Our Growing Girl

At Grace's ballet class this week they were able to put their costumes on and have pictures taken. Here's a few of them - I don't know if I like how grown up she looks in some of them.

Earlier in the week, she decided that she could make her own lunch. She got out the bread, peanut butter, jelly, and the required utensils. All she needed help with was getting the jars open. I don't think I'm quite ready for all this independence... I told David I knew I should be thankful, but I'm just not ready to not be needed.

She even cleans up after herself!

USS Midway and the Beach at Naval Base Coronado

I'm going to try to get up to date on these blogs... But for now, we're returning to our California vacation.

As many of you know, I was born in San Diego, and though I only spent 9 months of my life there, it holds a special place in my heart - as does the Navy. So, spending almost a week on Naval Base San Diego was a real treat for me - my Soldier husband even allowed me to get a Navy t-shirt and a Navy Girl bumper sticker to put on my vehicle (good thing he likes my Dad!). Oh, I also told him I'd get an Army Wife sticker to put on too - compromise is key in a good marriage, you know!

While in San Diego we toured the USS Midway. The kids didn't think it was much fun after a while, but David sure enjoyed it, and I'm sure he would have liked to spend a few more hours there, but you can't have much fun when you've got to carry around a 35 pound sleeping child!

Not too bad of a bunk - until you realize it's for a grown man!

Pullin' up anchor

The Executive Officer

We also went to the beach for a picnic lunch one day. The day was beautiful, but the water was cold - as it always is in southern California. The kids had a great time, and though their legs had to be numb from being in the cold water for so long, it was like pulling teeth to get them to leave. David and I have decided that when retirement time comes we'll most likely end up near the coast. Probably the East Coast where the water is warmer, then we'll winter somewhere cold so we can get our fix of cold weather. I know, we're completely opposite of most of the world, but we do like winter (I just like it in small doses!)...

The seagull who enjoyed part of our lunch Gettin' a little wet

Here's the kids doing a little unwinding at the Navy Lodge we stayed at on Miramar Naval Station.

One Special Girl

Grace has had a busy week - Monday was her dress rehersal, Tuesday was her recital, and Thursday she "graduated" from preschool!

Grace did a great job at her recital - I think she was born to perform! She gets so excited when it's time to "go up-stage" and do her dances. She doesn't think twice about the number of people in the audience, she just does her thing.

Grace's class was honored for their commitment, and for being Ms. Loren's "advanced" class. The girls are all 4-6 years old, so I don't know how advanced they are, but it was still an honor to be chosen to be in that class.

Always a princess!

Tristan giving Grace a flower and admiring her shiny new medal.

Grace really enjoyed her preschool teachers, even though she wasn't there very long, and was really upset one night last week that school was going to be over soon and she wouldn't be able to see Ms. Johnson anymore. I reassured her that Ms. Johnson would be there next year and she would be able to see her quite a bit when school started again - that seemed to make it okay.

Receiving her "diploma" from Ms. Johnson

In addition to everything else, Grace has taken up soccer (at least for the next 6 weeks)... She is involved in a Mini-Sports class that teaches her the basics of the game. David and I decided that we would like to expose the kids to many different activities and let them choose one or two that they'd like to participate in. Ballet is a no brainer for Grace, and we'll let her decide if she wants to join a soccer team after this six week class is over.

Tristan is still a little young for the Mini-Sports, but the coach was nice enough to include him in the class - something he really enjoyed!

San Diego Wild Animal Park

One of our visits while we were in California was to the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park. It is a park where the majority of their animals roam free. They still have some "on display" in smaller areas, but it was really neat to see all of the animals "in the wild" together.

I have one of these hanging in my dining room...

Counting her eggs

No, this is not a baby oryx!

One of the last 7 Southern (?) White Rhinos

An Okapi, quite the interesting looking animal

A few wild animals cooling off in the water

They also have an aviary where you can feed the Larakeets. The kids got a kick out of the birds landing on them and drinking the nectar from the cups they held out. They weren't as timid as I had expected them to be. I figured one would come near them and they'd head for the hills - shows you what I know...

After feeding the Larakeets, our little birdies decided they needed a rest.

The carousel is always a hit.