Aquarium of the Pacific (I totally got to touch a jellyfish!)

A few weeks ago my Mom gave us 2 coupons for adult admission at the Aquarium of the Pacific. I put them on the fridge and figured we would find some time this summer to go. Then I realized that they expired on the 30th of June. SO, we decided to take a last minute trip to Long Beach since we had to be out in the LA area Sunday evening for a family function. 

The Aquarium of the Pacific is a great place to spend the afternoon. 

Phi was excited to see everything. Louie was freaked out by the ability to get close to the wild animals. 

Louie took a picture with this little guy because he is a "Little Blue Penguin" and she is a "Little Louie Blu"

My favorite is photographing the jellyfish.

This place has a lot of touch tanks. Louie wouldn't get near them, but Phi touched a lot more this time around than last time. I was super excited to touch a jellyfish. I have always wanted to do that.

Of course the Sea Otters were a big hit. We all love the sea otters.

It was a great outing with a break in between for a yummy (but pricey!) lunch at Bubba Gumps. Thanks for the coupons Mom and Pops!

#likeagirl

You....

"..run like a girl."

".. kick like a girl."

".. throw like a girl." 

I have 2 daughters. I grew up in a family with all sisters. I have never liked the expression "...like a girl". While at our local Movie in the Park the man running the show used this exact phrase at least 3 times. This man is a pastor at a local church and I am sure did not mean to insult every girl sitting in the crowd, but he did. It has been on my mind for days now.

These terms are all meant to be insults yet are such an okay part of our language. They are meant to say that you doing something wrong, or weakly. This is not meant to be a compliment. 

Then one of my favorite blogs (Girls Gone Child) talked about this very topic and shared this video from Always...

My job is to make sure that my daughters know that "like a girl" means strong and powerful and amazing because my girls are strong and powerful and amazing. 

8 Years

The day I married Joey was an amazing day. It is in my top 3 days of all time. You can guess what the other 2 are. The day I met Grover at Sea World and my First New Kids on the Block concert! Just kidding, obviously it was the days our girls were born. 

Today is our 8th wedding anniversary. And even though we are settled nicely into marriage, I feel like I did anything but settle when it comes to Joey. 

 The 25 years of my life before I met Joey he was out there. I sometimes think how all those years we were just living our lives in what seems like 2 different worlds. We each made our mistakes and took the hits and we both wear the scars of life before. Before us. We were 2 kids from different places and families who somehow ended up where we are today. Happily married to each other. When I stop to think it seems impossible that this boy from Covina would one day meet this girl from Moorpark. But I thank my lucky stars that it was possible.

I am so happy to be celebrating 8 years with the coolest, funniest and most caring man I know. Marriage is about compromise and working as a team but Joey also makes it about adventures and laughter. The last 8 years have been amazing and I cannot wait for what the future has in store.

Happy Anniversary Babe

P.S. I Love you

Forever and Today.

Soar into Summer

Every summer it feels like a balancing act with work and keeping the kids entertained. I hear that these little people need sunshine, social interaction and entertainment. As a way to make up for the many hours my kids spend in an office we try to find cool places to take them when time allows. 

Yesterday we left the office a little early to head up the mountain a little to Oak Glen, Ca. Everytime we go there I am amazed that this little piece of forest is 20 minutes away from us! The Wildland Conservancy along with our local library do this program every summer called S.O.A.R (step outside and read). It is the usual story time and little craft project, but out in the great outdoors! 

We have not been to the trails here in awhile and they have really stepped it up with the signs and fencing. I wish they had longer hours during the summer because this would be such a great place to hike after work.

We were the first ones there and we set up with Ms. Nancy and waited for the rest of the kids to arrive.

I know that the day that Phi is not going to want to attend these things is coming soon. I am glad that she still seems to enjoy them now. I also have her enrolled in writing/art class at the library for older kids.

It is pictures like this that really show the age gap between these 2.

Of course I was the mom with the dslr camera, iphone camera and the ion video camera. I was screaming "mom blogger". I am still working on getting use to workig with the Ion camera. Here is some clips from our time with SOAR in Oak Glen. 

SOAR into Summer from Elissa Lerma on Vimeo.

Knitter Please: Granny Square Blanket

Click on the picture to check out my latest yarntastic creation! 

Happy Father's Day!

I love filling these out with the girls every year. It is so funny how their answers change from year to year! 

Here are there fill-ins for their Tata...

And here are the fill-in for their Poppa.

