N.Y.C. X-Mas 2015

Christmas City For Four

 Ahhh New York at Christmas time. Nothing better. Hopefully we can keep up the tradition. This year we have two kids. Next year there will be three. Soon we won't have enough hands to hold them all. 

 Yuula fell in love with every dress in the Disney store. No surprise there. 

That ain't no Cinderella. 

Bryant Park, where we killed some toparepas.  

 We like this tree, even if it's only blue.

 Aesop as Atreyu riding Falkor

Yuula chilling in a Starbucks, hipster style

 I guess she can be angelic at times

We had so many offers to have our picture taken 

Flags 

He's going for that cookie 

Another kind offer to take us 

Another iconic spot

we'll be back?

Christmas In The City, Part Two

Looking for warmth and shelter, and where better but the best Toy store (that I know of) and the only place where you can run on a giant piano

See

And get glitter tattoos

Fraggle Rock is back people

After dinner at Burger Heaven it was a short walk thru the heavy construction at St Pats, and then the main event

Getting up close and personal

Grandma & Grandpa get in on the action

Just the girl and her Mommy

Just a girl and her Daddy

Then I surprised them with tickets to the Christmas Spectacular at Radio City and got this one shot pre-curtain, and then enjoyed the rest as if I was a kid again. The girls loved it, even if the final acts were taken in thru exhaustion. Being exhausting was proof of what fun we had. When can we do it again?

A Few More Degrees And It Could've Been Snow

Hey, Estlers haven't assembled in NYC for decades. That is true. Oh a whim we trhew caution to the wind and the rain and drug our old bones into the city streets to see if we can live down all those old memories of sugar plums and cabbage patch. I was a bustery day but, we are Estlers.

Dani gave Yuula a little 101 on umbrella holding. How damp they got was either a reflection of her poor instruction or Yuula's lazy grip. I vote for the latter.

The Macy's windows left little to be desired. The ones we could see were extremely similar to last years, only more underwhelming, especially after that Lancaster place the day before.

Bryant Park was lovely as always, tho the fountains seemed a bit unnecessary considering the sprinkling rains. Love the marketplace setup tho. May be my favorite version of the park.

Plus we found Toparepa. Oh my, corncakes with mozzarella in the middle with topping of your choice. I chose spinach and feta. I was very happy with it.

Vic & Danielle took Kyle ice skating. I didn't see many bad spills but it was crowded out there. I was however disappointed we didn't see any of those triple toe loops Vic has been bragging about all these years.

Made the brave choice to venture into FAO. PACKED! But we gave Yuula a chance to finally pick out which Ugly doll she'd have if she could choose. She chose a few. We may have bought one. Or three.

This was the highlight. NYC cop stopping traffic so he could get a nice shot of the family in front of the tree at Rockefeller. We have a similar shot from years and years ago minus the spouses and children. I can't find it tonight, but when I do...

Dani & Vic took Kyle to the Radio City show and Mom, Dad, Tyler, Melissa and Dylan got on the road. That left Us3 to find some warmth and foods. We chose Smileys. I don't know why. It seemed convenient and plentiful. We got some lo mein, sweet & sour chicken and fried rice. Yuula got a yogurt too. And some ginger ale. Then she got a big girl lesson on the real world when these two characters came upstairs and took their heads off.

At least I didn't have to tip them for this photo.

Found a nice listen darkened alley lit by a tree behind St Pats while we waited for the Forchetti's show to let out. It wasn't long.

We got our annual tree photo...

And got a nice one of Vic, Kyle and Yuula in front of Radio City. 

Yay! Christmas. Now time to warm my toes.

