Monday, August 05, 2013

Busy Summer

I think this is our busiest yet.  We simply have not stopped.

Cupcakes have been made.  And, since Laine spends a good deal of her time on the Ipad watching cake decorating videos, she's become a pro with icing.


I attempted the Puppet Theatre.

Upon arriving, Jack proclaimed, "If this is lame, I'm leaving."


We got our tickets.  From a puppet, of course.

Lainey loved it.


Contributed to the art board while we waited for the show to start.



Marionette puppets are for a select crowd.

Jack is not in that crowd.

He had a WTH face on the entire time.

Partially, because of this:


 That's a hooded man operating the puppet.

I thought it was fun. Lainey, too. 



The theatre is darling.


And, the kids got candy afterwards.  

Partial redemption for Jack.



The zoo has seen more of the Starnes family this year than ever before.  We have ventured into areas and exhibits that we had not been to.  Not many people can argue with the excellence of the San Diego Zoo. It's fantastic.

Laine follows this baby duckling everywhere....and shoos her back to mama when she veers too far away.





Kelly and Maggie Beau joined us for the evening.


And, I took one of my favorite pictures ever of Jack.  

So very Jack.


Who doesn't love an escalator in the zoo?



Little ones fuss over who gets to push the stroller.  We are blessed to have babies so close to us.....since baby cousins are so far away.



Skyfari during sunset is gorgeous.



This happened one evening......kids loved it.


The zoo takes on an entirely different feel at night.  We have been to the Fort Worth, Kansas City and Denver zoos at night for Boo at the Zoo, but we were always distracted with the activities.  Nice to check out the animals here.  And, it's SO cool......no sweaty people and less crowds.



Truth be told, I was thrilled to see this sign at about 9:30pm.  It was a long day.


We had a big sleepover this week.  It was 23 hours of chaos and fun.


We hit the beach the next day with the sleepover boys and met some girlfriends from school.


Aren't they sweet and quiet here?  


Not for long.  Zombies eventually emerged.


I took the kids to Balboa Park for professional portraits.

We waited here at the Organ Pavilion while a man played beautiful music.


Melissa captured some treasures.


Balboa Park is a beautiful backdrop.


A few initial pics.  More coming soon.  This was a 'kids only' session, but I sat in one for work.  






Zoo trip after.  I hate being so far south without taking advantage of great things nearby.  So, I gave them options.  Kids chose the zoo.


 I don't often take pics of the animals (why do people do this?).  But, these guys put on a fantastic show.

We learned that 98% of the animals in zoo are born into captivity.  I figured there would be more that were rescued.  Nope.



We briefly visited the Children's Zoo and petted some babies.



It reminded me of Jack at the Deanna Rose Farmstead in Overland Park.  

He's always been easily disgusted.


And, finally, we saw Les Miserables at the Cuyamaca College in East County San Diego. My awesome theatre (still mine in my head) did a special production that has earned rave reviews.

I was in tears both acts.  Truly fantastic.



I saw it in New York about 15 years ago.  Such a great story.

Nearly two weeks until school starts.  I'm going to miss our summer fun!

Next up is a "yes" day.  More on that soon!

17 comments:

Tutus and Choo-Choos said...

Love the professional portraits! Your family is always so busy!

Jodee said...

What a fabulous zoo! I always take pictures of similar monkeys because they put on such a great show!

Love your new pictures!

One week until school starts here. Boo hoo!

Jodee said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Dee Stephens said...

I was amazed by the escalator at the Zoo when I was there! Amazing! Those photos are awesome as is Lainey's dress! Where is it from??

Emmy said...

I miss the San Diego Zoo! when we lived in in Murrieta we had memberships and it was nice being in the area and just stopping in for an hour or two whenever we wanted.

The pictures look great and looks like your summer really has been busy.
Excited to see how your Yes day goes!

Lauren W said...

You look gorgeous in that professional photograph. Seriously, so beautiful. Is Lainey's dress a Jelly the Pug? I love it!

starnes family said...

Lainey's dress is a harajuku mini from Target! I coveted it forever and finally bought it at 70% off. Even cuter in person because the fabric is soft and fun with the thule underlay. Thanks!!!!

Unknown said...

I just saw this post. Zoo is so fun with you and your family. I have seen that puppet theater. I thought it was free. Looked like a packed house. Not. Jack rules!

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