It's official, we are slowly but surely getting closer to summer. Some might feel from the high temperatures this week that we have already arrived! Warmer temperatures means more outdoor fun and we got some great events and activities to get you outside to soak up some Vitamin D. Have fun exploring and learning about undiscovered parts of nature, celebrate wildlife with wolves (friendly) and butterflies or take part in a sing-a-long with a bunch of roving pirates. Yep, pirates and butterflies in the same post. Get ready for an amazing weekend!

Feel like it's too hot to leave your home? Don't worry: Come this weekend we're looking at temperatures in the 80s and showers (which, frankly, we'll take over this blistering heat!).

Besides, you can't stay home. There's too much to do! Section 2 of the High Line has finally opened, the Bronx River Festival celebrates the borough's waterfront, Madison Square Park's Big Apple Barbecue Block Party and the Lower East Side's Egg Rolls & Egg Cream Festival serve up awesome eats, and the super-cool Figment arts festival takes over Governors Island. And of course you can always hit a New York City beach, water playground or boat ride to cool down.

Read on for this weekend's best bets, and remember, the Mommy Poppins Event Calendar lists many more options. One warning: The rain may dampen some outdoor activities this weekend, so be sure to call ahead or visit the events' official websites to make sure they're still going on.

It's inevitable. I'm pregnant. It’s hot. I am officially an ice cream hunter. But, I’ve been particularly picky about the selection process. Great for local shops on Long Island that specialize in making their own ice cream, bad for my poor husband who has to go out to get it for me! But he can’t deny it either. Long Island’s ice cream shops are a true novelty. Whether it’s the fact that the ice cream is homemade, or that each morning the waffle and sugar cones are made from scratch as well, or maybe it’s the nostalgia that those mom and pop shops evoke. We’ve rounded up some of the best spots for ice cream on Long Island. Chances are, you’ll see my husband at one of these picking up yet another daily round of ice cream for me. Read on to see where to go this summer to cure your ice craving.

Summer in New York City can feel like one season-long music festival. There are an incredible number of free outdoor concert series around town, and my family and I try to hit as many performances as we can. (We never say no to complimentary culture.)

Since we often make a day (or evening) of it, some kind of meal is always involved, and as an ex-Food Network employee, I admit that I can be picky.

Some series, like Celebrate Brooklyn!, have wonderful concessionaires to complement the amazing performances. Others, like Waterside Plaza’s Music Under the Stars, leave the food up to you.

Here are five concert series that promise awesome eats or have great places to pick up snacks nearby.

If your kids like comedy and kung fu, they'll get a big kick out of Jump at New World Stages. This martial arts show from Korea has been touring the world for the past few years (it previously played in NYC during the 2007-2008 season), and it follows in the tradition of Off Broadway offerings like Stomp: wordless spectacles that leap over age and language barriers.

I admit, my daughter and I are not huge martial arts fans. (Is it sexist of me to say it's a boy thing?) Even so, we were wowed by the fast, high-flying feats, and the kids in the audience particularly enjoyed all of the slapstick humor, which is choreographed with Jackie Chan-like precision.

If you want to see this show, you've got to move fast: We just found out that it's closing this Sunday, June 12!

This is the time of year when parents start worrying about how much their kids will forget over the summer. As the mom of a kindergartner who's starting to read on his own, I want to make sure that he continues to leaf  through—and more importantly, love—books. That's why I'm signing him up for Summer Reading.

On Thursday, June 9, New York City’s three public library systems launch the 2011 edition of this wonderful annual program. Since all public school students have that day off, they can attend one of many free kick-off celebrations and sign up for the program, which tracks kids' consumption of books, music, DVDs and video games.

Read on (or better yet, have your kids do it) for the info on Thursday's fetes, and how your children can get in on this summer-long tradition.

Hot enough for you? It's hard to believe that less than six months ago we were enjoying snow days. Now we have 80-plus degree temperatures and hurricane warnings.

The upside to summer seemingly arriving early is you can start enjoying warm-weather activities, like beaches, sprinklers and boat rides. Plus, looks like we have clear skies for all of the incredible fairs and festivals taking place this weekend.

And that's just a bit of what's going on. Here's what we covered this week on Mommy Poppins in NYC, Long Island, New Jersey and Connecticut.  

June. Ahhh… The end of car pools, coats and homework crying fits. The beginning of summer, when the memory-making feels almost visceral. The gluttonous gorging on strawberries; gleeful races to the sea foam; the tucked up legs in the freezing movie theater, and yes, the management of a tremendous amount of wet towels. This weekend kicks it all off with good eats, nature-time, sea life (human and animal), and even some beary nice theatre. Welcome, summer. I feel nostalgic already.