Getting things done

Today was an errands kind of day. We started off dropping the Infiniti off at the dealership to get some scheduled maintenance done. Then we had a delicious (and very fatty) breakfast at Huckleberry; they have the best green eggs and ham. After a short drive around Santa Monica looking for places to rent again, Lydia and I got our first hair cuts since we've moved. Antonio did a good job with our basic trims, though he was very quiet. For only $19, he can talk as little as he wants. :P After picking up the car and Sophie taking her nap, we checked out Plaza El Segundo, a nice shopping complex that we always just drove by. We ate a light dinner at California Fish Grill and got the yummy green tea delight crepe at KC's on the way home. Of course I got a milk tea, a nice hot one, to end the day on a toasty note.

Lydia chasing pigeons

When there's time to kill, just stare at the ocean

Lydia and a cannon

Sophie looking for something inside

We went to Plaza El Segundo for their annual Christmas tree lighting event, only to find out that it had happened the night before...bummer.

Lydia's namesake store...

well, nickname store

Gingerbread time!

At Sophie's Mommy and Class, the moms had to build gingerbread houses for the kids to decorate. I'm not that creative, so my juices didn't run wild and I ended up more with a RV. Sophie ate 1/3 of the candy she was supposed to be putting on the house, but had a fun, messy time.

Faye and Sophie with their "modern" houses

Poor Sophie was feeling out of it, but made it through the class.

Chicken Dancing at Kid's Club

We had our usual Tuesday morning routine, but this time, Karen had an appointment so Emily joined us. Jogging was a bit difficult with the jogger going off Sophie's side all the time since it was lopsided, but we made it through. Then much dancing ensued during storytime and kid's Club as guest singers entertained the kids. Lydia even volunteered to assist with the chicken dance, but ended up just standing there with a chicken on her head...hee hee.

Chicken Lydia

Christine and I were greatly outnumbered

Hungry kitty cats

Legoland (with the whole family this time)

Jean and Andrew get guest tickets for Legoland with their memberships and they invited us to join them for some major fun. We woke up bright (it was still pretty dark actually) and early at 6:15 AM to make our 7:45 AM reservation at The Beachcomber Cafe at Crystal Cove. Trung had his corned beef hash and the kids had the beignents again, but this time I tried the florentine benedict...yum! We met the Shapiro's at Legoland just after it opened and stayed for an entire afternoon of fun. Sophie fell quickly asleep in the car as we drove to Irvine to meet Mike for dinner at a handmade noodle restaurant. Too much fun, it'll probably take me days to recover. :P

Crystal Cove, it was a gorgeous day

Our new Lego family

Our first ride, the flying planes

This ride was actually a bit scary

Playing follow the leader in the huge treehouse

Lydia is a pro at driving now, since she went on this ride three times!

Sophie barely made the cut for the helicopter ride

Sheer delight

Sophie and Teddy with some PDA

Fairytale Boat ride

Trung Skywalker

A Dinosaur "Hunter" birthday

Lydia didn't have school again today, so the three of us visited some new places in our neighborhood, Playa Vista. We walked with our new friends Guro and Norah to the library for storytime, which was a bit chaotic, but not too bad. Then we went to the tot lot, a fully gated playground perfectly suited for kids Lydia and Sophie's ages. We had to shorten our time there because Lydia had to go to the bathroom (#2, we managed with #1 behind a bush), so we went home and had lunch. We attended a meet-up member's kid's (Hunter) birthday party in Malibu in the afternoon, our first California party. The dinosaur hunter was young and not very entertaining, so the girls just played with the toys laying around. The barbeque was excellent (expected from the Texan daddy) and the dinosaur cake was very cute, though a bit lacking in the tasty category. We had to fight traffic on the way home, but it was well worth it!

Lydia and Sophie mastered the spiral at the tot lot

Hello, Lydia!

The young "Indiana Jones" had the kids' attentions at the beginning of the party

My scary little dinos

Looking for dinosaur eggs

Nolan's Barnyard Birthday Baaash

We attended one of Sophie's MDO classmate's birthday party at The Little Barnyard in the middle of downtown Los Angeles. The indoor play area was small (the 70 people that came probably maxed out the capacity), but had just the right amount of activities for all the kids. Ironically, the barnyard themed birthday cake was also red velvet, like the cake from the day before...popular flavor.

Lydia and Sophie spent most of the time in the ball pit

Lydia "Deere"

The host asked that we wore plaid shirts and jeans...this is as country as we'll probably ever get.

Trung has always wanted to be a cowboy

Can't ever get enough!

The super fast slide...Sophie would only slide down when she was good and ready

California Science Center

After picking Lydia up from Broadway Gym and Sophie from Mother's Day Out at the YMCA, we went straight to California Science Center. We met other mommies there from one of my meet-up groups and got a slow start since the organizer was running late. The center had several kid-friendly discovery zones, though I didn't feel they were as interactive or fun as the ones in Kidspace. Still, for only $8 parking and free admission, it wasn't too bad. Next time, I plan on piling more people into the minivan to make it more worth-while.Running around while we wanted for other people


Artifacts

In the bedroom of the play house

The center was very creatively decorated

I see you

Puppet show

My new Facebook profile picture

On Our Free Weekend

With a busy weekend planned next weekend and the holidays right around the corner, we took advantage of this free weekend and stayed local. Saturday morning we finally visited Santa Monica pier and had a delicious seafood lunch. Then we drove around Santa Monica in the areas where Lydia might attend elementary school just to see if we could afford to live there and from what we saw...we can! :)

Today we took care of some errands, like changing the flat on the baby jogger (which I've used twice with the flat) and dropping off some clothes at Goodwill. After a delightful lunch at a Thai restaurant, we ate some ice cream while listening to some live jazz music at the marina. While walking down the pier, we saw sea lions frolicking in the water and pelicans patiently waiting for their next catch...a new discovery!

Mickey and Minnie Mouse were at the pier. Apparently Minnie has a Spanish accent; I know this because she informed me that "they welcomed tips.". :P

The awesome north view from the pier


Kraft Macaroni and Cheese's big noodle

Hmmmm...lunch!

Marina del Rey

Who knew sea lions were so close?!


Dancing to some jazz

Fisherman's Village where they have live music every weekend

Watermelon Wednesday

Now that Emiko picks Lydia up from school every Wednesday, I can enjoy the Mommy & Me class with Sophie without constantly looking at the clock. Plus, when I go pick Lydia up, Sophie gets to play with her and Ethan, while I get to socialize with Emiko and Todd for an hour or so. The kids do have tons of fun together!

Enjoying homemade watermelon pops on the front porch

Kidspace Museum

After our usual Tuesday morning line-up of a morning jog, (no story time at the library due to the election), and Kid's Club at the fountain, the girls and I went to Pasadena for the free family night at Kidspace Museum. The museum was very entertaining and the girls especially loved riding the tricycles around and around (Lydia cycling, while Sophie tagged along). We'll definitely be back next month! Afterwards, we met Trung at La Grande Orange Café for a delicious dinner; the kid's $3 meal of macaroni & cheese, fries, and fruit distracted them so that Trung and I could actually enjoy our meals...it almost felt like a date!

Waving streamers at Kids' Club where I won another free day pass at Broadway Gym...yay!

Playing at the Fountain

Family night at Kidspace Musesum

Pretty colors

An artist in the making

So cute!

Grinding dehydrating corn into cornmeal