I have a “system” for the blog: Take lots of pictures, download all the good ones taken since the last blog post, tell a story, repeat. Turns out my last blog post was near the end of MARCH… YIKES! But once I started downloading pictures taken since then, I realized why it’s been tough to blog – we’ve been too busy LIVING to have time to write about it!
But one day, I really believe these gorgeous kids will be thankful to have their childhood chronicled, and so, I’m going to give “catching up” a shot.
Here are some high points from April:
- A really bad haircut for Ella, which I PAID FOR (you’ll see)
- A work trip to Dallas for me for a presentation training course
- A weekend trip for “Mom & Dad” to Las Vegas with our friends, Chan & Joe
- A Spring Break trip to San Diego for animals, friends and Easter, oh my!
- A going away party for a friend we’ve worked with for two decades
I’ve in fact had what seems to be a lot of travel time lately, including wrapping up March with a 3-day trip to Boston for work to kick off my new role as President, Community & Customer Engagement – a new adventure after 20 years at Aquent (more here if you’re interested).
But on to the bad haircut. Often I’m the one taking the girls to get a haircut having to apologize to the stylist for having trimmed their bangs (poorly) between cuts. In my defense, I don’t have to PAY myself. The following “paid for” bangs happened SO FAST – and once they were underway, there was no going back…
Good thing she’s cute, right? And come on, I do a better job than that…
To distance ourselves from that haircut (kidding), Bart and I headed to Las Vegas to hang out with our friends and see some amazing shows! We started out at the NoMad hotel, which had opened recently and was intent on showing their commitment to experience by handing me a ROSE on the way in:
Those parents are fierce, no?! Our primary goal was to see PINK, a birthday gift Bart had given me last year (also not kidding), and it was an incredible show. If you’ve never seen her live, you may not realize how much stamina is required for the performance AND the singing, which she does simultaneously. It was worth the wait, and here’s a particularly impressive part of the show:
We also got a chance to see La Reve while we were there, which was a great show, and visit the M&M shop, where I took home the very best “sweet” option I could find (note guy in blue shirt – and no, he’s not for sale):
The week after our Vegas trip was Spring Break for the girls, and for the last few days of it, we took a family trip to San Diego, which was a success. On the way down we enjoyed a backseat serenade of Un Poco Loco from the Coco movie by our resident vocalist.
We’re totally biased but think she’s great; however, don’t think this sort of enthusiasm (we heard it 5 times on the 2.5 hour drive down) shows up on demand. Upon visiting our first friends in San Diego, this shy mouse (not) clammed up like that frog from Looney Tunes… Oh well. In addition to visiting friends (which is always the best part), we went to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park for a hot, but fabulous experience, filled with baby giraffes, a “safari” tour around the park, and lots of animal exhibits.
We also visited the Fleet Science Center, for interactive exhibits and an IMAX about Superpower Dogs, which I highly recommend. What I do not recommend (for us) is an actual dog, but don’t think we left that movie without the girls reiterating their interest.
We stopped nearby to have lunch at the Prado restaurant at Balboa Park, for a delightful meal where our resident magician (Zoe) shared a trick:
And Ella shared her vision of mom & dad (the queen & king, of course):
Yes, those “thumbs” on our heads are crowns, and in case it’s unclear, I’m on the left.
At our next stop, the Think Play Create museum (another hands-on center, or as I call them “germ nests”), the girls climbed, drew pictures for projection on an interactive wall, and played in a room lined with mattresses (yes, real mattresses) and foam “tires”. At first, it looked like so much fun, and of course, the girls loved it. But just spend 7 minutes in there, as I did, and watch the first 2 kids rub their snot on a sheet… I mean, how often can they even wash all those sheets?!
But I digress. At this museum, Daddy did a magic trick of his own:
And we wrapped up the weekend with a terrific EASTER experience thanks to our friends, Joe & Mary, who ensured the Easter Bunny did not disappoint.
(That’s another Ella original piece of art – we’re learning what to do instead of cry when we make a mistake, and I think this was a lovely choice)
We rounded out April by hosting a going away party for our friend, Marshall, who we’ve worked with for two decades, and who moved from LA to Kansas. We brought together a diverse group of people we haven’t seen for many, many years and people we’ve worked closely with for the past several years. Two friends drove down from San Fran, one bringing her little girl, and if our party was great, the cute little girl fest was super!
And that was just April. I’m exhausted reading about it and thinking about all the photos I’ve gathered for May – just wait! No one can say we’ve been idle this year, and it’s been a lot of fun reliving these moments and being so grateful for all the wonderful people we have in our lives.
Below are more joyous, everyday pictures from the month of April of our beautiful (totally biased remark) children, for whom we’re equally thankful. Happy April!
Emphasis on Joy 