This is how I spend my days...engrossed in a book. I highly recommend The Help! I read it in three days....and LOVED it!
Chris and Dave....they love to snorkel! They see a lot of puffer fish in the bay.
Mason devouring his lunch....that kid burns off so much energy in the day that he falls right asleep by 7:30 PM!
Dave chillin by the pool
The Maso....LOVES the water! Check out my cute toes too!! :)

All in a Day's Work!!!

Meggy wins BIG!

We had the school reflections awards assembly today! Imagine my surprise when Meg was announced as a finalist in two categories. She will be going on to region in Visual Arts and Literature! I am so proud of her! She painted a beautiful picture with acrylic paint on canvas. It was purple snow-capped mountains with the sun setting. I will post pics when I get the pics from school. Here is a copy of the poem she wrote. I was so impressed with her creative use of words. The theme for the contest was Beauty Is.......

Beauty is…

Beauty is the snow-capped mountains

Beauty is the sea,

Beauty is the twinkle in the eye of you and me.

Beauty is a shiny bright star,

Beauty is the sky,

Beauty is the smell of a fresh baked apple pie.

Beauty is a scarlet rose,

Beauty is a tree,

Beauty is a baby bird tweeting quietly.

Beauty is a brand new dog,

Beauty is you and me,

Beauty is in each one of us,

Look around and see!

Madison and Mason did a great job too. Maddy pained a picture as well. It was of a starry night. Mason colored a picture of flowers and made a 3d flower out of clay. He was surprised when he was announced as the "People's Choice Award". He received the most votes during the open house.

Here is Madison's poem

Ballerina Beauty

Beauty is ballerinas, pretty as can be!

Beauty is the way they jump and leap so peacefully! Beauty is their hard point shoes,

Beauty is their clothes.

Beauty is their tutus and the way they always pose! Beauty is the way they dance on tippy toes so high. Beauty is the way lift they the girls to reach the sky!
Beauty is the way they twirl,

Beauty is their turns.

Beauty is their amazing talent,

I wonder how long it took to learn!

Hollywood Hullabaloo!

Sorry for the crazy post. I posted a darling vidoe of Megan and Madison singing their duet in the most recent play, Hollywood Hullabaloo! I guess it was too big! I can't seem to get it to load here or on facebook.....too bad because it is soooo CUTE! The only file small enough was the one with their final bows. They have been practicing this play since August! The have loved every minute of it! It has been so fun to see their confidence build. I love watching them perform...in fact...I was so proud of them after opening night I was in tears! They are good little singer, dancers, and actresses! They would love for you to come and see the play. There are 2 more performances left....Saturday at 2:00 and again at 7:00. You will love it....I promise!!!

Hangin' in the Apartment

Mimi lives in a studio apartment....500 square feet to be exact! It was quite an experience sharing this space with me and the kids! We were in "close quarters"! They did pretty good, although we did have a few Mason tantrums! They were very creative in finding things to do.

The girls snacking in the kitchen!
Mason and the Wii fit became good friends!


One night the girls had Mason pose on the couch and they sketched him. Mimi and I were cracking up watching Mason hold really still in this pose. I think they did a good job with their sketches. Maybe we should get them an easel and charcoal and set them up in Battery Park!

Two Words......

.....Magnolia Bakery

These are the BEST cupcakes you will ever eat! If you go to NYC.....you must get one! (or two)

Their first taste of BROADWAY!

Mimi and I were so excited to take the kids to their first Broadway musical. We picked Mary Poppins. The reviews said it was great for kids......and that is TRUE! All three of them LOVED the show. It was fun for me to see them so excited! Mason loved all of the "magic" that happened...that crazy bag that Mary has!


We stopped at this restaurant in a convenience store. It was a serve-yourself deli type bar. We set the kids free to pick what they wanted. Mason shows up at the register with an apple, a chocolate chip muffin, and this chocolate danish thing. We just laughed because his dinner was the most expensive! At least he ate it!


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Making our own Wax Hands

Like all good museums......you always end up in the gift shop. The kids were so excited to make a wax model of their hands. I was a little nervous once I realized they had to dip their hands in ICE water.....knowing they all 3 have the "cold" allergy. Luckily the lady was nice and quick and we didn't have any problems. Here are a few pics of the process.

Look Who We Saw!

We were lucky enough to have a few celebrity sightings while we were in NYC:
Some people even came back from the dead!


















This was our first visit to a wax museum.......I thought it was kindo creepy seeing all these people standing around....but we had fun!

Introducing....

Alfred and Isabelle
Mimi's Cats
AKA BAD CATS!

We(I) like to tease Mimi about her cats, but the kids (and I) truly love them. The girls did not leave them alone anytime we were in the apartment. They would hold, play with, talk to, and cuddle those kitties...even though they are 17 and 21 pounds respectively.

Biking to Battery Park

Mimi found out that we could rent bikes and ride along the river to the Brooklyn Bridge. We were all excited for a day outside. We took a taxi down to the bike shop right next to the Intrepid Museum. We got geared up and we were off! The kids had fun because it was like they were driving. The bike path had stop lights that they had to follow. They did a good job! Here are some of the things we did along the way:

Group Shot! It was such a beautiful day for a beautiful ride. We had planned to cross the Brooklyn Bridge, but it was too late after we played around in Battery Park. We will have to do that next time.

Mason was excited to buy some cotton candy. Guess what color he picked?
WHITE....that is his new favorite color!


We were right along the river.Mason was so excited to buy his first pretzel from the hot dog cart!
It was warm and yummy! Thank goodness he shared!
Meg came back with a Mountain Dew..........I let her drink it because I figure she needed the caffeine to make the trip back to the bike shop! (I paid for that mistake later that evening in the 500 square foot apartment....HYPER KIDS)

For those of you who have been to Battery Park, you will recognize these acrobats! They have been there doing the same show the last three times I have been there! The kids were AMAZED and sat and watched this street show in awe! This is the part where they line up 5 audience members and flip over them!
The girls were world class bargain shoppers. They went to about 8 artists before they found one who would draw the both of them for $5.00.The finished product.....so cute!
We stopped along the way to see where Mimi used to work when she was at American Express. She took the kids in to look at the World Trade Center memorial and construction. I stayed outside to tend the bikes.
They all came back with Gelato...mmmmmmmmm
I loved seeing the reflection of the World Trade Center towers in the windows of the other buildings.

Cruising along the bike path. Meggy had a hard time staying to the right of the double lines. She kept weaving in and out. There were a few unhappy New Yorkers who kept ringing their bike bells at her. She said, "I thought they were just being friendly when they went by"...no such thing in NYC Meg!
Just Hangin' Around
We took a rest at the playground. The kids had fun acting like monkeys
Sisters!!!
Smile Mimi! She LOVED riding bikes along the Hudson River. We need to send you your bike!
Getting ready to head out!
What a cutie pie! He did such a great job riding over 6 miles!