Baby Arlo Love

Seeing the kids with babies is so sweet. They love their friend "Baby Carter" (they refuse to call him anything but Baby Carter) and now they dote on their cousin. Even before Arlo was born they were so excited about him. They were very invested in the whole process, talking about how Jessi's baby would get out (that was a hilarious conversation), what they should name him (Fin's pick was Wolfgang) even going to an appointment to see him on the ultrasound. Parker left the hospital kicking and screaming when Jessi was in labor (she was determined to see that baby). Now that he's here, the second he opens his eyes they are all over him, trying to make him smile. I can't wait till Arlo gets a little older and can really start interacting with them.

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Friday at the Park

Fin and I spent last Friday morning together while Parker was in school and decided that climbing some rocks and trees sounded like a good idea (at this point there was not a single cloud in the sky). We had decided to go to Irvine Park when my friend Christy messaged me to see what we were up to. She and Baby Carter were game for the park as well, so we picked up Parker, made some lunch and headed out.

Unfortunately, this tiny creek had swelled a bit and made getting to the big climbing rock impossible. Fin was pretty bummed (the last time we came it was too hot, so this is twice in a row he hasn't been able to get to the rock). But we spent some time throwing rocks in the water and cracking Baby Carter up. Baby Carter is great for my ego, he thinks I am HIGH-LARIOS. ;)

Conversations

Like it wasn't hard enough that Parker has every single eating establishment's logo memorized, now that she's reading I'm not safe in bland strip malls either. Parking at the grocery store, she started reading the signs

"Duh-O-Nah-Uh-Tah. DONUT! Mama I want a donut! Can we get donuts, please please please?? I'll buy you a dre-esss!!" (she's learned this from the master negotiator, Griffin Daniel, he's always been able to get what he wants from kids by bribing or proposing trades)

"No, baby, we just ate breakfast."

Pointing to the pizza place, "Okay, can we get pizza den?"

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Fin and his class took a little field trip down to the Post & Ship after they learned all about the postal service and stamps and all that. I had four kids in my group, including Fin and his friend Atherv. I already loved Atherv only because the last week I was at school he brought in his soccer trophy and claimed that he had scored three hundred goals. When the kids questioned how that would be possible, he matter of factly stated that his team passed him the ball a lot (a totally plausible situation). As we were walking down the hill my ears perked up when I heard Atherv and Fin talking. I caught the words "black hole" and then I heard Fin ask, "Yeah, but what do you think happens to the color white when it goes into a black hole?" These are six year olds.

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I was laying on the couch checking my email on my phone. Fin came over and took the phone out of my hands. Protesting, I said, "Hey, what are you doing?" "I want a snuggle. A two hand snuggle." he said as he curled up around me.

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Josh does this thing to Parker where he puts on a really bad French accent and says, "ooooh Parker, se manifique, oooh lala Parker" and she gets all giggly and squealy and tells him to "stoooop Daddy!!" Yesterday at lunch I put her plate in front of her and she said (in a bad French accent), "ooooh Griffin, say mana beef! say mana beef!"

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Griffin lost another tooth (we're up to three now!). The next morning Josh was in the kitchen when Fin woke up. Fin came out of his room, held up his five dollar bill, said "Boom." and walked away.

Bower's Museum of Cultral Art

Fin learned all about the Chinese New Year in school last week and was excited about the big dragons in the parades. I went online to see if we could find any parades near us, but unfortunately the only one I could find was on Saturday morning and I had to work. But I did find out that Bower's was having a family festival and free admission to the museum.* We're always down for some museum time, especially when its free!

The kid's got their arms painted (neither one wanted it on their face) and then refused to bathe last night so they could keep these longer.

The largest exhibit they had was dedicated to art of the Pacific Islands and had a great collection of amazing masks

Bone daggers from the Pacific Islands

Jolly looking ancient chinese horses

Griffin giggled and mock whispered to me:"Oooh, look Mom! An ancient DVD!"

This hand was carved out of quartz, every single tiny bone

Some REAL statement jewelry

Quilts of America (I love this one, called a "Crazy Quilt"

Ceiling in the California Legacies room

If you didn't know already, Target sponsors free admission and festivals at several museums throughout the country. We've been to three now, and love them. The kids get to do free crafts and we get to go to museums we might not otherwise go to because of the admission price. If you think your kids are too young or won't like going to a museum this is a great way to "test-drive" them without shelling out $50. ;) You can find schedules and locations here. :)

Mission Ranch Market

We go through a lot of produce in this house. A lot. Josh is a vegetarian, and by proxy we've pretty much become vegetarians as well. 3/4 of our fridge is produce that has to be replenished on a weekly basis, not to mention the giant fruit bowl on the counter. I have to ration and sometimes hide the fruit from my little rabbits. So the cheaper I can get it, the better. And if you've ever talked to me about food or groceries I'm sure you've had to hear me wax poetic about my beloved Mission Ranch Market. Any place I can walk out of with a bulging, I can barely pick it up bag of groceries for $20 has a special place in my heart. Add in some Russian products, endless assortments of teas, German chocolate, 50 cent tea biscuits, smells from the bakery and thumping Persian music and its pretty much the happiest place on earth. This is where Parker and I spend our Mondays.

These are YanYan cookies, they come with a dip (chocolate, vanilla or strawberry). The kids love these, not only because its cookies and chocolate, but because they have little sayings on the side, some of which are a little baffling. "FOX. BEWARE OF LIES" is one of my favorites. "SHEEP. WOOL SWEATER" is another. The randomness of it makes us giggle.