Only in LA

Since we've lived here, a few interesting things have happened...that I think wouldn't have happened elsewhere (at least not in Marina).

Only in LA...could my children (especially Jordan) become completely and utterly OBSESSED with limos.

Only in LA...could I be approached, on my very first outing with the kids, by a "child acting agency."

Only in LA...could we go to TGI Fridays as a family and spot Ruben Studdard from American Idol (Mike still doesn't believe that it was really him--but I SWEAR it WAS).

Only in LA...could it take 1hr to get 9 miles (note to self: never go on the 405 during rush hour).

I'm sure there are more...and plenty more to come.

(I was laying on the trampoline, looked up and saw this--I had to take a picture)

President Barack Obama

I haven't watched the actual Inauguration yet (aparently Diego is more important), but what an exciting day! I admit I don't share the same views on every issue with Barack Obama (although he would have had my vote hands down--if I was American and allowed to vote), but I believe he is a good man who wants what is best for our Country. I also believe he is more than capable to be our President. Let's see if he can fix some of the mistakes that were made these past 8 years...

New Car---CHECK!

We are finally back to TWO cars!! We ended up getting Mike a car instead of me, just to save a little money (for now--it is so expensive to move!!). We'll have to save before we fork out money for a bigger vehicle for ME. Anyways we got a 2004 Mazda6, with only 39,000 miles...so we feel like we got a pretty good deal:) So, no more driving Mike to and from work every day!!!

Up Late for NOTHING

I had this great idea to make a DVD slideshow for Jordan's baptism. Sounds like a good idea right? Well, here's what happened:

I thought of this brilliant idea at around 10pm.

I couldn't remember what website I had seen a cheap way to do it.

Around 10:30pm I finally found the Costco site that I remembered.

I spent a good hour picking pictures and putting them in the slide show.

I went to add music and I realized I had to choose from a list of songs (I couldn't upload my own), so after searching through MANY songs like "Zipadeedooda" I found one that would work.

I watched the preview and it was completely LAME.

So NOW I am on a mission to find a way to make this DVD slide show.

Wish me luck!

Please if anyone knows any good software or websites to do this, let me know (I need a DVD that I can play on the tv not just something I can watch on the computer).

Here's a cute pic of baby Jordan I found when I was looking through pictures for the slide show (3 or 4 moths old)

Start School---CHECK!

Today was the girls first day at their new school--and I forgot my camera (What kind of Mom and I, right?!). I was a little worried dropping them off this morning, but both Kya and Jordan came home very happy.

Kya's teacher said she cried a couple times because she didn't know how to do a few of things that the other kids were doing. Kya did say though that she loved everything about her new school, especially her teacher. What a big girl!

Poor Jordan looked so scared when I dropped her off at her classroom. I was sure she would come home crying. But she came home so excited and happy. She made lots of new friends and loved her teacher. She is a bit concerned that she was put in the wrong class because it was so easy (we are going to make sure she is actually in a 2nd grade class tomorrow).

Tyson and I went to the gym, played trains, cleaned the house, and picked up the girls!

New Kitchen Table--CHECK!

We finally got a kitchen table and chairs!! Yah!! I was having a hard time with the prices of brand new dining sets and I didn't want to get a Walmart special (fake wood/piece of crap). Finally I found something on Craigslist that I really liked.

We picked it up today:

Oh and did I mention it was 75 degrees here today?!:

Oh, and school starts tomorrow---YIKES!!

Monthly Resolutions

Okay, so normally I make New Years resolutions in January and forget about them by April. This year I thought I would do things a little different. I am going to set a "resolution" for each month of the year.

My January goal is to get back into a diet and exercise routine (along with 90% of the world). With packing, moving, unpacking...and the stress of this past year I have really got out of the swing of things. So here we go...wish me luck. Oh, and any tips and/or advice about what has worked for you would be great:)

(Picture courtesy of Tyson)

My February resolution is: Save Money/Stop Spending (stay tuned)

Brrrr....

Isn't it supposed to be warm in LA?! Here's our first LA "beach" experience--not exactly what I envisioned (this is Redondo Beach by the way):