Joy had preschool today, so Daniel and I decided to take a walk in the park.
Daniel had fun exploring high . . .
. . . and low, . . .
. . . then we took a stroll in the nearby neighborhood. I love seeing the Chinese magnolias in bloom.
Their big, pink blossoms carry the promise of spring in the middle of winter.
. . . any patch of landscaping can be a jungle . . .
. . . and all furniture is meant to be climbed on.
. . . then took a short tour of a music conservatory where they teach a variety of instruments and occasionally hold concerts. Some of their students are young, but others chose to take up an instrument as an adult. One guy we saw is about fifty and just decided to learn the guitar.
We passed Menchie's on the way home from our tour, and Joy and I agreed that every outing is better with a little frozen yogurt thrown in. Yum!
. . . so tonight my side of the family had their biggest gathering in my recent memory.
Aunt Lisa and Cousin Mary compared notes on the world of interior decorating.
Patrick bonded with Joy and Sophie over a round of Angry Birds.
Joy loved having other little people to play with . . .
G-pa's talking iPad cat was fun, too.
Daniel was just content to have a potato chip in each hand.
Joy likes riding her new scooter . . .
. . . and playing with the Christmas train (with track layouts frequently rearranged by her engineer Daddy).
Daniel prefers watching Grandma books . . .
. . . and playing with Daddy's light saber. The Force is strong with this one.
Joy has decided that she is Curious George, and that I am the Man With The Yellow Hat. Unless Daddy is home, in which case he is the Man With The Yellow Hat. He even humored her by putting on his (sort of) yellow hat while they made peanut butter cookies tonight. You know, I think I love my husband most when he does sweet Daddy things with our kids.
. . . we made muffins, . . .
. . . glued colorful hearts onto paper to make mice, . . .
. . . and played a matching game with pictures of things starting with M (the Moon, a monkey, a mama, etc.). Joy liked the game so much that she wanted to play it for the rest of the day. Her favorite picture is of Mozart. Whenever we turn him over, she exclaims, "Mozart! I love that guy!"
The note says "From Joy, To Yellow Bear." What could it be?
A full-body necklace, of course!
She also used her bracelet to accessorize her ducky (I think this variety is native to Las Vegas).
In addition to flower beads and spheres, she strung on letters for two names: Joy and Jackson (the little son of our friends the Boyles). Since she can't date for another twelve years, I hope Jackson won't read too much into it.
This morning, Joy informed us that her bracelet was actually a crown. She even wore it under her hat when we went to the Village.
The mud hens* didn't care whether she was a princess or a pauper--they'll kowtow to anyone with a bag of duck food.
Heather's excited; Sean's there for the food.
Joy's happy to be there, too, . . .
. . . she just wishes the concessions were cheaper (amen, Joy).
My favorite part was the Japanese number. I found it very soothing, perhaps because of the lavender lighting.
I also enjoyed watching the Zamboni clean the ice during intermission. Just knowing there is a machine called a Zamboni makes me happy for some reason.
Joy liked the performance well enough, but I think her favorite part was riding on Uncle Sean's shoulders after the show.
