Memorial Day 2013

The Farkle Family reunited again (inside joke).

Like the swallows returning to Capistrano or the salmon who must swim upstream in order to mate, the Shepards are bound by the forces of nature to return to Old Orchard Beach every Memorial Day.

Our journey north began Friday night with a tedious trip to Natick.

The next morning we continued to Maine through a steady rain, eventually reaching The Cottage in time for daddy's favorite meal at Ken's. Later in the afternoon Karen, Glenn and the hounds joined us, and the festivities began.

"Festivities" mostly consisted of us staring at each other on a bleak and rainy day.

On Sunday the weather cleared up enough for the kids to venture out on their bikes. After a stroll on the beach we headed to Palace Playland to pick up the girls' first-ever all season passes. And then we turned them loose on the rides for a while.

Later we went to see the movie "Epic" and then had dinner at "Wilbur's" (aka Famous Dave's).

Monday was gorgeous and we spent the morning on the beach in bathing suits just as if it were August. Lunch at Surf 6 was followed by more rides at Palace Playland and then dinner at Ken's with Cousin Janet.

On Tuesday morning we packed up our belonging and started on our 8 hour trek back to Brooklyn. (We really need to buy a helicopter.)

All in all it was a wicked awesome weekend! We pretty much packed an entire month's worth of activities into a few days, and whet our appetite for our real Maine adventure in August.

T-minus 50 days and counting!

Back to work.

Cousin Janet et al.

Me and my bathing beauty.

My 55th year of digging in this damn sand!

 

Stella's first lobster of the season.

Girls and their passes.

 

 

Ladybug Bug-Out

For Marni's 7th birthday we got her some creepy crawly bugs.

After all, it was only fair. Stella got butterflies for her 8th birthday. And not wanting to be left out, Marni requested ladybugs.

The baby bugs showed up via UPS along with their cute-as-a-bug habitat. We fed them and watched them grow bigger and juicier every day. Within a couple of weeks the larva all curled up into pupae and, when they emerged, were actual ladybugs.

It was interesting to watch the ladybugs emerge. At first, they had no spots. They were just a pale yellow/orange. But, within an hour all the spots would appear. Who knew?

We were all very excited about our 10 new family members. We fed them grapes and water and watched them scamper around their house.



This is a ladybug larva.

After about a week we (and by "we" I mean not Marni) decided it was time to let them go free and enjoy the great outdoors.

One evening we took them to the park across the street and opened their house. Slowly they began to explore their new freedom. Stella and Marni helped several of the shy ones by taking them out of the house and letting them crawl on their arms.

Eventually all the ladybugs flew off into the nearby flowers, and a somber Marni waved goodbye to her little babies.

 

 

 

Stella's 9th

Over the past year the plans for Stella's 9th birthday have changed on an almost weekly basis. She finally settled on taking 4 of her dearest friends (and Marni) to Coney Island for a day of rides and hot dogs.

Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate with this plan and rainy weather forced us to improvise. So, instead of amusement park rides, we ended up bowling at our favorite Maple Lanes.

Along the way, Nana and Papa Shepard got lost and ended up in Mill Basin. And Stella's friend Caitlin got in a minor fender-bender on the drive over. But eventually everyone arrived and the bowling commenced.

There was a really spectacular bowler practicing in the lane next to us. A strike almost every time. But it became clear that our lunatics were beginning to distract him, so I went over to have a chat. He smiled and said it was fine. He explained that the kids allowed him to practice bowling with distractions. I told him we would be giving him lots of practice.

The vending machines cost more than the bowling!

Meanwhile, it was hard to tell if we were at the bowling alley to bowl or to stand in front of the vending machines and feed in dollar bills.

Eventually we finished our bowling and headed for some pizza lunch and then back home for cake and presents.

On the way home I spied an orthodox Jewish neighborhood patrol "cop" and proceeded to sing a Jewish version of the "Cops" theme song ("Oy vey, oy vey, what ya gonna do?") The 5 girls in our car immediately began to serenaded Lisa and I with their version of my singing.

Once home we blew out candles, ate cake, did a scavenger hunt for presents, and then sang and danced some more.

Things began to wind down around five.

That evening Stella told Lisa and I that this was the best birthday party ever. That was very nice to hear, and it just goes to show that you don't always need to spend a ton of money on an over-the-top party.

Let the planning begin for next year!

 

 

Using the same 9-month candle for 9-years

Performing "Rolling in the Deep"

 

More Work for the Tooth Fairy

Marni summoned the tooth fairy to Brooklyn on May 6th to take care of business.

Here's how it all went down...

Lisa got a phone call that morning from a class mom who was chaperoning the class trip that Marni was on. The first thing the mom said was not to worry, Marni was okay. Then she went on to explain that Marni lost a tooth and that she had packed it in a sandwich bag and put it in Marni's lunch box.

Luckily the tooth remained safe throughout the rest of the day.

Later that night we placed the tooth under her pillow and waited for the tooth fairy to do her thing.

In the morning Marni happily discovered her new $1 coin.

And now, for the time being, she can get back to eating corn on the cob and apples.

Overheard #38

STELLA: "Daddy, was I a (test) dummy so that you would know how to raise Marni better?"

Marni Turns 7

Birthday girl at school (with cupcakes).

Marni's birthday festivities started Sunday morning with her first Bounce U party. The girl was all smiles throughout the morning as she got ready and she could barely contain herself once we arrived.

The next two hours were bouncing, sliding, yelling and fun. Only a couple of non-fatal injuries. No blood.

When it came time to eat, Marni took her rightful place on the birthday girl throne. Then there was pizza, soda, ice cream cake... and then it was over.

