Jodi Call wrote a great piece for us this summer with four excellent outings and I thought it was so great I invited Jodi to write for us more often. Jodi thought it was so great, she started her own blog; Pistols and Popcorn follows her amazing adventures around New York with her son, Roan. Here's, hopefully, one of many awesome posts from Jodi:

“What kind of thing do you want to do this week-end?” It’s the question I pose to my son, Roan. But we both know I’ve always got something in mind. This week he tried to trip me up with this: “I want to do nothing, but we can do it outside.” Oh brother, mister. You’ve no idea who you’re messing with.

This weekend is the 2008 Art Under the Bridge Festival. This is the 12^th year of the festival, and my 3^rd year as a devotee. After a summer full of orchestrated outings and a few weeks of structured school days, the timing couldn’t be better for an entire weekend of chaotic fun with your kids.

Want to play? Here's what's happening today.

Play:
Get free Ice Cream at Stone Cold Creameries today from 5 to 8pm. Although not required, guests are encouraged to make a donations for the Make a Wish Foundation to help terminally ill children. To find the Cold Stone Creamery location nearest you, go to www.coldstonecreamery.com.

Buy:
Kids Rx, the child-focused, alternative pharmacy is opening a new location in Park Slope. Kids Rx specializes in flavoring medications and serving them up in palatable forms that kids can, well, swallow. Rather than struggle to get the pills down, Kids Rx offers medications in lollipop, gummy bear, pudding and other kid-friendly forms. There is a $5 flavoring fee, but otherwise your prescription will cost the same as filling it at any other drug store, and they do take insurance.

We've got a family portrait session with amazing photographer Jeff Cassuto, a Jeep Overland Limited Jogging Stroller and a Baby Gift Package from Giggle, plus more and we want to give them to you.

Share your pictures and win! Click to read more, or upload your photos here.

The Guide
The best Halloween Parades for kids, the top places to Trick or Treat in NYC, (not too scary) Haunted Houses, and more. Find it all out in our Halloween Fun Guide.

[UPDATED: 9/21/08]

Growing up in New York City, one of our family traditions was going apple picking in the Hudson Valley every Fall. It's a tradition I've enjoying continuing with my own kids because it's a great day out in the country, it's economical (considering the price of apples from FreshDirect), and it's even trendy (if you're into the locavore thing). It's a great activity for Columbus Day Weekend, but there are also a bunch of free Apple Festivals right here in NYC if you don't feel like taking the kids traveling.

September 19th is International Talk Like a Pirate Day (but really, can't Pirates pretty much just board and take over any day they want?) and to celebrate we thought we'd share a really cool program we just heard about. The Striking Viking Story Pirates are a terrific comedy troop that have nothing to do with pirates except that they steal their ideas from kids stories, comics or barely-legible sentences, and turn them into ridiculous shows performed by puppets and costumed grown ups who wish they were kids, or puppets, or both. Jon Stewart raved about it on Larry King (You know, that crazy, fun kid show) and I'm raving now, in piratese. So avast, me hearties, go smartly and purview the Striking Viking Story Pirates 'ere I slap your bung hole with a hornpipe, aye!

Sometimes the streets of NYC can be the most magical place in the world. This will become true for the next nine days when Bhutanese ritual dancers will be appearing throughout the city every day to perform their mesmerizing ancient Tantric Buddhist demon subjugation dance, called Cham. The elaborate costumes of the 13 monks who will be performing are enough to make this event spectacular, but the performance, a kind of danced yoga, makes this a once in a lifetime occurrence.

Bhutan is a tiny, secretive and isolated kingdom in the Himalayas, with very little outside influence and extremely limited tourism is allowed, making the opportunity to see the Bhutanese monks dancing on the streets of our city, for free, an absolutely not to be missed opportunity.