Pony Bliss

Grammy and Papa took Sadie and Jack for a day out on the town on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. From the photos it sure looks like the kids had a good time at the pony rides!

Bungee Trampoline

We spent the Friday after Thanksgiving enjoying the Santa Monica pier with all our guests. We visited the carousel, kiddie rides, and Jack went with Grammy and all his cousins on the ferris wheel. The big hit of the afternoon was the bungee trampoline. Because of the bungees the kids were able to jump a good 15 feet in the air off the trampoline, which resulted in many squeals of excitement and joy.

Thanksgiving 2011

We're settling back into our routine after a wonderful Thanksgiving visit from Grammy, Papa, and cousins Beth, Karen, Dani and Nyko. It was very special to be able to host everyone in our home for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving night itself was a bit stressful, as the kids made it very clear that they did not appreciate us focusing on cooking all day instead of them. Thankfully we had many other wonderful times while everyone was visiting. It's always very special to have Grammy and Papa visit, and Sadie and Jack loved spending time with their cousins.

HomeWalk 2011

The kids participated for the 3rd year in row in the United Way's HomeWalk to end homelessness in Los Angeles. This was a very special year as we walked with Jack and Sadie's friend Lilella from their preschool and her mother. It was very special to share our value of being of service to the community with another family.

It's quite an experience walking the 5k (or 3.1 miles) with the kids. This year it took us a little over two hours to finish the walk. I was pretty amazed when we ran into Sammy Squirrel. I've have used a charter called Sammy Squirrel to explain homelessness to Jack and Sadie over the years. I have no idea where this Sammy Squirrel came from and I was too tired to ask, but it was a happy surprise to see this plushie during the walk!

We are so grateful to all the family and friends who supported our participation in the walk. I feel very grateful to be able to do things like HomeWalk with the kids!

Bunk Beds

The big day has come. Jack and Sadie are sleeping in their own beds tonight. J. and I were a bit terrified to have move on from cribs. Sleep is so tenuous as it is. We were prodded on by the cribs beginning to fall apart from so much wear and tear. It was a bit frightening when J. had to demolish the cribs to be able to get them out the door of the nursery. Then the beds were so hard to put together they were not ready for bedtime last night, but tonight every thing was in order and the kids went to bed (after some fighting and pleading) in their new beds.

Jack (AKA the Climber) had to have the top bunk of course. It took a bit of convincing to help him to understand that it was best to use the ladder when climbing to the top bunk. The ladder makes it a bit too easy for Jack, but for tonight at least he humored us by using it. We're crossing our fingers for a restful night for the whole family. We'll see how it goes...