Memorial Day

In conjunction with Memorial Day, it was also Fleet Week in NYC. This is a huge week where Navy ships are docked at several Piers around town, with lots of activities planned. I think it is even free, if I remember correctly. Don and Mzee got up early on Memorial Day and took the train to the city and then a taxi to the pier to tour an aircraft carrier. Mzee of course had a great time, and so did Don. This was right up their alley as the photos below illustrate:

Mzee is really focusing here...

Don and Mzee...all smiles...

Again, he is really focused on what he is doing...

Mzee looks very comfortable in the pilot's seat of this helicopter...

Mzee getting his groove on on the deck of the aircraft carrier...there was apparently some really loud music playing, and I love the NY skyline in the background of this picture too.

While Don and Mzee were in the city, I plopped Milan in the stroller and went for a jog around town. It was a brisk morning so a good day for a jog. By the time Don and Mzee were returning from the city, it was just time for the local Memorial Day parade down main street, so I walked their with Milan in the stroller and we all enjoyed the parade. The camera battery died, so no pictures of the parade, but the kids had a blast. All the kids got small flags to wave, and there were lots of military entries in the parade, the police, including our neighbor and his son, who is Mzee's age, and the local Tae Kwon Do students, all of which were very appealing to Mzee especially!

Later that day we just enjoyed some time in the backyard...

Milan separated, stacked and re-stacked these cones more times that Don or I could count...

Going after more cones, I'm sure of it...

OK, look closely and count the sports with me:
football helmet, baseball bat, soccer shin guards and cone...and somehow he can still hit the ball pretty well...check out the action shots below

here comes the ball...

I think it was a home run...

All in all, a wonderful Memorial Day as this face can attest to!!

Our Visit to the Crayola Factory

For more Memorial Day weekend fun, we decided to head to Western New Jersey to spend the day with my long time family friend, Pat. She invited us for the day and fixed us a great lunch! Then we headed to the Crayola Factory for the afternoon. The kids had a great time and we were able to meet up with Don's cousin and her kids as well. A great time was had by all! At the entrance to the Crayola Factory

This was a cool clear wall that the kids could write on with markers and make very cool images.

Mzee coloring at the enormous crayon carousel.

Milan coloring with Daddy at the Crayon carousel.

Milan and Mzee making a GIANT sandwich in the toddler area.

Mzee and Jen having fun...

Mzee and Modi hard at work on their watercolor masterpieces

Milan and Jen taking a turn at the watercolors too

Jen LOVES to paint!

Having fun with Model Magic

Everyone is hard at work

Jen, Modi and Carol

At the entrance to the Canal Museum, which is in the same building as the Crayola Factory. The concept was cool, but the process was VERY slow!

Milan playing with one of the canal boats. This was before we found out how much of a production it was to move the boats through the canals. The kids really had a great time. It was crowded though so it seemed like it took forever for each kid to get their boats through all the canals. They had to do all the work to close the gates, let the water in by opening the wickets, I think that is what they were called, anyway. They had to both raise and lower the boats throughout the long course, they also got to load cargo and deliver it.

Mzee concentrating on getting his boat, er, ship, to the place where he can load the coal.

Mzee, Jen and Modi

Mzee and Modi showing each other some love.

More hugs, the kids were in a very "huggy" mood at the end of the day!

Awww, what an adorable hug!

Back at Pat's house, Mzee and Milan were having fun with all of the toys she had there. Mzee knew when we were going to Pat's that she does not have small kids so asked me ahead of time if she would have toys...and oh did Pat have toys. I think the Mardi Gras beads and the pink phone were the biggest hits!

Milan spent most of her time at Pat's putting on and taking off all of these beads. It nearly became an obsession with her throughout the day. She LOVED these beads!

Backyard Fun

We took advantage of the long weekend and spent some time playing out in the backyard. We also did some shopping, Don and Mzee went to the sporting goods store because Mzee has recently become a NY Mets fan! We aren't sure where this came from. One of our theories is that there is a boy in his class who is a huge Yankees fan and only wears Yankees clothes to school. So, we think maybe he just wanted to do his own thing and be different. So, he now had a new Mets hat and shirt, as well as soccer shin guards. Milan and I went to the grocery store and picked up our first sweet corn of the year.

Milan loves corn!!

And so does Mzee, I have a picture of him like this every summer!

Mzee lining up his soccer cones for a construction site

Look at that face, she had some adorable expressions as she was going up and down the stairs....over and over and over again.

working hard

Mzee sporting his new Mets hat and shirt

Milan loves to look out the climber and say in a very "Cheeeeeese" type voice, "Hiiiiiii"

Tonight the kids decided they wanted a horsey ride on my knee. We started out taking turns but then they decided they wanted to ride at the same time. They were giggling like CRAZY and I got a great workout!! It was a lot of fun listening to them giggle the way they did.

A Wonderful Day at the Zoo!

I took today off as the daycare was closed and took the kids to the zoo. Don had to work, no time off for him yet. We had an AMAZING day. After three trips to the Bronx Zoo, I can now wholeheartedly say that it is MUCH better than Omaha's Zoo. We saw mostly things we'd never seen before and huge areas at that. I was pretty proud of myself in that on our first trip to the zoo, I kept the map and stored it home to plan future visits...good thing. There are several different entrances, so it is best to go to the entrance near what you want to see. However, I got off the parkway at the wrong exit and had to park at a far away gate. No problem though, we made it in time for the first sea lion show of the day. It was fun for the kids, but not as much a show as I hoped, really just watching the zookeepers feed them. Next we saw the monkey house and by then the kids were hungry for lunch. We took a break for lunch then made our way to the monorail. The monorail is very cool because you ride on it to see the big animals such as elephants, rhinos, and antelope so you don't have to do so much walking, since the zoo is already big enough. The kids loved it and got a kick out of the fact that the baby rhino's name is "Nicki". On the way there we saw baboons also. After the monorail I was really ready to go but since the Children's zoo was on my list of things to do when I planned the day at home, I'd already mentioned it to Mzee. He of course remembered and begged me to take him to the children's zoo, which of course, is on the opposite side of the zoo. The day was beautiful and the kids had been great to this point, so I said, sure and started walking! By the time we got to the children's zoo Milan had fallen asleep in the stroller. This was just as well as the children's zoo is VERY interactive, and more appropriate for Mzee's age than Milan. This way I only had to watch him and keep my eye on the stroller. Mzee had a blast, so I was very glad we did it. I thought we would only spend a couple of hours at the zoo and ended up being there from 10:30 - 3:30, and it was truly a great day with the kids!!

Waiting for the sea lion show...

Check out that face!

The infamous baby rhino "Nicki"

Milan asleep at the children's zoo

Mzee being a prairie dog in the prairie dog exhibit

Feeding a goat

Mzee as a turtle

Checkout those ears

Mzee in a birds nest

This slide is in a tree trunk and at the top is a huge tree fort

Mzee had no problem climbing to the top of this rope spiderweb