They Must Be Twins! Oct. 3

Even though they are not identical twins, they sure do act like it sometimes. Maia lost her tooth Sunday night and in about 2 seconds, Carissa lost her's. Amazing! Great opportunity for cute pictures. The toothfairy must have been so overwhelmed that she didn't take their teeth or leave anything for them. So I advised the girls to leave them under their pillow one last night. They were so excited to get a dollar (always decorated over the top with sparkles and stickers) and two shiny pink quarters each. The toothfairy really made up for the delay!

Nicholas Sparks Book Signing for Safe Haven - Sept. 24

My friend, Sandy and I went to to Borders in Sacramento to see Nicholas Sparks. We went in the morning to get our wristbands and came back later that night. We had a blast. He hasn't been in Sac/CA for 2 years. I saw him 2 years ago and I swear the number of women in attendance has doubled making it not as pleasant (way overcrowded and hot). I say women because there is always just a handful of men. Last time he was willing to sign a whole stack of books and anything you had. Now he only signs the current release. I'm sly though because when it was my turn, the Borders staff told me no (I brought that last two books and a few older ones), only the current book. I ignored them. I slide two Nicholas' older books in front of him and he signed them. I'm waiting for Sandy to email me the photos of me getting my books signed so I can post them here. I was really star struck when I first met him 2 years ago, but not so much this time. Sandy and I had great Thai food afterwards at a local restaurant nearby.

Our Visit To Solvang, CA Sept. 18 - Danish Days Festival

We went to visit my parents for the weekend to go to Solvang with them. A very cute town. Worth going if you have never been. It's near Santa Barbara in the hills. Solvang began as a Danish-American colony in 1911. In 1936 the town issued an open invitation for others to come and join them in celebrating their Danish Heritage - Danish Days. Next year there is going to be a HUGE celebration because they will be celebrating two events: 100 year anniversary of colonization and 75 anniversary of Danish Days. Eat and shop are the two main things you do here. Be prepared to gain weight. Loved their Danish sausage and LOVED Aebleskiver.Above they are watching Aebleskiver being made. Below is what they look like. A cross between pancake and donuts. Dusted with powder sugar and layered with sweet warm runny jam.

This is Hans Christian Anderson, well, Randel McGee actually. He is a very good impersonator. Loved his Danish accent and super talent. He is by far the best storyteller I've come across. All the stories are from memory with lots of animation in his voice and body language. Lot's of audience participation too for sound effects. The most amazing thing is that he cuts out a delicate artpiece from an oridinary piece of white paper while he's telling his story with tiny scissors. The cut out is a illustration of the story he is telling. I want to try to get him to come to Vacaville to do a show at the library next summer.

He gave my dad one of his cut-outs. My Dad framed it nicely afterwards.

Giant Danish Shoe

Carissa & Maia Go To Hollywood!

Mickey Mouse Star

In Front of Mann Grauman's Chinese Theatre

where all the movie stars go for to watch their movie premier.

The girls with their Grandma and Grandpa Pollaccia.

Judy Garland Feet and Hand prints.

Donald Duck Foot prints.

Shirley Temple's Feet and Hands.

Marilyn Monroe's Feet and Hands. She made did this for her premiere of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. She actually took the diamond out of her ring and used it to dot her eye in her name. Of course, soon after someone stole it. They have since filled it with glass.

Putting their hands on Monroe's prints.

Fist Day of 1st Grade!

Well, here they are on their 1st day of school! Both have been crying all week not wanting to go to school. Carissa even cried herself to sleep a few days ago because she was so upset. So I was worried about Carissa more than Maia. This morning Carissa woke up and actually said she was "sort of" excited to go to school. When we got there I noticed Maia had a half smile for all these pictures. Then they had to wait in line with their class on the playground until they were cued to walk into the classroom. All of sudden Maia started running towards me and big alligator tears. The photo is below...

Above they are waiting in line with their classmates.

Below Maia is making her way over to me as quickly as she can with big tears. By the way, she told me to delete this photo. So don't tell her you saw it. The cutest part of the photo (if you click on it to enlarge), Carissa has a genuine look of concern for her sister.

How lucky! The 3 Amigas get to sit together. The teacher had assigned seating with their names at the top of their desks. Here Maia seems a bit happier.

What you don't see in these photos is Maia crying again and me running for the door.
On my way out I heard, "Mommy please don't leave me."

So what happened when I picked them up?
Both had big smiles on their faces and both liked school. Maia said, "Mommy, school was fun!"

Back To School Night - August 16

Here's their 1st grade teacher who we met on Back to School night: Mrs. Fadelli

Carissa completed her very first 100 piece puzzle all by herself.
This was actually a gift from their Kindergarten teacher: Mrs. Feins

For FHE we were invited to the Henrikson's house to have a little good-bye get together for Candace. She's off to college this week. We even brought Charlie! Scott threw him in their pool for the first time. I was nervous he might drown but he knew how to swim. Pretty amazing.

Josh & Donna in San Francisco - Aug. 15

Josh called us on Saturday and asked if we could meet them in San Francisco. Felt guilty about going to the city on a Sunday but we don't get opportunities like this to see them. They were here for the weekend celebrating their 10 year anniv. We went to the Cable Car Museum, which is free. There are exhibits and actual machinery working the cable cars that are used today. We went to the crooked Lombard St. and to Coit Tower. We did a lot of walking It was warm nice day in the city. Thanks Marlina for watching the girls so we can have a double date.

Animal Day at Discovery Kingdom - Aug. 9

This was our last trip to DK for the summer. So instead of going on rides, we fed the animals and went to as many animal shows that we could. Had a lot of fun! In the photo below, the giraffe is licking Carissa's hair. There was a baby giraffe that was so cute.