Monterey ~ Day One

A couple weekends ago Rich and I went to Monterey.  Ava was excited to spend time with Papa & Nonna Kurz and we looked forward to some time alone.  Most of our time in Monterey was spent outside.  Usually when we go we hit the aquarium and other touristy spots.  Since we love Monterey and go a few times a year I have looked up new things to do in the area.  On this trip we went to two of the places I found online and have been wanting to go for a couple years:  Garland Ranch Regional Park and Garrapata State Park.

The first place we went upon our arrival was not one of these locations.  First, I had to go to Parker-Lusseau Bakery to get my FAVORITE almond croissants.  I LOVE this place and dream about their pastries.  I discovered it a couple years ago when Rich was at a medical conference and I was on my own for breakfast.  When I took a bite of the almond croissant for the first time I was amazed and could hear the hallelujah chorus in the background...yes, they are that good.  Every since that day I dream about these delicious pastries and plan my Monterey trips around the days and times the bakery will be open.  We always make sure to go and I always place an order to bring some croissants home.

After I had my pastry fix and we purchased breakfast for the next day we headed to Pacific Grove.  We had arrived just in time for low tide, so we went to our favorite tide pool location.  The tide was not especially low, but we found a lot of neat things.  The most exciting was a tiny octopus Rich discovered when he turned over a rock.  It was awesome to see it squirt ink when Rich placed it back in the water.  We also saw star fish, crabs, sea anemones and other common tide pool creatures.

Rich holding a tiny sea star.

The underneath of an urchin.  You can see the mouth.

Crab

Brittle Star

Brittle Star

Chiton

Sea star regrowing a couple of legs.

Eel (we think)

Rich holding tiny octopus.

Octopus

Rich trying to release the octopus.  It didn't want to let go.

After tide pooling we explored Pacific Grove a little more.  We checked out the small, but interesting P.G. Natural History Museum.  Then we went to one of the local antique stores.  It is a huge store with tons of interesting and unique things.  Some of the items we would like to own, but could not afford.  It was just fun to look around.

Whale eyeball.  We have seen this a couple times now, but I still think it is interesting.

The museum has a lot of taxidermy of local wildlife.

I was super excited to find these milkweed seeds at the gift shop.  It is the host flower for Monarchs.  I have been looking for some with no luck.  Maybe we will get some Monarchs to land and build chrysalis in our backyard.

Jelly Belly Factory

For Ava's March preschool field trip we went to the Jelly Belly Factory.  Rich took the day off and joined us for the adventure.  Since I don't like Jelly Bellies it wasn't that exciting to me, but it was fun being together as a family.  Ava had fun seeing her teachers and sampling the candy.  When it was time to pick out something to take home she picked a chocolate bunny instead of Jelly Bellies (that's my girl).

Ava's Got Style

Ava is doing a wonderful job getting herself ready in the morning.  She combs her hair, brushes her teeth, washes her face, get's dressed, and last but certainly not least, Ava accessorizes.  Each morning I look forward to see what Ava will wear and how many accessories she will put on.  Most of the time she puts at least 2 flowers in her hair, but often 4.  She also likes to wear necklaces and bracelets.  Each time she emerges from her room I smile and tell her how beautiful she looks.  Ava smiles a sweet smile back and has a look of satisfaction for a job well done.  When we go out in public she often gets compliments on her fun style and many smiles from the grandmas in the crowd.  It is such a joy to be the mother of a wonderful, fun, and creative little girl.  I am proud of Ava for making the effort to get herself ready and I enjoy seeing what interesting look she will have on each day.

Ava really likes shirts with flowers on them.  Usually as soon as I wash them she is wearing them again.  On this day she wore a big flower hair clip and a big princess headband (she calls her crown).

I call this Ava's "Mr. T" look because she has almost every necklace and bracelet she owns on.  And yes she likes to look pretty even when playing outside and holding a worm.

On this day Ava surprised be by wearing her panda hat and not putting flowers or bows in her hair.  I'm not sure why she chose to wear a skirt and jeans, but I just rolled with it.  It actually wasn't as cold as she makes it appear.

