Wildfire Gymnastics!

Check out Frances in her new competition leotard for Wildfire.... she looks awesome!

She got the leo tonight at practice, and as soon as we got home, she wanted to try it on! You can see in the photo that she still has chalk on her legs and between her fingers from doing bars. Switching gyms has made a world of difference in her attitude and her skills. At the mock meet last week, she scored a 9.4 on both floor and vault, and tonight, her coach gave her some corrections that may lead to an even higher score on floor. Frances is loving it! I told her that her new leo makes her look like a superhero, with the sheer sleeves and black wrist on one side.... maybe she can fly!

The Orange County Fair

We had great evening at the OC Fair. We got there about 6 p.m., and went to see all of the farm animals, including the new little piglets. Both of my girls were amazed at how large real pigs are! Not at all like the animated ones on TV. Abigail got to touch a little baby chicken, and tried to touch any other animal she could reach - goats, sheep, cows, you name it. She loves animals! We don't go on rides at the fair, because they are simply too expensive (and since they are disassembled every few weeks, I wonder about how safe they are). We have annual passes to Knott's, and we can go on rides there. At the fair, we try to do and see things that are out of our normal range of experience.

Abigail got to ride a pony for the very first time. She was so excited, but wanted me to walk next to her while she rode. Frances took photos, and I bought the professional pony picture too, because it was really cute. Sorry I can't scan it, but here is a snapshot that Franny took. When Abby was done with her ride, both girls stood outside the pony fence, touching and patting the horses if they came near.

All of the Bushnell girls rode an elephant! We don't have pictures of us on it, because we all rode together (Abigail refused to go without me) but I did take a photo of the elephant we rode. Her name is Becky.

Next, it was Frances' turn to choose an activity. She chose the hamster ball, a huge inflatable clear ball that floats on water. You get inside it, then it is inflated and closed up, and you are pushed up a ramp and into the pool! Frances is really agile, with great balance, but she found it nearly impossible to stand up in the ball for more than a split second. She was grinning the entire time, as she crawled, rolled, flipped and fell inside the ball. The balls are available for birthday parties.... hmmm....maybe when she turns 11....

Abigail was enchanted by the miniature circus tent, so we went to see old-time circus acts, like juggling, plate-spinning, and magic tricks. "This show is 'mazing, Mom!" Both girls were entertained, and Frances tried to figure out the magic tricks. How did he make that dove turn into a cat?

Of course, we had to visit the petting zoo. It was really crowded with people, but Abigail was undeterred in her quest to touch animals. She was able to pet goats of all sizes, sheep, chickens, and a llama.


We finished our evening with a bag of caramel corn and the Peking Acrobat show. We had a front row seat at the side of the stage, and unlike last year, this time Frances admitted that the performers' skills were pretty impressive! We all thoroughly enjoyed the show, and when it was over, I saw some of the performers at the edge of the stage. I asked Abigail if she wanted to meet them, and she was enthusiastic (is she ever unenthusiastic, about anything?). One of the guys from the show pointed to Abigail and asked, "Chinese?" I nodded my head yes, and told him, "Zhengzhou." His eyebrows raised, he pointed to himself and emphatically pronounced, "Zhengzhou!" Someone from Abigail's home town! Wow. We took a picture of him with my Abby. What a cool way to end our evening.

Aquarium of the Pacific

The plumbers that I use were grateful for the referrals I keep sending their way, so they gave us tickets to the Aquarium. We went last week. Frances had been there with her school, and initially, I let her be our "tour guide." However, she seemed determined to see the entire aquarium in about 15 minutes, so I took over and slowed the pace a bit.

Frances really enjoyed the touch pools, especially the bat rays. Abigail's face says it all: "You really expect me to try and touch those things? Eeeew!" After much encouragement from mommy, she did finally touch the rays, and giggled at the strange feel of their skin. It reminds me of wet marshmallows.

My favorites were the otters and seals/sea lions, that you could see from underwater viewing areas. They are so playful and funny, and the seals & sea lions could swim over & under the viewing tunnel, so it was fun to see where they would show up next.

Once we felt we'd seen it all, we walked around the surrounding area (called The Pike) and found a restaurant for lunch. It was a really fun day!

Ten years?!

Ten years ago, on August 4th, I stepped off the plane at LAX with little baby Frances. Where did the time go? My beautiful girl is now ten years old. I wish I had a scanner, so that I could post a photo of that moment, to compare it with the gorgeous, brown pre-teen that I have now! We celebrate her Homecoming Day each year ("gotcha day" was my mom's birthday, and I wanted Franny to have her own day) by letting her choose what she wants to do. This year, all she wanted was a cookie-cake from Mrs Fields. We had them write "Happy Homecoming" on it.

The new treehouse!

I had a guy build new backyard gates for me, and he did such a great job that I asked if he'd ever built a treehouse. He borrowed my book, "Treehouses You Can Actually Build," took it home for a weekend, and came back with some sketches.




It only took a week, and because I was off work, Javier and I consulted several times a day about the direction and progress. Of course, if it had been up to Frances, the treehouse would have been a furnished apartment with utilities! However, Javier and I were looking at cost and weight. The finished product thrilled both Frances and Abigail, as well as their friends!

Knott's Berry Farm with the "big kids"

Since we had so much fun last week with Abigail and her BFF Karley at Knott's, we decided to do it again, this time with all the members of both families.

As we have done in the past, I went with Frances and Colby to do the more extreme rides, and Kevin & Carrie did Camp Snoopy with the younger set. I think everyone had a great time. The first thing that the 10-year-olds wanted to do was Xcelerator! It was great. After that, we rode the Perilous Plunge, a water ride on which the primary goal is to get soaked! It was still fairly early in the day, so when Colby, Frances & I got on the ride, we were the only ones in the boat. The kids opted to ride it a second time, but I opted to stand on the bridge, drip dry, and take a few photos.

From there, we went to Ghost Rider, a really long wooden coaster. I used to love it, but now there is just a little too much jolting and rattling for me. It was the only ride for which we had to wait in line, and we passed the time by naming the states of the USA in alphabetical order, taking turns coming up with stores and restaurants in alpha order, playing the geography game... okay, so we're a little nerdy, but it made the wait go faster.

We finished our morning at the log ride, with all of us riding except for Carrie and baby Corbin - he was fast asleep. We were out of the park in time for lunch (this means we can park in the free, three-hour parking that is much closer to the park) before it got too hot and crowded. From there, we went to McDonald's for lunch. It was a terrific day!

Bike riding, summer 2011

Last summer, Abigail rode in style, in a small, one-seat trailer that I pulled behind my bike. It was so light that I barely noticed it while I was riding, and she could sleep on the way home from a swim in the pool. However, she was really too tall for it this summer, so I unearthed the "tag-along" bike trailer from our shed. Frances used it when she was 5, and although Abigail is tall for her age, her legs are not quite long enough to reach the pedals comfortably. This means that when we are riding, she has to lean from side to side to work the pedals, wreaking havoc with my balance! But we all are enjoying bike rides, so as long as I don't veer into any parked cars, it's worth it!