Sharon's 4th of July

Emmy and Sabba had been away for nearly 2 weeks in Europe and BOY did Jenna and Maya miss them. We opted to head to Sharon after naptime and as we arrived for the doll stroller parade, we were met with several other girls coming along with their dolls in strollers, it was just that they were going the opposite direction! We'd miss the parade... :(

After a few tears, the real tears fell from the sky as it started to rain. We visited briefly with the farm animals and then chose to take a trip on the infamous train. (The girls had taken a ride on it at The Festival by the Lake this year in Wakefield-in the pouring rain!) A little drizzle wasn't going to hold them back. Sabba climbed aboard with both ladies sans an additional adult and off they went. All had a fabulous time. The girls came back with humungous smiles and Sabba with a loud "CHOO CHOO" as the train parked back at the "station."

Following the train, we decided to take Jenna to have her hand painted-no face painting for our girls yet. As Maya watched Jenna get her red, white and blue rainbow and starts on her hand, the anxiety set in with me and Scott. At Storyland Maya was terrified of the kids with their faces painted-yelling at them as they walked by "NO more kitty/tiger/bear/(whatever decor adorned their face) take off right now, all done!" However, this time, she cautiously sat down in the adjacent chair and said "Maya's turn!" So proud of their hand paintings, each girl walked around the rest of the time at Lake Massapoag with their hand extended as if she had just had the most expensive spa manicure ever! :)

We completed the day with a bbq at Emmy/Sabba/"cat"--Oscar's house. We celebrated Sabba's birthday with Jenna singing Happy Birthday to Sabba in English and in Hebrew! They had such a great time, as they always do!

Cloudy with a Chance of Happiness!

Maya and Jenna are an incredible pair. They have so much fun together these days! We have wanted to take them back to the beach ever since our trip to Florida in May and the Sunday of Independence Day weekend was our day!

We loaded up the car and were on our way by 8:45 a.m. We arrived, parked and unloaded the car for the quick jaunt to the sand. Within seconds, flip flops were flipped off and Crocs were dropped and the digging began. We started building castles, handprints and tunnels. Rivers were dug, buckets were filled and filled and filled with water and even a few "swims" in the ocean! (The water was quite warm despite the clouds.)

We stayed for a short 2 1/2 hours even though we could have and wanted to stay longer. We headed home, tossed the girls into a car wash of a bath and fed them lunch in their pjs. They raced up to nap for a fast two hours to allow us the chance to head down to Sharon for the July 4th festivities with Emmy and Sabba. (Look for future post) Rumor is they were a bit different than when I went there last time in the mid t0 late 1990's-though my memories of that night are a bit hazy, could be age or could Barcardi Rum and punch I was tossing back that night so many years ago... My how things have changed! :) (Haven't had that drink since...It was a GREAT time!)

Davis Farmland Trip With the Drago Family

What more could you want? A sunny hot Saturday, great friends and Davis Farmland. An ideal weekend day. We chose to spend the Saturday of Independence Day weekend with our close friends Amy, Paul, Emma and Jack, trekking out to Sterling to Davis Farmland. The kids had a BLAST with the animals, feeding the cows, goats, sheep and touching snakes, chicks, and more. The kids each got to ride on a pony, Jenna for the first time and she did it independently! She also got a lesson in the p.c. way to say it, "anatomy!" We even headed over to the splash park this year. It was a FANTASTIC day!

July Pictures You Can't Miss!

Additional Storyland Shots

Imaginary World

One of the joys of having little girls is watching their imaginations run wild. I remember as a kid pretending that my parents had a baby boy, Matthew, and carrying a doll around with me all over the place wanting to love him to life. (Maybe too many readings of The Velveteen Rabbit?)

