Think of Me...

For a late Valentine's date, Joseph and I went to the Pantages in LA to see The Phantom of the Opera before it left.  It was a-mazing!

I'd seen it before but it's been over 15 years, so as you can imagine it was a little different for me this time than then.  Wow do you appreciate certain things a lot more after you're married than before!

Joseph had never seen it and was a little hesitant because although he was familiar with the music and liked it just fine, he wasn't a fan of the movie they made a few years ago.  I assured him that the stage show of it is so much better, and after it was over he wholeheartedly agreed.  He loved it.  The Phantom was incredible, Christine was really good, and the passion and anguish of it all was apparent even as far back as we were.  It was fun to see how they played things out on stage and we had a really nice evening on the town at a truly amazing musical.  Thanks for a fun night out alone, Babe!

Rockin' and Rollin'

This is for the grandmas who requested it (and because she's so close to crawling that I thought I'd better put this up now before I have to put up a video of her full-on crawl!) This girl definitely knows how to get what she wants, and is even 10x faster today! She has mastered the inchworm. Go Aves!

Sophie's Serenade

Sophie loves to sing Avery's song to her, "Baby Face". She really only sings the same lines over and over again unless I'm singing with her, so I only put a little portion of it on here. Avery LOVES hearing her serenade her and could listen to it all day long.

Happy Valentine's Day!

We made some fun valentines for our cousins and friends this year.

We cut out foam mustaches and lips and attached them to suckers so that when you eat the sucker it makes you look oh so cool.

Sophie gave them to the girls in our play group and they were really cute walking around with them all morning.  These girlies are all pretty close in age and are really cute together.

They all love Avery and thought it was pretty cool that she's sitting so well these days.  They surrounded her for a while and some even tried to share their lolly with her.  Oops!  No one succeeded, though.

Then they got to decorate sugar cookies and had a blast putting enough sprinkles on for 12 cookies.

We also went to a Valentine's party for the MOMS Club we're in and got to do lots of fun stuff there.  We've had a fun Valentine's Day so far with our little sweethearts and wish a wonderful one for all of you, too!

Barefoot in the Park

(So we weren't actually barefoot, though Sophie tried to be, but I just wanted to reference a very cool movie.  If you've never seen it, check it out.)

We had a little picnic in the park one Saturday.  Sophie had to show Daddy how well she can swing on the big swings now.

But she still likes to go really high and crazy in the baby ones, too.

Especially when Daddy pretends to get hit by her feet over and over again.

Avery even enjoys a push or two.  As long as Sophie gets the blue swing and she sees Avery in the orange one, everyone's happy.  (So particular!)

Sophie doesn't usually like to go down the slide on her bottom because it doesn't feel as safe as her tummy.  But every once in a while she gets really daring and does it and always feels so proud of herself after.

Avery and I were daredevils and went off the tall, twisty slide once, too.

This bumpy one hurts like the dickens to adults, but kids seem to love it.  See the look of panic on Sophie's face as she goes, though?  Yeah, that's why we prefer the tummy.

Adventures at Sea World

We took the kids to Sea World and they had such a great time.  

The first event of the day was chasing the pigeons around.  I have it on good authority that that was one of the highlights for me and my siblings when we were this age and going to Sea World often.  In fact, this little boy's daddy took his first steps at Sea World chasing after a pigeon!

We stopped in at the dolphin show next.  Sophie couldn't believe they had the audacity to get us all wet!  It was her grandpa's fault for picking to sit in the soak zone.

It would be a tough job.

This little guy could jump!

We only went on a few little rides while there, but since we've never wanted to stand in line for the teacups at Disneyland, this was Sophie's first opportunity getting really dizzy in a ride like this.  She was a fan.

Before we went to see Shamu jump and splash everyone, we stopped by his tank to say hello.

Sophie and Austin thought it was pretty cool that there were 3 of them who came right up to the glass for introductions.

And this is why I bought the camera I did.  I see a shot and I get it, without waiting around for it to finally click.  Love it!

Hey, Big Guy!  (Actually, I think the lead whale is a girl.)

Sleeping on the job or sunbathing?  I don't know.  Did anyone else see Free Willy where they said that if their top fin curves like that, they're unhappy?  Is that a myth?  Always wondered that.

