A final post before the new year is upon us...

Well, it seems as though time is moving quickly these days as we are enjoying good times for the holidays.  We had a great time on our trip last week and it is hard to believe it is New Year's Eve already.  I have been feeling a need to organize things, get rid of junk that clutters our tiny home, go through the closet and remove unworn items (Why do I have button up shirts?  I never wear them. Well there is one I like...but I never wear that one either.) You know, start the year organized and refreshed.  

This feeling has remained merely a feeling as I lounged about today playing blocks and trains with Mason.  He recently discovered that toll gates are incredibly fascinating while we were down in LA for Christmas visiting my family.  He had read about them in a book of his called Traffic.  You may know it, it is about a little car on its way home...wait, what am I saying? It is highly unlikely you have ever seen it.  It was on the "give away table" at school as they were thinning out the library collection.  Anyway, you can imagine what it is like.  It is a running commentary of what you would see out your window if you were on a drive.  Take Mason on a drive sometime and you will notice all that you ignore and take for granted each day.  He is an observer.  He takes it all in and tells you all about it as you travel from place to place.  He particularly loves when you drive through tunnels, by trains, by fountains (even ones that aren't working), machines at work: bulldozers, back hoes, jackhammers, etc.  

This book introduced him to the wonders of the toll gate.  The text is simple: The toll gate is shut.  The toll gate is open.  You can create your own visual.  Mason loves these pages of the book and will go back to them numerous times each read.  Well, when we entered a parking garage in Santa Monica last week, what did we see live and in person???  Not just one, but several toll gates.  Just about every day we got to see this brilliant invention.  At the Farmer's Market on Christmas Eve, Mason kept searching for more toll gates and had Grandma stand and watch with him as many cars came in and out.  He gave a detailed explanation to Grandpa who had missed out on the fun when he met up with us that day.  He was sure to tell him about how the toll gate was open, then when the car went through it shut, complete with hand gestures so he could really get the idea. 

Well, today while building, Mason discovered that one of his train track pieces had...you guessed it, a toll gate.  "Mommy, play toll date with me."  Gs are still pronounced Ds.  So, much of my morning was spent taking turns opening and shutting the toll gate and driving my little truck through.  If I stopped to try to do something else around the house I was called to back to toll date duty.  I finally gave up on trying to motivate to do something more in the way of being organized and embraced the giant mess of toys and played toll date with my boy.  It was a great day.

Happy New Year, may you find time to notice the simple things around you.  

Local Flavor

So we recently took part in our local Christmas tree lighting event.  It was a chilly Thursday evening and excitement was in the air.  Mason was reluctant to wear a coat, but decided it might be worth it when the hopes of a possible cookie treat was in his future. OOOOOoooohhhh!

There was a big band that must have been freezing, especially the horn section. Mason loved the music and gave generous applause at the end of each song.


All the pageant winners from our little city got to introduce themselves to the crowd.  Santa and Mrs. Claus made an appearance on stage as well as two dogs masquerading as "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer". Mason liked them, too.

After a sing-a-long, they lit the tree.  The photo is a bit dark, but the tree was quite pretty on that wintery evening.  

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am thankful for family.  Mine arrived in town yesterday.  Mason was busting with excitement as he peeked out the tiny window at the top of the door.  Poppop! Uncle Tis, Dama! (Gs are pronounced D right now, our favorite is when he wants to eat "pomedamates").  It was a rainy morning and the fam arrived just before lunch.  Mason ran out the door to greet them bouncing with joy. We all had lunch and then after all the excitement of showing his favorite things, he crashed out for a long nap.  

Later that evening, he played like the wild one he can be after a solid 3 1/2 hour siesta.  He pounded on his drum and led everyone in singing his favorite songs.  He paraded through the house dancing with tiny teddy and so on.  Then as the evening crept on he developed a crazy cough that would not quit.  We tried the steamy shower room idea, the warm shower, the propped up pillow and still the cough.  As the wee hours of the night fell upon us he got a bit wheezy.  Josh was an absolute trooper.  He hung in there and tried to let me sleep amidst Mason climbing me and hacking away. We had to force the baby mask and asthma inhaler, which feels like absolute torture as he wiggles and resists it with all his might.  Yet, he finally slept and I lay awake worrying about our little guy.  Somewhere in there I fell asleep to wake with a dead arm that was under him and a body that was teetering off the edge of the bed.  He woke again struggling to breathe and we wrestled and got him to take a bit more medicine.  He slept the remainder of the morning completely taking over my spot and sprawling as I once did.  I couldn't sleep, so I did laundry and found some fun bargains online and did a bit of holiday shopping.  

I am thankful for my parents who stayed up countless hours with me and my asthma, my mom that would take me to the emergency room, which I was dreading the thought of last night, my husband that hung in there, the sleep that Mason finally got, the internet for providing quiet entertainment in the wee hours because doing dishes was just a bit too loud, and my brother who can sleep through the chaos of a night in our tiny plastic castle.

Summer Fun

Last year at this time we were heading south for our Costa Rican adventure.  We met up with friends to celebrate Dave's birthday.  It was quite fun and as you may have read on previous postings.  This year we are staying home and family members are coming to visit us.  We did miss out on the Los Angeles "pre-Thanksgiving" celebration yesterday, which was sad indeed making that two years in a row of absences.  So perhaps next year we will be making our way south to celebrate with our LA posse.   

