Miss Stella

This morning the girls attended their first (of three) Saturday morning swim lesson at our city pool. Although Taylor was quite reluctant to get in the water, Peyton was quite the swimmer. Not only did she kick, paddle, and blow bubbles, she even asked the instructor if she could go off the diving board. Moments later, Peyton jumped off the board three times in row. She had special requests that Mommy go off the board and Miss Lindsay (the instructor) too. It was quite a show.

At 11a.m. we arrived at Miss Stella's for a luncheon and pool playdate. Miss Panther brought lunch and we brought the infamous cookies. Taylor and Zach sat peacefully as they ate their lunch:

Jack and Peyton got to sit at their very own kids table:

The Spiderman cookie was devoured but left a bit of a mess on Jack's cute face:

Taylor loved climbing on all the guy's outdoor play equipment:

Miss Stella helped Clark select a cookie:

Taylor discovered how much fun ride-on trains can be as she sat aside Jack on her very own engine:

7/11

We began our day at Creation Station where Peyton dressed up as an airline pilot. . .

. . .and Taylor enjoyed playing with trains and cars while Mrs. L* visited with Miss Linda:

Miss Moshi even joined us for a quick train ride:





In honor of today's date, 7-11 gave away free 7.11 ounce Slurpees. Cheers!

Following Mommy's 11a.m. class at the YMCA, our next destination was Chick Fil-A:

For a free meal, we'll do just about anything. . .I was sporting my homemade "I LOVE COWS" t-shirt, Taylor carried a musical cow and Peyton dressed in a cow costume which scored me $24 worth of food. . .

Once Peyton got beyond her feeling of ownership (it was HER Halloween costume in 2006) we let Taylor dress up in the cow attire:

Potsou and I took Miss Holly out for a LATE NIGHT dinner in honor of her birthday. Prego had plenty of dessert :-)

Annual Sidewalk Sale

Today was the annual sidewalk sale and we enjoyed it thoroughly. Sork always works as a secret "security guard" as she mixes with shoppers. I had the girls pose with the finest greeter around:

Mommy hopped in the pony coach with Peyton & Taylor:

About 30 minutes later Gung Gung went for a ride:

Lucy Dean's Granny helped Taylor feed the ducks:

The balloon artists were second to none....check out these Disney princess creations:

Peyton rode the "zebra pony". . .she called it that due to the zebra fabric beneath its saddle:

Peyton requested "mermaid face artwork" and she got what she requested and then some. . .

Playdate

Today we hostessed a girls playdate luncheon for Sophia, Theresa and Colleen. Due to Sophia's love of Dora the Explorer, I broke open the Dora Play-Doh :-)


Sophia got a kick out of Peyton's funny sunglasses:


Colleen inspected Theresa and kept thinking she was a baby doll:

Potsou enjoyed the bundle of love:

Homemade Ice Cream & The Magic House

Yesterday we opened our Rival Ice Creamer maker which has been sitting in our storage area unopened for the past 6 years. It's a good thing we have kept it out of sight because the ice cream was delicious! Hats off to Mrs. L* who catapulted the ice cream making efforts. Here is a glimpse of Taylor enjoying the flavor of the day - CHOCOLATE CHIP in a homemade waffle cone:

Today we went to the Magic House in an effort to beat the heat and humidity. The girls always like to start in the Pasta House Pizza kitchen. . .

. . .Peyton is a natural "pizza order taker" just like I was in 1990 at Pizza Hut :-)

Taylor enjoyed wearing the construction worker hardhat:

She found an "APPLE" (which was really a tomato) in the marketplace:

Independence Day

Kia and I bought the musical 1776 on DVD last night and while he snored I (& our neighbor Cathy) enjoyed a refresher of what our "Founding Fathers" did to gain our independence from the British. The last time I watched this movie was in 8th grade as part of Mr. Monahan's Civics class. Needless to say, it made even more sense for me now that I am 20 years older and wiser :-)

This morning we visited Grandma and Grandpa Wu where Peyton took a dip in a chilly pool and Taylor tried to pedal a tricycle:

After nap time, we went to a BBQ where Uncle Charlie served up his infamous slow cooked baby back ribs. Not only did Auntie Al pose with me and a watermelon, she also learned how to throw a spiral :-)

The girls enjoyed playing while Daddy relaxed and sipped on a holiday beverage:

Miss Moshi and Taylor bonded extremely well, as always!

When I brought out Peyton's red white & blue cake, the babies intercepted most of it! YUMMY:



We watched the fireworks spectacular from Sheridan's parking lot (along with hundreds of others) while enjoyed the perfect weather. Due to the long, slow-moving line at the custard stand, I took the boys and Peyton to Schnucks where we bought a box of 10 dreamsicle bars for $2.50. Cheaper, quicker, and less fat content :-) Taylor sure enjoyed hers:

Goose resembled Uncle Sam with his goatee made of vanilla custard:

The silly cousins posed for a quick pic:

Daddy & Taylor watched most of the fireworks together:

Stages & Bounce-U

This morning the girls attended "Stories At Stages" where they listened to a storyteller read The Rainbow Fish followed by a brief ACTING session and creation of their very own rainbow fish. Even Taylor seemed interested enough to participate and stay captivated:

Peyton enjoys hands-on stories:

Here is a glimpse of Peyton in Studio B, acting out the rainbow fish to the best of her ability:

Last but not least, CREATING her very own rainbow fish....she named her fish Nemo!

After nap time, we went to Goosey's 8th birthday party at Bounce-U and Peyton played with all the "big kids" without getting injured :-) Here she is removing her protective helmet in the ball launching cage:

Taylor had minimal interest in the bouncers. She was most into the balls. Looks like she has her mother's love of football already:

The birthday boy. . .

The Zoo

We enjoyed a trip to the Zoo today. Miss Louise and Mrs. L* drove with us and we met up with the Wharf cousins upon entering. A peacock greeted us:

Dylan (Patrick's buddy) was the Sea Lion Zookeeper today so we attended the Sea Lion show:



Here is Dylan IN ACTION. . .

Look who spotted us at the Sea Lion show amidst the crowd. . ."Paint" (former Viz P.E. teacher). Apparently I still look like the same crazy Kelly I was 16+ years ago . . .

The girls stopped to see the outdoor penguins (a.k.a. Humboldt penguins). Thanks to the kindness of Miss Louise & Mr. Frank, Peyton is a proud "Zoo Parent" of one of these cuties.

The indoor penguins (a.k.a. Emperor & King penguins)were entertaining, too: