Happy Campers!

This past week Piper and Polly had a wonderful week at Jack Kramer "SCAT" Camp. It was swimming, crafts, arts and swimming. It was such a wonderful experience. The counselors were so amazing with the girls and they woke up every morning asking to go to camp. The favorite couselors were Shannon and Stephanie. These girlls were just incredible and Piper and Polly were two happy little campers.

Little Mermaids

Here are Piper, Polly, Brooke and Jenna. They had a fun night of swimming, while we had a yummy bbq (thanks Chris and Jen). I just love long summer nights!

Priceless Art

The girls loves decorating the driveway. Piper made lots of suns and also loved drawing playgrounds. Polly kept making boats, she got very upset if anyone stood on her masterpieces. She also took frequent breaks to dance and twirl, as I am sure most artist do. Another great activity that Gigi and Grampy came up with for the girls.

Catching Fireflies

Next to swimming and watching for deer, Piper and Polly loved catching lighting bugs on our visit to PA. Piper had one that she swore came to her every night, his name was Toby. They were armed with nets and had a blast catching those little fire crackers.

Mommy Eats her Words!

So, I always said that when the girls came to me and asked if they could pierce their ears (thinking this would be around 7 or 8) I would oblige. Well this week out of the blue Piper began asking to get her ears pierced, the first few times I said are you sure, you do understand it hurts? But, she just kept saying despite the pain she still wanted to do it. Well since you have your ears pierced forever, we decided to go to Disney. I gave her every opportunity in the world to back out, really hoping once the gravity of the situation hit, she would be out of that chair in a split second. So we are at Libby Lu's at Downtown Disney while Piper picks out her earrings. They explained what was going to happen and that they would do both ears at once. She still wanted to proceed, she picked adorable rainbow flower (the petals were tiny gemstones). Then it was time, she sat on my lap held my hand tightly and made a quick grimace and it was over. Amazing, the girls there said 95% of the girls, even older girls cry. Before I could process the situation, little Polly was up in the chair wanting her done. She said she wanted pink flowers. I really never intended to get hers done. She sat there and was very happy and excited, I told her she did not have to do it, but there was no way I was getting her out of that chair. It was over in a flash and again not a single tear from Polly as soon as they showed her her ears there was a huge smile on her face. I still can't believe they actually went through with it, but what a great experience!

Marin and Stella turn 4!

We had a wonderful Sunday, celebrating Marin and Stella's Birthday's. The birthday girls were just so cute and it was great to share their special day with them. Polly decided the heat was too much and was naked the entire party, luckily we were amongst friends. It was a perfect day filled with family and friends!

Conrad Cooper- Swim to Me!

Piper and Polly just finished their swim classes with Conrad. It is not for the mommies faint of heart, this includes me, but once I saw the results he had last year with Piper, I signed her up again and added Polly. His method consist of a series of dunks under water and the child's natural instinct to swim. By the end of the week both Piper and Polly went down 10 feet to pick up a toy at the bottom of the pool. Piper did it on her own and Conrad went down with Polly. You truly have to see it to believe it. Now we just have to keep practicing to make sure it sticks.

Slip Sliding Away

We could not resist setting up the Slip & Slide. The girls were a little timid at first, but once they saw daddy demonstrate, they were game. It actually occupied them for some time. It was just so hot on this day and this was the perfect activity to cool off!

Mini Beach Vacation

It was such a nice weekend that we had to take advantage and have a day at the beach. Luckily, we went with Ro and Dalanie who are always prepared. They had great umbrellas which made it extra enjoyable. Ro made a tide pool for the girls and they just loved it. Katie and Jon were visiting so they came and my parents also came. It was just a wonderful day, it truly felt like we were on vacation.

Portugese Bend Beach Club

Here is a picture of the infamous "tire swing crew". Piper just adores Jacquelyn, Jenna & Brooke. We all went together to Portugese Bend Beach Club, it is an adorable private beach in PV. It is so rustic and wonderful. Of course Piper and Polly had a wonderful time!

The Dodd's

We had a great evening with one of Andrew's oldest friends Chris Dodd and his wife Bernie. He has 4 beautiful little girls, Molly, Alice, Gracie and Georgia. Piper and Polly were having so much fun with the girls. The evening culimnated with 4 little girls in the tub, what fun they had!

Immogen and Piper Meet Again!

So the first time Immogen and Piper met was in London. Then we went to Houston to visit. Then it was off to Mexico where they ran along the beach together. Immogen visited us here in LA and this time they got to meet up in their dad's home city of Melborne. Immogen was off to live in Singapore for the next few years so we were so glad we got to catch up.

Luna Park with Natalie

On the way over on the plane, Piper made quick friends with a little girl named Natalie. Her mom is from the states and her dad is Australian. She also goes to a Montessori school in New Hampshire. We were able to catch up with Natalie and her family at Luna Park. The girls had so much fun together, riding the rides and playing games. Andy, came with us too. He was such a huge help, he would go on rides with the girls, and was patient while they were riding the smaller rides.

Downtown

We decided to give the Monagle family a well deserved break and spent a night downtown in the Grand Hyatt. It was a fantastic day, the girls got to ride on the tram and enjoy a relaxing bath in a luxurious setting. Long gone are the days of romantic nights with just Andrew and I staring into each other eyes. All of us piled in a deluxe king size bed with remarkable views of the city. We would not trade these fantastic memories for anything! Just a note of caution, if you press the emergency stop button in the elevator, it comes to an adbrupt stop. Poor Harrison, he nearly jumped out of my arms and balled his little eyes out.

Jump!

As I mentioned, jumping on the trampoline, has been a favorite activity of everyone. The girls and Andy have been very patient and Piper and Polly have been loving every second of jumping on the trampoline. These pictures are of Polly, Alice, Andrew & Andy, and Piper each showing their unique style.