Christmas

We've had a really good winter break so far. It started with a visit to the vet for Bella. We found out she is an obese cat! She is now on a diet. We hope to have her down by 2lbs by her visit next year. A few days before Christmas we went to an ice carving party. It was so cool to see guys take chain saws to blocks of ice and transform them into beautiful sculptures.

Christmas Eve and Christmas day were full of family, laughs, and good food. Felicity and an American Girl Coconut were the big hits. Here are just a few highlights.

It's beginning to look alot like.....

Christmas

Perfect Fall Day

Catching up

It's been a few weeks since I posted. I usually post on Sundays. Two weeks ago was Halloween and then last Sunday we went to the Gaeta's house to watch the Brown's game. First Halloween. Kyla had asked if she could trick or treat with Maria. So we headed to their house for a cookout followed by trick or treating. The kids were excited from the very beginning.

We all ate and then the kids got into their costumes. Maria was a candy corn witch, Peter was Ironman, Kyla was Wordgirl. They were ready to go. They were able to start without coats, but luckily Jon brought them along, it got quite chilly after the sun went down.

Happy after a successful night

The following weekend we celebrated Jan's birthday. We went to Becky's Bistro for dinner and then came back to our house for cake. I made a chocolate layer cake with cream cheese frosting. The frosting was so good - even Jon couldn't stop sticking his finger in the bowl for "just one more taste".

Today (Thursday) Kyla is home with a fever. I hope she's able to go to school tomorrow. We have a pretty busy weekend ahead again. Art class on Saturday, horseback riding on Sunday and then the Adelman's for the Brown's game and chili.

The Weekend

Another gorgeous weekend. Third one in a row. Very unusual but I'm not complaining. On Saturday, after Kyla's art class we went to a Halloween party at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. They always have really fun events. On Sunday, since it was in the mid 70's and sunny, Kyla and Jon grabbed their bikes and headed to the Metroparks. This was after Kyla's horseback riding lesson. Next weekend is Halloween. We'll be going to Stamatis for a cookout before trick-or-treating. It would be so nice to have this weather next weekend, too.

The weekend

We had another really great weekend. It wasn't as warm as last weekend, but we still had abundant sunshine and temps in the 60's. Perfect fall weather. Kyla started another session of art classes at the museum. We love being down in University circle. Especially on days when we can enjoy being outside as well as inside the museums. After class, Jon and Kyla played hide and seek on Wade Oval and then we headed over to the Natural History Museum so Kyla could climb on Steggie.

Today Kyla had her second horseback riding lesson. She seems to be really enjoying it. My only complaint is that it's a large class, so they don't get a good deal of time on the horse. They are learning alot about horses though, from grooming to tacking. When we got home from horseback riding lessons there was a message on the answering machine for Kyla. It was her friend Kendall asking her if she wanted to come over to play. Kyla was so excited she could barely contain herself. She called Kendall back (she was so nervous to make the call herself) and after telling Kendall she wanted to have a playdate, the moms got on the phone and made the arrangement. Kyla and Kendall are like two peas in a pod. Both only children, and both have summer birthdays. And because neither of them has older siblings, they're not as worldly as some of the other kids. I'm sure Kyla will have a huge grin on her face when I pick her up.

Last Wednesday we had quite a scare. The bus was late dropping Kyla off so I called the school. The school said she was in the bus line, but the driver confirmed she was not on the bus. So for about 20 minutes I didn't know where Kyla was. My thoughts went to very bad places. After sprinting out of work, I got a call from the principal saying that Kyla was on the bus. Apparently the bus driver asked if there was a Kayla on the bus. When she didn't answer (because that's not her name), he just sped Roland. What I later learned after many calls to the school and the transportation department to find out how this happened was that our bus stop had changed. There's construction on Roland and it's too hard for buses to tun onto Roland because of it. We were supposed to get a phone call but we didn't. Had we known, yiayia would have been standing on Ridgebury and would have seen the bus, and the bus driver would have seen her. Kyla was a little shaken up but not as bad as I would have thought.

Indian Summer

This was almost the perfect weekend. The temps were in the mid 70's, even getting close to 80 today. It was sunny and clear with a slight breeze. The only reason it wasn't a perfect weekend was because Jon and I were hit with really bad colds. Enjoying this beautiful weekend took everything out of us. And we still couldn't enjoy it the way we would have wanted. We did do a few fun things. Saturday we went to Lake Farm Park for their Corn and Pumpkin Harvest. Kyla painted a pumpkin, we tasted apple cider and apple butter, and went through the 3 acre corn maze.

On Sunday Kyla had her first horseback riding lesson. It started out with a tour of the barn, stables, and the areas relating to horse care. The lesson ended with each student getting on the horse and walking a short distance and then dismounting the horse. Kyla was very nervous and scared - just like she is any time she tries something new - but she said she loved it. She started out very hesitant, but got into it really quickly.

A birthday and a new haircut

Last weekend we celebrated Jon's 40th birthday and Dave's 43rd birthday. Kyla made them each birthday crowns.

Kyla also decided that she wanted a new haircut. She wanted it chin length with bangs. Just.Like.Aunt.Aimee. That's was the best way she could describe it. So while Jon was away in W. VA this weekend with Joe and Tim, I took Kyla to get a haircut.

