So, we're still recovering from the exhaustion (you wouldn't believe how much work it is to have two little girls be in a dance recital - with dress rehearsals, pictures, hair appointments, specific stage makeup requirements - you'd think I had two of the Rockettes living with me! And of course, Steve managed to schedule a business trip and be out of town for most everything except the recitals themsevles!) but we're also still coming down from the incredible high - between the performances and the other fun stuff we did with Grandma and Uncle Jeff, those few days were jam-packed with excitement!
With Steve away in Michigan, the kids and I picked up Mom and Jeff at the airport on Thursday afternoon. We were SOOOO happy to see them! We hadn't seen Mom since her first trip out here in early March, and we hadn't seen Jeff since Christmas, before we moved here. The cutest thing was that Andrew was totally obsessed with Uncle Jeff! Maybe he sensed the need for some guy time, especially with Steve away. But he took to him instantly and didn't want to leave his side all weekend! And Jeff, to his credit, has really grown in his ability to relate to the kids (more on that later). When I first had Teresa, he was still pretty young (heck, *I* was pretty young myself!), and he'd really never spent much time around, nor had much experience with, little kids. But now, he's the epitome of the cool, fun uncle, and the kids just adore him!
So, we went to one of our favorite cool local spots for lunch (Sauce, a gourmet pizza and wine bistro-type place) and then Frost, a gelato shop, for dessert. Then we came back home and spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing in the pool (since Jeff's one request was to return to Chicago with a tan). I made dinner, one of my favorite "local color" recipes (Margarita Shrimp) outside on the grill, and then we got the kids to bed so that Mom, Jeff, and I could catch up a bit.
On Friday, I cooked a big breakfast for everyone and we relaxed around the house in the morning (of course Jeff went right out to enjoy the pool again!) Then we drove around a bit on a mini-sightseeing trip so I could point out some of the pretty local points of interest. And we ended up where I'd made reservations for a special surprise for everyone in the afternoon - a traditional high tea service (which my family always loves) at this absolutely adorable tea house, the Chantilly Tea Room. It was fantastic! The Duchess Afternoon Tea (for the adults) included a choice of very unique teas served with tea sandwiches, savories, homemade scones and accompaniments, pastries, cookies, etc. (Good thing I've been working out at Curves almost every morning!) For the kids, they have the Mad Hatter Tea - hot chocolate served in a beautiful teapot, with cute little PB&J tea sandwiches and jellybean scones. The kids TOTALLY loved that, and of course the girls are now begging to go back next month for Chantilly's special Princess Tea (where everyone must come dressed as her favorite Princess).
After tea, we attempted to walk off some of the carbohydrate overload at La Encantada, a gorgeous shopping center full of fabulous stores. Great-grandma had sent a few dollars for each of the kids with Mom, so they spent their money at Mildred & Dildred, an awesome old-fashioned toy shop. I had to visit Mimi Maternity - since of course, this being only my fourth child, I don't have a nearly large enough maternity wardrobe yet ;) I mean, it's not as if I have an entire separate closet full of just maternity and nursing clothes. Uh....OK....so maybe I do, but still....! Come on, it IS 110 degrees here right now, so turtleneck sweaters and wool skirts are not going to do it.
Friday night was Uncle Jeff's treat! He told me he was trying to think of something fun that he could do with his nieces and nephew that they don't do much otherwise, and he came up with the idea of bowling! This was SO perfect - the kids had never been bowling before, ever, and the girls had recently started begging to go sometime. So Uncle Jeff treated us all to sandwiches at Quizno's and then a couple of games at Fiesta Lanes. I had forgotten that my brother had played on a bowling team back in grade school, but he's still really good - in one game, he had something like 7 strikes! He had them put the bumpers down in the kids' lane and taught all three of them how to bowl - it was the cutest thing! Of course Teresa, my Little Miss Competitive, had a fit when she couldn't bowl perfectly on her first try (actually, Maddy won both games in the kids' lane!) but all the kids ended up having a blast - as did I (even though I had bowled in about 8 years and this confirmed that I still STINK at bowling just as badly as I did back then!)
Steve finally got home from his trip late Friday night, so the kids were excited to see him and tell him all about our adventures with Grandma and Uncle Jeff.
I think I'll post about the recitals and those photos separately - but most of the rest of the weekend was taken up with the preparation and then performances. On Saturday night, we took everyone out to a special dinner in Mexico to celebrate the great job the girls did - we went to my absolute favorite place, La Roca, which is just over the border in Nogales, Mexico. It still amazes me that we can go to Mexico so easily! I just love it. I went there last week with a girlfriend and her kids, to do some shopping in the markets (I bought a very gorgeous talavera serving dish, among other things!) It's just so cool to be able to park the car on the U.S. side of border and just walk with our strollers right over in Mexico, do some shopping and grab lunch, and then go home! But La Roca is just fabulous - it's the best food you'll ever taste, the best live Mexican music, and the most unique and beautiful ambience (the reason it's called "La Roca" is that it's actually built into the side of a mountain - right into the rock.) Mom and Jeff really enjoyed it.
But before we knew it, it was time to drop Mom and Jeff at the airport again on Sunday. We were SO sad to see them go! Here are some photos of our time together:
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