The Skirball Museum

We went to the Skirball Museum today and had such a great experience! What a fantastic place! They have a hands on Noah's Ark exhibit that we have wanted to see since we moved here. If you would like to visit the website, it's http://www.skirball.org/ The tickets were free but had to be reserved online over a month in advance. Ken only worked a half day so that he could come with us. We loaded a bunch of photos to snapfish but here are some of the highlights. All of the animals are made of recycled materials and the activities were so much fun. There was a conveyor belt that kids can load foam animals, two by two, onto. There were exhibits of different Noah's Ark collections. There was a storm room where kids could create lightning, rain, and thunder. There was an area where kids could build the ark. See picture of Brad enjoying that area. Then, after entering the ark, there was food to feed the animals, a table with food, a little firepit, and water basin for Noah and his family, brooms and fake poop to clean, an upper area in the ark for the kids to climb up into and explore, an area with safe foam building blocks (that look like wood) and a rainbow room with crafts at the end. It was an amazing experience and worth the 3 hours (at least) that we spent in the car in traffic to and from the museum. I was really glad that Ken was with us as the kids were a handful in the car. We ended our day with a picnic at a free Carribean concert in the park. Nice!

Earthquake!

Now we can say that we have experienced our first major earthquake. I was at the park with the kids and had just sat down on the ground to put Brad's sandals back on when all of the trees shook at once and I felt the ground shake under me. It was weird but really not that scary. I think Ken had a scarier experience as he was in his subterranean office under the chapel building (probably not the best place to be during an earthquake). He was smart and went under his desk when he felt the shaking begin. Some things were knocked off his bookshelves and his pictures on the wall were knocked crooked but no real damage. And no visible damage to the house that I could see when I returned home. I guess the earthquake origin was in Chino Hills which is about 15 minutes away and it was a 5.8 on the scale. I didn't feel any aftershocks but Ken said that he did. So, please don't worry-we're not buried in a pile of rubble or anything.

Happy Anniversary to us!

So, we made it to 13 years~it's been a great ride going through life with my best friend! Tonight we will celebrate by eating Korean food for dinner and then going to the dollar theater in town to see Prince Caspian. It may not sound that exciting but the key is NO KIDS. Maybe we will actually get to finish our conversations... We can dream, right?
Right now we are heading out to a picnic with our MOPS (mothers of preschoolers) friends at a nearby park. We've packed the sand toys, a jump rope, and sidewalk chalk and we're ready to go.

A Weekend with Friends

This weekend we hosted a dinner with some new friends. We had the Price Family here for a shish ka bob dinner. Rob is a new faculty member at Talbot (he and Ken started at the same time) and they have 3 kids: a 6 year old girl, 4 year old boy, and 1 year old girl. The kids had lots of fun playing together and we had a great time talking and getting to know each other better. They both grew up in this area and have lots of family living close by so the experience is a bit different for them. I think we will definitely get together with them again.
We also hosted a Sunday brunch with 2 other couples from Talbot and their kids. We've been meeting together as a small group over the summer and it's been fun. We've basically been sharing our faith stories and journeys and it's been really interesting.
Then last night I took Sky to SPLASH, the local water park to see the movie Shark Tale while swimming in the gigantic pool. I was freezing and I thought for sure she wouldn't last long but we were in the water almost the entire time! She is really doing well with swimming and is constantly going underwater and showing off all of her tricks. We had a nice time together. A weird phenomenon around here is salt water pools. I had never heard of such a thing until we moved out here but they are quite popular here. They're supposedly better but to me they seem weird.
Today we had Jolene, Robby and David over to play and then we met the guys at BIOLA for lunch in the cafeteria. Now Sky is at her friend Kaylin's house for a playdate and I actually have the chance to get some things done around here. Tonight is the Talbot wives walking club so I will get the opportunity to walk off that cafeteria food!

