Picnic at the Park

These 3 little ladies had a blast hanging out and running around at the park. Bella, Piper and Tessa took some time off from playing to sit down and relax for about 2 minutes. After they recharged their batteries, they were back out in the park running and jumping around. Ah! the life of 2-3 year olds.

Wine, Rum and Friends

We finally had some adult time this evening. The kids went to sleep after a long day of playing at Kid Space and running around at our house. Andres, Eugene, Gina and I spent a long night talking about each other, the world today and our future plans. We topped the night off with several glasses of wine for the ladies and the gentlemen drank slow aged 7 year rum from Nicaragua called Flor de Caña. It was a great night and it reminded me of how much I miss having them around. Cheers!

Welcome Back!

As I drove home from San Diego today, I could not wait to see our friends the Narciso's. They moved to Chicago about 9 months ago and it has been so hard being without my wonderful friend. When they left for Chicago, Mia was just born. As you can see, this little girl is adorable. Sienna is very fond of watching her so long as I am also holding her too. I guess she feels that if someone is to be in her Mommy's arms she should be too.

"Curly Joe"

Today was an interesting day. I attended several session at the conference about planning special events and at the exhibits below I met "Curly Joe" or Fred "Curly" Neal of the Harlem Globetrotters. I was so excited. My Dad use to take me to see the Globetrotters when they came to LA and played at the Great Western Forum. It was so much fun and a great childhood memory for me. "Curly" was one on my favorite characters when the team had a guest appearance on Scooby-Doo. He was very nice and gave me an autograph along with this great picture. My Dad will be so proud:).

Rainbow

I am in San Diego this week for a conference on Special Events. I was walking to my hotel on the promenade called Martin Luther King and noticed this beautiful rainbow. Along the walk way, you can read his speech and reflect where we are today as a nation and as individuals. It was so peaceful as the fountain hit the water below.

Having Fun

Tessa loves playing with her Daddy. She jumps on his back and he bucks her off. She thinks it is hilarious.

Celebrating Gonzie

We went to breakfast today to celebrate my Dad. His birthday is around the corner. He really doesn't like to celebrate because he feels that it is just another day. My Dad is really young for his age. If you ask him how old he is he will tell you 65. In reality, he is in his 70's and looks great. Happy Birthday Daddy!!

Happy Birthday Piper

Today we celebrate Piper’s birthday. We celebrated in Big Bear with her parents and family. Piper is 3 years old today. We had a great time. There was not much snow but the girls had fun eating dirty snow. We had breakfast, yummy pasta for lunch, cupcakes as we sang happy birthday. Plus we had a Piñata. When the Piñata broke the kids stated to grab for the candy. You can see what Piper’s favorite candy is, LOLLIPOPS! She grab every last one. Happy 3rd Birthday Piper.

Make-up

Sienna loves getting into my make-up drawer. She is obsessed with it. This afternoon, I couldn't find her in her room. She was in my room, in the closet with the door closed. I opened it and found her on the floor with an eye-pencil coloring her face. How could you even get upset when you find this and she says, "Mama!"

Bailey

Bailey is our our family dog. The girls love him so much. In the beginning, Bailey used to be so scared of Tessa. He would run from her and hide under the table. Times have changed. He has a new friend now. Her name is Sienna. Sienna uses Bailey as a throw pillow. She will lay on him and rest her head as she is watching TV. In return, Sienna provides Bailey with snacks galore like goldfish crackers; cookies; apple pieces; cheese etc. Basically, Bailey will eat anything that Sienna drops on the floor. He is a good boy and a great dog:).

Bob Bakers Marionette's

Tessa had a class outing today at Bob Bakers Marionettes. This marionette show has been in LA since 1963 and created by Bob Baker. He designs each puppet by hand and writes all shows. There are 4 different shows a year. At the end of every show, you go into a big picnic type area and have ice cream cups with classic wooden spoons. Both Tessa and Sienna had a wonderful time watching the Nutcracker and also enjoyed their ice cream; Tessa enjoyed strawberry and Sienna had vanilla when her sister wasn't dipping into it. One day our girls will realize that I have been coming to this facility since I was their age and it captures the magic every time.

Inaguration Day

There are no words except...We have a new President!!!!!!! Tessa and Sienna are so excited that they dance for joy as President Obama was sworn into office.

Ice Cream Treat

Today we celebrate the life of Dr Martin Luther King. As we look on this day and what is to come tomorrow, the girls are sharing a wonderful ice cream treat. Tomorrow is a big day for our nation. We will have our 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama. Yipppeeeee!!!!

