Bella's 3rd

On Saturday, we were lucky enough to be invited to our friend, Bella's, birthday party. It was held at the Hershey Tea Party Company - what a GREAT time. The HTPC specializes in theme parties for girls and teens. This party was a "fairy" party and it was magical. =) There were butterflies and glitter and a beautiful tea party set up. There were skirts and wings and crowns for each girl. There were even pirate outfits for the boys. They painted nails and did make-up too! I could go on and on, but check out the pics! Nat simply ate-it-up. The party was MADE for her and she is already planning her own fairy birthday party =)

Big Birthday Weekend

Well, this was a big weekend for us. My nephew, Max's, 6th birthday was on Thursday. My MIL's birthday was on Friday. Our friend Bella's birthday party was on Saturday and Daddy's birthday was on Sunday!

Daddy was working midnights so for breakfast, he brought home some donuts for us all. After church, I baked a cake while the girls decorated the house. Natalie, with Jules' help, spread Easter grass all over the floor. She figured it would be great to step on because "it's cushy." She also hid Easter eggs. I iced the cake and the girls chose the phrase "#1 Dad" to put on it. They then decorated with more icing and sprinkles. I swear, it says "#1 Dad" somewhere in there.

We also made a sign and our own hand-made cards for him. For activities, Nat decided we should hunt Easter eggs (...guess who found them all first... the girl that hid them!) She also came up with a rule that "you can't watch movies (tv) on your birthday." This was her clever way to make sure Fox News and hunting shows were not on TV. =) Daddy came up with a game too -- seeing who could pick up the most Easter grass. He and Nat raced. We both decided I was the real winner in that game =)

We love daddy and are so happy to celebrate him. He's a lot of fun and loves all of his girls very much.

Where the Ducks Walk on the Fish

Yes, you are about to see actual footage of northwestern Pennsylvania's #1 tourist attraction, drawing 1.5 MILLION tourists annually. This Taj Majal of Crawford County is none other than the Pymatuning Spillway in Linesville, PA.

I personally believe that the spillway sees so much traffic because it appeals to a wide range of individuals:

1. The Bargain Hunter. Admission is FREE and some old stale hot dog buns are all you need for the ultimate fun.

2. The Family. The spillway is family friendly. The attraction involves no swearing, no nudity, and no violence... well, just a little pushing and shoving.

3. The Wildlife Enthusiast. You couldn't thoroughly explore every inch of the largest aquarium in the nation and see as many fish as you can see here, standing in just one spot. Not to mention the variety of water fowl hungering for your attention.

4. The Lovers of All Things Gross and Freaky. Like watching a surgery on tv, staring at an accident scene, visiting a freak show, or the graphic representation of a bullet entering and exiting someone's body on CSI, the spillway is something that totally grosses you out, but you just can't help but watch.

Just watch the clip... and be sure to turn your volume up:

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Damico Family Reunion

Finally, I am getting to posting this =) On Sunday, July 19, we attended the annual Damico Family Reunion. This is John's mother's big Italian family. As always, we had a lovely time visiting, ate some great food, and Cindy (my MIL's cousin) was a great hostess =)

Amy was in charge of games and activities for the kids and did a great job. The men, of course, played their annual game of bocce and Mars won the gift basket. (I heard a chorus of AGAIN!?!? when she won. ;)

They had a whole group of people travel from Rochester, NY and some from Florida to be there! I think it's so nice to see an extended family get together. There is too little of that these days. I know with my family, our reunions stopped not long after the death of my great uncle and the heightening of my gram's Alzheimer's. We still tried to get together for a few years, but it just wasn't the same. Growing up, my family reunion was the absolute HIGHLIGHT of my summer. Nothing else came close.

A Happy Heart

I tell my girls stories about Gramma Sanner when she was young. However, I usually call Gram "Wheezie" in those stories. One time I finished my story and Nat said, "what happened next? what's the end of the story."

I said, "that's it, that's all I know."

She said, "Well, can we get that movie so we can know the end?"

"That's not a movie honey, that was a real life story. Do you know who Wheezie is?" "No" "That's Gramma Sanner!" She was surprised.

So last night, I was broiling some chiles in the oven (from my garden... thanks Suzette!). I had the oven door open and was turning the peppers. Nat came over and sat beside me.

"If I sit in front of the oven, I will grow bigger," she said.
"Why do you say that?" I ask... but I'm pretty sure where this is going.
"Well, because Gramma Sanner did that." Then she said some group of words that meant it was a long time ago and that it was a real story, not made up.

My Gram was born in 1918 as a twin and she was around 2 lbs. The doctor told the mother that the small baby girl would likely not make it, to "put her at the foot of the bed," and that she should just focus on the baby boy. He also told the mother she could turn the oven on, open the door and put the baby girl on the oven door. =) That's just what she did. As we know, the little girl made it! If fact, she lived to be 90!

So, 91 years later, my 4 year old wants to sit in front of the oven to grow. =)

Then, just three nights ago, Nat asked me to tell them a "Wheezie story" before bed and for the first time, Julsie said, "yeah, Wheezie."

Do you know how happy that makes me? To know my children will know my Gram although they were very young when she died and to know Gram will live on in small part because of the wonderful stories I tell them.

How I Kicked the Habit

That was fast, huh? My DC habit has been kicked... with the help of my husband.
You see, he happened to have a few extra minutes between the gym and going to work last night. Nat and I happened to be watching High School Musical 3. He came in just at the part where Troy asks Gabriella to the prom. They then sing and waltz on the roof top of the school.
He said, "you let her watch this? This is a little inappropriate for someone her age. Is the other stuff you watch like this?"

This morning, I was half way through this post when he came home. I made him some breakfast and he sat down to read the blog. He was about 5 posts behind. When he read the post about my DC habit and saw "I think it's a little too old for my girls but I watch it anyway." He said, "soooo, I was right on last night."
Funny, if you are questioning whether it's right or wrong, it's probably wrong and you just want to do it anyway.
Don't get me wrong. There are a lot worse things to watch than HSM (like soaps and almost all prime time tv). There is no kissing, no swearing, no violence. I love them. And if you watch them, don't think I'm being judgmental or pious. Each mom and dad just has to look at their kid(s) and see what they are ready for. We have just decided to hold off on watching those shows until our kids are a little bit older.