Biola University Christmas Tree Lighting

 Yea for Christmas,

candles,

and the annual Biola Christmas tree lighting.

 

 The Biola car.  Not the best picture but it was cool.

 A sister and friend.

 One of my favorite parts every year is the lighting of the candles.

A wave of warmth and light starts in a corner and slowly grows.

Magical.

Of course there was a moment a certain girl and toddler where changing places 

and a styrofoam cup caught on fire.

But it was put out before anyone noticed.

 Awesome music.

LOVE live Christmas music.

Of course, the huge tree that was lighted.

 The couple who pushed the button to light the tree were 90 year old newlyweds.

They dated at Biola.

He asked her to marry him but she had to go home to her parents

and didn't have the money to go back to see him.

They both married other people and had 45 year plus marriages.

Both widows, they met up again and are now Biola Betty and Bob newlyweds.

 

 The snow in the lights of the decorations, so pretty.

Lots of snow.  

The girls were over the top excited. 

Good job, Biola!

 Indoor fun is extra special with homemade bean bags.

Thanks for all the help.

You know who you are.

The fish is still alive!

Not that I was expecting anything other than that....

...just happy the little guy is still alive.

Mud.

 These girls have made huge mud puddles almost every day this week.

 I think it is adorable that they ask first.

 Testing the mud for something I assume.

Lots of worms.  Lots.

Like hold him for 2 hours type of lots.

Did you do this as a kid?

I'm fairly certain everyone is saying yes.

We are wishing you a very fun, 

headband-over-the-eyes silly day!

Baklava

 A lost photo from Sea World. 

Just 'cause.

I love baklava so when a real armenian mama offered to teach how to make it,

I signed up.

It is easy and delicioius.

Note to family: you will be having a lot of baklava this Christmas.

We are leaving on a jet plane...

don't know when we'll be back again.

 It worked for

Peter, Paul and Mary.

This is their plane.

You don't see the vacuum that doubles as a steering wheel 

and makes an authentic plane noise when turned on.

Quite funny.

And should you wonder what Katie is taking with her...

 

it is her portable type writer of course.

We have a lot of fun with this thing.

The girls can type with their toes!

On the boardwalk

This is from October 

but I added it because it makes me happy.

Is it June yet?

 The chilies are hot.

 Is this a stork or an egret? 

I adore watching them fly outside.

They show up best when the clouds are gray with rain.

They don't mind when we walk by them about 20 feet away.  

So fun to watch them walk around the stream.

Walking in the rain.

Splashing the puddles.

Excercising the dog.

Good day.

Happy Birthday!

 Katie made a wish and I think she wished for...

 a birthday party...

 blowing out candles...

 doughnuts...

 raspberries...

 tangerines from the tree...

 flowers from the garden...

 lots of fun...

 new shoes and a toy...

 a bird's nest from God...

and some good bike riding.

If my guess is right, 

she had a wonderful day.

Tim McGraw Concert

Yes, it was as good as it sounds.

So glad I made the effort to go.

No assigned seating means we could get as close as we wanted.

We ended up dancing on the side.

There was a real honketonk (sp?) but I have no idea what the word really means.

It was a lot of fun.

California has pretty fall trees too.

So beautiful!

On the farm

 All the kids caught lizards.

I watched their little faces with the frustration of trying to catch these little guys.

Fear and hesitation of actually touching them.

Excitement of holding their very own lizard.

I was so wrapped up in the moment,

I didn't realize I was standing on a swarming ant heap.

Ant bites HURT!

 Katie and her friend Violette.

 Strawberries.

 Sisters who drive tractors together are friends forever.

 E caught a lizard.  She put it to sleep by rubbing the tummy.

40 minutes later: she still had the same lizard.  Now in a deep coma.

She couldn't wake him up so she tossed him out the car window thinking he was dead.

Only to find out he was still alive!

Our lizard breeding program will have to wait until another suitor if collected.

 Farmer Dave was awesome.  

He hid yams and eggs so each kid could easily collect their own farm goods.

 We picked apples.

 Chickens are so pretty when other people own them.

Just as long as I don't have to clean up after the filthy birds.

 I love that they used ingenuity to create a make shift green house.

I would buy the farm just to own this rose bush.