Waaahooooooo!

Yesterday morning I got a call from one of my sisters.  She was inviting me to go to Dorney Park in Allentown, Pennsylvania with her.  My niece was going too!  I could not have been more excited. You see, our brother, Joe, had given us season passes to Dorney Park back at Christmastime.  My brother, sisters and I were hoping to get a chance to all go together.  This had not happened yet so Mary, Megan and I set out to ride some rides on our own since it was such a BEAUTIFUL day.

My 8 year old niece, Megan, was fearless!  Even when her mom or aunt did not want to go on a particular roller coaster she set out to ride it herself...in the front car!!!  I was so proud of her!

After we went on all of the rollercoasters and ate lunch we decided to go to the Wildwater Kingdom of Dorney Park to slide down the waterslides.  It was a great day all in all.  I am hoping before Dorney Park closes for the year I can make it out there again with my family.  I will certainly keep you posted if that happens!!

Bring on the New School Year!

I set up the classroom today and became overwhelmingly excited for the new school year. As I opened new boxes of supplies I thought of how thankful I am for the unmatched beauty of perfectly grouped, new crayons. My teaching job continues to give me colorful opportunities to work with amazing colleagues and enchanting children.  

Happy National Dog Day!

This post is dedicated to my dog, Freddy.  He is my very best friend.  Freddy is a wonderful listener, athlete, dance partner and cuddler.  Please enjoy the pictures of my furry buddy...

Running at the dog park

This is when we visited the beach Thanksgiving weekend.

The snow really excites Freddy.

Freddy loves to shop at PetSmart.

Freddy loves spaghetti!

Relaxing at the park while Ms. Tricarico does schoolwork

Playing with friends at the dog park

On vacation in North Carolina

I walked to Pennsylvania AGAIN!

Today I took a walk across the Delaware River from Lambertville, New Jersey to New Hope, New Jersey.  I had a wonderful day with my sister and my niece.  We ate lunch, walked along the river and along the canal, looked in shops and ate ice cream together.  You should check out these towns.  They are a lot of fun for a day trip!

http://www.visitnewhope.com/

Ms. Tricarico with her niece, Megan, on the bridge

A Walk to Pennsylvania

Today I took a trip to Frenchtown, New Jersey.  It is a town full of nice shops and restaurants along the river.  I really went to see a favorite teacher of mine, who I knew was still living in Frenchtown.  Ms. Lent was one of my high school English teachers and I had not seen her for 17 years!  She does not teach in a school anymore.  She teaches art to people in her town.  She teaches them how to write in a fancy way called Calligraphy.  She also creates art with henna.  It was so nice to be able to talk with Ms. Lent for a little while as she created temporary tattoos with henna on some of her customers.  She is very talented.  Click on the C to check out her website (Calligraphy by Catherine)!

After seeing Ms. Lent, I was able to shop in some of the stores in Frenchtown.  I walked down to the river to see the fish, and I decided to take a walk across the bridge.  It was neat to think that one minute I was in Frenchtown, New Jersey and then after a couple of minutes of walking I was in Uhlerstown, Pennsylvania...a whole different state!  I do this sometimes in Lambertville, New Jersey while walking to New Hope, Pennsylvania as well.  If you are looking for a nice day trip, you should try it!

Breakfast and Bicycles Part II

You may remember that a while ago I went to visit my brother in Manayunk, Pennsylvania.  In my blog post I spoke about all of the people who rode their bicycles to breakfast.  Well, I was so inspired by those cyclists that I thought I would bike to breakfast today in Wildwood Crest, New Jersey.

I rode my bike and had a delicious breakfast on the rooftop of a building.  I had a great view of all of the surfers in the ocean.  Afterwards, my belly was so full.  It gave me plenty of energy to keep riding my bicycle to check out the sights.  Check out the pictures below to see what I saw today!

 

Here I am in Wildwood Crest.

I saw a dolphin and whale watching boat.

I saw a pirate ship!

I saw a fishing boat.

The Great Outdoors

My oldest sister came to visit me this weekend.  We decided we wanted to do something outside, because the weather was going to be beautiful.  The first thing we did was take Freddy (my dog) to the dog park to run around.  We didn't think it would be nice to make him stay inside all day when it was so nice and sunny outside.

Next, we dropped Freddy back home and I drove just a few minutes away from my house to the canal. A canal is a big, long ditch dug by people and then filled with water.  It looks a little like a stream or river.  I live near the D&R Canal.  It is not far from you either!

We rented kayaks at Griggstown Canoe and Kayak Rental.  You can find more information about it here: http://www.canoenj.com/griggs1.htm

We had a great time paddling down the canal.  There were a lot of children out with their families.  We saw turtles and snakes in the water.  It was a lot of fun to be out exercising in the fresh air!

Keep Going Yankees!

I had the chance to see the Yankees in action again this past Monday.  This time I watched a home game at Yankee Stadium.  It was a great time, and they won again!

Happy Toes!

My feet really love my new ice skates, but my toes have been looking forward to something more summery....the sandy beach!  Finally, yesterday, I got myself to the beach on a sunny day.  My toes couldn't have been happier than they were there in the sand.

After stopping by school to check for mail (boohoo...I had nothing in my mailbox), I went to Long Branch Beach, New Jersey with one of my old teacher friends.  We had a lot of fun talking in the sun. We also took time to walk around the town to shop.  Then, we ate dinner outside while watching the lifeguards practice their swimming in the ocean.  It was a great time!

I sent my friend, Katie, a postcard a few weeks ago.  The postcard had directions on the front about how to build a sandcastle.  I thought it was so cool to hear that she brought my postcard down to the beach with her to follow the directions to build her own sandcastle.  I think I'll send some more fun postcards out soon!!  Would you like one?  Leave a comment to let me know...or write me a letter to let me know.

Now I Know What Tigger Feels Like

Last night I went to a trampoline park. Trampolines are very bouncy and can help people to jump high into the air.  It was great exercise for me. My friend and I went to jump around at Rebounderz in Edison, New Jersey. What a fun time! There were a lot of workers there who helped us to do our best and to learn some tricks. We practiced our flips in the Foam Pit and we practiced dunking basketballs with the help of a trampoline too. It was a great idea for a rainy night!

I listened carefully to the rules and learned how to work on my flips safely.
Anytime I wasn't sure of something I asked someone
who worked at the trampoline park to help me.

I did some reading about trampolines and found out an amazing fact! Did you know that a long time ago (1934), a 16 year old kid helped to invent the trampoline? His name was George Nissen. Kids are so amazing and think of wonderful ideas.

Parents, please remember to foster your child's imagination this summer. Imaginations lead to creativity. Creativity leads to problem solving. Children will blow our minds, as long as we give them the freedom to show us what they can do! See what I mean by watching the video below. It has been a favorite of mine ever since my sister shared it with me two years ago. Also, check out the books below about inventions. It will be a rainy few days...a great time to visit the local library!!!