Best 4th of July YET!

My parents have been up here visiting for the past few days and left yesterday - I was super sad to see them go. We had SUCH A BLAST with them up here - did lots of new and fun stuff all over NYC and just got to hang out which is what I enjoyed the most. Pictures are below with explanations - enjoy!

Thursday night after Mom and Dad got in and settled, we headed over to Chelsea Piers and went on The Bateaux for a river-boat dinner cruise. It was so fun and relaxing - 4 hours roaming around Manhattan as day faded into night-time. Perfect way to start the vacation weekend.

Aren't they handsome? My two of three favorite guys - we missed you Brother!

Not sure if you've heard of these amazing waterfalls that have been placed all over the city but we were lucky enough to zoom right by all of them during our dinner cruise - pictures aren't that great but you can get an idea for how awesome they are.

Night time view was amazing as well - the Statue of Liberty is majestic against the night sky - it really is beautiful and was great to see up close as we celebrated a Happy 4th of July!

Friday we woke up and headed on another Marc and Jenn Tour of Manhattan - this time though, we got to do some new stuff! We took Mom and Dad to the Sports Museum of America which just opened a couple of months ago. It was pretty awesome - lots of memorabilia including the Heisman Trophy - unfortunately, no pictures were allowed. We were able to salvage one pic though - below Mom gives her best impression of Lady Liberty at the gift shop.

Lunch in Little Italy at Lombardi's, of course. That pizza just can't be beat...neither can dessert at Ferrara's - just too good to pass up, even if it was the middle of the day!

Dinner at Mesa Grill - yummy as usual

Early lunch on Saturday at Shake Shack in Madison Square Park - a NYC staple that every person should be able to try just once. Nothing beats thier melt in your mouth cheeseburgers and vanilla shakes to help wash it down. Seriously - so good.

Because it was raining and we had some down time before the Yankees game, we headed over to Chelsea Market to show Mom and Dad the garbs of grub you can buy. These are some pictures my Dad took in the dessert places - it's amazing the creativity that goes into these delicious treats. Thank God I don't work at one of these places - I'd be three times the size I already am.

Yep - if you're wondering if those are actually cupcakes above, they are! Can you believe it? And one of my favorite things in Chelsea Market is below - the Louis Vuitton Purse cake...how awesome is that!?!

We headed over to Yankee Stadium to check out the 2nd game in the Boston Red Sox vs. NYC Yankees series - what an awesome game. Jill - I thought of you the whole time we were there, you would have loved it. I know Aggies are crazy fans but these people rate right up there with us - there is definitely a severe hatred for Boston all over NYC and those who were brave enough to wear their Boston gear definitely heard an earful!

Can anyone name this famous baseball player above? I bet Madonna could...hehe

After the game we headed home to freshen up and grab dinner. Mom and Dad went upstairs as we were walking the pups and Dad took some pretty awesome pictures as the sun set. That's the Hudson River and Hoboken, New Jersey in the distance.

My pretty Mom - I love this picture

After dinner we made a quick trip into Times Square and over to the M&M store before heading to....you guessed it, Junior's for cheesecake! Marc and I actually perfected our Junior's tour while Mom and Dad were here - we did dessert at Junior's Times Square on Saturday night, lunch at Junior's Times Square on Sunday and then dessert after dinner at the original Junior's in Brooklyn on Sunday night! We're taking a much needed break from cheesecake for awhile!

Sunday we went to the matinee performance of The Lion King and it was fantastic - probably the best theatrical performance I've ever seen. Check it out - it's worth every penny.

After the Lion King we freshened up to head out to eat - again. Marc surprised Mom and Dad with a limo for our big night out at the best steakhouse in town and maybe in America, Peter Lugar's. I think my parents are sold - they loved it all!

Aren't we cute?

Marc and I had to work on Monday - yuck - but we met up afterwards for dinner at Red Cat and the Blue Man Group performance. If you haven't seen them - I literally have no words for description... All I can say is I laughed until I cried and my favorite part involved toilet paper rolls - that should intrigue you enough to check it out. Yes, it's as good as they say that it is!

As you can tell, we really had our own little vacation while Mom and Dad were here on their vaca. Thanks for everything Mom and Dad - I can't wait for your next visit. When are you coming back? Love you both very much!

Stay tuned for another parent visit recap as the Magnones are heading up at the beginning of August. This is also Mrs. Magnone's first trip to the big city so I can't wait to show her everything!