Spring Break

Ruby and I had a great time in California for Easter and spring break.  Mom, Katy, and Lucy were out of school so we had a ton of time to have fun together.

Highlights:

Easter.  Ruby and Lucy had beautiful matching dresses, and we tried taking some pictures of them, but Christy hasn't emailed them to me yet (ahem, Chris).  In the morning Ruby discovered that the Easter Bunny brought her a cute plush Hello Kitty beanie ball, and then after church we had a fun egg hunt.  Ruby loved having her own candy, but didn't go crazy and eat too much. Phew.

Aquarium.  WHOA so much fun.  We got free tickets through the library to the cool San Francisco aquarium right by Pier 39.  Ruby loved parts of it (fish tunnels, baby clown fish, starfish, jelly fish), and was a little freaked by others (sharks and octopus).  The best part was the reaction from the twins.  Lydia was a little timid and didn't feel the need to get up close and personal with the sea life, but Joycie was IN HEAVEN and  I've never seen such an excited child. It was adorable.  Ruby got to touch a starfish so her life is basically made.  I don't really like aquariums because fish freak me out and I think humans aren't meant to go in the ocean because HELLO SHARKS, but it was really cool for the kids.  And sometimes a trip is just MADE by getting a great parking spot, especially in San Francisco.  Then we had fun walking down the pier, eating a fun lunch at Wipeout, and seeing the sea lions at the end of Pier 39.

Zoo.  Holy cow, what a hit.  Lucy was in charge of the map and telling us where to go, and Ruby just ran herself ragged exclaiming over the animals.

She saw her favorite animals.

Got to brush a little goat to her heart's content.

And went on a TRAIN. The whole ride she just sat yelling "This is so much fun! I so excited!" and it was really cute.

Also happened:

She took a nap in Lucy's bed, which shocked me and delighted her.

She bonded with the twins while Lucy was in school the first couple days. Lots of playing at the park, running errands with Christy, and playing at Grandma Joyce's house.

LOVED the wonton soup at Chef Chao's.  Mostly I think she liked the spoon. I liked my fortune.

It was so much fun, but it's nice to be home again.  Kyle really missed us and Ruby was thrilled to get back to him.  She was good on the airplane both ways--the thrill of flying in the sky and seeing the clouds is a big deal.

Name update: Oh dear.  I'm cooling on Penelope, and Kyle never really liked Charlotte to begin with.  We both like Olive but it doesn't go with our last name.  Back to the drawing board.  (Sorry, Christy and Katy. Kyle has absolutely vetoed Betsy.)