Once Upon A Dream

We went to the Staten Island Yankee ball game last night because our friend, Nailah, was singing "God Bless America" after the 7th inning. She did a great job! We are so proud of her. The girls had a great time at the baseball game. We also got some pictures with the Staten Island Ferry, NYPD, and Scooter the mascot. Gabby got autographs, and the players were really nice to her. We saw the Staten Island 911 memorial for the first time. We will post the video of Nailah singing later.

We went to a new park today that was built down at the end of our neighborhood. There is no playground, but there are paths to walk and a new sprinkler that the girls loved.

We took a quick trip to Kersey, PA last weekend. We tried to pack in as much as we could in the less than 48 hours that we were actually there. We saw almost everyone. When we first arrived, meme had a lot of projects for us to do. First we harvested the tomato garden...Gillian tried to eat them before they were cleaned. Clean or dirty...they were delicious!

Then meme had the little grandchildren put their hand and foot prints on rocks for her garden. They turned out very colorful! Even Connor came over to hang out with his girl cousins...He has gotten so big. He is almost 7 months old, starting to crawl, and standing pretty well with help. He is the apple of Big Dawg and Brandi's eye!

Kailey showed us her new tooth that is coming, and the girls all ran in the sprinkler. They also tried out the new tractor, and celebrated a late fourth of July after dark. Gabby was finally brave enough to try crab legs at Red Lobster, and she loved them!

Meme sent a huge cookie home for Dave because she missed his birthday......
It really was huge. Thanks!

To say it is hot is an understatement. When we are not in the air conditioning, we are in the water somewhere!

We got together today with Aunt Lena and Isabella. It was raining all day, and we had to stay in to play. Gabby made chocolate chip cookies with Aunt Lena. Then, we fingerpainted with chocolate pudding. It was a mess, and it was fun. Take a look at our masterpieces.....

We took the girls to the New York Aquarium in Coney Island. It was something that we haven't done in awhile. This was Gillian's first time there. The girls loved the walrus the most. She was 1800 pounds and a real joker. They also learned a lot about horseshoe crabs and got to pet them. We were excited about that because horseshoe crabs wash up on our beach all the time, and they look very ferocious. We were happy to learn that they are friendly and harmless. Gabby even touched one on the mouth.

The girls spent another hot day outside in the little pool. Gianna came over, and the two older girls started jumping/belly flopping into the water. Gillian got a little messy with her Italian ice. Oh yeah, there was also a congo line at one point.

We have gone to Sesame Place every year since 2004. The girls love it. We spent the entire day there...getting wet, seeing our favorite characters, going to shows, and riding rides. Aunt Lena, Uncle Tony, and Isabella went, too. We got the cutest shot of all three girls sitting at 123 Sesame St. - The infamous stoop. The girls really loved the new character, Abby Cadabby...fairy godmother in training...(we think).

...How fairies take eye exams.....

Some grandparents shouldn't use power tools......

Grampy had a fight with the chainsaw today....
It was a draw between his leg and the machine...
One 911 call and ambulance ride later....
He got 10 stitches.....

We went to Mikey's 4th birthday party at Colors of Fun. This was our first time there, and the girls had a great time. Gillian loved the tunnels and the ball pit. Gabby loved the tunnels and the "Under the Sea" blow up bouncer.

We took a little trip over to the children's museum today. We haven't been there in a long time, and we really enjoyed it despite all the drama. It was very crowded, and Gabby got her finger stuck in one of the hinges on the play fire extinguisher. It seemed like it was going to be very bad, but she was fine. Meme and Papa came along with us, and we bumped into some friends while we were there...(Ally and her family). There was so much to do and see....that we ran out of time. I think we will go back on a day that's not crowded!

Sylvia Weinstock?......

We decided to go somewhere air conditioned today because we are back to our 90 degree weather. Milena and Tony took Isabella to the newly renovated and reopened science center and said it was great. The exhibits were great and the girls loved every minute of the trip....except when one exhibit sneezed on Gabby...she wasn't very happy about that. Here are some of their favorites! The last picture was all Gillian's idea. She pointed to Gabby and told her (with hand signals) to sit beside her. As I was about to take a picture of the cute sisters sitting nicely...Gillian decided to whip up her skirt (she thought she was funny).....and Gabby decided to immitate her.....and they tell us that the younger siblings are the copy cats....

We took Meme and Papa over to the beach to look for seashells. They loved it almost as much as we did....

There was a little trip to the Conference House this evening....a little sight seeing trip for meme and papa. The house (not shown) on this property was a meeting place during the Revolutionary War. Ben Franklin and John Adams met with the British here to negotiate an end to the war, but they were unsuccessful. The grounds are gorgeous, and there is a massive gazebo at the water's edge.

Aunt Mandy and Uncle Steve went to the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, and they brought back this crazy sarcophagus. It came with tools, and you had to dig the mummy out from inside.