My boys look so handsome all dressed up!
Our most recent family adventure consisted of a trip to LAX to watch the A-380 take off for its return flight to France. It was history-making in the process, as this was its first time ever taking off in Los Angeles, and there were lots of people there to witness the event (from those who were trying to capture a picture of the plane with a cell phone camera to those who had a zoom lens that was more than a foot long. Generally speaking, those there with the biggest cameras also had several handheld radios tuned in to various frequencies that broadcast the exact second the plane would take off, at what speed, at what angle, and at what exact spot it would make its "rotation." As amateur planespotting enthusiasts, we fell somewhere in the middle of these extremes).
Yesterday was the first day of spring. I enjoy all the seasons, but here are some things I particularly like about spring:
Camera shy! But then in the good old days your nudie pic's were consigned to your grandmothers family photo album only to be unveiled again for the dating years. But doesn't every good 1st birthday end in a bath?
So, what do you think?
Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.
O Christmas Tree
O Christmas Tree,
How artificial are your branches?!?
I guess we've changed our perspective since our first Christmas together 4 years ago. Four years ago, Scott and I bundled up for a drive to the local mountains with friends, where we searched all afternoon to find just the right tree. When we got it home, we spent the evening in front of our fireplace, sipping hot chocolate and stringing popcorn garland to hang on the tree. Classic.
This year, we settled on an artificial tree because after 4+ years of killing Scott's plants, I guess he finally realizes that I will forget to water the tree. Plus, there's no water for Jonah to play in and track all over the house. We get to keep it up for longer, and it's just as fresh the day we take it down and put back in the box as it was when we first unwrapped each delicate branch. It even came pre-lit with 850 lights...my mom would be proud of the glow it emits (part of my family tradition growing up was my dad trying to convince my mom that there were already enough lights on the tree and then my mom and me sneaking more strands on when dad was not looking. Christmas trees cannot have enough lights--unless you've been to our apartment and seen the tree on the hill that is so bright that we have to keep the shades drawn at night. But I digress).
Anyway, our Christmas tree is up and there are only 13 more shopping days left. What am I doing blogging? I should be at the mall...
Jonah spent a day visiting with some of his cousins. He really enjoys being around other kids.
It would have been wise for him to stick a little closer to Adam...the girls enjoyed playing dress-up with him. Nothing like a good blackmail picture for future girlfriends, eh?
We fed the ducks at Balboa Park.
Packing up the Montrose apartment.
This is the first post in a series of many to come as we have started Jonah on solid foods. To our surprise, he warmed right up to the idea of cereal without making any funny 'first food' faces. Even more to our surprise, we didn't really see very much of the cereal after we put it in his mouth. He did a good job of swallowing without spitting it back out at us. 
However, he did not think that the spoon was very efficient ....too slow and not enough food! So he took matters into his own hands and started slurping the cereal straight from the bowl. 
A satisfied customer, for sure! Please check back every week or so to follow Jonah's discovery of new fruits and veggies!
Scott and Jonah enjoyed relaxing and reading on the deck at the cabin in Longbarn. Some friends graciously offered to let us use their cabin and they spent a couple of days up there with us. After a few days at the cabin, we went to Modesto so Jonah could visit his grandparents.
The next stop on our trip was Eureka, from where we went on a day trip to the National Redwood Forest. This tree is one in the Tall Trees Grove, accessible only by a 'leisurely stroll' (so said the pamphlet) of 1.3 miles. In hindsight, we assume that the stroll would indeed be leisurely if the temperature was less than 90 degrees and the humidity less than 80% and if one weren't carrying a hot sweaty baby so close. And did it mention that it was 1.3 miles to the trailhead, where the 'real' hike began? But it was a beautiful walk nonetheless, and we got this picture.
From Eureka we headed down the coast and stayed a night at Fort Bragg. This picture was taken at Glass Beach. We all look a little more refreshed in this picture mainly because we took a break from our camping adventures halfway through the week and stayed the previous night in a hotel. Jonah needed a full night's rest, and frankly, so did his parents! All in all, Jonah did great on the trip, other than having a hard time sleeping in the tent at night in so many new places.
We made our way down the coast to the San Francisco area, where we walked Jonah across the Golden Gate Bridge. He liked feeling the wind blowing in his hair!
"He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay." Matthew 28:6
