Trip to Canada!!

The day after Thanksgiving- we took off (minus Daddy who was working) and road trip to Montreal to visit our cousins who moved there a year ago...besides the FREEZING weather- it was one big party! We toured downtown Montreal, dabbled in the french-canadian food, and learned some words in French! We hated to say goodbye to our cousins- but we would see them soon enough for Christmas!!!

Halloween

Well another month has whizzed by...where did it go? We are in full swing of school, and our birthday parties and celebrations have finally come to a close....Halloween was a rainy cold day, but we still managed to have an awesome time with Di's halloween/birthday party! We did bobbing for apples, donut on a string, a Halloween parade, and decorated pumpkins. They capped off the night by going trick or treating in the rain! SO with a bang, another crazy month has come to a close, and by the way...we are still painting the house!!!

October

Where did September go? In a blink of an eye, the weather has turned chillingly cold, and we are back in the routines of school and all the extras that go with it...dance, religion, piano, etc....

The girls are loving their teachers this year, and so far we seem to be doing OK with school. We managed to go out to the Beach House a few times and it is beautiful watching the weather change at the beach. For Columbus Day weekend we had the pleasure of going to a private apple orchard and we used ATV's to ride around, pick apples, and have a wonderful fall day.

The birthdays are this week and all the excitement that go with them....one friend party is done (Gi's pirate party) and we have one more to go (Di's halloween bash)....

Mommy is trying to get some sleep, keep the house is some semblance of order, keep the food coming, the laundry clean, get out of the house on time, and oh yeah! I forgot to mention- the entire house is being painted!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Fall!

September

It is hard to believe that September is already flying by!!!!! School started and the construction heated up- 5:30 wake up calls and after school activities, as well as trying to clean up 8 months of construction mess, plus get ready for the October on-flux of birthdays...keeps us more than a little busy!

The girls both started school with a bang- both have fantastic teachers and seem to have settled in nicely- could it be that it is actually true that things get easier as they get older? I don't believe it...so far they seem to be taking a bit more responsibility....so this might be a sign!!!

We still have to paint, but the end is now in sight- as of this month...we do have a WORKING KITCHEN!!!! and some bathrooms too!


A photo of our beauties on the first day of school!!!!!

The Bronx Zoo

I had to add a post to say that I should never underestimate the Bronx Zoo... we have not brought the girls there in .... forever i guess... and it is a crazy shame... we went last week and I have to say it is an awesome place- a real treat! We went on camel rides, a monorail, rode the shuttle, visited the children's zoo, saw the gorillas, the lemurs, the red pandas, and much more. Our 6 year old was so delighted- she said she was never at a zoo ( hard to believe) and she was eating it all up! We all had fun- I have to show off my best animal pictures as well...

August Fun....

Hard to believe that we did have some fun this summer- the glaring fact of getting up and dressed by 7:30 almost every morning to greet various workmen has jaded me...but we did manage to end the summer with fun!! A delightful garden wedding with 2 adorable flower girls, a trip to the American Girl store, and a trip to the zoo!

My precious younger cousin got married last weekend on Long Island and had awesome weather (although very hot and humid..there was sun all day) and she included the girls in her wedding. She looked awesome and it was so wonderful to see our family all together celebrating with her. She has a great husband, a great house, and I am very very happy about that. Next up, I gathered my courage and we took Nana to NYC on the train to American Girl- I had to go this summer- it was sinful not to!! We had some of our dolls' ears pierced (the latest way to spend $$ there- at least we did not get their hair done!) and we had afternoon tea at 4PM. I was so proud of my abilities to maneuver us there and back. It was a great day. And finally, Daddy took us to the zoo! Another thing we wanted to do, but never did...so when all is said and done, we ended the summer with some real live fun activities....who could ask for more than that! As for our kitchen? Not one of our appliances are working.....still cannot cook....don't ask!!!

Summer...

So here we are in August and the summer is flying by. The girls are enjoying the good weather (when it is not raining) and they are swimming a lot and doing a whole lot of nothing... that seems to be the theme of the summer. We are quite used to the stream of electricians, plumbers, and construction workers all around the house...the other day Di was going downstairs and said to me..."wait, mommy, how many men are here now?" I told her none and she stared at me with her mouth open! Our kitchen is looking gorgeous, but we need to get counters and sinks and hook up the appliances before we can call it a day. And then the loose ends like painting....tons of loose ends!

The girls are going to be flower girls in my cousins' wedding..they are more than a little excited! That will be a highlight this month. Di got glasses for reading and picked out a reddish-pink pair and she looks SO cute in them that she is dying to wear them all the time..and that is what we are up to this summer!