Sydney’s first bike

This morning we took off early for a pre-school rummage sale nearby in La Canada, CA- a suburb of LA. Can you believe it? 5 miles down the highway are three exits for a place called La Canada! I didn’t hear anyone say “eh” but they were all very nice there 😉

I managed to find a few summer things for the girls, including a couple of super cute dresses. But the most important find was a little Thomas the Tank Engine bike. We had found it as soon as we got there and Sydney rode around on it the whole time I was “rummaging”. I didnt’ realize that the bike was such a commodity. While we were walking around I was asked by someone  if we were going to buy it. Some other guy even bought it from right underneath Sydney! After we had been there for about 20 minutes a lady that was helping with the sale came up to me and said that a man just bought the bike and is leaving. I was in shock for a moment, but I managed to say “pardon me” instead of what I wanted to say (“WHAT?!”). Then I explained that we’d had it for quite a while, the lady was shocked too. She hadn’t realized that Sydney had it and had not left it the whole time. None of the ladies were happy that he was trying to take the bike out from under a little girl who was obviously in love with it. So the lady whispered to me that I should go talk to the guy. So I did and with all the ladies there staring at him, the guy was decent enough to give in when I asked him if we could buy it instead (he had a huge pile of stuff that he had bought, so I guess the one extra thing wasn’t such a big deal when faced with an obstacle). The ladies happily gave him his money back and took mine instead.

Anyway, it is a boy bike, but since when do I really care about those sorts of things 🙂 Besides, Sydney just loves Thomas and loves her bike.

As soon as we got home Sydney was asking to go ride it. So, I put Norah in the stroller and we went for a walk. She is just getting the hang of it. She has never really ridden a bike for long before and has never had to use the breaks. But she gets so focused, just like her father…and mother when there’s a challenge. It was mostly up hill for the walk, but she didn’t want to be pushed! She did a great job. All we need now is a little helmet.

Here is the proud little girl and her new $10 bike.

Our first Sunday in Sunny Pasadena

This morning we went to the RPCLA. We had never been to an RPCNA service before (they practice exclusive Psalmody and sing a capella) and since there is a church in the area we decided to go. It was a small congregation with some very welcoming people that we enjoyed meeting.

After church we drove home for lunch and put Norah down for a nap. Then we took off for a walk at the Huntington Botanical Gardens. Since Richard is a Fellow there, he and his family get free admission. Yay! The gardens are spectacular, even though it’s the off season! We only had time to see two (the gardens take up 120 acres of the 207 acre grounds), but there are more than a dozen different gardens, including a Desert, Japanese, Chinese, Subtropical, Herb, Jungle, and Palm garden. It even has a children’s garden! Also there buildings containing art collections (right now The Blue Boy by Thomas Gainsborough and Pinkie by Sir Thomas Lawrence are being exhibited) and then of course the libraries themselves. It is a beautiful place. Today we went to the Helen and Peter Bing Children’s Garden and the Chinese Garden.

The girls had so much fun in the children’s garden! It’s not cheesy and doesn’t make you dizzy with colour (like baby einstein stuff with weird shapes). There are reads and paths with different flowers, shrubs, etc., benches, rocks, fossils and fountains. Really great. Of course the girls especially loved the fountains. Norah shrieked the whole time, running back and forth from the fountains, showing other kids and parents how fun there was to be had with the magnificent water thingies! Sydney spent a bit more time figuring out the fountains and how your hand can effect the flow of water, etc. Needless to say, they were soaked by the end. It was a warm 80 degree day though, so we didn’t have to worry about them catching a chill before nightfall (it does cool down at night). But since Norah was especially wet we changed her out of her water-logged dress anyway and into a dry set. Next we walked a little farther through the garden to the Chinese Garden. This garden is still under construction – it must be a fairly new addition – but still beautiful. We have to remember to go back in March! The girls found the gold fish really quickly… and the goldfish also found the girls! Apparently these large fat fish were well used to being fed. So when they see people they swarm…. if fish can swarm. Sydney kept dropping little rocks and leaves in the water and the fish kept eating them and spitting them back out, sure that food was coming. Poor dumb things.

We all had such a great time. The girls just loved the freedom to run around, all the flowers and people. It was wonderful. So we will be making it a regular outing.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

A walk around the block and some fun in the yard

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Goodmorning

I am going to take the girls for a walk to the park and grocery store this morning. Now that I have some charged batteries in my camera I am going to take some pictures of the lemon and orange trees along the way. I just can’t believe that they are full of fruit in January! I love that. My perfect house would have a bright little breakfast nook where the sun peeks through early morning (much like the one I’m sitting in) and a lemon/orange or pomagranite tree in the yard. They are so beautiful: the glossy green leaves and bright hanging fruit. You just don’t get that in colder areas…including Vancouver – not quite tropical enough. Anyway, I’m sure I will miss the crisp mornings a little (not the ridiculously cold ones of course) and having 80 degree weather at Christmas might bother me a little, but for now, I am very happy to have warm sunny weather in a beautiful little area in Pasadena.

Our trip to Pasadena

Hello all,

Well we made it back from Paris safe and sound. We spent time with friends and went to Ontario for Christmas. It was great to be home again, if only for a little while.

We took off on Wednesday morning, Jan 12 in our new van. Yes, we have joined the club! We really like it. It’s a much better ride than our little cavalier was and the girls love the extra space and the high seats. We took five days to get here spending time along the way in Memphis (Thank you to Mrs. Maugans, Amy’s mom, for letting us stay the night!),  Oklahoma city, Albuquerque, and then up into Arizona to visit the Grand Canyon! It was magnificent. Sydney was pretty scared though and wouldn’t go near the bars to see over. So she opted to push the stroller around instead. We spent about an hour there, not enough to do it justice, but we had two little girls who were so happy to be out of the car… and then not so happy to be cooped up in a stroller and backpack… Our next stop was about an hour away near Prescott, AZ. We stayed the night with some lovely people, friends of the Wallace’s, the Perkinses on Saturday night and then we went to church with them Sunday morning. It was such a great little church. The people were very welcoming, so we decided to stay for lunch. Every Sunday they all have lunch together after the service. We were very glad to have been able to be there. Thank you to everyone at the Prescott OPC!

Sunday afternoon after lunch we took off for the last leg of our journey. It took us just about 7 hours, and so arrived at our new home at 7:30pm. Unpacked a little, put the kids to bed and relaxed. Richard and I enjoyed a glass of wine and some cheese together before falling fast asleep with the knowledge that we didn’t have to get up and leave the next morning. I think we all were ready to stop moving.

This morning is bright and sunny. Richard and I are sitting in a little breakfast nook with the sun pouring in while the girls are playing happily in the living room. As soon as I am finished this post we are going to go walk around to check out the neighbourhood. I am really excited about that! It is supposed to get up to 81 degrees out there today! What a fantastic winter this is shaping up to be. Apparently it was abnormally cold for the last two weeks here and then this week is abnormally warm! Usually the temperature stays between 60 and 70 for this time of year.

Here are some pictures of our journey and our new