Boo at the Zoo

A few weeks before Halloween, we decided that we wanted to take the kids to Boo at the Zoo at the Bronx Zoo.   I had always wanted to take the kids and while we go to the zoo often, we had not yet gone to this event.   We asked our friends, the Wyatt Family to join us and I am so glad they said yes - we had a great day!!

Hulk and Ninja Turtle arriving at the zoo
Both Dads had to leave early for work, so we decided to try to be at the zoo close to opening - we also thought the zoo would get pretty crowded and wanted to get all of the Halloween activities done early.  Luckily, we were pretty good with timing and got there a few minutes before the special events started.  There were many special things to do for Halloween so we all sat down, looked at the schedules and picked what we wanted to do first. 

We all agreed: Haunted Hayride - because a Sea Lion feeding was about to start and that was on the way, Jay went ahead to save us a spot on line and the rest of us watched the feeding.  By the time we got to Jay, we only had to wait about 10 minutes for a ride (by the end of the day, the line was 4 times as long!)

At first, the Haunted Hayride seemed kind of lame, but the farther we got in to the woods, the more skeletons, gravestones and spooky creatures we saw.  The kids loved it.

At the end of the hayride, we found our first treat station and the kids were thrilled - the first treats of Halloween!

At various locations throughout the zoo, there were treat stations - while the kids were happy to get candy, mine were a little disappointed that each treat station had the same stuff.

While it was not special for Halloween, our next stop was the bug carousel  - the kids have been on it so many times but Dylan thought it was pretty funny that he was a turtle and was riding a bug.

Jack, Ryan, Lillie and Elliott were a few rows back.

I think Dylan's favorite part of the day was the Hay Maze - actually, that might have been everyone's favorite.  

 

We played hide and seek in the maze for a while before it was time to move on.

I was laying on the ground trying to scare Ryan - lol.  This is right when he came around the corner and saw me

Next stop: "Habitat Haunted Mansion". While we waited on line, the kids ate lunch and went to the treat station.  They were really excited when they got free books along with their candy.

I  thought it was kind of funny watching the boys as we walked through the haunted house, especially since they had different strategies.   Dylan decided to wear his mask to ward off all evil.

Ryan wanted to see what was coming at him and didn't wear his mask.

During our busy day, we also went to the Children's Zoo, rode the monorail and everyone but Dylan rode the camels.  He insisted that he did not want to go on and I told him a hundred times that he would be sorry.  "No I won't.  I just want to eat my goldfish"  Well, of course as soon as he saw Ryan on the camel, he was hysterical that he wanted to go but it was too late and the line was way too long to wait again.   Luckily, we found another treat station and he got over it quickly.

 

 Minus our very hectic trip home (2 moms, 5 kids and 1 baby taking a subway, bus and cab is never a good idea), the day was pretty perfect.   We had wonderful fall weather, got to do everything we wanted to do and the kids had so much fun together, they wouldn't agree to leave until the park officially closed!  I love Halloween and I hope that Boo at the Zoo will be added to our yearly list of Halloween activities.  Thanks Wyatt's for joining us!!
Happy Halloween!!!!!!

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Yes, I realize it is not December yet.

Yes, I have been listening to Christmas carols non-stop for a week even though it is not December yet.

Yes, I have already started making the kids do Christmas crafts. 

 Today, our friends the Wyatt's came over to join us for a little Christmas crafting.  Of course, dressing like elves always helps to get you in the spirit!  We decided to make ornaments so the boys and I went to the craft store yesterday and picked out plastic ornaments, stickers and decorations and other accessories. 

After all was set up, it was time to start!  

 The kids stuck with it longer than we thought they would and I must say, the finished products looked adorable. 

Now, all we need is a tree to hang them on and more time to make more projects!

52 Week project Week 38 - School

"Ryan Mengel, 6 years old, on the way to school for the first day of First Grade"

 

Ryan started FIRST GRADE on September 6th in Ms. Latos' class and so far, he is loving school.  Ms. Latos is new to the school but she is very nice and Ryan loves her.   Over the summer, some of the class moms got together and compiled a list of who was in each class - I was happy that there were some familiar names on the list although Ryan was a little disappointed that his "best friends" were all in other classes.   Well, the first day of school, he was really happy when he realized that a lot of boys he knew from the park were in his class.  Last year, most of Ryan's friends were girls and this year, it is the opposite.  I am so glad that Ryan has made a lot of new friends but has still stayed very good friends with some kindergarten buddies.

When we got to Ryan's classroom, Ms. Latos greeted us at the door and all the kids were told to find their table - Ryan quickly found the "Planet" table and sat down, picked out a book to read and could not wait to get rid of me!

