Joe's First Ultra Run

Cuayamaca 3 peaks 50k- July 14, 2012

Last weekend the four of us packed up the car and headed south east into the San Diego mountains. Paso picacho campground, campsite #33



The camp site was beautiful! But I wish it was not 4 hours away and Olivia did not get car sick. I was so proud of myself for being so well prepared when we had to pull over on the side of the road.



We woke up super early on July 14th and waited at the aide station next to our camp site for daddy to run by. The girls were a little overwhelmed at 6:45am.



Olivia and her pout!


Daddy is on his way, he is just a speck in the background.



Watching joe run brought tears to my eyes. I am so proud of him for running an ultra marathon. He is setting such a good example for our girls; not only health and fitness but determination and endurance.



Back at the campsite the 3 of us girls made ourselves busy while daddy ran 32 miles in the mountains.
We met a friend Delilah and made several crafts with her family. We attended the junior ranger program and rescued our food from the crazy squirrels.
After I gave the girls lunch we packed up and drove out to the finish line. The volunteers at the race were happy to see the girls and their awesome signs again. Audrey was so cute, I got her clapping and cheering for every runner that passed us by. That brought a smile to almost everyone.



I parked on the side of the road and opened up the back of the car for them to play and look out for daddy.



Here he is at the finish! He came in 38 out of 84 people who finished the race. Not too bad if I say so myself!



I asked the girls to pose with joe and their signs before we drove home the next day.


As you can see baby rapunzel went to San Diego too! She washed up very nice after I tied her up in a pillow case before throwing her into the washing machine.

Location:Crazy Mountain Range near Julian, Ca

Red carpet madness

Celebration Kids has a summer kick off party a few weeks ago (at the end of June). Their theme this year was the red carpet. Audrey, Olivia and I pulled out all of our jewelry, high heels and lipstick for this big event.



Audrey went on stage early in the event. She helped herself to a feather boa and felt right at home. This was very unlike her.


Audrey and Kaia, sharing a hug. This was Kaia's last week at celebration kids. Next year she will attending Los Feliz Arts Charter School with her big sister Luna. We are number 195 on that waiting list.


Olivia was looking cool!


Audrey's best buds- Kaia, Sophia and Luisa.


I am so sad that this trio has been broken up! Sophia will be attending Hamilton in Pasadena this fall.

Location:Celebration kids, South Pasadena, CA

Fun with bell pepper

Olivia is now a little girl, who still loves to sit on the counter while I make dinner. She recently decided that she likes to eat bell pepper like an apple.



We grew this one in our garden!

Location:N Avenue 52,Los Angeles,United States

Beach Day

Last Sunday I packed up the family and joe drove us out to the beach. The four of us had a very lovely afternoon. The weather was perfect, not too hot or too cold.



Audrey loved putting her feet in the water.


Olivia loved playing in the sand. Joe and I dug a big hole and Olivia decided to climb on in.


I am sure glad that I had my sunglasses with me. Someone got a lot of use of them.


Audrey found a sand dollar and was very excited.



The girls had fun making a sand castle. But I think the best part was fetching the water.





Olivia was too tired to walk on the way home. She has too much fun making sand angels.








Olivia enjoyed a snack while wrapped up in a towel after a face plant into the water.


We cannot wait to go to the beach again!

Location:Annenburg beach, Santa Monica, CA

Olivia's Birthday Party

Olivia celebrated her third birthday at peekaboo play land with her friends back in April. She talked about having birthday party months before her birthday, and was very excited to invite her friends from school.



Olivia's actual birthday was Saturday April 14th, the day we boarded the Fantasy ship from the Disney cruise line. I knew that I needed to throw Olivia a party, but did not want to host 40 people at my house the week we returned.


Peekaboo play land was the perfect venue. We had a Friday night party from 6-8pm. All I needed to do was bring the food and drinks.


Olivia loved it! She has so much fun playing with her friends. Here she is smiling with Silvie and Lucy.


There was a huge bounce house and slide to play on.


Charlotte had fun on another climbing structure.


Audrey had her face painted princess style. This is the only picture I managed to get.


Olivia the kitty cat had a great time. I picked out a pretty purple dress for her to wear at her party. But she decided to wear a princess shirt that she pulled out of her friends cubby at school. She can be very frustrating.


We tried to get a good group shot of everyone.


I think these 2 are the best.


Everyone loved the cake.


The best part about the party was not having to clean up!


At home the girls had fun opening up all of Olivia's gifts. All of our family and friends were very generous.


The early the next morning Olivia woke up and asked for cake for breakfast.

Happy birthday my sweet Olivia!

Location:N Avenue 52,Los Angeles,United States

Our first camping trip

The Ward family took their first camping expedition this past weekend. We booked space at San Onfre state beach a few months ago for the memorial day weekend. I used to camp there years ago when I was in college. I thought it would be a great place for us to start since it is so close to the city.



Here is our tent. My brother gave this tent to us a few years ago. We were thrilled that is was so beautiful when Joe put it up.



Olivia and Audrey settled into the camp site while munching on Cheetos.



Audrey had fun trying on daddy's hat.



Olivia had fun with dad's hat too!



Audrey and Olivia has so much fun roasting marshmallows around the fire pit! They loved eating s'mores! I think it was the highlight of their trip. This was the best shot I could get in the dark.



Olivia was her silly self at breakfast yesterday morning. She is so cute when she is not misbehaving!!



Audrey and I took a self portrait! The girls had so much fun camping, but we did come home with several scrapes and bruises. The girls loved running down the trails to the beach and dancing around in circles. I think the total could was 3 scraped knees, and I bloody elbow.






After 3 trips to the beach, 2 camp fires and fun camp site activities we packed up and went home yesterday afternoon. The girls has a great time. I never knew that camping would keep them so entertained.

Location:San Onfre State Beach

She is still sobbing!

Olivia threw a huge tantrum for daddy a few weeks ago. She lost her swimming privilege for the day and was irate. Earlier in the day Olivia was rude and did not listen to her mommy's words. Joe offered to stay home with Olivia while I took Audrey to her swim class. Joe sent me this image while I was gone. Olivia was screaming and yelling, stripped off her clothes and suddenly fell silent. Joe found her passed out sniffling in her sleep.

Location:N Avenue 52,Los Angeles,United States