The BIG Surprise!!

 

On a seemingly random Wednesday afternoon, David and I picked the kids up early from school.  They weren't expecting that and were curious to know what was up.  David answered that he had an appointment and they sat back and read together on the drive.  Little did they know that the trunk was full of suitcases and we were headed to the airport...

When we pulled up to the curb at the airport and started taking out suitcases, they figured out that we were going somewhere and got EXCITED!! But we wouldn't tell them anything...the suspense was killing them!!  When our flight started to board, they heard the flight attendant say it was going to Philadelphia.  On the flight they asked what was in Philly and we told them the Liberty Bell.  They thought that was pretty cool.  Little did they know Philly wasn't REALLY our destination!!

So here's the backstory....

I wrote this on Feb 24, 2010. 

The biggest treat was that Natalie got her first cannoli ever.  They are my FAVORITE.  She has seen then on Cake Boss (her favorite show these days) and wanted one too.  She actually loved it and ate 1/2.  They weren't totally authentic, so I told her we'll have to try to find some more to try.  I think she thought it was cool going to the bakery because it reminded her of the place on Cake Boss.  As we left she said, "Carlos Bakery has the greatest, goodest, and finest cannoli's in the whole wide world!"  I think she would love to go there to try a real authentic one:)



And then on April 2nd I wrote...

Speaking of our cannoli quest, a few weeks ago, Natalie asked David if we could go to Hoboken to get some cannoli's.  It is so cute to hear her say that word.  It was a precious conversation with her Daddy and now David and I are dreaming of taking her to New York to go to Carlos Bakery.

It is funny, but whenever Natalie talks about something she hasn't ever done before that she would love to try; we have a VERY strong desire to do it.  We want her to experience all life has to offer and all the things she wonders and dreams about. 

I wonder if part of wanting to give her all the experiences she wishes for is in part because of her cancer and being aware that number one- we don't know what the future holds and number two- life is so precious and should not be left for tomorrow. 

***
Natalie has also been dreaming of seeing "Lady Liberty" since around that same time after she read a book about her.  Cannoli's and Lady Liberty were Natalie's dream and David and I have been dreaming of making her dreams come true...this trip was all about that.  For three years now, David has bid time off during the same week in October in the hopes of taking Natalie to New York and every year we find a reason we can't go; money or worrying about letting the kids miss school...

This year we made it happen.  Natalie's birthday is the anniversary of her diagnosis and first day of chemo...we celebrate it as a re-birth and feel SO blessed.  It is SO special.  This year (technically in December) she will reach five years off chemo.  That's the goal in the cancer world, it's HUGE!!  There couldn't have been a more perfect time for this trip!! 

Enough of the sentimental stuff and back to the story of the BIG Surprise!!

Before heading to our hotel, we stopped and got our first traditional Philly Cheesesteak...it was SO amazing!!  With Yelp we always find the best places to eat.  Stephen thought it looked gross but after I convinced him to try a bite he was hooked!!

After dinner we told the kids we were headed to our hotel...they didn't know that our hotel was actually in New Jersey. 
















A lady on the flight told Natalie that she lived in New Jersey but flies into Philly...when it took SO long to get to our hotel I think Natalie started to get a little suspicious.  I saw an excited grin on her face as she noticed a clue on the GPS.  We got to our hotel pretty late and went straight to bed, by the next morning Natalie had totally forgotten all about her suspicion and was ready to see the sights of Philly!!

As we drove into Hoboken, Natalie totally missed this sign because she was playing around with Stephen in the back seat...
 

So when we parked two blocks from Carlos Bakery, the kids had no idea where we were and assumed we were in Philadelphia!!  Aren't we so sneaky!!  By this point the kids had stopped even asking questions, I think they were getting pretty used to us not giving any hints. 

So we just casually strolled up the street.  The kids were excited and chatting together when David suddenly stopped on the street--kids looked up and saw Carlos Bakery!!!

This was Natalie's reaction, she turned and ran to me and threw her arms around me in a giant hug!!!

 

AMAZING!!!

Best Day!!!

We took our boxes of goodies from the bakery and walked over to the waterfront to eat them and get a view of NYC!!!  So exciting and beautiful!!

It was such a cool area.  Hoboken harbor was actually where most of the men who fought in WWII sailed out of.  I never knew that.  Pretty neat place. 

 

It was cold and windy and so we walked back up to a little park and found a bench surrounded by bushes to get of first taste of our cannoli, lobster tails, and crumb cake.  All the things we had been dying to try.  They didn't disappoint.  The lobster tail was the MOST AMAZING pastry I have EVER eaten!!!