our trip to new york city

how much luggage does it take to get 5 speakmans to the big apple?...that's 5 suitcases, 4 backpacks, 1 toiletry bag, and 1 duffle bag...the bell hop got a nice tip for carrying it all up and then down again when we left...

when we got to the hotel, the girls ran straight for the window and stayed there for a good 20 minutes...we were on the 18th floor overlooking times square...

no trip to nyc is complete without a trip to fao swartz to dance on the giant piano featured in the movie "big" and a huge sunday at the cafe inside...the big apple is certainly fond of oversizing everything!

a very brisk stroll through the southern portion of central park...

the american natural history museum...where night at the museum was filmed

perhaps the funnest experience we had...dinner and karaoke at spotlight...this is like karaoke on steroids...they give you professional back up singers, so even someone like me sounds good...then to celebrate at the end of the night you get the biggest cottoncandy ball ever created...

the girls sang ymca and the twist...we ordered a dvd of their performance to embarrass them when they begin dating...when we left later that night we realized that there is a big screen on the street outside the club...the girls performed in front of everyone in times square without even knowing it!

the girls and i had a meet and greet with oprah...just kidding...she's on display at madame trousseau's wax museum...very cool and eerily realistic

lunch at build a bear, where you are required to eat with your "bear" hands...

the biggest toys r us we've ever seen...complete with a life-sized barbie mansion and a 3 story ferris wheel

we were very brave (or delusional) and took the girls to the american girl store...they were super well behaved and were content with looking at the dolls...they didn't ask us for anything!

we had tried earlier in the week to get the girls in for an afternoon tea in the american girl dining room, but they were completely booked through the weekend...clay was having none of that, so when we went on friday he finagled us into a table for 5...you know a dad loves his girls when he will spend a fortune on heart shaped sandwiches and the smallest cakes you've ever seen while sitting at a pink table with highchairs made especially for dolls...the girls promised him a sunday full of football when we got back...

we walked to rockefeller center to look at the christmas tree and the window displays...something to behold!

The subway was another highlight...the girls loved taking the trains, but at $2.50/ride/person, it's actually cheaper for the 5 of us to share a cab!

we took the staten island ferry across the river to see the statue of liberty...this was the girls' favorite part of the trip...our's too, since the ferry is free!

this is our girls in front of the brooklyn bridge...if they look cold, it's because they were...there was a high of 20 that day, but we still managed to have a great time.