Event of the Year

My sister-in-law Sarah, without a doubt, inherited my mom-in-law's genes.  About a month before our annual New Year's visit to our Owen family, John mentioned that Sarah was thinking of taking the girls into the city to see a show-- this show, in fact.  Now, keeping in mind that the last time the girls were in the city, I was carrying Susannah in the baby wrap, while also remembering that we are a bunch of country-bumpkin-hilltop-hayseeds, you can understand that this was a Big Deal Indeed.  To top it off, Sarah was generous enough to take me along for the ride, if only because I would have looked so pathetic sitting on the couch eating donuts in their absence.

You know the best part?  She took us on her birthday.  Yup, you heard me.  There's no better birthday gift to give oneself than to take four hayseed Owens on a city tour!

She didn't tell the girls anything about the surprise, but I accidentally let Millie know we were waking up super-early to catch the train.  Then I told her to keep mum!  Here's Annie chatting with Grandpa Owen after we boarded the train the following morning.

Susie used her time wisely. 

Millie used hers even more wisely.  (That girl has books stuffed into every pocket just like her Papa.)

Su took this picture of Sarah and her Christmas gift.

And that's it!  Then we reached the city, which was relatively quiet when we arrived.  We had a bit of time to kill before the show, so they took us to Rockefeller Center to watch the skaters and see the tree.  (P.s.: I love Sarah's coat.  Don't you love Sarah's coat?  In addition to being thoughtful and pretty, she's also super-stylish...and that will make her laugh, even though it's true.)

The tree, of course, is famous for its size, and, granted, it is HUGE until one compares it to the surrounding skyscrapers.  Meh.  Puny, little thing-- it's barely a twig.

Nearby is an enormous twin to the star that tops the tree, filled with an obscene amount of Swarovski crystals.  I tried to take it home with me as a little souvenir, but thoughts of NYC police officers quickly reminded me that my pockets weren't nearly large enough.

I took these pictures instead.

The window display next to the star stopped us in our tracks.  A to-scale Lego replica of that section of the city, precise down to every last detail, including the gorillas and Storm Troopers that cling to the skyscrapers!  

There's Radio City Music Hall.

The girls were good sports and sat with the angels.

And then-- AND THEN--we rode in our first ever cab.  Sarah and Dude, of course, are old hats at this, but we (remember) are hilltop hayseeds and thought cab-riding was simply tremendous!  Look!  I took a picture of a yellow cab while riding in a yellow cab.  Yessir, I'm a globe-trotting genius.