Once Upon A Dream

Last weekend, we took Gabby and Gillian to their first 3-D IMAX movie....At first Gillian didn't know what was going on....stuff was popping off the big screen. It was really funny to watch. They really enjoyed it and wanted to go back right away. So did we!

We took a little weekend trip to Rochester. The girls loved staying in the hotel...and revisiting Strong's National Museum of Play. We just can't get enough of that place. We still haven't seen everything.

These were some of our first stops. The diner above is actually an indoor exhibit, but you can really sit in the restaurant and eat.

Gillian's favorite stop is the Grocery Store. It has almost anything that you would want to buy and working conveyor belts and cash registers.

Gabby's favorite stop was the butterfly pavillion. All was nice and serene until Gillian backed up onto a butterfly and CRUNCH! She was so sad....and it put a slight damper on the butterfly exhibit. (Disclaimer: NO BUTTERFLYS WERE HURT DURING THE TAKING OF THESE PICTURES)

Last year when we were at the museum, we visited a Clifford exhibit. This year, Clifford was gone, but Mr. Potato Head took his place. It was sooooo cool!

Gabby went to Katie's house to help her celebrate her 6th birthday. The party had a western theme because Katie loves horses. Gabby had a great time playing with friends that she usually only sees on Wednesday night. She also liked dressing up like a cowgirl and playing outside horse games. She tried to lasso the stuffed horse, and she lassoed herself instead.

Last week, we discovered this bird in our yard while we were waiting for the bus. He was sitting under one of our bushes with a pile of feathers around him. At first we thought that he was injured, but as we got closer, we realized that he had caught another bird and de-feathered it. He had a clump of meat in his talon and flew over to the neighbor's fence. We have no idea what kind of bird he was. Any ideas?

Easter Bunny stopped at Aunt Lena's house and left several clues for the girls to find a large gold egg full of goodies. It was funny....

We colored eggs with Isabella on Good Friday!

Aunt Mandy took the girls over to a carnival that was across the street from her house last weekend. They loved the dragon roller coaster, and I think that Aunt Mandy rides it like a champ! HA! - (hands in the air aunt mandy)

Uncle Steve and Aunt Mandy had a big Easter dinner at their house for all of Steve's family the day before Easter. They cooked for 40 people....the food was fantastic! We did all kinds of Easter crafts, there was tons of candy, an egg hunt for the kids, and we got to see Sophia (Steve's niece)....She is soooo cute! Easter bunny showed up to say "hi" to all the kids.

While in Staten Island, we visited Snug Harbor Children's Museum. The last time that we went there with Isabella, it was 2007, and Gilli and Bella were just turning one. Take a look at these two pictures.....(the two little girls have switched places in the pictures)

The girls were glad to be back at the museum...and Gianna showed up to explore, too.

The girls played outside at Aunt Lena and Uncle Tony's house. First it was...Humpty Dumpty on Bella's wall. Then they moved to the back yard to catch their shadows and sprinkle pixi dust. That night they had a sleepover at Grammy's house.

The night and morning before church.....

After church

Isabella invited us to go to her preschool program at her neighborhood library. She introduced her cousins to her teacher/librarian, Mrs. Morales. The theme for the day was Mary had a Little Lamb. Gabby and Gilli got to wear their new dresses that they got from Meme and Papa! Thanks! xoxox

Aunt Lena had the idea to do a fancy little lady tea party. We had real raspberry tea and yummy finger foods. The girls dressed up super fancy with jewels, white gloves, and feather boas....

The girls made a sugar cookie bunny house....It turned out very colorful, but I am honestly surprised that any of the frosting made it onto the house.

We visited our favorite Hibachi restaurant in Staten Island over Easter vacation. It was Gillian's first time there that she could remember. She and Gabby had not visited since Bella's first birthday party there. They loved it. Gillian especially loved the onion soup and birthday cake. The cook who made our food made us a volcano (out of onions) and a snowman (out of rice). It was all ssoooooo delicious!

Over Easter break, we took the three girls to Liberty Science Center in New Jersey. There was so much to learn and explore.

The city showed up the other day and got rid of our lovely moat. We won't really miss it.

Now that it is getting warmer...we are finding ourselves at the playground more and more. There is no shortage on brand new playgrounds around here....I would have loved this when I was little.

Gabby got to go to the bowling alley again last weekend for a bowling party for her friend, Dylan. She had a lot of fun seeing her friends....especially after being on break all week.

We went to Briana's birthday party at Tumbling Tykes over the weekend. The girls always have fun there. They even got to use the zip line...which is usually closed when Gillian goes to her regular classes. They love to play with Briana and her baby sister, Kirin. Isn't Kirin getting big? She is almost one and almost walking!

Gabby was supposed to bring into school some signs of spring for her science table last week. Everything was budding in our yard, so she picked tree and bush buds, clovers, dandelions...and created this picture to display. She had fun drawing the birds. You may remember the mysterious bird that was in our yard a few weeks ago. Thanks to Ms. Conboy and her birder friend, we were able to determine that the bird was a Sharp Shinned Hawk.

Here is Gillian putting a face to the emotion given to her....what an actress!

Happy, Bored, Interested

Mischievous, Surprised, Shy

Angry, Proud, Scared

Our Magnolia tree was so damaged during our December ice storm, that we were unsure if it was going to make it. It has made it, and it did bloom. It is a little patchy...not many branches on one side, but it should be ok after a few years.