Tony's Owl

Tony's 2nd grade handwork class owl project--and the results of the 2008 LA County fair!

The Can Crusher

1 cull green scrap 2x6x44 board from the Home Depot reject bin: 55 cents

1 door hinge left behind by contractors: free

2 jar lids saved from trash: free

6 wire nails found in garage: free

helping 1 thrilled 8 year old make a can crusher: priceless

9th Gup!

After two months of tae kwon do, both boys tested for their 9th gup belts (white with yellow stripe). They both broke their boards on their first tries, good job guys!

They (T-bone in particular, since he has 5 friends in the next class) are eager to test for their yellow belts and move to the intermediate class in another 2 months.

Leading the class:

Board breaks:



Proud boys!

July's Almost Over?

How did that happen? Here's a recap!

We saw Wall•E in June, which we all loved. (We won't discuss Kung Fu Panda—save your time and money!) E-man made a Lego cousin for Wall•E--complete with moveable arms and a turning head.

There's been a whole lot of outside play with trucks and scooters. No scooter pics since I don't usually take the camera out on playdates and follow-the-garbage-truck Mondays, but this is just one truck setup.
T-bone marched in the 4th of July parade for the third year—next year E-man will join him!

After the parade, there was the 1st-ever town picnic with yummy food and bounce houses. Truxtons, Tower Pizza, lemonade. And bouncing. What more could anyone want?

What's a trip to the aquarium without listening to a full set (or 2 or 3) by Pacific Percussion?
E-man was super excited for the 45-minute Long Beach Harbor cruise we took. His first time on a real boat (the Newport Ferry is fun and all, but not quite so exciting). The highlight had to be the sea lions.

I can't believe school starts in just over a month!
I have even managed to get some projects done!

I Frogged It!

I can't believe I am so happy to announce that. After months of having this thing hanging over my head, I frogged my bamboo sweater (see how they used her hair to hide the pattern...thanks a bunch). I had almost finished the back when I discovered the geometric pattern was not symmetrical on the garment. I though I'd messed up, but no, the designer says it wasn't designed to be. Ugh.

This is the last picture I took, it was over twice this size when I frogged:

So, now I have 5 skeins of Moda Dea Bamboo Wool and no pattern. I love the yarn though, it doesn't make me itch!

On a happier note, I did finish this super-cute baby girl's dress from the last issue of Crochet Today:

The flower is from another pattern, but this was quick, easy, and is super cute. Too bad I don't know any baby girls. It will be going to the fair and then charity. But if I know you and you have a baby girl in the next couple years, you may be seeing something similar!

Here We Go Again...

Thanks to my neighbor Melissa for pointing this lady out to me. She is living under the eave of the garage, in the back--so, right above my swiss chard. I've never looked up and found one of these before. Pete smooshed the egg sac, but she ran away. Which is OK, I just don't want 500 of these running around in the garden, composter, and earthquake bin (yes, I have one!). Last year they got into the garage, which was no fun at all. This was only the second I've seen this year. By far the biggest, but I do know where we have 4 different webs. So there are at least 4 more in the yard. *sigh*. She is really quite lovely, though probably angry at us now. Do spiders get angry?

Student of the Day

Six tae kwon do classes (2x/week), and both boys have been student of the day. And they didn't even have one the first day. Woo-hoo! T-bone got his sticker on May 12, E-man today. E-man had his second great class--there was not a bit of rolling on the carpet.  Here's the proud boy:

And T-bone, who was very hesitant about tae kwon do, loves it. E-man, who was so excited to do it, is not so sure. Today, though, he is very sure.

"The Best Peaches EVER!"

Says E-man. And I have to agree. We are getting peaches from our peach tree, and they are so good. Sweet and tart at the same time.

I spent a bunch of time 2 years ago researching peach trees in the Armstrong catalog. Trying to find one that would make good eaters (as opposed to bakers), not be too sweet, and that would actually make peaches most years here! It looks like we have a winner. I wish I could remember what variety I had settled on. White Queen? Santa Barbara? Snow Peach? It ruled my life for so long I thought I'd never forget. Haha. But wait, there's more:
Unfortunately, some critter has found them too, and is hiding them, behind the rosemary, half eaten. Squirrel? Raccoon? Boy? I know not. And for some comic relief, here is the actual tree.
Yeah, it's maybe 4 feet tall. Little tree with yummy peaches. But a year and a half ago it was a bare root stick about 3 feet tall.

