NYC

I guess this will be a week in review post as it's been a week since I've written anything here. The kids loved their horse back riding camp last week. Ian was thrilled that he made a new friend, a boy named Ari. Oliver rode Clyde (the pony) the first four days, but on the last day he rode a horse! I wish I had a picture of that. I did receive one photo of each child that I will scan and upload in the future. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I stayed down near where the camp was located. I did a little bit of shopping but mostly I was using my laptop. On Tuesday and Thursday I came home. On Thursday I took the van to get the tires rotated at Walmart. I did take the kids to their tennis lessons on Tuesday. I didn't end up doing so on Thursday because it was raining when I was driving to get the kids, and I was afraid it might be raining in Bloomsburg. I didn't want to drive all the way there only to find out the lessons were cancelled due to rain. Nadia tried to convince me to go anyhow, but we just came home.

Originally I had planned to take

the kids to a parade in Lewisburg on Saturday morning, a program at a state park in the afternoon, and fireworks in Lewisburg that night. Due to my exhaustion, the fact that it was REALLY hot (90's), and an invitation to a birthday party, I scratched all of those plans. We stayed home all day on Saturday with the exception of Isaiah's 5th birthday party.

On Sunday we drove into NYC. I have driven into Long Island many times, but I almost always avoid going through Manhattan. I usually go by way of the Bronx. When I have gone into NYC to see a Broadway show, I have usually driven to Newark, parked the car, and taken the PATH train into the city because the parking is cheaper in Newark, and I didn't want to drive in NYC. Granted it was a Sunday, which I am sure made it better than usual, but I have to say it was less stressful than I anticipated. I parked right by Times Square. It took almost exactly 3 hours from getting in the van to parking it, including a stop for gas. The kids had never been to Times Square before so

we explored a little. They were amazed at a two story McDonald's, enjoyed the Tangled themed escalator in the Disney Store, and thought Donald Trump was there (it was just someone dressed up and talking like him). Nadia shopped in the Disney store but didn't end up spending her birthday money until later. I bought Oliver a pair of $2 flip flops on the third floor of the Old Navy store. The reason I drove to Manhattan was to take the kids to National Geographic's Ocean Odyssey. We spent about one hour there, and Nadia bought a plush dolphin in the gift shop. Hopefully the next time we return to that area we'll be able to see a show (maybe Aladdin, Wicked, Lion King, or Anastasia). The traffic wasn't bad getting out of Manhattan, but we did hit some traffic on Long Island. It took us about 1 hour plus 45 minutes to drove to Aunt Janet's house. The island is long like the name implies! We had eaten a packed lunch as we drove to NYC, and she had dinner waiting for us when we arrived at her place.

After we ate dinner, we swam in the indoor pool. It's a heated pool, but actually since it's been so hot lately, the water in the outdoor pool is actually warmer than the indoor pool! Yesterday and today we swam in the morning (outdoor pool yesterday and both pools this morning) for about two hours and then walked back to her place for lunch and then in the afternoon drove to the beach. We had dinner in her cabana yesterday and today. The first thing the kids noticed yesterday in the water were horseshoe crabs. Their mating season is taking place later than usual this year. Sometimes you will see just one horseshoe crab swimming by you, but typically they are found as pairs. We also saw some coming up and burying their eggs in the sand. Ian was thrilled to see them. Nadia was a bit scared of them, and this meant she didn't spend nearly as much time swimming yesterday as she normally would have. Today none of us spent much time in the water at the beach because it was thundering. We left right after we ate dinner. In the evenings we've been playing games that

we brought such as Suspend, Apples to Apples, Big Picture, and Life. Nadia is sleeping in a sofa bed downstairs. The boys and I are upstairs. Ian and Oliver started out in a sofa bed upstairs, and I was in the guest bed. Around midnight the first night I had Oliver join me because it wasn't working too well for the boys to share a bed. Since then we've stuck with that arrangement that Oliver and I share a queen bed and Ian sleeps near us in a sofa bed.

Although for some reason Oliver refused to get in the pool at Isaiah's birthday party (even though it was beastly hot outside), he has been doing a great job in the swimming pools. Each day he gets braver and braver! Today he swam half of the length of the outdoor pool multiple times, and for a good chunk of that the water was too deep for him to stand. Yahoo! I'm hoping by the end of the summer he'll be a confident swimmer like his siblings.

The dolphin Nadia bought cost $20, and she only had $15. I told her she could pay me back. Well yesterday she lost two teeth so that enabled her to pay me back $2 of the $5 she owed me, ha ha!