Fire Academy

This Tuesday was Jeremy's first day at the El Camino Fire Academy. Just when I thought he couldn't fit anymore blue shirts and navy pants in the closet. . . .
here he is boasting ANOTHER blue uniform shirt and a brand new military-shaved haircut. He is in the 16 week program.

Believe it or not, he is no where near the oldest guy in the class. There are several guys his age in his class, as well.
Based on the smile, I think he is on the right career path.

I love you, Sweets. I am behind you all the way!!

The End of an Era

Honestly, this picture makes me cry. I'm not kidding. Today I traded in my 10 1/2 year old, good ol' reliable double stroller--and even sadder--and for the first time in 10 years--I don't need it anymore. This baby has been on countless trips to Disneyland, off-roading in mountains, on the beach, multiple libraries across two states, you name it. While it is technically a double, in a pinch, I have crammed two kids in the back seat. I have been in denial for several months that this thing was on it's way out, even though something on it breaks off everytime I take it out. It's fate was sealed when in the tram to the Disneyland parking lot, I realized that despite a recent hose down, it was so dingy and filthy I couldn't make eye contact with the gal next to me. I traded it in at Babies R Us for a coupon for 25% the stroller of my choice.

. . .which after was the Graco LiteRider. Not particularly snazzy, or trendy, but boasting the lightest frame and the biggest storage basket available. Let's face it. The stroller's job is to carry all the "stuff" so I don't have to--the baby is optional.

Note the cool organizer I got hanging off the back.

PS. Sorry to spend so much time on a stupid stroller, but frankly, this is was a big deal.

Internation Folk Music Center

This was a goup Fieldtrip to Folk Music Center, in Claremont. The Kindrick Family has been coming here since I was a little kid. We had a wonderful presentation demonstrating instruments from around the world. Afterwords we met at Memorial Park, where Autumn Hatch had prepared a fun project creating collage illustrations like those of Eric Carsle. (Think Brown Bear, Brown Bear).

Wild!

Merry Christmas from the Churches

Christmas Pajamas--Isabella is jumping. Nope, it's not possible to get everyone looking at the same camara at the same time.

I guess I've still got it.

Fieldtrip Heaven

When it rains, it pours. . . .

Field Trip One
School group trip to Long Beach Aquarium. We did a class about predators. I though it was a little weak. Jaden liked it though. The aquarium was really nice, though. (Especially nice at group rate admission--only $6!! That is about 1/4 of the regular adult price. All you need is advanced reservations and 10 people. Sadie and I have that just by ourselves)
Highlights included the sea otters, seals, and petting the rays. I enjoyed the jellies. We met Dad and Leslie at Cocoa's afterwords for dinner.

Field Trip Two
The next day Sadie and I went to the Huntingon Gardens. We have had the tickets reserved for free day for over a month. So we went, even though we were a bit tired from the aquarium. We were going to observe the orginal Gutenberg bible and other first additions as related to our "history of print" topic in September. It just took us this long to get tickets.

Something very special about this fieldtrip--Jeremy just happened to be covering a Neonatal transport shift-- which entails him sitting alone in the ambulance in a parking lot somewhere random until he is called to go transport a baby, doctor, and nurses from Huntington Memorial to another hospital and back. Being that the Huntington gardens is within a few minutes of the hospital, he was able to meet up with us and spend some time before he had to take a call. He is wearing his uniform in these photos. This is a pretty big deal for us to have dad along for the trip. These things just can't be planned. It all fell together perfectly!!

Fieldtrip Three
Thank you to Crystal and Karyn for taking my kids on the Survival Hike. It was a guided hike with a survival expert. I stayed home to do some packing. The kids played with fire, learned about edible plants, etc, and generally had a good time. India is convinced that she will never eat plants in nature. She said she couldn't tell the difference between the edibles and dangerously poisonious varieties.
This trip perfectly supports the Swiss Family Robinson component I am suppose to be doing right now. Unfortunatly, I have been doing the minimum three "R"s the last couple of weeks while getting ready for the move. I'm hoping to catch up on reading the next few weeks.

Halloween, Part 2

About six months ago, I turned around to see Jaden posed exactly like this. Unlike the other kids who changed their minds up until the last minute, he held his ground for months. We made the tie and name tag. His tag says "Men in Black", but the official title he has given this costume is "an Agent".

Siena is a perfect Snow White in MY costume from 1986. It fit her perfectly. Thanks for making me keep it, Mom!

Yep, Brennan is a total character. He INSISTED that the socks had to be tucked into the pants, he HAD to wear the jacket and not the awesome vest. I would like to tell you that this is an unusual pose. It's not. Jaden and he are playing some kind of sword fighting pretty much all day long--complete with sound effects, dramatic poses, and clever quips.