What a Week

It's been quite a week.

We started out with big storms on Wednesday...tornadoes, severe thunderstorms and wind. Ari and Alex were a little nervous about the storms, but only when we were in our basement and the lights kept flickering. When we came back upstairs (where there was more natural light from the windows), they were fascinated watching the torrential downpours and didn't even notice when the electricity went off for good.

Of course, this all happened on a night when Mommy had a Girls Night Out planned to see the new Sex and the City movie. The group had bought their tickets in advance-- for a theater that also was without power! Not to be deterred, the girls changed their plans to go to a theater that did, actually, have power, and they left husbands and children behind to fend for themselves in the dark (don't worry, it was after all of the kids had gone to bed). As soon as they got to the second theater, and immediately after one of them had bought a whole new set of tickets for the group, the storms began anew and the power at THAT theater went off! Luckily, it went back on right before the group almost gave up and went home...so Mommy and her friends did, at last, get to enjoy the movie. Here is a picture of the group while the power was still off, in a darkened lobby. This is one set of determined women!

The power was actually out at home for over 12 hours and didn't go back on until the wee hours of the next morning...only to go out again later Thursday morning. So Mommy got the kids out of the house to go to an outdoor concert, where we ran into "twins plus one" friends and their mommy, as well as some other familiar faces. Luckily, by the time we got home, the power had been restored.

Thursday night we received the very sad news that Daddy's grandma, Oma, had passed away in Germany. While it did not come as a surprise, as Oma's health had been failing for several months, it was still sad to say goodbye to an amazing, inspirational woman. This is a woman who spoke several languages, loved learning and socializing (especially with the "younger" crowd) and had a passion for life. We are sad that she never had a chance to meet Kira in person, but she did get to spend time with Ari and Alex, for which we are extremely grateful.

While Daddy packed to leave for Germany for Oma's funeral, Mommy took Alex, Ari and Kira to meet up with friends Joe and Sammy at a local park that has a miniature train and lots of playgrounds. It was a good distraction for all of us, and Ari and Alex were happy to catch up with their pal Joe. We rode the train, played on the playgrounds and had a snack at the picnic tables. Kira and Sammy liked watching each other in their respective Baby Bjorns.

Joe, Ari and Alex waiting to board the trainAlex and Ari on the train (with Joe and his mom and sister in the background)Sammy, Jenn and Joe on the train rideAri, Alex, Kira and Mommy on the train Ari and Alex on the "little choo-choo train"Alex on the train tracksAlex makes some new friends on the playground

Friday night Mommy and the kids went to Chinese dinner with Nana, Poppy, Aunt Lori and Uncle Sam. Ari and Alex ate half a plate of chicken fried rice as well as some edamame, Chinese noodles and Aunt Lori's "Big O's" (tempura onions). Kira enjoyed her baby peas and bananas, but seemed to be eyeing Mommy's sushi with keen interest.

This weekend is forecast to be a hot one with heat warnings in effect, so we're going to be looking to keep as cool as possible!