Very Orange Socks

On Sunday, we spent the entire morning cleaning the house (breaking midday to have a picnic in the living room). Kate did her part by vacuuming with the Dustbuster, spritzing cleaner onto the floor as Appa mopped, and washing her plastic tea set cups in the sink. In exchange for her hard work she earned a few coins for her piggy bank. "Ooh, treasure!" After dinner, Kate wanted to take a stroll outside in her ballerina dress (courtesy of her cousin, Emma), and she picked out her favorite pair of Very Orange Socks to wear with it, proudly yanking them up over her calves. Perfect. Showing "the Prince" some dance moves. Kate requested that Appa "swing" her while she tried out a dance move.

Running away from the "Big Bad Wolf." "Mom, YOU be the wolf, and we're the little pigs, and you chase us!" This game usually lasts until we're all sweaty and exhausted. So about ten to fifteen minutes.

The little pigs hiding from Momma paparazzo behind the mailboxes.

A lot of running causes Very Orange Socks to slide down.

Appa and Kate looking at the many, many, many parrots in the tree over our car. Chris was strategizing how to "encourage" them out of the tree with a rock in order to save our car from (yet another) parrot poopstorm. "The birds think our car is a potty!" Kate likes to say. Oh, indeed, they do.

Millie the Millipede and Skinning the Cat

Last Tuesday, Kate and I spent the morning at Kidspace Museum in Pasadena. After playing in the "bug restaurant," climbing in and out of the ant colony several times, and climbing the towers, Kate made her very own "solar oven" out of a small pizza box, tin foil, and black paper. They even gave us a pizza recipe to go with it. I think I was more excited about trying it out than Kate. We also met Millie, a millipede who hails from the African rainforest. Kate loved touching Millie's soft and smooth exoskeleton. But the highlight was Millie pooping on the instructor's hand. Kate found that both fascinating and funny. The instructor, not so much. Kate's halmoni bought Kate a Chinese cheongsam dress while she was in China last year, but only recently has Kate wanted to wear it...everyday. On Thursday, Kate went to her second Gymnastics class. She found the first class (and the loudly projecting teachers) a little too intense, and did not want to go. But, since Momma already paid for the class and wasn't ready to kiss the money goodbye, I (gently) encouraged her to try again. I explained she could just watch, or only participate for a few minutes, and then we'd leave. She agreed...finally. Once we got there, Kate was fine. Not only did she willingly participate in the entire class, she had a great time. She learned how to do "skin the cat" (nice term, huh?) and a "C-drop" (sp?) on the trampoline, in addition to tumbling. When the teacher asked if Kate would come back again, she said, "YES!" so hopefully this turns out to be true.

The Fair

Since Kate has become a big fan of amusement park rides, we decided to go to the LA County Fair to try out a few rides and eat some artery-clogging food on a stick.

Free Sparkletts water on a hot day. Ahhh.

I think this photo sums it up. This is why our forefathers fought so hard for independence from England -- "Totally Fried Spam."

We headed to The Big Red Barn first so we could see some living, breathing animals. If the cows knew there was an "I'm Lovin' It" McDonalds sign out front, there would've been stampede at the exit.

Farmer Kate.

Kate and Appa feeding the goats.

Kate thought the goat's tongue felt oogly.

Kate and Appa at the fair two years ago, when Kate was 16 months old.

This goat looked suspiciously sleepy.

Now...

...and then.

A trio of horses. I liked their bangs.

We met up with Lucy and her Moms. Kate and Lucy checking out a giant carpenter ants display.

Lucy controlling an insect robot.

Kate tried her hand at it, too.

Kate and Lucy goofing around, trying to magnify themselves.

Kate and Mom doing a stencil rub of a bear track.

Lucy and Kate deciding whether to tackle the big slide. Hmm... Should we or shouldn't we?

Kate and Lucy at 15 months.

Lucy and Kate at the Fair two years ago.

Kate loving the pirate ship ride.

Crawling through a big, bouncy tunnel.

Getting very sleepy while waiting for the pink elephant ride.

Chris on a flying, pink elephant. Kate, who is sitting somewhere beside him, definitely thought it was worth the wait.

Couch Camping

Kate loves being inside a tent, even one made of living room pillows and a beach towel. The walls are courtesy of her Appa. Mom supplied the roof. That's Kate's foot sticking out in the center. In the privacy of a couch tent, Kate does what she loves best - read, read, read. When Kate's not tenting or reading or dancing, she is usually jamming on her little piano and making up songs about the life of a preschooler.