Thursday, August 30, 2007

And they're off!

This afternoon I took the girls down to the horse racing track.

Now, I know that normally the above sentence might cause some of you to place a call to Child Protective Services to report me, but before you do that, let me explain

A co-worker of mine recently invested in a horse named "GoinWest". Today he was running his third race ever at Bay Meadows, so he invited a number of us to come cheer him on. I thought it would be a great opportunity to let the girls see live horses close up.

I was half right.

Caroline had a great time. She climbed up on the fence rails and looked at all the horses, exclaiming, "Oh! Pretty horse!"

Katherine just cried. I think she was overwhelmed by the large size of an actual horse (as opposed to her stuffed animal horse, which is much smaller, and much more manageable!).

This photo sort of tells it all:

Checkin' Out the Horses Before the Race
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Still, we had a great time. Our gracious host brought us into the "owners lounge" where there were free drinks including . . . free cups of ice! The girls were in heaven, since they love to play with ice.

They also got their first smell of cigarette smoke up close and personal, and I'm glad to say they proclaimed it, "Stinky!"

As for the race itself, it was bittersweet.

Goinwest finished third, which was a great finish for him.

However, the race he ran in was called a "claiming race" which in summary means someone else had a chance to buy him before the race. And someone did buy him! Bought him right away from my co-worker after his great race. I don't pretend to know a lot about horse racing (this was only my third time ever to a horse racing track), so the concept of a "claiming race" is not entirely clear to me, but if you want to know more, you can click here.

Here are some more shots of my friend's "pretty horse", as Caroline called him!

Goinwest before the race
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Getting ready to race!
(Before we knew someone else bought him!)
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Sunday, August 26, 2007

Time for College Football

College football season is my favorite sports season of the year. And by "College football season" I really mean, UCLA Football Season!

Two weekends ago we went to the "Stanford Fan Fest" to check out the new Stanford Stadium. We also were hoping to score some free goodies and free food for the girls (feeding twins is expensive, you know!)

Being a UCLA fan, I couldn't go to the "Stanford Fan Fest" without decking the girls out in their best UCLA gear. Terri talked me out of wearing my UCLA shirt, claiming, "The football players will KILL you!"

Turns out she may have been right. While taking the first photo below, I had the audacity to ask a Stanford football player alum to take a photo for us. He looked at the girls' t-shirts, then said, "Not until they take off those shirts." He wasn't smiling when he said it, but he took the photo anyway.

Dressed for the Bruins at the Stanford Fan Fest.
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By the way, Stanford's home opener on September 1 is against -- The UCLA Bruins.

Go Bruins!

Here is another photo from the Fan Fest, plus a photo of the girls wearing their Dodger hats. Katherine always insists on wearing her hat in "rally mode" for some reason . . .

UCLA will be running back their touchdowns that way --->.
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Go Dodger Blue!
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Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Shhh! Babies sleeping!

For their second birthday, the girls received a gift of baby dolls from their aunt, along with matching strollers.

The girls love their dolls. They push them around the house. They pretend to put them to sleep. They even feed them dinner.


Their favorite new toys.
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Mmmmmm!.
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This past weekend, I fell asleep on the couch in the afternoon, and the girls left me one of their babies to keep me company (I didn't even wake up when they put the baby on me!). They then walked around the house quietly, whispering to Terri, "Mommy . . . Shhhh! Daddy and baby sleeping!"


Shhh! Daddy and Baby sleeping!
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Wednesday, August 15, 2007

The Anti-Linus

God looks after little children and foolish fathers.

Last night Caroline spit up while going to sleep. Nothing major, but enough that she got a little bit on her blanket.

This evening, Daddy remembered that he needed to wash Caroline's blanket, and dutifully placed it in the washing machine.

However, Daddy forgot to look at the clock, because he started the load of laundry after 7:00 pm, meaning the blanket was not available come bedtime.

Mommy placed a different blanket into Caroline's bed, and we prayed that Caroline might not notice her blanket was missing.

So at bedtime, the lights are out, Caroline has her milk, her stuffed monkey, and an entirely different blanket in her bed.

Here's what happened:

Caroline lays down. Daddy sits on the edge of the bed, barely breathing.

Caroline starts to drink her milk.

Caroline sits up.

She looks at monkey.

She looks around the bed.

She lifts up her pillow and looks under the pillow.

She leans over and looks over the edge of her bed.

Caroline: Daddy?

Daddy: Yes, Caroline?

Caroline: Blanket?

Daddy: I don't know where your blanket is. (Note: Daddy is so scared, he's lying to his daughter!)

Caroline: Daddy?

Daddy: Yes, Caroline?

Caroline: Blanket. (a little more forcefully this time).

Daddy: Okay. Here's the truth. It's in the wash. Daddy is cleaning it. It will be back tomorrow. Here's a nice blanket Mommy got for you. Isn't it nice?

Caroline stares at Daddy for an eternity (actually about five seconds).

Caroline picks up the replacement blanket. Caroline rubs her face in the new blanket.

Caroline: Nice!

Caroline lays down and falls asleep.

Daddy sneaks outside and drinks a beer.

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

What we talk about on the way to school.

Conversation between Katherine and Daddy on the way to and from daycare every single day:


  • Katherine: Daddy?
  • Daddy: Yes, Katherine?
  • Katherine: Bus (pointing to a truck on the freeway).
  • Daddy: That's not a bus, it's a truck.
  • Katherine: Truck.
  • Daddy: Yes, very good Katherine.
  • (pause for about . . . 1 second)
  • Katherine: Daddy?
  • Daddy: Yes, Katherine?
  • Katherine: Bus. (pointing to another truck on the freeway)

Conversation between Caroline and Daddy on the way to and from daycare every single day.

  • Caroline: Daddy?
  • Daddy: Yes, Caroline?
  • Caroline: "E-I-E-I-O"?
  • Daddy: You want me to sing "E-I-E-I-O"?
  • Caroline: Yes.
  • Daddy: (singing) Old MacDonald had a farm . . .
  • Caroline: Daddy!
  • Daddy: Yes, Caroline?
  • Caroline: Shhh!
  • Daddy: Oh, sorry!
  • (silence . . . for about 1 second)
  • Caroline: Daddy?
  • Daddy: Yes, Caroline?
  • Caroline: "E-I-E-I-O"?

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As promised, here are some photos from our vacation to San Diego last week:

Caroline & Mommy.
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Caroline at a water park.
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Katherine driving a boat.
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Mission Beach, San Diego.
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