7/13/08--Juan Pablo Duarte Water Park--Union City

After hearing tons of great things about the Union City water park--we decided to go up there today. Everyone was right--it was awesome! The pool was the best part. It makes Hoboken's water park look pitiful. The girls had a great time except for the fact that Abbey got a couple of blisters on her toes from the hot ground when she didn't have sandals on. Poor kid--it hurt her so much she shook. We can't wait to go back. It was really impressive.

7/12/08--Van Saun

Today we spent the better part of the day at Van Saun park. Mike hasn't been there since he was a child. The bird exhibit was there--it is my favorite! My camera is officially broken--at Van Saun it completely stopped working. Then we went swimming at Mike's parents house. After which we went to the Closter Elementary school playground and brought dinner there. The girls played at the gated park and mike and I actually were able to eat (for a few min. anyway). We were hoping the girls would sleep in the car and transfer to their beds. They did fall asleep in the car--but didn't transfer to their beds. They woke up and were up for a couple of hours. Our plan failed!

7/10/08--Pupie Raia's Birthday party

Yes--Pupie had a birthday party party at Frank Sinatra park. Pupie is a politician in town who has alot of connections. They gave away free food (hot dogs, hamburgers, sau./peppers, cheesesteaks, beer, wine, soda, water, and ice cream. Needlesstosay there were tons of people there. The band Rare Earth played (Rod Stewart songs all night--they were quite good). The weather was perfect. Thank you Desiree for telling us about this. It was our first concert at Sinatra park--and it won't be the last!

7/10/08--Clare and Gwen back in town!

Only for the day--but it was great to see them anyway! The girls all played at the seal water park!

7/8/08---Fuzzy Lemons

The Fuzzy Lemon band was playing at the Shipyard tonight. Alyssa kept calling them the Moldy Peaches---hahahha....It was so crowded! We had a picnic on the grass like we usually do every Tuesday evening throughout the summer. Amanda had fun playing trees with Sophia and then ran into Julianna from school. Alyssa and Abbey had a sticking out your tongue contest.

7/6/08--Victorian Gardens, Central Park

We went to the Victorian Gardens (Wohlman Rink) located in Central Park, NYC. It is a small amusement park for kids. We didn't play any games-but the girls went on a bunch of rides. Banjo the Clown performed.

7/5/08--Chinatown and So. Street Seaport

Today Alyssa, Amanda and I went to Chinatown (in the rain) and to So. Street Seaport. We bought Alyssa some stuff in Chinatown that she wanted. What an adventure going into secret backrooms, hidden attics all in search for the handbag of Alyssa's choice! Then we headed to the Seaport to view the Waterfalls exhibit.

7/4/08--Happy Fourth!

This year the fourth of July was busy for us. Aunt Toni and Uncle Ben hosted a bbq up in Emerson, NJ and then later on that evening we attended a party at the Pooley's house! The best part of my fourth of July was the fact that my neice/Goddaughter Alyssa (14 yrs.) came down to stay with us for a few days today! She hasn't been down in a couple of years--so it was nice to have her here. 9:30pm we headed down to the waterfront and watched the Macy's fireworks live across the river. It was a bit rainy-two years in a row that it rained some. All in all a good day. Happy Birthday America!

6/29/08--Renee's Third Birthday party

We headed to Ross Dock under the George Washington Bridge for Renee's BBQ. We had never been there before--what a great spot! Beautiful playgrounds, lots of picnic areas, can't beat the view of the city! Happy Birthday Renee! Loved her Barbie Fairytopia cake!

6/27/08--Great Escape and Lake George

Aunt Joanne, and cousins Ryan and Stephanie invited us to go with them on a mini-vacation! We went to Great Escape (six flags theme park) and stayed overnight at Lake George. Alyssa was doing the same thing with her shopping club aka girl scout troup.

6/23/08--Claire and Renee

This summer I am watching two of Amanda's friends: Claire and Renee! Claire is 4 and Renee is 3 yrs. old. We spend M-Th. together from 9am-6pm. We do the parks daily, usually go to the gym, swim, go on picnics, have playdates, play dress up, and yes drive each other crazy!!!! Here are a few photos of our time together so far.........

6/21/08--Erika's Bowling Party

Erika turned four and to celebrate she invited us to her bowling party! This was the first time Amanda tried bowling along with most of her friends. She really enjoyed it (thank goodness for bumpers) Noone was allowed to use her red/pink bowling ball--she was totally possessive of it.

6/20/08--After recital bbq at the White House

Donna, David and the girls hosted a wonderful after recital bbq. The kids all had a wonderful time playing in the kiddie pool, their backyard, dressing up, etc. while the parents were able to sit down and have a glass of wine or beer. A truly enjoyable afternoon!

6/20/08--Amanda's Dance Recital

Amanda performed in her first dance recital today. She takes a combo class every Monday from 3-4pm at Hoboken Dance Academy. 1/2 hour is ballet and 1/2 hour is tap. All the girls did an awesome job! They all looked so incredibly cute up on stage. Amanda made Mike and I so proud. Amanda needs a little break from dance class--the last few weeks have been like pulling teeth to get her to attend. I am not sure if she is tired after school, the nice weather is here and she would rather be outside at the park or if she flat out doesn't like dancing. She tells me she wasts to do soccer class again. Perhaps having the summer off will give her time to think about what extracurricular activities she would be interested in doing. One day she loves something the next day--she hates it! Nevertheless--Amanda started ballet in Sept. and we finished the year out with this lovely recital!!!!