Playdate with Katie & Andrew

Jen, Katie & Andrew trekked northward this weekend for a playdate w/Kelly & me. We took the kids to Orpheus Park, which is hidden in a little area of Leucadia that not many people know about or drive thru except for the immediate residents. It is a beautiful park with an amazing unobstructed ocean view. The spectacular warm sunny weather this weekend made the visit a special treat. It is so hidden away that there were literally no other kids playing there! This seemed great at first, but we realized that the kids must actually like the distraction of other kids around because in 30-40 minutes, they claimed to be bored and wanted to go back to Kelly's house to play! So off we went...

Here is a cute picture of Katie brushing Kelly's hair....Aww.....

Now wait a minute - what is wrong w/this picture??? (besides the fact that I need to start teaching Kelly about how to sit ladylike...) Oh, yeah, she's not screaming her head off! Many of you have heard me complain about how hard it is to brush Kelly's hair and get it into a ponytail or even a barrette - this is a daily battle between us that I have just come to accept. Well, apparently it is not that she doesn't like it or that it actually hurts or anything... it must just be that she doesn't want ME to do it! She was the one who ASKED Katie to do it too! Go figure. Now if only Katie could be here every morning to help me!

Fun at the Flower Fields

This past Monday we met up with Kathy, Tommy & Nicole (or as Kelly says, Mees Katty and TommyCole) at the Carlsbad Flower Fields. It has been a hundred years since I went, back in the day when they charged a buck and you went in and just wandered around in the flowers, unguided. Well, times have a changed. It costs a lot more than that now, but they have also added a lot of other exhibits and attractions. I thought we'd only be there for maybe an hour tops, but we ended up spending over 3-1/2 hours there! We decided we would only be able to get them to wander around the perimeter of the fields on foot in the very beginning while it still seemed a novel idea, so we did that first. Then we hopped on the tractor for a leisurely ride to enjoy the beautiful colors and the ocean view. They were fascinated with the caged chickens & doves and other birds in the Artist's Garden. They squealed and laughed as they ran through an impressively large Sweet Pea maze. And of course, we spent a good amount of time at the little park area. It was a beautiful day and we had a great time - Well worth the admission price :-)

Playdate with Kainoa

Kainoa came over to our house last Friday night for a playdate (and his mommy & daddy got to go out on a dinner date! They are returning the favor for Gary & I next week -woo-hoo!) Kainoa just turned two a few weeks ago, but despite their age & gender difference, they seem to get along famously, have a blast playing, and genuinely like each other. This may be because they share the same strong passion for Thomas the Tank Engine. So put them in front of some trains & tracks and they are good to go. But they enjoyed doing a lot of other things too like rocking out to some guitar music, jumping on the bed, and taking a break for a snack. Its good to mix it up now & then!

New Shoes

I finally gave in and bought Kelly a pair of Crocs. ... ok, they are actually not the real Crocs, but some knock-off brand. Whatever. I have always thought these were the ugliest, clunkiest shoes and could not understand why they are so popular! But I will say now that they have definitely grown on me - they are inexpensive, fit her wide foot great and are comfortable for her because they are stretchy, washable and easy to keep clean, easy for her to put on herself, and come in all sorts of colors so they match everything. And she absolutely LOVES these shoes! She wanted to wear them to bed the first night. Here she is showing off her new shoes and new springy outfit on her way to school the other day. She's becoming a regular fashion icon!

Easter Egg Hunt

Easter was a total blast this year. Once we were all awake, I told Kelly that the Easter Bunny had come and hid her basket in the house and she had to find it. So we spent a few minutes hunting and looking for it. She was so genuinely thrilled when she found it! Gary caught her look, although the picture is a little dark, you can still see her excitement.

Later that morning, Kelly, James, Gary & me all piled in the car and headed to Nana & Papa's. The Easter Bunny had left Kelly some great surprises there as well. She went on her first easter egg hunt in the back yard. We had to really point out the first couple of eggs to her, but once she got the hang of it, she zoomed around the yard and collected every single egg like a real pro.

Thank you Nana....um, I mean Easter Bunny... for being so creative with the treats inside the eggs! (instead of candy, there were princess tatoos, little tiny ponies w/combs, new barettes, and a little easter bracelet - only one had jelly beans, which Kelly only just discovered were actually eadible... and delicious!) It was a wonderful day!