springtime in new york.

     For Jason’s 26^th birthday (back in March), I surprised him with Brooklyn Nets tickets. When Jason finds an interest in something, he seems to know a lot more about the topic than most people. The NBA is one of those things, but I found it kind of sad that Jay had never been to a game. Needless to say, I was pretty excited about this gift (it also relieved a lot of stress to finally be able to give Jay his surprise).

He was so happy!

     About a week later, we went to the Brooklyn Nets vs. Chicago Bulls game at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. We were so excited to go to the game and we were so happy to have Kim and Ryan come with us (this was also part of the surprise).

The game was so much more fun with these guys!

     The Barclays Center is the newest area in the NBA since the Nets moved from New Jersey to Brooklyn in 2012. The fans in Brooklyn are very proud of their team. You can certainly tell by the way they chant for their team and bang their “Boom Sticks” together to make a lot of noise. The game was very exciting, especially in the last quarter when the game became very close. Unfortunately, the Nets lost to the Bulls, but we still had a fantastic time.

We were pretty high up in the stands, but they were still great seats

We got pretty into it

     In April, our friends David and Melissa came from Virginia for a short visit to the Big City. We were very excited to meet up with them because we had not seen them since I graduated from BYU-I about a year ago! We mostly just did a lot of walking around the city and eating. One fun thing we did that I haven’t had too many chances of doing was passing through a street market. It was so much fun to look at all of the different treats and flowers being sold. We were even able to taste test some apples and duck (I passed on the duck, while Jay passed on the apples. . .) I loved seeing all of the beautiful flowers because it reminded me that Spring was definitely here.

David and Melissa

Sampling at the Street Market

In front of the Flat Iron Building

     When it got close to lunchtime, we had to introduce David and Melissa to “Shake Shack”, which is mostly known for their delicious burgers (and of course their shakes, but we had to hold back this time). We tried not to fill up too much so we could find the place that David was dying to go to for dessert. After a long trek to East Village, we finally found the “Big Gay Ice Cream Shop”. Seems pretty odd, right? It was actually surprisingly fantastic!! David, Melissa, and Jay all got what the shop is most known for which is called the “Salty Pimp”. I went for the more subtle, “Monday Sundae” in which the ice cream is inside a Nutella-lined waffle cone. I think what makes their ice cream so fabulous is the sea salt! Jay and I can’t wait to go back!

Who wouldn't want to enter a place like this?

Yes, this was on the wall inside the shop

Seriously, you need to experience this ice cream

No words needed

     From there, we walked around Times Square a little bit, stopping inside the Rockefeller Center and checking out the merchandise from some of our favorite shows. Before we knew it, we were hungry again and settled for hot dogs and pretzels in Central Park where we sat in the sun and watched the always-interesting people walk by. This was another one of those times that I was so grateful that winter was officially over. But wait, we can’t go without dessert! We stopped by “Sprinkles”, the first cupcakery in the world, of which David informed us. In my personal opinion, it was not nearly as good as Magnolia’s cupcakes.

Some of our favorite comedies

MORE SUGAR!

     By the end of the day, when we parted ways toward our homes, we were all ready for bed after a sugar-rush day.