ICE Grand Opening

Every year, we always like to attend the grand opening of Santa Monica's outdoor ice skating rink ICE because it's loads of fun and best of all, it's free!  Trung and Lydia went first to the event because Sophie and I were on set all the way in Burbank, but when we finally arrived, we enjoyed samples from local restaurants, Sophie decorated a cookie, and of course, we ice skated.  The girls didn't want to leave, but seeing that it was a school night, we finally dragged them home.

Quite the sprinkle shaker

Major swinging action with daddy

Father/daughter pairs skating

The girls braved the ice much better than last year; they are getting so big!

We couldn't pass up the photo op.  :)

Fro Yo Social

I got a livingsocial deal for a new frozen yogurt place called Treats, which is just a couple blocks away from the swim center.  The girls had early dismissal today, so we headed over for a cold treat on this unusually warm day before dropping Lydia off at swim team.  I had sent the deal to my mommy friends and five other families joined us; it was a fun social!

The girls were all smiles and I couldn't get a single decent picture of the goofy boys.  Taking pictures of girls versus boys is definitely like night and day!

Boy huddle

Girl gathering

Kidspace Vamped Up

We haven't been to Kidspace since June, so the kids were super excited to be back.  We discovered there had been several changes during our absence, like new displays and play areas.  Fortunately, our old favorites were still there, but all outdoor activities were cut short due to daylight savings.  When it got dark, we moved indoors and didn't stay much longer, so that we could have an early dinner at La Grande Orange Cafe since the kids don't have late start this Wednesday.

 The cute new "kidspace" display

Easy does it

A new foamy building area

Even though Sophie is big enough to ride her own bike, she still prefers to ride with Lydia.

It's hard to believe that the very first time we came to Kidspace three years ago, Sophie wasn't big enough to ride a bike, now look at her!

Star Eco Station

Today, we celebrated Juliet's 7th birthday at Star Eco Station, an environmental science and exotic wildlife rescue center.  Lydia came here two years ago for a birthday party, but I just dropped her off, so this was my first time here and it was more interesting than I thought it would be.  I imagined it to be like a zoo and more outdoorsy, but it turned out to be all indoors and with mainly birds and reptiles, oh, and a mink who was hidden away fast asleep.

 This tortoise kept waving at me

 Learning about a fish in the piranha family

 But as you can see, it is much more friendly (looking) than a piranha

 The graceful seahorse

 The cast of "Finding Nemo"

 Meet "Dawg"

 I must smell good or something

 This lizard is literally hanging on one side by a toenail

 This snake felt cool and soft, which took me by surprise.

 My kids have no problem touching reptiles.

Weiru and Juliet

Trick or Treating on Grey's Anatomy

 Ironic that Lydia didn't want to be a princess in her school parade and she was a princess on tonight's episode of Grey's Anatomy.  Maybe she would have liked it better if I had curled her hair too!

  All made up and ready for her close up

Half the time the girls are on TV, you can't tell that it is even them.  This time, I had a good feeling that Lydia's face would be shown because the other girl is an executive producer's daughter.

Halloween 2013

Beware, this post has lots of pictures and I'm going to let them do most of the talking.

The principal (L) and new assistant principal (R) in the annual school Halloween parade for K - 2

Sophie kept telling everyone that she was a "poodle" instead of a "poodle girl"

 Lydia covering up her princess dress with her hoodie because she didn't want people laughing at her.  Apparently, to her, it is no longer cool to dress up like a princess anymore.

Asking for the hoodie

Sophie didn't wear her glasses and jacket during the parade, which helped "make" the outfit.

After school, we drove around picking up free goodies.  Our first stop was at Susie's Cupcakes, where I picked up a dozen free cupcakes for dressing up like an employee.  I simply tossed on a white apron over a brown tee, pulled on a pair of jeans, and topped my head off with a bandana.

Our next stop was at Krispy Kreme, where anyone dressed up received a free doughnut of your choice.  Lydia decided to dress up like a samba girl after school.

Our final stop and the end of our afternoon sugar rush was Jamba Juice, where kids received a free kid's smoothie. 

Trick or treating up and down Montana

Lydia wanted to be Jasmine for Halloween, but she was Jasmine in last year's school parade, so I told she could be Jasmine only during the trick or treating.

Frankie, Lydia's classmate who we ran into on Montana, Lydia, and Sophie

me, Diane, Danielle, Lalaine, and Catherine at Danielle's party

The whole gang heading out to go trick or treating

A cool robot that slid candy down its' arms into Halloween buckets

Lydia's organized candies

CleoSophie

All the kids were turned by the end of the day.