Our girls, Jenna and Maya, are all day and night playing pretend. Jenna has been this way since I can remember. Maya idolizes her older sister and wants to be just like her, so in turn, has followed suit accordingly. We have an entourage of babies, each with a name. Each of the “kids” has been named for someone the girls know and love. We have: Ava-named for an acquaintance Jenna has from preschool, Matthew-the obvious Matthew Karen, Zoe-unknown origin, Brooke-Brooke Karen, Evan-named for Evan Karen, Charlie-a double naming—Charlye Sutton a new cousin and Charlie “The Puppy” Johnston, Patrick-named for Patrick Griffin, Baby Stella-named for the recent addition to our friend network Stella Langille and Morgan-named for Jenna’s middle name. The babies are cared for SO carefully by their mom or their aunt, depending on the child the girls alternate roles appropriately.

Jenna even has a pretend father to her children-intermittently her husband-known as Chick-named for Nana’s new husband Howard’s brother, Chick. (FYI-Jenna has been at a number of events with Chick, but has had NO interactions with him.) J They all live in a town, “Cougartown”-makes me chuckle each time she says it though in her imaginary world she is only 4 years old and Chick isn’t an infant or anything… Chick and some of his friends and work at a camera shop, known as “Watertown Camera.” (Not to be confused with Hunts as that is definitely where Daddy and Uncle Gary work.) Why Watertown you might ask, well because our close friend Amy teaches in Watertown of course.

The kids (the dolls) each have their own specialties, from breastfeeding to dance class to taking trips to Florida, Hunts and to the “dog bookstore,” they each have a role. The girls manage to keep straight everyone’s ages-though they do change, everyone’s areas of interest/favorite colors, foods and such, and most of all their needs. Brooke and Stella seem to demand the most attention, which does make sense, as they are the youngest in Cougartown and in real life. The girls feed them, burp them, carry them, rock them, bounce them, shh them, and those babies are getting the best care around!

Imaginary friends, playing pretend and creating this world for themselves is a joy to see it develop. I can’t wait to show it to them all when they are older!

Storyland 2011

We decided to take an abridged trip to Storyland as compared to our trip last year for two nights, this year we chose a single night at The Red Jacket Mountain View Resort. The townhouse we stayed in was newly renovated, spacious and just right for us.

Last year our trip was started off on the wrong foot for Jenna. Being still timid and young enough, we mistakenly tried "The Whale Ride." OH BOY!!! Think we scarred her for a good year. Jenna HATED the ride. (See post on Storyland last year-June 2010.) This year we were determined to do it right. We started off easy, visiting with the Old Woman in the shoe, ventured to the farm animals-work from an area of strength people-she/sometimes they-like animals. Our first real "ride" was the pumpkin coach up to Cinderella's castle. Jenna had been SO excited to meet her that she colored a portrait of her to give to her and wrote her very own message on it. As we rode up the pumpkin, the girls were so adorable! SO excited! Maya loving the "neigh neighs" and Jenna beyond words happy to know that she was going to meet a REAL PRINCESS!

Our first visit to Storyland last year, Maya allowed Cinderella to hold her, she was all of 8 months, and Jenna was not really into the idea of coming close. What a difference a year makes! Role reversal. Jenna, all dressed in head to toe pink princess garb herself, made Cinderella a beautiful picture, handed it to her and immediately was enchanted. She went with her, sat on her lap, took many a photo and talked and talked and talked. The following day, we revisited Cinderella and Maya as she promised, waved from a far, but Jenna went over and took her photo shoot again. Cinderella asked Jenna if she had any questions, and she did, just one. "Do you take a tub with Sleeping Beauty?" Cinderella was somewhat baffled and replied, "Umm, well, no, I don't. I take them by myself." A great memory for us to share with Jenna when she is older.

Our two days were spent without a speck of predicted rain and only a few tears, shed when we had to leave for naps and then the hysteria when we told them it was time to go home. Jenna and Maya had SUCH a great time! Jenna continues to talk about her trip and ask when we can go back; Maya repeatedly wants to talk about all the animals she saw.

What a fun and busy few days! We can't wait to go back again!