The Hill Climb

We ventured up to Pikes Peak for the only legal camping night (during the Hill Climb) this summer. It was chilly, fun and FAST. It's hard to imagine the cars zooming past at 90 miles per hour without standing on the side of the road, but wow - it's intense. Our friends Pam and Daniel drove their amazing vintage Cortez RV up the mountain and it became the play yard for the 3 3-year old girls. The girls were more than happy to play in the RV as the fast cars and bikes zoomed by outside the window.

Happy 4th

of November.

Once again I've done a piss poor job keeping the blog up-to-date. We had a really busy summer and I wanted to share (and document) some of the highlights. So, the next few posts will be me attempting to catch up.

To begin - We ventured to rural Kansas for the 4th of July! This trip was in the middle of the most amazing ladybug invasion. They were all over the place. Adeline cared for each one that she found in the house by taking them back outside or finding them a home on our aloe plant. Here she is in the airport on our way to Kansas with a ladybug friend. It was a fun time complete with potato harvesting and a good ol' America loving, parade. Notice the name on this John Deere.

Flowers

For those of you who don't get to see Adeline on a regular basis, here is a fix.


And the photo she took at the end of the video.

Here are a few choice shots from our trip east. Up top the two younger generations on the porch at Avalon (Cousins Island), Adeline after a very sandy day at the beach. There is something to be said for the sun screen that isn't quite as goopy and sticky as the kind I buy. It was like the sand was glued to us. Finally, Adeline at the Eric Carle museum in Amherst.

I've not had the time or motivation to sit down and do a post for quite some time. We've had a busy summer with nearly every weekend filled with visits to friends, trips to the mountains or travel for work or fun. Much of the time after I take a great photo of Adeline, my garden or our adventures I think to myself, I've got to do a blog post about that! It just doesn't happen.

This week we have been in Maine on Cousins Island spending time with Jarrod's extended family. It has been mostly relaxing. A lot of our time is spent on the front porch of Avalon (the house) reading, playing and enjoying the view. Each year when we come here there is a learning curve getting to know the complexities of the various ages of the small children. This year we have two 3-year-old girls and two 1-year-old boys.

Food is always an adventure here, and highly planned to be "just so." For instance - lobster night (Wednesday this year) we have lobster, salad, crisps (potato chips), and doughnuts for desert. Nothing more, nothing less. Tonight, we will have Uncle John's paella! It's a sea food paradise. More later.

Happy Birthday Adeline!

"people"

Adeline has been making some amazing drawings of people lately. This session took her about 5 minutes. She has an impressive technique for a 2 year old (I'm only allowed to say that for a few more days).

3 in a few days

Adeline will turn 3 on June 30th. Lately, I've followed the suggestion of a friend who encouraged me to start writing down particularly interesting things that Adeline says.

Here are a few:

To our friend Gina who was carrying a black purse:

"Why is your black purse black?"

Sometimes she puts together random words. I think it is just an expression of her growing vocabulary and that she is interested in saying things that are very important to others.

For instance:

"These cards are for childs; that's why you have to be quiet"

or

"Are you ready to go in a combination?"

One of Adeline's favorite things to do these days is get her "ballet shoes" on (silver, sparkly, obnoxious dress up shoes) and "do ballet class." One afternoon as she used the buffet to hold as she did some extraordinary "ballet moves" she stood on her tippy toes and stated:

"Stand on your toes and be a lady"

My mom brought my old Dr. kit on a recent visit. Adeline enjoys treating us for various ailments. The other day when i was busy doing house work, she really wanted to play Dr with me. This was the exchange as Adeline went to get her Dr. kit:

Adeline: "C'mon mom, you're sick!"
Molly: "What's wrong with me?"
Adeline: "You have chemicals in your toes"

Oh my! Yikes!

The other day, she chanted "I'm the artist - Artist Adeline" while creating a masterpiece.

I've been a not-so-great blogger lately. In the absence of a good post, I figured a few pictures were better than nothing. 

Off again

I love this picture of me and Adeline at SF MoMA last month.

Adeline and I are meeting my mom in Denver on Thursday for another whirlwind trip to California. The impetus of the trip is 2 conferences for work - the first in Garden Grove which I learned from a CA person has been dubbed "Garbage Grove" and the other in San Francisco. I really like traveling in California and I am excited that we get to wrap a road trip into the visit.

I will be presenting a paper at the National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST) on Monday. This is exciting and nerve wracking all at once. I'm not a huge fan of getting up in front of people, and NARST is known for being a little cut throat, but I'm doing lots of practicing and honing my best smart girl face. Then, I'll attend the Math Science Partnership regional meeting in San Francisco the following week. This one is a watch and listen gig.

We have an exciting itinerary planned in between the two conferences! Next Tuesday at the conclusion of NARST, I will head to the Orange County airport to pick up a rental car. Then, my mom, Adeline and I will head north. We have decided that it is worth the time to take the Pacific Coast Highway since my mom hasn't seen it since I was an infant. It will add 2 hours or so to our trip, but if we time it right it should be a lovely drive.

Then, we will spend a night or two outside of Monterey with the Morse family (see post below). I am thrilled to get another visit in with Erin this spring. She has an amazing organic garden, a bevy of chickens and a certain 2 year old boy that Adeline loves to hang out with.

We will end our journey on Friday in San Francisco where we will meet Jarrod at the airport. The clan will check into the hotel and spend the weekend doing SF. Jarrod and I are going to take advantage of my mom being on the trip and go out on Saturday to rock out with our friends the Mother Hips. Yes, it will be a lovely time.

I'm also looking forward to visiting with a VERY old friend in San Francisco. Eliza is working for Speesees, my current favorite toddler clothing company.