derekhubbard's photostream  

The subway system in New York is probably one of the most interesting aspects of New York City. The way it winds around the sewers of the city, underneath the rush of everyday life happening above ground. It's fascinating. I could spend all day, just riding the train, watching people rush from one place to another.

Addison and Reese celebrated Teacher Appreciation Week at their school several weeks ago. This is a great time for the students and their parents to give show appreciation and thank the teachers for all of the hard work they do. Our kids really enjoy going to school (well, they really go to day care at this point, but as far as they are concerned, they go to school every weekday). And I think a large part of why they enjoy going is because they really enjoy interacting with their teachers at school. So Addison and Sarah took the time to make a huge tray of chocolate covered strawberries for all of the teachers at school - even those teachers they do not currently have Addy or Reese in their class. Our kids have been going to the same school long enough such that just about every teacher has had the opportunity to interact with both of our kids at some point. So this was a great way for us to show how much we appreciate the hard work and effort they put in to taking care of our kids every day. They have a tough job and I think this was a great way to thank them - and it was a great execute for Sarah and Addison to spend some quality time together in the kitchen.

If your kids attend school or day care everyday, be sure to thank the teachers at your kids school. Even if it isn't the official Teacher Appreciation Week.

My wife and I recently had the opportunity to spend several days in New York City to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary. This was the 2nd trip to NYC for both of us, the first together. My first trip was part of a school trip in high school and Sarah made her first trip to NYC with her family when she was younger - be sure to ask her sometime about how she "almost" got lost in Times Square on that trip.

So, needless to say, this was our first trip to NYC together. Both of us had the opportunity to visit most of the standard tourist spots on our first trip (Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building), so this time we focused on trying out some of the many other unique experiences that the city has to offer.

This photo was taken aboard the Staten Island Ferry, which ferries passengers back and forth (for free!) between Manhattan and Staten Island. When traveling from Staten Island to Manhattan, if you go to the bottom deck of the ferry and walk all the way to the front, you get a great view of the approaching Manhattan skyline. The view of the infamous Statue of Liberty from here is great too (especially if you manage to be traveling when the sun is setting directly behind "Lady Liberty" - I will post more pictures of this soon).

New York City was great - I'm hoping this will be the first of many trips to NYC together.