potent tates

2011-11-09T00:04:00.000-08:00

Sorry, Mom, that I took so long getting these pictures up. Halloween, like the past week, went by so fast.

Miles was a dragon. Recognize this costume? Another two-year-old wore it. Was that really two years ago?

Jack was a dragon, too. My friend Marin came through with Jack and Lucy's costumes...we had a rushed weekend, and I didn't get anything together, but Marin happened to have just the costumes we needed.

Bowden came up with his Mountain Man costume on his own.

Lucy was a bunny. The star of the show was a yarn cotton-tail, but I didn't get a picture of it.

Oh. And I was a washed-up punk. Nobody knew me. It was AWESOME.

Miles fell asleep on the walk up. He woke up just in time to trick-or-treat.

The pink cowboy boots matched Lucy's nose.

Miles was sweet on his tickets. He loved them. He had no idea why he got them or what they were for, but he loved them. It was fun. It was tiring. It was Halloween, not a holiday, but a fun day- and now I have three buckets and one bag of candy. Which is good for...cavities, stomach-aches, and bad attitudes. Oh, candy. I love you so much. Sometimes.

2011-11-08T23:35:00.000-08:00

This is the reason why Josh didn't win the pie-eating contest. Look at him giggling while the rest of us are diving in. Pshaw. (I also didn't win. I think that that has more to do with the pumpkin that went up my nose.)

2011-10-16T21:43:00.000-07:00

It took the chickens all of twenty seconds to discover the the maple tree on the center lawn was dropping it's leaves. It's been a beautiful couple of days, nice and warm, and the trees just turned.

Bowden had immediate plans.

Jack was not allowed to jump in the pile until later.

Miles thought the whole things was wonderful.

When the Rooster came out, he taught the kids the ol' Tate game of leaf-catching.

He helped rake, too.

Poor Jack. It was joy and sorrow all day.

See? We have seasons in California!

2011-10-15T11:00:00.000-07:00

We had a really fun-looong- day in Santa Monica last Monday. We ate crepes, hung out with our friend Tim, and wandered about. The worst thing was what happened in these pictures. This man had a cage with bunnies, and the kids swarmed, and I spent all of my last change on it. That's right- bunnies for money. I didn't have any money, so I felt bad. I think I gave him a dollar in change. The kids loved the bunnies. The whole thing was stressful. It was chaotic with the kids, and honestly, how nice can it be for a bunny to be passed around from child to child?
I made Miles sit down, and the guy said, "Oh, yeah, that's a good idea." He was going to hand my two-year-old a huge bunny while standing!

My sister, however, is really lovely at this point in her pregnancy, no? She's pretty.

Lucy took the bunny...and then dropped it. Not on it's back, but still. The bunny was fine, but I was not doing well.

Miles loved holding the rabbit. It was cute. We took pictures- see? Then someone brought an iguana out, a big, beautiful iguana, and I was TOTALLY OUT OF THERE.

I don't know why the whole day was so stressful, but it was. I'm becoming a small-town weirdo.

2011-10-15T10:42:00.000-07:00

When Bowden asks for an inverted Mohawk, we give it to him. It's free, healthy self-expression that grows out. Even if it is ugly as sin.

2011-10-13T22:33:00.001-07:00

As I was sorting Bowden's pajama drawer, I found a sock with an object I thought was a baby ring in the toe. It was actually a rock-hard mini-bagel.
"Bowden- what is this bagel doing in your sock?"
He looked up and grinned. "It's my bagel-sock. "
"Really?"
"Yep. It's the SOCK OF DOOM."

2011-09-27T21:51:00.000-07:00

We had a terrible homeschool day on the Monday before last. Bowden refused to do his math- and sat at his desk or another chair for about 6 hours. It was awful...but I expected it at some point. If you knew Bowden, you wouldn't be surprised.
I was afraid that because he threw the monster fit of the year, he would miss out on our super-fun homeschool field trip to Riley's Farms in nearby Oak Glen. We have been rereading Little House in the Big Woods, and my friend Julie lent me her new copy of Johnny Appleseed, so we were ready for some quality pioneer-times...if Bowden could finish all of the work he neglected.

This is the good thing, and the frustrating thing, about Bowden. He KNOWS this stuff. He can do it, so, once he knew that he had work to make up, and a trip to look forward to, he just did it.
Soooo.....we went! Josh took the day off, so we were all able to go together.
It started with a jamboree. See that talented man in the overalls with the bones? He's my friend Julie's husband Chris. I think that the Fourrouxs may have been misplaced in time, but I'm glad they were.
That's Mr. Riley in the center. The lady in blue has actually come up to our camp with her church and another lady from the Farm, too. They only opened their Farm up for homeschool groups, and our Idyllwild homeschoolers put in a good showing.
Little Becky Fourroux.
Bowden went up and played the washboard.
Jack played the dancing man. (He was super adorable with it.)
(see?)
After the music portion- which I was a sucker for because of the BANJO- we went to the log cabin and did chores. I was in charge of the laundry, which made me thankful for my machine, and also made me wonder how long clothes could have lasted for all that scraping.
Bowden tried his hand at it. That's Anna Fourroux giving the evil eye in the first picture of Bowden. She's actually a very sunny girl.
There were five or six girls that came back over and over again to do laundry. I heard about five or six mothers comment on how they needed to get a washtub and board for their home.
It was hot...Josh rested under an apple tree with the little boys.
Chris and his two overalled boys watched a barbershop demonstration by Anna.
Barbers can be real purty.
Bowden and Jack watered the garden together.

All of us Idyllwild people eating lunch.

After lunch, it was time to make some cider. Miles and Jack were way more interested in their Cheetos and the stream immediately behind us, so they didn't participate much.

After washing the apples in a tub of water, the kids dropped their apples in the grinder. Some body's mom had to turn the crank.

Jack and Miles, wandering the road and throwing grass in the stream.

After we pressed the cider, we went down a ways to the creek to pan for gold. That's right. Gold. It's still there. About the size of grains of sand. When and if you found any, one of the pioneer ladies would tape it to a piece of paper. Lucy showed me the one she found- "See, Momma, it's the big one right there."

Then- hay ride! I injured myself the day before, so you can enjoy my cut.

We toured the apple groves behind one of the most enthusiastic guys ever.

There he is! Riley's Farms are high elevation like us, and you can see more of the mountains rising up in front of the tractor. They have bears over there, and we don't.

Lastly was the corn-husking, cornmeal pounding time. I sat in the shade and observed from a distance. Husking corn hasn't changed much in the last couple of hundred years. We were wiped out, and we had to get our house ready for our Small Group Meeting, so we did not pick apples.

The kids were momentarily disappointed, but we all pretty much felt like Chris.

2011-09-12T22:44:00.000-07:00

Today was our first day of homeschooling. When I told someone at church that we were starting today, and that I was nervous about it, she said as she left, "You'll be on your honeymoon!"

Whoever said this- you were right.

It was awesome. We did everything we had planned to do, and were done by eleven. I brewed tea for us, like my friend Julie Fourroux suggested, and we got down to business. I had planned on starting with math because it is Bowden least favorite subject, but I ended up reading about the fabled beginning of Britain instead, and from there, it worked itself out.

