Escaping the Heat

I just couldn't stand spending another day at home in this heat. So, we ventured out to the recently updated Dallas Aquarium. We had a great time. The girls LOVED it. We talked with Nonna and Grandpa Piccolo tonight and the girls (both girls - even Erica in her own way) couldn't stop talking about it. Stephanie even remembered that we saw lionfish! We saw a Louisiana snapping turtle. I have never seen one of these before in person and it was awesome. It was HUGE and UGLY - just like the book says! ("Epossumondas Saves the Day" - we HAD to read it for bedtime tonight!) Stephanie's favorite part was feeding the sting rays and Erica kept going back to see the sea turtle.

Silly Girls!

Tea Party

We had a wonderful visit with Grandma Gray, Aidan and Susie. It was so hot that we spent a lot of time at the pool and shopping. Mom and Aidan have more pictures and I will post those if/when I get my hands on them. I finally got my camera out for our tea party. Yum! Stephanie and Erica were so enchanted. It was their first tea party. Stephanie kept talking about the pink tea we had. Erica used her little tea cup perfectly - no spills! (Thank you, Grandma Morabito and Nonna!)
We had cream scones, streusel scones, citrus curd, mock clotted cream, sandwiches (BLTs, roast beef, ham/salami - not your typical tea sandwiches, but we needed the meat after a long stint at the pool.), raspberry bars and Cook's Illustrated "Ganache Filled Chocolate Cake". We used Bigelow's Pomegranate Pizzazz Herbal Tea - perfect choice.

Presenting ... Stephanie's Iron Man Dance!!

Stephanie continues to demonstrate an interest in dancing - more specifically choreography. This makes me concerned how she would do in a class. She would try running the class and telling the teacher what they should do! Ha ha! Today, she jumped up on the coffee table and just went at it. I was very impressed. Apparently, she was watching Iron Man 2 with daddy the other day and was inspired by the Iron Man dancers (see the Stark Expo Clip (from Iron Man 2) on YouTube). Yikes! We'll have to be careful what dancers she sees from now on! Ha ha!

Mama Panya's Pancakes!

We found another neat book at the library about hospitality, generosity and friendship. It includes the recipe for the pancakes in the back. One Saturday morning, I solicited requests for breakfast. I suggested waffles or pancakes and Stephanie said, "How about Mama Panya's pancakes?"  I was surprised that she remembered and excited that she wanted to try something different.

The pancakes are very simple - pretty much just flour and oil with a few other things added. The recipe called for red pepper flakes, but I didn't include them since we were having them for breakfast. They turn out like crepes. We filled them with some jelly or apple butter. It took a little getting used to - the flavor was a bit bland and the texture a bit rubbery, but a good experience.

Swim Lesson Wrap Up

We wrapped up swim lessons last week. Stephanie still won't put her face in the water, but she is A LOT more comfortable in the water than she was before. In the beginning she wouldn't float on her back or jump in. By the end, these were the parts of class that she looked forward to most. So, with that, I felt they were a success! We are looking forward to the visit with Grandma and cousins, Aidan and Susie. We should be heading to the pool quite a bit where I can finally get a chance to help Stephanie practice a little.

Here the class is playing a fun game of "Are You Sleeping Mr. Crocodile?!?". Very Cute!

McDonalds, Stiches and Angels

Well, we have been trying to work on potty training with Stephanie the last couple of days. So, I have tried keeping us at home to focus on that. I have spent a lot of time catching up on cleaning and organizing that I have put off. Today I could tell the girls were really getting stir crazy, so I thought it would be fun to go to McDonalds to have lunch and to play. It was a very nice time until we were just about to leave. Poor little Erica tripped over her sandals and fell VERY hard against one of the emergency doors in the play area. There is a small, vertical metal strip on the floor right in front of the door. She slammed her forhead right on it. Long story short, she is OK. She ended up with 3 stiches, but there was no indication of head trauma or anything more than a really bad cut. By the time we got home, you could not tell she had just been through a very traumatic event.

I am so encouraged by how God always sends what I call "my angels" to surround me in these times. They swoop in from who knows where and provide perfect help despite not knowing me or my situation. There was a family that provided a constant stream of napkins, water and ice at McDonalds that I hadn't noticed the whole time we were there. The paramedics were so nice and handled the kids so well. The nurses and doctor (even the receptionists) attended to us so well, too. The nurses who were not involved with the stiches took Stephanie out to the nurses station to color and make bracelets for the whole time we were there. The whole process went as smooth as it possibly could have. God is good.

Painting

Stephanie has been wanting to make a picture for Coach Casey. I keep forgetting about it until we're on our way to gymnastics. So, finally today, I was on the ball and we had another painting session. Stephanie decided to give him the "rainbow" picture.

Erica really got into mixing and making different textures by stroking the brush and blotting with it. She also played around with adding water.