Zoo

We took a group tour of the zoo with some other mama friends and their kiddos. We got to meet Shani, a wildcat up close with the trainers. And then a tour of the giraffes where there were several new baby giraffes. Well actually one new one and several other youngins.

Shani the wildcat

King Kyle climbing the gorilla statue. He just perched up there for some time. He was quite content.

Monkey wrestling!

Jacques the Peacock spread his feathers!! We always see Jacques (we gave him this name after Ry-Ry's baby toy) prancing around the zoo, but never with his feathers out. He must have been showing off for the flamingos.

Mardi Gras

Happy Mardi Gras!

Tree Climbing

The kids and I had a great time climbing trees in La Jolla after brunch on Saturday. They were quite impressive with their climbing skills as well as their problem solving skills. At first, they were asking for lots of help on where to go next and how to reach up to that next branch safely. But they quickly got the hang of it and were little monkeys. Emily, especially, loved the climbing and couldn't get enough of it!

Life is a bowl of cherries

Yum!

Ahoy!

Sunday, the rain cleared up so we biked down the harbor to check out the boat museum for their Family Day. We boarded the boats in the harbor - The Star of India, a retired submarine and a few others. 

Cabrillo

What a beautiful day! The kids and I headed up to Cabrillo for a nice hike and view of the cliffs and ocean. They sure were troopers!! They walked / hiked / climbed for at least a mile, probably closer to 2. And they still had energy! So we went down to the tidepools for a little ocean education. We caught up with some park rangers who were finishing guiding a field trip so we asked some questions and they showed us a sea anenome, shore crab, water crab, chitons, lichens, barnacles, and several other sea creatures that I can't recall.

Heading down to the tidepools. Behind the kids was where we saw a shore crab sunning himself when he wasn't scared and hiding under the rocks.

A little climbing

The phones in the lighthouse room. There's a recording on it playing, but the kids always pretend they are talking to Daddy.

Handy Manny

This weekend with all of the rain, we found some fun indoor activities. Apparently, the first Saturday of the month, Home Depot has a kid's building session. This was the first we had heard of it and decided to check it out. We sure weren't disappointed!

Handy Emily ready for action!

Daddy & Emily hammering

Hard at work hammering

Kyle & Mommy working together

Kyle hammering

Kyle hammering, armed with safety glasses

Rainy day

Did I mention it never rains in San Diego?! Well, it has rained for the past 2 days. And way back in July, we got Emily a princess cupcake kit. She has constantly asked when she can make those cupcakes, to which Jeff has replied, "it's for a rainy day." Well every rainy day since then, in Chicago included, she has remembered and asked. Today was her day though! Three year olds certainly have AMAZING memory!

Eating the freshly decorated princess cupcakes.

Emily's canvas. Yum!

Kyle decorating his "motorcycle cherry" cupcake.

Twin duo

Now, it never rains in San Diego, except maybe 10-15 days of the year. Well last night was one of those times. And of course, before any rain, I rode over to games and dinner at Corvette Diner on the bike with Kyle and Emily in the trailer. Awesome. Normally, they really dislike the rain. Normally, they want nothing to do with it. Normally, they'd much rather stay inside and remain dry. They must have been so jazzed from "Corvette Diners" games, dinner and their Lollipop song (which they learned from Papa's jukebox), that they insisted that we ride over to the music open house in the neighborhood and play some instruments. Nevermind the trailer was soaked. Nevermind they were soaked. Nevermind they were stuffed in the trailer with their balloon pink doggie and motorcycle. Nevermind it was nearly bedtime. They were on a mission! So we went and had a jam session. Kyle started off on the drums, Emily on the piano. They also tried out the bongos, steel drums and various little hand instruments - shakers, maracas, tambourines, etc. I think the drums were the biggest hit though. ;-) It was a very fun night together.