Lucy had more rough moments than my boy Bowden, who hesitated for less than a second a few times before gamely plunging into whatever I had planned. We did our reading, writing and arithmetic with some Blake poetry thrown in, a French lesson from Daddy, too, and a later nature walk and cooking class.

I'm a little scared that it went too well, and that the rest of this week is going to be less than what I'm hoping it will be.

Really, though, what can you do, but give it the best shot you can while you can, and on the days when you lag, to let it lag only so much as you have to so as to not fall apart?

I loved today. Bowden loved today. He told me that he loved all of the things we studied. Lucy, I think, will love it, when she gets used to it. Miles was some trouble, but he'll stop interrupting when I'm reading eventually, right?

I took very few pictures, because, well, we were doing school. At the end of our school time, we did our grammar work on dry erase boards, and then drew pictures.

Bowden tried out the Chinese markers my mom gave us. To sharpen them, you just peel the wood away. It's so fun, it makes you want to just peel the wood away from the whole thing.

Miles almost didn't mark his face. This picture was taken before the blue and orange made tragic missteps off of the sanctioned paper and onto the forbidden face. I think it was an accident. This time, at least.

***

Why did we make this change?

Last year was awful. Last year sucked...excuse the not-quite-profanity (Mom).

Every day we would have our crazy, energetic, smart boy come home unhappy. Every day we would have to make him go to school. Every week he would come home to a consequence for having done something wrong at school. Homework took hours. His attitude became a problem. His teacher was unhappy with him, and we weren't very happy either.

But the worst thing was when he pointed to himself in his class picture out of all the other kids, and instead of saying, "I'm at the front of the reading class!" or "I love science, " he said, "I get in trouble the most. I'm the worst kid in the class."

How long will it be before a child who hears from the people that teach and instruct him that he's bad will begin to believe that he's bad? How long will it take for him to just give up?

Bowden is not a perfect child. He's impulsive and dishonest and disobedient. He lacks self-control, and he needs to learn respect. He is a handful.

He's also super-smart. He's a crazy fast reader, and curious about everything. He has energy that overflows into the people around him, and he's sweet, and loving, and really, one of the best four things that has ever happened to me and Josh outside of our marriage and relationship with God.

The school was not on Bowden's side. His teacher could not see his attributes for his deficits, and he couldn't see them either. We prayed about what to do...like we did when we put him in school, and the home school option crossed over from the unwanted and overly difficult to the option that was best for our boy, our family, and the only possible way to do right by Bowden.

After all, the areas in which Bowden needs help are not academic. They're not social, either. They are Spirit issues- they are a matter of producing the right fruit. His teachers and school, as well-meaning as they may be, cannot give the soil of my children's lives the tending it needs- they have the wrong tools, the wrong fertilizer, and they don't even know the right seasons to plant and to reap.

Homeschooling is the best option for my chicken's growth right now. What healthy parent doesn't want what's best for their children?

2011-09-08T22:30:00.000-07:00

Lucy, tonight, complained about the corn chowder I'd made for dinner, and was reprimanded. She slowly finished her bowl, long past everyone else was done, and as I was cleaning up she said to me, "Next time you make this dinner can we not have dessert?"

2011-09-07T10:38:00.000-07:00

As many- or some- of you may know, I am homeschooling my two largest chickens. I have a ton and a half of reasons why we're moving from public school to home, but I'll save that for another post. I'm not starting until the twelfth of September....because I don't have to.
(This is my favorite thing about homeschooling so far. I say, "I don't have to," to about five million and a half things that annoyed me before. I don't like starting school in August? I don't have to. I don't like going to Back-to-School night? I don't have to.)

Jack-er-whack, however, began preschool on the 22nd, at the public school. We signed him up for the first five program back in April before I had decided to take Bowden and Lucy out of school, and once that decision was made, it seemed like it might be best to continue with that plan as the rest of us settle into our new arrangement.

I took him in without the chaos of seeing three children off to their new rooms, and we meandered around checking out the coolness that is pre-school, like...
....Jack's very own cubby!

....kitchen toys!

.....cars and a toy parking garage!

....a log house with people and furniture!

I know the drill, since Lucy went to this preschool two years ago. We read a few books until it was time for me to leave, and so I went, with a very happy Jack on the carpet. Most of the kids in the class are from our church, so he knew 75 percent from Sunday school already.

The strangest thing about it all is that I spend three hours with only three of my babies, and I feel lost without the third-child. I think that it will be better once I'm busy with school-stuff, but to be honest, if Jack didn't LOVE pre-school as COMPLETELY as he does- if he didn't brighten up at the idea of going to school in the morning- I would pull him out and keep him with me.

For this transition period, I think that it will be easier to have him away for those three hours, but, still....I miss the Cranksta. (He ain't a Gangsta...he's a Cransta...JACK!!!!)

2011-08-16T11:53:00.000-07:00

My visit with Rosie was a blast. It takes about a million years to get there- okay, not really. I'm a traveling pansy. It was about a twelve hour one way because we took a couple of side trips beach-ways. (I had said that it was twelve hours round-trip earlier...I would really be quite a weak traveler if six hours was too much for me to handle. Doesn't 12 hours one way sound tiring? We stopped halfway to stay the night both up and down, but still.)

Once we got there, our days were filled with so much fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We went swimming in the river. Bowden saw a "water-snake" that turned out to be a lovely yellow and brown rattlesnake. We didn't go swimming anywhere near there, though.

Miles and Seaside played together.

Naps were taken, but not by me.

This boy made these faces, just to melt his aunt's heart.

We ate many meals.

Selah smiled for me.

Nanny demanded poses.

We danced some...

...at our lemonade stand.

Rosie was very welcoming.

So was Isai.

We love those P-Ws!

2011-08-16T11:41:00.000-07:00

This is what we did every day while I was in Chico. I ent skeered. And I have no shame.

2011-07-29T10:02:00.000-07:00

Jack's birthday was June 8th. Bowden's birthday was on June 10th. Miles celebrated his second birthday on the fourteenth of July. Lucy, my only girl, had her birthday yesterday. She turned six, and of all of the things that happened yesterday, I took a picture of our time getting a pedicure. This is something that Lucy asks for constantly. Nails painted, MAKE-UP (What? I wear make-up like once a month. And when I mean make-up, I mean mascara and maybe a little eye-liner. Not even lipstick. Not even LIP PLUMP. What is this?) the frilliest dresses, the most outrageously bright and flowered prints.
When I try to introduce the browns and greys and blacks in small amounts, they are discarded. I should say, they are ignored. Initially, any clothes are welcomed with thanks and hugs. Hugs for the giver and for the clothes. But then they sit in the drawers, lonely in their wrongness. Later my little girl will tell me, I don't really like that..."
Still, she's a runner and a climber and a fighter. She's not afraid of getting dirty and not disturbed by the creepy-crawlies, although her discovery of the rattlesnake blocking the way home made her cry a little.
Yesterday she woke up in her OWN room- I'll take a picture of it soon-with a mouse cage, a new little doll house, and lots of pretty things hanging around. It was so fun to put together, and her reaction was validating. We went down the hill to get our pedicures with the Campbells and Sarah Peck- who incidentally is the fifth of eight children just like my mom. We got our pedicures- with flowers- and then went to the pet store and picked out three mice for her new cage. The white one is named Bella, the little brown one is Cutie, and the black one with a white "belt" is Scarlett.
For all this, for all of the things and experiences we are able to give to our daughter, I am thankful. For all of her differences and distinctions and difficulties, I am thankful. I am shocked that six years have passed since I first held Lucy Gates in my arms, but I am glad for every moment that we have been given.
Happy birthday, Lucy!!!

