Friday afternoon on the beach at Malibu

Scarlett's father's day card

I'm proud of her artistic ability and having seen the work of her peers...its not just my bias. Note how Scarlett has made herself taller than her Dad - what does it mean?

the hike

all this could be mine

Scarlett & Jade



At the polo park there seemed to a fire fighter's meet/brunch going on too so there were a lot of fire trucks about.

Father's Day & Polo

bagels, cream cheese and lox from the New York Bagel Deli

Cream cheese face on the Birthday Queen - Sophie not liking carbs much licked the cream cheese off her bagel.


Will Rogers State park hosts polo games which are open to the public on the weekends in summer. We foraged for our brunch, found a good spot on the bank over looking the polo field and met up with some friends. Our very kind friends - Jessie & John - brought coffee, a special 'fizzy' orange drink which had a kick to it, and some chocolate covered strawberries. It was a really lovely day. Relaxing, sunny, warm...
After the polo we went for a walk (Angelenos call walks, hikes) and that was great, rather dusty and a bit too hot but we coped and enjoyed the views. Scarlett did a better job walking round than the last time we attempted it in January with Em's mum.

Its my ballet show!

A modest Scarlett does not smile at the audience of adoring fans


Quite good posture tho?

Last weekend was pretty busy with a birthday party with Batman in attendance, a ballet show, a big night out for Mummy & Daddy, father's day polo event and of course Miss Sophie's actual birthday, topped off by a bbq in Culver City. Phew.

we finally bought a sofa!

Yes it is pretty white. We bought the spiel from the sales lady who advised that the covers came off and are machine washable, and the arms are easily cleaned by a solution of vinegar and water....sounds great in theory. It looks gorgeous now.

Sophie's 2nd birthday

this fruit looks yummy enough for me to take my yaiya (dummy) out for a second


We celebrated Sophie's birthday fairly quietly with a small party in the park with pink and chocolate mini cupcakes from Yummy Cupcakes on Wilshire. Sophie had at least 3, eating mainly the icing (frosting), and Scarlett had the same but ate the cake and left the icing. Sophie didnt really wait for her friends and tucked into the fruit salad and finger sandwiches before anyone had arrived, moving on to her first cupcake as the first guest showed up.

graduating from preschool

After the graduation sitting in rustic canyon park with a sleepy Sophie


standing up for the ceremony and snuggling piggy


Scarlett had her graduation ceremony a week ago. At her preschool they like to send their little 4/5 yr olds off to kindgarten with a booklet of their achievements and declare them "ready to play with other children". Hoorah eh? So there is a sing-song, the parents come and cheer, and then there is a pot luck afterwards.

A few weeks ago we had a really lovely brunch party thing in a local park called Rustic Canyon. It was a reunion of Scarlett's old friends from her group last year, most of whom are in kindergarten now. Everyone brought something for the feast, including the yummiest bagels I have had in this town. An everything bagel is an amazing thing when it is perfect!
When the brunch finished we went to the beach at Will Rogers state beach park for an hour or so. The sun is strong so you burn in about 4 minutes, but the very strong windchill factor means you do not feel your skin frying - great! So far this year it has been too windy on the beach to hang out for more than 2 hours. The girls loved the warmth and shelter of the beach tent above.

at our new place

Scarlett's swim classes in Venice

She is doing very well and has been declared 'pool-safe'. The surf board trick is to teach them balance and help confidence and concentration.

our new place

the new front door!


the first few minutes

Getting so good at the monkey bars - this was at the Brentwood Farmers' Market which is on Sunday mornings. I had just seen a very odd LA sight as I parked: a lady running in the road along San Vicente (v busy road) who did not look crazy, but instead of sunglasses was wearing regular eye glasses but had stuck a large piece of dark negative film paper which she had cut to shape, behind those specs. Does this make sense? nope, it was weird even if you can't imagine what I am talking about. Also earlier that morning I had passed a fellow jogger who was running with her mud mask on - thus saving time I guess.

the pool at Wanda & Joe's house in the canyons, we had a lovely afternoon of waffles (cooked by me), margaritas (by Wanda and Joe) and of course a swim.