Once Upon A Dream

We have been using some ingredients around the kitchen to create some science projects. Here is an especially bubbly one that got a lot of laughs....Thank God for platters because this potion bubbled up and out of the bowl right after this picture.

Gianna stopped by to visit last week and she brought her parents along with her. The girls played at a bouncy place and then at the house for awhile. As always, the visit was too short.

We had a full house for the 4th of July. Aunt Mandy, Uncle Steve, and Luke came on Thursday followed by Meme and Papa on Sunday. We had a great time watching fire works and staying out of the heat. Aunt Mandy brought painting projects, and Meme brought tail making projects.

Gabby had her first day of summer cross country. It was about 100 degrees...so they took it easy on the kids. They stretched....They did some light running, and then they had a big fun water balloon fight........PERFECT!

Aunt Mandy caught a couple good shots of the girls at our favorite local rose garden around the beginning of the month.

Our first few handfulls.....

We visited the botanical gardens and children's museum in Staten Island recently. The Chinese Garden and Secret Garden are always a favorite!

Mr. Adorable had a special day earlier this month. He lived up to his special nickname because nobody could take their eyes off this cute little guy. xoxoxo

Wow! Is this post ever late. Back in the middle of June, Gabby's class had a father's day picnic/Teddy Bear Picnic. Lots of special guys came to celebrate the day with the students. Gabby reallly liked having Daddy there to eat with and go on the monkey bars. It was also favorite hat day for the whole school, and Gabby wore her Little House on the Prairie hat.

Gabby went to a science art class for three weeks at Mrs. Cioffi's house. It was one of her favorite classes that she has ever taken. They did tons of experiments....science, writing, and experimenting with different mediums. She hopes to sign up for more classes soon.

Grammy celebrated her 60th birthday last weekend, and we went down to help her. Friday, we went to the beach. The waves were ferocious...and BIG. Then Grammy lost her glasses because a really big wave swept her over. She was a really good sport about it. We searched awhile, but we couldn't find the glasses....they were long gone. Gabby stayed in the water the entire time that we were there- and Dave helped her. The little girls went into the waves, played in the sand, collected shells, ate snacks, and played badmitton. They were really busy. Uncle Tony stayed cool under the umbrella's, and Aunt Lena and I.......we took a lot of pictures!

After spending a day at the beach in New Jersey, we took a trip into Manhattan and had a full days worth of walking, visiting some of our old favorites...and finding some new favorites. We went to the tkts booth early in the day and got tickets for the Gazillion Bubble Show. While we were doing that, the girls along with Grammy, Tony, and Dave enjoyed Times Square and the M&M store.

Warning the following bulk bags of M&M's had a very hefty price tag. Do you want to venture a guess at how much 2 bags cost?

Answer - $85 choke, spit, sigh

We had a short visit with Mary Poppins and rode the ferris wheel at Toys R Us.

We stopped to eat at Bubba Gump and paid a visit to the American Girl Store.

Next stop was Fan Yang's Gazillion Bubble Show. It was a great show for small kids and anyone who wants to see a ton of bubbles. There was audience participation for many kids at the show, and Gabby had her off Broadway debut. She was selected to play the part of Fan's niece in the show. There really were a Gazillion bubbles plus one very huge one with Grammy, Bella, Gilli, and Gabby inside.

After the show we went to the 21 club for Grammy's birthday dinner. The restaurant is on West 52nd Street, and it has tons of history. It was raided by police numerous times during Prohibition, the two owners were never caught. As soon as a raid began, a system of levers was used to tip the shelves of the bar, sweeping the liquor bottles through a chute and into the city's sewers. The bar also included a secret wine cellar, which was accessed through a hidden door in a brick wall which opened into the basement of the building next door. Though still used as a wine cellar today, part of the vault has been remodeled to allow a party of up to 20 guests to dine in private. 21 also stores the private wine collections of such celebrities as Presidents Gerald Ford, John F. Kennedy, and Richard Nixon, Elizabeth Taylor, Hugh Carey, Ernest Hemingway, Ivan Boesky, The Nordstrom Sisters, Frank Sinatra, Al Jolson, Gloria Vanderbilt, Sophia Loren, Mae West, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Aristotle Onassis, Gene Kelly, Gloria Swanson, Judy Garland, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Marilyn Monroe.

In other words....it was really cool. Good pick Aunt Lena! We showed up early for a tour of the hidden wine cellar.

Next stop....home to bed.

Tony and Dave are celebrating their birthdays this month. Happy 38th(Tony) and 39th(Dave)!

The final day of our NYC adventure was spent at the Bronx Zoo. The animals were hot, hot, hot...and hiding a lot, but it didn't ruin the fun. The girls really liked the bug carousel, butterfly garden, and camel ride.

Gabby and Gilli had their first VBS experience at First Presbyterian this week. They learned all about Joseph and Egypt. They had so much fun that they were very sad when the week was coming to an end. We went with great friends who welcomed us into their church. We are so thankful for them. (PS - dear friends...we haven't posted your pictures or written your names)