And for something completely different, after all the database stuff and computer work for the silent auction, and all the crocheting on the doll I donated and making baby stuff for Kari, I rewarded myself with a little quilting. I started a Halloween quilt that I bought fabric for probably 2 years ago. Some new techniques for me, but it's been fun in spite of the frustrations of corners not matching and sewing the wrong edges together and so forth. I should finish the quilt top this week. It's small :)

Yes, another Lowe's Build n Grow for us. I took the boys yesterday for the "See it Grow Planter". And, other than needing some help fudging one side on because the predrilled holes did not line up (which he noticed himself), T-bone did the whole thing without a bit of help. E-man did just about all of his hammering (the last bit it always hard). Two proud and happy boys who didn't even want to go!

T-bone and I spent the morning at Los Angeles National Cemetery with a bunch of other boy and girl scouts so the kids could put a flag at each grave for their Memorial Day events tomorrow. A fabulous lesson in how people working together can accomplish a huge task in very little time (30 minutes!). The rain did help everyone move faster, but I had actually taken an umbrella. For once!

E-man took a snooze in the afternoon, and T-bone and I went to the Playa Vista library and then on a walk around the parks and along Bluff Creek, and managed to do some of the discussion requirements he has left for his Wolf badge. Getting T-bone to discuss is like pulling teeth, but it worked! Birds for me: lots and lots of red-winged blackbirds, common grackle, raven, lesser goldfinch, singing common yellowthroats, a flyby egret, mourning doves, house finches, coots, mallards, Anna's hummingbird. Exciting for T-bone: the utility boxes, the construction, the dog park, the missing and replaced fence rails, the dumpster. The usual!

It's That Time of Year Again...

Silent Auction time!

I have been lax updating. Just wanted anyone who might be reading this to know why. Now I must go work on the auction computer.

The big day is this Saturday, May 17. Want to see the catalog? Go here. And yes, I typed all that in. That's a database export, made nice by Liz. I'm still entering STUFF, hopefully Lisa has a computer and has started entering bidders. We will combine our files later....hopefully before the event!

Just another day (or 2) at the beach....

Well, I seem to be a week behind these day. April 11 was the 2nd Annual OCS Beach Clean-A-Thon. As a Kindergartener, E-man got to go on his first field trip and first school bus ride, as well as his first clean-a-thon. I got to ride on the bus with the second graders (E-man was way less scared of his first school bus ride than T-bone for his second!), and Pete met us at the beach with his camera.

Getting instruction and splitting into groups (needless to say, T-bone's group filled their pail first, and filled it twice--with just 2 kids!)

Sharing beach rocks with his teachers:
E-man takes a leap!
T-bone enjoys his well-deserved snack:
Our efforts at getting sponsorship, though, showed us how horrible the economy truly is. It's been so much harder getting sponsorships this year. Though we aren't particularly pushy (I think). Between how much harder fundraising is getting, how much the Governator keeps cutting school funding, and the obsession with memorizing standardized test information, I don't see how public schools are going to teach kids any form of problem-solving skills whatsoever. That will make for a great country in 25 years.

Anyway.

It was such a beautiful day on Friday that we went back to the beach Saturday just to play (and it was so clean!). It was 90 degrees and we were there for 5 hours. Yes, five. For the first time ever both boys had tons of fun running in and away from the waves. With some digging and snacking thrown in, of course. Good thing I packed some food!

Spring Break week 2

Oh, I'm behind again! Blogger gives me fits on occasion when trying to add photos. And then I give up.

On to week 2! A great playdate, me trying to recover from the cough with a cold that is going around, some walks, and lots of cub scouts.

First was the Pinewood Derby. 

Go Waste Management! (That would be T-bone's, of course, before it needed emergency repair to put a wheel back on.)

Go, Volvo! That would be E-man's, racing a small white version of our car in the open division, for parents and siblings.

