NYC on a scale from 1-10

We took the kids into NYC for their first 'touristy' trip. But before I tell you how good it was, you have to understand how bad it can get. So if we are working on a scale from 1-10, you have to know that there is still -1 to -10. So when things go really well for us on a family trip, we can appreciate it that much more because we know how bad it can be.

We all made it on the train and no shoes were lost (yes, it's happened). We made it to our first destination - Macy's.

The boys could not really appreciate why we wanted to go look in department store windows. But once they began following the stories played out ("Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" & "Miracle on 34th Street") it all came together and we all enjoyed it. Then it was on to Time Square for lunch at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., where we got the best seat in the house in a little private enclave because we were a party of 7 - awesome for us!! The food was great and it made a great rest stop for us. Plus points here.

Times Square Toys R Us was totally mobbed, and neat to see such a big store, but the real draw was their famous 3-story inside ferris wheel. When I stopped to ask an employee for information about it, he told me the price of the tickets and that the wait was about an hour, "but that kids 'like him' don't wait"!! Of course, he meant Ethan because of his obvious disability. For those of you who don't get why it helps him and us to not have to wait in line, let's suffice to say that it can take that "fun-ness" scale to a -10 pretty quick. We would probably not have been able to go on because he would not make it in a line for an hour. Think of how hard it is for a typical kid and then add a bunch of issues which make everthing everything about 100 times harder. He would just as soon not wait - which means his brothers would not get to go either. I guess it's a slight inconvenience for the people we cut, but it is "day-changing" for us. Plus, again!

When we came out of Toys R Us we caught a test 'ball drop' in prep for New Year's Eve! We wrapped up the day in Rockafeller Center, which was crowded and exciting.

Aside from the ankle deep slush and thick crowds (which we expected) we did great! Sean should get a medal (or something he might care about, like a cookie) for being a total gem. The day was a ten - and that's 20 points above what it could have been. :)