A Day in Manhattan

After doing some shopping this morning at the Target in Riverdale (the girls had their gift cards to spend, and we also needed to get them suitcases for their return to Colombia), we went to Manhattan. First stop was KIPP STAR to meet some of Chris's colleagues. The girls met Julie, Veronica, Nathan, Latoyia and Natiki, and also had the chance to see Jane again. After that, we went over to the East Side "al cine" -- Fernanda has been asking to see a movie for the past few weeks. We saw "G-Force" in 3-D. Guinea pigs on a mission to save the world! The kids seemed to enjoy it though I think the fact that it was all in English made it a bit murky for them. Oh well!
After the movie we went to Barnes and Noble for a little while and then to the playground at East 77th Street to meet up with Liz and Leah. The girls couldn't resist the call of the sprinkler!

Then after a quick dinner it was time for their last swim lesson. (Note the new swimsuits -- Target!) They loved having their lesson after dinner, and showering at the pool so they don't have to bathe tomorrow morning.

Then back home for a quick walk with the dogs, Kitty video and bed. Wendy got a lift to the bathroom to brush her teeth!

Visiting with New Friends

Jen and Gigi and Theo came down from Greenwich today to meet Fernanda and Wendy and hang out with us. Thanks to Gigi's intrepid leadership, all the kids got in the sprinkler at the park!

It was a lazy rainy afternoon, so the girls spent time watching videos (Hello Kitty continues to be the favorite) and playing with their dolls.

After Chris came home we walked the dogs and drove down to Manhattan to see Mark, Laura, Elianna and Aliza. The girls had a great time hula-hooping in the gym in their building before we headed out for dinner together.

It's hard to believe we have only 5 more days together -- the girls return to Colombia early morning on next Tuesday, August 4. They have started to talk about it, especially Wendy, who has confirmed the departure date/number of days left every day for several days now. In some ways I'm sure they are happy to be returning to familiar surroundings, but in other ways it will be very difficult for all of us to say goodbye.

Visiting KIPP; Wendy Swims!

We visited KIPP Academy today and the girls met all the teachers and also had lunch and spent time with a few of my Spanish-speaking students. They are getting a bit overloaded with all the picture-taking, but we did manage to get a few photos -- the first one below taken by Wendy.

While I was meeting with Blanca and Kate the girls were entertained by a video and then did some drawing.

And, HUGE milestone when we got back home for the swim lesson -- Wendy decided to join Fer and she SWAM!! She was very scared at first but got over her fear quickly, thanks to her teacher Jennifer's calm encouragement. She did so well and we were so proud! Fer continues to grow with her swiming skills as well. She got herself all the way down to the deep end and back by herself today!

Jersey Girls!

We went out to New Jersey yesterday to see our friends -- the girls enjoyed spending time with Patricia and Jessica and Jillian again and also got to meet Jim. First stop was the zoo! They had a great time playing together -- we also went to the pool and had a delicious taco dinner (our new family tradition!).

Thanks for a great day! :)

July 24-26 Tivoli Weekend #3

The girls finished their tennis camp on Friday and we headed up to Tivoli that afternoon to meet up with Chris's sister Kathy and her family. Fernanda and Wendy loved meeting Tio Terrill and Tia Kathy as well as Monica, Jasmine and Marcus. It was Tivoli Day on Saturday, so we walked around and went to a few yard sales.

We spent time at home and also went to the pool over at Sengstack.

On Saturday night we had a barbecue (thanks for grilling Matt!). Christine and Matt and Jack joined us, as did my parents. Marisol also came over and spent some time with Fernanda and Wendy and also baby Jack.

After dinner we went down to the river to throw rocks and then to Holy Cow for ice cream. "Helado" is always a big hit!

On Sunday the kids had a bit more time to play together, and then we all had to head our separate ways -- Kathy and family back to Virginia, us back to Riverdale and then to New Jersey for the Kidsave meeting. This one was at a cooking school -- the kids made desserts, pizza and smoothies, which they thoroughly enjoyed!

Regalos! :)

Chris and I brought the girls to Manhattan on Wednesday to meet Christine and see Kate at book group. Christine generously gave them not one, not two but THREE gifts -- cute tops, new outfits and clown noses! They loved meeting her and seeing Kate again. Chris then took them to a pizza place down the street while I got an hour of friend time -- I guess all the exercise at their new camp made them hungy as Wendy apparently ate 4 pieces of pizza!