John Does New York

 John and his friends planned and executed a successful day trip to New York City two days after Thanksgiving. The moms weren't sure if or how this would work out, but the teens proved us wrong and they did it! I now present the photographic evidence, which I got from his friend Conner's social media. (Thank you, Conner! Not that you're reading this.)

They drove to New Haven, Connecticut and took the train into the city from there.

Rockefeller Center, such a great spot!

Ben is on the left and he's my friend-since-we-were-tweens Kevin's stepson. He and John are very close, and John now misses him a lot because about two weeks after this trip, Ben left to go on his mission to California.

 

What can I say, they love each other and the bromance is definitely real. 😆

Buddy! (Elf is one of my favorite Christmas movies!)

John went on his first 1:1 date when he was home for Christmas break with Ashley, the girl next to him in the picture above. She's the bishop's daughter and has bewitched many of the guys who know her. Now it's John's turn! (I'm pretty sure they're still mostly just friends, which is a great way to start or stay in a relationship anyway.)

Remember how I said a few posts ago that John was in Times Square two nights before the Church did its beautiful Light the World/Silent Night display on the billboards there? This is that!

I'm glad that John has such good church friends (although the two girls on either side of Ashley in the picture above aren't members of the Church...yet 😉). They are a wonderful influence on each other.

This is an unrelated picture to NYC but it's John-related. Here he is with Adam, one of his high school BFFs. They were wrestling at the same college tournament in Pennsylvania the week after Thanksgiving. Adam had shaved his head and dyed and colored his hair. His mom (my friend Jen, who sent this to me) hated it. 😆

John has always been very social and extroverted. He likes being with friends more than just about anything else. He has absolutely no social anxiety or inclination to be a homebody. (Who is this kid and how is he mine!?) I'm thankful for all of the friends he has in his life and for the (mostly good) influence they have on each other. Fun times with friends really are the best.