Red Cross Prepare Santa Monica

 Trung's company Truecar co-sponsored an event today called the Red Cross Prepare Santa Monica, preparing people in an event of a earthquake.  We ran, well, walked the one mile "fun run" on the beach and crossed the finish line last, but it's the thought that counts.  :)  After dumping about a pound of sand out of our shoes, we enjoyed the event, which consisted of a SHAKEY QUAKEY earthquake simulator, CPR training, face painting, etc.  It was a cute little event and the girls enjoyed getting free stuff at the stands.

 The event was hosted by Carson Daly

 Getting ready to run

 Here we go...

 The stragglers

 Lydia learning CPR

 No hesitation in asking Carson for a picture here though I've already seen him twice dining at M Street Kitchen.

Our family was the only Truecar family that ran...talk about representing.  :)

A Scare

Weiru and I were on the way back to my place from our weekly trips to Sprouts and Costco when I received a phone call from the nurse at Roosevelt saying that Sophie had fallen from a bench and hit her head.  Her pupils looked fine and after 20 minutes of icing her head, she felt better and went back to class.  I didn't think much of it since kids bump their heads all the time.  When I went to pick Sophie up, she was sad and teary-eyed and didn't feel like scooting home, which is practically unheard of because she loves it so much.  Also, as I was waiting for her at the classroom door, I told another mom, Erica, about the fall and she informed me that her daughter had had a concussion, and she only knew it because she vomited.  After that, she immediately took her to the emergency room.

Sophie and I walked home slowly and she took a solid hour nap before she got changed for swim class and we went back to school to pick up Lydia.  Since we were running a little late, I dropped Lydia off first at the pool entrance for swim team and then went to park at the parking garage.  As Sophie and I walked towards the stairs, she vomited.  I was slightly panicked, remembering what Erica had said and suddenly thinking about actress Natasha Richardson, who had died from bumping her head while skiing.  After cleaning up the mess as best as I could with napkins and wet wipes from my car, I called Cora, a physician, Lalaine, a pediatric nurse, Erica, Trung, and the KP (our health care provider) on call nurse.  During this time, Sophie went to the back seat of the minivan and took another nap.  Some people told me to go to the hospital, but others told me to wait it out.  Trung and I decided to wait until after dinner and see how Sophie was acting before heading to the hospital.  She was still sad and said her head hurt a little, but she was talking normal and even laughed a couple of times.  We decided to stay home and keep an eye on her, and thankfully, she was back to her usual self by morning.  

I believe that Sophie had had a minor concussion, enough to make her vomit once, but nothing major. Just so you know, I did want to cover all my bases and take her to the hospital just to make sure she was okay, but after listening to her story later, I'm glad I didn't rush into that decision.  Sophie said that she leaned too far back on a school bench during lunch and bumped her head when she fell.  Then she rolled and then got back up and went back to the bench, where she started crying and the teacher's aid discovered that she was hurt.  Sophie said that she didn't see "black" and still saw the blue sky after she fell, so I knew that she didn't black-out.  After she told Trung and I all this new information, we decided that it was would be safe to keep her at home.  If she had vomited again though, we would have gone straight to the hospital.

     

Pumpkin time

I always try to visit a pumpkin patch each year, so that the girls can pick their own pumpkins to put outside our door.  I didn't want to go too close to Halloween, so I settled on today even though the girls had soccer in the morning and we were dropping by a birthday gathering in the afternoon.  Trung had a conference call in the morning, so I took the girls to soccer.  Afterwards, rather than hang out at the playground too long, we headed to Hollywood and had brunch at Blu Jam cafe, which we did last year as well.  Then off to Mr. Bones Pumpkin Patch, which is a nice patch, but sadly, the main reason I chose this particular one is to hopefully spot a celebrity or two.  There is always paparazzi at the entrance, but alas, we did not see anyone.  It may seem a little lame that we go, pick out pumpkins, and then leave without spending money on the hay maze or pony rides, but I have the Disneyland annual passholder complex...we can get all those types of things for free and then some at Disney.  Plus, we already paid for it, so even better!  My poor kids, no wonder they don't want to leave the house on the weekends.  :P

Deep down there is some cowgirl in there

And of course, one with just Sophie

Our three pumpkins were small, but the girls still insisted on getting a wagon.

Trung decided that he didn't need a pumpkin this year

And you wonder who Sophie gets her posing from...

My little pumpkins with their pumpkins

When we got home, the girls and I walked over to our neighbor's place and celebrated her birthday with her.  Allison's daughter, Katie, is in the same class with Lydia this year.

Katie and her enormous cat