Pinewood Derby

Today was the annual Pinewood Derby race in Caden's Cub Scout pack. We spent many evenings this week cutting, sanding, painting, weighting, and getting Caden's car ready to race. Caden did a lot of the work at every stage, and we all had fun.

The race has evolved since Dada and Boopa were building cars 30 years ago, and the set-up today included not only a speed track (complete with an electronic timing system) but also a skill track and a car jump. Mama was a great help with recording each car's time on the speed track, and Finn even got in on the action. 

Caden's car won 2nd place in his den, and he also won the cash raffle prize. He was a happy scout today!

Otherwise, we've been laying pretty low this weekend. Last weekend, we had a really fun time meeting up with Auntie Sally in La Jolla, where we also visited the Birch Aquarium at Scripps.

Thankful

Caden had the week off for Thanksgiving Break, so he got to come to lab meeting on Tuesday. We had a discussion and editing party for curricula vitae, so Dada and Caden put together a 2-page bio sketch for Caden to share.

On Wednesday, Caden, Mama, and Dada went to Disneyland! The park was all decked out for the holidays, and some rides were entirely redone. For example, Jack Skellington had completely redecorated the Haunted Mansion. Caden is a few years older and a few inches taller than last time we visited the Magic Kingdom, so he got to go on more rides (like Indiana Jones) and now appreciates some that he was previously skeptical of (like Star Tours). He is also slowly gaining an appreciation for fast rides, including the Matterhorn Bobsleds:

Thursday was, of course, Thanksgiving. We had a low-key, but delicious feast. We kept it relatively simple - though Dada continued the tradition of roasting a couple of Cornish game hens for the non-vegetarians - as Mama, Dada, and Caden went to the Thanksgiving buffet at the University Club for lunch on Tuesday. It was fun to watch Finn appreciate traditional favorites. He liked the mashed potatoes and stuffing well enough, but abandoned everything in favor of roast game hen ("More! More!"). He ate a good bit of one of the birds. The big surprise was his *love* of the horseradish cranberry sauce. That trumped poultry as his favorite dish of the day. 

We have so much to be thankful for this year!

All the way to Tacoma ... and back

A week ago, we were wrapping up a trip to chilly Washington, where Mama, Dada, and their students were attending the Western Society of Naturalists meeting. This weekend, we're enjoying the warm weather around Orange County, where it's in the high 70s today.

We all flew up to Sea-Tac on the 13th. The meeting was at the posh Hotel Murano in downtown Tacoma. Ama took the train up from Corvallis to help out with the boys while Mama and Dada were at the conference. The first order of business was a bath to wash off the travel dirt. 

The hotel furnishings were designed to complement the Museum of Glass just down the street, with really neat glass sculptures throughout and each floor dedicated to the work of a different glass artist. That meant keeping a close eye on Finn, but also that there were some pretty neat things for a toddler to check out. 

We spent part of a day at the Museum of Glass, where even Finn really loved some of the exhibits. 

And on Sunday morning (Great) Auntie Holly and Uncle Robert and Cousin Juliana took the ferry over from their home on Vashon Island for a visit. 

After the conference ended on Sunday afternoon, we headed back up to Sea-Tac, where we met up with our friends Mark, Anne, and Leo for dinner.

Dada and the boys flew back home early Monday morning, but Mama stayed in Seattle to give a lecture, flying back Monday evening. 

Finn is becoming more and more mischievous and adventurous every day. Yesterday, he figured out how to climb up on a chair and from there onto the dining room table. Yikes!

We're enjoying staying pretty close to home this weekend. We drove down to San Juan Capistrano yesterday, where we found a yummy place for breakfast, checked out some antique shops, and explored the mission. 

But who needs a playground...

... when you have a Great Grandad Burrell chair in the living room.

New playground

Last week, the playground in the park next to our street finally opened, much to the delight of Caden, Finn, and the other neighborhood kids. Today, at Caden's request, we all headed over there to let the boys rumble around. It was the first visit since Finn's been really walking, and it was super cute to see him toddle around exploring. The little kids' structure has a great double slide, and the boys had tons of fun sliding in tandem.

Snoopy Sno-Cones

It is feeling a bit like fall here. Temperatures have fallen, and highs in the high 60s and low 70s are forecast over the next week. With wintery weather predicted over much of the northern half of the country, we decided to get in on the action. Finn discovered Mama's Snoopy Sno-Cone Maker as he was rummaging through the cupboards this evening, so we made our own snow here in So Cal:

On Saturday, we headed over to our favorite local nursery, Roger's Gardens. Not only do they have a great selection of plants, but on weekends, they have food trucks. Saturday featured the Maine lobster truck, and we'd been missing lobster rolls. The lobstah was delicious, and we found some tasty herbs to plant in the front garden. 

That afternoon, we headed to the mall to look at furniture. In the parking lot, we discovered a very nice car: