Happy Birthday, Pop!

We headed over to LuLu and Pop's tonight to give Pop a little 76th birthday party (we'll be in LBI next week for Pop's special day 8/28). We were happy to serenade Pop with the birthday song, and Grace and Andrew couldn't wait to blow out his candles! We had a wonderful night celebrating an amazing man! 

Field Station: Dinosaurs

It's so nice having Dan home for 2 weeks! We have so many fun adventures planned! Today we headed to Field Station: Dinosaurs in Secaucus, NJ. We were amazed by over 30 life-sized, realistic robotic dinosaurs that moved, roared, and bared their monstrous teeth! Grace and Andrew enjoyed participating in some of the educational workshops, and Kate was impressed by all of the Jurassic giants! It was a fun-filled afternoon, and we had a fun night at Bounce U celebrating Kylie Baho's 3rd birthday!

We received our Trail Map and Credential Checkbook.

We were welcomed by the Dilophosaurus.

Wow! Check out the size of those Apatosaurus dinosaurs!

Stegosaurus

Roaring at the New Jersey dinosaur... Dryptosaurus

Lego Station

They had fun searching for buried treasures in the Fossil Dig Site.

My little paleontologists drew pictures of their dinosaur discoveries.

Andrew was so proud of the "Rex" he made at the "Crayola Crossroads."

Andrew's favorite... REX!

This 90 foot Argentinosaurus is the largest animatronic dinosaur ever made!

Hadrosaurus

 This was called "The Lookout." We actually had a very pretty view of the NY skyline, but you can't really see it very well in the photo.

Pachycephalosaurus

 Daddy... watch out for that Triceratops!

This Pteranodon wished us farewell.

Raft Day

We've been having so much fun at the Park Ridge Pool this Summer, and today was one of the best days yet! Not only was it raft day, but we were joined by Laura Lou and Daddy! Grace had fun floating with her friends Bella and Madelyn, and once Andrew awoke from his nap, he enjoyed rafting and playing ping pong. We were happy to spend some quality time with Laura before she heads off to Florence, Italy to study abroad. After we left the pool, we headed to Ridgewood for dinner at Brooklyn's and ice cream at Ben and Jerry's. 

Grace, Madelyn, and Bella

It's so nice having Danny home for his 2 week vacation!

We'll miss you Laura Lou! See you in December! xoxo

Last Swim Lesson

Grace and Andrew had their last swim lesson today, and they've come a long way during these last two sessions. Grace can officially swim! Miss Melanie said that she will be in the "red group" next Summer, and we're hoping that she will join the swim team, too. Grace has been fortunate to have Miss Melanie as her swim instructor for the last 3 years. Andrew enjoyed his first year of swim lessons in the "big pool." He's doing a great job kicking, making bubbles, moving his arms, and learning how to back float. He's not crazy about going all the way under water, but he will do it on occasion (usually when we're playing "Ring Around the Rosie"). I'm so proud of my little fishies! 

Andrew looks so cute when he does the back float.

Grace can swim to the rope all by herself!

Grace and Andrew LOVE their swim teacher, Miss Melanie!

Central Park Zoo

Our trip to the Central Park Zoo was a success! Even though it was overcast and drizzled a little bit, we couldn't have asked for a better day. The temperature was comfortable, and since there was a threat of rain, we didn't hit any lines. We saw everything that we wanted to! Grace couldn't wait to see the penguins (she was so excited that she even wore her penguin pajamas last night), Andrew was anxious to see the polar bears, and I was excited to watch the sea lions do tricks at feeding time. It was so nice spending the day with LuLu! She was such a big help, and we all had so much fun together. We had a "wild" time at the Central Park Zoo, Tisch Children's Zoo, carousel, and playground. When we were walking back to the car, Andrew and Kate fell asleep. So, Grace and I took LuLu to the Plaza Hotel to see all of the Eloise excitement. I'm looking forward to planning many more day trips with LuLu and my sweethearts! It was certainly a memorable Summer day!

We were so happy to see the penguin feeding.

Kate is such a little cutie pie! She and LuLu waved to all the penguins! She loved seeing all of the animals today!

Snow Leopard

We found a great, big polar bear!

Snow Monkeys

We enjoyed watching the Delacorte Music Clock at noon.

My little froggies had so much fun hopping on the lily pads. 

Red Panda

The Central Park Carousel is beautiful and dates back to 1908.