Nana and Al

Well, two weekends ago we were able to have Ryan's grandparents come (indirectly) from Tennessee and spend a few days with us. We haven't hosted many people here at the house, and I was a little worried they wouldn't be comfortable. Things seemed to turn out really well, though!We were able to go out to eat a couple of times, visited the Natural History Museum, looked around at rental houses, and prepared a nice dinner on Sunday. Nana and Al also both took a turn at playing the Wii (they say they're going to buy one when they get back to Tennessee). We hope they had a safe trip on the rest of their vacation, and look forward to seeing them again soon.

Last weekend we did another beach trip, and I took pictures! (Well, sort of. I took them in the parking lot before we went out there.)All of Los Angeles has been over 90 degrees for the past few weeks, but as soon as you get within 5 minutes of the coast it gets foggy and cool. The water temperature is still pretty warm, though, so the advantage is that I don't have to put sunscreen on everyone, and there are way fewer people there. We had a great day. Ryan and I went boogie-boarding again, and Connor even tried it in the shallows -- he can't even swim and his dad is launching him out on the top of a wave . . .hmmm. He loved it, though, and came running and shivering all the way up to our spot to tell me he had "gone swimming!"

During one of the times when Ryan was out in the water, I was able to watch a little 6-year-old boy get his first surfing lesson from his dad's friend. It was beyond cute. It made me really want to get my kids surfing lessons when they're old enough (if we're here that long.) Heck, maybe we'll get surfing lessons for the whole family! Not that it would do me any good - I can barely even boogie-board. I'm learning, though, that as I get older I care much less about looking like an idiot, which makes life alot nicer.

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.

Body Worlds, and Springville Trip - Part 2

Sorry it takes me so long to post anything. I've been trying to catch up on the chores I left behind when we were out of town. For example, you'll all be glad to hear that yesterday we switched our famously bad phone service to a different carrier (from ViaTalk to Vonage), so I'm hoping we'll be able to make more than 60 seconds of phone calls without things being dropped (It starts in about a week, but the number stays the same). Also, we had to spend an hour Monday night watching Deal or No Deal as we searched (in vain) for ourselves. Those lame cameramen seem to think that people want to look at Howie or the models or something. You could see us a couple of times, but we definitely didn't pick the right seats for achieving fame.

Also, last night Ryan and I went to the California Science Center down at USC and saw the Body Worlds exhibit (no, we didn't take the kids!) We'd been meaning to go all summer, but only now (one week before it leaves) did we make time for it. It was amazing. It was like the first time I dissected something in school, where you suddenly realize how everything fits together and how fragile everything inside us really is. It was strangely spiritual, too, although not in the way I expected. Alot of people speak of the complexity of the universe or of the human body as a testimony to them of the existence of a Creator. This is true, but for me it was more the experience of looking at all these organs and systems in their frozen state, then glancing over and looking at my husband as he commented on what he was thinking. Him, as a mind, a personality, a soul, versus the physical equipment of our bodies. It was a contrast that made me really see that there is more to us than our mortal existence.

Anyway, it was really cool.

In addition, our trip to Utah did not end with us going swimming! We hung out with the family, went shopping, and ate really fattening food (mom's front-loading washer somehow shrunk all my clothes, darn it!) Here's Kelli making beautiful but deadly Oreo Bon-Bons.Ryan flew in for the weekend, and Saturday afternoon we went on a great trip to the Del Mar/Gold Blossom properties. We had a picnic, rode in the back of the truck (while waiting for Vern to return the Rhino), then went exploring all over the land Ryan and I had considered buying. It's awesome land, and we had a ton of fun hiking and riding on it, but if we have any aspirations towards buying a house in LA, however unlikely that possibility may be, it would be stupid to go into debt at this point.

