Friday, November 18, 2011

Snail Mail – Words You Can Carry Around

We had a Hallmark moment last night as Tracy read a birthday card to Matteo from his Greatgrandpa – Papa Bill. While she was reading, Matteo kept saying “Papa Bill!” and looking behind Tracy as if he was really there and we were hiding him. Matteo couldn’t believe he was hearing words from him without seeing him. Reading Papa’s words was just as magical as hearing them on the telephone and now he has them to carry around with him!

(Copy of a Facebook post by Nana.)

Meteors and Child Chatter

Last night and early this morning was the peak of the Leonid Meteor Shower this year. Turned out to be mostly a bust from our point of view, except for the child chatter Matt and I were privy to as we sat on the deck looking up at the night sky with great anticipation. We had Sam and Serafina out with us, and neither was interested in the quiet, almost reverent attitude some of us adults like to assume while stargazing. They chatted up a storm. And it was all (well, mostly all) related to the event. How big stars are. How hot they are. What planet is that? Mars is closer, you know. Are there more than 35 stars? More then 100? More than a thousand?!?!?! That’s just another plane; I wonder where it’s going. Mrs. Anderson said… No I’m not cold, not as cold as the moon. Is the lit side warmer?

The evening was pretty cool (in more ways than one). And, as is often the case, the best and most memorable parts were but tangentially related to the main event.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Matteo's Birthday Party = Logging Competition

One of the many beauties of a large extended family is that all manner of interesting activities pop up that might never have occured to a smaller group. Take logging, for instance. How many times does that pop to mind as a fun birthday activity - for a 4-year-old?!

Just so happened that cousin Mario's Cal Poly Logging Team was having a competition the weekend of Matteo's birthday... Done!

We spent the bulk of the day at the Swanton Pacific Ranch (just north of Santa Cruz). Just hangin' out at the competition, watchin' all the action, and eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. It was very cool!

http://www.jamie-foster-photography.com/Other/111112-Cal-Poly-Loggers/

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

We've got some Baby Seals

There's a "safety officer" in every organization, right?! You know, the guy who's always pointing out risks, keeping scissors off the bed, basically the paranoid guy. Jamie's that guy at the Compound. And he was never so pleased when Tracy found this fabulous child water safety program for infants and toddlers.

It's the Baby Seals Swim Academy: http://www.baby-seals.com/. AJ is pictured at left having learned to go to his "starfish position" when he finds himself in open water. This can buy him some precious seconds or even minutes for help to arrive.

Good job, Tracy!

More photos: http://jf2.com/111019/

Monday, July 25, 2011

Oso Flaco Lake and Dunes

Oso Flaco Lake and Dunes is another great place for family hiking, especially when additional family from out of town arrives.

Photos: http://jf2.com/110725/

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Hiking the Central Coast

There's no lack of great outdoor activity in our neck of the woods along California's central coast. Today we visited Edna Valley, the Los Osos Oaks Reserve, and Montana de Oro. It doesn't hurt to be prepared with an all-terrain Bug-a-Boo stroller that can be put in its "rickshaw" configuration for rough and over-grown trails.

Photos: http://www.jamie-foster-photography.com/Other/110703-Edna-Los-Osos/

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Lots of May Birthdays

And this year we chose to celebrate them all at once at our local Irish Pub. We threw in a little Italian nonsense for Matt, too! Our May birthdays go from the in-house patriarch in his 80s to the number one young one at 9. In addition to the 3 "nuclear family" birthdays, we celebrated a couple other family birthdays as well!

Photos: http://jf2.com/110507/