Happy Hollow Park & Zoo

Finally the Happy Hollow Park & Zoo has reopened and after this visit we decided to get an annual pass--so we'll be here a lot more often! The had a couple of neat rides and the girls got to go on their first "roller coaster"--hopefully i'll get some good shots of that during our next visit.

This was the "frog hopper"--the mini drop zone i guess.

we went with our friends bhawana and her daughter khadijah

Asmaa was balling her eyes out--she was so scared in the petting zoo. There's something about insects and animals that really scares her--i'm hoping she'll get over it one day.

Abdu really wanted to taste the you-know-what!

Random videos

This one's really old--i posted it on youtube right away (to thank Ahmed and Seraj for the beautiful Eid gifts), but forgot to share and show the rest of the family:)

Beautiful jackets for Eid--they're really nice!

Praying--all three of them and I'm not quite sure who the Imam is exactly ;)




Asmaa reciting her favorite surah and in case you don't notice, she says(screems) "balaa" at the end of the surah answering Allah's (swt) question:



And I'm really not sure how understandable it is, but after she recites a few verses in surat Al-Dhuha she states that we've already read the surah. So I tell her that I want to tape her this time so she obligingly wants to start all over again:)

The flower girls

The girls were the flower girls at a friend's wedding and I think it was an event Nusayba won't forget for a long time. These are some photos I and another friend took.

Nusayba was going up to the professional photographer and asking him to take pictures of her--apparently he did! But I haven't seen those yet.






Silly faces...




And a sad one...

The Family's visit and random other things:)

Jelly Belly Factory in Fairfield, CA

Mohammad always has the best ideas....

NOT!

It was amazing, all the pictures they had, like this one of Ronald Reagan, made with jelly beans!

The Suliman Aquatic Center in Newark, CA

We really had a good time here. A really fun indoor swim center--for all ages!

The Jungle

I really liked this shot:)

We spent New Year's in Monterey, CA

I think I overheard a child calling this whale Sandy--it was right infront of a little museum in Monterey.

Nusayba's first dentis visit!

Alhamdulillah, we're fortunate enough to have Muslim women professionals in various fields here in CA. I really wanted Nusayba to see that for herself--Muslim women in such fields.


Nusayba's obsession with slime!

The first time they made putty at school it was wonderful. They got the ratio of glue to liquid starch perfect and the texture was awesome. Nusayba played with it for an hour at school and then we braught some home and she literally played for another hour--straight! I tried to find out what the proportions/ingredients were, but we still haven't figured it out.

Not quite the right texture...

happy nonetheless, walhamduilllah:)


Another day she brought home a different concoction: flour, water, salt with sparkly paint--what a treat:)

funny faces

We bought Nusayba a used camera for Eid, but it's really Asmaa that's taken a liking to it. She took all the pictures here (the one's she isn't in, of course).

Carnival at School

OK, so my new goal is two posts every month insha'a Allah! Now all you have to do is make dua'a:)

This is at Nusayba's preschool (parents nursery school). In the beginning of October each year, they have a carnival that's run by the parents and open to the public. It's pretty cute with games for the kids, food and dessert--basically a fundraiser for the school. Allaedin was out of town so Ahmed and Seraj came and helped me with the kids. How I love having my brothers-in-law here:)

There was another shot Ahmed took with both of them smiling at the camera, but i felt this was more telling of their personalities:) I call Asmaa, Nusayba's shadow!

The kids were supposed to dress-up for the carnival, but I didn't get a chance to go and buy costumes so we picked out some outfits from the dress-up area at school:)