Our February Vacation in New Jersey and New York

Woo hoo!!  I'm back after a brief hiatus.  I'll fill you in about it during the next post.  Promise!  ;-)

For now, I'm back tracking to February vacation (February 16-21).  We were completely snowed in, Joseph had a MONTH of overnights, and I HAD to get out of the house with the kiddos before I went absolutely crazy.  Thus, I dropped Oscar off at the trainer's house, packed the kids in the car, gave Joseph a kiss, and drove to New Jersey to stay with my aunts and uncle for the week.  New Jersey and New York surprisingly had way less snow cover than we did, so I was really looking forward to not seeing snow everywhere.

Here's a view from our front porch.

Yes, the snow in our front yard went all the way up to
the top of our handrail.  Ridiculous.

Thankfully these little munchkins didn't mind playing
indoors.  The snow was so high that they couldn't
even walk in it, let alone play around in it.

Love these little stinkers.  :-)

Beautiful roses from my love for Valentine's day.  :-)

A card from Alex saying, "Je vous aime."  (I love you, in French.)
He also made us a decorative candle holder and William
made a hand print for Valentine's day.

Time to head to Jersey!!  For the first few days of our vacation, we stayed with my Tita Ging who lives in Union City.  She has a gorgeous view of the New York City sky line at her place and was gracious enough to let us crash at her place.
On our first full day in Jersey, I took the boys to the Liberty Science Center.  The boys and I had an absolute blast exploring this new museum.  I remember my Tita taking me and my sister there when we were young.  It was fun to go back and take our children there.

Alex and William, launching balls into the air.

Alex and William were fascinated by the interactive play mat.

The boys playing at the rice table.  William LOVED
scooping up the rice and pouring it into the bowls.

Alex and William on a pretend train.

The boys playing a video game where germs invaded
a body.

They were totally into it.

Alex petting a lizard.

Alex loved seeing all of the sea creatures.  William
was a little skiddish.

Me and the boys in outerspace.  :-p

There was a fun exhibit with the Sesame Street characters and the human body.  The boys loved seeing their favorite characters and actually learned a few things. 

William and Alex with Oscar the Grouch.

Alex, sitting on the stoop, while William tried to get in.

William with Ernie.

William enjoyed "shopping" at the grocery store.

Alex helped to check William out at the cash register.

Then, the boys moved on to learn about digestion.

Alex, moving the mouth up and down to demonstrate
chewing.

William turned the crank to demonstrate digestion.

And Alex's favorite part....the "Poop" at the end.

Alex, seeing how lungs inflate and deflate.

Alex learned about different shoe sizes.

The boys loved exploring Elmo's world.

Alex with Big Bird.

William with Big Bird.

The boys playing an organ to learn more about the
body's organs.

This was as close as William would get to these
giant fish.  Alex was much more brave and wanted
to take a picture with them.

The boys manipulating a large building puzzle.

The boys exploring a beam from the World Trade Center.

Our little construction workers.

Wow!  Another beam from the World Trade Center.

The boys constructing their own buildings.

This was definitely their favorite part of the exhibit.

The boys with my Tita Ging...she loves to mess with them.

And they love it, too.

Massage time!

Wow!!  With my aunt's awesome view, the boys
and I were able to see an impromptu Chinese New Year
fireworks display!!  It was amazing and the boys
were so excited and mesmerized.

The Chinese New Year fireworks display.

More of the beautiful display.

Our big boy loved watching the fireworks.

As you can tell, he really loved it!

What a gorgeous view to wake up to each morning, huh??

The next morning, William woke up around 5:45 a.m. (OY VEY!), and since he was sharing a room with Alex, decided to wake Alex up at that time, too.  I heard him going, "Alllllex!  Wake up, wake up!"  He then scooted his pack and play over to my aunt's dresser and turned on the light in the room.  After that, he proceeded to take off his socks, put them on his hands, and make them into sock puppets.  What a little stinker!

William with his sock puppet, ready to rock and roll
really early in the morning.

He was very proud of himself for turning on the light
that was on the nightstand by himself.

We had breakfast, I showered, and we made our way to New York City for the day.  We parked near Times Square and walked around for a bit.  I wanted the boys to see all of the lights and big screens.

William and Alex in the middle of Times Square.

Me and the boys in Times Square.  It was a little chilly
outside, but was the warmest day we'd encountered
in a while, so we were quite comfortable.

Me and the boys on the big screen.  Alex couldn't
believe how many Elmos there were in Times Square.

If you look in the top left corner, you can see me and
the boys on the screen.  We were definitely photo bombing
a snuggling couple.

Woo hoo!  We're on a big screen!  Lol!

We stopped by M&M world for a little bit to look around.

Then we went to Serendipity 3 for lunch and to try out
their frozen hot chocolate that they're known for.

It's teeny tiny inside and is really kitschy.

Here's the view from our table.  We got to sit by the big clock.

William, enjoying his fruit, as he was waiting for his lunch.

Alex, enjoying his fruit as well.

Alex was amazed by the size of the peanut butter,
frozen hot chocolate that we ordered.

