Day 4

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Today, we had our first outing.  We decided to take Melinda to Galleria Dallas to do a little shopping and ice skating.  When I suggested this, Melinda was shocked to find out that we had an ice skating rink inside our mall.  When we arrived at the Galleria, Ally noticed the large 'B' and 'G' that has been circulating around the city.  We explained to Melinda that this is part of a campaign to showcase the 'Big D' and that you are to stand in between them as the 'I' to complete the word.  I did not get a picture of this on my phone, but she did on her camera.  It is a super cute picture!  Once inside, we walked just a short distance until we arrived at the second floor ledge overlooking the rink.  We explained to her that at Christmas time, this was especially cool because of the gigantic Christmas tree that occupies center ice.  The girls just couldn't wait any longer, so we headed downstairs and they got suited up for skating.  Melinda is a very good ice skater and was nice enough to 'carry' Abigail around the rink for almost an hour.  Ally did fairly well on her own.

We stopped at a pizzeria for lunch before continuing on to the rest of the mall.  Melinda picked up a few more items, as did my girls, and we decided to call it a day.  Once we arrived home, we rested up before getting ready for Abigail's soccer practice that evening.  Ally and Melinda decided to stay home while we went;  It's been nice to ease Ally into 'the teenage years' and staying home alone while Melinda has been here.  Robert and I both are so happy to see Ally becoming a mature young lady with a little guidance from Melinda.  

After dinner and the girls' bedtime, we sat around the dining room table and discussed the things that she in interested in.  Oh, what joy and what surprise.....she likes so many of the same things that I do!!!!!  She loves the Nicholas Sparks movies, Glee, The Big Bang Theory, Friends, and sappy RomCom's!!!!  She was not aware that those movies had books that they were based upon, so naturally I pulled all the copies I owned off the shelf and we discussed each of them.  I hope that she will find the confidence to attempt to read one before she leaves, but if she doesn't, that may be a nice farewell gift or care package for a later date.  

I also told her about my other favorite book, To Kill a Mockingbird.  We told her that it is considered to be an American classic and is a book that most high school students read in their English class.  Again, she seemed interested, but was not confident enough in her language skills to try to read it.

Melinda is just an amazing young lady and we are so blessed to have her with us this summer!!