Tilden on a Sunday

What was going to be just a little hike in our beloved Tilden Park, turned into an all day excursion.

After the hike, we decided to head to the animal farm. Ella wasn't quite sure what to make of the animals...especially the big cow.
the sheep weren't much more comforting
the billy goats were slightly less scary

After the animal farm, off to the carousel we went!

We had hot dogs...

and soda (though luckily Ella couldn't figure out how to drink it)
but she did have her first taste of ice cream!

Mmmmmmm.....deeeeeeelicious!

We ended the day with a ride on the steam train

And the best part of all these fun adventures?

Just 5 mins from our house :)

10 months today

At 10 months, Ella is 20.3 lbs and 29 5/8 inches - still off the charts for her age for heights. She is crawling around like crazy and loves to laugh and explore.
Ella still only has 2 teethsies but it seems like the top ones are going to come in any day now...doesn't stop Ella from trying all sorts of "real" food...and her favorites include bits of bagel and cream cheese, blueberries, and chicken...not all at the same time :)

Quick nap

Ella isn't one for naps...so much to do, so little time. So, she gets her naps in when she can...

More lago fun

I <3 lago!

Megan n Michael tearin' in up

Our beautiful lago

Camping #2 - Loon Lake, E5

A couple of weeks ago we went camping again back at Loon Lake. This time we had reserved a campsite...pretending we had horses so we could reserve a nice big equestrian site again. And also because that was all that was left :) We had another super fun time and as you can see, Ella is all about it. She enjoyed....

setting up camp

heading out for a canoe ride

fishing with her papa

getting a good "taste" of nature

going night night in the tent

enjoying a little lunch, lake side

and making faces with papa!

My new eyeballz

So it's almost been 2 weeks since I had my LASIK done...and I'm finally starting to get used to the fact that I don't have to deal with contacts anymore. Not that I really ever had any major issues with my contacts...after all, they let me see. It's so strange to wake up in the middle of the night or in the morning and be able to just see! The surgery...ahem, procedure...lasted all of maybe 5-10 minutes. It was the fastest $6K I've ever spent!
My appointment was at 1pm and as I walked in, I was greeted with a smile and a Valium. Then, my eyes were checked again to make sure my prescription hadn't changed any, a bunch of drops and numbing something or other were placed into my eyes and then I was escorted to Phase 1 of the procedure. This lasted all of about a minute per eye and this is where there was some pressure on the eye as they created the flap. I then had to be escorted to Phase 2 as I couldn't see a thing at this point. I could see just on the outer edge of my eye but in the middle it was like a grey sticker was placed there. This caused me just a slight bit of panic because you sort of think, holy shit, what if I can't ever see again?? Luckily this is all normal. Then, in Phase 2 they reshape the cornea. While I was told to look at the flashing green light...and somewhat enjoying my hallucinatory "visions"...I wasn't prepared for the burning hair smell as the laser did its thing on my eyeball. However, this only lasted maybe 30 seconds per eye and then I was done! They put some lovely patches over my eyes and told me to keep my eyes closed while I waited for my hubby to pick me up. I waited for a few minutes and at 1:40pm Jim and I were outta there! The best part was getting to go home and take a 3 hour nap since I had to keep my eyes closed for the first 4 hours...whens the last time I got to take a nap...much less a 3 hour nap?? It was heavenly. For the next week I had to put all sorts of drops in my eyes 4x a day. I am now just putting in rewetting drops as needed. As for my vision?? Well, the first couple of days, my vision was excellent though because of the swelling, you feel like you have dirty contacts on. That feeling can last up to a month they say but each day has been getting better. Since I sit in front of a computer all day, my eyes get tired by the end of the day but again, that is all normal and in a couple more weeks my eyes should be feeling really good. My eye checkups have all been good, my eyes are healing as they should. I will have another checkup at 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and a year. All in all, I LOVE my new eyeballz!! Thank you Pacific Vision Institute for doing your job so well, and THANK YOU to my wonderful husband for encouraging me to finally just go for it!! :)

I'm too sexy...

I am having LASIK eye surgery tomorrow!! I am so excited that I will not have to rely on contacts anymore. I have had to wear glasses for the past week - which as most of you know, is a big thing for me. My hubby had never seen me in my glasses before and my glasses must be at least 10 years old. Today I had to go in for my pre-op testing during which they also had to dilate my eyes. I then got these oh so sweet "sunglasses" I had to wear outside under my glasses. I actually walked the streets of San Francisco like this...and had to hail a cab back to work. I was a little afraid a cab wouldn't even stop to pick me up...luckily there's bigger wierdo's walking around this city :) So, tonight is my last night in glasses...no tears shed here, good riddance!! See ya on the other side!

Ella's new bikini

Ella's 2 teethsies :)

Purotu Tattoo

Always daydreaming of our next trip to Tahiti, we reminisce about our amazing honeymoon. One of the best memories is getting our first - and to this date only - tattoo's on Moorea by world famous tattoo artist Purotu. Jim came across this great picture of Purotu (the one on the left) along with Chime (2nd from right), another famous artist who we *almost* got tattooed by...perhaps next time??

(Notice the Hinano beers...)

And here's our pics

(And notice my Hinano beer!)

9 months today!

Just a couple of pics from today, as Ella turned 9 months. I can't believe in just 3 months she will be a year old! I mean REALLY?!?

Ella loves her pups and both Foxie and Benny are really great with her. We are trying to make sure she is gentle with them because even when she tries to pull their whiskers or tails they reward her with lots of kisses and licking...esp Benny!