How brave are these guys?? I mean, when I put out the call for a rollerskating birthday party, I could only hope that some of the parents would boot up too. The girls both received new roller skates for their birthdays and so the idea of combining their newfound love of skating with their celebration just made sense. Of course, I wasn't sure how many other kids had skated before so I needed a place that might be easy for the younger or skating-averse crowd. But really, this whole idea of skating in the city turned out better than I could have hoped. It wasn't the 26-kid extravaganza that I originally envisioned since so many were away on vacations. But sometimes smaller is better. And we definitely had fun with our friends at Pier 2 roller rink in Brooklyn Bridge Park. I'm still so impressed by how little falling there was. Good job team!
Oh summer. How I wait in such anticipation for those longer, sun-filled days only to realize by July that it's too blazing hot to enjoy them! Woof. This week things really heated up with lots of days in the 90s. Now that kind of heat with central A/C and lots of car rides might be tolerable. But here in the city, where walking is king and most apartments rely on window units for isolated cooling, the heat always feels...well, hotter. So last week we made our first fully air conditioned playdate with Leonardo and Carmen at the movies. "The Secret Life of Pets" was on the girls' radar for months now after seeing its trailer in the spring and I have to say it really lived up to the hype. The jokes were much funnier (especially Kevin Hart as the sewer bunny) than I expected making it a very enjoyable Friday afternoon outing. Afterwards, we hit a pizzeria in College Point and then Target for a little retail therapy. About half way through the shopping trip I wasn't sure why I did that to myself, but hey, it was another cool spot. We made it back to Carmen's for a bit and enjoyed tacos for dinner. The whole week was ending on a good note.
Nacho returned with gifts from his first trip to Edinburgh
Then Monday came and Nacho was off again. We woke to beautiful clear skies that just begged us to go outside. So I opted to take the girls into the city on my own and meet up with Carmen and her Canadian crew visiting from Toronto. We ran a few errands near Madison Square Park before lunch at McD's and then a pit stop at Union Square Park while we waited for Carmen to catch up with us. My idea of walking the Brooklyn Bridge, playing in DUMBO and taking the ferry all sounded wonderful at about 2pm. But by 5pm when we started out, having finally met up on the sweltering platform at Union Square, I wasn't so sure. The girls barely started across the bridge before Elisa was chirping about having to pee and Carolina was complaining about being tired. Oy. Yes, I always forget the bridge is more fun when you aren't under the influence of childhood. So off we went, or rather kept going, and when we finally made it across, I started death marching Elisa towards the bathroom at the end of the playground on Main Street. Carmen, Bridget and I sat for a bit while the kids all played and things were mellowing a bit. We checked the times for the ferry and realized that we needed to get over there soon to get the second to last ferry back to Queens. When it ended up being almost 40 minutes late, things were getting ugly (tired, thirsty and hungry), but the boat ride itself was gorgeous. The kids all seemed at peace. Until they weren't. Mine came off the ferry expecting a playdate at Leonardo's but as it was almost 8:30pm and we hadn't had dinner yet, I opted to snap a quick Manhattanhenge photo from Hunters Point South and schlep them on home. That was not a resounding success. Elisa freaked out pretty much the whole way back, and I was thanked with a "this is the worst day EVER" declaration--just what I needed at 9pm after a day out in the city. So yeah, the next day I needed a drink. Even if I had to drag my kids with me to Mundo at the Paper Factory Hotel with Elyse to see our friend Brenna visiting from Portsmouth. Ah, that was a good mojito.
Carolina and I watched a storm roll in after camp on Thursday night
I made sure to double down on cocktails the next day as well. In fact, the rest of the week was all about taking it easy. Or easier. Wednesday night I went out for a little send off for Marija who is leaving soon for her summer in Serbia. We had drinks at The Lowery followed by a lively dinner at Casa Del Chef in Woodside, followed by more drinks--and NO guac--at La Adelita on our walk back. The girl talk and camaraderie was just what my soul needed. By Friday I was ready to hit the city again with Carmen and close out another week of summer. We stopped by the Barnes & Noble in Union Square to get her travel books and Oliver's birthday presents. Seeing Elisa jump right into a graphic novel ("Smile" by Raina Telgemeier) was a delight. Yes, this was what we needed to kick start our lazy reading program. And then there was lunch at Big Daddy's diner which was a colorful throwback complete with sundaes and malteds. We made it back to LIC for another pit stop and then a quick train ride home. Again, my city girls were hanging in there but just barely. By Saturday I needed a day of pampering and I got it when I dashed off to Williamsburg to get my hair done. The Summer Social was later that night and I finally felt like this was the summer I deserved. We had a great night in the park talking and drinking and hanging out. So another week down. A lot of fun. Some struggles. But hey in the end, we kept our cool.
