Weekend fun

We had a really fun weekend. Friday was Ramy's 9/80 day, and he was able to get a dentist appointment while Rebecca and I were at Gymboree. Rebecca had a great time at Gymbo - she was really into the slides and especially the tunnels, and she even participated in the parachute activities and had a wonderful time (she still thinks the log rolling is a task beneath her). We came home and met up with Ramy at Panera Bread for lunch. We ended up going shopping at JC Penney because they were having a sale and Ramy needed some new shirts. He was hoping to buy some shoes, but he didn't care for the Rockports they had. I still managed to find some sandals that needed to come home with me. Friday night, we met Ana and Simon at a churrascaria (a Brazilian steak place - they bring all kinds of meat by for you to choose from - Ramy's idea of heaven) for dinner, and we learned that they are having a baby at Christmastime. We're so excited for them! When we got home, we had an email that Ramy's friend Paul and his wife Courtney had had their baby girl Zoe that day. My friend Julie is due any day now, so we have lots of babies coming!

Saturday morning, we ate breakfast at Panera Bread and went grocery shopping at Trader Joe's and Henry's. Saturday night, we went to a graduation party for Ramy's cousin Lindel at Ramy's cousin Beting's house in Rancho Cucamonga. Rebecca had a great time playing with all her little cousins. Her cousin Hannah (born the same day as Rebecca) was there and there were a bunch of other little girls. Rebecca also ate a lot of new and different food, including pancit. She loved it!

Yesterday morning, we went to 7:30 mass, came home and changed clothes. We had Father's Day brunch reservations for 9:00, and then we came home and all took a long nap. By the time we woke up, we were already late to leave for the party at Maddy and Paul's, but we got there pretty quickly. Maddy had bought this giant inflated water slide and it now resides in their back yard:



We changed Rebecca into her bathing suit, and she was excited to get to play in the water. She had a great time!


I was a nervous wreck, even though Ramy was right there with her, because I was afraid another kid was going to slide on top of her or she was going to fall and aspirate the water...but none of that. She was trying to climb up the water slide and the fact that she would fall backward or slide down only made her want to do it more! Our friend Brent got in with Matthew, and although Matthew didn't want to go down the big water slide, Rebecca sure did, and she was perfectly happy to let Brent take her down it.



She was cold and her teeth were chattering but she didn't want to get out.
We sat her on a towel in the sun to dry out, and she thought she was one of the big girls. Rebecca really enjoyed Ashley. She wanted to talk to Ashley, pat Ashley, hug Ashley... It was soooo sweet!



Vincent grilled hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken, shrimp, zucchini...you name it. So we had lots of good food. Rebecca especially enjoyed the strawberries Maddy grew in her garden and dipped in white chocolate (Rebecca didn't eat the chocolate, just the berries)!



After we got home last night, Ramy took Rebecca with him to visit his dad for Father's Day. He thought that by waiting to go later he would have more chance of his dad being awake. He was awake and sitting in his wheelchair, but nonresponsive. Rebecca was such a sweet girl; she seems to sense that he is fragile. She isn't afraid of him at all (which would be understandable, since he doesn't behave in the way she expects people to behave) and she's always so good and quiet when they visit him. She leaned over to him and patted and stroked his arm. Ramy said it was the sweetest thing he had ever seen. Rebecca really does seem to have a strong sense of empathy. She gets so concerned if she sees another child crying.

So that was our action-packed weekend. It's hot and getting hotter here in Southern California. Today and tomorrow are going to be above 100° F, so we'll probably be getting in some pool time. My mom and aunt are home from Ireland. I'm glad they are safely back. My aunt is having some problems, so it wasn't the greatest of vacations. Hopefully we can get to the bottom of what is going on with her very soon.