Meet Juanita Yoshida Zelesnikar

The other night, we went to Dave and Busters, the Chuck-E-Cheese for adults. I rock at the first person shoot em up games. I kicked Scott's butt on Ghost Machine and made it up the ranks so much faster than he did - ha! I need to buy one of these machines for our dream house.

There is another game in there called the Gene Machine. It takes pictures of 2 people and spits out what your kids will look like. This is kind of scary, but it was so much fun. Our friends (who are both very fair, and blondish) ended up having two children which they named Pedro and LaFonda. It's amazing how race has nothing to do with what your children will look like! We have fondly named our daugter Juanita Guadalupe Yoshida Zelesnikar. I'm just glad this child didn't get my egg shaped head - which I swear is not like that in person!

A little visit, and off to Sea World

Last weekend, Theresa and her family came to visit (Scott's sister). They are leaving their assignment in Hawaii and moving to upstate NY. I just can't imagine the shock their bodies will go through from living in Hawaii's climate for 3 years, to deplane into 6 inches of snow. I don't think I want to ever leave California after only 6 months here. I like having the option to go to cold weather and snow when you want it - not having Mother Nature force it upon you. We are planning on going snowboarding for Xmas - that's what I mean - go to it when you want it.

It was nice seeing everyone, and the kids gave Bear a full weekend. Actually, I think Bear behaved wonderful with the kids. He was so gentle and patient with then, even with the tail pulling, the teasing, and the occasional kick - which Jessica got in biiiiig trouble for. It's amazing how much I often say I hate the dog, I'm tired and frustrated with him - but when someone does something mean to my dog I go into protective mode. "DO NOT be mean to MY dog". But all my fears about how Bear will react with little kids have been alleviated. Once we break him completely of the jumping on people, he will be perfect with kids.

We went to Sea World on Saturday with everyone. It was a good day. Our only regret was waiting until the end of the day to get on the roller coaster, which got us completely soaked and frozen. We drove home in wet clothes. The neatest part of the park was being able to touch and pet the animals - like dolphins and sting rays. The shows were entertaining - here's a pic. I wish I went to Sea World as a 5 year old, and had the brains to look up the job posting for Sea World on the internet and base that on what I chose to major in school. I think I am going to push my kids to pursue their interests as careers very early on. Hmm, you like playing with legos, that's what architects do!

BNL is still the best

On Tuesday, Scott and I drove up to Santa Monica for Barenaked Ladies concert. It was the best BNL show I have ever been to (and this one makes 5, I think). The show was amazing - it was their Xmas concert. They did a lot of xmas songs, in the BNL style, of course - as well as some of their classic hits and one new song that is coming out shortly on the new album. These guys are just so much fun to watch live, and they had us both smiling and laughing throughout the whole thing. Once of these days, I would really like to be up front for one of their shows.

The opening band was a group called the LeeVee's. They were hilarious - they get together every holiday season and perform songs they have written about Hanukkah. We ended up buying one of their CDs as a present for a gift exchange we are doing some friends this week. The band then went out in to the hall and signed autographs, so she's getting a copy signed by 4 band members! That's a keeper! And it makes no sense, but we are exchanging Xmas gift this week with our Jewish friends. And this was their idea!! AND, Kara want to come over to help us decorate our Xmas tree!

While standing in line for autographs, guess who walked right by us and hung out waiting for her friend to come out of the bathroom? Tiffani Amber Thiessen!! Saved by the Bell, in person 2 feet away from us. I was kind of shocked that in the 10-15 minutes that we were standing next to her, no one said anything or approached her. Then again, neither did we. But that was kind of neat, right after Scott said during dinner "I wonder if we'll see anyone famous?".

And I really like the Santa Monica Civic Center. It was small, a great place to see a band perform. And we were able to park at the Center, walk down a few blocks onto Main Street where there were lots of little shops and places to eat. We then walked back to the Center for the show. It is neat how it is such a walking and small community, and it was 2 blocks from the beach. This beats driving to the metro, taking the metro to MCI, fighting the crowds and waiting in line for any type of food, and having seats so far away you only see the color of shirt the band members are wearing.

Overall, a great BNL experience - see you next year!