2011-07-18T11:40:00.000-07:00

Immediately after school ended, we went on our annual camping trip with the Whites, Bayers, and Campbells. I didn't take any pictures except of our trip to the creek.

2011-07-18T11:35:00.000-07:00

I think that Lucy looks just like my mom. I think that my mom doesn't look as much like my mom, she's so fit and trim. I took this at our tea party back in May.

2011-07-11T12:09:00.000-07:00

Jack celebrated his fourth birthday five days early at his preschool. He loved it. I made cupcakes, and his teacher made his birthday crown. There's Teacher Kathy! This happened in June! we're catching up!

2011-07-11T12:04:00.000-07:00

Uncle Job stopped by for part of a day while he was learning about dangerous things near Death Valley. His visit coincided with the Irving's visit...awesome all around.

2011-07-11T11:40:00.000-07:00

We bought a new couch from our friends, the Whites, and sent the blue-and-white guy packing. One of us was devastated.
Josh tore out a large piece of the back and saved it for Bowden. It eased his heart, but he was really upset that the couch was going. we had no idea that he cared about it at all.

The new couch, and Bowden with his remnant.

I also got a bread-maker. Before summer started, I made four loaves in three weeks. The couch was fifty dollars, with the bread maker thrown in for free! What a deal!!!!

(But this was MAY. That's a long time ago. Right now my sister-friend and brother-friend, Lisa and John, are up visiting for two and a half days. That's real-time.)

2011-06-30T11:48:00.000-07:00

I was going to skip right to our early June camping trip....but Miles taking a bath in the sink was just too much for my tender heart to pass up.

2011-06-30T11:45:00.000-07:00

Lucy and her best friend Sami. Sami is the daughter of our assistant pastor, but we just found out that they are moving back up to Modesto in August.

2011-06-30T11:13:00.000-07:00

Jun is almost gone, and summer is disintegrating out from under us. It could be that time just passes so quickly no matter what we want or need, or it could be that we have packed this last month so full of fun that it can't stand up for the weight of it all. The chickens had their Awana ceremony, which marked the end of our home small group, my ladies small group, and the kids' crazy Wednesday nights. Some of it I was glad to have over- the rest of it I'm glad to have a break from.

If you can call our summers a break. I love having the chickens home, I love having the freedom to go anywhere. I love the sun, the pool, the relief of the shade that is only apparent in the warmer months.

Poor Josh is worked like a dog in the summer, and we see so little of him. I'm working a lot this summer in the kitchen, and when I think about the money, it's not worth it, but when I forget that and focus on the ministry, I love it. I love getting to know our staff "kids" and this year they're especially awesome...although I think that most years.

(The money I do make is going into our Pemba Fund- $115 went in to join the $3000 we have already...it WILL HAPPEN. Now that we've decided that that is where it goes, I think even considering the money will give me satisfaction.)

So please forgive the catch-up nature of these posts. I'll get to the present eventually.

2011-06-03T09:43:00.000-07:00

When Bowden hides behind a door, usually it means trouble. This time, though, it meant that he was protecting the two lizards and one salamander that another boy had found in a rotten log.

It was impressive because I didn't even know we had salamanders up here- but we do.

These hands in this picture- these are my baby's hands. He'll be eight in a week, and his parts are no longer baby parts, or even little boy parts. It's slightly heartbreaking to me.

I went to bed last night with a strange mixture of excitement and sadness. Excitement for the joy of school being OVER, having the worst year of schooling done and over with (more about that later), excitement over having mine chickens close at hand and home for the summer, excitement about SUMMER.

And sadness, because this is the last time Bowden will be in second grade, this is the completion of a year of struggle and educational hardship for my little man, a year in which I had many plans and completed so few of them. The last time my Goose will be in kindergarten and be five. Jack leaves the age of three in five days. I'm sad because I am afraid that I'll forget so much of these days, and that I was so very cranky this year, and I can't go back and do that over.

Tonight we leave for our annual camping trip with the Whites and other friends, and it should be awesome. We'll be out of range, with very little to do, and surrounded by some of the people we like most. I can't wait.

But I wish everything else could.

2011-06-02T10:01:00.000-07:00

A walk up the service road takes us past my favorite tree on the grounds. It's an oak.

Some of the roots are exposed, and the rest are intertwined in the granite above.

Strange birds perch in these branches. Josh had to test the strength of the branch before he'd put Lucy and Jack up, because he likes them.

I said strange, right?

Miles, who has no fear, did not hold onto the branches as well as he should have, so this is the only shot of them together. Notice their need for haircuts. Except for Lucy. Her hair is perfect.

2011-06-02T09:47:00.000-07:00

Some monkeys are so grumpy.

They can't even look at you.

2011-05-18T11:32:00.000-07:00

Who was I when I first had my children?
The people that I have been in my life are fading fast in the present concerns and daily activities. The mother I was to Bowden and Lucy when they were Jack and Miles' ages was an entirely different creature than the person I am today...not that that is all a bad thing. I am so much more comfortable with parenting, and so much better at seeing the smallest tendrils of good and bad behaviors and attitudes...so much better at tending and pruning than I was with my first and second.
It comes so easily that the stresses and pangs of those early attempts at child-rearing have been so muted that I usually can ignore my failures easily and move on. The sad thing, though, is that the excitement and fun that was as quickly felt has been muted as well, and the joys I found so easily are ignored in the doing.
Did I think about using a spare quarter to give the "big" kids a ride? It wasn't giving in to a demand- I loved things like this as a kid, and I love letting them have this simple joy. I love a treat. I love making them happy.
But to stop? To wait? It's not impatience, it's momentum lost.
So we did it. I let them have two rides on the yellow choo-choo train. And they loved it. And I loved it. And it was like a new thing.

2011-05-18T11:00:00.000-07:00

It was Awana Grand Prix time again. Bowden was grounded- grounded from everything- and he missed it, but we designed and painted one together. The first car is Jack's. Bowden came up with the idea for it, and Jack said he liked it, and Bowden had already moved on.

It's a volcano. With dinosaurs. We actually won for speed and design- first for design, second for speed.

This Lucy's hummingbird, which was a tragic figure in the race and didn't make it through even one. She was pretty upset about it, saying as she was crying, "I just wanted it to finish ONE race at least!"
It was all made right when she won first place for design- there were twenty cars entered in her level, so that was quite the coup. It won without the beak, even, since the poor yellow nose made the car over the regulation seven inches.

