Why Do People Want To Turn Lemons Into Lemonade?!

Several weeks back, Jan. 9th to be exact, our lemon tree was needing some relief so we went out and picked a bunch for some lemonade. It was Emily's first time and she was all about it. First, she helped clean the sink and wash the lemons...

and then she supervised as Mama and Daddy took turns juicing them.
A lot of lemons gave us a decent amount of really potent juice...
so Emily added some ice...
("Is that enough?")
and Mama added some simple syrup - then gave it a try.
It was a little too "simple" and so after adding MORE sugar Emily was ready to test it out.
And the verdict was...
not exactly positive.
That was the end of Emily's lemonade tasting - add it to the rest of the juices she does not drink.

Sleeping Girl

On Saturday night I went into Emily's room and found her sound asleep, snuggling Elmo. I thought it was so cute I got the camera.

But the reason I went in there in the first place was to move her ottoman over to the edge of the bed so she wouldn't fall out since I saw on the monitor that she was dangerously close.
Two hours later, when I was on my way to bed I found her like this.
I am not sure if I saved her from a head injury or if I just gave her a nice bed annex to enjoy.
Pretty sure it's the latter... should be interesting when she moves to her BIG bed.

Are You Talking To Me?!

Having a little fun on the way to San Diego with Mama's phone and Daddy's car's bluetooth technology.

Indoor Fun On A Rainy Day

We had big weekend plans but they had to be adjusted - we were going to head down to San Diego for a couple of days but because of the rainy forecast we decided to stay close and stay indoors. Our choice? The aquarium! When we drove up we didn't pay much attention but thought, oh, there it is... who could miss that?

Well, that isn't the aquarium... we had to load back up and drive a little farther down the road - oops. After a bit Emily was SURE we had now found the aquarium...
but that was just the parking garage elevator.

Alas, we found the aquarium! (Just look at that sky... good thing we planned to be indoors!)
First thing in the building we watched a 4D turtle movie... Emily just tried to act like she wasn't with us.

Then we walked around to check out all of the cool animals like the rays,

sea stars,
jelly fish,
hermit crabs,
giant spider crabs,
and LOTS of fish!
I think maybe this tank was designed after Nemo hit theaters. :)
They have a lot of cool shows all day long. We saw the sea lion and seal show as well as a little of this scuba show. One scuba diver is in the building with a mic while the other is in the tank with an earpiece and mic as well. Fun.
Now, let me pause a moment. I KNOW blue whales are huge. I have read about them, taught kindergartners about them, and know the "stats." But when I saw this big girl and learned that she is LIFE SIZE I was floored.
I mean, really?! It doesn't really sink in until you see it! (Mama and her two day old baby on the left - I hope Bittwo isn't that big day two.)
I have heard good things about this aquarium and it is nice but one of my very favorite exhibits were the shark eggs. Read a little...
and now check them out (as well as you can with my photos). The white is the yolk sac and the brown and white stripes are the shark embryo! This one is due in April so he/she is filling up the egg quite a bit and has a smallish yolk sac...
while this one is due in May and is much smaller - with a larger yolk sac! Isn't that so cool?!
After we'd seen it all and were forced by hunger to head out, we went across the street for a late lunch...
and started driving home (Emily felt safe enough to wear her glasses finally)...
but did add in a bit of a "roots" tour. First up, the house Papa lived in from birth to age 4.
Next, Papa's house from age 4 to about 17.
We missed the house he lived in from that point until he married Mimi but we did pass his high school!
What a fun day! And because the rain isn't so bad we have decided to head south tomorrow...yahoo.

Going Our Separate Ways

Last Friday morning Emily took me to the airport.

She wanted to go along on the plane flight but it wasn't in the cards for her this time.
So we had a little snack together and played before I was off to Texas and she was heading home for a fun weekend with Daddy!
I was on my way again because Saturday was Liam's baptism!
I am honored to be his godmother so it was an event I couldn't miss! We started out with a little pre-baptismal gathering including all of the major players... except for my family home in CA. :(
(pretend like the camera setting hadn't been changed and we don't look grainy or "sepia-d")


But while I was having fun with the fam in Texas...
Emily was off to the mall and park with Daddy!

Along the way she had to stop to say hello to the duck all ready for Valentine's Day.

(Emily and Daddy kept pretty busy with some shopping, and lots of playing over the weekend.)
But, like I said, the BIG event for the weekend was Liam's baptism on Saturday evening.
Even Liam thought it was pretty cool.

However, I REALLY missed my sweet girl and her wonderful Daddy so I was very excited to see her looking for me when I got off the plane.
It seemed like she was pretty excited too.
Didn't take us long to fall right back in the groove either... Emily on the potty... Mama behind the camera.