The McGrath Family: March 2010

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Happy 13th Birthday Marlena!!

At 5:15am Friday March 26th Marlena woke up to get her birthday groove on!! It was really rough for Maximus & Maci to get into an early celebration, but they were finally into it after Scott made a breakfast of eggs & toast...... then Marlena opened presents!!

Her new desk & chair she asked for!!

Marlena was so excited about the amount of gift cards to go shopping with!! She loved all her gifts!!! Thank you's to everyone in making her 13th extra special!!

Please take notice to her zebra cake I made using white & black fondant. She was very happy. I'm certainly not a baker & it was my first time using fondant. We were all impressed.

The above shirt Maci picked out for Marlena!!

Marlena changed into this funky blue shirt sent by Aunt Kristen, Uncle Kevin, Ian & Evan. At 7:30am she headed out the door for school.

Family friend Eyve Capaz (the gift is from Eyve).

Friends: Kelly, Ashton, & Georgie

Marlena made these lil banana cream pies as an appetizer!

This is lemonade with pop rocks along the rim for a fancy flavor!!

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Spring Break Day Trip to NYC

Our adventure began on the 11:30am train out of Garrison to Grand Central Station! In this picture you can see the South Dock at West Point across the Hudson River. This marks our 3rd trip on the train to the city.

Grandma & Grandpa Guerra bought the kids a NYC Annual Zoo & Aquarium pass. This picture was taken as we arrived to the Central Park Zoo. Shockingly....... the zoo does NOT have lions, zebras, giraffes or hippos!! We did see penguins and monkeys.

Of course the girls wouldn't indulge me by joining Maximus in this photo!

The rainforest was incredible! This bird was so bright it looked fake!

Those crazy lemurs from Madagascar are on the little island on the left!

The zoo was small, but very picturesque!!

The zoo is located in Central Park South, facing the famous Plaza Hotel. Rooms start at $675 at this super lush hotel!!! Needless to say we will not be staying at this hotel anytime soon. But, I have to admit it was terrific to be standing at the corner of 5th Ave & 59th St in Manhattan. I was giddy with excitment... Scott on the other hand was probably thinking it's just an old concrete building. He's not as easily enchanted as I am!

NOTE: In the above picture Grand Army Plaza (commemorating the Union Army in the Civil War) is on the left.

BELOW this is where I was standing to take the above photograph. Maximus & Maci enjoyed climbing on this colorful steel sculpture!!

After the zoo we walked 3 blocks to Dylans Candy Bar the famous 3-story candy store!!

Maci wanted to know if we couldeat these huge gummy bears!

"Mom is this bunny made of chocolate?"

Next stop..... dinner at Serendipity 3!! Located in the Upper East Side of Manhattan.

ser en dip i ty: good luck in making unexpected and fortunate discoveries

http://www.serendipity3.com/ Since 1954, it's menu of outgrageous desserts & fun food, served in a Manhattan brownstone amid exuberant Vistorian decorations (& with the charm of Tiffany glass against whitewashed walls) has charmed children, parents & celebrities. It's more than a coffee shop, more than an ice cream parlor & more than just serious food. It's an experience!!

Yep... we started dinner at Serendipity with their famous Frrrozen Hot Chocolate!

Maximus "Sandwich Writing Topic & Paper"

That's right!! What he said.......

Monday, March 22, 2010

1 of 3 Lucky Charms in our lives!!

Birthday hike at the Fort Montgomery State Historic Site

Wednesday March 17th, after lunch, cake & ice cream we decided to go on a birthday adventure. Maximus loves exploring (as we all do), he refers to it as "going on an adventure". So... we decided to drive 5 miles into the city of Fort Montgomery to check out the State Historic Site. It was here in October 1777, that roughly 700 American soldiers made a heroic stand against 2,100 British & Loyalist troops attacking Forts Montgomery & Clinton. Though losing both forts, a brave American defense disrupted British plans to control the Hudson River. Today, the ruins of Fort Montgomery remain a genuine artifact of war and a testament to the American struggle for independence.