Ava wearing 4 flowers, necklaces, and bracelets.  It is always funny to me when people comment on how "girly" Ava is because she is almost always wearing her Toy Story cowboy boots or Boba Fett shoes.  I think she is a good mix of "girly" and a tomboy.

Ava likes helping me clean the bathrooms because she gets to wear a swim suit.  Don't worry I don't let her use harmful chemicals.  I mostly use natural stuff.

Sac Zoo

 A couple weeks ago Ava and I went to the Sacramento Zoo with my parents.  As soon as we walked in the zoo gate Ava wanted to ride the carousel.  That is really all she wanted to do.  We walked around and look at some of the animals first, but she kept talking about the carousel.  We ended up riding the carousel 2 times and both times she chose to ride on the panda.  When we were done she asked to ride it again, but I told her next time.  Ava quickly got over it when we rode the mini train.  We had a wonderful day and were all tired by the time we left.

I didn't realize flamingos kneel with their legs forword.  It looked weird.

This otter reminded me of Ava because it was sleeping sucking its tail just like Ava sucks her thumb.

Ava getting ready to get a picture of an Anteater.

This Orangatang used a cardboard box for protection from the sun.  It was quite active and took the cardboard where ever it went.  It was interesting.

Ava insisted Nonna be in this picture with her.

Ava with Papa & Nonna.

If you look hard enough you can see we are all in the picture.  Somehow we all managed to squeeze in one tiny train car.  Good thing it was a short ride.

We waited in line for over 30 minutes to feed the giraffe.  Ava was excited until we stepped onto the platform and we got close to the giraffe.  I'm not sure what scared her but she wouldn't feed the giraffe.  Nonna & I did.

A really tired girl after a long day.

Ava is 4!

Yes, yes, I realize Ava has been 4 years old since January, but I'm just getting around to this post.  I have been busy with other things and not keeping up with my blog like I want.  Part of the problem is we didn't go to the doctor or take Ava's 4 year old pictures until the middle of February.  So now that it is the middle of March most of this post will be obsolete.  Ava keeps growing (too fast for me) and I'm sure she is already bigger than her stats from the doctor.  She also changes her mind frequently on what she likes, so her favorites list could have already changed to something new.  That is just life with a beautiful, wonderful, constantly growing, big 4 year old girl and I LOVE IT!

4 year old checkup:
Height:  39 3/4 inches, 50%
Weight:  33 1/2 lbs., 50%
-Ava also had both her hearing & vision checked and she did wonderfully.  The M.A. was impressed how well she sat still and followed direction during the tests.
-Ava had 3 shots, but barely cried.  She was so brave and tough.  She cried for less than 1 minute and then was ready to go.  Ava was excited about her stickers from the doctor's office and our special lunch at Taco Bell. 

Favorite color?    All of the colors 
Favorite toy?    Babies 
Favorite stuffed animal?    Cheese Curl 
Favorite thing to sleep with?   Babies 
Favorite fruit?    Strawberries 
Favorite cereal?    "Daddy’s Cereal" (Frosted Mini Wheats) 
Favorite thing to eat for breakfast?    Cereal 
Favorite thing to eat for lunch?    Macaroni & Cheese with Peas & Broccoli
Favorite dessert?    Chocolate Milkshake 
Favorite drink?    "Daddy’s Chocolate Milk" (Chocolate Almond Milk) 
Favorite dinner?    Hot Dog with cornbread
Favorite animal?    Panda 
Favorite book?    Spider Book from library because it scares mama 
Favorite song?    Popcorn Popping 
Favorite game?    Scooby Doo Dominoes 
Favorite TV show?    Dora the Explorer 
Favorite movie?    Cinderella 
Favorite thing to do outside?    Play School with Daddy 
Best friend?    My cousins
What do you want to be when you grow up?    A Mommy and a Missionary

  

We ended our photo shoot with one of Ava's favorite things to do at the temple, a doughnut picnic.