Playing hooky

Sally and I decided to play hooky from work and school on Tuesday and go to Disneyland. Tony had to be on the set and Maggie can't miss school these days so it was just the two of us and we had the BEST TIME. There were no lines, so we rode ride after ride, got all the autographs a 6 year old could want, and even stayed and watched the parade at the end of the day. Sally is a daredevil so she likes rollercoasters and rides that I, frankly, would be fine never going on again in my life, but I choked down my fear and for the sake of my fearless girl, I went. The scariest ride was actually one of the little kids rides called Snow White's Scary Adventure because it was dark and had that creepy old lady popping out offering you an apple all over the place. Anyway, Disneyland on a random Tuesday in November is the way to go!

Santa Barbara zoo

About a month ago we went to Santa Barbara for the weekend and spent the morning at the zoo. We fed the giraffes, rode the train and almost broke this little kid car ride. Really. It almost flipped over with both girls on it, turns out it wasn't screwed into the ground. Also turns out that an almost 13 year old probably shouldn't be riding it. My fault, I made her do it for the photo op.

angels?

A picture of the girls in front of our angel trumpet tree. Why the tongues hanging out? Just to annoy me because I kept saying, "come on you guys, pretty faces ..."

Big Hair ... Big Dreams ...

I love this picture of the cats enjoying the sun by the poster of Tony in high school. The poster is normally on the table so they must have knocked it over ...

Regina Spector at the Greek Theater

Tony took Maggie and her friend Nora to see Regina Spector at the Greek. It was freezing, in the high 40's which is unheard of in LA) but the cold did not matter to these two fans. Tony, on the other hand ....

In her pj's all day

Sally hasn't had school since last Wednesday because of parent teacher conferences. She's had the nicest time just hanging out in her pj's all day, playing with the cats, doing art projects(we made fall wreaths and soap) and just chilling out. In the picture with the pan on her head, she was being a robot. Funny funny girl.

Power of One

Maggie just completed a history project called the Power of One Project. Each student had to interview someone from the community who does something that makes the community a better place, and it has to be something they do as a volunteer. Maggie interviewed our friend Christopher Calhoun (Uncle Vincent's husband) who does a number of things around the community, most notably being part of a group trying to overturn California's three strikes you're out law. Maggie spoke with Chris extensively (he was incredibly kind and generous to her, making himself available by phone and email, and answering her questions thoroughly and never talking down to her). She then wrote a lengthy report about her particular 'upstander'(that's the terminology they were using in the class) and created a visual aid to highlight the work of their upstander. Maggie made a collage of photos of prisoners/prisons and on top of that wrote "Overturn three strike's you're out". She glued three large wooded x's she had painted red on top. It was really striking. The school had an event where all the girls presented their projects to the community(parents, other students). Maggie was, as usual poised and charming, easily fielding questions ... while wearing a snake mask. Yep. A snake mask. While teachers and parents were asking her questions, she was wearing a snake mask .... Can I just say, I love Maggie's individuality however ... had I been there(Tony went but I was on a huuugggeee work deadline) she would not have been wearing the snake mask. Which I told her when I saw the pictures, and to which she replied, sweetly, then it's a good thing you weren't there, because the snake mask was awesome.

Halloween

Halloween was great again this year. Besides dressing up for trick or treating, the girls also dressed up for the Walden Halloween Party that was held the weekend before. For the party Sally was a mouse but for trick or treating she opted for Gabriella from High School Musical, although, because she didn't want to wear the microphone headset that makes the costume look like a costume, she just kind of looked like a really cute girl in a red dress. I was amazed though, how many people got it and asked if she was Gabriella. Maggie dressed as a combination of characters from her favorite musicals - Mark from Rent, Dr. Horrible and some character from Spring Awakening (which I'm taking her to see for her birthday in November). We had a little Halloween party here before trick or treating and Sally and Maggie made a haunted house. Maggie and her friends went trick or treating by themselves and I took Sally with her friend Jamie and Jamie's mom, Diana. The little girls were sooooo cute, running from house to house so excited to get candy. When we got tired we came home and Sally helped us give out candy to the thousands of people who came to our house. We almost ran out.

One funny thing I've noticed about both girls is that they are not the big, over the top dresser uppers. They like a subtle costume, more of a suggestion of a costume. Neither one wants to stand out too much ... um ... they didn't get that from me ...

Oh yeah, that's Holly as a cheesehead. She was also a fireman and the kitties were dressed in tutus. All the animals hated their costumes so much we didn't make them keep them on ....