Garlic Finally

So not so much a flood gate as a slow drip, but where else to start remedying my procrastination than with a story about procrastination itself...

Garlic.

We woke up early on Sunday. We had full intention to work. I know. Sunday. Work. Makes no sense. But we have work to do. This will explained another day. But for now, we woke up and said NO. We. Will not. Work. On this day. And this is the time of year that we breeze thru for some reason that we breeze thru and then regret all that it has to offer. The transition from summer to fall has much to offer in the ways of festivals and gatherings that we find lovely and somehow always miss. Not this year. It's Sunday. And there's garlic. 

But first; breakfast. 

At which we had some celebrating to do. You see, Laura was celebrating her first day of maternity leave part deux. She is off for six weeks. These six weeks are going to be interesting. We are celebrating now, in case we don't have something to celebrate about later. So, cheers.

It wasn't long after we arrived at the garlic festival that Yuula was crowned Garlic Pope. She made her own crown. It took 47 minutes.

We found the garlic flock. I asked if they made garlic-scented sweaters out of them. The query was not met with a pleasant response. 

Yuula got a unicorn tattoo. I can only imagine that it won't be long til this is done in permanent ink. And then it's not my problem. 

 Aesop was there, too. He didn't get a tattoo but, he still managed to have a good time. 

 Maybe because I was throwing his little ass in the air.

What do you think Laura chose?

Potato Sword!

No good way to eat this thing.

The picture doesn't do it justice, but this child was a dirty monkey.

Berries, Copters, And Peacocks

We headed down to Whiting Tuesday night to drop off Judee before our roadtrip, and maybe to have a nice dinner and a little rest. instead we did as many things as we could fit into an 8 hour window. First was a much belated Easter at Grandma & Grandpa's. Yuula doesn't own a calendar yet, so she didn't know any better. That would make a good Easter gift; a calendar.

Then we headed over to Hallock's for some peak season strawberry picking. Yuula took right to it, like she'd been there before, yanking berries and popping them down her gullet. We had to tell the girl at the checkout to charge for an extra pound or two that never made it into the basket. Maybe next time we just weight Yuula before and after to know how much we owe.

Then we headed out to Point Pleasant to see what we could see about trying out the boardwalk. The beach was a little crowded and we weren't all that interested in paying for a quick stroll out to the ocean so we hit the rides instead. Compared to last year, where we practically had to drag her onto even the merry-go-round, this time was a raving success. She wanted to ride everything! And she even smiled a couple of times. Plus she had a partner in crime this time around, namely her cousin Dylan, who up until the boats, seemed to be a perfect buddy.

Do I even need to mention we had ice cream at Sundae's?

Then to cap off an already jam-packed day, we visited the Popcorn Zoo, where Yuula saw horses, fed bears, hid from a tiger, and pet a sheep. We also saw the most enormous cow and Laura molested a peacock.

Do we think she had a good day?

This is the sign of a good day.

Rolling The Dice In The City Named Twice

Laura and I have taken it upon ourselves to drag each Krupp sect thru NYC, kicking and screaming if be it. Yesterday we toured midtown at breakneck speed and managed to have a pretty memorable day. From towers to toy stores, pizza to polar bears we hit a restroom on every square block and wore our feet to the bone. Now they know that they never have to go back.

the photos:

fountains were a kid favorite

we had to stick our hands in quite a few

the girls had differing opinions on Bryant Park

one of the many potty breaks

the most photogenic spot in Rockefeller

calling monkeys like kitties

the polar bear was a cool moment

I got a bunch of these

this one

Yuula was the last one left watching

penguins are cool, but the overwhelming stench of feeding time was a bit much

Yuula thought the sealions were hilarious

took about 20 tries to catch just this leap

signs of fatigue

red panda wins cutest thing in the city limits

the snow leopard couldn't hide from us

Yuula found the polar bear again

both girls do their best polar bear impression

pretty nice little zoo

also had a blast feeding goats

this guy got his head caught

not afraid to lose a finger

she needed a little cow snot for her collection

the sheep was less than responsive but I would be too if they made me wear a sweater today

alpacas are some goofy looking bastards

anyone know of a massive park in the area where we can let the kids run free?

she would've run all the way to Harlem

who would've thought that a padded sinkhole would be such an awesome toy

on the way out

dude's gotta eat

In the last few blocks before getting back to the car Yuula officially went bananas and started disrobing in the streets. I worry about her sometimes.

Today, we draw. Or something.