Later in the afternoon we had a BBQ for the family back at home. Marni and friends got to partake in her beloved scavenger hunt for presents which took them from laundry room to car to freezer to oven. And so ended day 1.

Yesterday was Marni's actual birthday. So the day started with ice cream for breakfast. She then headed off to school with a load of cupcakes for her class.

We finished off the festivities with dinner at the "fire restaurant" (Hibachi) with Laurie-Doo followed by some more present-opening before bed time.

Then our new 7-year-old headed off to bed with one of her new dolls. And happily drifted off to sleep.

Ready for fun at Bounce U with Nana and Papa.

Birthday girl and Mom.

The grandparents.

Instructional safety video time.

With special guest, Raine.

Rocking with Raine.

Sherri Bubbles and Lisa on the scary slide.

Parents and birthday girl.

Taking a break with Mia.

Pizza time.

Signing Marni's shirt.

Birthday dance.

BBQ time with cousins.

Heading off to the "fire restaurant".

In Their Own Words... #1

Today I introduce a new feature to The Daddy Diary entitled "In Their Own Words".

Over the past year the girls have started making up their own words to describe things. I guess they find it easier than to learn actual words! Stella has penned "hypergenic" and "catakosys". Marni has recently come up with "kookakanis".

"Hypergenic" seems to mean energetic and seems to relate to Marni. "Catakosys" seems to mean having an illness that makes you crazy. This also appears to relate to Marni.

"Kookakanis" is a part of the head or skull that makes you crazy. I think we have a theme here.

The videos below are the girls' trying to explain their home made words. Good luck.

Season Opener at Coney Island

We had no big plans for last Sunday. But the weather forecast was good and I had a hankering for hot dogs.

And that means... Coney Island.

Coney Island got hit hard by super storm Sandy last October. Among other things, the boardwalk was destroyed and Nathan's Hot Dogs on Surf Avenue was severely damaged.

We parked Goldie in front of the still-closed Nathan's. There was plenty of parking. Luckily there's a second Nathan's on the boardwalk and we sat down there for a delicious lunch before we hit the rides.

There was much discussion (arguing) between the kids as to which amusement park we would attend (Deno's or Luna Park). Daddy was the tie-breaker and we headed to Luna Park.

Mom and dad sit back and relax while the kids play.

The smartest thing we did all day was to buy unlimited 4-hour passes for each kid. We put the bracelets on each kid and then sat back for the next 4 hours and watched Stella and Marni run from ride to ride without any need for mom or dad.

We appreciated that.

After their 4-hour passes expired, we headed to our final ride on the Wonder Wheel.

And so ended a great day at one of our favorite Brooklyn destinations. A day that lasted so long that daddy ended up with a sunburn on his head!

Well worth it.

 

 

Great Wolf 2013

On March 23rd the Shepards headed back to our favorite indoor water park, Great Wolf Lodge.

It didn't take long for the girls to get back into the swing of things as we checked into the hotel for the third time in the past five years.

Back in 2008 little Marni would not even ride down the smallest water slide. This year she graduated to the big slides. And the two sisters happily floated down Crooked Creek together, without any parents. Five years ago they insisted that we carry them through Crooked Creek.

The girls with their MagiQuest wands.

This year the girls were finally old enough to enjoy the MagiQuest electronic scavenger hunt adventure that is scattered throughout the hotel.

I think the girls' favorite part of the weekend may have been the robotic yogurt machine.

My favorite part of the weekend was splashing around in the 84 degree water park while watching a little snow storm swirling around outside. I love that!

Our aquatic adventure came to a close on Monday morning and we slowly shopped and ate our way through Pennsylvania and New Jersey on our way to the Hoffmans in Bridgewater for the first night of Passover.




 

Running Away... The First Threat

Well, it had to happen eventually.

Stella was having a bad day back on March 11th. Her mom was really pissing her off. So she went to the easel and penned this note to Lisa.

In case you can't read it, it says...

"If you don't like me, then set me up for adoption and I am not joking. 

Love, Stella" 

I'm most impressed with the correct spelling and the correct usage of the comma. 

Way to go, Stella!

Brooklyn Nets meet Brooklyn Nuts

It's pretty cool living only 1.1 miles from New York's newest, snazziest arena... Barclays Center. We've been watching the construction over the past few years, and the completed building is very impressive.

Lisa and I saw The Who there a few months ago. But on March 8th we got to take the kids to their first Barclays Center event... a Brooklyn Nets basketball game.

This was actually a P.S. 39 event. About 300 parents and kids from school attended the game against the Washington Wizards.

What made this night extra exciting was that Stella won a contest that allowed her and some other lucky classmates to go onto the court and high-five the Washington players before the game.

Marni wanted to join her sister, but it all got a little too much for her, so she stayed with us and munched on chicken fingers while we watched Stella greet the players.

She was ecstatic!

Stella rejoined us for the game and we spent the next couple of hours cheering, eating and drinking.

Marni spent the entire night gabbing with her classmate, Alexi.

At the end of the game we bid everyone adieu, jumped on the B63 bus, and were home in our beds within a half hour.

Oh... and the Nets crushed the Wizards.

The Valentine's Day Dance

P.S. 39's Valentine's Day Dance took place on February 22nd. This year's dance featured a contest called "Dancing With Our Stars", created by non-other than Stella and Marni's mom... Lisa Shepard.

There were three teams of students, each dancing to a different tune and led by a mashugana teacher.

Lisa was one of the hosts of the contest, and Stella and Marni were in Team #1.

All the kids danced their hearts out. But, in the end, Team 1 did not win.

And, therefore, Marni cried.

Team 1 wins a consolation prize.

Marni plays with her pals.