Once Upon A Dream

You know it is summer around here when they turn the sprinklers on at the playground. This is definitely a highlight in our family. We went to the playground down the block after lunch today and ran around in the sprinklers. Later we took Daddy out to celebrate his graduation. On the way home, we saw Cinderella's coach parked across the street from our house. It was amazing!

Melinda and Kailey came to visit this weekend, and we went to Liberty Island and Ellis Island. The girls had a great time riding the train and the ferry. They couldn't believe how big the statue was in real life.

Gabriella had her first gymnastics recital today. She showed us what she learned throughout the year. She recieved a ribbon and got some special pictures taken with Ms. Kina (Bulgarian national champion 1974)...and with Miss Kerry and Miss Toni. All the little gymnasts looked adorable, and they were all trying so hard to impress mom and dad.

We are trying to get used to our new schedule with no preschool. We have been outside a lot because the weather has been gorgeous and cool. Gabby's friend, Maria, came over with her family early in the week. We swam in our new giraffe pool that Gillian got for her birthday from Kailey. Today, the girls played inside. Gillian loves to wear back pack. She wore her around all day and posed for the camera. After all that hard work, she was very thirsty. We were taking it easy today because Gabby has a big day tomorrow....You will have to check us out tomorrow night to see what happened!

This morning we walked down along the pier and boardwalk.....Later in the day, Gabby's dance company danced in the center court of the mall. They danced to....Girls Just Want To Have Fun! They really did have fun.

Gabby had her last dance class for the 06-07 year. She only has rehearsal and her recital left. She had a great time this year. There are also a couple shots of Gillian playing around the house....and Gabby dressed for bed....with all her friends!

Gabriella, Gianna, and Gillian had a playdate today...First the playground...where they met up with the ice cream man and the sprinklers. Then we traveled to our house out of the heat where there was dress up, drama, and painting....

It has been dreary and rainy during the last couple days. Gabby has been practicing her cartwheel non-stop, and Gillian has been spotting her...(not really - but she had to get in on the action somehow).

Gianna turned "3" today, and we went to Party Jungle to help her celebrate. She was so excited, and everyone had a great time!

We had a surprise party for Dave, today. It was a small gathering of family and a few friends. Of course it was a Star Wars theme party. Everyone had fun dressing up! There was even a trivia game! Dave and Ian won that hands down! Gabby dressed up like princess Leia (spelling?). Ian was dressed like young Skywalker....and lots of other people had theme shirts. Here are some shots from the day. Sorry we didn't get everyone....it was a busy day!

We celebrated with some very special dad's today. Mike was up to visit from Virginia, and he had Father's Day breakfast with us before going back to celebrate with his family. Mike was the best man in our wedding and one of Dave's very best friends. Dave spoke at church today, and he and Gabby had dinner at Grammy and Grampy's this afternoon. Uncle Tony was there with Aunt Lena and Isabella. Gillian had a fever this morning so she was in bed most of the day. Happy Father's Day to all the dad's out there!

Gabby played with her friend, Ally, today. They had a great time and ended the day running in the sprinkler (an elephant). Gillian was still feeling under the weather, so Gabby was learning how to sew because we had to stay inside. She really liked it a lot!

Gabriella is almost finished with dance class this year. She had her group pictures done today, and Aunt Mandy took her individuals awhile ago. The red outfit is her tap number and the music is "Cuban Pete". The pink outfit is for jazz/ballet and the music is "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun". Here are the shots along with some candids....

It was raining for most of today. Gianna came over to play. The girls got very hyper and silly....and they didn't even have any sugar! It was enough to keep them entertained until the sun came out!

We spent a little time in Syracuse this weekend. The girls swam in the pools and met new friends. Surprisingly all the new friends were from the NYC area....It is a small world! We found out that we have not only one child that is part fish, but two. Gillian loves to jump into the pool... I am taking liberties when I say, "jump"....she gets about as much lift as a 13 month old can get...hahaha

Aunt Lena had her gallbladder removed a few days ago, and we went over to visit her. She is such a trooper. You can't even tell that she had an operation in these pics. Gillian and Gabriella enjoyed playing with Isabella's toys, and then Gillian tried to leave the house with Grammy's purse.

Dance X-press had their annual dance recital rehearsal at the College of Staten Island this afternoon. We picked up Gianna and Anita...and the girls were so excited....especially when Miss Alli came into the auditorium!

Then they stretched....

rehearsed....and took some group shots!

We ended our day with lilies and bubble beards....ahhhh, life is good!

We had a huge playdate today at Isabella's house. We went over to help Aunt Lena, but we don't know if she really got any rest. She probably felt more tired than rested after we spent the entire day there. Three little ones are difficult to keep up with. How do some families manage? We had such a fantastic time....playing, swimming.....etc. The girls were so wiped out by the time that we left, that they fell asleep right before dinner. We tried to get shots of the two babies with their "one" year old t-shirts. We have been planning to get these candids for months. Now the shirts are a little too small, and we saw a lot of baby belly hanging out all day! It was cute. Thanks for the fun day and cute shirts, Aunt Milena.....We hope you were able to relax after we left.

It was so hot in NYC today that we felt a little crispy. We took the girls down to the playground with the sprinklers...and got completely drenched. We felt great after that. We didn't care about the heat any more. We also caught the ice cream truck. These pictures are priceless because Gillian gobbled her baby cone down in no time. Then she saw Gabby eating hers and wondered where her ice cream had gone (raised hands). Finally...she took one more look at Gabby's and got very angry. It is hard to be little!

We are proud to announce that we are getting rid of the high chair. I don't know why we ever used one in the first place. We don't have enough room in our kitchen! It was exciting moving on to the booster seat....We may not even need this tray because the booster fits perfectly with our table. I am looking forward to easily wiping the seat of the booster....no fabric or crevices...(nasty). The girls played and waited for Daddy to come in the door....(Daddy's girls)

Gabriella had her dance recital today. We had a whole process to go through in order to be ready. The recital was at night, but here are a few funny shots from earlier when Gabby was getting her hair done. There was a scuffle between sisters, and one big sister had an attitude check....you can see it playing out in these three pictures.....

Aunt Lena was kind enough to do our make up for us....She is the make up artist extraordinare!

Introducing....."Cuban Pete" - (third from the right)

....and "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun". - (pink outfit on the right)

After a long night the girls received their trophies and awards....What a wonderful year!