Weekend in Richmond

Last weekend, we flew down to Richmond to see Ethan's brother and his family. Ethan's dad (Gramps) drove up to join us. We had a great weekend and wish we could see everyone more often. We went to Busch Gardens, had a few cookouts, drafted our NFL fantasy teams and hung out. The kids kept us entertained, as always!

Puzzle time with Uncle Ethan

Slinky time with Aunt Elin

Gramps on the log flume ride

This was P's favorite ride of the day.....just wait until he's tall enough to ride the Griffin!
Uncle E and P

The Griffin...Ethan, Matt and I went on this ride once. At this point in the photo, we are suspended for 6 seconds, facing the ground. And then.....

...we are suddenly falling straight down. It was terrifying.

We liked the other roller coaster better (Apollo's Chariot). It looks like an easy, rolling ride but it's actually super fast and awesome. It was Gramps' idea to ride this one!

Bears are #1

Supporting our teams!

Have a great holiday weekend! We are off to Seattle tomorrow so we'll post photos when we return.

DC Visitors

One of Ethan's friends from college, Whitney, and her friend Karen were in NYC a few weekends ago. Unfortunately, I was getting over being sick and missed out on a fun dinner - complete with belly dancers! Ethan and I met up with them for lunch the next day - we had a nice time and are glad that we'll have some friends to look up in DC should we move there in the near future.

Prospect Park Zoo

Last weekend, we went to the Prospect Park Zoo with Ethan's coworker and his family. This was our first time there and we found out it's a cute little zoo. It's been remodeled recently and there is a nature trail, plus a monkey house (complete with baboons), sea lion area, and a petting zoo. It's definately a children's zoo, which was great because we had two kids with us.

Did you know porcupines can climb trees?

Turtle pond

Ethan barely fitting in the shell.

Behind me is a fish aquarium, although you can't see any of the fish.

Alpaca at the petting zoo. I think he just got a haircut.

Concerts Galore

We took full advantage of the free concerts in Prospect Park this summer. Much better than last year, when we went to ZERO concerts. Last Saturday was a tribute concert to Bill Withers - a 1970's songwriter, singer, etc . He wrote "Lean on Me", "Ain't No Sunshine (When She's Gone)" and "Lovely Day", just to name a few. The concert featured songs performed by lots of different singers, most of them we had never heard of. Maybe that's because we were only babies in the 70's.... The main reason we went to the concert was because The Swell Season was scheduled to perform. (The singers from the movie Once).

Ethan ran into our eye doctor while in the concessions line, who proceeded to get us into the VIP section of the bandshell. We were given wrist bands and got to stand right by the stage. It pays to get your eyes checked!

The summer season ended with a final concert on Tuesday night - Bob Dylan! We didn't have tickets - the show sold out quickly and tickets were selling for hundreds of dollars on the street. We were okay with standing just outside the bandshell- we didn't need to see Bob Dylan, just hear him. I think everyone else in the city had the same idea - I have never seen so many people sitting outside the fences of the bandshell. We stayed for a few songs - Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 (the song from Forrest Gump), Lay Lady Lay and a couple we didn't know. That's one nice thing about this city - you can step out of your apartment, walk a block and listen to Bob Dylan play in the park.

Bikes.....finally!

We went for a bike ride last weekend. It is embarassing to say this was the FIRST time we've used our bikes since moving to New York. They collected dust in our closet until Sunday. Ethan pumped up the tires, hooked on the front wheels and adjusted the brakes. I removed as much dust and cat hair I could from the spokes. And we were off - 2 laps around Prospect Park. It was a nice day and we saw some interesting things in the Park. As we rode, we heard singing nearby. It turns out a wedding was taking place in the park - there was a large crowd of people wearing native dress of an African country. I don't know which one - I think the flag had yellow, red, blue and green horizontal stripes. Anyway, it was a pretty cool sight.

Waterfalls, Ghostland Observatory and the Mets

We just experienced one of our top 5 NY weekends. We did some major exploring and braved the humidity while venturing to Brooklyn Heights and Queens.

