We are back now

The girls were so happy to see their pets, although the love is somewhat coolly requited on the other side. Cats are not so much into public displays of affection.

Best 99c toy of all time -- big bouncy balls

Matching kid swings, although one is a little suspicious of the Olympic credo of "Higher, Faster, Farther"

And after all that fun, a reward of a cupcake.

Getting the girls back after being away for a week was nice, and we took them to the library as well as their favorite supermarket where they could sample things, from the edible to the not so edible.

Piano

Modern confectionary design

Babies new bookcase

Grandpa was visiting over the long weekend, and assembled a very heavy bookcase for the girls ever expanding book collection. It weights 65 lbs, so is rugged enough for the twins to play on it too.

Both of them liked sitting inside of it after it was assembled, but we'll move it to their room, and fill it up with their books, so this is the last chance for their bookcase jungle gym.

We made a shrimp biryani a few days ago as well. It looks nicer than it tasted -- seafood is tricky for casserole style preparations.

Flooding damaged the road to the cabin

Picture one is the big blind curve on the way to the cabin.

 

Picture two is that little hill (that was always wet due to the spring water) by the game warden's station

 

Here are some YouTubes of the area nearby.

 

The bridge on the way to Lena's vet, which I used to ride my bike over all the time. 

 

The cheese factory, where we used to picnic in front of.

 

This is the area around Lisl's butcher shop

 

Down in Grafton village near the schoolhouse

 

Our property management agents office

 

The road into Grafton

 

Another bridge on the back way into Grafton

 

The access road to our ski area

 

There is an incredible amount of damage in the area.

The new Warren Miller movie has arrived

What a great clip...

Avocados are both food and squishy play dough!

Not only do I like to eat avocados, I like to smear them all over my clothes, face, table etc...

New pajamas!

Now that the girls are getting bigger, it was time for new jumpsuit style pajamas. The one on the left has little swinging monkeys, and ht one of the right has dancing piggies. Sort of like their personalities...

They had a nice sleepover trip at Nonny's and enjoyed themselves. Their parents had some sleep, which has been a bit in short supply since they came down with a cold last week. The antibiotic regimen is almost over, and they are getting a little better.

A very low price on ski goggles

It's pretty hard to find ski goggles for under $30, but if you shop out of season, and can tolerate some unusual colors, they are available.

 

Here are some some for $22.

 

The site has some less ugly ones, if you spend a little more.

Carmel-by-the-Sea

We took the girls to Carmel-by-the-Sea to the very same beach we got engaged on. They loved splashing in the ocean and smashing the sand in between their hands. One of them even took a bite of the sand, on general principles of eating everything within sight. Click on the above for a slide show

Monterey Bay Aquarium Trip

We had a great visit to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and caught up with family friends and god-kids. Although the girls were too young for everything, they still loved it. It's a great place for young people to visit. Click on the above for a slide show.

Godkids

Cake pops

Our departmental picnic was last week, and as part of the event, they sold cake pops. Think of a petit-four on a stick.

The kids loved them, and gnawed on the sticks afterwards like our old hound used to when given a bone.

Civil Engineers are Polite...

...and do not howl when their sister knocks their tower over.

One of the girls likes building the tower, but the other prefers to knock it over.

Summers bounty

One of my colleagues at work has a bountiful garden, and graciously shared some of his harvest.

I turned it into a slow cooked sauce for a baked rigatoni, and then saved some for canning.

The girls loved eating it, and then wiping their hands all over their parents shirts.

A visit to the fish market

We picked up the girls from grandma's house yesterday, where they had spent the night, playing with with the dog and running all around her carpeted house.

On the way home we stopped at the farmers market fruit stand, where we picked up some ripe peaches and plums.  They tried some grapes there and played with the corn too.

After that we went to the Vietnamese fish market which has tanks upon tanks of live, fresh fish.  Ilsa was fascinated by the tank of whiskered catfish, snoozing on top of each other, blissfully unaware of what happened above them.  We selected a nice black striped bass, and had it de-finned and gutted.  When we got home it got a bath in lemon juice, honey, and olive oil along with some Hawaiian sea salt, before charring for 20 minutes on a hot grill.  Delicious and fresh.

Today the girls are getting ready for a pool party.

New Balloons!

Everyone loves playing with new balloons!

Today we are making a summer eggplant tomato sauce for supper; it is quietly stewing. My mom watched the girls overnight so we were able to go out for dinner and watch a movie the other night. It's been a while since we have gone out by ourselves, so thanks mom. The girls love playing with the dog there, and another baby came to visit too.

Eating with chopstix!

Teriyaki chicken yum!!

A visit with NYC friends

Wow Dale and Betsy came to visit us from NYC! We made a leg of lamb, with fresh rosemary sprinkles and had some vintage Meursault and St Emilion to go with it.

We love playing in the pool

Especially with all of our inflatable toys and sunglasses!

messy messy

 

Our new sunglasses!

 

messy spaghetti !!!

The girls ate spaghetti the other night (their grammie's famous sauce). Believe it or not, they actually consumed more than they wore, but it was close.

 

We are having a great time in Orange County, and we are swimming almost every day - its been in the mid-80s, so perfect weather.

 

- the tomato twins

sitting on grandpa

Swings!

If you look carefully, you can see a huge grin on I.'s face. She loves the swing set.

First slurpee

Someone did not like how cold it was, despite it being a very hot day.

New hats!

Also they are playing with water balloons, which they broke all over themselves.

Grilled Snapper

We went to Santa Monica Seafood and invited a pair of lovely red snappers to be our guests of honor at dinner. I stuffed them with lemons and spices then grilled them along with some squash and asparagus. While that was going on we roasted some Russets with marjoram and lemon for a side dish. And for dessert, some friends brought an Oreo cake, which the girls turned into a very messy artwork by smearing it on everything.

Pool time!

It's hot down here in the LA basin, so the girls put on their swim suits, and hopped in their floating fortresses to play in the pool. They love splashing around and throwing their floating toys around so the parents have to fetch them. It was a hot day, so it was good for all of us to get dunked. Today we went back in, but they wore their sun proof shirts and hats, plus some sunscreen.

Fathers Day

For Father's Day, J baked cookies with the help of the girls (they ate the dough). The kids got warm cookies/chocolate all over themselves, and licked themselves like cats. The girls gave me handmade cards, with pudding (!) palm prints (dried fortunately).

After I set up the crock pot to make my anise flavored San Marzano spaghetti sauce, we all went to the local library where the girls enjoyed the playroom and checked out some picture books. Then they came home, took off their jumpers, and ate the messy noodles. After that it was time for a (much needed) bath and then bedtime.