a new cube

we went to the new discovery cube that opened up in los angeles. we have been members of the orange county one for a long time but this was the first time that we visited the los angeles one. it just opened last november.

it is very similar to the orange county one without the outside dinosaur play area. everything is spread out and it seems to be more spacious inside. there were a few new exhibits that we had not seen before. a favorite was the inspector training course. the kids were given a tablet that they took around a house checking to see if it was earthquake proof. it was fun. they looked for the safety features and answered questions about what is needed to make a house safe. mason loved it. anything with a screen is fun for him.

another new exhibit was the helicopter simulator that takes you on a tour of the los angeles water system. it was pretty interesting. they showed us how our water gets cleaned in our treatment plants.

they also had our favorites like the recycling sorting game and discovery market. i think i still like the orange county one a little bit better but it was fun to do something different.

we were there for almost three hours. i am pretty tired after our busy weekend. we are home now. it was only a 20 minute drive. nice. the kids are watching the new spongebob movie for the fifteenth time and i am relaxing.

too hot

jen and i took the kids to los angeles zoo today. it was crazy hot. it was 100 degrees out. just miserable. the kids were complaining most of the time. we were only there for a couple of hours before we decided it was just not worth staying. we did get to see the jaguar in his new home though. that was nice. the kids also got to ride the carousel and they enjoyed that.

we went back to my house and set up the little pool for the kids to play in. they had so much fun. they loved it. we should have just done that first and skipped the zoo. they were running and jumping into the pool. so funny.

jen couldn't stay late because dahlia had picture day at dance class. i had to dress her up in her costume and makeup. it didn't take that long and we went out for froyo afterwards. when we got home it was 7:00 p.m. and it was still 99 degrees out. i was so annoyed. it is still hot now. ugh. i don't know how i am going to survive this summer without air conditioning.

a cool day at the gardens

today connors fever was gone so we went to the huntington gardens. we had free tickets. it rained in the morning and was so nice and cool out. it was one of my favorite visits to the gardens. i usually feel rushed because i have something else i need to get to afterwards but today was very relaxing. no stress.

we walked all around the gardens and let the kids run around the grass. jen met me there with her kids. they were so happy to play together. i loved the japanese gardens and chinese gardens the best. they were so green and beautiful.

after the gardens we went back to my place. i cooked dinner and the kids played until bathes and time for bed. tomorrow we start swimming lessons. even though it is summer we are still so busy.

disneyland

bodhi is on spring break this week and my kids had the day off so we all went to disneyland. poor miles had to work so he didn't get to go. jen and ray went early because they had breakfast reservations at ariel's grotto. i decided to skip that because it is really expensive. they told me kira loved it.

ray and i took mason, dahlia, bodhi, and connor on thunder mountain for the first time. i was worried that it would be too scary for connor but they all loved it. now dahlia wants to try all the roller coasters. we also rode gadget's go coaster in mickey's toontown. this was another hit. we did so many new things this time. it was great. i was thankful that jen and ray were with me and we could divide the kids up so they had a grown up next to them. i am not sure how i will do it when i bring them by myself.

we stayed all day. we were all super exhausted when it was time to go.

under the sea

it's a party weekend. miles is having a lan party at the house with his friends so jen and ray came over yesterday and spent the night. jen and i stayed up late drinking cosmos and putting together a puzzle while the guys played video games all night. so fun.

this morning we needed to escape the video gaming madness so jen and i headed out with the kids. we went to our favorite place to stare at fish. christina and zena met us there so it was extra fun.

there were a lot of fun things happening at the aquarium today. the octopus was out of his hiding place and we finally got to really see him. it was crazy. he was moving around all over. they are so trippy the way they move. the kids were really into the touch tanks. we explored all the touch tanks. outside they had a painting stations set up where you could help paint this giant canvas that will later be displayed in the aquarium. dahlia and zena loved that.

i got a cool picture of the chambered nautilus. they are so strange looking. the deep sea creatures are some of my favorites.

after we left the aquarium we went back to my house and grilled some chicken for dinner. christina and zena went home but jen and ray are staying another night. yay! it's puzzle time.

disney day

we went back to disneyland today. we are going to get our money out of our passes. yay. we met mason's friend archer and his mom there. we didn't hang out with them for too long. we did the classic rides including a trip over to tom sawyer's island. they now call it pirate's lair on tom sawyer's island. they added all this pirate stuff that is new from when i went there as a kid. it is really cool. it was the first time the kids had been there. they loved playing in all the caves. i love all the wooden bridges. we also went in the tiki room and the jungle cruise. all my favorites.

after we split up from our friends we headed over to the haunted mansion. we all love that ride. it was so fun for me to be at disney with just my three kids. we could do whatever we wanted to do without a big group decision. it was very relaxing.

i decided to not stay too late. i didn't want to get stuck in traffic. the kids were also getting pretty tired. we got home at 4:30. they played while i cleaned up.

spring break

we are on spring break. yay. it was so nice to not have to wake up early today. so very nice. we decided to skip dance class and go to santa monica to visit my sister and their cousins. bodhi is not on spring break this week so we went with jen to pick him up after school. he was so excited to see all his cousins waiting for him. we stopped for frozen yogurt on the way back to their place.

