Isaac's New Bike

aI just had to throw these pictures in of Elizabeth since I think she is too dang cute even if she does have puffs on her face. She is getting so big. She is crawling all over the place and pulling herself up on things and walking that way. She is also waving which I think is cute. She is growing up so fast and now since she has found freedom in mobility, she doesn't sleep worth a dang. She is too busy standing and moving all over her crib.

Isaac got a new bike today and it was a good thing too because he was going to ride his tricycle into the ground! He was happy to pick one out in the store but was so scared and apprehensive to try it out in the store. Well, once we got home it was a different story. I think he adjusted just fine. He even figured out how to make his own skid marks. That kid is crazy! Elizabeth had a great time watching Isaac and I know that she can't wait to have a bike of her own and ride with Isaac

Barney's Beanery

Ever since I saw Barney's Beanery featured on the travel channel, I have wanted to go to Barney's and have a bowl of their famous chili. Well, check that off of my "30 things to do before I turn 30" list. The original Barney's is in Hollywood, but we opted for one that was closer and visited the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica. The place was filled with Christmas lights, old hubcaps, bumper stickers from fellow diners and old celebrity pictures and ads. The menu reads like a newspaper, literally, and has every unhealthy thing imaginable on it along with the different types of chili offered and how you would like to take it. i would have to say that it is pretty good. I got the standard meat chili, no beans. Jim liked it so much that he ordered an extra bowl of it after he ate his dinner. Elizabeth even enjoyed it. She ate half a bowl!! The kids not only liked the food, but the environment as well. There was always something to watch on the many tv screens and the eye is always wandering with all the hustle and bustle around. I would eat there again and recommend it to anyone who would like to go.

Afterward, we ate gelato for dessert and watched all the street performers. There was some real talent there that night and Isaac couldn't get enough of it. It was a great family night.

Celebrity Sighting

My friend Serene and I decided to go out for some frozen Yogurt at Malibu Frozen yogurt and I turn around and notice Jeremy Piven standing right by us. He currently stars in Entourage but has been in several movies and tv shows. This is just another update for those of you whom asked me to keep you updated.

Santa Barbara

WE decided to venture up the coast and have a little day trip to Santa Barbara yesterday. The weather was wonderful and the drive was great too. We went to Mission Santa Barbara first which was fun. AS a kid, my grandparents took me to a couple of missions plus in 4th grade as part of the state history curriculum in CA, you have to learn about missions, so I was excited to share the history with Isaac. Neither Jim nor I had ever visited this particular mission before so it was fun. Isaac really liked the sacred garden and the skull and crossbones that were above the doorway of the church. He said that pirates go there. Isaac was very confused with all the crosses with Jesus dripping blood on them and the statues of the saints. I tried to explain as best as I could but a 3 year old can only take in and understand so much.

After the mission we were all hungry so we ate at Woodstock pizza right next to the University of California Santa Barbara.It was fun to be back on campus since the last time I was there it was many years ago for college cheer camp. We all ate pizza and drank soda including Elizabeth. It was actually the highlight of my day., There is something to be said about going to a pizzeria with your family, drinking cold soda, eating pizza and having a great time with one another that is priceless. To me, simple family outings like that is what being a family is all about.

After the yummy pizza we walked across the street for a scoop of ice cream before we went to the main event. Elizabeth LOVED the rainbow sherbet. She couldn't get enough!

WE then headed back to campus for the national rugby tournament to watch the BYU/Delaware match. It was the sole reason we went to Santa Barbara. One of the best things about BYU is the fact that they can travel anywhere in the country and they will still have fans show up! As we sat in the bleachers wearing our BYU garb, Isaac had a great time cheering on the Cougars and playing with his rugby ball. BYU was victorious and spanked Delaware 33 to 13. They play again today and we are sad that we are going to miss it.

All in all, we had a great family day and if you can believe it, it was a family day not in Disneyland.

1 down

On Wednesday Jim took his last final of the semester. Whoo Hoo!!! Now Jim doesn't have anymore classes until August. He is still looking for an internship for the summer; a task which is becoming harder than originally thought. Nonetheless, he is done and has some down time before starting an internship.

On Thursday night as part of the Business School's end of the year bash, we went to a party thrown by them on a 4 story mega yacht in the Marina del Rey. Jim celebrated by knocking one year of business school out of the ball park and I got to cross my first thing off my "30 things to do before I turn 30 list" by going on a yacht. Besides the hemlines of dresses getting shorter as the night went on, the over gyrating hips and the dry humping on the dance floor, all done by his fellow MBA peers, the night was great. We went to El Torito for dinner on the water and then boarded the boat for a few hours of dancing, eating and socializing. I think that we were the part often handful of people that only consumed water and didn't get a taxi home but everyone had a fabulous time and it was nice for us to get out with out the kids and actually socialize with people that Jim gets to see every day in school. We did get asked one question frequently and that was, "Where is Isaac." It was almost always then followed by "You should have brought him." As nice as it was to hear that people really liked being around him, I am sure that I am going to bring my 3 year old on a yacht until 1:30am to watch all of the drunken debauchery going on. He would have loved it but I can always take him on a Bay cruise when he gets older.

Almost 25 lbs

Before


Once January hit, I was completely disgusted by how I looked. I gained back almost 25 of the 35 pounds I lost before I was pregnant with Elizabeth. I was very hard on myself and was embarrassed to go anywhere because I felt like the only thing that people saw when they looked at me was a super fat girl. Well, I decided to take action once again. I started up some nutrition reading and signed up for exercise classes on campus. After counting calories and doing some exercising, I lost 15 pounds relatively quickly. When I came back from my trip to the Bay Area in March, Jim surprised me with a Body Bugg. It has been the greatest gift he has ever got me. Since using it I have lost even more weight and I am now only 2 pounds away from losing 25 pounds since January, 1. 5 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight and 4.5 pounds from my wedding weight. I am super excited with my progress and hope to lose another 40-45 pounds by mid august. Here are some before and present pictures thus far.



Present

Pre-Easter

Today at the park right across the street, Bluffs, the city of Malibu put on an Easter Hoppening. I took the kids and they had a great time despite the picture of the 3 of us. Isaac was able to go on an egg hunt which was more like an egg gather with his buddy Jacob and they were able to pet a rabbit, turtle and a giant snake. They also saw the Easter bunny, danced at the bunny hip hop station and had a great time on the inflatable bounce house. They weather was gorgeous and it made for a wonderful break in our afternoon.











On Friday night we dyed Easter eggs. This is really the first year that we did them because Isaac just wasn't old enough in years past. He had a great time "painting" the eggs in the different colors but had a hard time understanding that the "water" would stain anything. Meanwhile, Elizabeth was trying to help me and put the clothes away and by that I mean take all the clothes that I just folded out of the laundry basket and on to the floor. Oh well. Isaac had a great time decorating eggs and he thinks they taste better too.