We Rule

Ok, all:

30 days in June.

39 posts in June.

We rule.

And we truly hope that the attentiveness we have shown will be remembered if we ever get behind in pictures of Cooper and blog posts in the future.

Cooper's Grandmas -

We are directing this at you both! :-)

39 posts. 30 days in June.

WE RULE.

World Cup

Are you watching? The World Cup? Ya gotta watch! So many games that are down to the wire, bad calls, upsets, and good old-fashioned "football". We are watching the broadcasts of the games from South Africa each morning and afternoon without fail. We wish that the USA was still in the picture, but alas....

Nelson Mandela. Former president, anti-apartheid hero, and Nobel Prize winner has not been at the World Cup due to a very sad tragedy. Mandela's 13 year old great-grandaughter died in a car crash on the eve of the games.

Vuvuzelas. My my, lots of chatter about these instruments.
Cooper, still in his lederhosen but now in a 'Germany' tshirt.
World Cup Soccer! Yeah baby!

German Boy

So since the kid has technically visited Munich for Oktoberfest while 'in utero' AND he does have some German running through his little veins - Michele and Kim decided to begin to be influences in his Deutchland'ish upbringing by buying the kid his first lederhosen while they were visiting family in Cologne and Munich. They now fit him!

Front view.

Back view.

He still has a bit more growing to do before they are the perfect size, but we are pretty satisfied with the present look. How many years will it be before doing a cultural exchange between Kim's cousin Colin and Cooper? Only about 6 or so months separate the boys. Looking forward to when we can all make that happen!

Pride'tastic

Lots of stuff going on this week!

We felt like we were constantly on the move.

PRIDE '10.

Rally.

Maria was one of the sign language interpreters for The Rally that kicks off the week's festivities. This year the event was relocated to Central Park's SummerStage instead of Bryant Park - what a great decision! Such an amazing space, and the crowd was bigger than ever. Hope this is a tradition that sticks around!

Lt. Dan Choi spoke at the rally, and would also be the Grand Marshall at the parade. He is an amazing speaker and an amazing human being - he is a West Point grad, highly valued Arabic translator, and Iraq war veteren...... Who was brought up on military charges for deciding it was time to stop the dishonesty.
HRC Cruise.

We attended the HRC Pride Cruise, and other than a couple minutes of rain, we had a great time! A different boat this year - better food and much bigger. We all had an initial freak-out when we thought we were sharing the vessel with a high school prom! Worry not. All good. Hanging out with Van, Sarah, Michele, Kim, Cathy, Deise, Georgie, Traci, and Eileen made it special. Afterwards went to Chelsea Brewery and then a place near Van's apartment. Maria was the 'Bad Idea Bear'? Hell no!

Lake.

Maria and Cooper went up to the lake early Friday morning to supervise the new rugs being installed. They jet'ed up there in record time! The delivery of the washer and dryer happened as well. Lori took the train up to Port Jervis later in the evening, we grabbed dinner, and then started putting the rooms back together. Lori spent the majority of Saturday working her butt off on the red house. The place is more clean than it has been in ten years! No rest for the weary. What else? Donated a million things to Salvation Army, did some shopping, some outside work, and a bunch more. Work, work, work. But now the entire place is ready for the 4th of July and Van's birthday. Whew!

Parade.

Last Sunday in June. We were scheduled to line up with HRC at 11:30am, but the parade never follows the schedule exactly. And the volunteers from HOP are just so great. Have no idea how they get everyone from all the groups wrangled and organized. An amazing feat! We met up with our group around 12:30pm, and still had time to visit Cheer New York and members from St. Paul and St. Andrew's before we set off on our trek down 5th Avenue. We were all set and ready with ice, water, juice, snacks, etc to keep Cooper hydrated and happy. He waved at the crowd like a pro. Way cute.

Of course, we walked with HRC. A couple of Maria's friends joined us as well. So many stickers - so little time.

These are the shirts that we all wore while parade'ing. Very cool picture, huh?

Gracie Mansion

Busy week! We headed to a BBQ on the grounds of Gracie Mansion this week in celebration of Pride. Usually Lori is the only one of us that nabs an ask for this invite-only event, and that is a given with her heavy involvement with HRC in New York City. But this year? Maria was NOT simply Lori's 'plus one' - she got her own invitation. Take that!

