Tie Dye

The last week and a half has been C R A Z Y. But in a good way.
My cousin and her adorable daughter came up north to visit her best friend in Connecticut. And since they were going to be only 3 hours away I got to snatch them away for a week- with ME!
Needless to say, I have 2.3 million pictures that I have to crop my big butt out of. I hate that Austin is at that height where my derrière is in every picture. So until THAT is done, here is an example of the shenanigans we got into.

 I purchased a Tie Dye box set. Which had very specific instructions which I TOTALLY followed.

Almost totally.

Dyeing shirts helped the kiddos recognize color combinations. 

It was amazing how all of the sudden it sunk in that yellow and blue make GREEN.

And that all of the colors together make a dark diarrhea color.

 No pressure.

Especially since Austin told me he wanted his to look exactly like on the box front.

"R" was a little more free flow with her design.

Girls are SO Much fun to do crafts with!!

Oy vey.

 Public Service Announcement:

When the directions tell you to wear gloves.

Do it.

It is 4 days later and I still have zombie apocalypse cuticles.

My favorite craft we have ever done.

Because I am feeling confident in my abilities to dye things now. So good, I'm thinking that maybe I was an old hippie woman in the 60's who made her living selling these bad boys out of an old VW van in San Francisco.

First tie dyed shirt ever.

Boom.

Call me Thyme Taylor.

A is for adorable.

Off to the races!

Last week we three finally made it to the Saratoga Race Course.

I was tired of people asking if I had been yet.

And some friends of ours had a table right next to the track.

Winning.

 Speaking of winning.

I  had my own consultant who helped me place my bets.

He knew all of the ins and outs of the process.

Kelvin spent the whole time helping the uneducated gamblers.

For a fee.

 The place was PACKED.

We had a table that was loaded with all sorts of snacks and drinks.

Our host and hostess totally hooked us up.

 We were RIGHT.NEXT.TO.THE.TRACK.

 Austin really loved the horses.

 I really loved when my horse won.

 Ticket.

 Frank and Chris enjoying a refreshing "girly" beer.

 No family picture is complete without a child hanging off of Mommy.

 Lone Ranger.

 Then it rained.

A lot.

So we made our own tent city.

And Austin ate 27 brownie bites.

I can't wait to go again! Especially since I came out a winner.

Now if you'll excuse me- I'm going to go find a bubble gum machine to spend profits in.

Once upon a time...

We had rules for our dog.

Like no eating treats on our bed.

Chris is convinced that she has learned this behavior from me.

I told him that when I eat Dove Chocolates in bed I remind her that it is my "medicine" and that the doctor said that I NEEDED to be in a slightly reclined position and reading a book for it to be effective.

But that it in no way meant that she should be eating in bed.

It's not my fault she has a limited understanding of the English language.

Summer Lovin'

Summer has been fun.

But seriously?

Bring on Fall.

 Backyard swimming.

Backyard swimming (at Miss Carol's House)

 Burning up the blacktop.

Trying out new playgrounds.

And camping in the living room because it is 500 degrees and raining outside.

Ballet (and Chocolate)

Guess what I did a few weekends ago?

Oh, no big deal...

I just saw the New York City Ballet.

Performing three pieces...

Jeu de Cartes (Stravinsky/Martins)

DGV (Wheeldon) (Nyman/Wheeldon)--- I cried. It was so beautiful.

Symphony in C (Bizet/Balanchine)

While drinking wine and eating goat cheese on fancy crackers.

And sitting under a gorgeous summer evening sky.

 Peter Martins.

If you know who he is- you are excited that I got to see him in person.

 Three of the four ladies I was with brought chocolate.

And we all brought different kinds.

Birds of a feather...

 We had great lawn seats, and were angled so I could catch some detailed footwork on the big screen.

 Pictures are most definitely not allowed.

So of course I took a few with my phone.

So fuzzy- but I loved that the dancers had unhooked the backs of their tutus and were chatting excitedly after their last summer performance.

It took me back to my dancing days.

Which was about 14 years and 20 pounds ago.

Best night.

Ever.