Sole Survivor

Once upon a time my sister won a million dollars on a reality tv show (actually 1.1 million to be exact)...

But I'm getting ahead of myself, let's start at the beginning.  We arrived in NYC Friday afternoon...

There were reunions around every corner...

And fans who were eager to meet the "Boss Lady"...

That night we headed to a rooftop bar that felt like a scene from a movie not to mention everywhere you looked there were Survivors to be seen...

I was doing my best to keep cool and not freak someone out (inside I was yelling things like, "Oh MY gosh!  There's STEPHEN FISHBACH!)

It was a great way to kick off our weekend...

 

The next morning we had breakfast with the whole crew...

And then we bumped into 2 Dawg in the lobby oh happy day...

Later that afternoon the stars aligned and it worked out perfectly for everyone to head out to Yankee Stadium...

Our buddy Jayson had gotten called up and just so happened to be starting for the first time.  Oh, and did I mention he hit a two run homer his very first at bat?  Yeah, he's a total stud.  (His beautiful mom Leslie)...

Normally that would have been enough fun for one day but we weren't finished yet!  We headed to dinner with Chelsea and her bad ass family...

They're awesome...

We wrapped things up with a stroll through Times Square...

I snuck out bright and early the next morning to grab breakfast and catch up with some of the funnest people I have ever met (aka the other peeps who were along for the ride on my crazy family trip)...

Then we all did our best to kill some time (and nerves) before we got ready to head to the finale.  The guy's took off for the ground zero memorial...

And the girls took a little Central Park stroll.  We grabbed lunch at the Ballfields Cafe and sat under a tree.  It was the perfect way to spend a sunny afternoon...

And then, just like that, it was FINALLY time to get ready and head to the finale (we were just a little excited)...

We tried to kill a little time by walking through the city streets to grab a bite to eat...

I was so nervous I only managed to get down three bites of salad...

And then it was time for the surreal moments to begin.  I had imagined for months what it might be like to walk up to the Ed Sullivan theater to attend the live finale.  Finally the moment was upon us...

We interrupt this blog for a little freak out...

We were pumped...

After what seemed like FOREVER we finally made our way into the theater...

After all the anxious anticipation the moment finally arrived and that famous "aa-o-e-o-e-o-e-ii-a-e-o-e-o-e-ii" filled the theater.  I was shocked to find myself teary within the first five minutes.  Guess it was hard to contain all the emotion that was hanging around just beneath the surface.  I thought those two hours would take forever but they flew by and the next thing I knew there were we sitting on the front row squeezing each others hands and holding our breaths as Jeff read those final votes...

I was half way out of my seat as soon as I heard him say "And the...." I knew "WINNER" was coming and I couldn't wait to scream at the top of my lungs!  Best. Moment. Ever.

It's hard to describe what it feels like to be right in the middle of something that you have secretly played out in your mind a thousand times...  

A moment that you've hoped for but been afraid to talk about...

It was, in a word, AWESOME!

And then came the cherry on top...fan favorite!

The mental relief walking out of that place was tangible.  I think we were all really ready to just relax and have a good time, and that's just what we did...

Pops was getting sleepy and having a hard time hanging...

We wrapped things up at The Carnegie Deli.  It was an epic night...

There's no rest for the winner and bright and early the next morning my sister hopped on the phone (I'm pretty sure she didn't get off until about 6 hours later)...

Later that afternoon we headed over to "The Talk" where Kim was scheduled to appear and receive her million dollar check (that's not a sentence you write every day)...

We got to hang backstage during the show which was really cool (and we got to see Martha Stewart to boot)...

 So there you have it.  Once upon a time my sister won a million dollars on a reality tv show...

And then I stole her check and headed for Mexico...

Kidding, Kidding!  She lived happily ever after of course!  Now the only question is what the heck are we gonna' watch on Wednesday nights?!  I'll leave you with this...Carter's face as they showed the segment where Kim won in her class on Monday (priceless)...

The End.