Fall in name only...

It's been hot here ever since we returned from the east coast in early Aug 7. Living in Ventura all these years, it was pretty much 65 - 75 degrees all year round. Occasionally it would dip to 60 ish or get up to the low 80's, but very rarely. Our new place, just 15 minutes east, is like a different ecosystem. It gets much hotter during the day - often is/feels around 90. (Also, being warmer in climate and on farmland, we now have numerous house flies as an issue - a stark contrast to the completely bug-less set-up in Ventura.)

Here's a shot of oldest and youngest daughters working on an ice pop this week... Love it:

We are very much enjoying the new house and the run-around feel it generates on a daily basis. In addition to our friends the Jamisons, we play quite a lot with behind-house neighbor kids Panther (girl, aged 7) and Osprey (boy, aged 6).

First week of "school"

This week the biggest two had their first week of "school" (for homeschoolers). This year we joined a local charter school that offers a homeschool hybrid program that offers weekly enrichment classes from 10 am - 3 pm every Tuesday and Thursday. Although the home portion of our school year began on Wed Aug 23, the in-school days began this past week. There are about 50 students, grades K through 8, divided up into four groups with 6 teachers present. Roo, grade K, is a "sea star" and Monkey, grade 1, is an "otter." We know about five other families fairly well who are also in the school which is great.

Roo was very apprehensive and cried her way through the first ten minutes, not wanting me to leave at drop-off. This was as expected; HF (whose disposition mirrors hers quite closely) had given her a pep talk about the likelihood of this response and how to handle it beforehand. She was thankfully very eager to return on Thursday, as we'd predicted, and did not want to go home when picked up. The monkey's main comment was that five hours was an awfully long time, and did it have to be so long? Perspective of a homeschooler...!

Subjects they cover during the day are science, gym, French, art, math games, outdoor ed, and early reading.

Here's a shot of our favorite 17-month old and her trusty companion, as if waiting by the gate for them to come home... (She's not actually waiting; I drive them - with her and the goose in tow. But cute photo nonetheless!)

This week

An old (and former camper) friend, Amanda, moved to Los Angeles in August from Philly. She and her husband Justin got married in July, and I had the pleasure of attending the wedding with co-counselor (and beloved) Lora. Such a great time. Amanda and Justin came for dinner; so fun to have them!

Nearby St. Thomas Aquinas College, an excellent Catholic institution, offers soccer on Wednesday afternoons for both boys and girls of all ages. It lasts an hour - practice and scrimmage - and is coached by students. Monkey is in the boys 4 - 8 group, and Roo and Goose are in the girls group (3 - 9). Goose could not be more delighted to get to participate with the big kids!

We went to the beach on Friday with our friend-neighbors the Jamisons, and we hit the jackpot in terms of animal sightings. We saw a brown pelican, loads of hermit crabs, and a school of six dolphins. The dolphins were the best - first time I had seen them like this since we moved here 4+ years ago. Very active and close-up. Such a thrill to watch them jump and play!

Life around Labor Day

Last Friday I took Monkey and Roo to a small, little-known museum in our new town that specializes in birds and eggs. Called the Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology, it does primarily research and publications but opens its doors to the public from 3 - 4 pm on the last Friday of every month for tours. We loved it. I wasn't surprised that the monkey dug it since he's into all things animal. But Roo quite likes birds, especially pretty ones, and there was lots for her to enjoy too. Here is a photo of monkey gazing on the world's largest egg, one laid by the now-extinct elephant bird.

For three out of the last four Labor Day weekends, we have canned tomatoes with our suburban farming friends, the Grahams. [A nearby farm, Underwood, allows you to pick starting at 6 AM on Labor Day Saturday for $0.25/lb.] We missed last September because we were in New England and they had moved to OK for the year; otherwise it's been our regular Labor Day tradition. Despite the fact that we learned three weeks ago that we will be moving back to the east coast by Christmas (!), we decided to go ahead and still pick and can some tomatoes for the fall. We had a great time, as always, and it was well worth doing. The kids are even getting old enough to help just a little.

Sunday HF went on a fruitless but fun dove-hunting venture with his two local hunting buddies (both of whom had canned with us on Sat). Labor Day itself was a leisurely, at home day with reading, napping, an In-n-Out dinner outing, and backyard pool play. Here is HF teaching Roo how to dip her nose in a kayak...

San Diego Zoo Safari Park

Last week the kids and I spent a day and a half with our dear friends the Welds in El Cajon near San Diego. It was probably our fifth time being down there since we moved here in 2008, and we marveled at how old the children have grown (and how many more there are now - up to a combined total of 7 from 4 back then). We are thankful to have good friends that double as local family out here.

This time we ventured out and hit the San Diego Wild Animal Park, a great venture. The monkey, our resident zoo-lover, especially enjoyed all the animals - especially since they have many that are not normally seen like cougars and tigers.

It was a very hot day, and the park had a couple of great "wet zones" which served to cool and refresh. Here is one... Like a maypole with various bucket and watering devices dumping liquid from above. So fun!

All in all it was a blast!