August videos

Yes, that is my California boy with the pale skin in the middle.  You would never guess that he was out at the beach a dozen times and boogie boarding.

What a fun trip to Salt Lake City!

Kindergarten - Here we come!

Lined up with his classmates and ready to go in.

Class pets include a frog and some fish.

His teacher read "The Kissing Hand" to help the children with departure. It was perfect and, though many of the parents were in tears, the kids were all happy. 

Not a baby anymore!

Happy Birthday and Happy Halloween

For Daddy's birthday we celebrated with Grandma and Grandpa.

This delicious cake was from Patty Cakes in Altadena. Yum!


The Preschool's Halloween Parade was exciting. Here is our little War Machine . . .
and his best friend Thomas the Tank Engine . . .
his teacher, Miss Janet . . .
and last year's teacher, Miss Julie . . .
and mommy and some dry bones.
Our ward's trunk or treat party had some very creative trunks.

September 2010 Highlights

First Day of School

One Saturday morning we hiked up to Eaton Canyon Falls . . .
. . . and listened to a wild story time at the Nature Center.

After dropping daddy off at work, we drove up to explore,
play and harvest at Underwood Family Farms. We picked tomatoes, lettuce, eggplant, peppers and raspberries.
He was so determined and succeeded in riding on of these big trikes.
More determination as he searched for gems.

At our last visit to Disneyland before our passes expired, he proved his love of adventure on this zip-line in the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail.
He investigated Mater's dental work . . . .
. . . and made a splash on Splash Mountain. Grandma met us there later for dinner and to see the World of Color, but Michael fell asleep on my shoulder 5 minutes into the show. Maybe next time.

Just goofing off with mom.

A nearby pet store lets you play with the little puppies. They are so cute.

Kidspace in September 2010

Kidspace Children's Museum is one of our favorite places.
We visited on their farm day and saw some baby chicks.

Michael loves crawling through the ant hill . . .

. . . and sitting on the ant eggs to help them hatch.

There is a dinosaur excavation site,


and some toy dinos to play with.

The bike track is great fun,

but somewhat exhausting on a warm day.

This is our first time churning our own butter.

It was delicious.

Last of all, splashing in the river with the other children is always fun.

We love Kidspace!

August 2010 Highlights

We attended the Hollywood Bowl for the first time. It was Movie Night with guest conductor John Williams and we knew that Michael would love to hear the themes from Jaws, Superman, and, of course, Star Wars. The music was amazing and despite the late hours Michael stayed awake to the end and enjoyed seeing all of the concert goers with their lightsabers.



We also went to the Will Rogers State Beach one day. It wasn't a sunny day, but we had a great time digging a gigantic "hot tub" and collecting the most fascinating rocks.




We had a great time at the Primary Swimming Party. Can't wait for summer and swimming!


Cherry on Top is one of our favorite spots. It isn't too far to go on the bike, and there is a park and a library nearby if we have more time to play.

Our Patio

. . . . is crowded with bicycles, barely surviving plants, a lot of dirt, and finally something I enjoy looking at:




We've learned a lot about hummingbirds:

They are territorial, protective, sneaky, playful, love the rain, and can't get enough of the yummy nectar.