My girls and I are so lucky and blessed to have these 2 amazing fathers as ours! My Pops is an amazing dad and and even more awesome Tata! One day when the girls are older they are going to be amazed at how much their Poppa was involved in everyday of their lives. How much he wanted to be there to be the one to comb their hair and help with homework.

Happy Father's Day!

Ex's

If you have the 1994 edition of the MHS Excalibur
 yearbook you can find this picture! 

The other night at dinner, Phi asked Joey and I if we had gone to our high school proms. Of course I did and of course Joey didn't.  The conversation lead to Phi asking us if we had boyfriends and girlfriends before each other. Then it lead to asking us how many!

We talked a little about some of the guys I dated in high school and college. There was the future fireman, the basketball player, the EMT, the Marine and a few more in between. Thanks to Facebook I was able to pull up pictures of a few of my ex's to show Phi.

With every picture she laughed at the guys and keep saying the same thing over and over, "I cannot picture you with that guy!". After our talk she said that Poppa was the only guy that she could picture me with. It made Joey and I happy, because that's they way it suppose to be and the way we both feel. 

Dirt Road Diary: Silverwood Lake to Lake Arrowhead

We managed to fit in an off roading day on Sunday. The Landcruiser Crew (8 of us this time!) headed up and started, kinda by accident at Silverwood Lake. A wrong turn had us at a vista point.

The views were gorgeous and as the guys consulted maps we got to enjoy the view of the lake.

2 ex-punk rock guys. In their peak they were surrounded by girls at rock shows. Time sure have changed, still surrounded by girls, now they are their daughters and wives. How times change.  

This was a new trail for all of us. With Joey taking the lead and a map with very little details, a lot of time was spent looking over maps and keeping our fingers crossed that we found the right trail.

As we traveled up the mountain the lake view was getting smaller and smaller.

We had to laugh when we saw a speed limit sign.

Traveling higher and higher.

Seems like dead carcasses are common place on our trips. This time it was a poor fox.

The roads were took had names like 2Y27G and there were different routes that had different levels of off roading difficulties. This would be a really great trail for the guys to take without the kids. When we have the little ones we always tale the most easy trail.

After an hour or so on the dirt roads we stopped for lunch. We found some shade, pulled over, opened up the tailgates and had some food! Matt has a refrigerator in his Landcruiser and this was the first time we used it. It was perfect for storing the sandwiches I made, as well as water bottles and chocolate! No more coolers or packing ice!

Mateo always looks at Joey that way.  A mix of awe and fear. 

Back on the road and the more we traveled the more forest-y the area got. The weather is starting to get to the hot side, but as we climbed the weather cooled down. We spent most of the drive with the windows closed and the a/c on!

The original plan was to take trails all the way from Silverwood Lake to Big Bear Lake. We stopped in Cedar Glen. Karla, the kids and I hit up a thrift shop while the guys figured out the game plan for the rest of the day. We were all happy when the plan involved a Mexican restaurant, dinner and yummy strawberry margaritas! A perfect ending to another amazing adventure!

Here is a short video from the road.....
(please excuse the corny country song. It was all that I had on my computer that fit the scene!)

Dirt Road Diary: Silverwood Lake to Lake Arrowhead from Elissa Lerma on Vimeo.

 (click on the HD to watch this video on HD on Vimeo. Totally worth it!)

Dance Master Felix

While the family was over last weekend the kids announced that they had made a video. So we all sat around the tv, fired up the Roku and logged into Youtube to watch this.....

I love have funny and creative these kids are! 

Louie's 4th Birthday Party

We were so excited to have the family stay over in our neck of the desert for the weekend! We had so much to celebrate. Saturday was Phi's First Communion and on Sunday was Louie's 4th Birthday! I was very out of character and did not make a big elaborate plan for the festivities. I figured we would roll with the day and fit in cake and presents in somewhere in the day.

We had a big breakfast, and had staring contests and "who's taller" contests...

Chone won!

With her Nana and Tata, her cousins, her Grandpa Bobo, her Nina, Nino, Tia, Tio, Momma, Poppa and Sister all around her Louie got to blow out the candles on her ice cream cake.

Oh this sweet little always dirty face!

And there were gifts! I love Louie's expressions!

And we saved the gift from her Crazy Nina and Nino and cousins for last because it was something that Louie has been wanting for so long. About a month or so ago, while at a toy shop in Palm Springs, Louie picked a little Calico Critter catalogue. She has been carrying it around and telling anyone who will listen that she really really REALLY wanted the Sea Otter Family.

We knew she would be so excited to open this one.

It was a small celebration but filled with so much love and laughs and happiness. What more could we ask for!