Summer of 2011

A lot is going on this summer. Sarah and Randy will be in NY with their paternal grandparents for 3 weeks and then coming back to Florida for their mom's wedding. They are both very excited about the upcoming nuptials, which is very good to see. They had an awesome school year, graduated into middle school and now are enjoying the summer fun.

I baked a special cake for them for their graduation.

Our sweet Haley is a pure delight. We hope to get her graduated from Pull ups to Big girl underwear very soon. She is working hard at this transition and enjoys her successes.

We had our  3rd. annual girls weekend this year and in honor of Karen we dressed Panchita in a wedding dress. It was suppose to be a beach theme but Panchita had trouble getting into a bathing suit. She promises to slim down and be ready for next year.

We had fun swimming, watching movies, and doing a craft project. The children also went to visit the horses. For Haley, Sarah and Randy's bd I hired a couple of horses for a couple of hours and we had a lot of fun that day. Haley just loves horses. She takes after grandma de for sure when it comes to my love for these beautiful animals.

For this year's Grandma De's Country camp I hope to have Sarah and Randy for one week.  We are going to do some cooking classes, swim, go horseback riding and I may teach them how to do a fondant cake. Sarah is very interested in this and for the past year I have become better at making fondant cakes. We will visit their great grandmother and maybe have lunch with her. I wish I could  also have Haley for a week, perhaps next year.

Haley finger paints, while Randy takes the bull by the horns and Sarah takes the reins.

Just a few blocks from my home there is a ranch named Rock N Stables. This is the first year that they offered a summer camp for children. I jumped at the chance for Sarah and Randy to take horseriding lessons with them. I enrolled them each for one full day of camp on different days.

Sarah visited me for one week first so she enjoyed her full day at horse camp with several other cow girls. She learned to feed them, brush them, and of course ride them. She thoroughly enjoyed the experience and wants to return next year for a full week.

Randy was next. Randy also did the housekeeping chores of a cow boy. He cleaned the stalls, fed the horses hay, brushed his horse and learned how to ride the horse, but added to his experience was roping. He really enjoyed learning how to rope.

The instructors were very relaxed with the children and the camp was well organized. The children were given a delicious lunch and swimming was also available during the lunch break. The day with the horses was everything and more than I had expected for Sarah and Randy's first experience with a horse. I recommend this camp to anyone.

During this summer our visit with baby Haley was also a lot of fun. She is getting so big and is so smart. Sarah and Randy enjoyed playing with her. She did her first finger painting masterpiece with Sarah and enjoyed a relaxing time with Auntie Karen, Randy and Cocoa. Haley's summer experience included her first airplane ride to attend the DeFrancesca Cousin's picnic in Libertyville, Illinois. She and Tammy enjoyed a 3 day weekend with Papa and I and the Walsh's and Ganchows. She also went to a farm where she saw lamas, coats, and sheep.

Summer of 2010 with Randy, Sarah and Haley

This summer is going to be a little different for us. Sarah and Randy left today for upstate NY with their other grandparents, Chris and Randy. They will be there for part of the summer. Sarah will return alone in two weeks and Randy will stay until the end of this month.

Chris and I have been taking the kids to the Naples water park for the past 3 years to sort of kick off the summer. We return from the park and swim at our pool. Frankie makes us a very nice dinner and they spend the night. This year Randy and Sarah are old enough to go off on their own, although we did the lazy river with them a couple of times.

The only big thing I have planned for them this year is to take them horseback riding. They have not done this and I am sure they will each enjoy it.

The 2nd Annual Girl's Sleep Over Party.... It was great!

After 3 months of preparation and creative ideas, it all came down to the final details and timing which made everything run smoothly. The party was changed from the original date of April 10th to April 17th. It was good because I needed the extra week to get a few more things together.

