there in Rockefeller Center watching the ice skaters twirl around under the lights of the Rockefeller Christmas Tree!! It was crazy busy and packed with people but it did make you feel the spirit of Christmas to be right in the middle of it all!!

On our ride home, Ashtyn fell asleep and so when we arrived back at Grandpa and Grandma's house Maddox and Elia helped carry the plate of cookies for Santa to the fireplace. Ashtyn wasn't in the mood to help...

Aunt Rae and Elia had seen on a cartoon that Santa prefers chocolate milk with his cookies and so this year Santa got 2 glasses!!

We were finally ready to go to bed and await Santa's sleigh!!

Our New York City trip may have been a bit tiring (we did cram alot into one day!!) but it couldn't have been better! Now, not only, are we ready to see what Santa brings but us grown-ups are also ready for a calm and relaxing Christmas Day where we will probably stay in our pajamas and watch movies!! Lovely!!