3-Week Recap

So, once again everybody is sick, so I'm going to use that as my excuse for not posting recently. (We just have colds, but no illness is minor to my sweet little girl, who thinks she's dying and wants to take everyone with her.)

We are looking forward to a visit from Nana and Al this weekend, and since they'll be arriving sometime this afternoon I know that if any posting is to be done, I'd better hurry up and do it before I'm too busy again. So . . .
Three weeks ago:

Labor Day Weekend! We drove down to Hermosa Beach to their Arts and Crafts fair. It was basically our substitute for the LA County Fair, which we're skipping this year. (Too big, too hot, too weird - the animal exhibits were sponsored by McDonald's). The Hermosa Beach thing was pretty fun, and since it was coastal, the weather was great.

Two weeks ago:

Santa Monica Beach! I have a policy of no cameras at the beach, so no pics. We did have a great day, though. It was overcast and a little chilly at first, but that meant there were no crowds, so it ended up being good. I went boogie-boarding for the first time this year and had a blast, even though Ryan got stuck comforting Elise, who really wanted to be with me. She loved the water, which surprised me, since we're still trying to convince Connor that it's something worth touching. His passion is the sand, not the surf.

One and a half weeks ago:

Joy School! Connor started his first day of a co-op preschool program we're doing this year. The name makes it sound like a church thing, but it really isn't. It's a do-it-yourself preschool curriculum where a group of moms take turns being teacher. I'll write a more detailed post after next week, when it's my turn to teach for the first time. So far, though, it seems great. You have to pay for the curriculum, but it's definitely worth it, they pack a ton of awesome stuff into every lesson. I'm a little nervous for my turn, since the other moms have done this before with their older kids, but I figure my experience teaching the 3-year-old sunday school (Sunbeams) at church will help a little.
Jane, Connor, Ella the Elephant (floor) & Daniel at Claire's house (Daniel's mom). A fourth little girl named Ruby just joined the group, too!


One week ago:

Camping! We drove up the Angeles Crest highway last Friday evening to go camping for the first time since Connor was tiny. I even bought a $120 new tent for the occasion big enough to hold two adults, two kids, two dogs, and a bunch of stuff.

We had to put the kids on the picnic table to keep them out of the fire. Elise has just learned to smile for the camera.

The night did not exactly go according to plan. Right after sunset Connor fell in a patch of stickers and filled, filled his hands and knees with tiny slivers. I was two minutes from taking him to the emergency room, but Ryan prevailed on me to let him pull them out. So, for about an hour he and Connor sat in the camp chair with a flashlight and tweezers with only partial success. Connor toughed it out, although he refused to use his hands the rest of the night, and made us feed him dinner bite by bite. That night, everyone went to sleep pretty easily, but at about 1am, judging by the moon, Elise decided she wanted to go home. She was not happy with her surroundings and couldn't be comforted. I'm surprised her screams didn't get us kicked out of the campground. Anyway, I ended up taking her outside for a walk in the moonlight (beautiful, by the way!) After what seemed like an hour, we tried the tent again, and this time she went to sleep without much fuss. Oh, but I discovered that Connor had taken over my sleeping bag, so I had nowhere to sleep, but anyway . . .
The next morning - totally refreshed!These are the "poky plants" Connor discovered the night before.

We probably won't take the kids camping again for awhile. Elise is just too little - I think maybe 2 1/2 would be an appropriate age to start taking her again. Despite all the problems, though, we really did have fun! (Well, I did, anyway. You'll have to ask Ryan.) The place was gorgeous, and it was good to be able to say we did it, at least.

Our Big Backyard

So, we've been in this house for about six months now, and we still hate it. The pipes have some kind of stagnant gunk in them that makes the water smell, all the doorframes are skewed so that the doors don't close properly, it's infested with rats (the garage, anyway), mice, coyotes, black widows, wolf spiders, squirrels (I consider them an infestation), and hornets. All the decor is circa 1972, and nothing has been repaired or maintained since about then.

This is what we were telling Grandma Cloe about. This is just one of three yellowjacket traps we have hanging near the house. This one has been up for about a week.

One of our coyote neighbors. Apparently there are mountain lions around here, too, although they supposedly never come this far down.

One may wonder, in the face of so much whining, "Why don't you just move?" We could. There are other rental houses in our area, most of which have nicer interiors for the same price. The problem is some combination of laziness and our infatuation with the yard. Even though it's overgrown and has no lawn, it's beautiful. It's up near the mountains, surrounded by trees, totally private for the kids. It's like our own world up here. Kind of like our Silverlake place, but with a much better view. We've gotten way too attached to nature and privacy to be living in Los Angeles, and this rental is the result. For what we can afford, something has to give, and that something is the actual residence, I guess!

We've been able to go hiking quite a bit in those hills - not as much as we claimed we would, though . . .

Big Trees!

Elise's new water toy. Connor thinks it's his, of course.