We got back from Longport on Friday 6/16, and had nothing big planned for the whole following week. Here are the kids on Father’s Day:
On Monday, 6/19, we went to the Bronx zoo again. We rode the tram for the first time, and took it across the zoo to ride the monorail again! So, a tour of the zoo’s trains.
Apparently these Mongolian wild horses are now considered extinct, because they only survive in captivity. A quick google search turns up this result, so I’m not so sure: amnh.org
We also filled our time with lots of painting.
On Tuesday, 6/20, Blaine had his first swimming lesson at Hommocks Pool. The kids have been enjoying this alternate venue this summer.
On Wednesday, we had our last class (ever, probably) at Groove. Blaine’s definitely too old at this point (though they let him tag along now that school’s over) and Sarah’s schedule will be pretty full in the Fall with preschool five mornings, so I’m sad to say this was probably our last class. We’ll miss you, Groove!
On Thursday, we met up with some friends at the beach and built an awesome sand castle.
Blaine picked this flower for Sarah from our yard because orange is her favorite color.
And on Friday, we went to a local playground to give Sarah a chance to try out Blaine’s scooter.
We also stopped to admire how all our flowers are looking after a wet spring.
When I was a kid, summer meant going to Longport, New Jersey! I had not been there since the Mahoney family sold their beach house on 17th Ave in 2002, so this year we VRBO’d a house on 11th Ave to spend a week at the shore with Mom-Mom and Aunt Molly. It always amazes me how simply being in a place can trigger so many memories. We had a wonderful time – the beach was quiet, the weather was beautiful. And, well, both kids got sick! But overall, a great trip.
Sarah was really enjoying building (well, having me build) and driving sand vehicles. Day 1: Sand Car.
We arrived on Friday, 6/9, and Blaine was sick by mid-day Saturday. Here he is with a fever, sleeping on the couch.
He’d already been promised an ice pop earlier in the day, so here he is, sick, eating a strawberry popsicle.
The kids’ room had blinds, but still got a lot of sun. So, we used the extra bunk bed sheets to create little tents to keep their beds darker.
The next morning, Uncle Tim, Aunt Liz, and cousin Josie came to spend the morning with us! They’d just arrived back from a week in Ireland so we were so impressed that they managed to make it. I think it was Josie’s first time on the beach!
When we arrived at the beach we found that Molly had picked a spot right next to something that looked like it might be the setting for a wedding. We hoped it would be an evening wedding. I got to work on the assignment for day 2: Sand Boat.
Alas, the wedding was scheduled for 11:30 or so. The people started arriving, and we tried to stay out of the way. You may also notice that Blaine was feeling better at this point.
New books from Mom-Mom and Aunt Molly!
On Monday, both kids were healthy and we had a nice time at the beach building sand trains.
That night, we went to the Ocean City Boardwalk! It was Sarah’s first time on rides (apart from a carousel) and she was very serious about it. Once the fire engines below started moving she carefully turned the wheel left, and looked like she was focused on keeping the engine on track.
We walked down to get some Mack & Manco (I guess it’s Manco and Manco now?) pizza for dinner, followed by Kohr Brothers. Yum!
Then Blaine and Aunt Molly went on one more ride before we headed to bed!
The next day (Tuesday) started out fine, but Sarah woke up sick after her nap. 🙁
The next morning Sarah was still sick, so we hung around the house. Luckily, there was a fire truck to keep Blaine entertained.
By the time Sarah was napping Blaine was getting a little stir crazy, so Mom-Mom and Aunt Molly stayed at the house with Sarah, and Blaine and I went to see Lucy, the Margate elephant.
That night we celebrated Aunt Molly’s 31st birthday with cheeseburgers, cake, and presents. Sarah was feeling better at this point (guess it was a 24hr thing).
On our last day at the beach, this friendly lifeguard offered Blaine a ride on his ATV. Blaine was thrilled. We were so early in the season and the town was so quiet, everyone was so friendly. Blaine also got several plastic police badges from passing bike cops.
Our last night we’d planned to go out for dinner but decided to do takeout, instead. We got some yummy sandwiches and fries from the Margate Dairy Bar and Burger. Thanks to Mom-Mom and Aunt Molly for joining us for the week!
Sarah’s been getting pretty good at hanging on this bar at our local playground. She wanted me to take this video and then she wanted to watch it on repeat for the next few days.
Blaine’s preschool graduation was the next day, 6/7. He got all dressed up for the occasion.
I had no idea a preschool graduation would be so well attended, or I would have gotten there early to get good seats! As it turned out we were all the way in the back, which made it ok to stand up to take photos, at least! Blaine is seated at the far left side of the stage. The kids sang a number of songs they’d learned through the year, and then all received diplomas! It was very sweet.
Blaine took full advantage of the treats at the post-graduation event. He made sure Sarah got her fair share, too.
