A Somewhat Scary Adventure

All week long Mom and Dad were talking to me about animals.. making me identify them in books, what sounds they make, downloading animal apps on their ipad, etc... Jeez Mom, I thought we were on summer break!!

Well, all of this was to prepare me for today. Today we went to a kinda scary place...the world famous San Diego Zoo.

Mom thought it would be fun to start us off at the petting zoo. I think this picture pretty much sums up my feelings about a petting zoo.

Next, Mom thought it would be a good idea to take me to go see the polar bears. They were large and scary, but they had a big blue ball and a pool and I liked that. But I didn't like it when Mom said that I couldn't go IN the pool to get the ball. I became a little angry with her.

To calm me down, she thought I would like to take a picture next to this seal popping out of an Arctic ice cap. Here she is convincing me. I told her politely that she was crazy and that there was no way I was getting near that animal (or in that hole for that matter).

Mom started to get the hint. I wasn't too crazy about these animals. Frankly, I enjoyed them as 2D drawings in my books.

So she took me to a little play area with lots of tunnels. Now this place was more my style. No animals in sight! 

After that confidence booster (and a snack) I was ready to see some elephants. Plus, this guy was cooling off, all with the help of his trunk - how cool!

Hmmm.... I think I could like this place, but I wouldn't need to return any time soon. My animal books will suffice.

Then, Mom told me she bought an annual pass and that we might be returning next weekend......

Happy Father's Day!

Love you, Daddy!

My New Friend, Molly

Where do I begin? I did something VERY special today. VERY VERY special. 

Sit back and relax because I have a lot to tell. 

So this morning Mom picked up Great Grandma Charlotte, Mary Pat (Dad's aunt), and Molly (Dad's cousin). Then, we all went to a really unique place. It's called "Build A Bear". 

Here's a picture of Molly and I at the entrance. (I was trying to contain my excitment.)




What were we waiting for? I was ready to run inside!

I couldn't believe my eyes...bears, rabbits, and furry animals EVERYWHERE!!!! I was in stuffed animal heaven!!

Okay, so I had a very tough decision to make. I had to choose 1 animal to fill with fluff. I had to treat this kind of like Goldilocks and her experience in the bears' house. I was going to have to test out some options until I found one that was JUST RIGHT. 

I conducted 2 types of tests - "the hug test" and "the stroller test". 
 

 



Nope. Too big. Too much hair. Weird wheels on shoes.

























 Cute face. Easy to push in stroller.

Bad posture. Just okay. 

Hard to put in stroller. Not soft enough.

 She's the one! Soooo cute. Super soft. Huggable.  A little shy. JUST RIGHT!!

Now that I had found my perfect furry friend. This kind lady helped me fill her with fluff.

She attached her to the fluff machine. Ouch.

Then, I put my foot on the pedal and the machine began to make a lot of noise. It was filling up my bunny with fluff!

 













Before we sewed her up, I picked out a heart, kissed it and placed it inside of her.

 Instant LOVE!!!

But we weren't done yet! Mary Pat and Molly helped me pick out an outfit for my bunny. 
She looked pretty good in this sequin number, but I knew there was even something better. 

 Then, I had one final decision to make. A tough one. I had to give this bunny a name. 

Since I don't get to see Molly often (she lives far away in Wisconsin) I decided to name my bunny after her. Plus, she seems like a really cool girl. 

I had one last job to do..(and luckily I've seen Mom and Dad do this before so I knew exactly what to do)...I strapped her in, gave her a kiss...

 

......And now, my friends, I present to you 

Molly!!

 (in case you're wondering, Molly is wearing a white eyelet dress, with pink ballerina shoes and matching ear bows)

I couldn't wait to take her home!

I love her so much. But, I think she needs a friend...for when I'm at school.

Now I am on a....

.....Speedboat!!!   

(Sorry, if I hadn't been driving so fast, I could have picked up some ceviche or beef ribs for you)

I am on a....

                                            .....Battleship!! (the USS Iowa, to be exact)

Let the Celebrating Begin!

Today was a very special day because today we began my dad's birthday celebration! You see, his birthday is really tomorrow, June 10th, but one can never celebrate too much when it comes to this wonderful guy I like
to call, "Dad".  (okay, so some of you know that I call him Dada or Mama right now, but same difference right?)

And this birthday celebration was extra special because all of Grandpa Mark's family came in from out of town and even Uncle Matt came down from Seattle...and Avi and Abuela drove up from San Diego!!

Luckily, my Grandma Karen is a great chef and she was able to cook some amazing food for all of us. But best of all was her coconut cream tart. It was so beautiful, we had to take a picture of it. Want to see what it looked like?

 MMMMMM.......DELICIOUS!!

 Dad wasted no time. He swooped it right up and began eating it off the floor!



























While the adults went back to the dining room to eat the coconut mush, I surveyed the area and came up with a clean-up plan.






























However, this mess was far too big for me to clean alone, so I enlisted the help of a trusty friend.

 

We cleaned up that dessert disaster lickety-split!

And just when everyone thought the dessert had been ruined. Grandma Karen walked out of the kitchen with this...

 ......another coconut tart!! I think my Grandma Karen is just pure magic. I wonder what other tricks she's got up her sleeve. (can she bring unicorns over to my house, or can she make it rain blueberries and grapes everyday?)



After dessert, it was Dad's turn to open his present. I must admit, I got a little mad at Mom because she wouldn't let me throw it on the ground like I wanted to. ....And good thing I didn't because Dad and I unwrapped and Ipad!!!

                    Happy Birthday, Dad!! You're way cooler this year than you were last year.

I'm On a Boat!

It's that time of year...time to go on a sunset ride along the channels of the Newport Peninsula.

First, I had some dinner....mmmm chicken nuggets!

Then, I couldn't resist dancing to the music we were blasting from our boat. (Thanks, Grandpa Mark, for the great tunes!)

So much water all around me, I couldn't resist....I had to touch it. I had to make sure it was real.

Can't wait to do this again! You're welcome to join me anytime you're in town. I'll navigate us around the peninsula. (Don't know how to steer a boat? Not to worry!  Grandpa Mark showed me how.  It's pretty easy.)