I am no expert

After being at Sea World this week I was a little surprised to read that one of the killer whales (actually it was the jumping whale that I posted a picture of in my last post), "attacked" a trainer during a show. All the articles that I have seen about the event use the word "attack" many times, I even saw one called 'Revenge of Shamu'. Now I am no expert on orcas but I don't think that what the whale did to the trainer can be called an attack. She pulled him down and held him in the water with his foot in her mouth, & she swam around the tank with the trainer's foot still in her mouth, but she did release him. The trainer was taken to the hospital and had a broken foot. If this was an attack I think there would have been something more dramatic. Not to say that being pulled under the water by a whale isn't dramatic, but an attack...I am not sure. I saw a video of the alleged attack and the guy videoing the show didn't even know what was happening. He said, "I think the whale is being stubborn." A startling event, yes; a reminder that orcas are wild animals and not tame pets, yes; an attack..I think no.

So Much To Say

We just got back from a fantastic weekend in San Diego and a super trip to Sea World. I have lots of fun things to write about, but those things will have to wait until tomorrow. For now here are a few, actually more than a few, pictures of our adventure at Sea World.

BigZabba and a beluga whale

BigZabba petting and feeding a dolphin

BigZabba was picked to be the helper in the dolphin show!

The killer whale was actually playing with the kids. When they would run in front of the tank she would swim along side them and blow bubbles at them.

We ate lunch with Shamu!

The kids were wiped out after our day. The didn't even wake up when we carried them to bed.

Things Change, but are the Same

BigZabba August 14, 2003

LittleZabba November 24, 2006

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Happy Thanksgiving

I hope that everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. I always enjoy this time of year. I love the extra time with family, the traditions, the spirit of the holidays. (it would feel more like the holidays if it were cooler!) One of my most favorite parts of Thanksgiving is our tradition of decorating Christmas cookies. All of us bring cut-out cookies to my Mom's house, and then after dinner we sit in the garage with the kids with the table full of colored frosting & sprinkles and decorate for hours. Then we take our decorated cookies home, stick them in the freezer and have one less thing to do for Christmas. (this is us last year)


Today was BigZabba's Thanksgiving feast at school. She was an Indian & I was a pilgrim. We feasted on turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes & pumpkin pie at 9:30am. Yummy.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

The Dedication

Tonight was a special night. We had LittleZabba dedicated to the Lord. Our prayer for her is that she will one day grow to love and serve the Lord. As her parents we are commited to providing a Godly home for her to live in and teaching her how to live as Christ did.

The Castle

For those who care.. I have been to the castle where Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes got married. In October 2000 we spent about one month in Bracciano at the castle while DaddyZabba worked on a film. It is a great little town, and the castle was fun to explore & had great stories. We were especially entertained by the story of Princess Isabella. The town is so small that when we told people in Rome where we were staying they said, "Where?" I am sure the town is well known now, after the big celebrity wedding.

7:30pm on Saturday Night

I must be the oldest 30 year old out there...it is 7:30pm on a Saturday night...I am in my pajamas wondering what is the earliest I could go to bed and still sleep all night. Gone are the days of clubbing and late nights at the bar...oh wait..I never did that, I guess those days are really gone now. How sad and pathetic.

Where Has Time Gone?

My baby is 4!! How did that happen? She is so grown up now. BigZabba is now attending Pre-School and is finally loving it. She recently went through a challenging phase of not wanting to leave me, but we pushed through it and now all is well. She is becoming very interested in all things school...reading, writing, etc. She is often found "reading" books and "writing" letters. She enjoys showing off her spelling skills, she knows how to spell her name, and the all important n-o and y-e-s. When she doesn't know what to do, she asks if she can have "learning time". So we get out the pre-school workbook and learn stuff. One of her favorite car pastimes is playing find the car. She can point out any color taxi, a mini-cooper, a beetle, and a pt cruiser. Her current career choices are; veterinarian, sewing lady, car painter, house painter, house builder & artist.

BigZabba is a very special little girl. We love her very much and cannot imagine our life without her. Happy Birthday Baby!

It's Over..I Think

I hesitate to say it, but I think BigZabba's fear of pre-school is over. The last 3 days she has been perfect when I dropped her off. She has been giving big waves, yelling "Bye Mom!" as she walks happily down the hall to her class. The other parents looked as shocked as I was. Ah, another hurdle crossed.

Interesting Spam Quotes

A man came home from work, sat down in his favorite chair, turned on the TV, and said to his wife, "Quick, bring me a beer before it starts."

" 'Look here!' I cried. 'You say he was. You speak as if he were dead. What is all this mystery? What has become of Godfrey
"Well, he was within his rights."

"certainly, sir; and it has the advantage also of being in vogue amongst the less polished"you are joking, lizzy. this cannot be!-engaged to mr. darcy! no, no, you shall not deceiveand poorly, to be thwarted so in my own family, and to have neighbours who think of themselves"it did.

Someone has way too much time on their hands.

The Boring Post

This post is so boring I almost deleted it, but I am keeping it and warning you in advance that there is nothing exciting or even funny here. You have been warned...

Friday I got up early and went to the beach with Lola to run. She ran faster than I did, so she got a bit ahead, but that was ok. I ended up running 8 miles in 1 hour 24 minutes, finishing only about 10 minutes behind Lola..not too bad. Sunday the family went to the beach for a little family excercise time...DaddyZabba & BigZabba on the bike & trailer, Me & LittleZabba in the jogging stroller. BZ and DZ had a great time, me and LZ not so much. She doesn't like the jogging stroller. So I could only stand the screaming for one mile, then turned around and walked the mile back to the car while pushing the stroller and holding LZ. Not too successful. Monday DZ surprised us by taking the day off and we spent the day at Disneyland. That was a blast. We had a great day. After Disneyland DZ & BZ made a kite and attempted to fly it. I had high hopes for my run this morning, but going to bed late and not eating before I went got the best of me. I didn't feel good and I was slow.. 7 miles in 1 hour 14 minutes. This afternoon BZ & I go the dentist. Last time it was a disaster so I am hoping for the best.

I am putting myself to sleep with the "hum-drumness" of this post so this is where I stop.

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Healthy Food

Update - I finally got the photo in here. Here are my two cute Zabbas on Halloween. BigZabba wanted to be a veterinarian, then Cinderalla, then decided on a bride. LittleZabba was Tinkerbelle. Too cute!

I think that BigZabba prefers healthy food. When we are in a rush many times our food is the first thing to go. During those times it is a fight to get BigZabba to eat. Pizza, french fries, hot dogs..she will eat them, but it is not a serene eating environment. Today at lunch we had such a nice time, there wasn't any fighting or even prodding to get her to eat. Her menu was...pears, strawberries, cucumbers, carrots, tomato slices, & a hard boiled egg. What kid would fight about pizza, but willingly eat all those veggies? BigZabba often says, "Mommy we need to eat healthy food first, then dessert." She is the voice of my conscience.