San Diego Wild Animal Park

We had been given some tickets to the the San Diego Wild Animal Park, and they were going to expire on 12/31, so the girls and I headed down there on a day that it was not raining. It was a great opportunity for Frances to try out her new digital camera (which, by the way, is an updated version of my camera, and is much nicer than mine!).

We took the tram ride first, since it has a long line later in the day, and it is a guaranteed way to see lots of wildlife. We learned a lot, especially when the tram broke down, and we sat in one spot for 15 minutes! Everyone was goodnatured about it, and we finally made it back to the station (the truck threw a belt and some other part into the road...). One of my favorite sights was the lion on top of the "abandoned" truck!

The Wild Animal Park is a cool place, because in addition to doing research and breeding programs for endangered species, they have lots of place in the park for children to experience what it's like to be an animal. Kids can leap across water on big (stabilized) lily pads, can crawl inside a big egg, and all sorts of fun stuff. Frances and Abigail both liked the gigantic hollow log. Frances climbed up on top of it easily, but Abby was too short! Frances considered pulling Abigail up through the hole, but that was going to be too difficult. Next, the girls decided that Frances could push Abigail up through the hole from below, but they never seem to remember that Fran is only 20 pounds heavier and 12 inches taller than Abigail.... they quickly realized that it was not going to happen!

There had been a baby elephant born the day before our visit, and we were able to get some photos of it. I think that Frances has better photos of it than I do; she has more patience, and was not trying to chase a three-year-old around on the observation platform!

Both girls remembered the playground from a previous visit, and we spent quite a while there. It was a dry day (amidst plenty of rainy ones) and the temps were in the 60s, so there was plenty of static electricity. Check out Abigail's hair as she exits the plastic slide! Frances was fascinated by the tents up on a hill. I explained that this is for the park's "Roar and Snore" program, in which people can spend the night in the park, learning more about animals, and seeing the animals at twilight and dawn. It's a little costly, but maybe someday we will do it as a birthday trip or something. We had to leave the park mid-afternoon to get home in time for gymnastics, but we had a great time.

A California Christmas

We managed to have a fairly merry Christmas, despite missing Gramma B. As has become our annual tradition, we went to church, and then to the Hunters' open house on Christmas Eve. As soon as we arrived, we joined all of the children (and many of the grown-ups) and walked a few blocks to a cul-de-sac, on which each of the three houses is beautifully decorated, some with merry-go-rounds for stuffed bears, others with ferris wheels, reindeer, etc. In the midst of it all is Santa Claus, at least until 8:30 p.m. We all took turns giving Santa last-minute reminders of our wish lists. Then we walked back to the Hunters' for an evening of food and fun, culminating with Zenia assigning parts for us all to sing "The Twelve Days of Christmas." Abigail and I were part of "four calling birds," and Frances partnered with Heather and Jaime on "Five Golden Rings," which became "Five Golden Retrievers"! I can tell that we are all growing older; these parties used to last until the wee small hours. Now, many of us head for home before 10 p.m.!

This was the "princess" Christmas for Abigail. From Grandma & Grandpa Hunter, she received a princess scooter and helmet, and from Aunt Linda & Uncle Ralph she got the Belle tea cart and magic mirror. Grampa B gave her a princess cash register and five tiny Disney princess dolls, Frances gave her a princess coach for the little dolls to ride in... you get the idea.

Santa brought Abigail her first bike! It says "pinkalicious," and is white with cupcakes and butterflies on it. There is a seat for Abigail to bring a doll along for the ride, and Santa thoughtfully put an Asian-looking doll in the seat. Santa brought Frances a new skateboard, which she had asked for (but I thought she did not need).

The girls woke up on Christmas morning at 7:30, and we opened presents from Santa. We waited until Grampa B. arrived at 8:30 to open the rest of the gifts. Afterwards, we had breakfast, and played in the front and back yards in the sunshine. Christmas Day brought a break in the rain we'd had for the past week, and we appreciated it. It wasn't exactly warm outside, but at least things were starting to dry out! In addition to playing with their new bike, scooter and skateboard, the girls played with balls, swings and the balance beam. After lunch, Grampa headed home, Frances watched a new DVD, and Abigail napped. I was ready for a nap too, but didn't get one...