Sophie was very relieved that Shamu failed to get us wet, even though we really should have where we were sitting.  She totally thought we pulled fast one on him!  (I never could get a shot of all of us looking at the same time.)

The whole group all together.  (The gentleman who took the picture was nice, but he sure didn't have a clue what he was doing, either. :D)

The seal and otter show was hands down our favorite show when we were kids.  That little otter was hilarious.  It's still a fun show to watch, but in our humble opinions, the old story line was much better than the current one (especially when they played Spooky at the end.  If you happened to go to Sea World 25 years ago you know what I mean.)

I know this is a little graphic, but we couldn't help taking a picture.  We were looking in the pirana tank and noticed that there had been some cannibalism going on.  I swear that's a pirana that's been eaten up by his buddies.  When Joseph and I took the rest of the family back later to show them, it was gone.  Yowzas.

Gramma and Grampa Lamb hauled these two around on their shoulders for quite a while and got great resistance whenever they tried to put them down.  What great sports.  Thanks for the fun trip to Sea World!  We loved being there with you!

100 Random Things

So I've seen this a bunch and had a second to do it, so here's a list of 100 random things (who generated it I don't know) and the ones that are highlighted are the ones I've done.  Enjoy!

1. started your own blog
2. slept under the stars
3. played in a band (it was a family band that my Grandma Austin wrote the music for in all the different keys for all our instruments)
4. visited Hawaii
5. watched a meteor shower
6. given more than you can afford to charity
7. been to Disneyland
8. climbed a mountain
9. held a praying mantis
10. sang a solo
11. bungee jumped
12. visited Paris
13. watched a lightning storm at sea
14. taught yourself an art from scratch (if scrapbooking is considered an art :D)
15. adopted a child
16. had food poisoning
17. seen in person the Statue of Liberty
18. grown your own vegetables
19. seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. slept on an overnight train
21. had a pillow fight
22. hitch-hiked
23. taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. built a snow fort
25. held a lamb (if my little siblings count! :D)
26. gone skinny dipping (honeymoon, baby!)
27. run a marathon
28. ridden in a gondola in Venice (been there, but didn't actually take a ride in the gondola)
29. seen a total eclipse
30. watched a sunrise or a sunset
31. hit a home run
32. been on a cruise
33. seen Niagara Falls in person
34. visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. seen an Amish community
36. taught yourself a new language (I learned Polish mostly in Poland because I sure didn't know much after the MTC!)
37. had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. gone rock climbing (up Provo Canyon)
40. seen Michaelangelo's David
41. sung karaoke (in a group, never alone)
42. seen the Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. visited Africa
45. walked on a beach by moonlight
46. been transported in an ambulance
47. received a prestigious award
48. gone deep sea fishing
49. seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. kissed in the rain (I think?)
53. played in the mud (one of the funnest things I've ever done is tug-a-war in the mud--I found mud in my ears weeks later--gross!)
54. gone to a drive-in theater
55. been in a movie
56. visited the Great Wall of China
57. started a business
58. taken a martial arts class
59. visited Russia (is Poland close enough?)
60. served at a soup kitchen
61. sold girl scout cookies
62. gone whale watching (I've seen a whale out in the ocean, but I wasn't in a boat)
63. got flowers for no reason (I love my husband!)
64. donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. gone sky diving
66. visited a nazi concentration camp (Auschwitz/Birkenau in Poland 3 different times)
67. bounced a check
68. flown in a helicopter
69. saved a favorite childhood toy (my blanket--I still have it and several stuffed animals)
70. visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. eaten caviar
72. pieced a quilt
73. stood in Times Square
74. toured the Everglades
75. been fired from a job
76. seen the changing of the guards in London
77. broken a bone (just my thumb, and it didn't even need a cast)
78. been on a speeding motorcycle
79. seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. published a book
81. visited the Vatican
82. bought a brand new car
83. walked in Jerusalem
84. had your picture in the newspaper
85. read the entire Bible
86. visited the White House
87. killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. had chickenpox
89. saved someone's life
90. sat on a jury (I've never even been summoned!)
91. met someone famous
92. joined a book club
93. lost a loved one
94. had a baby
95. seen the Alamo in person
96. swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. been involved in a law suit
98. owned a cell phone
99. been stung by a bee
100. learned to play an instrument (piano and clarinet)

Now I want to hear yours!  It's fun to check out what people have both done and also not done in their lives.