Holiday Tree-To-Be

Lights Tonite Between 7pm And 9pm

I gotta say, I was a little turned off when I heard that the tree in Rockefeller Center this year was chosen as an emblematic Sandy survivor. I thought it was a strange way to show the admiration for the great Norwegian Oak's ability to stay upright while so many toppled around him. "Wow, how amazing, let's cut him down"

But then I found out that it had been chosen weeks before Sandy even hit and I guess I feel a little bit better about it. Still seems a bit of a shame, but it does make for a better story. Apparently the old man who so proudly gave up his evergreen for the greater good was so concerned that the storm would take her down and all would be lost. Little children would be so disappointed to see a giant blank space at the end of Angels Avenue where oh tannenbaum should be, or even worse yet, Rockefeller would need to hoist a plastic replica, the likes of which "adorn" so many households nowadays. Christmas, most certainly, would be cancelled.

In the end, the sun rose, the storm subsided and the tree stood. That is until they came to cut down of course. We hope to see it as a family come December the ninth and gawk at its branches and heighth. We hope that it will instill the comfort and joy it has for so many years now, consecutively. We hope that we'll see that homeless guy cutting it up on the ice below again like last year, Kristi Yamaguchi ain't got nothing on this guy.

But either way, it lights tonight above the rink amidst some Rockettes and other "surprise" guests and I suppose Christmas can begin. In my mind at least. I always subconsciously used the event as a sorta starters pistol for the holiday cheer to begin. A little perturbed that it's in November this year as opposed to first week of December like I remember, but it'll do. Besides, I think Christmas is gonna come fast this year so we might as well get on it.

She Should've Hung The First Ball

I think Laura was channeling the Christmas spirit today because somehow she managed to be outside with camera ready as the the tree headed for Rockefeller Center passed by. Apparently it came from right there in Mt. Olive this year. We're planning on heading into the city sometime in mid-December to see it in all its glory, but I guess a little preview can only heighten the excitement. Turkey first, turkey first.

NYC Troopers, Pt. 3: Midtown

Dinner was had quite late, but I think Ellen's Stardust Cafe may have been one of the highlights of the trip, yes because of all the singing and the good food but also because we allowed ourselves to sit down for awhile.

It was our waitresses last day. She just got a part in Rock of Ages. Congrats Jessie's Girl.

This won't be the last timed I'll ever be serenaded

Times Square was indeed hopping

Yuula was in character heaven

Dylan really dug the Empire State Building and the homeless

Rockefeller is impressive even at 10 at night

Tho none of our cameras were quick enough to prove it, we were in fact on the 10:30 edition of Sportsnite

The Krupps were troopers and proved they were up for any kind of adventure in the city. We didn't get back to the car til 11:30 and finally crossed back into Jersey after midnite. What a day.

Rolling The Dice In The City Named Twice

Laura and I have taken it upon ourselves to drag each Krupp sect thru NYC, kicking and screaming if be it. Yesterday we toured midtown at breakneck speed and managed to have a pretty memorable day. From towers to toy stores, pizza to polar bears we hit a restroom on every square block and wore our feet to the bone. Now they know that they never have to go back.

the photos:

fountains were a kid favorite

we had to stick our hands in quite a few

the girls had differing opinions on Bryant Park

one of the many potty breaks

the most photogenic spot in Rockefeller

calling monkeys like kitties

the polar bear was a cool moment

I got a bunch of these

this one

Yuula was the last one left watching

penguins are cool, but the overwhelming stench of feeding time was a bit much

Yuula thought the sealions were hilarious

took about 20 tries to catch just this leap

signs of fatigue

red panda wins cutest thing in the city limits

the snow leopard couldn't hide from us

Yuula found the polar bear again

both girls do their best polar bear impression

pretty nice little zoo

also had a blast feeding goats

this guy got his head caught

not afraid to lose a finger

she needed a little cow snot for her collection

the sheep was less than responsive but I would be too if they made me wear a sweater today

alpacas are some goofy looking bastards

anyone know of a massive park in the area where we can let the kids run free?

she would've run all the way to Harlem

who would've thought that a padded sinkhole would be such an awesome toy

on the way out

dude's gotta eat

In the last few blocks before getting back to the car Yuula officially went bananas and started disrobing in the streets. I worry about her sometimes.

Today, we draw. Or something.