Dreams Do Come True ... Just ask Peyton

Living in the Land of Tween-dom

Well, the dog days of summer are here! School starts in a couple weeks, the kids can't believe it! I can't believe my kids are in 5th grade and Kindergarten!!! They are both trying to make the most of what is left of their vacation. Kali and her show choir are "Singing Their Way To Spain" by performing all over the Akron area. These are pictures from an afternoon at Szalay's Farm. Tomorrow it's a car wash! Yippee!!! She will be so ready for Disney on Wednesday.

Peyton took in a "Show and Tell with Trish and Mel" show Saturday morning and she had a great time. She's sad that she has grown out of so many of her favorite activities. Once she starts school, though, I doubt she'll look back. She's ready to be a big girl.

As you can see, Miss Kali had her braces put on! She is so neurotic, I mean, excited about them. She brushes, flosses, rinses constantly - hopefully she'll take this good care of them the entire 2 years they are on. I'm pretty sure she'll be over the initial soreness by the time we get to Orlando this week. She's worried about how she's gonna look, I meant, eat on vacation. She is officially a "tween" - God help us all!

Lordy, Lordy - Jimmy's 40!

Well, July is almost over and the summer is flying by! Yes, we celebrated Jimmy's 40th with a cookout, german chocolate cake and a DQ ice cream cake. No, that is not the birthday cake that Kali is posing with. That dessert is a 14 layer chocolate cake topped with a spun sugar sphere (try saying that 5 times fast) that she ordered at the Wild Mango. It tasted as good as it looked! We have been exploring all the parks around our house and the girls are loving life. I am, too. The weather has been perfect for me - barely in 80's. I love a cool summer, there's no need for heat or humidity in my world. Bring on the jungle gyms!

Peyton's Pet Party Camp

Peyton spent the week at Show and Tell with Trish and Mel and she had a great time. Yes, that is a real snake all curled around her. Of all the animals, she loved the turtle and the snake best. That girl makes the most of every experience. This weekend she will be at cooking class at Paganini's and then a birthday party. Peyton is following in her big sister's "social butterfly" footsteps. Speaking of Kali, she just finished her 2nd week of Dance Intensive from 2:15 - 6:15 everyday. She loves the Modern classes and looks really good. Kali has her eyes set on Summer

Study in NYC - maybe Ailey?!?!

Summer in Full Swing

I just can't believe how the time is flying by! Kali is back from camp, the fireworks and ribs are behind us and tomorrow is Jimmy's 40th birthday! The kids spent the stormy afternoon at "All Fired Up" painting masterpieces for him. He will be so impressed.

Since summer began, we have been experimenting with new recipes and the results have been simply delicious! Peyton is enjoying the cold strawberry soup we made with fresh mint she picked all by herself from our herb garden. This week we were so happy to have my great niece in Akron. Little Miss Amaya is getting so big! The girls had so much fun "babysitting" her.

Make the best of the rest of your vacation - I know we will!!!!

A Mid Summer Night's Dream

Summer is in full swing at 730 Hampton Ridge Dr. The school year came to a very successful end. Kali got straight A's all 4 quarters and she made Show Choir for next year. That's a really big deal because they are traveling to Spain in the Spring. They took 40 kids out of the nearly 200 that auditioned. So now I will be busting my butt to raise $$ for the trip to Europe. It never seems to end. Peyton got a really good end of year report from Pre-K and we are more confident in her ability to behave in class !?!?! The girls and Jimmy are getting tons of use out of our pool. For the most part, the weather has been great. As you can see, Peyton is always prepared to play. She is our mermaid, she loves to swim. Kali is warming up to the water - she still has to have her goggles!?! Kali spent last week in cooking camp - it was Italian Week and she was in heaven. We don't shy away from carbs in our house. She made homemade pastas, soups, pizzas and, of course, desserts. I can't wait for her to cook for me!!! Ricotto Cavatelli with Bolognese is what I'm looking forward to. She and I finished the week on a bus trip with my Aunt and Uncle. We toured all the ethnic markets in Cleveland and had a great lunch at L'Albatros in University Circle (it is almost impossible to get a reservation there.) Kali loved sampling all the food - she ate for 6 hours straight! Her favorite find... authentic Greek Feta, just like we used to eat in Athens. It was yummy.

We dropped Kali off at Camp Christopher on the 1st official day of summer, which also happened to be Father's Day. She was so excited. She is in the same cabin as last year (Jumping Serra - she already knows all the spirit songs) and she got the exact same bunk!!! It's the little things that keep her smiling. I hope the weather stays nice for her - it's supposed to be a warm week with lots of sunshine. Perfect camp weather.

Here are the 2 sides of Miss Peyton - all smiles or all ZZZZ's. We've been keeping her busy while big sister is gone - pool, play dates, movies. She sleeps well every night. She is starting to read pretty well and is doing "homework" everyday to "get ready for Kindergarten". She really looking forward to school, thank God.

Hope your Summer is full of Fun, Love and Sunshine - not necessarily in that order!