The LA Zoo

running with daddy while he took picutres. the pic's are a bit blurry, but i like the looks on the kids faces.

Argry alpha male. He got really angry with one of the other chimps and started chasing all the other chimps around. It was quite a show. Olivia and Ryder were facinated!

Package from Nana

Got a package from Nana the other day!! Kids new it was coming, and were so excited when it finally arrived! Mom put on some awesome stamps. Check out the $5 and $8 stamps in the bottom left corner. Apparently there are images hidden in them some, but we have to get a magnifying glass to see. Its on my list to purchase.

Olivia was shrilled to get tap dancing shoes that mom found at the thrift shop. I'm sure out neighbors down stairs are thrilled too!
She wore them out one day, and slipped and skidded all over the place. They're not very grippy.

Also included amongst other tid bits; airplanes for Ryder and of course CHOCOLATE!!
Thanks Mom!!!

Love and Yoga

Ryder passes out again today while we're on a walk with the bike stroller. Olivia is such a good big sister, she let him lay on her lap. When he fell asleep, she looked up at me and said " awww". Then she fondled his ear while we continued along.

She was very proud of herself!

Before Ryders nap, we were at the library. Olivia was fascinated with a kids yoga book that she found and insisted on doing EVERY pose right there in the kids section. As she was working through the book, she turned to a page she didn't understand. I told her it was about meditating, and explaned what it meant. She said "i can do that! tell me when a minute is all done" and then she sat perfectly still until i told her that a minute was up. Needless to say, we borrowed the book, and she's been doing "private yoga" in the bedroom. She later put on a demonstration for her daddy, including one minute of meditation :)

Out and About

we went to the mac store where they have a few computers set up for kids to play on.

when did this happen! how did Ryder
get to be big enough to go on a computer and who taught him to hold a mouse!!

at the mac store

Ryder in action on the 3rd street promenade

visiting my sister-in-laws fiance's brothers kids. Olivia was so happy to see Avery an Max!

Getting a sneak peek of 'cloudy with a chance of meatballs' at the sony studio. Looks great!
Olivia hardly blinked.

Balancing by the beach

posing on the walking bridge

crossing a pedestrian bridge. my kids are obsessed with these things!

hmm, these are a bit out of order for some reason, and i'm too tired to fix it.
more from the visit with Avery and Max

Ryder and Max

at home, passed out after a long day. sharing a bed seems to be working out so far. Ryder always hunkers in to Olivia. Pretty cute! (and yes, that is the foot of our bed on the left, like i said, its a really small apartment!)

awww!

Evening Spill

We met Dave at the beach after work yesterday with some fresh salsa and tortilla chips. First time we put our toes in the ocean. Olivia unfortunately put more that her toes in, as a doubled up wave knocked her off her feet. I saw it coming and was calling to dave, but he couldn't hear me over the noise of the surf. We watched paralyzed, while she was knocked over, but she managed to keep her head out of the water, her expression changing from confusion to terror. Dave finally grabbed her and pulled he to her feet, and then came the tears. But after some cuddles and reassurance from mom, she was back out the leaping and giggling, a firm grip on her daddy's hand, of course. Nothing like a harmless terrifying toss in the ocean to remind you that you never turn your back on the ocean. I think she's instilled with just the right amount of fear to be safe and still have fun by the waters edge. Ryder on the other hand, didn't miss a beat and was shrieking and splashing and leaping around. I think we've see at least one helicopter and hour whenever we're at the beach. Ryder is in heaven :)


our mode of transportation

Post ocean spill

Surfers everywhere!

Ryder pointing out yet another helicopter, with undiminished enthusiasm.

Bearings

We're settling in and starting to get our bearings. I had my first solo day today. We went on a long bike ride, me pulling the kids in their bike stroller with my red vintage schwinn beach cruiser. Dave purchased it in advance of our arrival so I would be able to get around with out a car. There is a great bike path that meanders along the beach, covered in sand and other bikers. Apparently much busier on the weekend, today was nice and mellow. We rode to Santa Monica, where there is a pier with a roller coaster and ferris wheel along with a bunch of other rides. We didn't go onto the pier, that something we'll save for when daddy is around. We rode past, played at some parks, rode back, played at some more parks, then made our way home. Ryders napping now, after he's up we're going to bike to the local Whole Foods to check it out. American version of Capers. Actually Dave told me Whole Foods bought out Capers in Canada. Anyways, blibity blad, we're having a greattime. Nice and mellow.


Olivia was so excited to see a "real" transformer, but you would never know it from this picture. Daddy was pretty stoked on his costume! Poor Ryder slept through all the excitement.

Olivia ran over to Scoobie Doo and hug him with out even hesitating. So out of character, she was so excited. Cant wait for Disneyland!!!

Cant see it really well in the picutre, but she's squatting beside Zsa Zsa Gabor's star. She used to call herself "Zsa Zsa"

First pool day. Mmmmm, watermelon

Ryder catching some rays

Passed out for an afternoon nap.

Cool Dragon park

Ryder was the 'brave' one and went into the dragons mouth first

Ryder passed out for his afternoon nap

Ryder diggin' for a penny to through in the fountain.

Olivia sitting pretty. (Who taught her to do that!?)

First stop in Califoria! Hooray!!!

California Dreamin'

Well, we arrived safe and sound to a teary eyed daddy. The kids ran through the airport on their way to meet him in the baggage claim area. Olivia hunkered in to his neck and wouldn't take her head out. She was so sweet. we thought she was crying, but i think she was just really happy to see him. The kids were great on the plane. So cute while we were taking off. They kept saying "are we flying now?! are we flying now?! while the plane was taxing onto the runway. When we actually took off, their smiled faded to from excitement to perplexed fear as the g-force pulled them back into their seats. SO funny, I wish I had grabbed my camera out of my bag to take a video. i will for the flight home!

After gathering our 5 bags, 2 car seats, and 1 bike stroller and squishing it all into the small four door rental, dave drove us all back to our new temporary home. Olivia wanted to go to the house, but ryder wanted to go straight to the beach. We opted for home. We're pretty much unloaded now, the kids are passed out on their blow up mattress at the foot of our bed. They were so hyper and excited to be sleeping on that mattress together again. reminiscent of last summers camping. they were up so late because they would not stop bouncing around. sigh, hopefully that novelty wears off soon :)

well i'm completely wiped, and so glad to be together with dave again. Will try and keep my blog updated with our adventures down here.

nighty night!