The girls took a bubble bath at Grandma’s after our kayak trip on Saturday – I love this photo. So cute, minutes later C turned on the jets and without much water in the tub, they squirted every which way and everyone! So very glad the camera was out of harms way!
We’ve had a busy week already and I am tired. I do blame this tiredness on the haze, it is 3 and the sun is finally coming out – I don’t like to complain, but come on it is July! Us Moms need the energy from the sun to keep us going through these busy summer days.
This week we are doing swimming lessons…currently the girls are enrolled in a program that meets everyday for 2 weeks. Hoping for some breakthroughs!
This morning we toured a local fire station with some friends which was fun for all! After my adventures being rescued from the side of the freeway by some nice fire fighters last week it seemed fitting to take the kiddos.
We took a quick trip to the beach:
And for some reason Greg decided that it was a good idea to buy the girls a real microphone…I guess this house wasn’t noisy enough for him! So now we are all set up for kid karaoke – I fear we are becoming “those” neighbors who are always loud! At least we are quite between 8pm-7am….
” I like to Move it Move it”
P’s favorites are “All the single ladies” & “Puff the Magic Dragon”
I didn’t get too many fun photos of our celebrations – but we had a great day! We went down to Greg’s parents for a BBQ and took the kids out for a kayak ride which was great – it always seems like a hassle to get everyone loaded in, but such a fun way to spend the day. After some naps and cupcake making we headed up to Pasadena. Our friends Gary and Alejandro (aka Teeny) live in a gorgeous home above the Rose Bowl – it is literally the perfect place to spend the 4th of July. A nice huge lawn for the kids to run around, always some tasty food and drinks and of course the best fireworks show around. So pleasant and relaxing – thanks guys!!
My cupcake making assistant:
I used my paparazzi style zoom (well maybe not quite) to take a picture of the neighbors house. Every time we visit we ogle at this house – can’t you just see Greg and I living in this modern beauty with incredible views!
We hope you all had a lovely holiday!
SO COOL!
We spend the day at the Skirball Cultural Center today for the Noah’s Ark exhibit. I’ve been wanting to take the kids for awhile now and I’m so glad we made the trip. Everything was hands on and interactive, the staff was quite great and they had some many little nooks to discover and explore. Truly a unique and amazing exhibit. I would say it is best for 3 and up and they do have some climbing that says its for 4 year olds and older, but P had a good time for the most part, even though her mood left something to be desired (as did her night of sleep the night before!) As you would expect – lots of photos from the day….
We brought a picnic lunch to enjoy before we went in.
We enjoyed cookies for Jake’s birthday.
The crew minus P who was in a mommy mommy mood and B who was probably running away from her Mom.
Getting warmed up to see the animals; jumping like a kangaroo
Lots of animals to snuggle!
Take a picture of me laying with the Walrus.
Climbing and exploring
Yes I know this is a ton of photos for one post – the slideshow below shows the above plus more of dancing like animals, working on a craft project – a fun-filled day!
Sometimes we get fixated on things without really understanding why. Recently I decided I wanted yellow shoes and went to the new Nordstroms shoe department with total confidence that I would find them. Well I was disappointed, the sales people looked at me like I was odd thinking that they simply must have a yellow pair for me. Something in me thought that yellow shoes would be the perfect summer shoe this season. So I went on upstairs and found a cute top to spend my gift card on that day. I was reminded of my obsession at a party recently when I saw a girl wearing a perfect yellow shoe, not a wedge like I was looking for, but cute nonetheless. The next morning I clicked on an email for those private sale websites and I found them on sale – Via Spiga which I know is comfy so I ordered them – it was meant to be. They arrived this week and I am excited to wear them, yes I will be over 6 feet in these shoes, but hey I like being tall.
Monday was a big day! We took our first trip to the American Girl store and had a special lunch with Grandma Nancy. It was a bit overwhelming as they wanted every single thing in the store with all of their might. “Let’s put it on your birthday list” was the phrase of the day. P Lou did get to pick out her first doll as having one special doll and two girls in the house was causing a lot of angst. They both got to get PJs for their dolls and a set of matching shirts for them and their doll – Grandma was super generous!
Thank you!
The anticipation is palpable:
The first look:
After some tough deliberation PLou chose Lanie – the newest doll or doll of the year or something – she supposedly likes the outdoors and gardening.
The hair did look nice for about 1 minute – these dolls are pretty high maintenance in terms of their haristyles. These days I certainly spend more time on dolly hair than may own (a sad sign of the times). The dolls with the long hair are technically for 8 year olds and up, but really how can one resist them, and head for the babies?
After the madness in the store we headed upstairs where there was more and more and more clothes and accessories and dolls, but we made it to the cafe and had a nice lunch. They bring little high chairs for the dolls which of course the girls loved and asked if we could buy one! “Birthday list!”
C and Julie in their matching tees:
This was a fun adventure for the kiddos, not one to make every month, but maybe a yearly trip.
It doesn’t feel right that I let Father’s Day pass without posting about how lucky my girls are to have such an amazing dad! He takes them on fun adventures, loves them dearly and they certainly love him back. There is nothing quite like the excitement in their voices when they hear the gate in evening and yell “Daddy’s home!”
I did snap a couple of pics Sunday morning after our yummy banana muffin breakfast.
After lounging around the house a bit we enjoyed lunch down on the patio in Naples with Greg’s family and then we got to head out for a night at the Hollywood Bowl. There is something truly special about a summer night at the Bowl, we brought a picnic, and this trip we discovered a shuttle bus from Lakewood – all around a great time. Combining two of Greg’s favorite things; live music and public transportation. We got to see 5 different groups as part of the KCRW summer concert series and my favorite of the bunch was a Tinariwen they are nomads from the Sahara desert and they rock!
If you have never been to a concert at the Hollywood bowl – go buy tickets now, it doesn’t matter if it is a band you love or not, it is all about the experience and I know you’ll have a great one!
Today was the big day and Charlotte did great! She even had to learn to twirl with 2 other girls instead of 1 like she had been practicing and pulled off the last minute changes like a pro. It was a big show at the Carpenter Center with lots of dancers. One of the older girls did a modern dance solo that literally brought me to tears, her name was Sienna, I don’t know anything more about her, but wow! Unfortunately we weren’t allowed to bring the camera inside, but we had a nice picnic with all the family that came out to support Charlotte and these are a few photos from after. C loved getting her flowers and didn’t want to put them down.
We decided not to do summer school this year and instead opt for lots of fun activities – week 1 of summer was a success. We had swimming lessons, park playdates with friends, ballet class and a beach day. Now keeping up with the kids has mom wanting an extra cup of coffee in the afternoon, but I think it will be worth it.
Both of our girls are cute – you know and we know it! But right now P Lou is killing me with her cuteness! 
This was her boat that she wanted to go in the water in and sail, but she sank…..
one of my favorite parts of summer – little girls in sundresses! gotta love it.
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