For Alison's 7th Birthday this year we went with a lemonade themed party. I got this idea from a great party blog here. I made homemade lemonade, and a pink lemonade cake- yum! The girls loved drinking out of mason jars with fabric swatches tied around them. I had a lot of fun putting this together.
The girls all painted a craft during the party.
A little game of horse-shoes.
This little bench has been on the to-do list for a long time. I've wanted to recover it and paint it white for awhile. I wish I had a before- shot, but since I don't you can just enjoy how it goes with the flow of our room now. Thanks to Grandma Muriel for giving us this beautiful antique bench.
Our friends the Burgraffs put on a great show for the fourth of July.
Lilly loved the sound of the fireworks. She kept covering up her mouth and squealing with delight.
All the girls loved the show too while trying to stay hydrated. Oh- the heat!
For two weeks my friend Elinn and I put on an Art Camp for our children and a group of their friends. They did all sorts of projects and at the end of class they could help make an artistic edible snack. Here, they all helped make dirt cups with worms (pudding, crushed-up oreos, gummy worms). Elinn and I had a great time putting this together and everyone had fun.
Collage Art
Icecream cones filled with a mix of snacks.
Lauren lost her first tooth last week and was thrilled the tooth fairy would be coming to her house.
We've started swim lessons for Alison and Lauren and we all love going frequently to the pool.
Lilly
We went to Steve's family work party where we went on a boat ride around a beautiful pond.
Happy Father's Day! We love you!
Lilly and Bailey turned two at the end of May. We had a little family birthday party complete with cupcakes (our favorite birthday dessert).
Bailey ready to devour the cupcakes.
"Excited" says Lilly
Bailey and Lilly are so funny to watch as they play together and help each other. If one of them is not in the room with us they will say, "Where Bailey go?" or "Where Lilly go?" They are enjoying playing playdough together, going for wagon rides, copying each other, singing, dancing, and stealing silly bands from their sisters. We love them and we are so happy they are in our family.
Here we are at Times Square
We walked a ton the first day. This is me needing a break.
At the top of the Empire State Building
We went to the play Wicked. What a tremedously awesome show!
We went running in central park and fell in love with this amazing place. There were so many people out running, biking or walking their dogs.
This is one museum that I really wanted to visit- Frank Loyd Wright's design for the Guggenheim Museum.
Serendipity's- we got full on their frozen hot chocolate even before our meal came, but it was worth it.
The Brooklyn Bridge. This was one of Steve's favorite places. He read books and studied the design a coupld of years ago (Nerd) so this was a dream come true for him.
I love my mummy! Steve looking fierce in the Egyptian section.
Here we are at the MET. We stayed here for a long time. This place is a monster museum to tackle. (Lenny Kravits would be proud)
We went on the Circle Line night cruise around the harbor. We enjoyed just sitting for a couple of hours after all of that walking and enjoying the views of the city at night.
Gum gum for Dum Dum. We went to the Natural History Museum along with a throng of other school children.
We came home safely and mom said everyone was "still alive". This was her main goal while we were gone. Actually, they were in complete bliss with Grandma and Papa here. We came back and celebrated mom's birthday with some cupcakes from a NYC bakery. Thanks mom and dad! 
Yesterday, Tracy and I celebrated our 10th anniversary. It is amazing to reminisce over the past 10 years. We have known each other since Primary. Who could have guessed then what we would become?
This weekend I was able to accomplish a goal- a 1/2 marathon at Towson University. It was a great race especially since I was able to run it with some good friends. The course was a trail run that was fairly flat.
This picture was taken about 7 miles into it. The race was a out and back type of race.
Elinn and her husband ran it together and they made a great team. This year, Elinn and I have been helping each other by watching each others' children while we run. What a dear friend she is and I'm glad we could accomplish our goals.
The whole gang- Steven, Elinn, Jody and Tracy. At the end we were all a little dehydrated. What a hot day- it was in the mid 80's when we ran. I ran it in 2 hrs. 7 min. Now I think I will rest awhile and eat a well-deserved chocolate cookie that the girl's and I made.
