Whaley!

To celebrate Bampa's and Kennedy's birthdays, we took a whale watching trip one bright sunny morning.



The boat had professional photographers on board. That was handy...see, there I am! I really DO go on vacation with the family!



The bay is always so beautiful, and I never tire of looking at El Arco, the Arch...


And check it out! We saw some whales, too!! We weren't too far from shore and one surfaced and blew from her blow hole.



Sometimes they'd come right up beside us...


Awwww, look at the little baby one!

I learned a little something by looking at this picture closely. It's not so much a blow hole as it is blow holes...two of them it appears. Go figure, I never knew!

And here was a funny thing. We were on a nice WIDE, STURDY boat. Wide and sturdy, while doesn't look so great in a pair of jeans, is mighty comforting while traveling on the ocean looking for gigantic whales.

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Apparently not everyone has comfort, safety and Mimosas on their mind when booking a whale watching tour. There were half a dozen small boats that would zip over to wherever a whale surfaced. It would have been comical if it hadn't been so annoying because they would cause all this commotion getting over to the whales, who would then dive under.

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But, tell me, does THIS look like the boat you'd want to be in five feet from a WHALE?


The guys on board kept calling for "Willy!" (as in Free Willy), but their accents made it sound like "Whaley!" and that's what Brooke thought they were saying.

Looks like Whaley is waving goodbye to us!

This was an awesome experience, our first in all the years we've been going there!

The Wheel in the Sky is turning tonight

My guitar hero is playing in a new Journey tribute band called Lights! Tonight is their first show in Huntington Beach.

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I pulled up their Myspace page. They sure do have a lot of gigs planned which will make him a happy guy (disregarding the lost sleep due to late rehearsals/gigs/preparation which makes him a wee bit of a cranky guy) .

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But he's so hot with the guitar, and he does dishes, so I forgive him the occasional crankiness.

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So, which show are YOU coming to???? Because really, who doesn't like a little Journey?

For friends/family/potential stalkers: I put the link to his band's Myspace page on the right for future reference. Perhaps one of these days he'll have his own Myspace or Facebook page. We are a bit behind the times on that one!

Dear Steve & Tracy

Dear Steve and Tracy,

I do realize that the decision was difficult to make...the one in which you decided to NOT come to Cabo this year.

I recommend that you do not do that again.

For one...we missed you.

For two...we saw whales. That may be old hat to you Alaskans, but it knocked the socks off us Californians. (Or knocked the flip flops off of us...I don't think we actually wore socks all week...)

For three...the children dug a ginormous hole and it was funny. We could have fit either of your children in there, whole.



But we had no toddlers to torture, so Sophie hopped in and became quite the tourist attraction.



Oh, and also...we shared the beach, the pool, our very SIDEWALK to Perlita 9 with the legendary Paul Rogers (Steve, you go ahead and take a minute to explain this to Tracy now). He was staying in Perlita 5, right across the way.

We have no pictures because we California people are ultra sensitive to the famous folk, you know. Okay, that's not really the story. We only THOUGHT it was him for three days, then found out the morning we left that it WAS him, but then we didn't see him after that so we didn't ask him for a picture. Or even take one on the sly, which would have been the more likely scenario. Anywho, turns out he's a family friend of the Canadian family we hang with, so perhaps there will be another chance. :)

But...and this is a big but...the most important reason you should not have skipped Cabo 2009...Brooke is trying to tell you something...LOOK!

DO YOU SEE WHAT I SEE???

CAN IT BE???

AFTER ALL THESE YEARS????????????

Oh yeah. There it is. Right near the Hard Rock Cafe on the way to the Super Mercado.

Starbucks. A for real one. The mermaid lady on the circular sign spoke to me...she said, "Where the heck is Tracy?" and I replied, "Alas, she could not come this year", and the mermaid lady said, "Ah, that is a shame, for surely you must miss her and her family."

"Yes", I replied, "we most certainly do."

Twelve

A certain someone is very excited to be twelve.

We started early...the Friday night before her birthday...dinner at Islands and lava cake for dessert (as evidenced by Brooke's black teeth). Speaking of Brooke's teeth, she is missing a few in the front, giving her a bit of a gruesome look paired with the chocolate...

The next day, the actual day, 3-21...two friends were dropped off, and our first stop was Yummy Cupcakes in Burbank, CA. Each child (and one mom and one dad) picked out a cupcake! Oh, and we saw Jay Leno hanging out with his antique car right there on the corner of Hollywood Way and Magnolia Blvd. However, we had a tight schedule, so we didn't stop (because only one of the four kids had even heard of him...)