The Citadel and a goofy pirate show

Ken's mom is back home in Connecticut now but we sure did have a fun time with her. On Wednesday, we went to an outlet mall called The Citadel. The first time we saw it from the highway was last fall and Ken just about wet his pants. There are giant Persian statues outside the outlets. So, we've been wanting to go there ever since, me for the shopping and Ken for the exploration of the statues. It was a neat string of outlets with some good deals. The Carter's outlet store was my favorite and I actually bought a few things for Brad. I also stocked up on some baby items that were dirt cheap for the Talbot wives who are having babies this year.
Yesterday I took the kids to the library for Sky to get another prize for the reading program and check out some more books and DVDs. While we were there, we realized that there was going to be a pirate magic show that afternoon. So, we stayed for that. The children's librarian has really taken a liking to Sky and she let us in early, before everyone else, even though we were towards the end of the line. The show was pretty cheesey but it held Sky (and even Brad's) attention for a while.
Last night I went scrapbooking at Ken's secretary's house. She hosts a crop almost every Thursday night and she lets everyone use her stuff. Everyone works around a huge covered pool table so there's lots of room.
Our crops are really growing. We have grapes galore, which is good because Brad eats grapes by the bunch. I had initially thought of making grape jam but I don't think Brad will leave enough grapes for that. There are buds on our watermelon, squash, and cucumber plants. I will post some pictures of them on the blog soon.

Our Anniversary

Ken's mom is still here visiting and she offered to watch the kids so we could get out to celebrate our 13th anniversary (which is actually next week). So, we took her up on that offer and spent the day, just the 2 of us, at Seal Beach. We were able to window shop and get lunch on the quaint little strip. It was so nice to be able to relax, read, fall asleep, play in the waves, etc. without worrying about the kids being dragged out to sea, pulling sand out of Brad's mouth, or having muddy feet on our blanket. What a treat! We had such a fabulous day and it went by so quickly. I don't know what your visions of Los Angeles are but truly we live in a paradise. The beaches are gorgeous and the weather is always fantastic.
Tonight we had dinner at Chipotle. So yummy! Tomorrow is Ken's mom's last day visiting us. The kids have really enjoyed having her here and spending time with their "Mimi".
Yesterday we had lunch on BIOLA's campus with our friends the Denhams and then Ken's mom stayed on campus while I brought the kids home for their naps. She and Ken spent a while in his office, meeting his colleagues and then browsed the bookstore. That evening, after a brief time of games in Chuck E. Cheese and a quick yogurt at Golden Spoon, she came with me for the walking club on the BIOLA track. We walked for an hour and it was a beautiful night.

Having Fun With Mimi

Ken's mom, known as "Mimi" to our kids, is here from Connecticut visiting with us for about 5 days. We've been having lots of fun together! Yesterday we walked all around BIOLA's campus and then stopped at a yard sale. Sky found lots of things she "needed" and I found some great clothes for myself. We walked there with Sky in the wagon and Sky had to walk on the way home because we filled the wagon with purchases from the garage sale. All of this fun for only $7. It was great!
Then Sky and I went to her friend Charlyze's birthday party. They had a two story inflatable water slide but Sky was not interested. It was pretty scary but the kids seemed to be having fun on it. Sky (reluctantly) gave Charlyze a Lite Brite for her birthday.
After that we went to church and then Sky, Ken, and Mimi went to Downtown Disney, a shopping district near the park (I took Brad home so he didn't miss his bedtime). They had Haagan Daz ice cream, window shopped, caught the fireworks, and listened to all the music vendors. They had a blast and didn't get home until about 10:30pm. Sky was pretty beat. We're still saving our money for an annual Disneyland pass. We're only about $70 away.
Today we went to Balboa Island/Newport Beach. We really had a great time! We rented a surry, a bike that seats 4 adults and 2 children. We pedaled around for almost 2 hours and then we spent some time on the beach. We got some good excercise and some good sun as well. We enjoyed chocolate covered strawberries and banana. Delicious! Balboa Island is such a fun place, a lot like Block Island, RI, for those of you who live in CT. It's only $2,500 to rent a house by the beach for a week. So, we figure if we round up 25 friends, it will only cost us $100 a person. Who's in?