Bowden, after coming up with the volcano idea, decided on a dragon. An Ice Dragon, from Antarctica. I refit the wings from Jack's last year bluebird.
The spikes and the teeth were my particular favorites.

This is the infamous Teegardens- their cars took home the top honors in speed for the- what- fifth or sixth year running? Very impressive. I just happened to be sitting across from them, too.

I don't know why my kids love snakes so much, but they do. This one was a California Kingsnake, maybe because we found one just last week in our driveway.

Lucy had flowers. It was very celebratory. I raced Bowden's car and won second in speed and third in design- losing out to a totally awesome miniature couch-car, and a really cool stream-lined shark.

Altogether we came home with five trophies for three cars- far more than our fair share. But still, it's a really good time.

2011-05-05T11:22:00.000-07:00

All four of them.

They are all so happy with themselves in this picture- they climbed up to the top of a staircase that ends in a wall. You can't tell how high the stairs go, or what a nice view you had from up there. You can see, a bit, how nice the sunshine felt, and how novel, two months ago. Already, though, we are getting used to the warmth and the sun up on our mountain.

Two- or three- months ago, Spring was a promise almost met, and now Summer is making itself felt.

2011-05-05T11:20:00.000-07:00

Let's pretend that it hasn't been a million years since I posted. Remember when we got cookies?
Here is Miles.

Two little piggies.

2011-05-05T11:15:00.000-07:00

Bowden's choice of cookie had less to do with decoration and more to do with topping. The Ladybug was the only cookie with frosting and chocolate. What a practical boy I have, yes?

2011-05-05T11:02:00.000-07:00

Lucy ate her cookie wihout timidity.

The cookie, also, was not afraid. Unwisely, I think, judging from the crumbs in the seat.

2011-04-08T13:05:00.000-07:00

Convalescing from heartache, Rosie and I and the kids- and my mom, as of yesterday- are at the beach, mourning the loss of my Grandma- more about that here- and finding ease in the place where we spent so much quality time together.

We are waiting for this time to end, or at least, to become bearable. To have our eyes adjust to the world as it is now, and to forget how out of place we are here.

In the meantime, the chickens give us things to do, and reasons to come away from our grief, and we're making this the vacation it was supposed to be, for them.

2011-03-07T16:44:00.000-08:00

We went to a wonderful store, Gelson's Market, and picked up some very special cookies. Jack picked out a dinosaur cookie.

He said, "I'll it it's head first!" and put the head in his mouth.

Then he took it out again.

"I'll eat HERE."

But then he still couldn't do it.

"I'll eat it HERE."

"No. I'll just lick it."

Even that was too much for the integrity of the cookie. So he made it walk along his lap, and the cookie made appropriate dinosaur noises. Then we had to pretend it was a T-Rex, "Okay?"

"Okay."

I think he did bite it at some point, but mostly he licked and sucked on it, between playing with it.

2011-03-03T21:16:00.000-08:00

I took this one.

A nice French lady- or Canadian- took this for me, and I used my limited french to say thank you.

The zoo!!!!!! That's it for the orange and yellow. Hope you enjoyed them!!

2011-03-03T20:57:00.000-08:00

The Los Angeles Zoo has a really wonderful playground in the most ideal location...you can walk halfway through the zoo, take a break to play, and then move on through the rest of the place happily.

Lucy asked me to take a picture of her sliding down the slide.

The boys asked me to take one of them on the crocodile, but Jack had to stop and tell Bowden to move down.

Bowden happily did. It was bizarrely peaceful. Roles were reversed. Planets were misaligned. I got a nice picture, though.

Climbing the hippo!

2011-03-03T20:48:00.000-08:00

Miles and his mouth. Open.

Bowden and his mouth. Also open.

Jack and a closed mouth.

Lucy and her open mouth.

Lunch was good...I bought pizza lunchables for lunch and only got drinks for the chickens. I ate a salad. I'm trying to be a smaller person. (The girl scout cookies in the freezer ruined it for me tonight, however, and the s'mores yesterday.)

But....that's not about the zoo. Ah, well.

2011-03-01T11:50:00.000-08:00

Taking a rest and wondering why Momma keeps taking pictures. What is wrong with her?

2011-03-01T11:27:00.000-08:00

The Los Angeles Zoo has a children's area that is so outshone by the San Diego Zoo's children's area that I almost regret not renewing our tickets there...but I doubt the kids are judging it in the same way. I mean, getting personal with goats and sheep is fun, but at the S.D. Zoo, you get to pet antelope. That's usually a luxury reserved for wealthy people and Arensens!

Lucy desired numerous pictures with the various artwork, but I limited her to one.

We waited to get in, which didn't bother me. There was a large school group at the zoo in the morning, but they left after lunch.
The Los Angeles zoo does have brushes. That's a plus. And the docents are just as grumpy and judgemental as at any other zoo. This is a big goat.

Miles mostly stood back and watched and pointed. He loved the whole experience, even washing up afterwards.

2011-02-25T08:14:00.000-08:00

<

We came down to the valley late Wednesday night, went right to bed, and then went to the zoo yesterday. Our first encounter was with the baby komodo dragons, which seemed anxious to escape. One of us was a little afraid that they might.

2011-02-12T10:41:00.000-08:00

My five favorite people, in no important order. Milosch-mi. Aged 18 months.

Bowden-bows, ready to play basketball, aged 7 years.

Lucy Goose, showing her happiness at receiving a Valentine's Day card from Nanny. Aged five years.

Jackerwhack, intent on finishing his beans and steak. Aged three years.

Joshy, aged 33 years.

You can expect the singing at any Tate dinner. It's not planned. It's organic, even if the food isn't.

2011-02-08T22:21:00.000-08:00

"Miles, let's go do the laundry. Do you want to help me?"
(This is what happened when I went to answer the phone before loading the wet laundry into the dryer.)

(This is a good way to make sure you didn't leave anything in the dryer...he came out all toasty warm, too!)

2011-02-03T16:15:00.000-08:00

We just had to, you see. Lucy felt a little kookie doing this, I think that you can tell. I was definitely a darker child, but maybe the Italian has just gone underground for the winter.

She's much prettier than I was, but I won't tell her that.

2011-01-21T00:46:00.000-08:00

All I know....not having a camera is really hurting this blog. I gave this monkey a haircut today. Buzzzz.....

Tomorrow- Jack and Bowden!

2011-01-06T15:53:00.000-08:00

Lisa and John left today for their new life together in Massachusetts. We all came out to say goodbye, and appropriately, Nancy and Dick were there, too. Miles got a last hold from Uncle John.

I took Bowden out of school early so that he could say goodbye. Dick is covering up an ear he just had...enhanced.

There we are, my best friend, now sister, and I. At least I know that you have a familial obligation to see me as much as possible. I love you, and I'll miss living near you, and I know that my kids are better for having lived near their Aunt Lisa...but I think that this adventure is too good to pass up, and too exciting to feel too sorry for your leaving.

Muh.

2011-01-03T09:33:00.000-08:00

We spent New Year's Eve morning at the Los Angeles Zoo. Nanny P. called up and asked if we wanted to come down, and we did. Josh had to work for a mammoth camp we had in, but he doesn't like zoos anyway.