T-bone and E-man were both very excited that E-man's Volvo beat (over 6 heats!) the Ferrari made by the dad that is waaaayyyyyy too into the Pinewood Derby (every pack has one, right?). E-man got second overall, but his victory was beating that Ferrari.

And then followed another week of walks and scooter rides, errands, a big playdate, and checkups at the dentist (they argued about who got to go first!).

And then, the last weekend of Spring Break. Cub Scout Rocket Camp! A weekend camping at the scout reservation in Brea. Making rockets, launching rockets, bikes, BBs, archery, and a skit for T-bone. Making and launching a rocket for E-man. Hunting for frogs, climbing up and down bluffs, sliding down bluffs, soccer at camp, and eating bad food and drinking--well, really, what was that "punch"? Drinking corn syrup and red dye 40, I guess. 

Boys and rockets: E-man's is the Tom and Jerry Shooter, T-bone's was nameless, but said "Keep Space Clean"--of course!
T-bone clips in his rocket.
We have lift-off!
T-bone retrieves his rocket after its 700 foot trip up--and down!
Uh-oh. After many tears, Tom and Jerry was retrieved by dad the next day, after borrowing a very very long polished tree branch from someone in area B. And no one got poison oak!
The sea of tents (the other direction looked the same!).
Lessons learned: someone has a very long pole for the purpose of retrieving rockets from trees, and bring your own food!

Spring Break, week 1

The boys have a 2-week spring break, so here is the summary of week 1! Pete, unfortunately, has the week after their 2 weeks. Figures.

So, spring break started off with a visit from the Easter bunny! We skipped the crazy ruckus and shoving parents at the Westchester egg hunt, and let the bunny bring the goods to the house.

We made a dinner of ham, carrots, glazed radishes (from the garden), and foccacia. Yummy!

T-bone in particular was thrilled to see the garbage trucks on Monday--though one was so late we finally just had to go run some errands. When T-bone misplaced his green Bruder can, he decided to make a new one (disaster averted!), and trimmed down his first try to create a working can. Of course, as soon as he sat down to use it, he found the missing can under the couch....


On Tuesday we went to the Scout Shop to pick up a pinewood derby kit for E-man, and a larger shirt for T-bone. Then we went to the Cabrillo Aquarium since we were right there. E-man, of course, loved the sharks. T-bone liked the huge lobsters best. And the yellow recycling cans.

At home, E-man made a special seaweed collecting boat. The scoop (on the left) collects seaweed (kelp, really) from the ocean,  dumping it onto the small shelf. That then dumps it onto the main part of the boat (the dumptruck piece). As you may have guessed, they have some kelp at the aquarium!

Wednesday we went to play at Acacia Park in El Segundo, which has a super tall spiral slide, a wave slide, swings, and a tire swing. I didn't take the camera, so no pics of super dizzy T-bone or E-man bouncing down the wave slide.

Thurdsay we had a playdate with a friend of E-man's at Lindbergh Park in Culver City. Again, no camera, but the boys all loved a quick trip to Target for pizza after the playdate. What is it about kids that makes eating at target soooooo exciting?

Friday Pete and the boys finished up their pinewood derby cars. More on that tomorrow--hopefully blogger will be more cooperative in letting me upload pics! I spent the day at the Family History Center in West LA doing research on my Martins in Cambridgeshire (they actually have, there, a bunch of the films I need!).  Three hours, and I only got through one film. But I think I am now back two more generations! We'll see if the other films confirm or refute what I think I know!

Saturday we had to turn in the cars for  weighing and impounding, and we had a brief but nice visit with Scott and Elizabeth. Pete had some extra hops corms (?), and has now talked Scott into growing hops too. Lucky Elizabeth :)

Yellow Tiger & Orange Shark

Welcome Home little guys!

Well, we have fish again. Guppies, again. I like guppies. They are cheap, cute, and don't hate me when the water gets a little thick. And I do have to say I love it when they see me or a boy pick up the jar of fish food and wiggle waggle their whole selves (I mean the fish wiggle waggle themselves, though I suppose the rest of us could to get into the spirit of things). And they don't mind the boys staring at them. I am guessing most people reading this know which boy has the tiger and which the shark.

Do you have any idea how hard it is do take an autofocus picture of guppies? I do.