It's so hard to buy gifts for older kids but I came up with a great idea this year for Grayson's 18th birthday. Thought I'd surprise him with something he's wanted to do ever since he became involved in tennis--attend a major international tournament. Wimbledon in Europe was out but the US Open in New York was a great option over Labor Day weekend. I surprised him with the trip and I wish I'd taken a picture of the look on his face when I told him about it--priceless!
We arrived late Friday night and got to our hotel about 12:30 am. Couldn't see our view from the 39th floor until the next morning...
Spent 12 hours at the US Open Saturday watching match after match and Grayson knew all the players.
I liked the aerial view on my app so I could see the relationship of all the courts to each other.
We had tickets in the Arthur Ashe Stadium which was great for the big-name matches and enabled us to attend all other matches in the other stadiums.
Watched this match in the Louis Armstrong stadium which they'll be tearing down and rebuilding after the tournament.
Watched this match in the new Grandstand stadium...
Went back to our seats in Arthur Ashe to watch Serena...
Andy Murray played after Serena...
Billie Jean King was in attendance. Pretty cool to have a whole tennis complex named after you!
Watched Djokovic on a practice court...
Ate lots of unhealthy food and treats...
Watched this crazy 4-hour match at the Louis Armstrong before hopping on the subway back to our hotel...
And went out to dinner at 11:00 pm which is so normal for NYC!
On Sunday we went to Bishop King's Manhattan 1st Ward and sat by their cute family.
Went to Shake Shack after church on our way to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum and loved every bite!
I loved seeing the Freedom Tower since it was under construction the last time I was in NY!
The museum was very well done and a contemplative time...
Grayson had homework to do at the hotel so I walked around the city visiting some of my favorite places... Serendipity, Dylan's Candy Bar, Carlo's Bakery, Brooklyn Bridge, Chinatown and Little Italy.
Monday found us back at the U.S. Open for 8 more hours of tennis before we had to catch our flight home at 8:30 pm.
Saw the Williams sisters--Venus lost and Serena won.
And while we were in New York, John, Cooper, Hailey and Riley were having fun in St. George and Garrett and his friends went to the BYU/Arizona game where he was on TV and in the newspaper this time...
All in all, a great Labor Day weekend completely void of labor of any kind!
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