As I mentioned last weekend, I’ve been remiss at writing blogs lately, but we’ve had plenty going on. So this post is to capture some fun and random stuff.

Here’s a preview:

• Ella got sick, just two days after her first day of school…
• Zoe & Dad went to see Wild Kratts Live
• Mom & Dad went to Vegas

The first two happened simultaneously in mid-September. Ella had to wait until she was 2 years old to start school, and so she did, on Friday Sept 16. On Saturday she seemed fine, and on Sunday, Dad and Zoe were scheduled to go see the Wild Kratts in OC while Mom and Ella spent the day together.

Ella woke from her nap crying, inconsolably, saying her ear hurt, which had happened a few days before and we assumed was just teething. I calmed her down but she was only fine if she was ON ME for the rest of the day, and she was clearly sick.

Long story short, she ended up home from school for the next 3 days, on 2 separate antibiotics with a double ear infection and a high fever. Welcome to School, Ella. Zoe was sick once a month for her first six months of school, so I figure we should just settle in…

On the fun side, Zoe LOVES Wild Kratts, a TV show that teaches kids all about animals, with two brothers who make it fun. Well, these brothers also do live shows around the country and make that fun, too! We got tickets a few months back and when the day arrived, Zoe insisted that she and Dad dress like Chris and Martin Kratt. Since you probably don’t watch the show, here’s a point of reference:

One always wears blue, the other green, and they go on adventures (now the show is animated but the original was live action) and interact with animals of all sorts along the way. And so, Zoe and Dad started out on their own adventure, like this:

Costume Design by Zoe Anika Johnson.

Two weeks later, Bart and I took our last overnight trip (possibly ever) to Vegas while  a very pregnant Holly & Panda watched the kids. They showed up on Saturday morning at 9:30 am, as planned, and luck of the draw, Holly was having mild contractions. We arranged backup for the weekend and alerted the next door neighbor who had watched Zoe while we rushed to the hospital to have Ella. Thankfully, Holly’s cutie pie little girl (I’ve met her now!) stayed in the belly all weekend long, and we had a great time in Vegas with my college roommate for her birthday:

In case you’re headed to Vegas any time soon, I have some recommendations:

• We went to Mystere (a Cirque du Soleil show) and had seats on the 2nd row, the closest I’ve ever been to the stage (and it’s my 4th time at the show). It was amazing.
• We also went to a live music show with an Australian Motown group, Human Nature, which was fabulous. They engaged the audience and had incredible voices.
• On the last day we went to the Mob Museum, which is very well done, and we could have spent more time there. There’s a lot of memorabilia and interactive exhibits.

And I have another recommendation:

If you don’t have kids yet and are planning on it – and you like to travel – go go go go go as often as you can RIGHT NOW. Just sayin’

On the good side, your kids sometimes do cool things while you’re away to make you feel appreciated, so there IS that: