...to head to Syracuse

...for a girls day out!

The little girls and Amy and I had a great time on our impromptu trip to the city for the day.


We browsed through the enormous Carousel mall, enjoyed our favorite restaurant for lunch (Chipotle), and stopped in the heart of the city for me to do a return (the real premis of our trip).

Sounds delightful?

Unless of course you have my two cherubs as tag-a-longs.


It would have been a lot more fun without the little girls...


A few visuals (I wish I had more of the torture that Amy endured for me):

In this photo I have bribed Abbey and Audrey with treats from their favorite coffee shop.

Here the girls are indulging in their choice confectionaries at Banana Republic.  Don't they look sweet?

I think that Audrey is trying to kick Abbey off of the stool at this point.

I have before described the difference between bribes and rewards.

The problem with bribes: when one is trying to shop you can only feed and imbibe two and four-year-olds for so long.  The effects of gum, chocolate milk, and donuts eventually wears off and the babes will whine and cry anyhow.

In the photo below I have 'rewarded' them for their behavior at the mall.  I guess it was because they didn't actually lie down and have a tantrum.  Well Audrey actually did lie down and stomp her feet and scream while we were in H&M, but I guess I forgave that brief moment of craze we all endured and indulged them anyway.

Abbey is sharing the one rare moment of sweetness she displayed today with Amy on the Carousel.

At the end of the day, Amy and I returned to Fort Drum with some fun new clothes and we enjoyed several hours of frequently interrupted conversation.

What more could we have asked for?