Last Morning with Dad

We dropped Steve off at the airport at 11:30am this morning. It was a very tearful goodbye for Lexi and Steve. Jordan would have joined in but he fell asleep on the way there. Lexi cried all the way home. We had a good morning though. Before the airport, we had breakfast in a little cafe near Steve's hotel and we played at Kate Sessions Park.




"Planting"


Jordan's Birthday Cupcakes

Morning at the Cove

We went to the Cove yesterday morning to look out at the beautiful water and see the seals on the beach. Of course, I snapped a bunch of photos. Now, Steve has lots to choose from for his facebook profile. :)

Rainy Saturday with Relatives

For the first time since we moved to California, we experienced a real rainy day. It just happened to be when we had relatives in town (Steve, his Aunt Carol and his Uncle Milton). Everything in Southern California is geared for outdoors including all of the malls. I tried to find things to do indoors but was unlucky. My online search listed tea shops and ice skating. We went to Seaport Village and braved the rains.

Julian in the Mountains

We drove up to Julian, which is a little town in the mountains about an hour and a half north east of San Diego. We enjoyed walking around the little shops, cemetery and cafes. We came back in the late afternoon and ate dinner at Big Kahuna. Steve has been wanting to try the "tasty burger" featured in Pulp Fiction since I told him about it.

Big Kahuna ("tasty burger" from Pulp Fiction)

Thanksgiving 2009

Thankgiving 2009 was a nice one. We ate at Kellogg Park in La Jolla Shores and then Lexi & Jordan played with their dad. As you can see from the pictures below, they really enjoyed it.





In the evening, we went down to Pacific Beach. We were hoping that the Wave House would be open so we could watch the indoor surfers. Almost everything was dark down there except for a little amusement park. Of course, Lexi WANTED to ride EVERYTHING. She settled for the carousel.

Pacific Beach

Photo Shoot Attempt

Yesterday, Paige and I took the kids down to the cove. I wanted to get some pictures for Christmas cards. Unfortunately, it was not the day for it. By the time I got the kids ready and a little work done it was later than I had hoped. I know the best time to take pictures outside is between 9 and 10am. In addition to shade and sun problems, it was clear that Jordan was not in the mood to perform for the camera. Why are boys so tough? Lexi, of course, is always ready with a smile.

Matching PJs

Lexi is REALLY in to having things match including table ware (plates, forks, cups, etc), anything around the house, her clothes, and her clothes with someone else. She loves wearing the same color as someone else (like me, my mom, Paige or Jordan). Of course, she LOVES completely matching outfits, which is quite difficult when you have a boy and a girl. I try to make an effort at Christmas time at least when it comes to their PJs. This year, I got them GAP pjs (thanks to a coupon from Steve's Cousin Claire). Lexi is thrilled and Jordan just enjoys getting caught up in her excitement.

Souvenir Shop

I was planning to just post these pictures, but when I was uploading them for this post the last one inspired me to write a little something about the kids.

My mom has made several comments to me about how well my kids do in Souvenir Shops. Mainly, it is because that they don’t beg for every item in there. It wasn’t something I planned or even expected. I guess it stems back to when Lexi was little and I would let her touch or hug everything she was interested in at stores. When she asked for something, I would tell her that Santa might get it for her. Now, when she really likes something she gives it a hug and says that Santa might buy it for her. She also asks me to take a picture of her hugging things. It is actually fun to go into stores with the kids.

Elmo Ride

Little Polar Bears

Polar Bear Cave

Souvenir Shop

Sunday Morning

I took a few photos of Lexi on Sunday morning before church. She was wearing her Christmas dress from last year. I bought her a new one for this year, but had her wear this one because it still fits fairly well.

Veterans Day

We decided to celebrate Veterans Day at SeaWorld. Ok, that isn't true. I completely forgot that it was Veterans Day. In fact, I kept wondering why it was so busy and why there were so many dads there. Then I realized it was Veterans Day. I can't feel too bad though. My dad was a Veteran & I know he would have approved of our activities that day.

We didn't stay too long because we've been spoiled and now it isn't as fun when it is crowded. We hung out it the areas that I usually avoid - the Elmo ones. We saw the Elmo 4D movie and then we went to the Elmo play area. It is fun for the kids, but not very easy to keep them both happy when they want to run off in different directions. Some things in there Jordan is too short to participate on and some things Lexi is too tall for. It is hard to win in those situations. They each had fun when it was their turn.

Last Ballet Class

Lexi's last day of ballet class was yesterday. She has really enjoyed it and is even listening more than she is talking during class (miracle for her). We'll sign her up again in the future, but we are going to take a little break mainly because of the money. I don't feel too bad though because we have lots of exciting things happening over the next 6 weeks.

Dog Walking

This week was rather uneventful. I didn't even manage to take any pictures with my digital camera, which is rare for me. However, I did take a few photos with my cell phone. These were taken on Thursday when we walked the neighbor's dog (Luke, a golden lab) and right after we walked our dog (Travis).

Trick-or-Treating

Halloween night was all about trick-or-treating. We did lots of walking and got plenty of candy. Lexi and Jordan loved talking to people the most (of course). They wanted to stay and chat at every house. Lexi was excited about each new house and I was surprised by how far they walked. I drove them to two areas, but they walked and walked and walked once we were there. It was a fun night that ended with 2 very tired kids. I let them eat a few cookies before going to bed.