thanksgiving in nyc // macy's parade.

 We got a little carried away last Thanksgiving.

What. A. DREAM!

The parade deserves its own post, so that's what it gets.

I’ll be honest, I’m gonna cling to this memory for as long as I can. This was a dream day. Truly, a dream. Like one you make when you’re just a kid and you doubt if you’ll ever see it come to life.

This Thanksgiving, it came to life before our eyes.

Oh, how the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade was everything we hoped it would be and MORE! Tears pricked my eyes as the parade finished, and I let ‘em flow freely. Happy tears for a wish granted! I’ll never get over this day, and I wish for everyone to experience this in person just once.

We got to see the following performers/celebrities from the road: Big Time Rush, Jordan Davis, Jordyn Sparks, Gloria Estefan, Jimmy Fallon, Kirk Franklin, Mario Lopez, Joss Stone, Sean Paul, Fitz and the Tantrums, Cam, and MORE! It was absolutely exhilarating.

A practical guide to how we got such great seats:

We scouted the day before to pick the best spot close to us. Our hotel was on 56th street (the west side), and we walked up one block to 57th street and were able to cross the street (to the east side) even with the road being blocked. TJ went out at 4:45 AM to secure our front row spot and had no issues because it was so early (he said the front row didn't fill up until 5:30 AM, but we were glad to go early just in case). I took the kids down right before 7 AM and had to cross in a maze. It wasn't complicated, just a bit out of the way. We had to push through people who didn’t know what to do (shocker, LOL) but I thought it was easy enough to understand. We sat between Chase and Bank of America (ironically), between 55th and 56th. It was a great spot, and we could even see the floats/balloons making the turn onto 6th Avenue. Just wow.

Highlight reel of this awe-inspiring, unforgettable morning:

After the parade passed us, we walked back to our hotel room, turned on the tv, and watched the broadcast. It was unreal to witness the parade in person, and then watch it happen from a screen immediately after. It was the best of both worlds! We played cards, rested from an early morning (naps included), and geared up for the rest of our day while watching.

We enjoyed magical front row seats thanks to an early wake up call, but this was the view of the parade route from our hotel room. I can’t believe this was real life!

Is the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on your bucket list?

thanksgiving in nyc // day three.

 This was the most uniquely blissful Thanksgiving we have ever had! Where do I even begin?

This day looked like: a cold, early morning cozied along 6th Avenue for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, a restful nap time in the room, wandering through Central Park (with a pit stop for a carousel ride), admiring The Plaza Hotel & doing our best Kevin impression, a food truck dinner for the kids (their request), a fancy room service dinner for Teejanna, robes before bed (just because), another really alarm (!!!), and replaying this glorious day over and over again before turning out the light.

A highlight reel of our day: 

Honestly, this day felt other-worldly, which both thrills me and terrifies me. Thrilling, because it was AMAZING. Terrifying, because howwww does one simply go back to “normal life” after what we expereinced. We have so, so, so much to be thankful for and plenty blessings to count and be humbled by. We missed being with our family this Thanksgiving, but we soaked in this once-in-a-lifetime day with zero regrets...and a fair share of tantrums, too.

NYC // Day Three (2019)