Next on the agenda...a movie for the big girls. I took them to see Knowing with Nicolas Cage. Gee, I lapsed and didn't check Movie Mom for her review. Guess what. It's freakin' scary. Wouldn't REALLY recommend it for your 12 year-olds. One of the three couldn't hang, so she and I left the movie 40 minutes into it.

I do recommend it for older kids and parents. I want to go back so I can see the end...it was a GOOD movie, just not really for youngish kids. Even those in middle school.
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So, the one who couldn't hang and I had an hour and a half to spare, so we went into Coraline...which was really weird and really not good. Can't say that I'd recommend that one for anyone. Most especially NOT the little kids in the theater...just because it's animated doesn't mean it's for little kids!!
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After the movie, the girls saw a cool chair in Urban Home as we walked back to the car. They HAD to sit in it!!!



It was a Twilight birthday indeed. And guess what came out on DVD right on 3-21?? Yes, indeed, Twilight! I think that Edward is yummy. For a vampire anyway.

Here are our Yummy Cupcake selections looking quite...well...yummy!!!



We went to dinner at Benihana. So yummy. Yummy is the theme for today it seems.

So the girls (minus Brooke) stayed up late watching Twilight. It was a fun, yet low-key, way to turn twelve!

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Happy Birthday dear Kennedy...we love you!

Tooth Fairy Expected Tonight

Finally.

For crying out loud.

For weeks now...wiggling and wiggling and twisting and pushing.

And poking it out with her tongue, just to torment me.

The tooth is out.

Thank goodness.

We are BACK!

Yes, we are back! And it was spectacular.

I never, ever tire of this view. I could sit here all day.

We had a lovely time. The most important parts were spent with family.

The girls spent much time with their friends...girls they see once a year, but when they lay eyes on one another...giggling ensues.

The time spent with friends afforded August & I time alone...to take walks, read on the beach. It was spectacular. We took a walk WAY down the beach...a lone guy was also walking and took our picture.


This girl got her hair braided.

This girl parasailed (no photos).

We also went whale watching...and saw a momma whale and her baby. More on that later...another post just for the pictures taken by the professionals on board.


But we did miss our doggie, Samoa. I found this in the sand one day by our beach chairs.

There is so much more to share, but for now...we are back!

Cabo Countdown...51 weeks to go. Sigh.

Cabo Countdown - we are OUTTA here!!!

Reading with the Stars

Only in LA can your school have a PJs and Books night with a "celebrity" guest reader.

Last week was Literacy Week at the girls' school...teachers wore Cat in the Hat hats around campus, bookmarks and books were made in the library, and on Thursday night...we had PJs and Books!

This is fun just because. Because the kids go home from school and get into their pajamas and come BACK to school for storytime. Parents and teachers read to the children...big kids gather in the gym, little kids in the library. The middle schoolers come to the library to read to the little kids.

Kennedy & her friend read a story to a large group of restless, but cute, children.

The children were all restless & anxious...anxious for the arrival of this year's celebrity reader. This boy played Hannah Montana's boyfriend, Jake Ryan, on an episode of Hannah Montana. Everyone knew who he was...most of the parents knew who he was because he was on a season of Dancing with the Stars. Those who didn't, knew him from Hannah Montana.

Personally, I have to admit that I knew him from his Hannah Montana fame. I've seen one episode of DWTS in my life and it wasn't his, so....

Anyway, Cody Linley (oops, almost forgot to tell you his name!) was late. But when he showed up (darn that LA traffic), he was alone with no entourage. And he was the nicest, most accommodating, most patient guy. He was energetic with the children. He wore funny striped socks under his boots. He signed autograph after autograph and smiled for each and every kid. He was an awesome guest and I hope that he goes far in Hollywood because he's so darn sweet!

Oh! And Lori informed me that he is from Lewisville, TX. A little tidbit that I had forgotten when I was talking with him and taking his picture for the yearbook page on PJs & Books. A bonding moment lost...ah well.

The next celebrity reader will be an event in April, and the rumor is that our reader will be...The Fonz. Ayyyyy!!!!!!!

(So what if the children have no idea who he is? This one is for the parents, especially the ones who thought that Fonzie's girlfriend, Pinkie Tuscadero, was COOL.)

Pangs

We have gotten to a point in our lives, just very recently, where things are somewhat, the tiniest bit, easier. This is not to be confused with less busy. Things are busier, for sure. A middle schooler and a first grader...they have a lot going on. And they are both in girl scouts. One likes to go to the mall, the other does not. One has a lot of homework, they both have school projects.

But it is easier to have grade school kids instead of toddlers.

But very often...I have pangs. These pangs will just hit me out of the blue like when I'm at Target, walking past the girl toddler clothes. No one in my house can wear those pink ruffle pants I see hanging on the racks. I look at the cute tiny clothes and feel a pang deep within my heart. I miss those little, little girls that used to live in my house. I miss the roundness of their faces, and the chubbiness of their legs.


