Tropical Storm photos

This is what my family does in a tropical storm - go to the BEACH!! Here is daddy going swimming in the big waves and momma and the girls looking for sea shells.

Audrey in her own private idaho......

Zoey watching the kite surfer, looking for "kitty's paws" seashells....her favorite ones.

Audrey's first playdate

Technically this wasn't Audrey's first playdate. But this was one of the first. This is Audrey and Emily playing together at our house. Emily is Abby's little sister. Abby and Zoey are 3 months apart, Abby being older. Emily is 3 months older than Audrey as well. They've watched their sisters play together now for two years. Now it's their turn! They were so cute - they spent about an hour taking care of the babies together. Pushing them around in strollers and shopping carts. Next year the girls will be in the 2s classroom together. Along with 6 (SIX) other siblings that we know very well and play with often! And their teacher next year will be Zoey's teachers from this year, Miss Allen and Miss Dahl. I hope it's a great experience for her. I think she's ready, and with little friends like this - who wouldn't be?

I've also included photos from a playdate with Abby. Something for Audrey and Emily to look forward to......jumping on couches, singing at the top of their lungs!! Yes, these really do know how to have fun. FYI - Zoeys favorite song these days is Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun"!!! Like mother, like daughter.....

Note to self:

When scolding my children, I must remember to include the phrase "that I see".

The other day, the girls were taking a bath. Both were getting pretty revved up, splashing water and shoving each other. So I said, the next person that pushes the other one into the water has to get out of the tub. Well, I turned my head, and sure enough someone pushed someone else. Zoey was crying and Audrey was whining. I didnt see who pushed who and Zoey sat there looking at me, like MOM, she pushed me first, make her get out. But I couldn't cuz Audrey was looking at me and pointing at Zoey!!!! Both kids acting like they wanted me to scold the other, but I didnt. I'm not going to punish them for things I dont see!! So I rephrased myself "the next person I see to push the other has to get out the tub". Funny, no more pushing after that!!

Remaining photos from CA

Here are just some more photos from the CA trip. In no particular order. Don't you wish you were there??? (If this blog entry doesn't scream "I dont know anything about HTML", then I dont know WHAT does!)

The California Trip - the longest blog EVER

California was a big hit with the girls. Not as much as Paris and the Eiffel Tower, but hey, not bad for a momma-run vacation! Essentially this was our trip - we flew into LAX, drove straight to Lakewood/Long Beach area to my friend Michele's house. Spent two days hanging out with Michele - one night we drove them into LA to meet an old coworker of mine for dinner (trying to introduce my single girlfriend with my single guyfriend!!). The girls were on their best behavior - I was so proud of them! Sure we had playdoh all over the table and little toys scattered here and there, but 2 hours in an LA restaurant without a single temper tantrum or screaming event. Excellent! Michele lives with a dog named Molly. Funny huh? Zoey couldnt get enough of that - "molly, NO, molly get going, molly DOWN, molly NO"!! Hmmmm, interesting.......We said adieu to Michele the next day and drove straight up to Whittier to see my grandpa and his wife Vel. They have a young doggy named Cosmo and the girls were in Heavan!! They had so much fun with Grandpa and Grammy Vel. We all went to the childrens science museum and saw the Sesame Street exhibit about the body - it had a giant poop machine and a gigantic nose that sneezes on you. Everyone was thoroughly disgusted, but left well educated! Even the gigantic dinosaur exhibit outside showed you how dinosaurs pooped!! After two days, we left and made it to Uncle John's place in Santa Barbara. Straight to the beach! The girls had been near the Pacific for 5 days and had no idea there was beach nearby - my beachlovers were happy as little clams. We collected pine cones in Whittier, but brought back smooth rocks (with shells in them) and sticks from Santa Barbara. I know the TSA loved checking my bags!

To finish our first week in CA, I drove the girls straight up the coast from Santa Barbara to Aunt Lysa's house in Livermore. We made great timing in the morning since they both slept well. We spent lunch at Moss Landing - the girls saw their first sighting of seals across the street from the restaurant and in the marina. Audrey and Zoey both learned to talk like seals - AR, Ar, AR, AR, AR! All the way home....Further up the coast we stopped to get some artichokes and fresh produce. We stopped at the beach just north of Santa Cruz to "play" and ended up in a wind storm!! We drove past Pigeon Point Lighthouse - Zoey wanted to know WHO lived there?? I tried to explain the idea of a lighthouse to her - but I think that's something her father could do better! Slowly we made it to one of our old favorite places - Moss Beach Distillery . CJ and I used to sit out on the deck overlooking the Pacific Ocean, an old navajo blanket draped over us on one of the wooden benches and just watching the waves crash below the cliff while the fog creeps in around you. It was very romantic, relaxing and quite soothing. It was nice to take the girls and see that they enjoyed it just as much as we always did. Plus, I think they were hungry! The next day we made it up to Sacramento to see my Aunt Jill, her husband Kirk, and my cousins Kelly, Ryan, Kristen, her boyfriend Jesse and the youngest Syndey. The girls LOVED the attention they got from Sydney, Jill, Kirk, Kelly, Ryan, Kris, and Jesse, not to forget about William and Tucker their doggies.

