Leo's first day of 6th grade

This guy right here started middle school today.  He was looking forward to seeing his friends but he was not looking forward to Spanish class.  

His middle school is on the same campus as the elementary school so it's a familiar place.  He's also had several interactions with the two main teachers and he's comfortable with them too.  

 I only got this one quick picture when he got to the classroom.  You can tell from his face he isn't thrilled to be back at school but he had a good day.

 Here's a fun side-by-side of the beginning of kindergarten and the beginning of middle school.

Serafina's first day of 4th grade

Serafina went back to school today.  She was not happy about having to go back and she was feeling sad about not having any of her close friends in class with her.  She has Leo's fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Chang, who will be so good for her this year.  

Despite her reservations, she put on her first day of school outfit and a smile.  

 I'm really proud of her for setting aside any negative feelings and making the best of it.

 Heading to school with dad and a ton of school supplies.

 She was happy to see Millie.

 And Sunny and Cleo.

 She's sad not to be in class with them but they had lunch together.

 Here she is with her teacher, Mrs. Chang.  Yes, she's as tall as her teacher.

 Since she had a little growth spurt this summer and it's been a while since people have seen her, Serafina got a lot of "you're so tall" comments.  She doesn't like them.  She's becoming a bit self-conscious about her height but I told her I had the opposite problem at her age and was one of the shortest in my class.

She knows plenty of people in her class, including tiny little Nora.  She's super sweet.

 Trying to stay positive when the reality of school kicks in.

 She's also friendly with her tablemate Rhea.

Last beach trip of the summer

Yesterday we headed to the beach to beat the heat and have one last hurrah before Serafina goes back to school.  I invited my friends who thought I was a bit crazy to go to the beach the day before school starts, but they all came along so I must not be that crazy.  

It was a hot, beautiful day. 

 My friend Lizzy was very good at getting all the kids to pose for a picture.
Back row: Sofia, Franny, Sid and Leo.  Front row: Lane, Sunny, Millie, Serafina and Emma

 Of course we stopped at the best ice cream shop because that's what we do.

Tie Dye Pool Party

Serafina asked if she could tie dye shirts with her friends, just like Leo did for his 5th grade party.  We did a low key version of the party today with just swimming, snacks and tie dye.   

Serafina created a sign for the party on her blackboard. 

The girls coordinated this fancy pool entry and practiced over and over before having me film it.

Tie dying. 

 Millie and Emma.

 Serafina and Sunny.

 Lane

 The shirts have to sit for at least 24 hour so we won't know how they turned out quite yet.

Far Westerns Dive Meet

Leo competed in a dive meet on Friday and Saturday.  His first event on Friday was the 3 meter.  He got third place!

 Immediately after the 3 meter awards were given, Leo had to go warm up for the platform event.  He competed in the 5 meter event for the first time.  He got forth place and we were really proud of how he did especially since this was his first time completing on the platform.

 On Saturday, he competed in the 1 meter event.  He moved up a level in this event so he was competing against older, bigger boys and doing more challenging dives.  He scored well on three dives but not so great on three.  He ended up with a 5th place ribbon and he was a great sport about it.  He demonstrated great sportsmanship throughout the meet.

 It was a tiring two days, and he came home Saturday, crawled into bed and took a nap.  I don't remember the last time that happened.

New York Summer Trip - Farewell

Our flight was late enough in the day on Sunday to squeeze in a bit more sightseeing.  We cabbed it over to Rockerfeller Center.  

There was a big LEGO store we checked out and it had a LEGO version of the Atlas statue.  

Then we went around the corner to the front of the building to see the real statue.

Across the street is one of my favorite buildings in New York - St Patrick's Cathedral.

What's this?  One last slice of pizza in Penn Station before we take the subway to the Airtrain to the long flight home?  Of course it is.  

New York Summer Trip - Saturday Pool Party on Long Island

Saturday had us heading back to Long Island for a pool party with Sal and family.  

Here's the crew in the pool - (clockwise from left) Caitlin, Tom, Sal, Serafina, Leo and Matthew. 

Caitlin got Harley the dog to successfully float on her boat.

My tired loves heading back on the LIRR.

Here's the view we had every night of the Empire State Building from our room.

New York Summer Trip - Friday Touring

Friday we had the day to ourselves - no family visits or plans with friends.  

First up was a trip to Mood fabrics (featured on Project Runway), which was one of Serafina's top to-dos while in New York.  It's in the heart of the garment district which was pretty close to our hotel.  It isn't really a tourist destination so we poked around for just a little bit.  

Then it was on to Central Park via the subway.

It was hot and there was some complaining already starting to happen but moods changed when we spotted this park.

It had quite the backdrop.

They love a tire swing.

And regular swings.

Three carousel rides in one week?  You betcha.  Can't pass up the Central Park carousel.  

I would have loved to explore the park more but it really was too hot and humid for park strolling, so we headed to another highly desired destination - Shake Shack.  This is pretty much your standard burger joint with very thick custard-based shakes but it's not on the west coast so the kids wanted to check it out.  We went to one on the Upper West Side and the dining area was in the basement.

The kids enjoyed the meal and took their shakes out on the street where we admired some beautiful brownstone buildings.

After lunch it was on to the American Museum of Natural History.

Tom booked some special actiivities while we were there.  First up, the planetarium.

Then a 3-D IMAX about the ocean.

And a special T-Rex exhibit.

We were able to do some exploring between and after our special events.  Serafina and I checked out the Hall of Mexico and Central America.  Here she is in front of the Aztec Stone of the Sun.

We were able to take the subway from the basement of the museum back to our hotel.  After a rest, we headed back out to the West Village for dinner at an Italian restaurant.  

It was lovely inside and I really liked my pasta dish but the kids were only so-so about the meal.  

After dinner, we walked to Washington Square Park.

It was a happening spot on a warm summer Friday night. 

Since the kids didn't love their dinner but weren't whiney about it, we rewarded them with delicious dessert at the iconic Tick Tock diner next to our hotel.

Leo got a chocolate mousse mouse.

Serafina got the Oreo pie.

Tom and I shared a piece of unphotographed apple pie al a mode.  Everything was delicious and a great way to end a fun day.