Car Wash

Tessa and Sienna helped Daddy wash Mommy's car in preparation for "The Day of Service" tomorrow. Tessa used her soap brush to clean the left side of the car and Sienna used another brush to clean the wheels. This picture is a great reminder of what is to come. In just one day, America will have a new President. Our little girls are going to see history in the making. I can not wait.

Pigtails

Sienna has the finest hair ever. I am amazed when i can put her in some pigtails. It never lasts for long. By the time she gets down the stairs, her little hand reaches her head and it is off before you can say, "Sienna, Wait!!"

Sienna's Face

How can you say NO to this face? She said, "Mommy, lollipop!" I said...what could I say, of course I said yes.

Bath Time Fun

Tessa and Sienna love to take a bath. Tonight was crayon night. They both drew on the bathroom wall and created a masterpiece. I call it Sisters Connecting.

traffic

Today I spent 4 hours in traffic. It was so frustrating. Four hours lost just sitting in my car on the 210 fwy. YUCK!!

Dinner Time

This evening we had chicken, rice and pasta with vegetables and butter. These are some of Sienna's favorite foods. She enjoyed her dinner so much she just fell asleep from exhaustion after eating. Ah! the life of a 15 month old:).

zebra

As I mentioned earlier, Tessa has a few Jackpop's that she can not live without. She also has a Zebra who is also high on the priority list. Here she is introducing Zebra to book Zebra. They are friends now and often get together to eat grass by her house while looking out for coyotes.

Annual Passport Holder

Today we officially became Disneyland annual passport holders. It was a long process. We waited in the ticket booth line for 45 minutes. Once we got to the window, Justin P. of Anaheim, CA, gave us a warm Disney welcome, NOT! He was so rude it was no wonder the lines took forever. With no enthusiasm at all in his delivery, he gave us our tickets and told us to go to the Disney bank to get our plastic cards. We entered the park and the girls were beyond bored and tired. We waited in another line for another 45 minutes and Cheryl S. of Chico, CA, of helped us become passport members. She did have the Disney spirit. She took our pictures and welcomed us to the park with a map and brochure about our passes. She gave Sienna a wink and a smile and said have a wonderful time in the magic kingdom. Our first day was great and the girls had a blast. They rode some of their favorite rides; the pony ride, the Carousel, and the flying elephants, the Dumbo ride. We scared Tessa to death with Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. It was not a good call even though the line was only 10 minutes long. In the end, we had a great chicken dinner and an ice cream sundae. I love the fact that we can now say, "we are going home if you don't stop that" and really mean it.

Pudding

The girls had chocolate pudding after dinner this evening. They had it all over their faces and hands. Tessa is licking Sienna's bowl after she finished her own. Poor Sienna, she has the look of sheer sadness and despair. "Hey, that's my bowl!"

The Getty Villa

Today we visited the Getty Villa in the Pacific Palisades with Fran, Lelani, Kalia and Mateo. It was about 2:30 when we arrived and the day was beautiful. The settings could not have been more perfect. The girls loved the fact that they could hear their voices as they echoed in the halls. Sienna loved the fact that she could walk around without being carried and Tessa loved hiding behind the big pillars and looking for coyotes. Coyotes you say...she has a fascination for these creatures. Where she heard about them is a mystery. But if you are with her and she says "be careful there is a coyote in there" looked surprised and say "don't worry baby, we'll get them".

children of the world

Sienna received this gift from my Mom. It is different wooden children of the world inside of a wooden globe. Sienna loves to play with it. She will sit there and take them all out and put them back in over and over again.

Jackpop's

There is a story to tell here about Tessa and her Jackpop's. It stated when Tessa met a really dog named Jackpot. He is a Pekanise dog that one of our friends has and Tessa fell in love with him. She could nto say Jackpot so he became Jackpop. She received a dog as a gift, a white poodle, and it was instantly named Jackpop. in this picture, the little gray dog is Jackpop 2. The poodle is Jackpop 1 and the white one with brown ears is Jackpop 3. She calls each dog by name and if she says I need Jackpop and you bring Jackpop 1, she will say "No! I need Jackpop 2" which is her favorite. I did not take this picture but i thought is was a great one to add to my project.

My picture today talk about every penny counting. Sienna loves to put coins in her piggy bank. I captured her putting a penny in for savings. We started piggy banks for both girls when they were each born. Tessa's bank is super heavy and has a second one. Sienna's is pretty heavy too and she has moved on to a green piggy that she loves to shake and add coins to. The way our economy is coming along, the girl will be using this money for college:).

This year I am going to be starting a project called 365 or project 360 as today is the 5th day of the new year. I will be taking a picture a day and posting it for you all to see. I wanted to do this to share my life with my family and friends. I hope you enjoy this journey with me. I think it will be fun.