First Build of 2016!!

It was a sunny day for building!

She only wanted me to help her.  

Teamwork!

Happy little hammerer!

She did a great job!

No fingers were injured today....

I am very serious about reading all of the directions.

A squinty pic of our finishe products... they were little boxes that rotated on a base... to advertise the new Kung Fu Panda movie.

Yippee for the first Kids' Build project of 2016!  We built a little wooden box that spins around - instead of letting us paint them, they gave us stickers to decorate them - to advertise the new Kung Fu Panda movie.  Danni and I built these all by ourselves!  Danni did not want ANY help from the grown ups... only from me!!  I was a very patient and kind teacher.  And no one ended up whacking anyone with the hammer!  (Whew!)  We love making projects at Home Depot -- we hope that our Saturdays stay open so that we can make it to all of them!!  :)

Cutest Gardeners on the Planet!

Watering the flowers and veggies (and not my sister!)

Danni and Daddy harvested the veggies while I gave them a drink.

I was tempted to spray her!

She got a turn with the hose too!

It's Tropical Storm Danni!

Spraying the lettuce plants!

Mommy's school has a cool garden... but what happens when the kids go on vacation and there is no one to water it?  WE step in!  We took care of the garden for 3 weeks while school was out.  It was fun to water and to help pick the veggies... but do you think we ate any of them?

Ice Skaters!

My first time on REAL ice skates!

She was having a rough time.  Her skates squished her toes.

Daddy was a little dramatic about the cold.

I was doing a great job of learning the ropes!

Still smiling even though it was frustrating to fall a lot!

Go, Z, go!!!

Ready for a break in the Penalty Box!

Soon after Mommy put her camera in the car, this one was smiling, laughing and zooming around and *I* was the one with a sad face!

Danni had so much fun ice skating with her girl scout troop last year, that we decided to go as a family!  I was excited to try it out.  I quickly realized that it is not easy to ice skate!  I got a little frustrated about slipping and falling... but I came a long way in my skills by the end of our skating session!  I was able to get off the wall and skate around holding Mommy or Daddy's hand... and I could do so without falling (or dragging one of them down with me!)  I think that after a few more attempts, I will be able to skate on my own!!  I'm not giving up!

Predawn Rose Parade Float Inspection!

This was the first float that Danni saw with pink flowers on it... so we had to take a pic!

She liked these roses too... but it was hard to keep her eyes open... it was EARLY!

Good morning, sunshine!  (Although this was the only sunshine we'd see for a few hours!)

Gummi bear fun!!

I liked this car... and the Caution tape too!

Papa's favorite float!

We tried to convince the Trader Joe's people to give us a balloon... it didn't work!

Our 'dark morning' selfie with the dragon in the background!

Even though she was tired, she still liked this ballerina float!

And the heart float too!

I was sleep-float-admiring!

We met the Clydesdales... they were all nice and toasty warm in their trailers.

On New Year's Day, we got up suuuper early (Danni calls it 'dark morning' when the sun isn't out yet!) and headed over to Pasadena to check out all of the Rose Parade floats before they rolled down Colorado Boulevard at 8 a.m.  It was really incredible to see all of the individual flowers on each float -- you just can't see the detail on TV... It was also cool to smell all of the flowers.  Even though I am a boy, I thought it smelled really nice!!  ("It smells like YOU, Mommy!")  We saw every float that was in the parade, and we stopped to chat with some of the float drivers.  Did you know that the Disney float had 5 drivers underneath it!  Crazy!!  We were grateful to get out of the cold -- we cruised home, stopped for some cinnamon roll french toast for breakfast, then made our way to our living room to watch the parade on TV.  Afterward we (willingly!) took a long nap and then continued to enjoy the New Year!  Happy 2016!

Happy New Year!!

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Hope that your 2016 (and ours!) is happily crazy!!!

Fearless Fun at Funtopia!

Ready to climb!!

I made it to the top of the towers eventually!!!

Brave little climber girl!

Climbing the walls!

She wasn't afraid at all!

Determined!

To get down you have to bounce away from the wall!!

She liked climbing the letters the best!

A smile from up high!

This obstacle was tricky because the ladders moved!

Back on solid ground!

Spider Z!

Almost all the way to the top!

The obstacle walls were awesome!

With it being cold and rainy, Danni and I haven't had many (constructive!) opportunities to burn off our energy... Luckily, our parents found a cool kids' climbing gym in Costa Mesa called Funtopia!  We spent an afternoon there exploring and climbing all over their obstacles!  It was a great workout and a ton of fun.  Mommy and Daddy were proud of how brave we both were -- we tackled every obstacle without hesitation and we weren't scared at all!  I can't wait to go back!!!