New York, New York (Part II)

Baltimore was fun but on Saturday morning, it was time to head back to NY! Wayne headed off to Timmy's bachelor party while Mommy, Riley and Lyla got comfy at Grammy and Pop Pop's house. The girls had a fun day at the park with Grammy and Pop Pop while Mommy relaxed....what fun! On Saturday night, Mommy and Grammy headed out for some much needed shopping and drinks and catching up.

The girls slept well and headed to the farm with Grammy and Pop Pop on Sunday, where there was a fair going on with fun rides. Woohoo! 

Whoa!

Pop Pop and the girls

You don't see this in England!

Mommy did some more relaxing and hanging out with Uncle Joey before the girls got home, Daddy returned and Nana, Grandpa, Aunt Julie, Madeline, Jack and Uncle Craig came over for a bbq. 

Lyla and Aunt Julie

Riley and Uncle Joey

Cuddles with Madeline, Aunt Julie and Lyla

Riley loves her Nana!

Lyla and Nana

Lyla entertained Madeline

Showing off a card from Riley. Lyla may have a future as the next Vanna White.

Madeline, Riley, Aunt Julie, Lyla and the fudge!

Happy Birthday Uncle Joey!

After our fun filled day on Sunday, it was off to shopping for Mommy, Daddy and Riley on Monday while Grammy took Lyla for a haircut. Thank goodness...she really needed one! We went to Uncle Billy and Hani's apartment for dinner and to visit Avery and Charlotte (our cats who Billy and Hani have adopted). Hani made a delicious dinner and the girls had tons of fun playing Connect Four (Spongebob Style) and eating ice cream. Yum! What a nice night!

Riley and Lyla with Avery...just before he swatted Riley!

Lyla followed Avery wherever he went. Cute haircut, right?

Uncle Billy and Riley

Uncle Billy and the girls

Hani joins in on the fun!

Cha Cha was very scared.

Family Portrait...almost!  ( :

Tuesday brought more fun...the girls headed out to spend the day with Grammy, Aunt Doreen and Cousin Matthew on Long Island while Daddy and Mommy did some more shopping. That night Mommy and Daddy met Aunt Manda and Uncle Dave for a kid-free dinner....it was like our trip to Barbados...almost! Everyone had to get to bed early though because Wednesday was a big day! Daddy and Lyla went over to GG's and the park while Mommy, Grammy and Riley took the train into Manhattan for Riley's first Broadway show, the Lion King. Riley loved the train ride and hanging out in Times Square. It was 100 Days before the Olympics and there were special activities going on, including demonstrations by Olympic athletes. Riley really liked the beach volleyball! After we watched for awhile, it was time for the Lion King. We had seats in the second row and Riley got to sit on the aisle, where the animals paraded past her. Very cool! After the show, we met Pop Pop for a fantastic dinner at Carmine's before heading home to tell Daddy all about our very fun day!

Mommy and Riley waiting for the train.

Olympic Celebration

Beach Volleyball in Times Square

Go Team USA

Future Beach Volleyball Player

Grammy and Riley at The Lion King!

Dinner at Carmine's

Grammy and Riley in Times Square

What a fun day! We love NYC! Thursday was a busy day of wedding preparations and visiting...we went to breakfast at Uncle Craig and Aunt Karen's, Mommy went to lunch with Nana after her hair appointment, and then we all visited Mommy's friend Julie and her adorable baby, Vivienne, and stopped by to visit Aunt Julie, Uncle Neil, Madeline and Jack. All this before the Rehearsal Dinner, where the girls practiced walking down the aisle for the first time! Riley actually "threw" the petals into the pews and was very embarassed when she learned that she was supposed to be dropping them in the  aisles. So innocent! The girls had fun at the dinner playing in an empty box that Craig and Karen brought... I guess I'll have to keep the girls' gorgeous Tiffany necklaces from Craig and Karen and give them a box instead. No?? 

Lyla, Riley and Vivienne

Uncle Craig and Uncle Timmy

Pretty Lyla

Aunt Karen, Riley, Lyla and Uncle Craig

Aunt Karen and Uncle Craig

GG and Riley

They loved this box!

The happy couple (and a yummy Napoleon cake!)

So pretty!

The next day was wedding mania! The girls did a wonderful job and looked adorable! We don't have many pics yet (who had time to take pictures?) but, trust us, they were beautiful! Uncle Craig and Aunt Karen looked pretty good too and it was a beautiful wedding! We were so happy to get to share in it! The girls had fun but got very tired and were very thankful that Grammy and Pop Pop picked them up at 9:00 (although not nearly as thankful as Mommy and Daddy!!)

They took their job very seriously!

On Saturday the girls were up bright and early and it was off to a last minute visit with Aunt Alice and Uncle Barry and Laurie, Andrew and cousin Ivy. Lyla skipped this outing since she was still tired and cranky from the day before and needed to rest before getting on the plane. Riley didn't mind and loved having Ivy all to herself. How cute are they?

Pretty girls!

After our playdate it was off to lunch with Grammy and Pop Pop and packing, packing, packing! Then it was off to GG and Gramps' and more packing! Ugh! Then it was JFK airport, killing time after our flight was delayed and finally en route to Heathrow. The girls did well on the plane and slept alot...especially Riley! Lyla spent some time playing with stickers (thank you Easter bunny!) and coloring but did pretty well. After our flight, there was a very long line at customs so we conveniently removed Lyla's pacifier and were fast tracked. Sneaky but...a Moms has to do what a Mom has to do! Even with that trick, it still took forever to get a shuttle to long term parking, get our car and drive through traffic back to Cheltenham. We have finally all recovered from the jet lag (poor Riley had school the very next day and was a trooper) and are back in the groove of our routine here in England. We had a fabulous trip and are busy planning for August when yet another Schmidt brother ties the knot! We honestly can't wait!