I’ve been puzzling over how to make an adjustable footrest for Blaine’s seat at our kitchen counter, and I finally came up with something!  It’s a pool noodle and some velcro tape.

Whenever Sarah gets together with her friend Nicholas they end up doing something silly and giggling nonstop.

The kids made a train out of the fresh direct boxes one day.

Blaine made a ham sandwich all by himself, we spent a lot of time outside and at playgrounds, and we ate some waffles.  The end!

New shoes, in her favorite color (orange).

A trip to the New Rochelle children’s library.

Blaine taking a rest in the garden at Sarah’s school.

A pic of Blaine during a swimming lesson with his instructor, Peter.

Blaine has developed a taste for macarons, and I can’t say that I blame him.  Here he is celebrating Bastille Day.

I turned 37 on July 10.  The kids both had camp in the morning and Andrew took the day off from work so we went to the beach in the morning, sans kids.  It was wonderful.

That night Andrew cooked a delicious birthday dinner with lamb, corn on the cob, and potatoes.  We enjoyed the meal outside on our new melamine dinner plates, with our new placemats (thanks, Mom!).  The kids were a little over excited to use the new battery-powered salt and pepper shakers they’d given me; I’m pretty sure every bite they took was over-seasoned.

Then it was cake time!  Mmm.

On July 4th we headed over to Flint Park in the morning for the Larchmont town races.  The kids chose not to participate, but I think Blaine regretted it and will want to join in next year.

Here they are racing over to the pavilion for free hot dogs, though!

After Sarah’s nap we went to Manor Beach for the festivities.  It was packed, so I was relieved when we ran into friends and sat with them.  It was so helpful to have additional eyes on the kids in such a crowded situation.

The kids loved the music!  The kids were asleep before the fireworks started… maybe next year!

How is it July already?  Andrew had to go on a trip to India the first week of July, sadly.  On 7/2, my friend Reece came out from Brooklyn to spend the morning with us at the beach.

On Monday, 7/3, Blaine had his first day of camp!  He had a great time.  He also had a swim lesson that evening, so we picked up a pizza on the way home.

I got this Marble Run toy for the kids, mostly because it’s a toy I loved as a child.

Sarah loves trains so I decided to take the kids into the city on the train for the morning on Thursday, 6/29.  We waited for the first off peak train and got on with our giant stroller.  Surprisingly, all went smoothly!

We planned to explore Grand Central and take it from there, maybe meet up with Daddy for lunch if he was free.  Here we are taking in the view from the giant Apple store on the balcony.

We went by the whispering arch.

Blaine spotted this vehicle and wanted a closer look.  Sure enough, it appears to be a mini firefighting vehicle.

We decided to venture out into the city!  We walked west on 42nd street and stopped to take a look at the NY public library.

Then when we made it to 6th Ave I gave the kids the choice of continuing over to see Times Square, or going to see Daddy’s office.  They chose the latter.  Andrew was really busy that day but he managed to steal enough time to have a delicious lunch with us, and then also showed us his office!  The kids enjoyed the giant whiteboard, and the snacks in the lunch room.

We headed back to Grand Central for a train back to Larchmont but found that the New Haven line was experiencing extreme delays for some reason or other, and the terminal was packed with people waiting to get on a train.  They called the next train shortly after we arrived but we hung back given the crowds, and instead bought some cupcakes at Magnolia Bakery.  We got on the next train and managed to get the stroller on and get seats.  Phew!  Sarah fell asleep on the stroller ride home but managed to continue her nap after we arrived – what a champ!  Later, the kids enjoyed their cupcakes.

Here’s one more pic from June — on Friday, Blaine and I went to the library while Sarah was at camp.

While Sarah was at camp on 6/28, Blaine and I went over to the Bronx Botanical Gardens to see the Chihuly installations.  We were planning to meet some friends but due to traffic and difficulty parking we ended up being really short on time and were only there for about an hour, so we only met up with them briefly.  It was still worth it to see the beautiful glass sculptures.

On Tuesday, 6/27, I took the kids to the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, CT.  I’d read about it on a site called weewestchester and it ended up being a great outing.  We started out playing at the playground across the street.

Then had some snack outside the museum.

When the museum opened at 10 we took a look around – it’s not a big place but there was a temporary Andy Warhol exhibit with a series on endangered animals… including one of a panda!

We also enjoyed the nature exhibits on wildlife, minerals, and fossils found locally.

At 10:45 on Tuesdays the museum runs a free kids’ tour with different topics each week.  This week they talked about sculpture, we viewed some sculptures inside and out, and then the kids got to create their own sculptures.

It was a great way to spend a morning, I wish I’d found out about it sooner.  If we ever find ourselves free again on a Tuesday morning we’ll definitely be back!  On the way out we stopped to admire these Triceratops on the hill.

That afternoon Blaine had his second swimming lesson, and Sarah and I hung out at the kids’ pool.

Sarah started her summer camp at the Larchmont Temple Nursery School (LTNS) on Monday, 6/26.  She’s in camp on M/W/F mornings, and she seems to be really enjoying it!  She was so excited to help pack her lunch the first day, she put this jar of sunflower butter (no nuts allowed) directly into her panda lunchbag.

After dropoff, Blaine and I spent the morning at the beach.

Sarah was in a great mood after camp.

We had a nice dinner outside that night.