Weekend fun!

On Friday night we went to the annual dinner dance for the parents of children going to Violet's school. The theme was Marti Gras and I decided to be on the committee this year. I was so impressed with how much hard work this committee does in working out all the details of this event. We had fun planning it and even more fun at the party. It was held at a local beach club and there was a great band. Why is it that the woman on the dance floor always outnumber the men by at least 3:1 There were some wonderful gift baskets but I sadly did not win a thing this time. There is always next year and a few more after that since Gavin won't graduate from 4th grade until 2017. I took a few blackmail pictures but I will withhold their names to protect the guilty!!! The old saying "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas" does not apply to this function. Haha

On Saturday we got up early and went back to the beach club for a 9:30am walk to raise money for a local community dinning room. I was surprised to see several of the other "dancers" there too. They gave us food and coffee, had a live band with steel drums (felt like I was in the FL Keys except for the cold wind) and had a magician making balloon animals for the kids. The balloon thing was great until they popped and then Violet had huge meltdown because the magician had already left. The walk was very scenic and a good portion of it was right along the waterfront. I found several dream houses along the way. We put Gavin and Marina side by side in the double jogger but as soon as Gavin finished his bagel, he started teasing Marina by putting his foot on her leg. This started to drive her crazy so he spend the rest of the time on my back in a buckle Mei Tai carrier, which put him to sleep right away. Tomorrow Zoe is having a book club meeting and I am going to be setting up an old piece of furniture from my grandfathers dentist office.

I have several friends and my brother and SIL that are about to have babies any day now so I am anxiously awaiting some news! Suzy also is pregnant again and due with her third child in Oct. Congratulations Suzy and you are going to be one busy girl but don't worry, it's all good... okay, maybe not ALL good but mostly good :-)

Marina, Gavin and Mommy listening to the band.

Vacation week

The kids had this past week off of school and we couldn't have asked for a nicer week weather wise. We went to a playground of one sort or another almost every day. We got some serious spring clothes shopping done and I gave in and let the kids buy Crocs. I still don't like them but they are on their feet not mine and they are fast and easy for the kids to put on.
We tried two different ice cream parlors this week as a special treat. Marina's new favorite flavor is Chunky Monkey. She didn't remember ever going to get ice cream except for the ice cream truck at the beach last year. I noticed that they are already out in full force at the parks/beach. I have to prepare the kids ahead of time if we will not be visiting the truck. We met some friends for a late breakfast in the park and then they played on the playground for a couple hours. I forgot to put the sunscreen on the kids and their faces were red by the time we got home. BAD MOMMY! It was windy and did not feel hot, so it just slipped my mind till right before we left. I had even purchased some the day before and had it in my car. We enjoyed lunch with Grandma twice and took a trip down to a local park that has a waterfall and the girls dipped their feet in the chilly water. Gavin dipped his head in. Unfortunately I forgot my camera that day but it was really beautiful and the weather felt summer like. We even ate our first meal of the season on the deck the other night.
The girls and I went to my friend Sandy for a haircut. We decided that Gavin needed a little trimming too because he was starting to look like Einstein with his hair curling over his ears. He sat very patiently and I think was thoroughly enjoying all the attention. His hair came out cute, or at least what little he has of it and of course we saved the clippings!
Daddy spent a good part of Saturday putting together the teeter totter airplane. The pieces did not line up well so it is still in the process of construction. Good thing DJ has a lot more patients then me. We did figure out how to put the baby bike seat on the back of my bike. I took it for a spin and was surprised that I didn't feel unbalanced with Gavin on the back (out of shape yes but not unbalanced). Now we can all go riding because DJ can put Marina in the toddler seat on the back of his bike and Zoe and Violet are good bikers. I found another added benefit of the child seat is that it hides your butt!!! I might have to leave it on even when he is not in it.
Sunday after the girls sang at church we headed up to Irene and Stanley's to celebrate Dziadzia's birthday and then to Bob and Heather's for Harrison's pirate party to celebrate his 6th birthday.
I am looking forward to getting back into my routine this week, now that the kids are back in school.

Zoe's Play

Zoe played Molly in the play Annie. They did not allow video or flash photography during the actual shows but I took some footage one night during rehearsals. They were still working on lighting etc... so it is not perfect but they all did a great job and it was fun to watch. Below is short movie with some clips of Molly. She is the one in the blue dress and is the first one you will hear speak when the play starts. If you are wondering what that black thing stuck on her forhead is... it's a microphone. I think it is supposed to be up at the hairline but I guess they were having trouble with it picking up the rustling of hair. The one made for blonds, seemed to blend in better with the skin. She had a great time in the play and can't wait for the next one!