the big day (and weekend) in the big city

the thursday before the big 3-0, the layton trio headed to the big apple. leah, in true leah fashion, was a champ in the car. seriously, so good. she was a great sleeper all weekend...so long as we weren't in bed. she just wanted to sleep everywhere else.

we pulled up to my friend morgan's apartment, where we spent the weekend, around 11pm. she and her husband were more-than-gracious and offered us their own bedroom while they slept on a blow-up mattress in their front room.

friday morning, i set out to the al hirschfeld theatre near times square to snag steeply discounted tickets to how to succeed in business without really trying. i succeeded. ryan set out to an informal networking-interview-something with the friend of a friend who works in new york city. when i got back, we headed out with morg, nate and two of their three darling boys to grab some lunch and walk through central park. we made wishes in {one of} the fountains, played at a playground and just had a great time walking around. we saw probably 1/100th of it. and it was much less tiring than the last time i was there.

after that we decided leah might really like to see f.a.o. schwarz. and i really think she would have, had she stayed awake. instead, ryan and i really enjoyed it. and i finally got my picture with harrison ford!

on our way we passed the apple store which was adorned with notes, flowers and...apples...as a memorial for steve jobs.

we headed back toward our weekend home where we grabbed a bite to eat. leah tried to eat the table before the garlic fries and pizza were delivered to the table. but she saved some room for the real thing. 

that night, morg and nate were more than gracious again and kept an eye on a sleeping leah while ryan and i went to how to succeed in business... for a birthday-eve celebration. 

the next morning i went on a morning run through riverside park and along the hudson with morgan, who is training for the nyc marathon. she was planning to go 15. i planned to go 5...if my hip cooperated {i jammed it saving leah from smashing her head on my dresser during a seizure. i saved her. and killed my hip. but it was worth it.}. sadly, i only got about 2 miles out before my hip started hurting, so i sent morg on her way. i ended up running nearly 5 as i wound my way back to her apartment and felt much better toward the end. it was a perfect morning for a run!

after we showered and got all ready, we headed out to the brooklyn bridge

and top of the rock. 

miss ribbons could not get enough of the subway. she laughed every time it stopped and started and at all the entertainment that passed us by. 

we headed back home that afternoon {after ryan received a parking ticket}. it was the perfect way to usher in the decade of 30. a huge, huge thanks to morg, nate and nyc for hosting us.