On Saturday, we walked along the promenade and caught sight of the "Waterfalls" public art exhibit. We ended up at the Empire -Fulton Ferry Landing and future site of Brooklyn Bridge Park. The city is building a new park along the Brooklyn waterfront and from the plans we saw, it's going to be a very nice one - complete with a great view!

Waterfall #1

On the Promenade

#2 and #3 Waterfalls (look very closely to see #3 in the background)

The Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory - located in a 1920's fireboat house on the waterfront. The ice cream was worth the 15 minute wait!

Waterfall under the Brooklyn Bridge

We saw some wedding parties taking photos in this section of the park. Tuxedo's in 80-90 degree heat - how awful.

Later that night, we headed down the block to Prospect Park for a free concert ($3 donation suggested). Ghostland Observatory was playing and I wanted to check it out. I can't believe it was free - what a performance! They use lasers and smoke during the show and the singer, Aaron Behrens, gets very into his dance moves. And I mean very.


On Sunday, we took the G and the 7 trains to Shea Stadium in Queens to watch the Mets play the Cardinals. Ethan and I both agree that Shea is much better than Yankee Stadium. Better team and better stadium. We saw a fun game - a few home runs and a win for the Mets.

The new stadium is being built right next door.

David Wright at bat

Mr. Met in the crowd

The Home Run Big Apple - it pops up every time the Mets hit one out of the park.

The Past Few Weeks...

Here's a group of photos from some outings in July. I decided to include them all on one post since I am weeks behind on the blog! Sorry about that, but the lazy days of summer have arrived.

A couple weeks ago, Ben (friend from high school) and his wife Joanna were in town. They have been working in Nigeria for the past year and came back to the US for a few week's vacation. We went out to dinner at one of our favorite Italian restaraunts, Supper. We hadn't seen Ben and Joanna since their wedding, so it was fun to catch up and hear stories about their adventures in Africa.




Every summer, the New York Philharmonic performs concerts at parks in all five boroughs. This year, we went to the concert in Prospect Park. It was something fun and new to try and we had a great time! There were even fireworks after the performance - amazing. It was the closest I have EVER been to a big fireworks show. I still haven't mastered taking pictures of fireworks, so you will just have to take my word for it. I need to have my dad teach me how to do that....





There was also a pretty cool sunset that made me feel like I had stepped into a painting. I love sunsets.




We also watched another Cyclones game - this time we sat in the real seats (those bleachers are rough on the backside). It was Billy Joel Night - which meant they played all Billy Joel songs. Unfortunately, the Piano Man did not make an appearance. (That big tower in the background used to be the Parachute Drop ride. It is now a historical landmark and is no longer operating).

The Cyclones watching the game.

Bronx Zoo

We took a day trip to the Bronx Zoo - it took about an hour to get there on the subway. It was a misty, wet day but it didn't keep anyone away. We had a fun time going to a new part of the city - we felt like we were on vacation (in the boogie down Bronx). The zoo was worth the trip and featured some cool exhibits.

This is one of the older buildings - it's the Aviary exhibit. I like the two rhino statues in front.

We rode the "Skyfari" tram above the zoo grounds. We both felt our stomachs drop when the tram stopped halfway and the wire slacked a bit - it felt like we were falling. But no, everything was fine and the tram started moving again. But a few days later, we saw a story on the local news about the Skyfari breaking down. People were stuck for 5 hours until cranes were put in place to rescue them.

The lions were actually out in the open - this is the closest I've ever been!

Baby and mama giraffe in the rain

This polar bear was having a fun time playing with his ball in the water. Later, he did some very balanced walking around his pool.

This is truly how close we got to the tiger! He was right behind the glass giving himself a bath(just like Luna) and staring at us.

Gorillas in the mist! This exhibit was one of our favorites- it included LOTS of gorillas and mist machines. The Bronx Zoo and the Woodland Park Zoo are well known for their gorilla babies and families. We saw a baby and had a teen gorilla run in our direction and smack the glass in front of us. You can always count on the gorillas for entertainment!

Big poppa silverback

Short gorilla video