Later that day, Sarah was invited to a friend’s birthday party, so Blaine got to tag along, too. The kids got to learn about and see some neat animals, including this albino wallaby.
On the 3rd we went to an end of year picnic at the kids’ preschool.
That weekend, Sarah also decided she was ready to start potty training. Here she is, wearing underwear, after using the public restroom at the park! Way to go, Sarah!
Blaine enjoyed this placemat from Aunt Jane and demonstrated all the letters he learned in preschool.
Here are all the pictures from May! Sarah’s been really into pretending to drive cars lately.
Kids helping me season the potatoes for dinner.
Lunch at Stanz to give our cleaning people some space one Thursday in early May.
We bought a new grill! And outdoor dining furniture. We’ve been enjoying all our meals outside, weather permitting.
On 5/7 we were heading into the city for the DESCO summer party, and decided to make a day of it and go to the Bronx Zoo in the morning. Here we are all ready to ride the monorail.
The party was at Chelsea Piers and the kids loved these bouncy house things and the area where they could ride tricycles.
At the Rye Nature center.
Blaine finally got a bed frame! His mattress is no longer just sitting right on the floor.
I got out my long unused bike from the garage and pumped up the tires, and it seems to still be in fine shape. Blaine wanted to go on a ride with me. He decided he needed a break … two houses away from our house.
Mother’s Day gifts and homemade chocolate pie.
Another day at the Rye Nature Center!
Sarah started eating her raisin bread into shapes – here she is telling me that she has created a house. And then she ate the house.
Another Thursday lunch out, this time at Auray gourmet. The waffles and pancakes, and my salad, were all delicious. And large.
One weekend we went to the Marshlands Conservancy in Rye to go for a beautiful hike down by the water. Sarah loved the little wood bridges. We saw some wild turkeys and got an up close view of some deer.
Then we went out to lunch at a BBQ place in Mamaroneck.
Blaine slept late on the same day of the last class at the Rye Nature Center, so I decided he could skip school and come with us, instead.
We got to see some turtle races, and Blaine got to touch a guinea pig (Sarah refused, as usual).
Pizza at Little Nicky’s, watching for Daddy to get off the train.
This cement truck was lost – it was supposed to be at 51 Wendt but ended up looking for 15 Wendt, instead, which does not exist. The kids enjoyed seeing it.
Shortly after this photo was taken the kids decided to change some stuffed animal’s diaper and got into a tub of Aquaphor… 😛
On Memorial Day weekend the Manor Beach opened in Larchmont! We were so excited we were there right on time when it opened.
Thank you to Aunt Jane for sending all these fun and educational placemats!
Another weekend day we drove over to Tarrytown to check construction progress on the new Tappan Zee Bridge. And play at the riverfront playground, and have lunch.
After lunch we went to the Costco in Port Chester and rode this awesome ramp escalator.
The kids got another “snow giveback” day at school so we went over to the library to meet up with friends and we were fortunate to see the firefighters washing down the fire trucks.
Our friends joined us for a takeout lunch back at our house.
Gram and Grand-dad were in NYC and came out to visit us on 4/29. Gram brought a new book for Sarah all about the adventures of her lost panda sock, left in Great Falls on our last visit.
We cooked dinner and then enjoyed some amazing balsamic ice cream Daddy made.
Thanks for visiting, Gram and Grand-dad! It was a wonderful day.
All the extra photos from April! We went to a birthday party at the Little Gym of Scarsdale and Blaine enjoyed hearing all the same songs he knew from his classes in Seattle.
I took the kids to the Bronx zoo on 4/17 (it was a “snow giveback day” at preschool).
On the way home from the zoo we stopped at Walter’s for some delicious hot dogs.
We had a lot of rain in April, so Sarah got her very own umbrella (a panda, of course).
We also got a bubble machine (“bubble fish”).
Daddy tried out his new ice cream machine and made the richest most chocolatey ice cream I’ve ever had.
Blaine went to a birthday party at someone’s house which featured this giant UFO bouncy house.
We drove down to Virginia for the kids’ spring break from school. First stop, Great Falls!
Sunday turned into a beautiful sunny day so we took the kids to see Great Falls.
Gram made a delicious pre-Easter brunch complete with a chocolate “Easter basket” cake.
And Gram put together a wonderful Easter egg hunts for the kids!
On Monday we drove down to Charlottesville to visit Great Grand-mom and Great Grand-dad.
Blaine enjoyed this popcorn maker in our hotel lobby.
We went out to Bizou for dinner on the downtown mall.
The next day Great Grand-mom and Great Grand-dad hosted us for lunch at the Colonnades! The kids loved the hot dogs and angel food cake they were served.
And they enjoyed more french fries and ketchup at dinner that night at Citizen Burger (also outdoors, on the mall).
The next day we drove back home to NY and we enjoyed this tollbooth at the rest stop where we had lunch.