I took a picture of Lucy, and she took one of me.

The giraffes were felling amorous. They did some unspeakable things that grossed Bowden out, but never actually mated. I told my mom about it over lunch and she got angry at me and said that I shouldn't talk about that kind of thing. I won't put it here, because of that reaction.

The animals were all pretty active, and fun to watch. The tiger looked like it was going to jump right out...a jaguar munched on a bunny body with great rippings and slurping.

We ate french fries and fried chicken, pizza and soda. The bunny probably would have been better for us.

I doubt I could have made Miles eat raw bunny. French fries? He loves those little fritters.

My mom bought us season passes...so this blog will probably show more zoo trips over the next year.

Oh, and by the way, Happy New Year!!

2011-01-03T09:01:00.000-08:00

We visited my mom in early December, which was both joyful and exciting, but perhaps the most wonderful thing to come out of that trip was this giant zucchini that my son Bowden found in Nanny's forgotten and neglected garden.

Now, I know that sometimes a zucchini can get pithy if grown too large, but this beauty seemed fine.
Zucchini is my favorite vegetable. I have a series of posts for Josh's blog that will soon be up, showing what we did with this behemoth of a squash.

2010-12-10T17:11:00.000-08:00

Lucy loves to perform.

2010-12-07T10:03:00.000-08:00

The morning before everyone left was kind of a bummer. Good thing I'm not posting this on Josh's blog. We miss our Vermont family!

2010-12-03T14:00:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving day was very laid back, and I took the eight kids on a walk to, you guessed it, SEABRIDGE. I think that they liked it as much as I do, although none of them seemed all that impressed at my declaration that I was going to retire there.

Miles was asleep, so I didn't get to get him in with the rest of the flock.
We exercised.

Or something like that.

I brought nine water bottles.
We returned to the beach out nicely worn out and a little sun-kissed. It was super pleasant and made me believe that having 8 children wouldn't be too bad.
As long as some of them were 10 an 11...that's the trick, my friends. My husband quickly assured me that I could barely handle the four I currently have. Ah, well.

2010-12-02T10:31:00.000-08:00

We went to the mall with Joel and Christine and the kids. I should have written "The Mall." It was the Northridge Mall, you know, the mall in THE VALLEY.

They liked the fountain, but nobody loves the mall the way I do.

2010-12-01T23:00:00.000-08:00

I have a table full of black and white photos that I periodically update...they need to be changed out more often- I've been looking at a two-month old baby Miles for over a year, as my little man has become something more than the spud her resembles in that particular photo.
I had the excellent idea of getting my kids with their Vermont cousins while I still could, so Tuesday night I borrowed Josh's camera to make these happen.
The pictures didn't really turn out. I have become convinced recently that I need a nicer camera...that my prodigious talent for blogging is underused and under appreciated-by myself- because my camera SUCKS. Target has a camera nicer than one I've ever owned and not so nice that I'd need to get out a hefty loan to get it.
Just a tiny loan. Of $650. Is that too much?
I digress...he are the black and whites I took. Bowden and Obadiah Tom, the tow oldest boys in their families.
Look at that sweet face!
Obie and his Papa.
My Vermont nieces. Lucy Joy, Grace, and Elisabeth, with a little Bowden thrown in for good luck.

Hams, all of them.

Bowden and Grace.
My Miles. He did not want to take his binky out, so I couldn't get any good ones of him.
Oldest and youngest.

Jack was not going to take a happy picture. This is me advising him to smile. That, or I'm advising my double chin to evaporate into my chipmunk cheeks.

Lucy, last of all, has lost the ability to smile naturally in front of a camera. She's still my sweet girl.

2010-11-28T22:03:00.000-08:00

Did you know? As of November 20th, I have a new sister. In keeping with the traditions of all my other sisters, I love her.

2010-11-25T22:11:00.000-08:00

Posting will resume soon, but we've been busy. Today we went for a happy walk with the cousins to Seabridge, thankful to have our northernmost family here with us, and missing those that were not. I wonder how Lisa and John are enjoying their honeymoon...

2010-11-14T16:21:00.000-08:00

This is Miles. This is Jack.

Miles.

Jack.

Miles

Miles and Jack.

2010-11-14T15:50:00.000-08:00

This is a post about noodles. Miles likes noodles.

He eats them with a fork. Or his hand. He prefers the fork, but his hand is easier.

I also, like noodles.

2010-11-13T14:03:00.000-08:00

WE ARE NOT PREGNANT.

This is usually the time of year when I announce that we are having another baby...but we're not. While I would love to have two more chickens, at least, Josh is done. Done, done.
This is the first time since we started having children that we are not having any.
And I don't know really what I should feel.
I feel young and healthy, and I feel like having children is something I love to do...and I want a big family (you can say all you want that four is big, but it's not.) I love being pregnant, and while I lose my temper with my kids more than I'd like to, I feel like we're a good family to be a part of.
I'm not sure that we should stop having children- that to be fertile is to be gifted, and to not use it is to take something that God has given us for granted, or even to sin.
Josh, obviously, does not feel this way. He is a man to do what is right, and I know that if he felt like not having children was wrong, he would do it, whether or not he wanted to. In fact, I believe that he would want to, if he felt like he was supposed to.
I don't want to regret this for the rest of my life. I want to feel the same way he does- I want to feel relieved. I want to feel like we're complete, if we are.
Since we are a union, a nation of two that became six that will go back to two in twenty years or so, and we act in unison as much as we are able, we are not pregnant.
I don't take the babies I have for granted, nor do I ignore the miracle it has been to have four pregnancies blessed on me, but...I'm kind of sad.

2010-11-02T10:54:00.001-07:00

Happy Halloween!!!! These are our three big ones, ready to take hearts and candy prisoner at the Idyllwild Halloween celebration.

Lucy was a butterfly. She especially loved having make-up put on her.

Bowden was a Storm Trooper.
Jack was Iron Man. He saw the costume and said, "I want to be Iron Man!" How does he know who Iron Man is? I have no idea.
I was a bride. That's right. That's my wedding dress. I still fit in it, if zipping it up means fitting. It definitely does not look the same as it did nine and a half years ago. Lucy took this picture.
And Milosch? He was a chicken! Aunt Lisa rescued him from the puddles on the volleyball court.

2010-10-29T09:42:00.000-07:00

Sometimes we like each other.

2010-10-26T10:04:00.000-07:00

We had a good time at the Turning Leaf Festival at Idyllwild Bible Church. I entered a chili and Bowden and Lucy each entered a chocolate treat into the children's contest. Miles and Jack were both excellent taste-testers. Miles exercised his sticky fingers on my camera lens before this picture of Jack above.

Lucy and Bowden didn't win anything, but they both got a candy apple for entering!

I tied for second with my friend, Van Schipper.

This was a cute, drool-y baby who belongs to my friend, Julie.

Lucy, Jack and Becky loved the hay bales on the truck. I loved it all- but I'm too competitive. I love it more when I win.

2010-10-18T09:53:00.000-07:00

We were der sicky on Friday. What a shame.

The two big kids fell asleep on my bed, so I took Jack and Milosch outside. We're all well now, it seems, but really, I hate this season.

