Saturday while I was at work, B took all the kids to the local pool and the girls finished up the day hanging out with their friends. Sunday we drove out to my mom's house for my grandfather's wake - the kids went in mom's pool and hung out with the neighbor kids all day. Monday was the funeral and a big lunch with lots of family and friends we don't see very often. Tuesday morning was swimming lessons (yes, the kids are definitely drawn to water, lol) and we hung out at home the rest of the day. The kids watched movies, played games, read, and W made this:

On Wednesday we stayed home so i could try and organize this apartment a little better. I could clean and move stuff around for hours and it still won't look right to me. Sigh. I'm going to try it again on Sunday - and I need to cull old stuff from the basement.

Thursday was J's 11th birthday! The kids had their final day of swimming in the morning (they got cute certificates) and we spent the afternoon in Manhattan at the American Girl Place! We'd gone there 3 years ago for her 8th birthday and she was dying to go again. We picked up her friend, A, and hopped onto the subway. The store was just as great as it was then. J had been scouring the AG website trying to choose a new doll (she has "Nelly" and "Marisol" already - and K's "Felicity", along with a Bitty Baby, Bitty Twins, and "Logan", from the Hopscotch Hill collection I don't think exists anymore). But when we got there, she still spent over an hour deciding, lol. She had it narrowed down to 3 different "Just Like Me" dolls or "Molly" (the 1944 one). She finally settled on the curly-haired "Just Like Me" doll. She also picked out "Coconut" (the white dog) and 1 doll outfit. We watched dolls getting their hair styled in the hair salon, saw lots of girls wearing the same outfits as their dolls, and peeked in at the doll hospital on the mezzanine. I enjoyed the store almost as much as the girls. W liked it too, even though I heard a few huffs and puffs along the way. Here are some pics:














After American Girl Place, we walked through Rockefeller Plaza where they had a huge farmers market going on. Not only were there tons of local fruits and vegetables, but a homemade honey stand (they brought along a an active honey hive), an organic raw cheese/free-range beef stand, and so many other stands I couldn't stay away from. For lunch we all went to a great neighborhood Japanese restaurant. And of course, ice cream birthday cake for J!

Today I took the kids to the New York Hall of Science. We met up with some homeschooling friends and had a good time. We watched a cow's-eye dissection, and the kids enjoyed so many exhibits - from watching amoebas swimming around to making giant bubbles, to arm-wrestling kids from a science center in California (technology is pretty cool these days!). Here are some pics! {W "levitating" at the anti-gravity mirror, the cow's eye dissection, the kids in a rope tangle, the boys putting together a brain puzzle, and W rock climbing} -- btw, I'm totally camera-happy lately:







We had a great week! Swimming, friends, Grandma's, J's birthday, American Girl, Rockefeller Plaza, Japanese restaurant, Hall of Science, J at a sleepover tonight, and K has a birthday party tomorrow!