Beach to Beats

We slept in as long as we could this morning, and woke up to head straight to the beach for Sophie's friend Carla's beach birthday party.  (Good thing they had bagels because we didn't have breakfast!)  Trung and the kids enjoyed some waves, but we had to leave early because I had booked $10 music lesson classes for them at a music school several weeks before.  I am still trying to figure out what instrument they can each do, and am seriously thinking about teaching them piano myself I can just find the right digital piano for the right price.

Busting out the boogie boards

Sophie holding on for dear life

Lydia just loves the waves

Sophie and Carla

Sophie tried out the guitar for the music lesson, but it was too big for her tiny self...

the ukulele seemed to be a better fit.

Lydia stuck with the piano

Miyazaki all night

Our local theater was having a special weekend where it was showing all Miyazaki movies.  I showed several trailers to the girls and they picked their favorite ones, "Howl's Moving Castle" and "Castle in the Sky".  The first movie didn't start until 7, so it was a late night, with Sophie snoring soundly in Trung's lap halfway through the second movie.  It certainly was an interesting night!

Ready for the first movie

Cute!

What Lydia really thinks

Lydia brought home these papers that she wrote about herself and I found them so amusing that I had to share.  Enjoy!

Karate Patty Cake

I'm not 100% sure why Master Temple asked the kids to do "Patty Cake" during today's karate class, but I'm sure it had to do with teamwork or something.  ;)

Kayaking at the Marina

Lydia took a kayaking class last summer with a couple of her buddies, but this year she took it alone and I wasn't sure how she would do.  She partnered up for her first two trips and did the last on her own!  Yay!  What a great free class that teaches kids to kayak.

Kayaking 101

All lined up and ready to be used

 

Lydia's first trip with an adult

And they are off!

Super cute dog just jumped right onto this paddleboard

        

This dog found safety between the legs of his owner

Lydia the lone kayaker

Sophie got to ride some too!

Tide pooling

We aren't really an outdoor-sy kind of family, so when my friend Jan invited the girls and I to go tide-poling at Abalone Cove, I wasn't inclined to go, but for the sake of just "getting out", we did.  And, I am so glad that we did because we all had a great time walking through the water, climbing, and just hanging out.

Just the two of them

Taking turns jumping into the water

Sophie's rock

Jan and I

Sea star and mussels

Handing off a crab

A safe haven for the crabs

Heading home

Running for food

Every weekend for the last few months, we have been "jogging" as a family to a breakfast/brunch destination.  We get a lot of complaining, usually from the little one, but as a reward, we get to enjoy a nice meal at the end.  Today we went to Bru's Wiffle and even ran into a League of Legends celebrity (Trung pointed him out).  I don't know how much longer these morning jogs will last, but I think it's important to keep the kids active.

My morning coffee

 Breakfast of champions

Rediscovering the cube

We haven't been back to the Discovery Cube in such a long time that I made sure we went today to check out the new section.  The girls enjoyed their usual activities...recycling race, grocery shopping, but also liked the new interactive exhibit and helicopter tour.  Some how we finished before our 4 hour allocated time; maybe the girls are outgrowing the Cube.

Dry ice hitting water

The new interactive exhibit

Speed skating

Lydia's got the case of the stripes

Sophie's hockey player

Lydia has this game down packed

Celebrating Lydia's birthday a little early

Caleb was happy even without any cake

Sophie's first tooth

Sophie's first loose tooth had been loose for almost a month and the tooth coming in behind it was getting awfully crooked, so Trung finally decided to pull it out.  It was quite a traumatic experience and completely opposite of Lydia's first tooth pulling (she did it herself!), but we all made it through alive.  Warning:  Many tears were shed in the making of these videos.

Smiling Sophie's shark teeth

Not so happy Sophie

She's such a drama queen

The next morning at Beachcomber Cafe...see, it wasn't so bad.

We "heart" crepes

Whenever we are remotely in the area, we always drop by KC Crepes for their delicious dessert crepes.  Filled with ice cream and sweet goodness, one crepe could easily be consumed by one child, but I always make them share.

One bite for you...

and the rest for me!

Karate kids

Looks like they are improving

Palpalooza

The police sponsored organization PAL also offered free admission to Pacific Park aka the Santa Monica Pier.  What a great organization, I can't believe I didn't discover them sooner.

I won a stuffed animal for Sophie on my first try.  Lydia wasn't to play, and unfortunately, did not win.

Roosevelt buddies

Venecia braving the Dragon

National Night Out

The Santa Monica Police really outdid themselves this year with National Night Out.  Not only did they have the usual bouncy houses, but a rock wall and trampoline.  Also, the event gave out twice as many snacks like cotton candy, churros, and snow cones.  Needless to say, the girls were very excited and have a new found appreciation for the police.

Cotton candy as big as their heads

On patrol

Giving shout outs to Mom and Dad

Coding Queens

The girls attended a free coding class at Microsoft this week,  They already knew the basics, but still learned a few new things.

Enrolling

Concentration

Their class was at a large shopping mall, and I didn't need to stay in the store the entire time, so I had no choice but to go shopping.  :P  Check out this fun silk dress I purchased for $10 at Madewell!  Retail price of $140!

PAWS for reading

The kids still enjoying reading to dogs at the library, so I reserved spots for them twice during the summer.  I think they enjoy holding or petting the super chill dogs more than reading.

This dog loved listening Lydia read on his back

The girls' favorite dog Kabuki was back