Playmobil Camping!

One of my favorite summer activities is going camping! Violet agrees with me, of course. In fact, she and I have been camping together many times, from Cape Cod to Zion. However, yesterday it was pouring rain- definitely not a good day to play with our tent in the courtyard! Instead, we got out this little Playmobil camping set. Isn't it cute? It even has a tiny camping stove!



I have been waiting for this set to come out- I'm so glad my parents got it for me! I am not allowed to take my Playmobil outside, because tiny pieces are easy to lose in the grass. Still, it was fun to set up the tent and camping scene up on my craft table. I love to play with my Playmobil sets, but it is even more fun to play with Violet because she gives the characters the best voices!



Violet loves how the dad in the set didn't shave! He has little dots all over his face! She also loves the bright yellow tent.



Here is the little scene up close. Aren't the figures cute? I can't wait until it is time for me to go camping again. My mom and I have been poring over all of our different travel guides, thinking up places to camp. Of course, our family favorite is Cape Cod! I am hoping to go there this summer, but my moms say that we'll have to see.

Have you ever been camping? Where did you go? The mountains? The beach?

In this entry I'm wearing: yellow and white striped shirt from Our Generation at Target, green shorts from Royal Doll Boutique. Violet is wearing overalls and purple tee from American Girl.

Blogging for LGBT Families Day: Why My Family is Special!

Today is a special day- it's Blogging for LGBT Families Day! My family is special because I have two mothers- Mama and Mom! We all live together with our cats, Chaika and Nico.

Our family is special because we love to spend time together traveling, especially to National Parks.  You probably already know this, but I am a proud Junior Ranger at many different parks.  Our family is special because we speak English and Russian at home.  Our family is special because we live in New York City and love to visit all the different museums and neighborhoods here.

I'm proud to be part of an LGBT family! What makes your family special?

On the Beach with Zoya

On Saturday, my friend Zoya Yumiko came to the beach with me and my family. The sun was shining and the gulls were crying; it was a beautiful day. Zoya and I wandered around looking for sea glass, but we didn't find any.



Zoya lives in my building and we're good friends. She is a little shy, so I think she was relieved when Violet decided to stay home with my mom and read. Zoya is really fun. After we gave up on finding sea glass, we pretended we were explorers who had discovered a secret island which no one had ever visited.



It was a wonderful afternoon at the beach. We stayed until the sun began to set and then we headed home to our neighborhood. I'm glad Zoya came along!

In this entry, Zoya and I are wearing tees and shorts from Royal Doll Boutique on etsy.

Central Park with Coral and Kanani

This week, Coral and I had the good fortune of making a new friend! Kanani was visiting from Canada. Since we were online friends, our parents said we could all meet up to hang out! Coral's au pair chaperoned us and went to Central Park! In this photo, you can see Coral and Kanani at the Central Park Zoo. It's a really small zoo, but we had fun seeing the red pandas (they were really active)and the snow leopard. The polar bear was looking really sad, so we didn't stay by him for very long.



Down by the sea lion pool there were lots of daffodils, so we played in them! Aren't they beautiful? Can you tell Kanani and Coral apart? Coral has brown eyes and Kanani has hazel eyes. Plus, Kanani has very, very long hair!



Here we are by The Pond at the southern end of Central Park. We climbed on the little bridge for a photo. There were lots of tourists doing the same thing. It was fun for me and Coral to pretend we were just visiting. Sometimes, when a friend visits from out of town, we can see our city through their eyes.



We decided to walk along the paths until we came to Columbus Circle. We found daffodils mixed in with beautiful bluey-purple flowers. Do you know what they are called?



After a lot of walking (poor Coral was in heels, even!), we made to the fountain at Lincoln Center. Kanani mentioned that it was a lot calmer there than the bustle of Midtown. Coral nodded and told her that she and I love to come and sit on the fountain before ballet class and watch the people go by. We are so lucky to live in New York City and even luckier to get to share it with a friend like Kanani!

In this entry I'm wearing: shirt and pants by Dynamite Threads. Coral is wearing a sweater by Qute, a shirt by Liberty Jane Clothing, and a skirt by Royal Doll Boutique. Kanani is wearing clothing from American Girl.

Trail Riding

One of the great things about being homeschooled is that you have the time to do all sorts of things during the week. This afternoon, my parents took me and Violet on a trail ride on the bridle path in the park. Violet and I are not very experienced riders, but the workers at the stables chose two gentle horses for us so we were fine. We walked all through the park, looking up at the tall city buildings surrounding the oasis of grass and trees.



We rounded a corner in the path and saw a girl standing with her horse. "Hi!" she called. "I'm Cobie! Want to ride together?"



We carefully got off our horses and walked over to talk to the new girl. Her name is Jacoba Saige and she's an experienced rider. She invited me and Violet to finish off the rest of the trail back to the stables with her.



