Destination: San Diego

As my blog followers know, I have been a little vacation crazy this maternity leave (much to Taki's chagrin.) I think the fact that I didn't really drag Nikos anywhere while I was on maternity leave with him got to me, so I have been trying to take advantage of this leave as much as possible. With that...on to the latest adventure.

San Diego! Mel was going to San Diego with her family for a conference so I thought it would be a great idea if we tagged along on the trip with them. The flight from Oakland to San Diego was a piece of cake...for those keeping track, this was Olive's third flight and the shortest by far.

Here Nikos, backpack and monkey wait for Southwest's family boarding. This photo also includes one of the latest sitings of his Thomas the Train sippy cup. Sadly, Thomas unintentionally ended his vacation with us somewhere around the elevator at the San Diego airport. Hopefully he will have a better life than the Thomas sippy cup that was chucked out of the stroller, ending up in Lake Michigan during our Chicago trip in May.

**Before we get too much farther in the blog I would like to note that Taki dressed Nikos for both days included in this post. I would also like to note that much to your belief (after you view this blog), Taki is NOT colorblind. I know, amazing. Clearly dressing a child like this is a talent. Much like my widely acclaimed talent of being able to dance off-beat to any song. Right Jen Martin?? **

The flight was delayed about an hour but the kids amused themselves by playing a game of fake baseball (no balls were actually a part of the game - have you seen Mason's arm? We are no dummies.)

Once we got to San Diego we settled into our hotel of choice, the Embassy Suites baby! I couldn't wait to teach the kids how to race each other in the glass elevators like Mel and I used to do when we got to visit my dad when he was on audit trips.

The next day (after pigging out at free breakfast) we headed over to the New Children's Museum, conveniently located a few blocks from our hotel in downtown San Diego. Once again I was able to take advantage of our Habitot membership and get free admittance for Taki and I and all the kids, leaving only Mel and Vernie to pay their way in. Wahoo, love the perks.

So this place is AWESOME. It ranks up there with the one in Chicago.

Nikos trys out a fun little wheeled contraption. The bigger kids could actually stand on the upper set of wheels and move it themselves but Niko was still a little too small for that.

Now, an entire room of squishy things to jump on!

Next up, creating parachute men out of recyclable materials and blasting them off the third floor balcony (onto unsuspecting museum visitors below.)

Mel and Kira work on their P-man.

Nikos and Maile patiently listen to the instructions.

The "blasters"

Nikos, Olive (aka Pouchgirl) and I await the launch.

And here's our little P-man, mid-flight.

Bubbles!

And now, for my favorite part of the museum - the kids get to paint a real VW Bug!
After painting their hearts out, Nikos and Kira played with some clay. Gotta love the setting.

Hmm, apparently someone is thrilled to be out of pouch-prison.

Four out of five in one shot.

Once we got back to the Embassy and survived naptime we decided to take the kids down to the pool so we didn't have to give them a bath to clean off their paint. Ha.

Waiting for the elevator races to begin!

Olive's first dip in the pool - check out her cute suit!

Before happy hour Nikos practices his swing with a pen as a bat. Taki calls this his South Beach Miami 1980s drug dealer outfit.

Pizza & Parachutes

Last week we headed out to Brentwood again for our Wednesday Kindermusik class with the littlest Roberts kids.

Here's a shot of Nikos and I (taken by Mason.)

We played with the parachutes for the first time in class, which was a big hit with the kids.

Kira shows off the scarves from the whale's mouth. Or I think that is what they were...since it's been over a week it is a little bit fuzzy now. This is obviously why you need to blog things right away.

After class my parents treated all of us to lunch at Uno Chicago Grill, where Maile, Mason and Nikos got to make their own pizzas. Fun!

After an exhausting day, Olive sacked out at home.

Doctor's Visit

Nikos was a little bit under the weather a few weeks ago and it looked like he was developing pinkeye so I took him into the doctor to make sure everything was okay. Luckily, it ended up just being a bad cold. I was able to catch a few cute shots while we were there.

Big Boy Scale! Oh yes, check it out, all 24.8 lbs of him (fully clothed with shoes on.)

Hmm, think this is checking the oxygen in his blood or something. He was so patient waiting for the results.

Both kids (and monkey) waiting for the doc.

Vegas With a Breast Pump

A few weekends ago I headed to Vegas with 11 girlfriends from college. Since what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, I can only include a small selection of pictures. Suffice it to say it was an awesome time had by all.

We arrived on Friday and decided to go big Friday night. Events included China Grill for dinner (where Jaime hooked us up with a $500 dining credit), Foundation Room at Mandalay Bay for drinks and dancing and then dancing at Eye Candy. The night ended at 4am. Lovely.

Saturday was spent lounging by the pool and enjoying our private cabana at the Venetian. Oh yes, we are big stuff now.

Saturday night we gambled, gossiped and cocktailed. A fabulous time was had by all...with some of us remembering more about Friday night than others.

Four Years!

Four years ago today Taki and I tied the knot at a fabulously fun (if I do say so myself) wedding in Kauai. Thanks for a great four years baby!

Here's a few shots to remember the day/night four years ago. Good Times.

In order of sobriety...

And because I couldn't resist. Here's a shot from the next day when the majority of us spent about ten straight hours in the pool. Yes, and I have an $1800 pool bar tab to prove it.

Cough cough (said the straw.)