2010-10-18T09:38:00.000-07:00

Last Monday was Columbus day. I only know that because Jack and I tried to go to the library for reading time, but found it closed and lonely. We made our way- just the two of us- to the coffee shop and spent a happy hour talking. Jack asked about four times if the stool could be his table. I said yes every time. He also asks if the stroller can be his motorcycle, the car his truck, and the couch his bed. I always say yes, unless saying yes means that I can't recline as I choose to.

I like my boy. Of all my children, he is the one that needs the most alone time, and opens up the most when it's just him and I. We had a very nice hour, and apparently Josh had a nice time with Miles at home.

2010-10-16T22:29:00.000-07:00

This is my favorite drink at Higher Grounds..."What the French Toast?"
That's right. I like to see how it looks like french toast batter halfway down. I love this coffee. I spend way to much time at the coffee house. It helps that some of my best friends work there.

2010-10-09T20:19:00.000-07:00

Our good friends, the Whites, have been celebrating their tenth anniversary in Jamaica, and their parents have been watching the White children up here on the mountain. I've seen the kids almost every day since their parents left, and they're such sweet and well-adjusted kids. I told Emily I'd keep an eye on them while they had goodly grown-up time. I love the Whites, and I love their children, and we've had the joy of knowing them while their family has grown.
I had Jack and Seth pose for this picture below for two reasons- one, they're cute- right? Two, they were matching, but that's not just any sweatshirt.

The third reason I took this was because Bowden and Joel used to wear these matching outfits in preschool together...really, four years is not very long, but the changes that take place in a child's life and growth in that time are enormous.

(Here are Bowden and Ethan, with Bowden wearing the sweatshirt, and here are Joel and Bowden together, but not wearing the sweatshirts. Trust me, it happened!) Seth was a tiny baby...only two months old. Jack was barely starting out in the safety of his momma four years ago- we didn't yet know he was there!
I'll remember this- and treasure this time for what it is.
Fleeting, rushed, and wonderful.

2010-10-08T22:03:00.000-07:00

Lucy is the only one of our kids playing soccer- Bowden would rather run around the field while she practices, playing with his other friends that aren't playing.

Miles is just too little to play on a team.

Bowden took some time away from his busy play-schedule to show Miles his moves.

Lucy gets so excited about playing- she's covering her mouth here as she waits for the ball.

I love soccer season because it's so social. In fact, we almost didn't have anyone playing, but I didn't want to miss out on the time at the field...I don't know what that says about me. At least, I don't know what this says about me that could be good. Ah, well.

2010-10-08T21:42:00.000-07:00

It's soccer season again, and the days have been cooling off. Miles wore the official cold weather hat for all of our children- the wormy apple hat. He loved it, and loved wearing it, but mostly he loved taking it off. I would spare you the hi jinks, but I am not feeling terribly decisive right now. I'll dump the whole load out, and see what you find when you sift through.

Jack-son y Milosch.

Playing with Daddy.

We do have some high times at those soccer games!!

2010-10-05T15:16:00.000-07:00

We spent a few hours of the rainy Saturday at the coffee shop. Truth be told, I spend a lot of time at the coffee shop. This time, Bowden lucked out to have Phillip and Jordan there.

Clearly a covered head is far more important than a covered belly.

2010-10-04T09:57:00.000-07:00

Miles decided that the black marker was the most delicious marker of all. When I took it away from him, he was very upset.

Straight to the bath with the baby!

A toothbrush didn't really help.

Poor baby, he wanted that marker so badly.

2010-09-23T11:19:00.000-07:00

My camera doesn't flash any more, but I get some excellent outdoor pictures. Miles- yes, this is Mils, not Jack- with his favorite accessory.

Bowden is a cute kid.

Lucy doing homework outside. It's been beautiful up here.

2010-09-23T11:16:00.000-07:00

Jack looks like this, really close up.

2010-09-23T11:06:00.000-07:00

Lucy lost her first tooth!
There was no rushing this tooth. It came out in it's own time. It was so loose that it was disgusting.

Jack wanted in on the pictures, but just his back.

Lucy told everyone for about a week that she had a loose tooth. Now she goes around telling everyone that she lost a tooth. It's a good conversation starter!

2010-09-22T09:18:00.000-07:00

Jack has an uncanny ability to get dirty. Really dirty.
Here he is at our family camping trip, owning both his messiness and his Italian-ness.

2010-09-21T11:04:00.000-07:00

We had some good times in August. Not that you would know... We went to see Rosie in Chico. We visited Monterey. We went camping at the Ice House Resovoir. My favorite part was visitingmy Poppy and Aunt Carol in Santa Maria.

Always a little bittersweet, but always good.

Jack really took to Poppy. He was a big fan.

2010-08-19T21:14:00.000-07:00

How old is Lucy? Five!!!

Here's Nanny with the kids and their animals. I took this in the same place I took an earlier picture. (I'd link it, but I can't find it.)

This summer was an exciting exploration of wonderful diseases, like scabies and roseola, so we had periods of great fun interspersed with periods of withdrawal. Lucy's birthday party fell on the Wednesday during Kid's Kamp, and since I was busy decorating the North Chapel at the beginning of the week and putting together the carnival at the end of the week, I wasn't too upset that we had to move her party back a week because Miles was ill.
My mom offered to take Lucy to Disneyland or Legoland or SeaWorld, and Lucy chose SeaWorld-not the best choice for a little girl that hates to go to shows, but since Josh once told me that he liked SeaWorld best of all, I decided to let it go. (I should have changed her mind- I think that she wanted to go to Legoland.)
It was awesome. It was crazy and hot and there were tons of people. My mom and Josh and I had very different ideas about how to make our way around, and I ended up getting frustrated and nearly ruined everyone's good time. (I could not admit that, but it happened.)
We started out with the Shamu show, which we've heard is the worst show to go to, and Lucy didn't want to go to any other shows after that. We hung out for a long time in the super-duper play structure, complete with a happy little bouncy pad for all the little kids. If you can work around me, it was a great trip for the kids.
Lucy and I watching the killer whales. Josh kept saying, "They don't call them Save-Your-Lifer-Whales!"

We were pretty far away, but those guys are BIG.

Bowden and Lucy waiting in line to go in the biggest bounce house ever.

The nets above,

the bouncer below. Jack was just small enough to go on the little kid bouncer.

There we are in the cups!

Bowden loved the rides! We played games and won stuffed animals, and went twice through the shark tunnel- sharks swim over your head! We had cotton candy, and got to hang out with Nanny and Josh all day. It was a good birthday for the Goose.

2010-07-16T23:01:00.000-07:00

Let me 'splain.
The computer, she does not want to work. You turn her on, and she's blank. For every twenty-five to forty times you try her, for every two or three days you attempt to start her up, she may come on once.
It's not exactly good for the blogging.
But we all know that I haven't been as faithful at blogging as I should be, so I'm sorry for that. I hope to improve.
But this thing is going to have to work with me. Tonight she came on, so here are Miles' birthday pics.
A new computer may be on the horizon for us. Who knows?
Maybe God will answer our need with another, or maybe this old girl breaking is an answer in itself!

