Brooklyn Bridge

Last weekend we went to the Brooklyn Bridge for the first time. We walked across it, then went to eat at Grimaldi's after standing in line for half an hour. After that it was off to across the street at the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory, then to the latest attraction, a "intercontinental tunnel" linking New York to London. We stood in line in New York to see people standing in line in London. Very cool, actually...

In a Central Park playground

Lately we've been going to Central Park to enjoy the wonderful playgrounds there. Quite a few have huge sand areas, and the kids love to dig with shovels and buckets. They are very interested in manual labor.

At the beach

This summer was the first time the girls made it out to the beach. We went to a small beach in upstate NY. The girls had great fun wading in the water, collecting sand and seawater and mixing them together, and looking for seashells. In other words, the normal stuff, although maybe most kids don't try and convince their father to eat the "seawater and sand soup" they made.

At the Lemon Ice King

A few weekends ago we went to the New York Hall of Science. On our way back, we stopped by the famous Lemon Ice King of Corona. It's a great little shop that reminds me a bit of Ted Drewes in the fanaticism it inspires. And it's in the middle of a great little neighborhood that is lively and beautiful.

I still prefer Ted Drewes, but this is a great place to stop off and spend an hour or so.

Marin & Annelie go to a princess party

I'd love to tell all about this princess party, but I, as a male, wasn't invited. Nor did I really want to go. But here are Marin and Annelie with the birthday girl. They really enjoy being princesses, and so they had a great time.

Leaf pile!

If there's one thing the girls like, it's a good climb. So they really enjoyed climbing up and down this enormous leaf pile by our building a few weekends ago. I'm not sure how this pile got created, or where it went to. But while it lasted, it was a great pile.

Annelie with an acorn

A few weekends ago, the kids and I went outside to our courtyard on a fine fall day. They picked up acorns, jumped around on leaves, and invented games I neither participated in or understand.

Here's Annelie showing me an acorn she picked up. This picture came out a trifle fuzzy, but it was so nice I had to keep it.

Birthday

Marin & Annelie have recently celebrated their fourth birthday. They had a great time, and got to play with their friends and eat a birthday cake. Here they are on the big day, all dressed up. They are so proud to be four! I tell them that they are big girls now, but I'm not sure they believe me.

This year's jack-o-lantern

Not very scary, is it? When carving this year's jack-o-latern I asked the kids what the eyes should look like ("circles"), and if it should be happy or angry ("happy"). So, here is our happy jack-o-lantern. Even lit up, it looks more lovable than scary.

Row your boat

Last weekend, we went to Central Park and rented a boat, and rowed around on the lake. It was very beautiful and peaceful on the lake, and there were plenty of ducks and an amazing amount of turtles we saw. I really enjoyed this, and want to go back soon.