Winter time is here




















We were home for Christmas this year. We missed seeing everyone in Arizona and North Carolina but enjoyed having Christmas at home with the kids for the first time. We've been in our house almost a year now and things are good. Lots we want to do, but little time to do it, and for now it's probably more fulfilling to plan than to try and accomplish projects with little people underfoot.

The kids had a great time with the holidays. Ben really wanted a drum set and Santa was lucky enough to find that our friend John had a spare. Ellie really wanted a candy cane and ended up getting several of them so she was thrilled. Her other wish went unfulfilled, though. She wanted Santa to come to her house to play. (Anyone who wants to dress up next year, please keep us in mind! She'll probably be asking again.)


Mom and Dad came up from Florida by way of Donna's in NC and spent a week with us right after Christmas. We set up the trains they brought and Ben had a great time. Dad also installed a rope swing in the tree using his secret method that involves a fishing rod and some fancy knots. Now we can swing from one end of the yard to the other! Look out Ellie! Mike and I went out for New Year's for the first time in many years and had a great time! A very chilly night to ride the train into town but good company and a roast at Brenda's at the stroke of midnight.

Ben turned 5 in January. He enjoyed a whole week of turning five, with a family party followed by a party for his school friends. We played the fishing game I remember playing when I was young. We repainted all the fish and the kids loved catching them and winning prizes.

Dear Santa,

I want CANDY!!! (please)
Here's Ellie and her new best friend. She got right up there and told him what she wanted and even gave him a kiss!

I can wait for Christmas. I love the weeks leading up to it too much! We're listening to Christmas records, decorating pine cones, playing Candyland in front of the fireplace, eyeing the gingerbread house scheduled for demolition in 15 days, practicing holiday concert songs and dance moves, wrapping and hiding presents, turning on the lights each afternoon (we don't even wait until dark), and buying ingredients for all the cookies we're about to make. So, no hurry getting to the 25th this month. Luckily, we have Ben's birthday in January to cushion our post-holiday freefall.

Up the street from us the decorations say it all. The Flyers really are bigger than, well, the babe in the manger. Let's all say a little prayer to Lord Stanley.

And we're back, at long last!

Thanks, Cassie, for the encouragement to revive this site!!























Spring and summer were packed with moving into a new house, unpacking our stuff, sightseeing and rediscovering old haunts, planting things, catching lightning bugs, and swatting a lot of mosquitoes.

The kids are enjoying the late summer and the start of a new year of preschool. Ellie will be going on Wednesday mornings and she's very excited! When we get ready to drop Ben off she gets her new shoes on and packs her little backpack with random books and declares 'ready go school'!





We had a fantastic vacation over the month of August in Maine. Lots of firsts, including Ben swimming to the floating dock,and also trying the big rope swing for the first time.



Pop Pop fixed up an old wagon that turned out to be great fun to ride down the hill!







We had a few campfires and roasted marshmallows. Aunt Donna came up for a week and it was fun to hike and hang out with her!

She took some really amazing pictures including this one, of Jessie.




We got to see family from CA, MD and VA, all kinds of weather, and on the last day a newly born miniature horse.

That last day I also got to choose some raw wool from a neighboring farmer so we'll see if I can see the process through from washing the wool, carding, spinning and then making something out of it. Right now it's in the garage imparting an essence that makes it smell more like a barn than a garage. I'm going to a spinning class in November. I almost did this in Montana, but it was too pricey.

The best find this year in the rounds of yard sales and flea markets in Maine was the old Dave Barry book "Babies and Other Hazards of Sex". It's a great read and should probably be given to every new parent instead of all the other 'what to expect' literature that just makes you worry and obsess about everything.

Before leaving for Maine we got to see Jamie and meet her kids at long last!! Hope to see you guys before so much time gets away from us again!


We planted a garden right after we moved in. Ben grew a mammoth sunflower from a seedling started in his preschool class. Tomatoes thrive here, so far no luck with the pumpkins, but the eggplant, peppers and peas worked. We've also been having fun vermicomposting with our worm bin, which is also in the garage but will be headed for the basement this winter if Mike will let me. He's not a big fan of the worms so far.


