Spring Break!

Zola and Dirk hit The District for a couple of days earlier this week. Here are the highlights. As usual, click on individual pictures for a closer view.


Looking for dinosaurs at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum.





No sudden moves, and maybe we'll get out of this jam.



The butterfly garden inside the museum was spectacular.






This enormous butterfly has little transparent windows in its wings.




The next morning, Zola decided she wanted a beard. Then she rolled her eyes at me.




We hit the zoo first thing. Zola loved the Pandas



But she spent most of the rest of her time imitating the animals.
(I'm sorry these orangutan pictures are so poor; it was quite dark inside and I avoided the flash to prevent any "Congo"-type reaction.

Monkey see; Monkey do.






(The crocodile-photo was taken at the national aquarium on a different day.)




Inside the bamboo tiger-cage







Dinosaurs at the Zoo?! No way.



Well, apparently they do have dinosaurs at the zoo. Who knew?




And what better way to cap our little trip than with crazy blue cotton-candy-flavored ice cream?

With sprinkles.

January and February 2010

I know it's March. It's a little weak, but here's a quick summary of what we've been doing since Christmas.

We've been really busy around here. In January we visited California. In February we played in the snow and speculated wildly on the continued existence of the sun (findings were inconclusive). Here are some photos.

Christmas Day with Tyson and Kelsie




Visiting the Tide Pools with Natalie and her parents




Although she was a little intimidated by the incoming tide, Zola actually had a pretty good time. I chose to post this picture, though, because it actually lives up to the cliché: it's worth a thousand words.



That's right, this starfish is giving you all the bird.

(I think a seagull got to him first; we found the poor guy on the sand.)


Zola and Natalie loved Grandma's playroom.




Even if there were some hazards. Luckily Zola was okay.





We spent a couple of days at Disneyland.
















Zola's favorite attraction was "Small World." Since it was the first week of January, the ride was all decked out for the holidays.







Directly in the middle of this photo is the ride's main attraction.
It's extremely small. Click on this photo to see an expanded version.
I've zoomed the central figure below.




That's right. It's not Christmas in Hawaii without the King.



Ed and Mimi drove down to spend some time with us.



Everything was going fine until a giant whale ate the girls. So sad.

Leviathan always wins.




Don't ask.




After beautiful southern California, it was really hard to come home to this: 16 inches of snow in the first week of February.




But Jana made everything better with her Valentine's Day surprise. Those are cakes in the shape of those little candy message-hearts that are made of a chalk-like substance.




There's not much to do around here in the winter time.



Except train for a career in Mousketeering. Just like Britney Spears. Yikes.

The Booger Song

An original creation intended, so Zola said, to cheer up her old man.

It worked.

Zola now will only answer to "Maestro." I managed to convince the Maestro to perform an encore for the camera.

The Ruler of Rome

I believe Zola is staking her claim to the Roman Empire.

There are worse people to emulate than Marcus Aurelius. I'm pretty sure the philosopher-king wore Mickey Mouse ears on occasion.

Zola's first quote

Zola colored in a little penguin and then shouted, "He's all tatted up!"

Zola in Philadelphia

Zola went to Philadelphia over the weekend to watch Dirk run the marathon. We didn't snap a whole lot of photos, but we got a few. Mostly of us imitating Rocky. (For the record, I played the role of Rocky's dog.) Click on some of these photos for a closer view.

















And then we went for cheesesteaks. (The guy in the background is a friend who ran the 1/2 marathon.)

Career Services

Here's young Zola at her school, considering her options. Zola is getting to the age where she's starting to think about an eventual career. So far, here are the potential jobs she's investigating:



1. Engineer. Not mechanical, civil, aerospace, or environmental. But a driver of trains. Choo-choo!


2. Baker. It's a little difficult to find jobs at the topless bakery, the threat of burns being what it is, but she's still hopeful. (Zola is frosting Halloween sugar cookies.)



3. Keymaster / Doorkeeper. Just in case Gozar the Gozarian needs entry into our dimension.



4. Professional Football Player. I'm sure even the great Johnny Unitas (pictured below Z.) threw a pass or two with his eyes closed (note: this was Zola's natural pose. We just told her to throw the ball. She's a natural.).





She tends to fumble under pressure, but she can lay the wood on D.
(If you listen carefully, you can hear her ask, "Are you okay, Daddy?" right after Dirk tackles her.)




5. Farmer.








6. Shepherd.



7. Drummer in a Rock Band.




8. Professional Bluegrass Dancer




9. Carnie. As a carnie, Zola could (1) see the world, (2) meet lots of people, (3) not have to worry about dental hygiene, (4) ride all the rides for free. What's not to love about this career?

(Note the classic carnie operating the train, and the tremendous front-butt in the background. This photograph speaks to all of us on so many levels.)







Personally, I'm pulling for #9.