Amanda's Sixteenth Birthday!!!!

Today is Amanda's sixteenth birthday! Happy Birthday Amanda! We had a wonderful day! We started out the day by taking the subway to Rockefeller Center and exploring all the sights there!

As soon as we arrived at Rockefeller Center, we visited the Magnolia Bakery so Amanda could experience one of their delicious cupcakes as a birthday celebration! Melissa, Amanda, and I all ate our cupcakes in front of a beautiful fountain in Rockefeller Center--enjoying the moment and the opportunity to spend a family weekend together!

Next we entered the concourse at Rockefeller Center and explored the shops! We ended up eating at Pret a Manger, a wonderful sandwich and soup cafe! After that we went to the NBC Television Store and the Metropolitan Museum of Art Store and enjoyed our time there! After that we decided to peruse the many shopping meccas on 5th Avenue! Particularly, we went to a huge two story Juicy Couture store, which was quite beautiful!

Then we decided to go home to rescue poor Muffin, who had been left alone all morning! He was very glad to see us, and we put the leash on him and took a walk toward Pinkberry Yogurt. Muffin seemed to enjoy his walk, although he did seem a little grass-challenged! Such as the life of a dog in the city who must be creative as he sniffs for his favorite spots!

We walked for a little bit and then Muffin stopped in his tracks--his signal to us that he was tired and we had reached the end of his journey! As we weren't at Pinkberry yet, Bruce picked him up and carried him the rest of the way. We soon arrived at Pinkberry and Amanda, Melissa, and I all enjoyed the frozen yogurt with fruit on top ! Yummy!

Next we went back the apartment and Amanda opened her birthday presents! Then we rested awhile before leaving for our dinner at Pete's Tavern--it was Melissa's first time there and she was looking forward to going to the restaurant as were the rest of us! We enjoyed a delicious meal in a wonderful atmosphere and the waiter brought Amanda a yummy piece of chocolate cake in celebration of her sixteenth birthday!

Further we sat in the same booth that O. Henry wrote "The Gift of the Magi"--we took a picture of the plaque mounted in the booth stating that is where he wrote this work! It was interesting to think he had written the story in our booth and we were all trying to determine if we felt more prolific as we sat there. No... we didn't think so!

As we left the restaurant, we experienced something we have come to expect! A downpour! Amanda and I shared our umbrellas with Melissa and Bruce and as you can see from the picture, Amanda's umbrella turned inside out which provided a moment of laughter and fun and the end to a perfect evening--even though we were all getting wet! Being in New York City for Amanda's sixteenth birthday was very special indeed and was a wonderful memory that we will always remember!

We hope that you are all having a wonderful weekend!

Thank you for your interest in our trip!

We hope you are well!

Beth, Bruce, Amanda, Melissa, and Muffin