New Endeavours

Guess what we've been up to! Yes me, the worst gardener in the world, is trying yet again. It is hard to love something that you are so terrible at. I will try again. I have to get better. I can only go up.
My greatest motivation is that the babes are at such a great age for gardening. It really is all a miracle, isn't it? You put a seed in the ground and it becomes this plant which gives you all this food. It really is something to stop and marvel.
So, we will do our best and see if we can harvest a bounty. I am sure we will keep you abreast of our progress.
(The picture below is a great example of how I garden--I spent lots of time building this lovely trellis and it has been standing for a month with nothing growing on it.)

Reality

We've gotten a few bites about reality shows. Nothing too strong, but we don't ever pursue them. The thing is, we might look fascinating to a few people on paper, but the day to day of our lives is quite uneventful.

We recently had a day that would have been great for television. After hearing too much quiet for much too long, I went searching and found the three in the bathroom. In the tub was three sticks of room temperature butter, coffee grounds, tea leaves (still haven't figured out where they came from, as I never found the bags), cooked spaghetti, and a jar of agave nectar (good thing that stuff was deemed unhealthy last month!). H was napping. I was unhappy. Then, Elliott had an upset stomach all over himself, groceries still in the tub. Luckily H woke up at that time to help.

We got Elliott and the tub cleaned up. H went in to use the restroom. She came out and said, "Apparently they put agave all over the toilet seat too."

Fun days. We wouldn't change a thing.

Puppy Love

We got to puppysit for a puppy that H rescued. The three loved the hound out of that thing. He survived us and went to live with the J boys. I think he'll be safer there.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Pizza

We went to Disneyland almost six months ago. For four months--and I am not exaggerating--for four months every night when I would go in to tuck Lucia in to bed, she'd ask "tell me about the Disney stuff." I go through and talk about parades, rides, food, characters. One thing she loved to hear about was how the two of us got to ride on the Dumbo with the orange saddle.
While we were at Disney, my sweet sister treated us all to breakfast with Goofy. There they served waffles shaped like Mickey Mouse and lots of foods that aren't typically served for breakfast (i.e. dessert!). One thing that was really neat was that they served pizza--a macaroni and cheese pizza and a peanut butter and jelly pizza.
I thought I would try to make them at home. I started with the PBnJ. I just bought a ready-made pizza crust. I slathered it with peanut butter then jelly. You see, I am very smart. I figured it out all by myself! Seriously, the only thing I really learned that might be of interest if you wanted to try a PBnJ pizza is to let it cool a few minutes so it sets up. It was pretty slidey when I served it warm. One other thing I did was add sliced strawberries when it came out of the over. Bananas would be good too.
Give it a try. You'll like it. And I'll let you know when we try the mac&cheese pizza.

Memories

Some times when I am in the moment I consider how it will look years down the road. Trying to commit something to memory before it is gone. One of my favorite memories will be when Mazie and I reunited with H and Lu and Bubby after being away a week.

The terrible picture above is of the flowers my darling son handed me in the airport. Oranges, pinks, and yellows. Colors of a mama's happy heart.

Dancing Queens

Our two girls went to a baton camp this weekend. It was all day. All day as in 9:00 to 4:00. It was a very long day for them without a rest, but all the energy kept them going.

Above is a picture of them with their favorite teachers, SW & J. They were very sweet and patient with our two and all the other girls in the youngest class.

At 3:30 the classes put on a performance. There were three classes and the three classes took turns performing three routines. Then they also all danced to one song together.
I hated any kind of performing when I was a child. I hate it even more now. The only performances I really enjoyed were when I was in orchestra--as in one of many. Lucia has always loved attention. I knew she'd do fantastic. I really thought Mazie would be more tentative, more shy. She wasn't. She was just as comfortable as Lucia. The girls had a great time.
And I have to say I Loved watching them. H, her mom, her grandmother, Elliott, and I went to cheer them on. Both Lucia and Mazie were very engaging and really enjoyed what they were doing.
I will never forget watching my girls perform for the first time. I know there will be lots more practices and games and performances in our future, but this first time will be one I'll never forget. I was surprised how much joy it brought me to see my girls out there having a great time.




