SUMMER 2011

The heat has arrived in Arizona. The past several days have been 110+ which makes it very hard to do anything fun unless it is inside. We dread this heat each year but love our weather 8 months of the year.

We are settled into our new house and LOVE it. We have so much more room, the girls have their own "playroom" and it is nice to keep all of their junk contained to one area. We have a nice backyard with grass and the girls like to play in the grass.

Junior is away again working out of town. He was in Texas for 6 weeks in April and then home for about 3 weeks and now back working throughout Missouri. We miss him terribly when he is gone but are thankful for the work.

Carmen is moving back to Kansas City on July 2nd and we will miss her. It has been great having her here for the last year and the help that she has provided has been wonderful. The girls really love their Wella and they will miss her very much. She plans to come out for a few months each winter and we will look forward to that.

Nothing big planned this summer. We hope to make a trip to Florida early fall to visit Junior's best friend Carl and his family - they are moving there in a couple of weeks from Kansas City.

The girls continue to grow and amaze us each day. I have to say that I love 4 year olds - Caroline is such a joy and has become my little buddy. I love to take her with me to do things and we have a lot of special one on one time. Gabriella at 2 is of course a nightmare to take anywhere. I'm so tired of chasing her around the mall. She tends to be left at home with Wella while Caroline and I run errands.

Here are some pics from some fun things we have done this summer. Spending time with close friends and family, AZ Puppet Theatre, outdoor concerts, etc. I'll add more pics as the summer progresses.

XO

The Silverios'

DANCING QUEEN - GABRIELLA'S FIRST DANCE RECITAL

At home before the show
On stage - not too excited

Mommy and her mini me

Daddy and Gabriella

Nose picking - at least it was before the show instead of while she was on stage

Our Dancing Queen

Tiny Dancer

Proud Big Sister Caroline

The Be Our Guest dancers

Gabriella right end

Gabriella has been enjoying her weekly ballet / tap combo dance class at Higher Grounds dance studio in Mesa, AZ. She is the youngest one in her class but boy can she shake it. She loves it! The dance studio recital was held on Friday, May 27th and Gabriella was a star. During dress rehersal that morning she screamed the whole time (probably because mommy was right there backstage). I was very nervous about the actual performance. We dropped her off backstage with her teacher 30 minutes before the show and we then anxiously awaiting the big performance. She did GREAT - no tears, just moving and shaking. We were so proud of her.

Here are some pics from the big night! Hopefully the dancing will continue though I think that it can get pretty costly - trips, costumes, etc. Oh well - she loves it and we love watching her. Maybe someday she will be on the Grammy's or something!

Enjoy.