Kyle, Kelli, Ryan, Chuck, Elise, & Mom/Grandma (not pictured: Me, Grammy Cloe, & Connor)

(Stolen photo courtesy of Kelli's blog)

Kevin was able to come see us on Sunday, and again Wednesday afternoon before we left. Here's a video of Elise showing off her new talent for him.

Big thanks to everyone for making us feel so welcome!

Springville Trip - Part 1

Travelling with little kids is not one of my favorite activities, so I'm always grateful when my mom is willing to come take us up to Utah in her R.V. It makes going anywhere so much easier. Two weeks ago, we went up for our "quarterly" visit, and it was really great.

Connor was asleep in the RV with his eyes open. It was creepy.

Wednesday Kelli invited us to go with her and some of her family to the Payson pool. This place is amazing. Even Elise loved it (after she realized I wasn't going to leave her there). I had planned to shell out the money to take the kids to Seven Peaks for their kiddie pool, but this was twice as good for half the price. Thanks Kelli!

We did keep up on the Olympics while we were in Utah. Connor has decided to be the 2020 gold medalist in women's gymnastics. He seems quite secure in his masculinity:

Elise Rides a Bike, Part 2

After waiting and whining for about a month, we finally decided to spend the $150 and get a bike trailer for the kids. We figured, "What's the point in having bikes for Ryan and myself if we can't take the kids with us on rides?" So, we put the thing together, got them tiny little helmets, drove to the park, and strapped them in:Don't they look like they're having fun? They screamed virtually the entire ride. Elise didn't like her helmet, and Connor said we were "Taking a long time". So much for our idyllic plans. At least the kids had fun afterwards at the park:I don't know if I mentioned it, but the entire catalyst for this bike phase we've been going through was that Ryan attended a couple of "Midnight Ridazz" rides here in LA. It's a bunch of goofy people (several hundred) who get together once a month and ride en masse on various routes through the city in the dark. Here's a picture of Ryan's first one, the "Beach Ride" (they all have themes, I guess):

Can you spot Ryan? He was actually talking to me on the phone at that moment, telling me how much fun he was having. After this first ride, he was inspired to realize that what his wife wanted for her anniversary was her own bicycle. Hey, and why not get one for himself, too? (The bike that night was a loaner.) Now, in fairness, the bike he got me cost about $400, and was a great present. The bike he got himself was free, and much less fancy.

We'll have to give the bike trailer another try sometime. Maybe if Elise gets a better-fitting helmet, and we give them snacks or something . . . In the meantime, here is a video of Elise learning to eat.

Hayward Trip

Last Friday afternoon, as soon as Ryan was home from work, we loaded up the van and took the drive north to visit Ryan's family in Hayward. I was pretty impressed with the kids' behavior en route. I didn't even need to bust out the Gameboy for Connor (they certainly weren't good the whole time, but nothing terribly unruly happened.)

Connor is just now getting big enough to play with some of Ryan's old toys, so it was really funny to watch Ryan recreate his childhood. They climbed on the hill, played Transformers & Hot Wheels, read some of Ryan's old books, and Connor even got to go with Ryan's dad to the wrecking yard and drive a forklift (I guess this was a big thing when Ryan was little.)

Actually, Granddad had been looking forward to this doughnut-forklift outing for some time - he had been telling Connor about it for several weeks on the phone. Ryan, Granddad, and Connor prefaced their adventure Saturday morning with a stop at the World's Fair doughnut shop, where Connor got to pick "any doughnut he wanted".

Most of the weekend was a really nice visit. The weather was great, Connor spent alot of time helping Bomi water her garden (and himself), we all played Wii Fit, and had a great dinner out Saturday night.

My apologies for the lack of balanced photo coverage. I always seem to forget to take pictures on trips until it's too late (Ryan took these). Here are some otherwise unpublished photos from our last trip, though:

Baby Elise with Bomi

Aunt Helena (or Hyena, as Connor says it.)

Poor Auggie Doggie. He was Ryan's second dog, and is now lying on that big doorstep in the sky. We'll miss you, Auggie!