Monthly Round-Up

It's hard to believe that the school year is entering the home stretch - the girls only have 6-7 more weeks of school! Here they are on the day of Spring Pictures...

And wow, this is back in February, but the girls had a Father/Daughter dance to attend. I hung out with my good friend Michelle and afterwards, we all went out for frozen yogurt. :)

Marika's class had a field trip to Stater Brothers. I know, I know... you're thinking what a lame idea but it was actually a fun time for all - the staff did a good job of educating the kids on foods, why you should eat healthy, and the different roles each person plays in the store. Of course, giving the kids a chicken strip, a balloon, and a backpack didn't hurt either!

Mom and Fred came to visit last month and were able to watch both girls play softball. Afterwards, they kindly treated us to dinner at a ritzy Japanese restaurant. Yum yum!

The day prior to Grandma's visit, the girls had had a birthday party - for the first time in about 4 years. This was Marika's big wish and so, we made it happen. Conveniently, both girls have good friends that are siblings, so things worked out pretty nicely, as far as the guest list was concerned. I did some research on the internet and found some fun party games - although, I was surprised and dismayed that a lot of crying did ensue. I guess everybody wanted to win!

Of course, the girls wanted two different birthday cakes (one loves vanilla, the other loves chocolate) so we had to order them both. We ended up purchasing a third cake, just to make sure everybody got enough - and all that happened was that I ended up eating birthday cake for the next few days! Good thing I run a lot, right?

The following week, the girls were still on Spring Break and conveniently, Daddy Dude had taken the week off to spend with family. We visited the Cal Science Museum (Michelle was supposed to join us, but regrettably, fell ill) and had a lot of fun, especially Daddy Dude. We are really big on "educational" trips and fortunately, the girls have loved every single science museum they've ever been in. This time, they went into a deep sea journey simulator (I stayed outside, of course), a hurricane simulator (somebody had to take pictures, right?) and Daddy Dude even went onto the high wire bike ride, as well as lending himself to a falling experiment (that picture where he's strapped into a contraption? Completely voluntary on this part!).

The big staycation plan, though, was to visit Legoland. This trip was actually overdue by one year (it was supposed to be the girls' birthday present for last year, in lieu of a birthday party) and we almost couldn't make it, due to the weather. Fortunately, everything worked out.

They had some new displays, including Sonny's favorites here... (although Harry seems a bit small here, doesn't he?).

And of course the girls had tons of fun on the rides! We were really bummed, though, because the new Star Wars mini land was supposed to open the day we were there - but apparently, some hooligans broke into the modeling area during lunchtime the previous week, and destroyed several exhibits. Sooooo... we missed it. Next time!

And what was *my* favorite part? We love these delicious apple fries (with whipped cream!). Thanks to our friend Brian, who introduced us to this treat, we were a few dollars poorer afterwards, but our stomaches were quite pleased... :)