We Are Going On An Adventure

This is a story  I have been wanting to tell since last November so I decided to make it my first post on my blog.

It was a normal Monday . Nothing unusual… just your average monday.  We had just got home when I hear Michael call for me.  I go to see what he needs and he and the kids are both standing there in my bedroom smiling at me. There is a peice of unfamiliar, red, luggage on our bed.  He tells me to open it…. I am a bit hesitant… is this a joke, or trick?  Is something going to jump out at me?  I open the luggage and inside is a letter to me… the cover page says,”We are going on an Adventure.”  The letter goes on to tell me that I need to pack warm clothes, everything is taken care of and we leave tomorrow night. Ok…. For those of you who know me, I am a total control freak . I’m the one that plans all the surprises, not the other way around.  Let me be very real here…It is every girl’s dream to be wisked away on a surprise getway by your husband…. but when it comes down to it…some of us want to CONTROL it!!!  I am the planner of most of our family activities and trips.  I plan things for work.  I plan things for my youth at church.  Lots of people depend on  me to handle everything.  And here Michael just goes and “takes care of everything”.  Everything meaning,  arranging my time off work, arranging someone to watch the kids, making all our travel plans and iteneraries.   IN SECRET!!!  HE PLANNED ALL THIS IN SECRET FOR OVER SIX MONTHS!!  FOLKS, HE PULLED IT OFF!  ME,  Nosella, Knower of all things, was completely clueless about all the work he had been up to.

Ok, so first I am stunned, shocked in disbelief of what I am reading…then I’m like, I can’t do this… just up and leave …. I have too many responsibilities… then come the tears….then it hits me…..Michael is  like the sweetest husband in the world, ever!  I feel butterflies and nerves but he sends me straight to packing. No time to waste, we leave tomorrow. Grace and Ben help me pack, mostly Grace cause she knows what I like to wear… and she knows where we are going!

The next day, I say my goodbyes to the kids.  We will be gone 4 days.    We get to the airport in Charlotte .Michael had arranged for my best friend ,Jamie, and her husband, Nikki, to drop us off at the airport.  OR SO I THOUGHT.. Next thing I know, they show up with their luggage..THEY ARE GOING WITH US!!!

They kept it a surprise where we were going all the way to NEW YORK CITY!! I didn’t know until we landed, that this was our final desitnation.  When we got to the airport in New York, my friend Jamie, hands me a package.  I open it .She had us matching “FRIENDS” tshirts to wear.  In case you don’t know yet, I am a die hard “FRIENDS” Fanatic!!!   Listen to me when i tell you that this was the trip of my dreams.  He planned EVERYTHING I ever wanted to do in NEW YORK.  The list looked something like this:

• See the Rockettes (I have wanted to see them since I was a little girl)
• Statue of Liberty
• See a Broadway Play( We went to see a FRIENDS MUSICAL OFF BROADWAY not only did we see it we met all the cast after the show privately and got photos on stage!)
• World Trade Center
• Wall Street, New York Stock Exchange
• Ride the Subway
• Visit Ellis Island
• See the FRIENDS appartment in Greenwich Village
• Chinatown
• Eat in Little Italy (we did twice!)
• Visit Macy’s
• Time Square
• Grand Central Station
• Brooklyn Bridge
• Rockafeller Center
• Eat real New York Cheesecake in New York
• A carriage ride in Central Park
• ICE SKATE IN CENTRAL PARK!!! MAJOR BUCKET LIST ITEM!!!(it was even on my pinterest board labeled bucket list)
• last but not least, see a real live bell hop!

Ladies and Gentlemen, We  checked  EVERY SINGLE ITEM off this list!!!

The Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall.The Statue of Liberty.  Whew, Its alot of stairs but totally worth it!
World Trade Center Memorial and the volunteer that talked with us.  He was a great, we all had tears in our eyes. Michael and I on Brooklyn BridgeI took the picture on the left because I’m not even sure my kids have ever seen a pay phone booth.

It wouldn’t be New York without a the Taxi’s.
The “Friends”apartment in Greenwich Village.Jamie is always on the lookout for bakeries with delicious cookies.  She even has her own business called “The Sassy Cookie”.
 We drank alot of coffee that week.  It was soooo cold outside!!!
We stopped at a Barber Shop in Manhatten.  A cut and shave is $60!!!The best husband ever!Ellis Island is on the left and our friends Nikki and Jamie on the right.

Jamie and I outside the FRIENDS apartment wearing the FRIENDS shirts she had us custom madeThe FRIENDS musical we got to see. Michael had been corresponding with the Director of the play who let us meet the cast afterward!
Chinatown.  Here we are at TIme Square (Below) Central park is a dream!  That is Jamie and I below ice skating at Central Park.  A highlight of the trip for me. . There is the cheesecake from Juniors and the shirts Jamie had us made.  They say #COFFEE, #FRIENDS, #ADVENTURES, #NEW YORK CITY.This breaks my heart.I love how you can find fresh flowers to buy everywhere.  There is the bell hop I had been looking for!!!I am forever grateful to all of you who were partners in Crime in keeping this secret.  It was such a surprise and a trip full of memories I hope to never forget.

Farewell New York. Until next time…

-Laura