Today was alternate two-boy-pickup-day again, and i almost forgot that it was our turn to host. All went well though, and the boys (and Mika) had a blast all afternoon. Particularly playing hide-and-seek, where both of them loved to hide under comforters until Mika uncovered their hiding spot…

As a first grader, Mika doesn’t have any graduation ceremony or end-of-year performance, but her teacher came up with a special project that might be even more memorable: the class opened a pop-up restaurant/cafe! They researched by interviewing local businesses about their daily work, then channeled their findings into creating “Bakery Bugs”. The classroom got transformed entirely: a host stand up front to manage the crowd (with cheat sheets for the little hosts), tables set with custom place mats and hand-written menus, hand-painted wall decorations, a waiting area with their own “bug books”, and a cashier counter. With the help of some mom volunteers, the kids baked for two days straight – small batches in the classroom via toaster oven, and the rest finished off at home. The final menu included: banana bread, chocolate chip cookies, scones with butter and jam, mini blueberry muffins, fresh fruit salad, orange juice, hot- and iced coffee. No wonder the restaurant received a solid A rating! Even though all items were priced competitively at 50¢ to $1.00 each, they sold $173.00 worth of tasty merchandise in their first – and only – hour of business. The class voted to donate all of their proceeds to their “charity” of choice: the school’s PTA.

You know it’s Summer when the cats in Tobin’s drawings eat strawberry ice cream cones. Now that he can be trusted with dry erase markers around the house, we turned the easel around and retired the dusty chalks for a while. Both kids love the new surface, but most drawings get wiped away shortly after they’re finished…

Thanks to Team Nara, we checked out Rainbow City today – along with the newly opened Section 2 of the High Line. Harold and his parents joined in on the fun – we had already met up for brunch in the morning. The installation was a bit smaller than i had anticipated, but it might have just been dwarfed by the surrounding high rises. Thankfully, the temperatures were back to normal – if not below seasonal – and the kids had a blast.

Another Saturday, another swim lesson. Luna geared up with a wetsuit, and Mika is sporting her very own cap and goggles. Both are loving their weekly pool time.

Tobin and Cleo had a fantastic time this past year, and all four of our kids play together every week. Cleo generously invited all friends along with their big siblings to her party – thanks for having us, big girl!

Thank goodness the heat broke after last night’s thunderstorm, so no first graders passed out on the Staten Island Ferry today. The kids took a breezy round trip and captured their inspiration in poetry journals. At least on the way over. On the way back to Manhattan, they just goofed off on the upper deck. Afterward, they had lunch and recess in Battery Park before we had to take the subway back to Brooklyn. I can’t believe there are only 2+ weeks left of first grade! It was a great year and Mika liked her teacher a lot. In September, they’re being re-grouped all over again…

Mika and Gaang lucked out today: Brooklyn Queens Day, the federal Holiday that continues to take me by surprise, gave them the opportunity for a long overdue play date. Bonus: it kept them out of school during the worst day of this week’s record breaking heat wave. Tobin’s school was in session as usual, but their air conditioners worked at full capacity…

* Update: today, i learned that yesterday’s heat index (felt temperatures) at 1:00pm was actually 114°F / 45°C

Wednesdays are our four-kid after-school dinner play dates with Team Neubert. Cleo and Tobin dressed up for the better part of 3+ hours, and throughout dinner. Their get-ups involved a lot of headphones, masks, and wings … and they kept locking us out of the kids’ room.

Tobin and Henry being their cute selves at our weekly after-school play date. Usually, drop off play dates don’t really start until Kindergarten (age 5), but with these two, alternate double pickups on Tuesdays are a cinch.

Tobin is into drawing complex stories these days, so his individual figures are getting a bit more simplified. Above, you can see our family at night:

The left side of the picture is the kids room, reduced to their bunk bed (with sheets and pillow cases in green). On the lower bunk, you can see Tobin sleeping – he is dreaming of a monster*. On the upper bunk, you can see Mika sleeping – she is dreaming of a bird.

The right side of the picture is the living room, with Mami and Daddy standing to the left of the table. There are cherries on the table and a giant, multi-bubble light fixture dangling above.

* He assured me that the monster was nice, not scary … more a cookie monster type of guy.

Memorial Day is already a week ago, but i finally found time to go through the pictures. We were joined by Team Lee-Alto for a day trip to Governor’s Island. On this first weekend of the season, the weather was almost too hot for bicycling (around 90°F), but we found ways to stay hydrated and played mostly in the shade. Mika already took it easy on the island, but Tobin went full throttle all day long. On the 5-minute ride home from the ferry landing, he fell asleep in the bike seat … and didn’t wake up again until the next morning.

Thanks for the opening picture, Jen!