Italian ice in the backyard.
Probably the best decision I made this summer was to put Ella and Claire in semi-private swimming lessons together, even though they are at different skill levels. They have both improved so much already. They love their swim teacher Elizabeth (you know you are in good with Ella if she draws pictures for you) and always look forward to lessons, even on days like this when it wasn't very warm outside.
My poolside buddy.
On Wednesday I had plans to meet my sister-in-law Melissa and four nieces in Manhattan. Our husbands were both working in the city that day and we figured we could play for a bit and then meet up with the guys for dinner. The forecast called for a day of unbearable heat (hottest of the summer so far) and strong thunderstorms in the afternoon, but we knew if we tried to reschedule it would probably never end up happening so we stuck with the original plan.
Our first stop was the Central Park Zoo.
Checking out the snow monkeys. I think everybody's favorite animal was the red panda. And as a side note, if you ever want an outdoor heat index of 110 degrees to feel cool, go inside the rainforest exhibit at the Central Park Zoo. It was somehow even more hot and humid than it was outside. I am a summer-loving girl to the very core, but I won't be moving to the Amazon anytime soon.
Hot and sweaty, but still smiling (for the most part).
We saw the storms starting to roll in, so we left the zoo and headed to FAO Schwarz. We walked in the door literally 5 seconds before the heavens opened up.
We killed time waiting for the storms to pass by playing on the Big Piano and generally torturing our kids by making them spend an hour in one of the biggest toy stores in the world and not letting them buy a single thing.
We waited and waited for the rain to die down, but the troops were getting hungry and restless (and by troops, I mostly mean a certain blonde-haired two-year-old). So armed with a couple of umbrellas brought from home plus a few extra $5 street umbrellas, we headed out into the elements. I was in the back trying to push a double stroller with one hand while holding an umbrella with the other. It's not as easy as one would think.
It turns out if we had just waited an extra 10 minutes, the rain would have stopped completely. But then we wouldn't have the memory of running through the streets of New York in the rain... right?