Pismo!

We took a short trip down to Pismo Beach a few days ago.  Uncle Ted and Uncle Vince joined us for a day.  We spent most of our time on the beach, despite the weather being a little dreary and the waters freaking cold.  Emi-chan loved being on the beach and we had a hard time going back to the hotel when it was time to go back.  She kept running into the waters and Mama followed her in.  My toes ached from the freezing cold!  But it was still worth it to see Emi-chan loving the freedom of being on the beach and in the waters.  She also had fun burying her toy flamingo and toy penguin in the sand and recreating this video:  

 We also visited a couple of farms.  One was a much more traditional farm, with corn growing, food stand, animals you could feed, picking fruit, etc.  The second farm was called Ostrich Land and it was a real freaky trip!  You pay to visit ostriches and emus and you could feed them.  It was exhilarating and frightening in a Jurassic Park kind of way.   

Avila Valley Farm

A normal farm stand

Ostrich Land

A not so normal farm

Rick and Ted using Emi-chan

as a human shield as they feed an ostrich 

A few random shots of the trip:

 

On the pier

 A man feeding a pelican on the pier

Trying to keep Emi-chan from jumping from the pier

 

The Little Mermaid in Solvang

after we fed the ostriches

It was a fun and different trip.  Maybe we won't go to see the ostriches next time. 

Humpty Dumpty Lived In Our Refrigerator

Guess what happened one day?  While I was busy (probably either folding laundry or surfing the web), Emi-chan got into the eggs and decided to "experiment."  

At first I didn't understand her question when she came up to me and asked "What happened to the eggs?"  I said, "I dunno."  After she asked the question a couple more times, it finally dawned on me that she did something to the eggs.  First I looked around the living room, then the spare bedroom and behind the TV, and on the couch.  Nothing.  Then I looked in the refrigerator, and this is what I found:

Apparently, she was recreating the Humpty Dumpty nursery rhyme, at least that's what I kind of pieced together.  It was not a happy night for mama.

Yuck!

Emi-chan wanted an ice cream bar from the ice cream man one hot day at the park, despite the fact that she doesn't like ice cream (too cold).  She chose one based solely on the cartoon character on the packaging.  As soon as we opened it, I knew we were in trouble.  First it tasted awful.

  "Yucky!" said Emi-chan

And, it looked awful.

 It looks like a skull, right?

 

Guess again!  Aaagh!

This is actually Tweety Bird.  Can you see the resemblance? 

Easter

 Dyeing eggs

Oops!  I forgot about Easter!  We went down to visit Grandma and Grandpa to spend Easter weekend with them and go to their church.  We had a nice, relaxing visit.  

Emi-chan really liked the Easter egg hunt.   This year, I think she finally understood what she's was supposed to do and that she really had fun (she really enjoyed stealing an egg from a toddler).  

 Hanging out with the kid next door

 Hmmm.  Where should I look next?

 I see one over there!

Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf

  Look!  What's up in the sky?

For a change of pace, an because Emi-chan kept clamoring to see fishies, Rick and I decided to take her to the Aquarium of the Bay at Pier 39.  We hate driving in the City, but for our cutie pie, we did it (or at least Rick did.  I just navigated).  

The aquarium was much smaller than we expected.  We're spoiled by Monterey Bay Aquarium and by the Steinhart Aquariums, but this aquarium had glass tunnels under (in?) the tanks so up were surrounded by sea water and all kinds of sea creatures.  We stayed in the tunnels for awhile. 

 You ride a conveyor belt through the tunnels

 Emi-chan was scared but fascinated by all the creatures swimming around her.  Eventually, we went back upstairs and looked at other exhibits.  She loved the ray tank where you could touch the rays.  Emi-chan played in the water most of the time.  I touched one the rays.  It felt weird.  

 Come here, fishy fishy fishy!

Rick wanted to get some crab, so we walked over Fisherman's Wharf and bought a crab.  It was interesting to watch the guy crack and clean the crab for us.  

Then we went back to Pier 39 and visited the sea lions...

rode a carousel and visited Sponge Bob.  

Guess what Emi-chan liked the best on our trip?

