Noah's Obervatory

I originally drafted this back in March but forgot to publish.  Since the point of this thing is to document the girls outings, I'm publishing anyhow.  Just think late March when you look at the pictures.  Cute babies.

There is a really cool Noah's Ark exhibit at the Skirball museum.  I may have posted something about it previously.

Ally's parents visited weekend before last. We hit up the Griffith Observatory, and the Newport Coast.  Pictures below.

Highway Through the Danger Zone

I spent last weekend flying F-18s out in Oxnard.  It took a couple hours to get the hang of, but once you figure out the take-off and landing, it's really pretty easy.*

One of the photos below is just of the front landing gear, which seems ordinary until it's explained how specialized it is for Navy planes.  It's much more heavy-duty on Navy aircraft, a necessity for use on aircraft carriers.  You can see the anchor for the catapult on the front.  I know all you Top Gun fans know this, but that's used to accelerate the plane during take off from a carrier.  What you probably didn't know was that it takes the plane from 0-160mph in two seconds.  Yes, 2 seconds!  Awesome.

The other thing I geeked out on was the earplug dispenser in the hanger.  No, this is not a candy machine they filled with earplugs, it was created solely for this purpose.  Just in case you didn't believe them when they said it was REALLY loud, they have a machine specifically designed to dispense ear protection right outside the hanger door.  

I have some pretty cool video of it taxiing and taking off, but I'll spare you.

*This statement is false almost in it's entirety. Other than "Oxnard" and "F18" it's a complete fabrication.  I mean it's a $60MM state-of-the-art weapon.  Really I shouldn't have been allowed to stand near it.

Project Coral

I was strong armed into another refurbishing project.  I resisted, but I'll admit, it turned out nicely. Of course I was just the labor, creative credit goes to Ally.

Grandma and Grandpa

We had a fun visit with Grandma and Grandpa last weekend.  We went to the LaBrea Tar Pits, some fun restaurants, and Grandma taught Blaire how to restring a bracelet.  We also took the opportunity to go to a concert since we had good babysitters.

Ending 2013

Holidays are fun with kids.  Goodbye boring Christmas mornings, hello wide eyes and wonderment.  So long lazy Christmas Eves, hello late night toy assembly.  Goodbye insufferable work parties, hello awesome dance recitals.

We closed out 2013 with a bang.  We celebrated Christmas at home and spent the week of New Years visiting family and reminding ourselves why the warmth of California is worth it.  We are looking forward to a wonderful 2014.

Thanksgiving and a Visit from Nanny & Pa

We loved having Nanny and Pa visit.  We enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner and loved showing them around LA.  We visited the Getty Villa and took the girls to see Santa at The Grove.  Picked out a Christmas tree and shopped with the Celebs at the farmer's market.  Some nice date nights too.  Nanny, Mommy and Blaire had girl time at the new "Frozen" movie.  Oh how I wish we lived closer and could have these great moments all the time.

Fall Fun in LA LA Land

I love fall in LA.  It's easily my favorite time of year.  We can feel the seasons change as the weather cools down and the tourists disperse.  Our best beach days usually happen during the month of October.  Halloween week also marks the anniversary of our move to the City of Angeles.  This year marks six years since we became Angelenos.  Hard to believe.  Blaire officially "got" Halloween this year and had so much fun dressing up, attending parties, and helping momma make yummy treats in the kitchen.  I thought I was going to sneak by with picking out her costume for her but in the days leading up to Halloween, she kept saying how badly she wanted to be Cinderella.  My mommy guilt kicked in so I caved and bought her a Cinderella dress.  We're officially on the princess bandwagon at our house.  Baby sister was right there with her this year picking out her own candy as we trick-or-treated though a great neighborhood here in West LA.  Enjoy!