A few weeks in to school, Ryan has started having homework.    Each week, he has gotten some math work sheets to complete ("How many of each?" is the current subject - simple math problems using addition and subtraction) and he has reading homework every night for which he needs to keep a reading log like last year.   Similar to last year, Ryan has gym, art and music every week but this year, Creative Movement/Spanish (still trying to figure that one out) and Science have also been added to the schedule.   Ryan told me that his favorite things about school are Choice time, Science and Chess!!  Ryan also declared that this year, he wants to get school lunch every Friday "because Friday is pizza day and I really want to have that even though I need to wait on line for 30 minutes".

I am confident that this is going to be a great year for Ryan!  I think he has already improved so much since the beginning of the year in reading and recognizing his sight words, and his handwriting is getting better day by day.  Some days, Ryan fights us on doing his homework so we decided to give him an incentive - We told Ryan that every time he gets a TERRIFIC on his homework (options are terrific, good work, and you can do better), we would give him a $1 for his wallet. (homework gets graded all at once, once a week).  Well, the trick worked and Ryan can't wait to find out how he did on his homework each Monday.   So far, he has gotten all terriffics!!!

I am so proud of you Ryan xoxoxxoxo Keep up the good work!!

 

52 Week Project - Week 35 - Beach

Jay and I both had off Labor Day and we wanted to have one last hurrah before the end of summer.
What better way to do that then spending the day at the 

BEACH

with the boys!! Unfortunately, the weather didn't quite cooperate but we decided to try anyway and headed down to Seaside Heights, NJ. (the trip was also so last minute that I didn't even have my camera - these are all iPhone pics)

One good thing about the weather not being great was that we had no traffic going to the beach or back and the beach and boardwalk were virtually empty!!

We started the day off hitting the beach because the kids wanted to go in the water, which was unbelievably warm.  Unfortunately, the water was also really rough and both Jay and I were pretty nervous with the kids in the water - we could not stand more than a foot or two away from them because the currents were so strong.

It would have not been so bad if they would have been content just getting their feet wet, but Dylan especially kept going deeper and deeper and about 20 minutes after being there, we decided it was just too rough and dangerous.

Because it was pretty windy, it didn't take too long for all of us to get cold so we put on some dry clothes and started exploring the boardwalk.  First stop was the Skyride.

Next up, we headed over to the Casino Pier and when the kids saw it, they started jumping up and down in excitement - for $15 each, we were able to get them an unlimited rides wristband and they could not grasp the concept that they could go on every ride as many times as they wanted!  When they finally got it, they wanted to go on each ride 6 times in a row before we had to literally drag them to the next ride (then the process would be repeated at that ride).   Again, because it was cloudy, not many people were there and I don't think the kids waited on any lines all day!

Ryan's favorite ride of the day was the Wild Mouse roller coaster, which he went on at least 15 times and Dylan's was the Frog Hopper.  They also really loved the bumper cars and I was really proud that Ryan kept trying to help Dylan when he would get stuck. 

After spending a few hours at the amusement park, we played some arcade games and when we came out, it was POURING!!  We definitely lucked out that the weather held out until we were ready to leave. 

The day at Seaside was a great way to end the summer and while we are sad that summer is over, we are looking forward to all the fun we are going to have this fall!

52 Week project - Week 21 - Light

Sunrise Light

To learn the magic of light, get up before sunrise...and watch. - Ted Grant

When we left Erika's house in February, our flight back to New York was at 6 am and it was still pitch black on our take off.   The darkness made leaving that much sadder for me but halfway through the flight, I looked out the window and saw one of the coolest sunrises I have ever seen.  The pictures don't do it justice.

 

May you always walk in sunlight. May you never want for more. May Irish angels rest their wings right beside your door.”

- Irish Blessing

52 Week Project - Week 27 - Red, White and Blue

We spent the 4th of July in Atlantic City and proudly donned our red, white, and blue all day while we went to the beach and explored the boardwalk. After a late lunch, Dylan fell asleep so Ryan and I decided to head over to the HUGE candy store at the Pier Shops to get some goodies and Ryan was thrilled when we realized we were just in time for the Water Show so we got our some snacks and headed upstairs to get front row seats.

After hanging out for a bit at the pier look out point, we headed back to the hotel for a while before going back outside to the firework show on the beach.  I loved it - loved sitting on the beach, the show was pretty long and well done and we all had a blast.

God bless America,

Land that I love,

Stand beside her and guide her
Thru the night with a light from above;

From the mountains, to the prairies,
To the oceans white with foam,

God bless America,
My home, sweet home.