The Big Apple

Personally, I think the proximity to NYC is one of the coolest things about living in Philly.  I adore the city and haven't been since the girls were born.  So when a friend mentioned that there was a Pinkalicious musical in Manhattan, I was all over it!  Sounded like the perfect excuse to get in the car and head to the island.   Our next door neighbors offered to dog sit Lucy, so we opted for a day trip just to test out how it would be taking the girls.   The drive is just under 2 hours and couldn't have been easier - parked close to the Holland tunnel for an easy exit and cabbed it around all day.

Since Pinkalicious was in a theatre near my fav section of town (SoHo), we enjoyed walking around and a little shopping before show time.  And I mean a little shopping - must come back without the kids (and even Hubby).  We found a quaint little lunch spot called The Smile, which seemed fitting since I had a huge one plastered on my face.   Finally... showtime!  A is getting to the age to where she "acted" like she was too old for it.  But believe me, she enjoyed herself just as much as M.   After the musical, the cast met the girls in the lobby to sign autographs, take pics, then enjoy a cupcake, of course.

Madeline and Pinkalicious

The day ended up being gorgeous, so we opted to take advantage and enjoy the views atop the Empire State Building.  The girls were momentarily amazed, but really had the American Girl Doll store on their mind.  So our time up top was pretty brief, but we managed to take in the beautiful views and point out the big landmarks to the girls.

Looking downtown NYC

After hours of asking, we hailed a cab to the mecca of doll stores.  No trip would be complete without experiencing this store.   It really was an amazing store and the girls were swept away by everything inside.  Even though I wasn't really the doll-loving little girl myself, I got wrapped up in it too and was shopping for cute outfits for their dolls.   I do believe Hubby was trying to take himself to his happy place of beer and football the entire time, but he was a good sport and loved seeing the smiles on the girls' faces.  And crazy enough, we even managed to run into some new Philly friends while in the store!

M's "Ella" doll getting her hair braided

A with Lainey and her hairstylist

After hours of walking, we ended with dinner back down in Soho  - a terrific little taqueria named Tacombi which serves tacos from inside a VW van that came from the Yucutan.  The girls thought that was pretty cool and frankly, the atmosphere was just as great as the delicious fish tacos!  You know I love my tacos!

It was a great day in the city - a repeat trip for sure! M will tell you she loved riding in the cabs without a booster seat the most.  And if you ask A what her favorite part of the day was, she will tell you it was seeing the torch lit on the Statue of Liberty as we headed back home.   This affirms that they are not too young to appreciate the sights and we may NOT have to go back to American Girl next time ;)