Bored...

And when I get bored, I have to come up with things to entertain myself... this is my latest activity, though I'm not quite sure how to describe it (and Mommy and Daddy don't seem quite sure what to make of it, so they just take pictures and move on...)

I guess maybe I'm just giving everyone a hint that rather than being bored at home, I'd rather be swimming in the pool? Or maybe I'm just celebrating the Olympics? What do you think?

Meeting my new teacher

One of our favorite traditions at the preschool where Jasper and I go is that each Summer, before the school year begins, our new teacher for that year visits our house to introduce herself and get to know us a little better before we meet again for the first time in our classroom. 

Remember when Jasper met his first preschool teacher, Beth, a few years ago? And then Edi the following year? And then last year, Jasper met Marina, and I met my first preschool teacher, Rosalba?

Well, this year is no different, and today, my new teacher Patti came to visit me!

Patti and I had a great time - I showed her my extensive and ever-growing dinosaur collection, we did some arts and crafts together, and she read a book to me (the dinosaur book, of course!)

Unfortunately, Jasper no longer gets to partake in this tradition, since he's heading to Kindergarten next year, and apparently "big kid teachers" don't make house calls. Well, if that's the case, then I'm glad to be hanging around in preschool for a couple of more years!

Annual trip to Governor's Island

If you've been reading the blog for a while, then you know that it has become a bit of an annual tradition for us to visit Governor's Island every Summer. Jasper and Daddy kicked things off way back in 2009, and Jasper was so excited about it that he decided to take me and Mommy soon after, when I was just a little baby.   

We went again with Dziadek and Daddy in 2010, and then Jasper and Daddy must have snuck away again while I was taking a nap later that Summer. Last year, we only made it once, and of course we couldn't let this Summer go by without another visit to see what might have changed.

One thing that didn't change is that more often than not, we wind up going to Governor's Island when Dziadek is visiting us, and so it was again this year, but we took things up a notch by combining the trip to the island with a as many forms of public transportation as we could squeeze in, starting with a choo-choo ride to Manhattan bright and early in the morning.

As you can guess, the subway trip was Jasper's idea - the express trains going by on the tracks are a bit loud for me...

And in general, I'm just not as excited about riding subways as Jasper has always been...

The reason we took the train to Manhattan, though, is because the earliest ferry to Governor's Island leaves from there, and we wanted to be the first ones to arrive. As soon as we got to the Whitehall Station downtown, Jasper immediately pointed out where we were heading.

It was a short walk to the ferry terminal...

And then time for the boat ride, which I enjoyed much more (especially since Daddy remembered to bring a snack to keep me happy...)

There was lots to look at from the ferry, including the Manhattan skyline in one direction and the Brooklyn waterfront in the other.

Once we arrived, we decided to shake things up a bit by visiting the far side of the island, where I haven't been before. It was too long of a walk for us, but all the better since the island now provides trams to wheel you over there - another form of public transport!

It was totally worth the trip. We got to explore a new art installation by Mark di Suvero (whose art we often enjoy when we visit the Storm Kind Arts Center.)

There was also a picnic area with Adirondack chairs to lounge in...

And a huge field of swings...

And even better, hammocks!

Jasper and I enjoyed taking the load off our feet with Daddy for a bit after all the running around.

Of course, one of the best things about being on Governor's Island is the great views - both of Manhattan (very ominous looking as the clouds moved in)...

And the Statue of Liberty - isn't she grand?

We stuck around a little longer to take some portraits with the quickly rising Freedom Tower and rest of the rebuilding at the WTC site in the background.

But since those clouds were moving in quickly, we decided it was best to head towards home. So back on the island tram we went, but this time, instead of taking the ferry back to Manhattan, we instead took a whole other ferry, Brooklyn bound!

That dropped us off at Pier 6 where we commenced the last leg of our epic public transport trip with - you guessed it - a ride on the B63 bus!

Whew, that was quite an adventure. I hope Jasper got his fill of public transportation for a while - I sure did!

Mystic family portrait

Alas, our Mystic vacation eventually had to end and it was time to go home, but not before we snapped this family portrait. 

We were in Mystic for only a few days, but we sure cast a long shadow on the place!

Have we mentioned the "Summer of Water" lately?

Because it definitely continued in Mystic... 

Mommy and Daddy were clever enough to book a hotel with an indoor pool (all the better for that one rainy day we had), and as you can imagine, we spent a considerable portion of our vacation in that pool...

And then warming up in the hottub between our marathon pool diving sessions...

And when the sun came out, The Dinosaur Place that we told you about wasn't all dinosaurs - it was also a waterpark! Now, we love all the new waterparks we have around our house in Brooklyn, but this one was a notch above all the others. We were excited from the moment we saw it! 

And spent the rest of our time at The Dinosaur Place taking advantage of just about every water feature available...

How much more time can we possibly spend in and around water this Summer?!

Dinosaurs, dinosaurs and more dinosaurs

So once the sun came out in Mystic, we headed to a great place right outside of town - The Dinosaur Place. Much like Jurassic Park, The Dinosaur Place is a ancient looking lanscape populated by some of the most fearsome dinosaurs who ever roamed the earth.

Can you imagine how excited Jasper and I were to see them all?!

While there were lots of crying kids all around the park who were scared of the dinosaurs, Jasper and I knew that the dinosaurs are our friends, and didn't even hesitate to walk right up to them... 

And get up and close with each one...

Can you guess which was my favorite dinosaur of the day?

Although there was one that wanted to bite Jasper, and I had to beat him off with my rolled-up map. Go away, bad dinosaur!

And look, the first two dinosaur eggs have hatched!

We even watched a volcano erupting, although its loud rumbling may have been the scariest part...

At the end of the dinosaur trail there was a "Maze-asaurus", a great, though pretty complicated, maze. 

Eventually we negotiated the maze, though, and here's what we found at the end - talk about scary! 

But that didn't deter us, since as you might notice, the dinosaur's throat is actually a slide, and who can resist a slide inside a dinosaur?!

Wheeee!

What a fun day at The Dinosaur Place!

So much fun that even Mommy and Daddy got in on the act!