Small-town folks take on the Big Apple

Brady and Ben at the St. Patrick's Day parade, minutes before Brady steps in a huge puddle

Ben can die a happy man; he played the FAO Schwarz piano with his feet

Brooke and Tony feeling romantic in Central Park

Brooke, Tony and Becky at Grand Central Station, happy to be indoors

Brooke, Tony and Ben at FAO Schwarz

Those small-town folks would be my mom, sister and her boyfriend. And they brought the Minnesota weather with them.

They arrived on Thursday morning, and so did the rain. By Friday, it had turned into freezing rain. Later that night, we had snow. The precipitation ended Saturday, but we had a few challenges -- navigating the snow-packed sidewalks and the six-inch deep puddles along the sidewalk. I was the one who stepped in not one puddle, but two, and got to enjoy Saturday afternoon with a soaked foot. We thought we were in the clear on Sunday, but I shouldn't leave out the parts about the wind and having to stand in line for the ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. I didn't have to give buying a second pair of gloves from the vendor a second thought.

Highlights of the weekend:
--Seeing my family. I love them, and having them around was such a nice treat. I felt blessed for the long weekend.
--Showing them my third home. For the last 10 months, NYC has turned into my "home away from home away from home." Minnesota is my first home, Washington, D.C. my second and NYC my third.
--The food. NYC, at least for me, is about not saying "no" very often to food. I have no control there.
--Jersey Boys. We had prime seats at Jersey Boys, the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Season. The four hailed from New Jersey, and we saw the story of how the group started and how they fizzled. My mom loves musicals, but she had never been to Broadway. I know this was her favorite part of the weekend, and it was awesome to share the experience with her.
--Empire State Building at midnight. After the show and a late dinner, we went to the Empire State Building's observatory on an impulse. It was Ben's impulse, really, and we followed.