My Summer Vacation Has Come To An End

My summer vacation is over.  Today was my first day of school.  I have been practicing getting up early all week, in preparation for waking up at 5:00 am this morning.  The alarm went off, but I didn't pop up quite as fast as I should have.  It's going to take some time to get used to this routine again.  

I had a great summer.  My recovery from surgery went well.  I'm feeling like myself again and have most of my energy back.  My Friday, Saturday and Sunday mornings were spent at Starbucks, hanging out with Eric, drinking green tea, people watching, and catching up on our "couple time".  I got a few more days in at the beach than last year and watched loads of mind numbing, stupid TV.

So, the 2012-2013 school year has begun for teacher/mom/chauffeur Tracy!

As if the first day of school isn't enough excitement for one day, our lovely exchange student arrived today.  We will be hosting Ane for the next 2 weeks at our house.  The girls are excited.  Sinobia will hopefully get to practice her Spanish and Gabby will immerse Ane in the Evanston/Chicago/American culture while showing her how we "live it up" in the Aiden household:)   In October, Gabby will travel to Spain and live with Ane's family where she will have the opportunity to become immersed in their culture.  I am excited to pamper her and make sure she enjoys her stay with our crazy family.  Oh my sweet Eric...poor guy, we now have one more girl under our roof!  He's such a great sport!

Our good friends (shout out to the Greenwell family!!) have an exchange student as well, so this evening we hosted dinner for their student and Ane's first night in America.  Great food, friends and conversation.  A fabulous way to end the day.

Gabby and Ane within minutes of arriving at our house

Of course, I'll keep the blog updated with adventures from our exchange student's visit.

Gabby and Sinobia start school next week, so they are still sleeping late.  I'm off to bed, it's a school night you know!

Aiden Family Reunion

Grandma and Grandpa Aiden with their Grand-daughters.

Last weekend, the Aiden family loaded up our cars and headed to Detroit for our Aiden Family Reunion.

Yep, that's us...posing by the fountain!

It was pretty cold and rainy in Detroit.  None of us were prepared for the weather after enduring 90 degree plus weather for much of the summer.  After a few trips to Meijer for some wardrobe additions, we were all set to explore the city and hang out with family.

Gabby, Ashley, Terena and Sinobia doing it like they did when they were little...
all dressed alike!

Friday, we all loaded up on the tour bus to visit the Henry Ford Museum.  As soon as the bus pulled up to the museum, the clouds cleared up and the sun began to shine.  With that, we headed over to the Greenfield Village, where you are taken back in time:

 

"Entering Greenfield Village is like stepping into an 80-acre time machine. It takes you back to the sights, sounds and sensations of America’s past. There are 83 authentic, historic structures, from Noah Webster’s home, where he wrote the first American dictionary, to Thomas Edison’s Menlo Park laboratory, to the courthouse where Abraham Lincoln practiced law." 

Family shot by the fountain.

Next we headed over to the museum.  The girls were excited to see the Civil Rights exhibit where the actual bus that Rosa Parks rode on resides.

Of course, no museum visit is complete without a trip to the gift shop!

Saturday night was the highlight of the whole weekend, what we all had been waiting for...

The 70's Themed Party!

We spent a whole Saturday (6-7 hours) shopping for these outfits!
I think we did a good job!

Eric and the girls!

Aiden's In The House...Super Fly!

Everyone enjoyed the 70's music, great food, dancing and fun!

Sunday ended the reunion with church, brunch and then back on the road, headed home.  

Halloween is in a few months, hopefully there will be a party or two going on...what on earth are we going to do with these costumes!

Summer Circus Comes To An End

This summer, Sinobia attended the 2nd session of summer camp at the Actors Gymnasium.  The summer circus production this session was their very own adaptation of The Tempest.

Sinobia spends 10 months of her year in the pool swimming, this is where she is most comfortable and graceful.  Swimming is her love.   She has grown up watching Gabby hang from stuff, climb stuff and live the circus life.  After rigging our swig-set years ago with silks, a trapeze and a cloud swing, Sinobia started learning a few aerial tricks from Gabby and teaching herself some new ones on her own.  Last summer was her first try at Circus Camp, she returned this year for another session.

Like her sister, Sinobia will pretty much hang from anything and try to do a trick...here she is on the famous "diamond" during The Tempest:

What took my breath away was her love for dance and how quickly she can catch on to a dance routine and execute it.  I think she looks so cute in this great dance routine (which she practiced in our kitchen for a few weeks):

Summer camp is over now, Sinobia didn't mess around...she is now back in the pool, playing Water Polo for the next 3 weeks!

The girls will enjoy the rest of their vacation sleeping late, watching the rest of the Olympics and possibly a few trips to the beach.