Tuesday: With the situation in Montana becoming more difficult for Rhiana, I offered to help out by having the girls come and stay with me for a month and give her time to prepare to move. I started watching flights and had Rhiana head for Denver in the hopes of a quick pickup there. The past couple of days have not worked out but today everything looks good so I am excitedly off to Denver this morning. If all goes well, I will have the girls and be back in Dallas quick as can be.I arrive without any problems and head for the gate. A quick call to Rhiana indicates that they are here and going through security. Yay! It is all hugs and smiles when they arrive at the gate and although I know this is going to be very difficult for my daughter, I am thrilled at the time I get to spend with these beautiful girls. We are given our seats - another yay - and after a very difficult and teary good-bye we are soon boarded and settling in. Both ladies are very excited to watch out the windows but it is time to get seated and take-off. It is Elena's job to tell me when we are in the air and she takes it very seriously -- so cute. Soon, I hear, "the wheels are off the ground Gammy." Then she sits back and out come the crayons. Malea promptly falls asleep - yes!
(Since this blog cannot handle a daily dose of everyday life with the girls, I am simply going to share the highlights of each week. This will still make for 3 very long posts, so please settle in and just enjoy.)
Aunt Cassie is just finishing her shift at work when we arrive in Dallas so she is able to drive us home where Grandpa is waiting with some lunch for us. Once stomachs are happy, Elena's first request is for the "face toy" which I retrieve for her and she and Grandpa play for the afternoon, with lots of giggles over the silly faces that are created, especially by Mister. Meanwhile, Malea and Auntie are creating in the kitchen. (Pretty sure Cass will hate this pic, but it is the only one I have.)
Wednesday: Mister has work to do today, so Cass and I are off to the Dallas Zoo for the morning with our little charges. Before we even get there, Elena has requested riding the carousel and since it is right inside the gate, that is exactly what we do first. Auntie and Malea ride along, but Malea is not at all sure she wants to be there and refuses to sit on the animal, forcing Cass to ride and hold her.The first animals we encounter are the lemurs and they are having their breakfast and running in the trees, keeping the girls entertained the whole time. We soon discover that whatever Elena does, Malea wants to do as well.
Next up is the penguins and Elena wants so badly for them to swim so she can watch underwater but they do not cooperate and stay up on their rocks.Before heading out to the Giants of the Savannah, we stop at a new zoo feature where they bring out animals for up close encounters. Wouldn't you know it -- Elena gets her time with a penguin. What fun.
The next stop is the savannah and we are fortunate enough to find two cheetahs right up against the window playing and bathing each other. The girls are fascinated and watch for a long time, not wanting to give up their spots so others can see too. (Click on the picture to enlarge it for a better shot of the cats.)Ah, the savannah! I do so love this part of the zoo. It is such a peaceful place and I could sit for hours just watching these beautiful creatures. Unfortunately, my little charges don't see as much action as I do and they wish to continue on.
After feeding the giraffes, we return to the other side of the zoo and wander through the exhibits that get missed often. Auntie and Elena find a misting machine and cool off for a few seconds before we continue on to the Koala Walkabout area. We peek in on the koalas and look for the joey in the kangaroo exhibit - no luck - before heading into Lorikeet Landing where the girls can feed the lorikeets. 
I am not sure how this will go since I remember from our last trip here that birds are not Elena's favorite but we will give it a try.She does okay if I help hold the food and the bird doesn't even dream of landing on her. Meanwhile, Auntie loves every second of her time in here.
Our last stop is at the Children's zoo where Elena goes underground and peeks out at me from various spots on her tunnel trip, to the petting area where goats are fed, and to the fish pond for some additional food throwing. I think we are spending more time washing hands, lol. Giraffes, lorikeets, goats, and koi were all fed by these little hands.
It is time to go and we are all starving. We stop at Chick Fil A on the way home for lunch and a treat.Ice cream is the reward for two very good little girls who behaved so well at the zoo and ate all their lunch. Happy faces all around. Time to head home for naps. Auntie too.
Thursday: Today is our anniversary! The past 3 years have just flown by. Typically, we try and get away for our anniversary, but with our visitors, that is not possible this year so we are making a day trip of it. Mister has it all planned and I don't really even know what is up. What a sweetheart! First stop: White Rock Coffee. Cinnamon rolls, smoothies, and smiles all around. Elena says it is the perfect breakfast.Our next stop is the Trinity River Audubon Center. It is time for a nature walk.
We check in at the desk and within moments the girls have located a canoe on display and are quickly inside playing. After receiving a map of the trails and rescuing the canoe, we are on our way outside for a beautiful fall morning. We cross a bridge and Elena takes off running, leaving Malea to attempt the same thing. I stay with her and she takes her time crossing.
One of our first discoveries is that the monarchs are in the area. The migration must have started and they are making a quick stop here.
At the end of our trail is a Trinity River overlook. We stop for a few minutes and see if there is any waterfowl or animal activity going on. Grandpa has brought the binoculars and we are all giving it a try. We don't have much luck though and so after a short rest here, we start our journey back.