A sleepover party - every day...

We've been having a lot of rainy weather, and Frances gets creeped out by the sound that the rain makes as it falls on the metal patio roof outside her window. I won't let Frances sleep in my bed with me (if I ever get married, I will have to share my bed, but until then, it's my mini-sanctuary!). In the past, I have let her sleep on the floor next to my bed, but I had all of the Christmas presents stashed underneath my bed! I suggested she sleep with Abigail, and to my surprise, Frances took me up on it. Abigail was, of course, thrilled. Ab has been sleeping on top of her covers in a sleeping bag, because I can't keep her covered up with blankets and sheets, so it was easy to add Frances and her sleeping bag to the mix. It's been more than a week, and the rain has stopped (at least for a few days) but the girls are still both sleeping in Abigail's twin bed. As long as they are both enjoying it, I don't mind a bit. The only drawback is when Abigail wakes up early in the morning - Frances is not always ready to be awake that early!

Our annual tree-choosing mission

Does it seem wrong to anyone else that it was 85 degrees on the afternoon that we went to pick out our Christmas tree?
We always to go the same retailer - "Sonshine Christmas Trees" - because they are Christian, and they donate some of their profits to local organizations. This year, Abigail is beginning to understand what is going on, and wanted to help choose the tree. "Pleeeease let me help pick one!"

We traipsed all over the lot, looking at the huge trees (and wondering who could spend hundreds of dollars on a Christmas tree) before going to the less expensive section. I showed Frances that the Nobles are much more expensive than the Douglas firs, and explained that we could get "more tree" for less money if we went with a Douglas. Frances carefully considered many trees before we made our final selection.

We finally found a tree that we could all agree upon, that was not too expensive. Everyone was satisfied. It's taller than Frances, so it's a "big" tree. We had it tied to the top of the car, and headed home. Because we'd had several days of hot weather, our tree was dropping needles even as we set it up. But we had a great time decorating it, and it looked really nice with the little twinkly lights on it when we were done. Finally, we were ready for Christmas!

Ho, Ho, Ho!

As has become our annual tradition, we went to Bergstrom's to see Santa. This year, Abigail did not need any coaxing! We got there a little early, but there was already a line. When Santa entered the store, Abigail joyfully shouted, "Santa Claus!" He stopped to talk to her for a moment before taking his place in the big chair. When it was our turn, Frances was pleased that Santa remembered her from previous years, although he never seems to remember that she does not like candy canes! Abigail was happy to help Fran by eating both candy canes!

Backyard fun

We had a blessed weekend afternoon with nothing to do, so we played in our backyard.
We started with the swings. Frances pushed Abigail on the standard swing, and then I spun Fran as fast as I could on her disc swing. We also decorated our back fence with chalk, as you can see. The rain may wash away my art, but I had fun doing it.

I also dragged out the balance beam, and later, the hoppity-hops. We have two hoppity-hops from when Frances was younger, and I asked her to demonstrate for Abigail how you use one. Before she knew it, Fran was having a great time on these "little kid" toys! She and Abby had races across the yard, crashed into each other, and landed in a giggling heap.

The girls also had fun using scooters and trikes. Frances was kind enough to let Abigail win a few times, and they both had a ball. We need more of those afternoons, with "nothing to do." It was relaxing, just what we needed in our busy lives.

Let's Go Fly a Kite...

On a windy Sunday afternoon, I remembered that we have a kite in the garage. It had never been used, and is a big, beautiful parrot shape. I bought it at Costco before Abigail came home, and I guess we've just never had the time and/or opportunity to use it. So one afternoon after church and nap, I packed the girls into the car and we headed out for a park. We had some difficulty finding a park that was not full of soccer games, but were finally successful. We had a great time, even though the wind was gusty and the kite kept plunging to the ground! Both girls got turns flying it, as well as helping to launch it. We need to do this again soon!