A few nights after baton camp, I heard Mazie singing the words to A Chorus Line: "Me! You! Give me your attention."

Lucia dances just about everyday. It doesn't matter what she does, usually some sort of twisting and kicking, she always says she is doing a plie'.



We are so proud of our girls and how great they did at baton camp. Thank you to Miss Caty and all her girls for going such a great job.

And More...

After I posted the previous California pictures, I realized I had not included some pictures that are important to me. The one above is of my sweet sister with her sweet son. I love it. I snapped it right before we headed to the airport. I assigned it to her contact on my phone and now get to look at it every time she calls me. It always makes me smile.
We did a few fun activities with Mazie and Avery while they were together. We made watercolors. We played color & number games with M&Ms. We watched a princess movie that Mazie still talks about. One day after we got back home she told Lucia, "You can go with me to Avery's and we can watch the princess movie."
Avery has fantastic hair. One morning, after putting Avery's hair in a ponytail, I decided to try Mazie's. She looked so cute and so grown-up.

One of our favorite things we did while we were together was attend Avery's art class. Her teachers were great. They set up several different stations. The students get to move around as they like. The week's theme was pom-pom art.
I learned lots of neat tricks, sources, and ideas from Avery's teachers. One was to put a little drop of paint in the glue to give it color. How simple is that?

We also got a recipe for the play dough they use. If I am successful making it, I will post it. The picture below is of Mazie cutting her hot dog.
I also had a few more aquarium pictures I wanted to share.

Below is a picture of the eel that Mazie fell in love with. She thought it was an amazing creature.



I love seeing all the flowers when we go to California. Geraniums that grow huge in the ground. Jacaranda trees, purple and splendid (though not this trip). Birds of Paradise (below) and Lilies of the Nile, which I have promised myself I will grow one day. And Jasmine. A house we passed on our twice daily walks had jasmine growing all along their fence on two sides of their house. It was so fragrant and had the sweetest pale pink flowers. And those are Camellias growing up the side of the house. I had never noticed camellias in California before, but they are definitely prevalent.

Mazie loved getting to know Baby Landon. Below she is putting the pacifier in his mouth. He is such a good, good baby. So good, at times I forgot he was there. He is in a good routine, feeds like a champ, and has such a happy disposition. Mazie and I loved our time with him. The other three are still jealous that they have not met him yet.

Two other fun things we did were Shrinky-dinks and cake pops from Starbucks. One of my sister's best friends, Deirdre, whom I happen to adore too, came over one day with two of her children. She bought the Shrinky-dinks. I had forgotten all about them. Isn't it wonderful how simple things can bring so much magic to children?
Jon and Karen were mighty good to Mazie and me while we were there. Adios from California.

California

We did a crazy thing this month. Something we'd yet to do. We split up the family. Mazie* and I took a plane across the country to see my sister and her growing family. It was hard on some accounts but good in many ways also.
H did a great job holding down the fort at home. Mazie and I missed them terribly but had a fantastic time. We were glad to go and glad to get home.
On a rainy, rainy Sunday, we went to the Long Beach Aquarium. They had thee great stations all around the aquarium that were manned by volunteens. So, Avery and Mazie got to feel a large turtle shell, pick up shark teeth and feel sea urchins.


Another fun thing we did was go for yogurt a few times. Mazie enjoyed picking her flavors and toppings.


In case you are wondering, all the gummies were left to wallow in melted yogurt. Even the three-year-old quickly realized gummy bears and worms don't taste as good in cold yogurt.
Here is Baby Landon, enjoying his yogurt. I mean nap.
We went to the beach a few times. One time Uncle Jon ran with Avery and Mazie in the stroller down to the beach and Karen, Landon, and I met them there for a walk along the Strand.

The area Karen and Jon moved to has lots of little parks in the neighborhood. We went everyday to the various parks. Swings, slides, monkey bars, even a rock wall.

We loved our time with Avery, Landon, Uncle Jon, and Tia Karen. Thank you for being so good to Mazie and me. We look forward to our next time together.


Tia Karen sent us home with fun gifts for Lucia and Elliott. A headband and a bucket full of sharks.
*Mazie was chosen for the California trip because Elliott and Lucia got to go away for football weekends last fall.