After Sac we went back down to the Bay Area where we spent the rest of the week. By that time, I was ready to move back and asking CJ every day why not! I was pretty surprised to see how much I missed the bay area. The smells, the people, the movement, the food, the resources, the endless amount of things to do, people to see, places to go. It's never boring, routine or stagnant - a place that large is ever changing, moving, and replenishing.

The girls did just great. Constantly on the go, constantly in the car, constantly eating, talking or playing! It was awesome - some of the things we did: saw the seals at Pier 39 (ar, ar, ar, ar, ar), ate Mexican food with my friends Rebecca and Allison, visited the Burning Man headquarters with Aunt Lysa (it's always good to introduce your children to strange art and naked people!), played at Aquatic park with our old bestest friends Dora and Diego (we miss you!!), went shopping with Lysa in San Francisco, saw more friends at Rebecca and Phill's house for a BBQ (hi Jen!), rode the BART and saw the ferries. Mommy drank lots of good beer, we ate great food, and slept really well at night from exhaustion! On our last bittersweet day there, I took the girls to my old favorite park/hill in the middle of Pacific Heights. I used to run up the hill every day when I lived in the city - I remembered there was a playground at the very top. I took both girls there for some of the most picturesque views that any playground could offer. It was so beautiful. The girls appreciated not just the play time, but I could tell they liked the view. The weather was darn near perfect every day, not just on that one moment on that hill. We couldnt have asked for a better trip, a better time, a better vacation or a better moment in our lives together. To say the least it was refreshing, memorable, energizing, if not unforgettable, at least for the adult in the group.

The trip to CA left me with a few new tidbits of knowledge:

-I have the two most incredible girls in the whole wide world. Life is not worth living without them. Every day they continue to amaze and that trip was no different. Just the fact that they could get up and go with the flow and put up with the whole trip was incredible. People say traveling with kids is hard, well, I must be one of the lucky ones, cuz I disagree. Sure, it was a challenge to figure out how to return a rental car, catch the bus and check into the airport with, get this, 3 bags to check, 2 car seats, 4 bags to carry on, one double stroller and 2 small children, ages almost 2 and 4!! Crazy huh? Nope, fun, adventurous, creative and once in a lifetime. The trip made me realize that I need to make a point of taking trips like this with my girls for the rest of their lives. Mommy time. Girl time. Our time. It was pretty special.

-Audrey decided to talk. Finally. In full sentances. We all knew she could, she just was waiting for the right moment to speak. I dont think it's a coincidence that she waited until she had the full attention of her mom and sister. This poor child was born into an already existing family. The day after she was born, I had 4 real estate closings. That exact day. There she was in the hospital bassinet while I was on the phone with other realtors in my hospital bed. It's never stopped and just added to the fact that her older sister is always talking, pretending, and playing. Where's Audrey's moment? It was in CA with her mom and sis. It started kinda slow on the trip and by the end of the two weeks she was talking fully! In the beginning of our trip - I remember being so excited when she pointed out the window, crying, and goes "paygwound". Of course she was wailing, kicking and screaming, but I was soo proud of her! At one moment in our trip, I was nursing her. She pulled off and gets this grin on her face. She looks at me and says "i bite it mommy" and pretends to bite my booby. That while disturbing was so hilarious. And all I could do was get so excited that she said a full sentance!!!! Then, since, well, in the car for long periods of time, with no other adult to assist, well, it became a free for all in the rental car. I would just throw things back to the girls, whatever they wanted whatever the baby wanted to keep her quiet. Not the best guidelines, but necessary at the time. It was at this moment, when I allowed the girls to pull each others fingers, mine included, to FART. Their father is always doing this. But this, in the car, was actually encouraged. It was quite hilarious and would keep them rolling and giggling back there for at least a good half hour. Which sometimes was all we needed to make it to our destination. One particular day, we were all doing a good round of fake farting noises and pulling fingers, when I hear little Audrey go "I fahted". And it wasn't her turn! And yes, it was a real one!

Audrey now talks like a pro - I will say this, I dont think it's a coincidence that she decided to talk on the CA trip. Or if it wasnt a conscience decision, it was at least something I think happened for a reason. The reason being that she got the full attention that she needed, for once. It's kind of a bittersweet thing. One being that we need me to work. The other being how much more could she blossom with just the right one on one attention? She starts school in August - it's only for two days a week, but I think it will be pretty amazing to see the growth and changes.

- Finally, I also learned, that the traffic in San Francisco still sucks. Specifically during rush hour......