But, being the trouper that I am, I coped and didn't complain (much) or put the air conditioning on.
So let's start with the view from my living room window. This tree is gorgeous and smells as good as it looks. I thought it was a Dogwood Tree, but it smells like roses and each blossom has five petals, as opposed to Dogwood blossoms, which have four petals. Of course we do live near the Limerick Nuclear Power plant, so it's possible this is a mutant dogwood tree.
Whatever it is, it sure smells great and was one of the really nice things about having the windows open and the breeze coming in.
Another fun part of the weekend was that we officially inaugurated the barbecue season, which as well all know I love because I don't have to cook. Oh, and it's nice to see family, too. Here's the gang from the first barbecue, which was steak and potato salad and apple pie. (And of course my DD iced decaf!)
After our late lunch/early dinner the girls got to spend some quality time with Grandma and Uncle Dude. And I got to lay on the couch and sweat.
On Sunday Hannah and Liz decided to make the best of things by playing outside and coloring under the tree (pictured above) that smells so good.
They are both impervious to heat and are wearing FLANNEL LINED pants in these pictures. I sort of have this rule that they can choose their own clothing on the weekend with no argument from me but seriously, FLANNEL?
It could explain why they look a little overheated below. But they didn manage to come up with some very nice artwork. Hannah's picture is of Rob and I. Lizzie said her's is a self-portrait. (And Mom before you call me, I AM going to get their hair cut soon!)
Luckily the girls were able to cool off in the stream in our front yard. Here, Hannah cools off Lizzie...
And then herself...
Then they both turned into frogs...
And hopped inside for dinner!
And here they are in their first home, an oversized tea cup. You probably can't tell from this picture, but these goldfish are actually dying. They are asphyxiating right here in this teacup.
Here is Lizzie coveting the Polly Pocket in her basket from Aunt Tina. Aunt Tina believes that as Godmother it is her duty to make sure that my girls are both spiritually schooled and test my personal Christian patience. Let me say for the record that teeny tiny Polly Pocket shoes are ANNOYING. But Lizze and Hannah sure liked them.
Hannah, though, was all about the candy. This is her fourth Fun Dip of the morning and, if you check out the clock in the photo it's only a quarter past nine and we went to 8 a.m. Mass. So, you do the math. Hannah loooooooves sugar. I am, however, not a fan. But since I was the Easter Bunny who selected the fun dip I have only myself to blame.
Then it was onto Terry's house. Terry (also a Godmother) gave the girls another basket of candy (and YUM popcorn) because really you just can't give OTHER PEOPLE'S CHILDREN enough sugar. Here's Terry with some of the delicious food she cooked. And Tina. The menu was ham and smoked salmon (out of this world good smoked salmon), cheesy potatoes that Hannah scarfed down in between chocolate eggs and jelly beans, devilled eggs (Terry makes the best devilled eggs of anyone I know), salad, fruit salad, my way too heavy bread, and a bunch of desserts, including a turtle cookie bar thing that I made that came out much better than my bread.
A closeup of the cook and non-cook:
Here's T.A. occupying himself during the cooking portion of the afternoon:
Ann and Brenna were there, too. Brenna's holding a bunny named Chewy (I think) that she got in Lancaster and a Frisbee that (I think) she stole from Terry. The Frisbee doesn't have a name, although Brenna did keep calling it MINE.
After dinner there was plenty of time for relaxing. Here's Hannah with Aunt Tina.
And Tommy having a deep and meaningful convo with Aunt Tina:
Before settling in for some video gaming:
Lizzie counts all her Easter Eggs (each kid got to find 12 eggs before moving on to help Brenna find eggs):
Brenna didn't need much help, as she managed to find her OWN eggs:
Hannah does a quick count to see if she's collected enough eggs (so she can start eating the candy inside!):
Excuse me Hannah, but do YOU have an extra eggs?:
Okay, it's not an Easter Egg, but gosh could this picture be any cuter? I think we got the sombrero from Aunt Anonymous and I have no idea where Brenna found the shaker of cake sprinkles:
Here's everyone after the hunt ... getting ready to start running around on a sugar high:
