Have you ever...

... eaten a Baskin Robbins ice cream photo cake?


... seen the creature from the black lagoon?


... used a shovel this big?


... had a meal with a cow?

(These photos were taken this past week: Dion's birthday party, a swim at our neighborhood pool, making a fort at Newport Beach, dining at Chik-Fil-A.)

Santa Barbara Day Trip

Let's work our way backwards in this photo trip, shall we? On Saturday we met up with Christie, Carter and Bob in Santa Barbara, our visit ended with a mid-afternoon snack of cupcakes in the park. As we drove away from the park and said our goodbyes, Anna did shed a few tears.


Crushcakes is a new establishment in town, featuring "scratch made gourmet cupcakes". Our favorite flavors included lemon drop, strawberry blush, and peanut butter cup.


It was Carter's spring break, and they were in town to visit Bob's relatives. Christie, Carter and Bob brought various kites to fly on this perfectly slightly-windy day, including a couple of stunt kites which had dual-lines to control movement.


Anna was perfectly happy flying this rainbow kite that flew up and stayed up in the air quite easily.


We met up at near the beach, it was a fun walk over to the pier. We had lunch at Longboards, a very kid-friendly eatery with tasty food.


It was a quick two-hour drive to get to Santa Barbara. The ocean, the view, so inviting. We knew we would have a lot of fun.

Balboa Island

On Monday we drove to Balboa Island and took the ferry over to the beach. The last time I went on the ferry was in May of 2006 (click here and scroll all the way down). It's still such a fun little trip. Wow, is Sammy's hair a bit red or what? Cute!


Sam had fun handing shells over to Marilyn, there's the Balboa Pier in the background.


I bumped into my teacher friend Rhonda, we seem to bump into each other at least once a year, at the OC Fair, the zoo, and now the beach. I guess we like the same places!

Marilyn & Ted

Earlier in the week we had a nice visit with Marilyn and Ted. The trip included lots of good talks, good eats (Cheesecake Factory, Soup Plantation, bbq at home) and good times!

Brooke's Garden Party

Isn't this miniature garden enchanting, complete with plants, butterflies, and precious jewels? Anna made this at Brooke's birthday party today.


There were two "centers" of activities, at one center the kids filled bowls with potting soil and decorated their gardens with flowers and treasures. The other children painted small houses for fairies to live in. Birthday girl Brooke is painting her pink castle at the table.


Anna was quite immersed in creating her garden. Leave it to mom Joy to have such an organized and well thought-out project.


What a nice time for friends Tasha and Anna to meet up again.
Happy Birthday Brooke!

Happy Birthday Steve!

In the early morning Steve opened up some gifts, and went off to school dressed super-spiffy and proud of this special day. On the way home from school, Anna and Steve picked up this tasty cake from Costco. We had scallops, rice and salad for dinner. Happy birthday Daddy!

Playhouse Disney

On Thursday Sam and I just had to get to California Adventure to check out the new Playhouse Disney show. On our way over we bumped into Princess Atta. Sam was feeling impatient and wanted to see the show. I, on the other hand, would never pass up an opportunity to take a photo with a Disney character.


Sorry for the poor photo quality, but you can get an idea of this stage show, it features the Little Einsteins, Mickey Mouse and Friends, and other Disney favorites.


After the 20 minute show I asked Sam, "Did you like the show?"
Sam replied, "I love it."

Overwhelmed by the excitement, Sam fell asleep soon after the show (before lunch) and I carried him back to the parking lot. A workout that was well worth it.

Legoland

We recently bought passes for Legoland, many amusement parks around here make it hard not to. Usually, for close to a day's cost (or two) of admission, you can buy an annual pass. This park is about an hour away, not bad at all.

On this trip last Saturday, Sam and Anna especially enjoyed looking at the various "jungle animals" here and there. It was gracious of Anna to let Sam name them all.


Legoland is quite a spacious park, and most of the rides are refreshingly tame. The ideal age for the typical attendee would be toddler through grade school; as an adult I enjoy looking at the various lego structures.


"Playtown" is a playground in Legoland like no other, it's geared towards younger kids who want to explore, climb, and slide on their own.


Firefighter Anna, whoa! The structures are colorful and inviting.


There are lots of picture taking opportunities at Legoland, can you tell?


Can't forget Sam and the lion!

I'll try not to fall behind on the blogging now that I'm on spring break! Let's see if I can do some entries on real-time instead of backdating! And I'm hoping after this week there won't be long droughts without postings!

Spring Break Part 2

Playdate 1: A trip to Newport Beach with Gabbi. What a lovely place to chat and catch up.


There's a cool playground that includes this boat structure that the kids enjoyed leaping from.


Playdate 2: A visit with Dion and Lucy in Tustin. Sam especially enjoyed flying these twirly toys on the lawn.


Thao is busy pushing the kids on the swings. What a workout!


I think Tustin has some of the nicest parks around. I love this western wagon theme!

Spring Break Part 1

Warm weather allowed Steve to take the kids to the pool for a couple of days...


On Easter, "baskets" filled with candies, a puzzle and stuffed animals...


Sam enjoying his Costco basket before we hid most of the treats...


A trip to Santa Monica for a visit with Mari, and a nice walk with her at the local Farmer's Market.