Summer is HERE!

Last week was the end to school! Whoooohooo we made it! Gianni graduated from kindergarten and we are so proud of his academic progress. He did great. There was a small performance and then we said our goodbyes in the classroom. He will miss his teacher pictured below (Mrs. Luckow) but is very excited to start summer.


Last week was very hard because we said goodbye to Caleb Burgard. The Burgard family moved to Missouri and we will miss them so much.
The Palm Vally Kinder Crew (from left to right): Gianni, Sydney, Evan, Caleb, Jonah

We started our first summer weekend off with a bang. We were invited out to Jenni Roseland's parents house for a day at the Estrella water park and then for food back at their place. The kids loved playing with Kyan and Lola. Jenni's parents remind me a lot of my parents. They treat Jenni's friends like family. I have always felt like my parents do the same with my friends and we had so much fun hanging out with them. Carmen climbed under the waterfalls and actually went down a baby water slide multiple times.

Gianni went down the slide over...and over...and over again!

On Memorial Day, daddy took the kids to see Kung Fu Panda while mommy recovered from a horrible little stomach bug and sinus cold that knocked me down for the count for about 2 days. This week the kids began swimming lessons. I am so proud of them! Gianni and Syd are learning many different strokes and side breathing. Gianni loves the male teacher of course.

The first day was kickboards but in no time he caught right on to the side breathing and today was learning how to dive (which is still a belly flop at this point but at least he is trying)

Miss Carmen started class as well in the "big kid" class. She could be swimming if I could just get her arms and legs to move a little faster. The teacher keeps telling her to wake her arms and legs up. She loves her teacher Sabrina and so far has had no fear what so ever.

Today I did not have my camera but the kids went to the dentist. Gianni did great as usual. Carmen did it...but by the 4th x-ray picture there were tears rolling down her face. She completed the rest of the exam and cleaning but with tears. I was informed again that Gianni has a crowded mouth and will definitely need braces and possibly some teeth might need to be removed (sound familiar mom!) As for my daughter...perfectly straight teeth. She has perfect spacing, so much so that we don't even need to floss! Both received a perfect check up and I am proud of them both. I cried at the dentist as a teenager so I am pleased with how well they did.

Tomorrow is dress rehearsal for the Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo dance recital which is Saturday at 4:30pm. Be checking back!

Our Trip Home

This is pretty much what Youngstown and Niagara Falls have looked like for the past month! We went home for my cousin's wedding and it looked like this everyday except the day of the wedding. We did our best to make the best of the poor weather.
Ahhh...pancakes with Nonna! A family tradition!

We are also getting to the point where Abel and I can run while both kids ride. Look at my husband! Down 35 pounds since November and RUNNING WITH ME! He ran everyday while we were there and we ran twice together. Of course we had to run with all the food we were about to eat on this trip!

Now that the exercising was out of the way it was time to eat cannoli number one of the trip. I'm not really sure how many times Abel and Gianni went for a jog (which I believe was code for going to get a cannoli!).

We took Carmen to Fort Niagara for the first time. In the past we have left her home thinking that she would not enjoy the castles and loud noises but she loved exploring all of the rooms and old buildings.

Saturday morning arrived and Carmen was off to gether hair done for the wedding. We did a side ponytail of tight curls. She did great and looked so beautiful!

The church had horrible lighting and this picture is fuzzy (probably because you now who took it!) but I did my best to do what I could to save it. We had gummy bears in her basket to get her to walk down the aisle.

Tracy and Chris both looked amazing and their ceremony was very relaxed and really represented them as a couple. It was perfect! Congratulations you guys!

In the back of the church is a sign thanking the people that helped the church get started. It meant a lot to see my grandparents name on the wall. I remember going to Prince of Peace as a child. Many family events, both good and bad, have happened in this church.

After the ceremony it was off to Beaver Island to take pictures.

After two hours of taking pictures and snacking on the "limo bus" Carmen hit the normal 4pm crash. Lately she has been not napping but the 4pm crash has become the norm!

Papa and his "sweet pea" share a dance

My wonderful family! We had so much fun at this wedding. It was so nice to have the kids talk with people that we don't always get to see. Mary, I hope you are reading! We had so much fun catching up with you, Tom and Charlie. It was also nice to be with my Uncle Mike, Aunt Julie and her hilarious and so much fun to be around sisters, Uncle Tony and his family, my cousin Marie, Aunt Helen and the Frisoni Family, and all of our other relatives.

We danced the night away. Gianni wanted to dance with me all night long. He requested songs and we danced to all of them. It was a truly special time for our family and we were so thankful that Chris and Tracy made us such a special part of their day. Thank you Chris and Tracy and congratulations!

Summer is in the air

Today I was in the mood to cook. This is probably because I feel like summer vacation is HERE! It is so close I can taste it. All summer long I cook and experiment, and with my mom leaving today and the last long stretch of school in front of me I felt the need to get in touch with my "summer self".

I made this all up and threw in what I had on hand so I can't give you a recipe : (

1. Ground Turkey "PF Chang's Lettuce Wraps" - I made this with ground turkey, green onion, red pepper, water chestnuts, jalapeno, soy sauce, lots of garlic, hoisin sauce. Plan to have this for dinner tomorrow night in lettuce wraps!

2. Tex-Mex Chile - I made this with ground turkey, onions, green pepper, garlic, kidney beans, white beans, jalapeno, green onion, crushed tomato, chicken broth, and chopped cilantro

3. Lemon Potatoes on the Grill - just lemon, herbs, and Mrs. Dash.

My mom was here for 10 days and it was absolutely wonderful. The weather was warm and so was the water. The kids have been running around non stop since they arrived. The week has consisted of swimming, Easter eggs, shopping, baseball , dance lessons, and Abel being out of town for a week. Both Saturday's consisted of loading up the car at 8am and not returning until 8pm. Off to Gianni's baseball game, taking Carmen to dance class, then up to Nonna's and Papa's house for lunch, swimming, and then appetizers, a meal, and games outside. Throw Easter in and has been a whirlwind 10 days with the grandparents. Lots of fun!

No picture of Carmen swimming because we are in the water with her. On Saturday, April 23rd...the fishy came off and she is officially swimming. Now...I say swimming...because she is swimming on her own and not just sinking but she is not great about coming up for air. She doesn't want the fishy anymore so it takes two of us to monitor her. I AM SO PROUD OF HER! She has no fear. I knew she would swim earlier than Gianni. My guess is by the end of summer she will be swimming around just as well as Gianni.

Tonight was just the 4 of us and the wind was perfect to TRY and fly a kite. We did our best but it might have been too windy. Weeks like this with Nonna and Papa make me feel like I am on vacation....which is probably what brought the cooking on today. I know it isn't just me though. Tonight as I was tucking Gianni into bed he said to me, "mommy...I wish it was summer vacation already. Is it getting close?" He feels it too. It is in the air. 5 more weeks of school!