2010-07-16T22:17:00.000-07:00

My baby is ONE! Miles was born a year ago on the Monday just before Family Camp started at Camp Maranatha, and it seemed fitting to have Family Camp sing him Happy Birthday this year.
I was planning on making a carrot cake, but the day flew by...so I ended up buying an organic, all natural pound cake from the crunchy Organic Food Store up here in Idyllwild, and decorating it with whipped cream and raspberries.
Miles has had things that are not good for him before- french fries, chips, a chocolate-chip cookie two weeks ago at church...but still, the cake was an exciting food adventure.

He wasn't at all sure about the mound of food in front of him, and first just removed the raspberries, finally putting one in his mouth.
I had to put some whipped cream in his mouth before he'd try it himself, but once he realized that it was so delicious, he used the candle to scoop some in his mouth.
Eventually, even the pound cake, now softened by the whipped cream, was consumed. As I was putting it together, Jack had a little melt-down when I told him that the cake was for Miles, and that Jack would have to wait until after dinner to get a piece. He got over it...mostly by being ignored and then punished, once reason was found to have no home in his heart over such matters as goodly cakes.
Jack needn't of worried...Miles was very willing to share his birthday cake with his big brother. (Lucy and Bowden had run off long before to play outside with the other kids here- they are running wild this week...there are so many kids their age and we know them all...there are crafts and Bible stories and all kinds of fun that they don't want to miss...Bowden begins every meal with, "I don't want to eat. I'll just play.")

When we got home, Jack said, "I DID get some cake tonight! You said that I couldn't!"

(Or something that translated to that. Jack says "Me" for "I" about half the time, and my brain does an automatic translation. I have to be careful that I don't answer back in Jack-speak...it happens, especially when I'm distracted.

For example:

Jack- "That deer don't like him tail. Him eat him tail."

Mom-"Why did he eat him tail?"

Jack-"Him don't like him tail. Me deer. Me no like my tail."

Mom-"I like your tail. No eat him tail!"
We had this conversation after Jack came down and told me that he had two dreams, one happy and one bad. They were both about deer. I don't know which one this was.)

(But back to Miles...it was his birthday, after all!)

Finally, after the cake was eaten, the whipped cream absorbed, and the raspberries scattered, Miles was finished. I'm glad he liked it, although he won't remember it.
Jack might.
Miles' completion of a meal sometimes culminates with a finger point, telling me that he's "all done."

What can I say? He's adorable. What a blessing he's been- a joy, a pleasure, and a wonder. God's goodness is evident in the gift of my children. I am undeserving, but thankful to have my four.

2010-06-25T14:46:00.000-07:00

Aunt Lisa got Bowden a super-awesome rocket for his birthday- powered by vinegar and baking soda- and EXCITEMENT! We took it for a test drive one afternoon last week. The crowd stands at a distance.

The scientist measures the volatile chemicals.

The rocket, half-full of vinegar.

Awaiting blast-off.

Aunt Lisa knows what 7-year-olds like!

2010-06-11T10:58:00.000-07:00

We celebrated two birthdays this week- Jacky turned three on Tuesday, and we had a dragon birthday party for him.Bowden turned seven yesterday. We brought a cake to school shaped like a seven and then went down to the desert for hours of Boomers fun. We also just finished the Camp's Work Weekend, had John staying with us while he visited Lisa, and had three different couples up visiting over the weekend. John left Wednesday, and we went down to Hemet to get Bowden a few goldfish for his birthday. Lucy "graduated" from preschool yesterday, and we have been straight out this week, and last week, too.
We're camping this weekend with more friends, and then next week?
Next week I am sleeping IN.

2010-06-03T23:42:00.000-07:00

Beet eating!

You may not have realized that beets make your face do strange things. (This is the evidence.)

2010-06-03T23:35:00.000-07:00

We went down to Hemet with John and Lisa tonight to get groceries and pick up some goodly provisions. We ate at Red Robin.

We had the best server ever. It was great times- and the weather, right now, is perfect in Idyllwild and Hemet.

2010-05-29T08:46:00.000-07:00

Last year, my mother had told Bowden that she would take him to Legoland for his sixth birthday. Unfortunately, in March I fell and twisted my ankle, and the resulting sprain was bad enough that by June 10th, I still couldn't walk long distances at all.
Bowden had a nice birthday anyway, but he didn't for get the plan. We finally made it yesterday, and it was SUPER AWESOME AMAZING FUN! Everything is made out of Legos!!!! We went on rides, and played in the awesome water features, and climbed and slid and it was perfect. The weather was great, and we took it easy, and it was really ideal. I loved it. The kids loved it. My mom loved it.

A fairy tale ride...see Lucy waving?

Lucy is a very careful driver.

She doesn't like neighbors.

We spent the last few minutes of the day climbing on this...

Miniland- a land full of lego houses and buildings, and giant wild bunnies that become monsters.

Miles was mild, as usual, and there were so many things for little kids that the time just flew. It was really fun.

Thanks, Mom!

2010-05-15T10:35:00.000-07:00

The chickens love this giant bean bag that my Uncle Tony has. Here is Jack, jumping.

2010-05-14T13:11:00.000-07:00

We now have our gate set at the bottom of the stairs, and our gate at the top, too. Miles would be climbing- and falling- all day, if we let him. We don't, bad parents that we are.

2010-05-14T13:02:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went for a walk to look at the new building, and the chickens posed for me. Lucy rescued a caterpillar from the dust and nails, and was too distracted to look up.

Bowden chose the poses. He is the master of posing. The building is coming close to being done- all of the sheet rock went up yesterday!

2010-05-12T22:47:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, I know. It's taken me too long to post, but here it is...our Awana Grand Prix cars! We had a really nice time- exhausting, but nice- and came home with two trophies. Half of the fun was making the cars, though. This is Jack's car- he really wanted a bird. He loved it. It didn't win anything, but it was exactly what he wanted. It was my favorite car we made.
Lucy's car- sadly sideways...I decorated the wings a little, but the most of the rest of the design and painting was hers...she won an award for design- it looked so good that she only got third. (They look for cars that look like they were done mostly by the kids.)
Bowden's car looked like nothing. It was supposed to be a cross design, I think, but after he painted it it just looked unusual. It came in fifth in the races, and won nothing. The widjiwat head came off in the middle of weighing and had to be replaced with a rock.
Tom Ping raced, too!
Josh had to work, but he stopped by to see a race or two of Lucy's division.
Lucy's butterfly was not so swift, but it was pretty. The pink car in the front won first prize for speed and design- a travesty, if you ask me. It was not really very impressive.
Lucy gave a strange smile.
Jack got a balloon and bubbles, and was a happy boy.
These are the cars for the open race. My Christmas tree was pretty sweet. The black car had a working camera on it that and we could watch the race from the car's point of view- it won for speed. The garden won for design. Tom Ping came in third for speed, and I let Jack get the trophy.
That bird sure flew.
Miles liked the excitement.
Ready to go.

Another crazy look from Lucy.

Jack wondering where his trophy was.

Bowden bounced in the bounce house most of the time, and played in the dirt.