Malea is fascinated with the leaves on the trees and wants to touch as many as she can, but only with one finger. She doesn't try to grab any of them. Within moments Mister spots something cool. He shows it to me and I direct Elena's attention to it as well. What do you think we have spotted? Here it is:
It is time to keep moving on. We get back in the car and continue on to Lancaster. I have never been here before and we park so that we can explore the little town square. We find a wonderful yarn shop that is full of spinning wheels and a group of spinners. Now THAT would be something fun to try and learn to do. We also discover an old theater that is being revived and will have to keep watch for what they will be producing. A toy shop keeps everyone's attention for awhile, but the hit of the square is a small bakery where Elena is allowed to enter and purchase a cookie to share with her sister.We find a couple of seats outside and enjoy our little snack. Mister asks for a picture and we oblige.
Even Malea is cooperative when he wants her to pose.
As we are walking back to the car, we come to a wishing well that has been covered. I explain to Elena that it is covered and she can't see down into it, but she still wants up. Well, alrighty then -- if you are going to sit here, you must have your picture taken. Now, smile.
I love this one -- she found an angel statue near the wishing well and had to check it out up close.
Time to leave Lancaster, but it has been fun. Miss Elena would like a playground please for a little fun time. We hunt down a nearby park and off we go. Are we not the perfect grandparents? Just ask and you will be given. Ha ha.
And this little fellow said good-bye as we left the park.
Our last stop of the day is in Waxahachie. This is where my sweetie first proposed to me and it holds very dear memories for both of us. Mister has taken us to the exact restaurant we were in that day and we are going to have lunch there. Wow -- so thoughtful. I am in awe of him and thrilled that he let me into his life. We have a great lunch that the hungry children simply devour and then we catch Elena dancing to the music. Not a great picture -- but a wonderful memory addition for us of our lovely Waxahachie.Time to go home.
Friday: First - breakfast - love Malea and her yogurt.This morning Elena and I have decided to go shopping for some fabric to make a pillow for her. There is a sale at JoAnn's on their clearance rack. Yep, half off of half off. Seems like a good time for pink and purple fabric. We make our purchases and head back to the house and out to the studio for some one-on-one time. We get the 9 squares cut and Missy starts the design process to figure out what order to put them in.
Once that has been determined, she gets to sew them together. We talk about chaining our squares and making strips. We have to put the foot control on a box in order for her to reach it and away she goes. I put her on the Elna since it has the smoothest nearby surface right now. 
She gets her strips sewn together with lessons on pinning and does soooo good at matching her corners. Next, turn the pillow and start stuffing. I truly think this is her favorite part.
We finish up by hand stitching the opening with a needle and thread. This is a lot of in and out work, but she doesn't even complain about how long it takes.And the finished product:
Didn't she do great? After naps we are on our way down to Deep Ellum and a stop at Calais to pick up Mister's fair pass for tomorrow when he is working for Benjamin at the wine tasting. Across the street is a BBQ joint called Mama Faye's so we take the girls in there for dinner.There is an empty stage and the girls romp and play after dinner as we are the only people in the restaurant. It has been a good day and we are ready for bed just as much as these two are. We are finding ourselves going to bed VERY early this week. My guess is that it is because they are getting up VERY early.
Saturday: Elena and I are the first ones up and so we sneak out to the studio for a craft project before the day begins. When we were at JoAnn's we found a few close-out projects and picked them up for some extra craft time. She hasn't forgotten and is excited to start on one. These are magnets with pictures of each of them inside. We will have to get Grandpa to help with the photo part. Elena decorates and "blings" them out beautifully.
When she is finished, we have a little bit of time still and I want to do a little sewing so I show her the computer and we put Bob the Builder on while she builds with her blocks and I get to do a few more quilt blocks.It is soon time to head into the house, get Malea ready for the day and drop Mister off at the fair. Us girls are heading to DeSoto to meet up with Jen and watch Bekah at a marching band competition. Just as her group is about to take the field, a huge rainstorm comes through sending everyone running for cover, including the band that is performing.
Here is the full shot:
After about 45 minutes, we are back on track and the band takes the field. Bekah plays the small bass drum and has the metronome attached to it. It is the little red dot on the first drum. Can you find her?
Here is a close up:
After the performance, we spot Bekah outside a building and find out that she is waiting for just the percussion to compete. Jen had forgotten about it and we are going to be able to watch that as well. So cool. While we wait, Bekah is so patient with Elena and Josh, showing them the drums and letting them wear her hat. She even poses with them in a couple of pictures.So nice - pic of Elena not so hot, but you look gorgeous Bekah. I treasure these moments as I rarely get posed pics of Bekah -- she just doesn't like them.
After the second performance, we need to return to Dallas and pick up Mister as he has finished at the fair. Jen will likely be in DeSoto for awhile waiting for the standings to see when the band competes a second time.
We are on our way home from the fair grounds when she calls and lets us know that Bekah won't perform again until around 10 that night. Seriously? She is only about 30 minutes from the house so we tell her to come over and we will feed her and Josh and spend the evening together. Mister and I quickly through together a chicken dinner and all is good.Jen has brought decorations for Jacob's party with her and we help her cut and paste as many as we have time for before she has to go.
Sunday: We spend a lazy day at home and Elena and I make pom pom turkeys as a project. Somehow the camera didn't get used. Rest time.
Monday: Since today is Jacob's birthday party and we are going to Temple, I think he deserves his own entry. End of week one.
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