I've gotten into woodworking and made some flower boxes and a very rustic looking chair. Shelves are next on the list.


I'm also pretty hooked on the local Freecycle network. Getting rid of stuff by giving it away is more fun than it sounds. And of course getting stuff for free is pretty fun, too!


We've made 2 trips to the beach so far this summer, and we'll head back there hopefully next weekend.

It's almost 1 year now since we left Los Angeles and a lot has happened, and yet life is so unbusy compared to those days. There are lots of things I miss, but mostly people. I haven't been very good at keeping in touch but I think of you LA folks often and hope to see you again! More to come...

This morning it's snowing lightly, Ben's in preschool, Ellie is eating an apple and playing, and it's a good time to catch up. In the past few weeks we've visited Mike's hometown of Belair, MD and caught up with a friend of his and his family. Ben got to see the house where Daddy grew up and walk around his high school. The cafeteria was the main point of interest to him since he has stayed for 'Lunch Bunch' a few times at preschool and isn't sure if he likes eating in a lunchroom or not.











Last weekend we visited a firehouse in Upper Darby, PA. One of the firefighters will be our neighbor when we move next month (more about that later). Ben was so excited to spray a real firehose, learn about all of the equipment, and see where firefighters eat and sleep (and of course see a real firepole!).









We've also started going to the YMCA for some much-needed mid-winter exercise complete with childcare. Ben and Ellie weren't too sure about being left there until they broke out the snacks (Applejacks). So much sugar - yikes! And now they'll recognize them at the grocery store. We may be at an age now where it's best to avoid the cereal aisle.




Mike has another Caterpillar show coming up this weekend. This picture is from their last one, right before New Year's at JohnnyBrenda's in Philly.


Off to change Ellie and find where she left her apple...

Happy New Year!

It's been a busy time since the holidays! Between colds we spent a wonderful Christmas in North Carolina (and forgot our camera) where we caught up with Ben's very grown-up cousins, Aunt Donna and Uncle Chuck, and Granny & PopPop. We were ushered home by a huge storm. While we were on the Chesapeake Bridge Tunnel it felt like we were out on the high seas!

Since then we have taken a trip out to Arizona to celebrate Grampa's 74th birthday (he used to work with tanks, hence the cake) and Ben's 4th birthday!! We had lots of fun playing in the backyard, enjoying the warm sunshine, playing peekaboo, and catching up with Gramma and Grampa, Aunt Kate and Uncle Cliff in person.

We also met Aunt Kate's new dog. She is very sweet and the kids loved her. During the flight home Ben asked if the truck that pushes the plane back from the gate was still attached.

When we got back to Phila we spent quite a while looking for our car in the vastness of Economy Parking. It finally dawned on us to push the car alarm button on our keychain and after a while it answered. Of course the subtext of this is that Mike thought it was in one area and I thought it was in another(1).

On Monday we celebrated Ben's birthday at home. Wow the big #4! Ellie enjoyed herself, too.

More soon.... really!!!

(1). Mike was right...

Weekend fun! We went to Longwood Gardens and did a lot of walking, played in the Children's Garden and looked for snow to throw at each other. Ellie found a cat (tiny video) and followed it around for a while. Later we helped John and Brenda pick out a beautiful Christmas tree and had some great stew and a cozy evening!

On Sunday we drove around looking for the perfect neighborhood on the R6 line that would simplify Mike's commute and didn't find it. Then we went to Swarthmore to see a great gamelan concert. Ben sat through the whole thing and really liked the drums and dancers! Ellie had to excuse herself in between songs during the 'quiet' times, but she really liked clapping and dancing to the music! Afterwards all the kids got to go onstage to see the instruments up close. Now time to get ready for Christmas!

SNOW! SNOW!

Today we had our first snow. Not much, but enough to cover the cars and make a few snowballs. It was a really pretty snowfall with big flakes and it was dry enough that they didn't turn to mush right away.

Here's some video of Ellie struggling to walk in her big snowsuit. She's a good sport. While I was photographing this Ben put a snowball on my head and at the end he put one on Ellie's too (just out of the frame). What a fun time today!