Reminiscing on past events I got to thinking about our summer fun and our good friends out in Boston.  Dave, Jeanne and, Gretchen made their way out here to our place last July, braving the summer heat to see us.  Fortunately, the weather was not the blistering heat it can be in July and we had a great week.  Knowing how chilly it must be in Boston right now, I thought I would send some warm memories their way.  Mason and Gretty had lots of fun playing outside in the water tub (good thing they are both pretty tiny-I think we will need a bigger pool next year),

drinking "fancy" drinks,

and doing a bit of gardening.  They enjoyed harvesting a collection of tomatoes, or as Mason calls them "May-toes".

Mason loves the garden.  He loves to bring in the vegetables and wash them off.  

And those of you who know him, know he loves to eat.  Just the other morning at breakfast he said, "Jelly is tasty.  I like food."  He is willing to try many things.  He loved to try the "May-toes" and really wanted to like them.  He never gave up on trying them, however, 

he just wasn't sure he liked them. Unless they were transformed into salsa, then eating was on. Full speed ahead!

This year as I think about all that we have to be thankful for, I am happy to have my family and friends (near and far), and lots of love and laughter.  

I look forward to more fun at the fountain,

more visits,

more improvements to our garden, (Thank you boys for all your "manly work"!)

more smiles and time well spent,

more chasing bubbles,

and more hugs!  Bye, bye Gretty, see you next time!

Happy Thanksgiving!

And they said, "Let there be bark!"

And then, there was bark.

A ton of bark! Several tons, as a matter of fact! 

And once it was delivered, it had to be moved. At least we had help.

It was, as Mason put it, "Haahh Wuhk!"

Peek-a-Boo Mason!

Mason loves to hide and be found. He likes for you to search for him and find it "challenging" to discover his latest hiding spot. From within his hiding spot he hasn't quite mastered the art of hiding silently. To him if he can't see you, you can't see him, that is all that is needed for a good hiding spot.
I love to ask questions such as, "Hmmm, where is Mason? Daddy, have you seen Mason? Is he under the bed?"
Which typically provokes a hiding Mason to respond, "Nooo."
"Is he inside the closet?"
"Noooo!"
"Is he behind the curtain?"
Giggles and laughter erupt....ahhh, it is the best,
Peek-a-Boo, Mason!

Autumn is my favorite season!

We recently attended a music workshop that was quite inspiring.  One part I could fully relate to was a lesson related to the seasons.  Our presenter was introducing a song and series of lessons where she began with "Autumn is my favorite season!  I love the fall, the leaves, the pumpkins...."  She then told of her students that say, "But Ms. Medley, didn't you say that summer was your favorite season?"  She replied, "Yes, and in a few months spring will be my favorite season."

I feel this way as the seasons change.  There is so much that can be noticed and enjoyed as the earth makes its way around the sun.  Just last week, Mason and I were traveling home as the sun was setting so early.  The sky was a gorgeous mixture of pinks, blues, oranges, and yellows.  We watched it with ooohhhs and aaahhhs.  Then the full moon appeared and we glanced out the other side of the car searching for it as it peeked in and out of the trees and buildings on our journey home.  We couldn't wait to get home and tell daddy of the wonders we saw.  

The fall brings so much more.  The pumpkins, the leaves, family, and celebrations.  Mason's birthday was a huge celebration and is in need of it's own posting, which I will attempt soon.  Most importantly, it brings about time to spend with the boys.  I look forward to spending our week off together next week.  And I promise I won't try to have you dress alike everyday.

It's All a Bit of Magic

Do you ever feel like you wish you could bottle up the feelings you have at a given moment so you could drink them up on a day when you are needing that "magic" you once felt?

I was just scrolling through our photos from the last few weeks trying to find where to begin. Josh is in Mason's room playing guitar for nap time and it was like everything seemed magical as I thought of all the fun memories we have created this summer. I have been wanting to write and share some of these special times we have been having, but have found it difficult to break away from just being in the moment. So today as Mason falls asleep and we get ready to head outside to finish up some more projects, I will leave you with a couple of moments and get back to the spirit of blogging.  If you have a minute, Mason recommends running through the corn field...

...and taking a rest in your bean teepee.

It's all a bit of magic.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

It is hard to measure how much you can love a person in your life. They show you in so many different ways that their love is creative, and inviting.

It is teaching and sharing one's talents.

It is stopping to notice the beauty that surrounds us.

It is tasting a sweet treat.

It is a kiss blown from the top of the highest tower on the playground.

It is sweating in a Frankenstein costume on a hot summer day.

It is going for a bumpy ride.

And helping someone climb to reach the top.

It is driving, getting lost, begging to be let into the library as it closes to checkout the solar oven cookbook in time to let you cook your first sun-cooked birthday meal.

I love you and all your crazy ideas.  Thank you for making our lives so rich and overflowing.  We love you daddy!

Mason and Mommy

Our First Harvest!

The other morning we were outside checking out the garden and here are some of the new things we found.  Our first pumpkin!

The bean teepee is a fun breakfast spot.  The beans are getting taller.

The tomato plants are huge and many have green tomatoes on the vines.  Here's the Mr. Stripey!



The garden is booming and some vegetables are ripe for the picking.  Here are some of the first picks.

Yellow squash!

Green Beans!

Maybe we should cook them first!

Okay, Mommy.

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

I'm looking forward to playing with you soon up in Idaho, Grandpa!

Love, 

Mason

We hope  your day is a great one!  Miss you.

Love,

Joshua, Jen, and Mason (and Onyx, too)