I walk past the Disney Store at the mall...how many visits did we make to that store? Trying on princess costumes, looking at the princess toys. We hardly ever go in there anymore. Even Brooke is nearing the end of the princess phase (but NOT the end of the princess movie phase...Cinderella & Snow White & The Little Mermaid movies never fall out of favor!)

In the book store...the cute board books, the picture story books...barely a glance from even the youngest. While she does enjoy a nice story with great illustrations, she's gotten into chapter books...Judy Moody, Magic Treehouse, etc. And the oldest, who won't even be 12 until next week, can't even find much to interest herself in the 12 year-old section. No, she likes to look in the teen section which requires much screening on my part.

I miss going to the book store and reading them stories with colorful pictures. (Although sometimes I do still get to do this with Brooke, thank goodness!)

No more Dora the Explorer or Little Einsteins. We've got Wizards of Waverly Place and Hannah Montana on the tube at our house.

Occasionally I come across a picture like this one...

...and I remember the DAY it was taken. I remember taking her to see her daddy on his lunch hour, and we went to the toy store in the shopping center with the carousel. I remember how she wanted an expensive puzzle and her daddy said no. This was the first and only time she really insisted, I think she might have kind of made a bit of a scene, but still the answer was no. We went to Coffee Bean, and somehow August walked in and the door started to close with Kennedy still outside. He felt SO guilty! He picked her up and hugged her. And then took her to buy that puzzle. We still have that puzzle. The memory is so fresh, but this little girl is almost 12. I feel pangs when I look at this picture. My heart clinches with the memory, with the emotion of being a mommy to such a vision in pink.

I loved having little girls. I love having them still. But, I am happy that one is still only six.

Still, when I see pictures like this one...

...I feel pangs.

Happy Birthday Beppe!

Today is Beppe's birthday! Happy birthday to you, Beppe...today is the perfect day to celebrate your fun spirit which is totally evident in the pictures I found in the archives today!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEPPE!

Cabo Countdown - one week to go!!

ONE WEEK TO GO...

We feel very lucky indeed.

This weekend we'll be shopping and packing and making arrangements for the dog...counting down the days and hours instead of weeks. Cabo, here we come!!!

Thinking Day

Once a year it comes along...Thinking Day. Phew, because if I had to do it more than once a year, I think I might pass out!

Wait, I don't even HAVE to think on Thinking Day because this day belongs to the Girl Scouts in our house...Brookie the Brownie and Kennedy the Cadet. Too bad it's not spelled Kadet, because Brooke...Brownie, Kennedy...Kadet. Lame, I guess there's a reason I shouldn't think, yes?

Two Sundays ago was the annual Thinking Day. Each year the troops get a state or a country and they learn all about it and set up tables and teach other troops about it...you know, to get everyone thinking!
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Kennedy's troop had Egypt and Brooke's troop had Scotland. They were tasked to think about myths and legends of their countries.

Check out the paper mache King Tut on the Egypt table...our troop leader Susie is an amazing individual. She whipped this thing up the night before...



Costumes were in order. Kennedy's troop did a skit and a dance (Walk like an Egyptian...you knew that was coming, didn't you?) Brooke's troop did a little Scottish jig. A mom in Brooke's troop made their tartan sashes and headbands, and they were truly the cutest little Girl Scouts at the party.

For more pictures, you can visit each girl's page on the Shutterfly site!

Random Headlines

At work, I pull up the internet countless times during the day. I have to log on to our multi-dimensional reporting system, our bank, and our lendor's site via the internet. Plus I like to check if anyone's been reading my blog...and sometimes I look at Two Peas in a Bucket, but I sort of relate that to work so it can't really count as goofing off. Even though I'm in finance and not product development. But whatever.

Anyway, MSN is my home page and I always scan the headlines, and sometimes click on one or two if I have a second and it's compelling enough.

Here are the headlines available to me right now. I do not have time to click on them because I have decided to spend my spare time sharing them with you because I love them, they are awesome...

* Proposal goes awry as engagement ring swallowed {can you imagine waiting for that to, uh, pass?}
* Cave dwellers can't refinance {probably because the barter system is way out of practice...I will trade you one skinned carcass for a decent interest rate}

And my personal favorite:
* Man accused of stuffing cat into bong {interesting...friend of Michael Phelps, I wonder?}

Also, one article wants to know if it's time to declare a depression. Let me tell you, scanning the financial headlines depresses me enough, so I'm all for it!

Oh, and earlier today I read that LA County has declared this week a "non-cussing week". Who the &@#! thought THAT up??

Happy Monday!