(all of the sudden I can’t remember my darn Roman Numerals – what is up with that?!)

Highlights from today and yesterday include the following:

Please note the delicious dinner I made.

Healthy and tasty.

Pasta e ceci – or for us non-Italians, Pasta with Chick Peas.

If I could I would eat three bowls of this right now.

And the not so healthy dessert I made

Something weird happened to the crust of my Mississippi Mud Pie.

Fellow foodies, what do you think might have gone wrong? The crust wasn’t crusty it was soggy and nasty. Hmmm?

Monday night means Family Home Evening around here.

Millie conducted the meeting and lead the music.

Her exact words were, “Everyone look at MEEEEEEEEEE.”

Jan taught an excellent lesson on empathy – or doing unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Then Khali and Millie lead us in a closing song.

T’was grand.

Today was a quiet day of playing around the house

working on a rubik’s cube

and writing screen play-ness

All was quiet

until

I turfed Summer and Khali out.

Telling them it was “now or never” if they wanted to go to the MET. So they jumped on a train and went into the city.

(photos taken from Summer’s iPhone, which is to say, Allan’s old iPhone. Jan has promised me his iPhone, when he upgrades, so I am just biding my time until like Summer, my man’s phone shall be my phone -mwa, ha, ha)

They came back hashed and happy.

They city has a way of doing that to you.

I was hashed too and I didn’t go into the city — ugh!

Until tomorrow!

Keep it real, mis amigos.

Sunday, in it’s own special way, almost killed me.

I was exhausted.

So exhausted that while I was playing with Clara

I fell asleep

right there

on the dining room floor.

(Must have been going to bed at midnight the night before, being woken up at 3:30 by my baby, then getting up at 6:30 with my other daughter, running our ward’s primary, coming home making lunch – you get the picture).

With all that going on the theme of the day ended up being FOOD.

It was Fast Sunday – so we all had food on the brain.

Are you interested to hear what was on our menu?

For lunch I made Pasta alla Norma – it looked pretty, but didn’t taste awesome. I mean, it was okay, but it wasn’t a show stopper.

That’s alright because the dessert I made… was.

(more on that later)

We grown-ups have a standing tradition -Sunday Night Nachos for dinner.

For the girls I made a “scrumptious dinner” – that is what Millie calls a meal which consists of cheese & crackers, grapes, apples, yogurt w/ strawberries atop.

I am not sure that this is actually interesting, but as I have pictures of it, I will tell you ALL about it.

Since there are photos, all of the sudden, you care! Am I right?

For dessert I made

wait for it

chocolate creme brulee

It was very, very nice.

Summer said, “Hey, Liza, get a shot of me taking one of these away.”

So I did.

While we’re on the subject of Summer. Check out what she is wearing. It is the sweetest hoodie of all times. Every mom should have a hoodie like this one.

Practical, every day wear – but feminine and lovely.

She found this winner at Antrho while I was trying on the crazy green number. I know you remember that crazy green thing – how could you forget it?!  In case you are trying to forget it or block it from your memory, here it is again.

Man, I look like a demented leprechaun. That or I might get asked to help those three little munchkins in the Wizard of Oz  represent the lolly pop guild. YIKERS.

While we were celebrating Summer’s awesome purchase I wanted to capture it on film and she wanted to pretend to be an Anthro model.

I think she does a pretty convincing job.

After the photo shoot Summer ran upstairs to tell the little girls some bedtime stories.

Summer is an awesome story teller – she makes the stories up as she is telling them.

(I just love the look on Khali’s face in this one- “awe, mom! you’re the greatest!”)

One of Summer’s original tales was about a girl who swallowed a cranky bean and her ensuing adventure as she tries to find a way to be happy again.

Pure awesome.

And that, my friends, was our Sunday together.

If we could send you a post card it would read,

“Having a swell time. Wishing you were here.

oxoxox,

us girls”

Good news! the plane was not “deleted” and Summer and Khali arrived safe and sound, albeit at 1:00 AM ! Their flight was a little delayed but it all worked out. You see, when you have a Starbucks at the airport a little delay can be melted away into the bottom of a tall hot chocolate. (Don’t forget the whipped cream…mmmm!) At least it can be when you have an awesome mom like Summer.

Millie was thrilled when Khali poked her head around her bed room door!

They giggled and squealed until 2:00 am when I had to go into Millie’s room and force them to bed.

They were up first thing in the morning – playing their hearts out!

We peeled them out of their twinner nightgowns and dressed them like twinners in matching green gingham. Yes, Summer and I had several phone conversations about this before they arrived. The nightgowns were purchased just for this trip – all the way from London. But the gingham they’ve had for ages.

It is beautiful to see a well laid plan come together.

I know they belong to us, which means that I can’t help but think they are cute as buttons, but seriously, you’ve got to admit they are kind of darling.

Be still my little heart that loves some good old fashioned “matchy-matchy”!

Dressed to kill, we left Clara with her dad and Uncle Eno and piled into the mini-van.

Eno had been making crazy faces to get C J’s attention in the previous picture. I think she wasn’t 100% sure that staying home with the boys was what she wanted to do.

When you have all your teeth, Clara, you can come too.

We headed to Greenwich Village…

For breakfast at

IT ROCKED!

When we thought it couldn’t get any better, then the hot chocolate arrived!

It couldn’t have been more wonderful – actually, it could have – I take that back. It would have been better had Nikki, Brynn, Bette and Grandma been with us. (Oh, and Benjamina too, lest I forget my OTHER sis-in-law).

Next time that corner booth will sport ALL of the Kelly women! (Clara too, if she has her teeth!)

After our NYC adventure we came home and pottered around the house for a while. The girls played happily for HOURS and then Summy and I got the itch to go out so we went grocery shopping and to the mall to return something at Anthro.

**Oh, the fun times just kept coming!**

Summer hadn’t ever experience Antro, so I felt it was my DUTY to give her a proper introduction. There would be no dashing in, returning said item and dashing out.

Oh, no!

There would be a trip to the fitting room.

And there would be fun!

FUN, I say!

We tried on some cute stuff, and some down right weird stuff.

This one was our favorite weird-o item.

We laughed for about 15 minutes when I tried this beauty on.

We also stopped by Janie and Jack and grabbed something for the girls.

Yup! You guessed it! MORE matchy-matchy for these little cuties.

May I say something that is in my heart:

Life, you are BEAUTIFUL! and I ADORE YOU! Especially when you give me such moments to share and cherish with my sisters.

And oh, how I love to watch my daughter create moments with her cousin that they will cherish forever.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for this wonderful time.

It is already proving to be

TOO TREMENDOUS!

did you know it has a smell?

well around here it does.

it smells like

vanilla and lavender

(or in other words, our dryer sheets).

it also has a look.

around here it looks an awful lot like a

“hospital corner”.

This very night two sweet little heads will be asleep a top a pillow that has been

washed

fluffed

and generally fretted over

until

everything

is

just

right.

Come on Summer and Khali!

We’ve been waiting for your arrival…

and we say,

“let the good times roll!”

P.S. Millie just asked me to relay this message, “Just remember to tell them if the plane is deleted.”

Copy that.