Two Weeks

I can hardly believe that we leave for Dallas two weeks from today!
Thought we'd share this cute shot of Addie's good work labeling the moving boxes.
And a bonus picture- Scotty looking happy and silly.

the Hollywood Bowl

Check one more off the bucket list! On the 13th, we went with the Kropfs to the Hollywood Bowl to see Harry Conick Jr. and his Big Band.
Just being out without our children was thrilling enough- we were giddy on the bus on the way there! Here Brooke lets us know that if anyone has a hard time waiting in line, she has some activities in her bag for busy fingers.
Here we are! That Harry we're pointing to!
It was right after this we realized we had a problem with our tickets. After standing in line at the ticket counter for awhile, it all got straightened out and we excitedly tried to enter the concert.

Until... the bag inspector told us we couldn't bring our big cameras in and that we'd have to take them to the operations building and check them in. What?! We were dissapointed to not be able to get pictures inside the bowl this time.


We did have a great time at the concert and enjoyed the music and our picnic dinner thoroughly.
After the concert we picked up the camera and went back in for a picture. Yeah! We managed to get one after all!
Here's the Kropfs after the show.

We all had a great night!

Scotty Boy

A few shots of Scotty taken during his birthday dinner.

We tried sitting him on the tricycle and he got a kick out of it
He loved pushing the tricycle around from the front!

The Moving Process

A few updates in regards to our move to Texas!
We finally got our dates! It was a long process full of more drama than we care for, but it finally got done. Greg's last day at the Hyatt Valencia is September 7th, and he starts at the Hilton DFW Lakes on September 16th. So sometime between those dates we'll be transitioning our family from LA to Dallas. There are still a LOT of details to work out, but now we can start working on it.

As far as the bucket list goes, we've gone to Descanso Gardens and Pasadena (and managed to not take any pictures), we've enjoyed Summerfest all summer long, and Disneyland is done. We've eaten at Porto's and Daphne's. We've been to our favorite thrift store off Lankershim and bought tons of children's books and a bike rack for the car. In two more days Greg and I go to the Hollywood Bowl. We still need to find time to go to the beach as a family and Santa Barbara for Greg and I. A few of the items on the list probably won't happen, but most of the important ones will get squeezed in I think.

Today we took Scotty to the Pediatrician and said goodbye to our good friends there. My goodness, we've spent a lot of time at that office! We have about three weeks to finish packing, say our goodbyes, and try to arrange the move and housing in Dallas! Whew!

Disneyland!

OK! Here we go!
Hello Disneyland!
We're ready for a fun day!

Castle pics

The most amazing part about this picture is that no one taught her to stand this way, she just did it naturally.
How cute are they???

Nemo

Here's the fam in line for the Nemo Submarine.
By the time this picture was taken, we had been at the park for about an hour and had nothing but cranky children to show for it.
We'd parked, set up the stroller, walked through the entire parking garage, ridden the elevator, disassembled the stroller and kids for the tram, reassembled, bought tickets, entered, waited in line for Mickey but gave up and left, gone to the baby care room to nurse Scott, gone to Nemo and stood in line. Now it was lunch time.
Thankfully, it got way better after this!
Scott and Greg in line
descending into the depths

Small World

I'm pretty sure Small World won out as Addie's favorite ride this trip. Mostly because there was absolutely nothing scary about it. All the other rides had some portion of "bad guy" or darkness or something that sent her on my lap trembling, but in Small World there was just a lot of happy singing puppets. Good times.

Mommy Daughter Tea Party

This is how Addie and I play tea party!

waiting in line- Greg was taking pictures of us through the bushes like the paparazzi.
Yay! Here we go!
Yes, I am the most excited person on this ride. It's my favorite.

Don't Be Fooled

We look like such nice parents, don't we?

But actually, we're the people that insist to our little girl that she better go try that door, maybe someone will answer.
No?
Knock louder.
Try the doorbell honey.
Still nothing?
Huh.
Oh well, no one home I guess.

Disneyland with Little Kids

These are some of the random things you do at Disneyland when you go with small children:

-Skip the long lines for Matterhorn, Space Mountain, etc.
-Ride the Casey Jr. Circus train instead.



-Visit many, many of Disneyland's bathrooms
-Thrill with excitement at the petting zoo.
They have a petting zoo?
Yes, they do.




-Meet the nice old ladies in old fashioned outfits in the Baby Care room off of main street
-Take your picture with a double stroller (boy, were we glad for this borrowed beauty that day!)



-Be thankful you got to go to Disneyland one last time as a local, and have a blast, but swear that moving away is the only reason you'd do it in the summer tourist season with a baby.

Winnie the Pooh

And Tigger Too

More Disneyland

A nice family shot near the front gate
In the picnic area, having dinner with the Kropfs. They came down to spend the evening at downtown Disney and brought a picnic dinner to share with us! After a crowded and noisy day, it was nice to sit and enjoy a great dinner.
My loves on the Jungle Cruise