the kids played the rest of the day and jen and i got to talk and hang out. we made delicious salmon tacos for dinner. we stayed until bedtime. it was a fun and relaxing visit.

the happiest place on earth

today was the best day ever. we got annual passes to disneyland. yay! it has been a really long time since we have had passes. they keep raising their prices and it was just too expensive. but this year jen and ray decided they were going to get disneyland passes instead of throwing a birthday party for bodhi and kira. we decided that we would do the same. we really did spend too much money on the passes but i don't care. i am going to take the kids all the time. i even convinced miles to join us and get a pass for himself. a real family outing.

we met jen, ray, christina and their kids at the storybook cafe for bodhi's birthday brunch. the brunch was fun but way over priced as expected. they had characters walking around making the kids laugh. after brunch we went into california adventure to see the new cars land. it was pretty cool. we rode some new rides including the little mermaid ride. that is a fun one.

we also went over to disneyland and rode a bunch of rides over there. we stayed all day and had plans to stay to see the fireworks. we almost made it. we were going to watch the fireworks from the roof of the parking garage where we were parked. we got the kids in their jammies and waited for the show to start when mason and connor got too cold and too tired. then dahlia started to cry, so after a couple of fireworks we took off for home. still it was the best day ever.

natural history museum

we had a great weekend. today i took the kids and met jen, ray, bodhi, and kira at the natural history museum. i love this museum and have decided to renew our membership. they recently have made lots of fantastic changes. it is really a fun place for the kids to learn. every time we go we see something new.

they had this booth set up today where they take pictures of you on a green screen and then comp you into funny backgrounds. the kids did it and the pictures were really cool. i actually bought the set. usually i don't go for the expensive photos. i think it was worth it this time though.

we stayed at the museum for three hours and then we all went back to my place for dinner. the kids love hanging out with their cousins.

western round up

today we woke up early to go to the western round up. it is a carnival at connor's preschool. this year it was pouring rain so they moved all the games inside and set up a huge tent for the pony rides and petting zoo. i had to work at one of the game booths so miles took the kids around to play and see everything. i missed out on all the fun. once my shift was up they all wanted to go home.

they did get to play lots of games. connor's favorite activity was the pony rides. he loves to ride the ponies. how cute. luckily it stopped raining for a little while. mason likes the petting zoo. connor and dahlia got tatoo's before we left. a fairy for dahlia and spiderman for connor.

we lucked out and it didn't start really pouring rain until we got home. the rest of the day was really wet. we stayed in and i did laundry. it turned out a pretty relaxing day.

grossology

we went to the discovery science center today. we met my friend carla and her two kids there. it was fun to hang out with them. we don't get to see them too often. she works a lot and they live pretty far away.

the museum has a funny exhibit going on right now. it is called animal grossology. it is filled with all these gross facts about vomit, digestion, and poop. yuck. the kids thought it was hilarious and of course educational.

it was pretty funny because carla's kids are so mellow and well behaved. she was actually reading all the information about the different stations in the museum to them. my kids were just running around like crazy people playing with all the interactive stuff but not reading the descriptions.

after the museum we all went to dahlia's favorite soup plantation for dinner. it was such a nice finish to our day.

a new park

today was a beautiful day. we had the day off from school so we ditched gym class and drove to santa monica. we went to jen and ray's house. christina and zena came too. we walked to this new park by the pier. it was so nice. it is called tongva park. it is really beautiful and has a great playground for the kids.

they couldn't get enough of the slides. kira was a daredevil and went down head first. connor loved the rock climbing wall and they all loved the spinning chairs. so fun.

there is a really beautiful view of the ocean from there. the park is also filled with unique sculptures and water fountains. i loved it. it is really designed well.

we had such a nice walk back to jen and ray's house. at their house we grilled burgers and had some wine. the kids played legos. such a lovely day off from school.

aquarium

today is our last day of winter break. miles and i took the kids to the aquarium. he rarely gets to go places with me and the kids. we were all so excited to get out of the house. the aquarium was not very crowded so we had plenty of time to see everything.

i gave connor my camera and he took tons of pictures. he loves the divers. he told me he wants to be a diver and work at the aquarium when he grows up. before we left miles bought him a toy diver that he played with in the bath.

i love the aquarium. i never get tired of watching all the fish. after we left we stood and watched the boats coming into the harbor. it was so beautiful it looked just like a postcard. it made me wish i was on a boat.

picking out a tree

we had a lovely morning. today was nice and sunny and was the perfect day to pick out our christmas tree. we went to our usual home depot where we can always get a nice tree for a good price. it is not quite as romantic as a tree lot but the kids enjoy the process just the same and we save about $40.00.

we got a really pretty tree this year. i think it is perfect. we just got lucky. miles only had to unwrap three trees before we found this one.

i love the look of a tree strapped to the top of a car. it is so fun to see everyone driving home with a tree on their roof. the kids were crazy excited to help unload it.

our tree is now safely inside with twinkly lights on it. we still didn't finish decorating but the kids put lots of ornaments on it and it is looking really pretty. i think i will finish it tomorrow.