The Ultimate Playdate

It was the start of a long President's Day weekend.

As a special treat for S and her "BFF" D, I picked them up from school yesterday for an afternoon playdate and evening show date.

It started with an early dinner at Uno Chicago Grill/Pizzeria where they made their own pizzas...

...and downed a couple of rounds of red/blue slushies.

Talk about sugar rush...
After we got home, they spent about an hour in S's room playing "Cool Girls" (their own term for: "dress-up") and danced/sang to Hannah Montana and High School Musical songs.

Then with only 15 minutes to spare before showtime,  I had to drag them out of S' room where they've been busy primping with baby pink Lillifee lip gloss and pastel eye glitter in preparation for their first night-out together.

LINK:

http://www.prinzessin-lillifee.de/

Fan Yang's Gazillion Bubble Show

(photo credit: soapbubbler)

Fan Yang is a half-Vietnamese, half-Hungarian bubble artist (known more as a "bubble sorcerer") who was born in Vietnam and grew up in Yugoslavia. He now resides in Ontario, Canada.

His ability to create bubble-magic landed him in the Guinness Book of Records - holding multiple titles. Making the "Largest Bubble Wall" (156-ft. long and 13-ft. high), the "Biggest Bubble ever Blown", and the "Most Soap Bubble Domes (twelve) Created Inside One Another" were among his feats.

As soon as we made it to the World Stages Theatre, the girls settled down in their front row seats. They could hardly contain their excitement.

The show was two hours long and had no intermission. I think the fact that it was interactive, fun, and was set to throbbing techno/house and lively jazz music (not to mention the cool laser beams) kept the younger kids from dozing off.

This guy's really unbelievable. At one point, he blew a smoke-filled balloon inside a bigger, clear one. Then he reached inside the outer bubble with his hand and simply plucked the smaller smoke-filled bubble out. Just like that.

Without popping either one!

Did I mention he can also make a square bubble?

Oh - and S got her "15 minutes of fame", too. Fan Yang picked her out from the crowd and brought her onstage for a bit part in the show.

As a gift, she got to take home one of Fan's Ultimate Bubble Toy for free!

Fan Yang's Gazillion Bubble Show is ongoing until Sept. 2, 2007.

Fan Yang with D and S

LINK:

http://www.gazillionbubbleshow.com/

Central Park Winter Jam 2007

For the past few weeks we've had days with single-digit temperatures, yet not a single speck of snow fell. I've had my share of frostbite-like "burns" at the back of my hands and knuckles that no amount of salve can soothe - yet not a single snowflake I saw.

We've been waiting and waiting. Everyone anticipating.

As a last resort, P and I took S to the Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park last weekend for their annual Winter Jam. The main crowd drawer was the fact that event organizers brought their own snow! There was cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, a snow boarding ramp...

They even built an igloo for the kids.

What was a bit ridiculous was the fact that we had to freeze our asses off while we stood in line for about half-an-hour before we could even get in the roped area to play with the "snow".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzDUERtyDf0

Among other attractions were pro-snow boarders during tricks and flips on a trampoline, ice-sculpting demos, and great music provided by Jibbs and DJ Mark Ronson.

Dunkin' Donuts provided free hot chocolate and in another tent, cups of hot apple cider were given away freely as well.

S and friend (above) playing with measly 3-inch man-made snow.
Winter is hands down, my least favorite season of the year. But I must admit - it'll suck even more if we don't get the chance to have a thick blanket of powdered soft snow covering the streets, tree branches, and rooftops at least once before Spring finally pops its purty tuliped-head in.

I thought I'd never say this but the fact is, I'm sure GLAD were having this snowstorm TODAY. Bring it on!!

LINK:

http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_newsroom/daily_plants/daily_plant_main.php?id=20038