The Wiggles!!!

The Grahls (OK, I) could not resist taking Ella to her first live show because the Wiggles are our favorite singing group, and they came to San Jose. We had a "roaring good time" even though Ella was a little overwhelmed by it all.

Here are Mommy and Ella before the show . . . pretty good seats!

Captain Feathersword, Anthony, and Murry playing on stage . . .

Anthony is playing the didgeridoo on the left . . .

One of Ella's rare smiles . . . she mostly just stared in awe. Notice she's wearing her first concert t-shirt :)

Dorothy the Dinosaur is Ella's favorite.

The end of the show . . . the guy in the purple is not Jeff--his name was Brad (I think). Jeff had heart surgery so he had not been on tour for a few weeks--too bad we didn't get to see Jeff :( We read he's 57 years old! Murry is 51 . . . these guys are getting old!

This is part of the song "Wiggley Party."

More Visits with Friends!

Ella and Grace had a busy week last week . . . they visited family in Sacramento, and on the way, they stopped by their friend Brooke's house. Brooke was celebrating her 2nd birthday and the birth of her baby brother the week before.

Here are Ella and Brooke patiently waiting for Brooke's mommy to bring out the birthday cupcakes . . .

"Happy Birthday dear Brooke; happy birthday to you!"

Unfortunately, Ella has her mother's sweet tooth . . .

Yummy!!

On the weekend, Ella and Grace's cousins, Willie and Vanessa, came to visit and go to the aquarium.

Willie tried on the dolphin flippers and fluke . . .

Ella tried the whale ones . . .

Nessie and Willie take time to make some rubbings . . . Ella usually makes a few marks and then wants to do her favorite thing--put the paper in the little slot for the recycling bin.

We'll bring them back in 10 years and line up to see who's tallest then!

That's a leafy sea dragon above and to the right of Nessie's head.

Giving some love to the seahorse . . .

I think they were looking for Nemo and Dori . . .

Peak around the penguin . . .

One for the Christmas card?

Hello in there!!

Willie is enjoying the sensation of being inside a wave without getting wet!

Very cute!!

Grace spent half the day sleeping in the van with Daddy, but she finally woke up in time to go to the Splash Zone.

The girls make a new friend in the baby corral area.

Ella's turn . . .

Nessie's turn . . . notice how each time the hugger is more into it than the huggie.

Thank you to the Wilder-Smith clan for a great day!

Visiting Friends

We have been having fun in these last weeks of summer vacation. First, we went to the Rio Del Mar beach with the Gerbos . . . here are the girls with the Gerbo boys, Zane and Liam.

That's Sally and the boys in the background. Grace had a lot of fun with the dinosaur watering can.

Grace got tired and just laid down in the sand . . .

And then she sat up . . .

Our next visit was to Arroyo Grande to see Stacy and Gabriel. This is Avala Beach where we had lunch when we arrived and then found a playground on the beach!

Then we went to a farm where we could feed and pet the animals . . .

What a cutie! Grace is so fun to watch as she explores the world . . .

She was feeling her oats . . . or should I say, hay?

Daddy and big sis went on a tractor ride . . .

The next day we went to the Mid State Fair. Stacy took Ella around to see all the animals.

Poor Gracie was a little pink from the heat, just like the pig.

They even had a reptile exhibit . . . that's a rattlesnake in the bottom left-hand side of the box behind Ella.

Can you see the large orange iguana on the tree branch?

We ended the day with some rides . . . Ella's first ever!!

This was a train, and it was Grace's first and only carnival ride of the day.