Did we wait in line for a pic with Mayor Mike? No way.
Headed for the bar and the buffet!

Garden Party 27

We attended the Garden Party benefitting The Center last week. As always, GREAT EVENT! Over 50 restaurants set up their wares on Pier 54 and showed their commitment to the community. We walked around and sampled so many different dishes, and came away with a few new restaurants where we would like to visit for a full-on meal.

Maria interpreted the very short program, and this is something like the 10th or 12th year she has provided services. Christine Quinn didn't make it for some reason, but a couple other Assemblymen, Congressman Nadler, the Exec Director of The Center, and a few more speakers. We did see at least one deaf person in attendance, so it was fortuitous Maria was interpreting!

A few random pictures.
Lori and Dana. Lori and Dewanda.

Arts Horizons

Clara took Cooper to an art class on Thursday at Arts Horizons. The classes they offer are just so much fun for the kids, and Clara meets up with another nanny on the building who watches a little girl a bit older than Cooper. The class in Arts/Crafts and Storytime - Cooper loved the entire experience!

Clara took these pictures on her blackberry.
The two will be attending this class every Thursday in the Summer from 10:45am-12:30pm. And we think they are both looking forward to the art projects ahead!

Walk On The WIld Side

On June 14th we attended Walk On The Wild Side on the Central Park Zoo.

This annual affair is a fundraiser for the Callen-Lorde Community Health Center, and we plan on bringing Cooper every year.

Way fun event!

The cast of STOMP performed for the crowd. Amazing!

Sea lions were on their best behavior.
Cooper loved the music by Louis Miranda. Wonderful performer!
The face-painting was a highlight. Very artistic. A big hit.
Food for the kids (and adults) consisted of hot dogs, cotton candy, sno-cones, and more. More mature party-goers could be found near the grilled chicken, hummus, sliders, many other delicacies and snacks, and the overflowing fondue table.
Had a great time at this event hanging with Van/Sarah (w/Jackson and Dylan), Traci/Eileen (w/Aidan and Max), and Stacey/Beth (w/their whole family). Great to talk with other parents. Meet new people. The kids could run around and explore the zoo during this 'private party' - we all had the place to ourselves. Cooper spent most of his time near the music and running around the sea lion tank. Of course, the kid loved the wheels on the handtruck most of all. "Cars!"

Count Dracula(s)

Bats. Vampire bats.

Desmodus Rotundos.

And they have got to go.

So these extras from Twilight movies seem to have decided to come Upstate for an extended Highland Lake vacation, and have moved in to cramped quarters in the space between the exterior of the house and the window. Of course they are not vampire bats, but we were not having it. No vacancy. Get the hell out! Lori, manned with industrial strength wasp spray, aimed and fired in these cracks to serve their eviction notice. And they definitely got the hint!

One by one the varmints they fled the scene. It was a mass exodus. Lori started counting out loud as each escaped to find refuge elsewhere. One, two, three, four, and so on. Any guesses as how many squatters we were harboring? Do you think maybe 10? Or even 20? Possibly more?



32. Yes, 32. Thirty-two.

Treinta y uno. 32.

There were 32 freakin' bats.

32 bats flew out.

We banged on the window frame to make sure we didn't have any stubborn ones refusing to evacuate. Banged inside and outside, and are 100% confident that all the buggers relocated and project 'Bat Be Gone' was deemed an absolute success.

Now officially deemed "off limits" and cauked closed.

Now on the breakfast menu on Lakeview Drive.

Homeward Bound

More Mickey & Pals

More characters and more giggles!

Mickey.

Pluto.

Minnie.

Donald.

Goofy.

The cool thing about this visit to the characters?

Well, they were a bunch of people around filming a Disney vacation promo or video or something. A bunch of the kids in line had to sign a release because they may be captured in photo or on tape. No problem. Cooper was 'Child 38' on the release that Maria signed. Upon seeing Cooper's reaction to these cartoon guys brought to life, a production person asked if I would be interested in letting them film Cooper specifically as he went to each character. Sure! I signed yet another release, Cooper giggled and laughed and interacted with each of the five as he was immortalized on video. I was promised some follow-up paperwork and a copy of the DVD regardless if his footage made it or not. Cool, right? Our little boy. His 15 mins of fame.