Veterans' Day 2009

First and foremost, we want to say how grateful we are for the many men and women who serve (and have served) in our country's armed forces. They are not recognized and honored often enough.

That being said, we also are grateful for a holiday from school and work! Like last year, we spent it at Disneyland and California Adventure with Haley. Our friend Janice signed us in for free, and we had a low-key, relaxing day.


Abigail got her first pair of ears! There were so many styles and colors to choose from, and the "Minnie Mouse" ones were what she finally decided on. She was very pleased with them.


Frances and Haley rode "Space Mountain" while Abigail and I rode "Autopia." Abigail was not that excited about that ride, and did not want to try and steer the car.

We went on some of the cool rides together, like "Pirates of the Carribean," "Buzz Lightyear's Astroblasters," and "Tarzan's Treehouse." Frances played "Minuet" on Tarzan's xylophone.



Frances climbed on everything, including a porch support!



We spent some time on a porch in Frontierland, where a man was playing the fiddle. He let both Frances and Abigail try it out, and he taught Haley and Frances how to do the two-step.


We didn't stay late, because Frances had gymnastics class that evening. The gym owners are from Kazakhstan, so apparently, have not yet figured out American holidays...

Only in SoCal...

...can you go to a (mostly) outdoor aquaruim in November!
I had won tickets to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, back in September at back-to-school night at the school where I work. It had been a last-minute purchase at the PTA raffle as we left campus. The next day when the winners were announced, I was so excited! I almost never win anything. So one Sunday, at the beginning of November, Haley, Dana, Roger, the girls and I all went to the aquarium after church.

Abigail wanted to be out of the stroller and running around. although she was not very interested in the fish, sea lions, rays, etc. Dana tried to help Abigail touch a ray, but Abby was not impressed.

There were lots of cool things to see, from both above the water and underneath.


Because the tickets had been free, I agreed to buy the girls something at the gift shop (guess whose idea that was?). Frances chose a blue seal, which she named, predictably, "Blue." Abigail also chose a seal, a dark brown one, that she named "Doggie!"
One of the highlights of my day was when Abigail learned from Frances how to make the fish face!

Another outlandish evening at Mexicasa!

It's no wonder that they always seat us way in the back of the restaurant! We do request our favorite waitress, and that happens to be her usual station. But we tend to get a little carried away and silly...
This particular night was shortly after Halloween, and Dana brought some chocolate eyeballs along, for dessert.

Of course, we didn't even wait to look at the menus before we started playing with the eyeballs.
It was difficult for me to hold the eyeballs in my sockets long enough for a photo, but by squinching up my face, they stayed there for a few seconds...


Fran seemed to find it easy enough!

I caught Haley in mid-eye-drop!

Abigail didn't even try to put the chocolate eyeballs on her face. She just liked eating them!

More fun things about our neighbors

Our neighbors, Janice and John, are semi-retired. Janice was adopted as an older child, and she & John adopted children as well. So we have a mutual admiration society. In addition to a puppy, they have another more unusual pet: an umbrella cockatoo! Her name is Sadie, and on sunny afternoons, they all sit out on their front porch together. Sadie gets jealous and bossy, and tends to screech at people and animals who pass by. This crazy bird loves Frances. Franny can hold Sadie on her arm or shoulder, and Sadie even cuddles up under Fran's jacket! The bird hates me, and tries to peck me whenever I get close. Sadie is also not fond of Abigail and has bitten her twice. I think it's because Sadie wants Frances all to herself! Frances loves to help train Riya, the new puppy, and has taught her to fetch, release, sit, and is working on leash-training.

Frances often visits with Janice & John during Abigail's nap. Sometimes they all go for a bike ride together. Riya the puppy rides in the front basket of Janice's bike, and Sadie's big cage is secured to the back. It looks a little like a traveling circus! I am grateful that Frances can go off and do "big kid" things, since I can't do them with her these days.

Janice's mom made Frances a really groovy bag, out of blue jeans! Very hip.

young brides...

Our wonderful neighbors, Janice and John, gave Abigail two dresses as gifts for her dedication...



She looks like she is ready to walk down the aisle... Any takers? Micah?

Halloween!

We are still waiting for autumn... after taking the car in to the dealership for service, the girls and I played in the front yard for a while. Frances is posing, saying, "What is up with this weather?!"


We waited until Abigail was napping before carving our pumpkin (sorry Ab, maybe next year). We'd had to wait until the last minute, so that the pumpkin wouldn't get moldy with all the hot weather! Frances drew a picture of what she wanted the face to look like, and I did my best to carve it the way she wanted. She was pleased with the result. I cooked the seeds with a little olive oil and garlic salt, and they are yummy!

We went trick-or-treating in Old Towne Orange, at little Phoebe's house. Frances and Haley went together, as Sonny & Cher. They got lots of laughs and comments from people in my generation who knew immediately who they were supposed to be!


Abigail wore her ladybug costume from last year. This year (unlike last year), she was delighted to dress up, especially in the tap shoes! She was not very interested in having her picture taken, though. Frances took off with Haley, to get to as many houses as possible. Abigail and I went at a slower pace. At first, she was a little confused, but then she figured it out! She jauntily walked from house to house, holding up her little bucket for candy, and rewarding people with her flirty smile. If they told her how cute she was, she would grin and show the dimple in her cheek! We went up and down both sides of the street with Phoebe, for about a block. Then, Phoebe and Abigail sat on the porch and helped give out candy.

But wait! There's more! Abigail's fabulous sitter had extra tickets to Mickey's Trick-or-Treat Party at Disney's California Adventure, and she gave them to us. Frances fell asleep in the car on the way there... but perked up once we arrived. As you enter the park, you are provided with treat bags, and a map that shows the candy locations throughout the park. And at each stop, they give you a whole handful of candy! Wow. I could see that Frances was getting tired, but when I finally let Abigail out of the stroller, she was like a lunatic! She was running, dancing, waving her arms, flirting with anyone and everyone! We stayed pretty late, and it was only 7 minutes from the Disney parking structure to our driveway, but both girls were sleeping hard when we got home.

Fran's Halloween costume piano recital

Each year, Frances' piano teacher has a recital, and lets the children wear their costumes. They can choose what piece they want to play. Fran chose to play "How Great Thou Art," and decided to wear an ice-skating costume that we found at a thrift store. She was having trouble deciding which shoes to wear (she does not have ice skates). I was dressing Abigail in her ladybug costume (recycled from last year), and was also having an issue with shoes. For Abby, I decided to let her wear the hand-me-down tap shoes, before she grows out of them. I told her that they used to be Franny's, and then Fran remembered that she also has a pair (another thrift store find). I told her that both she and Abby could wear tap shoes, and be the dancing sisters. Frances was enchanted with the idea! Both girls tap danced around the living room on the hardwood floors, and then we went out onto the porch for pictures, and it was like a stage!