The three of us rode together with my moms not far behind. We had a great time in the park riding horses! Plus, it was awesome getting to meet Cobie. It turns out she only lives a few blocks from me! I hope we'll get to see more of her soon.

Have you ever ridden a horse? What was it like?

In this entry I'm wearing: tee, jeans, boots, and helmet by American Girl. Violet is wearing: tee by The Beach Shack, pants by Dynamite Threads, and boots by American Girl.

Jamaica Bay with Violet

This afternoon Violet and I went to Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. Jamaica Bay is one of my favorite places to go with my family.  Unfortunately, we haven't been since the fall.   This fall, there was a hurricane and there was damage at Jamaica Bay.  There was a breach in the barrier between the saltwater bay and the freshwater pond.  Usually, we hike around the pond, but because of the breach, you can no longer do that.



Luckily, the birds didn't seem to know the difference! We saw swans, Canada geese, an osprey, and an egret or heron (not sure which!).  Here's Violet looking at a goose swimming in the West Pond.  Violet was pleased to be back at Jamaica Bay, but she was sad about the pond breach.  When the pond was breached, the freshwater fish died. Isn't that sad? The ranger reminded us that it was nature's way, but we were still sad for all the fish.



Here's Violet on the path back to pond.  There were lots of things washed up in the little forest area along the path where we have walked so many times before.  The benches and signs were mostly washed away.  My family was very lucky that the hurricane did not cause much damage to our neighborhood.  Many families in our part of the country were not so lucky.  Violet and I kept those families in our thoughts today.




Here I am with Violet at the Visitor Center. I'm glad we got to talk to the rangers about the park.  They are planning to fill in the breach.  I thought they might build a bridge, but filling the breach would be less expensive than building a safe bridge.

Have you ever been on a hike? What did you see?

In this entry I'm wearing: purple tee by Royal Doll Boutique, shorts, socks, vest, and boots by American Girl.

Painting!

This week is spring break from ballet class, so I took the afternoon off to try out my new easel and paints!



First I painted Shama, my favorite red panda. She lives at the National Zoo in a big enclosure full of branches to climb. Here she is, sleeping on a branch. Doesn't she look cute?



Then I painted a portrait of Ice Bat. He's one of my favorite characters. See the little color blending chart on the lower left of the easel? My friend Aurora taught me to make one of those so I would know how my colors would turn out. Have you ever painted a picture? What kind of paints did you use?

In this entry I'm wearing: jeans and socks from American Girl, tee from Dynamite Threads. 

Puzzle Time

Today Violet and I decided to make the puzzle I got for New Year!



This is the puzzle we decided to do- it's Cheburashka and Crocodile Gena, from the Russian cartoons.



First, I carefully dumped out the pieces onto the table and made sure none of them fell on the floor.



Then Violet and I carefully separated the edge pieces from the rest. We started with the edges and then worked inward. I think this is a good puzzle strategy, but I'm not an expert! The pieces are really tiny, don't you think?



Here's Violet the with the puzzle when we were almost finished. It took us so long that it got dark outside!



We did it! Hurrah! Have you ever built a puzzle? What was the picture?

In this entry I'm wearing: shirt from Royal Doll Boutique (hand embroidered by my Mama) and jeans from American Girl Place. 

Celebrating Hina Matsuri

Hi! It's me, Inky! Tonight I'm learning about a Japanese holiday called Hina Matsuri, or Girls' Day, with my friends Zoya Yumiko and Violet. Hina Matsuri is celebrated by Japanese families on March 3.

This is my friend Zoya Yumiko. She's half Japanese and used to live in Japan, so she knows all about Hina Matsuri.

On Hina Matsuri, families set up little scenes with dolls called hina ningyo. The dolls represent the traditional court of the Heian period.

Zoya is still collecting, so her set isn't complete. See the little emperor and empress? They're kitties!

Violet is here too! Zoya brought over really pretty, special cards for me and Violet.Violet was especially thrilled because she has actually been to Japan! She and Zoya chattered away about all their favorite things about the country.

See the card? It has the hina ningyo figures on it. Awesome!

Thanks for celebrating Hina Matsuri with us!

Does your family celebrate any special spring holidays?

In this entry: I'm wearing jeans from American Girl and a shirt from etsy.  Zoya and Violet are wearing outfits from American Girl.

Playthings Academy Awards!

I was just nominated for Best Writing (best blog) on the American Girl Playthings messageboard. Thank you to the Playthings community for the honor! If you are a member there and you'd like to vote for me, please visit this thread on AG Playthings messageboard!

I am up against another awesome blog, that of my friend Sabine, Sandrine, and Aurélie. Make sure you go check out their blog too! Thanks so much!

Love, Inky