sd wild animal park

After a long hiatus we have returned...

with some catching up to do.

 We went to the San Diego Wild Animal Park a little while ago with our friends Kristin and baby Olivia (sorry you couldn't come Dave and Brian) and had a wonderful time! 

 While Finn enjoyed feeding the ducks, I got pooped on several times and was lucky enough that it actually ran down my back inside my tank top.  What a way to start the day.

 

One of the highlights of the day was the lorikeets.  Finn was a bird magnet.

Cooling down in the splash zone and running around on the hills before lunch.

We were able to see some amazing animals...

this little guy was born the morning we came!  He is only about 10-12 hours old in this picture.

It was amazing to see such a tiny elephant.

Baby and momma.

Thanks for taking us to the park auntie Kristin!  We love you guys!!!

tag

 My brother and me in Mexico, ca. 1981.

I was tagged by Miyo at the Bretons to give a little information about me in 3s.

 3 names I go by:
1. Christie

2. Chris

3. Tweebies

3 jobs I have had:

1. Teacher

2. Macy's "Customer Service Associate"

3. Boys and Girls Club

3 places I have lived:

1. Northridge

2. San Diego

3. Ventura

3 fave drinks:
1. Water

2. Non-fat Caramel Latte, extra hot

3. Diet Soda

3 t.v. shows I watch:
1. Fringe

2. Project Runway...but now it's over

3. Parenthood

3 places I have been:

1. Cook Islands

2. New Zealand

3. Hawaii

3 places I would like to visit:
1. Africa

2. Australia

3. Patagonia

3 fave retro TV shows:
1. Cheers

2. Family Ties

3. The Cosby Show

3 fave dishes:

1.   Carne Asada

2.   Pasta, almost any kind will do

3.   Salmon Salad, like the one at Anacapa Brewery

3 things I am looking forward to:
1. Hot weather for swimming/beach
2. Taking Finn to the San Diego Wild Animal Park in a couple of weeks

3. Summer mini-vacations

3 people I am tagging:

1.  Laura

2.  Alli

3.  Kristin

tahoe

We went to Tahoe with some great friends and had a great time (with lots of wine)!

The weather was beautiful and we had lots of snow...I think it snowed about a foot the first night.   Unfortunately Wyatt had to back out at the last minute due to illness...we'll have to do it again!

The kids were amazed when they looked out the window the first morning and saw so much snow around the pool!  They had just gone in the jacuzzi the night before while it was snowing.

The warm, not hot, jacuzzi.  Great temp. for kids!  Not so great for adults.

Alli, Maggie, Jonah and George braving the snowy lakeside park.

Lake water in the winter is COLD!

A true friend will help you brush.  After all, good oral hygiene is very important.

Train time.  I would say sharing went well. 
Almost all of the time.  

What more can you ask for when you are 3 and 4?

A playground in the snow.  The boys loved it!

Downtime with the DVD.  

We found a prime spot for dinner at CPK.  What a way to end a wonderful trip!

egg hunt

Pre egg hunt wackiness.

This was his "I can't believe you aren't going to let me have more cupcakes" face.

Checking out the loot.

 They didn't sit long, but they all sat at the same time.

 Happy Easter!

beautiful weather

We've been taking advantage of the beautiful weather, and of course now it is getting cold again!

I am glad we enjoyed it while we had it...it has me revved up for summer and some long hot days.

Preparing to go spelunking.

We had gorgeous weather Sunday and abandoned the yard work and chores in favor of heading to the beach.  It was definitely the right decision.

playdate

It was HOT today!   

With a few good friends and a whole lot of water, we cooled right down!

I apologize to everyone for the irresponsible amount of water we used today.

(It was fun though.)

Wyatt's version of "cheese."

Snow Trip

We went to Big Bear this past weekend and it was great!  It snowed several times and was absolutely beautiful!  On day 2, we all decided to pack up and go to the inner tube park.  It was a great idea, until we realized it was $25 per person, and there was only one kid old enough to slide in our group.  None of us were willing to spend that kind of money, so off to the side of the road we went...and then back home where the best sledding was in our back yard.  Of course, I have no pictures of that.  Just side of the road sledding pics.

 Kristin was instrumental in the loading of Finn for this ride, which sent him careening toward a rock wall.

 

 We managed to remember to take one family photo.

 The house came with one snowman and Brian and Finn added the snow baby.  We actually had a carrot for his nose!

 The first snowfall was so exciting, and pretty heavy too.  Finn could not get his snow clothes on fast enough!  He ran out and held his mouth open catching the falling snow.  He decided after that experience that we needed to move to Big Bear to a four story house.  I don't exactly know why four stories, but some of the rationale included the babies having their own floor.  I assume that would keep them out of the way of the big kids.

 Second only to sledding was rolling/sliding down the hills of snow.

 Olivia...the sweetest one month old ever.  Kudos to you Graners for braving the trip with your newborn.  The weekend wouldn't have been the same without you all!
XO