Last week my college friends Jill and Dave came to town with their two boys to visit the city and Jill's sister Kendal who recently had her first baby boy. It's been a few years since I've seen them and their oldest boy Miles is just half a year older than Carolina, so I figured we'd be well matched to enjoy some tromping around the city together. I even found them a housesit in the neighborhood so they had the convenience of real apartment living while close to us. With Graeme just shy of turning one in September, it's all about having a few spare rooms when you travel. Man, I don't miss those days of sleepless nights and wondering what will happen after an exhausting day out on the town. But Jill and Dave had been crisscrossing the country this summer with stops already in Chicago, Michigan, and Philadelphia. They were up for the NYC family challenge. So the first day we decided to meet up in Central Park after their morning with Kendal and baby Atticus. As we tried to narrow down a meeting spot, Jill suggested the Obelisk since Miles wanted to see the thing that featured in one of his storybooks. The Obelisk? What the heck was that, I wondered. A quick search and I realized that in 10 years of living in the city, I had not once been to the thing referred to as Cleopatra's Needle hiding behind The Met. We made our way over and up on the train and within a few steps inside the park, we were there. I love playing tourist in my own town--there's always more to see.
We made our way through the park and over to the west side to Shake Shack for lunch. Usually I try not to freak out when I see the line is out the door and to the corner. It's not always a terrible sign that we'll never find seating and have to wait forever for our food. And in fact, that day turned out to be a perfect outing to the Shack. We found two adjoining tables downstairs in the A/C and Dave and I both got offered free beverages by an obliging employee. That his was beer and mine a soft drink almost didn't matter. We were winning at this tourist trap lunch outing. The coffee and donut concrete special with Donut Plant pieces thrown in it was just the icing on the proverbial cake. We walked slowly back towards the Natural History Museum stopping for a bit at the fountain for Jill to let Graeme nurse and then snap a few pics. And that's when it dawned on me that Miles might actually prefer to head back to Queens with us and chill out and play while Jill and Dave headed off to the High Line. It was a divide and conquer strategy I highly recommend to visitors and one that paid off well this day. We grabbed some ice cream for the kids on the way past the park again and then hit the subway where the sight of us with three kids caused a kindly Bronx man to explain the delays because of a broken track at 72nd. I mean, we must be tourists, right? I smiled to myself and declined his offer of seating. It's times like that when I realize that living in Queens for 10 years, I still don't look like I belong here sometimes. But that's okay. I'll consider that just a sign of my double agent status--a Midwestern transplant living happily in the heart of Queens--which is a perfect foil to leading other transplants around the city when they come. The next day we gathered forces to make a day trip to Brooklyn via the East River Ferry. It was a beautiful summer day with almost cool winds in the morning. Jill and family enjoyed a little time at Hunters Point South while we drove over and hopping on the next ferry worked out perfectly. The day was off to a good start!
And really any day that involves a river ride under not one but three bridges, a carousel, cool art installations, a playground with a giant ship, a picnic lunch AND ice cream has to be a banner day, right? I mean, we spoiled these kids rotten and they mostly deserved it. My girls have done this same day already once this summer, but repeating it didn't seem to bother them in the slightest. ;) This time they got milk shakes and there was no water fun at the pop up installation which was under repairs. But otherwise, it was a perfectly executed family outing in the BK. By the time 3:30pm rolled around, we were ready to wrap things up and take the ferry back to Queens. But Jill and Dave had energy still to walk the Brooklyn Bridge on their way to MoMA so we bid them farewell and made the return trip. It was nice to see them hanging out at home a bit on the other days of their trip and we talked a lot about their lives in KC, recent travels, and of course our families. I don't know if I will have a college reunion in another two years, but if I don't it will be okay. In the past 6 months I've seen Jason and Betsy, and now Jill and Dave. I have a few more I'd like to see. But maybe that's the better way to do it. One at a time and at a pace we can all handle. Who's next?
