Doctor Olivia, Gemma the Cowgirl and a Transformer named Logan gathered in the lobby on October 31st for the annual Halloween festivities in Olivia's building. It was packed with kids, parents, grandparents and the usual assortment of residents stepping over kids just trying to get home. The party featured music, clowns, balloon animals, chips & Pizza! Following that, everyone went trick or treating through the building. Fun...fun...fun. Enjoy the photos and movies! Earlier in the day, Olivia celebrated "Orange Day" at her school, where everyone dressed up in something orange and they had more fun and games .

Tags: Halloween, Olivia, Gemma, Logan

This past summer we took what has become our annual summer trek to Coney Island with Olivia and our friends Rich & Shannon. Rich & I rode the Cyclone; Shannon & Olivia joined us on the Wonder Wheel; Olivia rode lots of rides at Deno's; we "lunched" at Totonno's and of course we went to Astroland. Astroland's property was bought by a developer, and after it closed this fall, it may never reopen. The developer wants to build something much slicker and sterile than the current version of Coney Island. Although there is still hope for Coney Island, when big business and big real estate comes a-callin, it never looks good.

Tags: Olivia, Coney Island, Rich & Shannon

This past summer we took Poppy to the Trolley Museum in Branford, where Poppy took me when I was a kid. We took a trolly ride, had a tour through the car barns and then, of course, took a spin through the gift shop. Here are some pictures and movies. Enjoy!!

Tags: Trains, Olivia, Poppy

Last Halloween was a very busy one for Olivia. First, she went to the Pumpkin Festival in Orange, then she participated in "Orange Day" at her school, where everyone dressed up in something orange. And finally, her friend Gemma came over and they celebrated Halloween in our building. Gemma was a princess and Olivia was Dorthy from the Wizard Of Oz. First they went to the party in the lobby, where there was music, clowns & Pizza! Following that, everyone went trick or treating through the building. Fun...fun...fun. Enjoy the photos!

Tags: Halloween, Gemma

Last August, we spent a week in the Poconos at a house of good friends of Millie's. While there, we went to the GDS Fair, a country fair and carnival; a water park; outlet shopping and spent a lot of time in the pool. At the fair, there were lots of rides, the "worlds biggest ice cream sunday," folk music, crafts and a really weird bus that's been rebuilt to look like a steam train, complete with a coal car "rumble seat" section. Lots of fun. Enjoy the pictures.

Tags: Poconos

This really great set of pictures capture some fun and random moments from throughout 2006. There are shots at home, at the playground, Sesame Place, the Poconos, Poppy's and various festivals and events in Connecticut and New York. A lot of them are from our camera phones, so they look a little fuzzy, but are still great pictures. Have a look here.

Tags: Photos

My poor neglected website. How I've betrayed you! With updated software that makes it much easier to update the site and post pictures, I present the triumphant return of Calamita.Com with great photos of our recent trip to Coney Island via a 1925 era subway train compliments of the New York Transit Museum fan trip that was a Father's Day gift from Olivia and Emily. Also, we have pictures of apple picking at Wilkens Farm in Yorktown Heights, NY. And there's also some great pictures from Olivia's Thanksgiving celebration at her school. And finally we have photos from last Thanksgiving dinner at the Grammatico's. Enjoy.

Here are some "new" photos from last fall.

Halloween was a big event this year, a week long extravaganza, actually! First her school had it's annual Halloween party on the roof of the building, complete with a hay ride and the costume parade. Then it was on to Sesame Place for their annual Halloween day, which is always a blast. And then it was our building's Haloween party and trick or treating through the building. Emily helped organize the party in the lobby. "Trick or Treating" in NYC is a very efficient affair, at least in our building. First, people put their names on a sign up sheet if they are going hand out candy. Then, during the party, someone will type up and copy a list of the apartments that have candy. At the end of the party, the kids tend to go upstairs in groups, so the whole thing is over pretty quickly. Here are the Halloween pictures.

Also, we have photos of the "Jamma Ramma Concert" which featured kids bands that are on the Noggin cable channel. It was unbelievably crowded and was in Roseland Ballroom, which is huge. Olivia had a great time as you can see. Here are some pictures.

Finally, here are some pictures from here and there that I took last fall.

Yesterday we took our second trip of the season to Coney Island, this time accompanied by Rich and Shannon. Olivia absolutely loves the place, and I realized yesterday that except for Sesame Place near Philadelphia, this is the only amusement park she has been to. How New York of us! Last time, we spent most of the day at Deno's, where the Wonder Wheel is, but yesterday we also went to Astroland for the first time and discovered that it has much better kiddie rides than Denos, not to mention The Cyclone rollercoaster. It wouldn't be a trip to Coney Island for us without stopping at Totanno's Pizza, whose pies are close to Wooster Street, certainly the best in NYC. Here are some pictures and movies from yesterday.

Tags: Olivia, Coney Island, Rich & Shannon

Check out the new movies I just added!