Short-lived Sea World visit

We went to Sea World today, but only lasted a couple hours after getting drenched by dolphins. Since we went with friends last time, we were rushed to watch all the shows, but this visit was much more laid back. We took our time at Bay of Play with the Sesame Street themed rides. Then as we approached the stadium for the dolphin show, I noticed that the only available seats were in the soak zone. I figured that since it would be raining soon, it wouldn't really matter if we got wet. I was right and wrong. It did end up raining harder, which would have dampened our experience, but getting soaked expedited the decision to go back to the car to change and ultimately to head back home. I didn't mind leaving early either as our passes are good for the rest of the year and it has been a very busy last two weeks.

The kids all playing well with each other

Penguin photo op

Abby's ride

Sophie barely made the height cut for this moonwalk


Practicing for "Wipe Out"

Having too much fun

The kids had the net all to themselves

Sesame street sing-a-long

On the second row and totally asking for it

Such great seats!

Sophie stayed in this position for the remainder of the show after we got soaked

Cool trick

Ta-dah!

Legoland

I switched my Sea World pass for Sabrina's Legoland pass for the day. We hadn't been in awhile, so Sophie got to go on rides that she wasn't tall enough to go on before. All the rides allowed for three people, which was great since Trung didn't join us in San Diego this time. The first few hours went by slowly as the lines were quite long and the sun was getting hot, but towards closing time, we accomplished a lot more. After a quick dinner at Costco, we ended the day on a sweet note with complimentary hot chocolates from Peets.

Look, there's a troll!

Shooting, well, nothing really

My girls are getting so big, riding trains all by themselves

Happy rocks

Good thing Sophie has many years to go before she hits the streets

Licensed!

Off to go jousting

Watch your opponent!

Dune sliding


Egyptian territory

Sophie was a little embarrassed by her score

Last ride of a very fun day

Arrrr

What are they made out of? Why, legos, of course!

Tanaka Farm

We went on a field trip today with several other people to Tanaka Farm in Irvine, about an hour away from Santa Monica. We had a tractor ride into the vegetable fields and got to eat fresh strawberries to our hearts' content.

Strawberry fields

My girls

Lydia was a pro at picking the ripe strawberries

Heading back to our tractor

Our little strawberries

Blue bunny

Our failed attempt to host a Blue Bunny ice cream "houseparty".

Easter Sunday

Today we attend Bel Air Presbyterian church on Mulholland Drive with Patti and her family. It was the furthest church we have visited, but the view was amazing. Children 3 and older were asked to attend the service, so we tried to keep the kids busy and quiet while we tried very hard to pay attention to the sermon. Apparently lots of celebrities attend Bel Air; I saw Cris Rose (Angela Petrelli from Heroes) and John O'Hurley (Elaine's boss from Seinfield).

After church we had a light lunch at Amandine, rested a couple hours at home, and ate dinner at Snow's. Needless to say, we were never hungry on Easter.

Bel Air Pres

Easter 2012

Can you see it? Trung with three girls?

Welcome to Snow's Easter shindig

Honey ham and roasted root vegetables and much much more!

The hubbies were surprised to see the kids all coordinating, like it was a coincidence. :P

Sunny Saturday

The girls spent the night at Snow's place, so Trung and I met them at Douglas Park for their annual Easter egg hunt. The event was quite disorganized and several kids left the hunts empty-handed; at least it taught the kids to be good sports. After getting face paintings and playing on the playground for a bit, we headed home for some lunch. Then we met Snow and co at the pool to enjoy the surprisingly warm day.

The kiddos

The eggs were poorly "hidden", well, not at all actually.



Sophie got lucky and was able to grab a few eggs; Lydia, not so much.

Sophie showing off her wings

Mass face painting

Miss bunny

Look, I can swing by myself now!

Pool fun

The next three days

Wednesday, we went to the Kids' Club at Santa Monica Place and had lunch at Ozumo. After some window shopping, we walked over to the library where older school aged kids read to the girls for about an hour. Then we drove over to Sawtelle for some Hawaiian shaved ice.

Refreshing shaved ice

Thursday, the girls and I went to want The Lorax. They enjoyed it overall, even though Sophie "cried for the trees". Then we met Snow and co. at the library for another round of reading. L'occitane had a special event going on where we enjoyed mini hand massages and snacks. Then we all walked home and had slow cooked pulled pork on Hawaiian buns for dinner.

Friday, MOPS had it's "Tea and Testimony" day...so cute and dainty. Afterwards, we ate lunch at home and then I dropped the kids off at Snow's place for the rest of the day so Trung and I could enjoy a date "night". We ran a couple of errands before watching "Wrath of the Titans" and then we had dinner at Hillstone's aka Houston's. It's been awhile since we've going out, so it was a nice break, especially after a busy Spring Break week.

Our table with the cutest little teapot

Yum!

Kraziness at Kidspace

Since LA schools were on Spring Break too, Kidspace Museum was extremely busier than normal. The lines to get into the museum and for the bikes were very long, but having friends to wait with made the time go by faster. For dinner, we went to our usual L'Grande Orange Cafe though service was horrible this time. Snow and I each changed one side dish for our prime rib and the waiter brought us the wrong side...twice! At least everyone else was happy with their meals.

Lydia, Sophie, and Cady

Love the lower lip!

An old man went "onstage" to dance with the samba dancers; he could really move it.

Snow, me, and the kids (Patti left early to pick up her brother)

Our girls get along so well

Telling secrets at dinner

First Day of Spring Break

We started off the girls' two week Spring Break with a trip to the doctor. Sophie needed her 4 year old check-up and unbeknownst to us, shots and blood work. She wasn't so cheery after getting them and I had to carry her around for awhile, but she got over it. Lydia even got teary-eyed watching her little sister get the shots. Afterwards, we met Snow and company at Westfield Century City mall to hang out for a bit before going to dinner. We ordered way too much with Snow's groupon and the service wasn't that great at the beginning, but everyone had a good time.

Oblivious of the shots that were to come

Hanging out at Century City mall

Eating up a storm at Smithhouse Restaurant

Sophie's complimentary funnel cake dessert