To build a fire

Caden and his Webelos den met yesterday to learn some survival skills. They constructed a shelter using wood, rope, and a tarp. This required cutting supports using a pocket saw and learning to lash them together to build a structure. They also practiced building a fire using an emergency fire starter.

Nana and Boopa are visiting right now. Boopa will fly with Dada to New Zealand this evening for a research trip, and Nana will stay here to help corral the boys. We've had fun going to the farmers' market (including the train), hiking along the Newport Back Bay, and checking out the touch tanks at the Back Bay Science Center. Boopa brought a special book for the boys. It's called The Funny Thing, was his favorite book when he was a boy, and has recently been re-printed in a new edition after being out of print for many years. Of course, Boopa can read it better than anyone, complete with funny faces and funny voices. 

Desert description

This came home in Caden's folder from school this week:

The sun burned as snakes slithered around. The cacti were the only green around. The mesas rose above everything. The birds didn't sing and the dry desert seemed to destroy my mind. Roadrunners ran trying to find a place to sleep. All sound was gone and I felt an eerie sensation someone or something was watching me. 

Visitors!

Ama and Adad, along with Great Auntie Janet and Great Uncle Tom, have been touring through the southwest with their Airstreams, and their route took them to Irvine this weekend. They arrived on Friday afternoon. Then, while Mama took Ama and Great Auntie Janet on an outing, Adad and Dada went on a super-secret mission to pick up Auntie Sally from the airport. Yes, that's right, we managed to host five adults in relative comfort - Great Auntie Janet and Great Uncle Tom in the guest room, Ama and Adad on the garage / playroom futon, and Auntie Sally in the Harry Potter nook under the stairs - and nobody had to sleep on the couch. We all enjoyed the Farmer's Market, the beach, yummy food, and cozy cuddles.

Auntie Sally!

Cozy reading 

Ama's cinnamon rolls

Beach fun

Birthday beach day

For Mama's birthday on Sunday, we headed to the beach for a picnic, lounging, reading, splashing, and sand play. We headed to Crystal Cove State Park, where we put our pop-up beach shelter to good use, enjoyed take-out from the Shake Shack, and explored the rocks and tide pools. 

After becoming sufficiently sandy, we headed home for some of Mama's favorites: taco salad and chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting. 

Happy birthday, Mama!

Zot! Zot! Zot!

What's "Zot"? According to the B.C. comic strip, it's the sound that an anteater makes as it eats. And it's an often heard cheer at UCI. Prospective students are even taught to "Zot! Zot! Zot!" on campus tours.

Caden is a member of the Junior Anteaters Club, which gives him and his guests (e.g., Dada and Finn) free tickets to athletic events and other fun perks. So, on Saturday, Caden, Dada, and Finn headed over to the Bren Events Center for a pizza party and part of the men's basketball game against CSU Northridge. Finn's favorite part? Getting to meet Peter the Anteater. They bonded, and once we were watching the game, Finn couldn't understand why he had to stay in the stands while his new friend got to be courtside. Eventually, Finn's increasingly vocal protests about wanting to "see the anteater" and the fact that bedtime was approaching forced us to retreat to our car and home.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Trading off

Mama and Dada have been traveling a lot for work lately - Dada was at a meeting in Finland last week, and now Mama is at a conference in Tasmania - so  we are sticking to the routine as much as possible and aren't doing anything crazy or unusual.

Auntie Sally flew out to help with the kids a week ago, as Dada was gone and Mama had to give a symposium talk. While Sally was here, everyone braved the misty weather and went for a hike at Bommer Canyon. This winter has featured a bit more rain than we've seen the last couple of winters (normal weather? El Niño?), and the hills are greening up nicely. 

Sally also got to go with Finley for a rocket ship haircut. It looks like he was zooming around pretty fast. I'm surprised that the barber was able to give him a decent haircut. 

Meanwhile, Dada was enjoying a taste of winter. 

Finn's new obsession is puzzles. He *loves* building them over and over again.

And on Saturday, after Dada got back, we took Finn to his first "real" concert, a performance by the Pacific Symphony of selections from Gilbert and Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance. We have season tickets for three to these special kids concerts by the symphony - Caden, Mama, and Dada have gone to Halloween and holiday performances - but this time, the babysitter called in sick. Finn did great! Between the music and the folding chairs in the concert hall (up, down, up, down), he was interested enough to stay in one place.