2010-05-12T22:40:00.000-07:00

We finally put together the baby's new crib last week. I spent the day cleaning his room, and the kid's room.

Remember, Self...once these rooms were clean. The beds were MADE!

2010-05-12T22:33:00.000-07:00

Miles found a happy perch on the legs of his father. He was happy to see me, of course, but he loves his Daddy.

He crawls into everything, tries to eat everything, and is a sweet little man. I love both of the guys in these pictures- they just about break my heart with cuteness.

2010-05-06T22:46:00.000-07:00

Christmas is pretty far away...

...so I don't think that he'll have to suffer through any embarrassing songs about his teeth. He lost the second tooth from his mouth, carried it in his pocket for hours, and then lost it again somewhere at the White's house- while jumping on the trampoline, climbing on the bunk bed, or playing in the closet. I told him that he could write a note to the Widjiwats about it, but he's not that interested in gaining a reward...strangely.

He looks good though, right?

2010-04-24T11:50:00.000-07:00

Chris and Josh and Katie bravely kept both babies, the two year olds and Bowden while we escaped with the older girl for the ritual cleansing and beautifying of the feet that must take place every April. It was Lucy's first time, and I wasn't sure if she'd like it...
My mom didn't get her first pedicure until her fifties, and I didn't get mine until I was almost thirty...so Lucy is ahead of the game in pampering. Of course, we got Starbucks right before, and each grabbed a magazine to look at.

I wasn't sure how it would go...I couldn't tell what she thought.

Then she took a drink, and I figured that she had the hang of it.

Marin and Lisa.

The finished product. Once we were done, Lucy asked me if we could come back tomorrow and "get my hands done."

2010-04-24T11:37:00.000-07:00

We went out on Saturday for my birthday lunch...to Joe's Crab Shack. I was excited, despite the evidence. Our friends Chris and Katie were visiting.

Bowden got the kid's crab pot. He was exceptionally pleased.

MMMmmmm...so good.

They made me wear strange things and then sang. I gave birthday wishes to everyone I could reach, mainly for the amusement of everyone around me.

Lucy loved it.

So did Joshy.

2010-04-24T11:21:00.000-07:00

Lucy increasingly wants to help me out in the kitchen, and usually I let her. She and Selah worked their granddaughter magic on Nanny so that she would let them sit on the counter while we cooked. I loved watching them with her, and I'm glad that if Lucy doesn't have a sister, at least she has a girl-cousin. I'm firmly committed to making Selah and Lucy as close of friends as their natural inclinations allow. I'd love for Lucy to be around her Tate cousins more, but they are so firmly entrenched in the cold North that I'm afraid we won't see them as much as we'd like.
Plus, Selah is Lucy's sister-cousin...the daughter of her mother's only sister. That's meaningful to me.

Now, growing up with Nanny, I was constantly frustrated that she treated me like a kindergartner...but now her amazing ability with younger children is an unbelievable gift. I loved watching these three interact, like I said. I love my family.

2010-04-24T11:13:00.000-07:00

Vacation is a good time for haircuts.

Bowden wanted a mohawk, so Jack wanted one, too.

I had them only do a half-hawk....the boys didn't mind.

2010-04-23T08:57:00.000-07:00

Rosie and I spent a lot of time by ourselves at the beach. Josh couldn't make it out for a while, and Justin was stuck working in Arizona, so we two were the definers of our days. We only had one night to ourselves, since my Mom courageously drove out every night to be with us and help us get the kids down. Wednesday we were alone. I took Isai from Rosie right after the bath, and couldn't help but take pictures.

He's in a very cute sitting-and not-moving stage.

Unlike this guy...Miles is all movement!

It was so peaceful and quiet downstairs while the girls got their baths.

After everyone was in bed, Rosie and I had a date on the deck where we watched the stars shoot and nibbled on treats and talked about our deepest hopes and desires...or at least some not-so-shallow ones.

2010-04-14T15:02:00.000-07:00

Forgive me for not posting. I was on vacation. A very excellent vacation, with my sister and her two beans, and all of my chickens, and my mom at night, and Lisa much of the time, and a happy variety of other friends and family sprinkled in there. We went on happy walks- only one to Seabridge- and drank copious amounts of Starbucks and had a nearly daily freshly baked bagel.
We didn't make it to the beach until we had been there for three days or so. It was Miles' first time at the beach, and both he and the Isai-boy loved it. Maybe for different reasons. Isai- apparently- thought that the beach was delicious.

Such a sweet little man!

Selah got right to work digging.

Bowden collected sticks.

Lucy brought me a ladybug stick to see and admire.

Ladybugs were abundant.

We made a lovely big castle, with an arch on top. Lucy made the stone staircase herself.

Jack was quick to destroy the castle once it was semi-clear that we had abandoned it.

Miles crawled about and fingered all of the driftwood and smooth stones.

Miles, despite his hat wearing and sunscreen lathering, got his first tan, much to his mother's consternation. Praise God for those Italian genes!

2010-04-04T00:13:00.000-07:00

I love the "indeed" part of the answer to "He is risen!"
Indeed!
In truth!
No doubt!
Definitely!
Obviously!
He is risen.
Praise God.

2010-03-30T21:04:00.000-07:00

The new building at camp is coming along beautifully. We took a little tour. This vehincle goes up to sixty feet in the air! With the chickens roosting one it, it stayed put.

My littluns.

2010-03-22T09:52:00.001-07:00

Miles has a long tongue. we didn't notice until yesterday, when he stuck it out all day long. It's not just long- it curls at the end. It's a little gross, but very funny. I tried to get a picture of him sitting up, but every time he see a camera, now, he tries to get it. He chased me across the floor.

I finally let him get the cord of the camera, which made him stick out his tongue in joy. His satisfaction knew no bounds, if his tongue is any indicator.

2010-03-19T21:53:00.000-07:00

There are two ways to look at it.

Sometimes, when I have just yelled at the kids, or talked to them as unsweetly as I probably could, I look at them and think of how sorry I am that I am their mother...that they should have a kinder, more gentler momma.

Other times, even when I am hurrying them and doing more correcting than enjoying, I think how blessed I have been with all of these unique and delightful people, to be theirs and have them be mine, and I pray to make better use of these fleet and flying days.

2010-03-08T21:18:00.000-08:00

Rosie and I attempted to immortalize our time at the creek. It was such a nice day, although it was cold and the water was colder. I'm posting them all in order so that you can see how we posed and reposed, with the kids up and down.
Rosie just took this one.
Rosie set the timer for the rest, and Bowden was excited about that. Lucy wasn't sure.

Poor Rosie did all of the running back and forth. I just held the babies.

2010-03-03T22:25:00.000-08:00

I'll take a break from my posting about my visit with my sister to show you this picture of Lucy's hair, in pigtails. She was much happier to pose for me this time, you can tell.

2010-03-03T22:20:00.000-08:00

Isai is a cute boy. And sweet. And wonderful. He seems a little overproud of those piggies, though.

I just want to kiss him up. What a hunk.

2010-03-03T22:18:00.000-08:00

This is a sweet girl.

My niece-ling, Selah Paix. How I love her!