So this year we decided to go to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in NYC. Everyone was really looking forward to it. Both Army & I had to work the day before Thanksgiving, so we tried to get everything ready in advance but there was still a lot of last minute packing. And I tend to over pack… extra of everything “just in case.” We planned on going to bed at 8pm and waking up at about 1:30am, but we ended up going to bed at almost 11pm and not waking up til 2am. Army’s mom gets off work at 3am and we planned on picking her up and head straight to NYC. We picked her up at around 3:10am and went on our way. By the time we got to Worchester, MA… Army was crazy sleepy so he went hunting for some coffee but the Dunkin Donuts were closed. He finally found an opened McDonalds, and they took over 15 minutes just to complete our order. 
Anyway, we did like 3 or 4 more rest area stops before we got to Times Square at 8:30am. It was good timing, I initially thought we weren’t going to get there until 10am because it was really foggy at times so Army had to drive slower. Not to mention he was fighting sleep. I was too sleepy to drive too… and Army’s dad was knocked out in the backseat… he would’ve driven really slow anyway. The parade starts at 9:00am so we tried to find parking as close to the parade route as possible… we were hoping that we didn’t have to park in a garage cuz that would be like $30+. But the streets were so packed and just when we were about to head to a garage, we found a parking spot. Yay! And it was only a block from the parade route. We put on some layers and winter gear, it was a beautiful 50 degrees out.. partly cloudy, NO RAIN! I 
NYC! The people, the shops, the buildings.. it was awesome. We found a good spot to stand on 7th Avenue. Unfortunately, we came too late to get the best spots… we were about 4 rows behind the crowd. BUT, Verabelle snuck up right to the front… so she had a front row view of EVERYTHING. She loved it and was stoked to see some Disney stars. Avani also loved every moment of it and looked at all the balloons and floats with awe. She especially loved the Abby Cadabby balloon. Another cute moment was when Avani was eating crackers while she was sitting on top of Army’s shoulders. Army had crumbs all over his head.. haha. Everyone had so much fun, Army & I completely forgot how tired we were. 
When the parade ended at noon, we went to have a nice “family lunch” which was pretty much our Thanksgiving meal. It was the first time I ate Sole fish, which was “OK.” the best part of my meal was actually the string beans… which were SO GOOD that the veggie-phobic hubby ate a bunch of em’. I must learn how to make those string beans, it was heavy on fried garlic.
After lunch, we headed to the ginormous Toys R Us as promised to the girls. It’s the largest toys store in the U.S. It was extremely crowded that we kinda had to walk in baby steps almost shoulder-to-shoulder with other people. It was so hectic that they wouldn’t even allow anyone on the elevators unless they were handicap or had a stroller. The Toys R Us employee who was manning the elevators was… crazed. While we were waiting to get in the elevator, he was yelling in someone’s face, “You need to take the escalators! Would you jeopardize the safety of this child and the handicap! You need to take the escalators!”… and it just kept getting worst… he got into an argument with some old man too. Army & I was just looking at each other like, “OMG, will the elevator please hurry up.” We had to go downstairs to get to the Ferris Wheel. We bought tickets but had to wait nearly 45 minutes until our time at 2:00pm. It was well worth it. A Ferris Wheel inside Toys R Us?! It was too cool. Our second time there though. You couldn’t choose which cart you got to ride on… they had like My Little Pony (which Avani wanted), Scooby Doo, Jimmy Neutron, M&M, Toys Story, Monopoly… and a bunch of other themed ones. I didn’t get to take a piture but I found one in a search. Army had promised Verabelle ice cream if she could guess which cart we would end up with. And she guessed right! It was the Little Tikes car. The second from the top in the pic. After the ride, we left the store… it was was way too crowded to do any shopping with the kids there. We had to go home right away because Cooper was home alone and Army had to get some sleep since he had to be at work at midnight for the Black Friday shopping. Well, that’s all folks! And this year, I’m just so thankful for everything God has blessed me with.
I love the next series of pictures with Avani on Army’s shoulders. Army said he didn’t realize I was taking pics of them.
I think Spider Man was the first balloon in the parade.
Avani LOVES Abby Cadabby!
Yo! DJ Lance!
I didn’t know who they were… at first Army thought it was the Jonas Brothers. Of course, Vera knew who they were. I think she said it was, “Boys Like Girls.”
A blond-bobbed Katharine McPhee!
Pirate’s Booty.. hehe.
I don’t think Avani realized what was behind her..
Avani says, “I’m the pink one, mommy’s the blue one, daddy is yellow, oma is green and Verabelle is purple.”
Santa ball.
I don’t know who this is but I think Verabelle said she was Tiffany Thornton.
More pictures in the photo album on the right side.
I got her something to eat then she took some Motrin. The heater in her room doesn’t work, gotta contact the homeowners about that. It’s been so cold lately… makes everyone feel not too good. Winter is fast approaching, and I dunno if we’re ready for the subzero temps. 
This summer house gets a little drafty downstairs. It’ll be costly to get some insulated drapes. I’m not too comfortable having to wear double sweaters to stay semi-warm at home. It’s so nice and cozy upstairs though. I was talking to Army about moving the entertainment center upstairs, because it’s going to get even colder in the winter months. And when it’s cold, I feel lazy and gloomy. I just wanna cuddle up under a blanket.
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