Happy Hallow, Again

 Recently, Emi-chan and I went on a play date with one of her classmates, Little Boy M, and his Mom, M.  Another family was supposed to join us, but couldn't make it.  Emi-chan was excited to see the animals, but both she and Little Boy M spent most of their time on the rides and on the play structures.  We all had a good time and I got to chat with M and learn more about her and her family.  But, boy!  It was exhausting chasing after 2 energetic kids!

Emi-chan loved the cars!

Little Boy M is looking at the falling water.

Emi-chan is looking for guinea pigs.

The goats were very aggressive this day.

A few were knocking people over 

to get fed.

Raagh!  The Mighty Dinosaur Hunter!

The Jungle

Emi-chan and I had a play date at The Jungle with a friend from her old co-op preschool days.  I haven't seen E-san, I-chan, and Little I-kun in months so it was fun to hang out with them.  

There were a couple of firsts for Emi-chan.  One major one is that she actually spent time playing with I-chan!  It was neat to see them running around together, giggling and taking turns with the games.  Another is that Emi-chan acutally climbed into part of the maze.  Usually, she would freak out when she tried to venture into the nets and tunnels, but she braved it to keep up with I-chan.  I was very proud of her. 

Some random shots:

I-chan "swimming" in the ball pit

It's jumpy-jump time!

I got into the net,

now how do I get out?

Emi-chan playing "basketball"

Zebra

Catching Up

It's been a L-O-N-G time since I last posted.  I was lazy (like usual) and we all were fighting one cold after another.  We're finally healthy (knock on wood).  Hopefully, we'll stay healthy for awhile.

Emi-chan's has done a lot since the last time.  She's doing very well at school and on the most part, can handle herself fine during outings (except for maybe today...).  

I'll be posting again soon.  Here are some teasers for upcoming posts:

We'll be back soon!

Emi-chan's Excellent Adventure Part III

Sorry for the long break.  Emi-chan got sick, again, and I was distracted.  Here's the 3rd segment of her busy week during her winter break.  

Emi-chan and I met up with a friend L and her daughter at Coyote Point in San Mateo to enjoy the break in the rainy weather.  It was a gorgeous day!  We met my L at the main playground at Coyote Point.  I thought there was a giant concrete slide in this play area, but L said it was replaced years ago with a GINORMOUS castle/slide/climbing structure.

The castle/slide/climbing structure from far away

 

The view from the castle/slide/climbing structure

 

Emi-chan didn't like sliding, but she liked climbing

After about an hour or so, we said bye to L and her daughter and made our way to the Coyote Point Museum, renamed CuriOdyssey.  The name may have changed, but the exhibits were mostly still the same.

One of Emi-chan's favorite exhibits,

a Rube Goldberg machine you crank

Look! A coyote at Coyote Point!

It was a nice visit to a great park and kid's museum.

Happy Birthday, Emi-chan!

I'm taking a little break from chronicling Emi-chan's adventures this past week to write about her birthday!  She turned 4 years old!  Time has really flown by.  

This morning, after she woke up, Emi-chan opened some birthday presents and got a call from Grandma and Grandpa.

Later in the day, we helped Unca Jeff out and Emi-chan opened more presents.

The cute little bear family was from Unca Jeff. 

 The Mater Firetruck was from Uncle Ted, Auntie Yumiko and Mi-chan.  

 Then we gave her a cupcake and sang her "Happy Birthday."  She loved the icing on the cupcake.  

Hanging out with Grumpy Bear

 Her favorite toys were the least

expensive ones...it figures

We hope she has a healthy, joy-filled, wonderfully blessed year.

Emi-chan's Excellent Adventure - Part II

On Monday, I took Emi-chan to Happy Hallow Park and Zoo.  Partially because Rick and I promised her a trip to the zoo if she used the potty 30 times and she finally did last week, and partially because she was driving me bonkers cooped up in the house.

On the way down, she kept talking about animals (giraffes, elephants, etc.).  The funny thing is this particular zoo doesn't have those animals.  Mostly animals like parrots, cows, goats, and lemurs.  Oh, I think they have a jaguar.  Once we got there, she wasn't interested in seeing the animals.  She just wanted to play and run.  

 The only animal she wanted to see: a parrot

 On a rope bridge

 I'm on top of the world!

Emi-chan went on a bunch of rides, even the ones I was sure would freak her out. 

She liked the ladybug ride this time

She loved the car ride

 Here's Emi-chan screaming,

"All done swing!"