So was William!

Mmmmmm!

We split it three ways.  It was definitely worth the wait.

After lunch, we stopped by Dylan's Candy Store to look around.

Then we made our way to the Museum of Natural History!  I couldn't wait to show the boys the huge dinosaur exhibit.

Alex and William outside of the Museum of Natural History.

Dinosaurs in  the entrance

In the entrance of the Museum of Natural History.

Alex, checking out a Tyrannosaurus Rex skull.

William's turn.

Alex was a little freaked out by this dinosaur.

Alex pretending to be like this dinosaur.

William was a little scared of some of the dinosaurs.
However, he didn't mind this one.

The boys with a wooly mammoth.

The boys and a Triceratops.

Alex was amazed at the size of the elephants.

After a VERY full day of activities in NYC, the boys and I were absolutely pooped and went back to my aunt's place for a nap.  They slept until dinner time.

William was out cold.

So was our big guy.

William enjoying a red bean popsicle for dessert.  My aunt was
astonished at the variety of foods that the boys were willing to eat.

Alex and my Tita Ging, constructing a Lego car together.

William chose Mrs. Potato Head at the toy store. 
He wanted nothing to do with Mr. Potato Head.
He's a funny kid.  He definitely knows what he wants.

My aunt was so awesome and had little snacks waiting for us each afternoon when we came back from our adventures.  One day it was my favorite lumpia (Filipino tiny egg rolls), another day it was my favorite pizza (pizza with penne pasta on it - yes....totally low carb), and the last day it was another one of my favorite Filipino foods - turon!  It's plantains with some jack fruit that's wrapped in an egg roll wrapper, fried, and coated with caramelized brown sugar.  Insanely delicious!!!  I need to try to make these at home some time.

Photographic evidence of the deliciousness that my
Tita Ging whipped up for us.

That next morning, we had a leisurely start to the day where the boys played with their toys, and I started packing up our stuff.  I then took the boys to my absolute favorite pizza place in New York that my friend Vanessa introduced me and Joseph to when she lived there.  I couldn't wait to introduce the boys to Lombardi's pizza and let them experience what pizza should REALLY taste like.

Me and the boys at Lombardi's, ready to get our salad and pizza.

Extra crunchy and crispy pepperoni, extra cheese,
and the most delicious red sauce that you'll ever taste
in your life.  If you're ever in NYC, you MUST go here
and get pizza.  It's just incredible.

Our little JubJub liked it!

So did our big boy, Alex.

I'd say we did a pretty good job on this large pizza!
I couldn't wait to take home the leftovers.

Right across the street from Lombardi's is this amazing
little shop that sells ONLY rice pudding!  It's got about
20 different varieties plus various toppings.  It's called
"Rice to Riches" and I always have to stop by and pick some
up to take home.  It's that good.

After lunch, we said good bye to Union City, and headed to Livingston to stay with my Tito Tito and Tita Rachel.

As soon as we pulled into my aunt and uncle's house, we were greeted by two of my uncles, which got the boys SO excited.  My Tito Bee Eye brought some delicious, home made chicken adobo (he's an amazing cook!) for us to nibble on.

Tito Bee Eye, Alex, and William, playing around. 

 After that, he took me and the boys to Toys 'R Us to get the boys a few presents.  These kids are truly spoiled by all of their extended family.

Tito Tito with Alex and William during dinner.  I swear, whenever we
visit our family in New Jersey, all we do is eat.  :-)

My Tita Marilou visited us as well!  Here she is with Alex.

That afternoon, my Tita Ging and Tita Marilou
took me and the boys to Fun Plex.  My Tita Ging
and Tita Rachel used to take my sister and I there
all the time when we were younger.  It's definitely
changed a lot (for the better) and had way more
things to do for kids of all ages.
The boys loved going to the play area where they could
shoot foam balls all around the room.

William, climbing up the stairs.

Alex, loading up the vacuum gun with a foam ball.

Big brother helping little brother walk across the scary bridge.
So sweet!

The boys having fun at Fun Plex.

Alex, loading up the vacuum gun and getting ready to shoot it.

This place was awesome!

And now...it's time to eat again!  We went to one of our favorite restaurants, Penang, which is a Malaysian restaurant.  My aunts and uncle were amazed at how much food the boys could eat.

Alex enjoyed the honey sesame squid.

William enjoyed the calamari and salt cod fried rice.

Tita Marilou, Tita Rachel, and Tito Tito, digging in.

William loved the pan fried okra with shrimp paste,
but was completely disgusted by the mango juice!
HA!

Alex wasn't a huge fan of the mango juice, either!
Go figure?!

After a week of fun, food, and sights, it was time to pack up our things and head back to snowy Boston.

Tita Ging, William, Tita Rachel, and Alex, getting in
one last snuggle before we headed back home.

The boys and I had such a great time visiting with our family members.  Thanks so much Tita Ging, Tita Rachel, and Tito Tito, and Tito Bee Eye for all of your hospitality and generosity.  We look forward to seeing you again soon! 
Until next time...

Love and kisses,
Nikki