JIMMY!

Not sure if you knew this about me, but I love Jimmy Fallon.  I really do.  I think he's absolutely hilarious (if only his show was on before I went to bed!) and wished we were close friends, or even just Facebook friends who commented on posts and pictures.  In passing, I had mentioned to Chris that it would be really cool to see a taping of his show.  Apparently, the "ask and you shall receive" policy is valid at this house, because for Valentine's Day this year, I was given a letter from Jimmy Fallon (via Chris) to see a taping of his show.  (And all I got Chris was a card, oops.)  With my trusty letter in hand, we made arrangements to see a taping of his show on April 3.  Planning out mini-vacations for the girls (Ruby to Chris' parents house and my Mom watching Marie at our house), it was game on for this Mommy and Daddy to hit the Big Apple (it was Chris' first visit to NY).  Our quick trip allowed up plenty of strolling the city, eating great food and sleeping in (yes, we slept until 10:45am one morning).  We were pleasantly surprised with bonus tickets to a monologue rehearsal with Jimmy and 50 other fans.  He couldn't have been nicer, so laid back. (Again, I could totally be friends with this guy!)  He talked to everyone about the studio, the show and actually spoke directly to me, ask Chris, no lie.  I probably had the biggest, nerdiest smile on my face.  I was in heaven and walked on Cloud 9 the rest of the day.  It was fun to see him "try out" the jokes on us to see how we all reacted.  He would put a check mark next to ones we laughed at and would cross out those that didn't work so well.  Of course, I laughed loudly at every single joke, hoping for a check mark on each :)  The day of the actual taping came and we were pumped!  Regis Philbin was the main guest and was really funny.  He was actually at the taping longer than they aired on TV.  I guess they had to edit a lot out to fit the show.  We saw Regis earlier as we were walking through security for the show.  Of course he said hello to us, probably because I yelled "HEY REGIS!" (in my best NY accent), so he had no excuse not to reply.  Rachel Dratch from SNL and some other guy promoting a new TV show were also on the show.  Oh, and The Roots....how can I not mention The Roots.  They were fantastic!  I have a new crush on the lead singer.  Don't tell anyone.  I may have to buy their new CD.  As you can see, we had a great time in NYC visiting Jimmy.  I can only imagine what the next year's Valentine's Day will bring!  Chris, I've seen Letterman, Oprah and now Jimmy.  How you feeling about Ellen & Kimmel in LA?  Kill two birds with one stone...I'm just saying.

Here are a few pics from our trip, as well as some from Marie's "vacation" (thanks to the Nanny for documenting how terrible of a time she had).  No pics of Ruby, as we hear she slept 18 hrs each day....too tired for photos.

Times Square

The bright lights of the Big Apple!

He gave up pretzels for Lent, but managed to sneak one in from a street vendor.  God approved.

Legit with our wristbands....I still have mine on.  Ok, that's a lie.

Our seats for the taping. 

Ice cream outing with Grandma....no fun.

Listening to Grandma's transistor radio...torture.

Brushing her teeth....miserable.

Special visits to the Nanny's during the day...painful.

We missed you too, Marie!