Tammy arrived with Haley on Friday night. I had a crock pot cooking with Chili which they enjoyed. Saturday Karen and Sarah arrived around 3:30. Sarah was wearing a cute festive dress. Tammy and Haley also got into the Mexican fiesta spirit with their outfits. I had decorated the house on Thursday and set the table. Friday I cleaned house and gathered my recipes. On Saturday I pretty much had everything done except for the final details. I made the Margaritas in the morning and froze a batch. The mexican music was playing when Chris and Pam arrived. Yes, we were off to a very good start. Chris and Pam were also wearing outfits that fit right into our theme.We had a few margaritas and ate chips, cheese and homemade salsa. It was time to play the yarn game. That was actually a lot of fun. Sarah liked the web we made as we tossed the yarn across the room while saying 5 things we knew about the person we tossed the yarn to. We held onto the end before tossing so the web was interesting. Haley did her own thing with the red yarn as we played the game. She had it all wrapped around her neck. Of course we kept an eye on that situation. She was having fun, the new Haley style, wrap everything around the neck.

We then played the picture game. I took a picture of Panchita before she was completed. I then asked all the senoras and senoritas to study Panchita very well. I then removed Panchita from the room and gave them each paper and pen. I gave them the picture of Panchita and asked them to write down what was missing. Chris won the guessing game. She guessed 16 items. I was in the kitchen preparing our dinner. I heated the spanish rice I had cooked earlier and put the chicken enchiladas into the oven while they played the picture game. I also boiled some corn. Dinner was delicious. Sarah asked to take home the left overs. We didnt have room for chili or dessert. As I cleaned the kitchen everyone made their way to the jaccuzi/pool. I joined them for a few minutes and then we got into our jammies to watch Alvin and the Chip Munks movie. I made a chocolate fondue and cut up some fruit. This was enjoyed by everyone. Haley went to sleep around 8:15. Tammy around 9:30 and the rest of us stayed up until 1:30 am, including Sarah. Staying up is part of the party so we couldnt expect her to go to bed early.

I gave the girls their gift earlier so they could wear their socks if they wanted to also the bracelet I made for them. They liked the wooded hook with their first name initial. Sarah and Haley received the handmade mexican dolls I made for them.

I got up early Sunday morning, 5:30 to be exact, to finish cleaning the kitchen and set the table for breakfast. One by one they got up. Around 9:30 am Tammy was making her special southwest omlets for everyone, which was great. By mid day, I must admit I was getting a little tired, but I mustered up the energy to do the happy face pinata with Sarah. Haley was asleep so she missed out on this. She took hers home. I also shared with them the Youtube video of the dog dancing salsa. This was to be our salsa instructor. They all liked that. For lunch I served the chili and the dessert we did not eat on Saturday. Flan, fruit jello and tres leche cake. Tammy had to leave by 1:30 so off she, Haley and Sarah went. Karen stayed to help with the clean up. Chris and Pam stayed for a little while longer. The three left around 3pm. Before they left we drew from three names, Pam, Karen and Tammy to see who would host the party next year. Tammy's name was picked. Pam suggested Panchita should be our mascot. It was fine with Panchita.

The party was a huge success. I know because I was exhausted but felt very happy that everyone had a great time. Adios Amigas, Until next year.

Panchita

Mexican Mini Mouse Panchita

I've never worked with paper mache but I thought I would give it a try. It was quite easy actually, just a little messy. It is endless what can be created out of some strips of paper 1 cup of flour, 2 cups of water and a teaspoon of salt mixture.( A nice paste consistency,not too runny or dry, The salt is good to add in high humid areas ).The hardest part is waiting for it to dry before I can add another layer. I made three layers and little by little our little Panchita was born. She was adorned with a beautiul skirt I made with paper napkins, the body was made with gift wrapping paper, the flower on her head is colored tissue paper, the legs are an old pair of my knee high stockings, the slippers I made out of felt squares and cardboard. The ring she is wearing is made with colorful pipe cleaners. I even made a lipstick out of felt to go into her purse.

Mexican Girl Doll

What do you think of the mexican dolls? I pretty much used what I had in the house already and I bought a few things. I had a tan colored canvas like material for the body and I bought flannel squares in different colors for the dresses. I also had pieces of lace to decorate the dresses. I made a template for the body of the doll and hand sewed the two dolls and dresses. It took me about 6 to 7 hours per doll to make.
I made Haley's doll with a more child like face and Sarah's doll with a preteen face.
They turned out beautifully.