With only one more week of school left to go, the kids’ German school programs are winding down as well. Mika’s reading and writing group had their final class today – a double session followed by pizza dinner. Tobin’s group will meet next Monday for the last time, and the parents are invited for ice cream sundaes right before pickup.
I volunteered as class photographer and just finished preparing the pictures for school tonight…
Our Father’s Day bike excursion to Governors Island was lucky in many ways: despite a patchy forecast, we didn’t get any rain except for a little mist on our way to the ferry in the morning. The day unfolded to beautiful sunshine and the first hours were not even too hot. Arriving on the first ferry from Brooklyn, we scored a hammock and our own picnic table in the shade at Picnic Point. Very picturesque and relaxing, except for the fact that Father’s Day coincided with the annual “Punk Island” music festival. There was almost no spot where you couldn’t hear live punk rock, and in the most popular places we found ourselves in the crossfire of two bands at the same time. Mika and Tobin had their first sighting of real punks, who came dressed to the nines and, strangely, exposed their white skin to the summer sun…
Happy Father’s Day to Sung, Opa Addi, 할아버지, and to our many dad friends!
Today’s class with Audra was a tribute to Father’s Day – she had the kids belt out all the dad-specific songs, along with some old favorites. Mika and Tobin were thrilled with Sung’s guest appearance, and with Uncle Joe coming along for support as well.
At first, there was only one large, gray bunny – Tobin’s favorite “Hase” – that he had since birth. Last Summer, the kids got each a smaller version of the same bunny when they stayed a week on their own with their grandparents in Hamburg: a matching little gray bunny for Tobin, and little white bunny for Mika. The two little ones even accompanied me on a trip to Germany (without kids) this Spring.
Today, we found the missing link at a neighborhood stoop sale: a large, white bunny for Mika! She was in mint condition, but got an extra thorough bath anyway. We even gave the whole bunny family another “ride” in the washing machine. This is the first family picture, fresh out of the dryer.
It’s been two years since they saw each other in person, but Mika picked up with Uncle Joe right where she had left off: being his #1 fan. Tobin was a bit too young back then to have active memories, but everybody got off to a great start tonight. We went for a little stroll around the neighborhood, ate out for dinner, and Uncle Joe read bedtime stories to the kids.
Tobin and Bruno had their first live encounter with the cutest lil’ Swede today when we finally managed to get all kids together for an iChat session. Check out Lukas’ blog for more details!
Sooki, thanks for providing the snapshots and see you again really, really soon!
All of Mika’s grade had “Pajama Day” today. She put on her finest monkey jammies and joined the other 120+ Kindergarteners who rolled straight out of bed into school.
Today was a half day of school and Mika and Elsie revisited their old stomping grounds at Madison Square Park. Time flies: even their little siblings are older than they were when we moved to Brooklyn! After the playground, they added some serious scooter riding, lots of play time, a little movie, and a bath before we headed back home on the subway. Pretty impressive for a school night…
We’re glad we were able to meet up with Kai a second time during his brief visit. Today the weather held up long enough for a partial exploration of the Pier 6 playground. We did get rained out in the end, but the kids had plenty of (hot and humid) outdoor fun nevertheless.
The last two pictures were taken yesterday, when Mika and Sung bumped into the Lee-Alto clan near the Brooklyn Flea and we all had an impromptu play date. There is no escaping Pier 6 these days, especially for those who live in walking distance…
All of June is brimming with fun activities for Mika’s grade: Silly Hat Day, Read to Your Stuffed Animal Day, Stepping Up Celebration, etc. Of course, there had to be a fun field trip in the mix and off we went to a picnic in Prospect Park … along with the other 5 Kindergarten classes and just about every elementary school in Brooklyn. Seriously, i have never seen so many kids in this park, which we have often had almost to ourselves.
The kids had fun riding the F-train and playing outdoor games in the park. Tobin was a bit intimidated at first, but got lured out to play by Mika and her friends. Thanks to Zoe’s mom for the last shot!
Kai is back in town for a visit, and it was the first time in seven months that the kids had a play date. They picked up right where they had left off, getting along great. Tobin was allowed to join in on the fun, but baby sister Sango joined late and napped through most of the afternoon. To be continued…
Thursday was no school for Mika, so she joined in on Tobin and Henry’s weekly morning play date. She got them to sit down and listen to a Dr. Seuss classic, but not for long. They started tickling each other and giggling to the point that she raised her best “stern teacher voice” and told them to “knock it off, you guys!!!”. For a moment, they actually complied and tried to figure out in how much trouble they had gotten …
