October 26, 2011

Visiting Daddy at Work

Los Angeles, California

Since David has been working so much, 

Grace and I have taken dinner to the theatre a few times so we can eat as a family. 

Of course, Grace loves going for many reasons.

A. See gets to see her Dad

B. She gets to run and run and run around the lobby of the theatre

C. She gets tons of attention 

D. She gets to hang out backstage and play dress up

And last, but not least, 

E. She loves the pink fountains behind the theatre

October 25, 2011

Kids Club

Glendale, California

Last week, Grace and I were playing at the playground here at the Oakwood. Another mother was there with her 2 children who looked to be about the same age as Grace. As usual, the small talk began, "How old is your little one? How long have you been living here? Where were you living before moving to California?" We ended up exchanging numbers in hopes of some play dates  (really a chance to hang out with an adult since both of our husbands are very busy). Anyway, it turns out Charlotte use to live in Beachwood Ohio (not far from where I grew up). Her husband, Anil, was a surgical resident at the Cleveland Clinic and his specialty is in urology. My mom works in urology at the Cleveland Clinic. Long story short, my Mom knows Charlotte's husband! 

Talk about a small world. 

Charlotte invited Grace and I to a Scary Good Time at a local mall. It was very cute...balloon artist, face painting, and a trio called Twinkle Time performed ( a California group that performs at children's events ).

Here's a pic of Twinkle Time.

This little girl loved it some much she grabbed

 Grace and started jumping up and down and dancing!

And a snack break with Grace and Alice (Charlotte's daughter).

Minnie Mouse and Cow Girl.

October 24, 2011

Disneyland

Anaheim, California

I'm sure you know, and if you don't you do now, that this girl

and this girl

are best friends.

 Or so I've been told by Grace almost everyday for the past 6 months.

 "Minnie Mouse is my best friend. I love her!"

So, when we decided to go on tour as a family and the first stop on the tour was Los Angeles, of course we wanted to take Grace to Disneyland.

And here are our the pics from our Monday Family Funday!

 When we walked into the park the Disney characters were milling about. 

We asked Grace if she wanted to go over and say hi to Mickey. 

She said, "Um, I really only came here to meet Minnie."

 Grace's favorite rides were Dumbo and King Arthur's Carousel

Her favorite attraction was Minnie's house in ToonTown.

 I think we could have left her there and she wouldn't have noticed.

While we were riding the Casey Jr. Circus Train, we taught her to put

 her hands up when the train went up a little hill. 

The ride I looked forward to most was Winnie the Pooh.

 It was the first ride Grace had ever been on when we visited Disney World last February.

Surprisingly, Grace ended up loving the Haunted Mansion. We were a little nervous at the start of the ride. She kept saying she wanted to go back outside...but once we started moving along, she loved it.

The next few pictures are for John Thomas. His best friend is Buzz Lightyear!

Gracie and David on the Go Carts. 

David said that after a few minutes of her 

driving and crashing back and forth on the track she said, "Daddy, maybe you should steer."

 My two favorite pictures of the day! 

We bought Grace the red Minnie Mouse at Disney World and she saw the pink Minnie at the Disney Store a month or so ago. Ever since then, she has been dreaming of owning a pink Minnie..and now she does!

October 23, 2011

Bring It On Day!

Los Angeles, Califoria

Universal City Walk

Today was Bring It On Day...a celebration kicking off the national tour! It was at the Universal City Walk, which is basically a gigantic outdoor mall and theatre.

Local high school cheerleading squads and dance teams performed and the cast belted out the opening number to Act 2...It's All Happening. Of course, Gracie and I were front row!

So much fun!
It was very exciting to hear them perform and have a little sneak peek of what's to come. 

October 21, 2011

Making It Work!

Los Angeles, California

Pork Dinner

A pork roast that took almost 2 hours to cook. 

Obviously, something was wrong with the oven. So, after those 2 hours came and went it was now 7pm and we needed something to cheer up the Pep girls!

Mac and Cheese for Gracie and Wine for me! 

The next day we took that dried pork, shredded it, 

smothered it with BBQ sauce and made pork sandwiches. 

We made it work.

(And of course we called the repair man!)

After an afternoon at the pool, I realized I had forgotten a change of clothes for Grace and it's a decent walk home with a cool, California breeze. I knew she'd be chilly in her swimsuit, so she wore my shirt home (backwards, of course, to cover her lady parts). 

Here she is modeling with her dream car. 

She made it work! 

Here's DP and the BIO gang. He's working long hours these days. 

Twelve to Ten...and it's only going to get worse.

 9am to Midnight starting tomorrow. 

For a week! Ugh!

He spends time with his family when he can and he works his tail off when he's at the theatre!

 He's making it work!