And here she is with her new 'do.......

Chalk Festival @ CMA

We finally made it to the annual Chalk Festival at the Cleveland Museum of Art. It was such a fun event. The featured artists were doing amazing work. I wish I would have taken pictures. I took plenty of Jon and Kyla working on their squares. Here are just a few.

We will definitely be attending this event again.

Monarch Magic

Yesterday we went to the North Chagrin reservation for the annual Monarch Magic event. It's full of crafts and fun things to do. Best of all, it's free. The Cleveland Metroparks always out on great events. Kyla loves them! She was able to redeem a colored picture of a monarch for a free pair of binoculars and a tootsie pop. She hasn't taken the binoculars off from around her neck - well, she did take them off at bedtime and before going to church this morning. Today was the first day of Sunday School and yiayia picked her up to take her. I know the real reason she like going - coffee hour after Sunday School is full of treats. My girl has a sweet tooth just like me, and she likes to get her fix!

Labor Day Weekend

We had another great weekend. It started Friday with another night of successful pizza making. I really can't believe how easy it is! Saturday we went to the Great Lakes Science Center. We saw the IMAX movie Under the Sea.



Kyla was scared at first, they showed previews and she didn't like them, but once the movie started she settled down. After the movie we spent time in the science center. We got lucky and were able to see the Blue Angels from the deck of the GLSC. They are amazing! Our day ended with a trip to the West Side Market for some surprisingly good Dichotomy Popcorn (caramel and cheese) and dinner at Johnny Mango. On Sunday we had a cookout with our families. Kyla declared it "the best cookout of my entire life" - wow! It was alot of fun and papou and grandpa even got out and played soccer with the kids. I should have gotten the video camera out for that. Today is just a lazy kind of labor day. We had pancakes for breakfast and are having pad thai for dinner. In between, we'll be watching alot of the US Open.

The Weekend: All about dough

We had a really great weekend. We started out tackling a 3 acre corn maze at Lake Farm Park.

Then I tried my hand at making pizza the way Andrea showed me on vacation. They turned out great! I can't believe how easy it is when you know what you're doing. We all enjoyed them very much.

And to top it all off I made a peach pie. From scratch. With fresh peaches. It just came out of the oven and it looks amazing. We won't know how it tastes until later, but hopefully it will be as successful as the pizzas. And of course, we have vanilla ice cream. Because fruit pie is so much better a la mode.

End of the summer......

Tomorrow I start back full time at JCU. I'm not complaining because I know I have a great schedule, but it's hard switching gears. We had a great summer, full of all sorts of fun activities. This weekend is going to be beautiful, so we're trying to think of something fun to do. Joe Cip just brought a delivery of pizza dough and round pizza screens. Can't wait to try my hand at pizza making on Saturday night.

Kyla is doing really well with the adjustment of going back to school. She walked in by herself this morning, and bounced off the bus in an awesome mood!

First Day of School - Second Grade

Weekend

On Friday we headed to the Botanical Gardens with yiayia, Peter, and Maria. It was a HOT day but we had fun. Saturday we were planning on going to the Greek festival for dessert followed by fireworks. Mother Nature had other plans. It started raining in the late afternoon and didn't stop until after we went to bed. Instead, we made Pad Thai and watched a new family favorite, Ponyo. After Kyla was in bed, Jon and I watched Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. We really liked it, and it was the first time we've stayed up until 11pm in a long time. On Sunday, Kyla had her last swim lesson. She jumped off the low diving board for the first time. She was so excited! Summer vacation is quickly dwindling. Today we are supposed to go to the park for a picnic with Lauren, Jacqueline, and Lucy. We'll see if Mother Nature is more forgiving today. It's very cloudy and has been sprinkling on and off this morning. This afternoon we'll be heading up to Sunview to see if the class lists have been posted. Kyla is very nervous about starting second grade. She'll be in a new hallway this year. Change and unfamiliarity are really hard on her. I don't know what it's going to be like when we move and she changes schools. Speaking of moving, we have a showing tomorrow afternoon. It would be great if they made an offer, despite how crazy it would be trying to sell, buy and move just as the school year is starting.

Avalon

We're back from our vacation with the Mecchi's. It was an amazing week and we enjoyed every minute of it. Kyla and Lucia hit it off from the start. How could they not? They are mini's of me and Andrea. Here are highlights from the week:

- The beach - digging pools and body surfing

- Learning to make pizza

- Pete's Pad Thai and spring rolls

-Ocean City board walk amuzment park, all the kids getting air brushed tatoos. Kyla's was a panda bear

- Ocean City water park - great water slides

- Meeting Dan and Holly

- photo session in a wind storm

- Stone Harbor - ice cream and the girls getting their hair wrapped, we agreed before knowing exactly how much it was going to cost - Kyla's was almost $40, but so worth it. The girls couldn't contain themselves they were so happy afterwards

- meeting Jacob

- Jon being told he was the next Orlando Bloom

- playing poker with the boys

- Andrea's Europe story (the band not the country).

- Being so surprised that Kyla had no fear of the ocean - she learned to body surf, and that she loved the log ride at the amusment park

We're already planning to go back next year. This time with the addition of Joe and Donna and Dan and Holly. We should be able to get a really nice house on the bay side. Joe will bring his boat. It's going to be a blast!