The Redwood Forest

After Lucas and I flew back from CA (which would have been preferable to the drive back, if not for the flight delay that led Lucas to lay face down in the middle of the airport hallway at about 10:30 pm in sheer exhaustion, as we were still waiting to leave San Jose, and then got us home after 1 am), John and Josh drove back, taking the scenic route this time.

From John's parents home in Menlo Park (just south of San Francisco), they drove through the city, over the Golden Gate bridge, up the coast (on a beautiful, clear day), and into the Redwood Forest. They took the detour onto the Avenue of Giants, and saw the large and amazing trees first hand. Unfortunately, they were not able to find any banana slugs. It had been Josh's great pleasure to tell me how he was going to lick a banana slug on his trip and then try to kiss me when he returned, just to utterly horrify me. But, no luck.

Apparently, they did see a dead mouse in the forest, because upon his return, Josh's teacher told me that whenever anyone asked about his trip (friends, teachers, parents of friends), Josh would exclaim, I saw a dead mouse!! Everyone must think we vacationed in a landfill, or back alley, or something. You'd never know the amazing things he saw from the report of a 4-year-old boy.

No pictures of the mouse corpse. Here are the giant redwoods.

The Drive-Through Tree

There are four drive-through trees in the Redwood Forest. John and Josh drove through one of them. I think this is Chandelier tree.

Approaching the giant tree:



Preparing to drive though. Considering the size of a car, the scale of this tree trunk is just amazing.



The view from inside the tree:



and through the window, a rare view of the inside of a very, very old tree:



Josh gets a closer look:

Hoops at John's elementary school

During our visit to California this weekend, we got out a few times to enjoy the gorgeous weather and play some basketball, which is Josh's latest infatuation. After playing at the local park and watching Josh (not to mention poor Lucas) battle the wind to (try to) reach the regulation-height hoops, we drove by John's elementary school, St. Raymond's, and found lower hoops. These photos are all on the basketball and parking area, but the lawn surrounding the school is beautifully landscaped, and the sky was clear blue. It was really nice. Coming back to rainy Portland was not easy.

Josh sinks one while Lucas cues up:



Posing for mom:



Lucas' dunk (with a small assist from Dad):



John and I loved this, he just started carrying the ball on his hip like such a natural:



Working up a sweat:

Happy St. Patrick's Day

My nieces (and, in the background, my sisters), celebrating St. Patrick's Day in Virginia. This is a screencap from the local news, on which they were featured (and during which my sister's "festive" hat was ridiculed by the anchor, to our great amusement).

I'm glad they were on the ball. I completely forgot about St. Patrick's Day and dropped both my boys off at school dressed in not so much as a single stripe of green, surrounded by all their green-clad friends. I drew shamrocks on their arms so they wouldn't feel left out (and got chastised by one of Josh's 5-year-old classmates for using the dry erase marker). I felt like a bad mom, but you can't win them all. We did have a green dinner though (pesto pasta, Lucas' favorite meal).

Close ups

I think the angle and lighting of this picture make Lucas look so old, like a little boy instead of like the baby we still think he is (possibly because he still only weighs 23 lbs, so tiny!). But he will be two soon, and he just moved into a new classroom at school, which has brought along with it lots of new things. Lucas is drinking from a cup without a lid now; he is trying to use the potty (and successfully peed on it, if not in it, Monday morning at home); he asks for a tissue when he needs to blow his nose (whereas Josh runs the other way when he sees me grab one); and he is starting to use more words too. And he is taller. And runs a lot faster.



Josh, meanwhile, is preparing for kindergarten. Amazing. I can't believe he'll be in real school next year. We've been to two kindergarten round-ups, and we're torn between the two. I can't believe the number of schools some of our friends have toured. I'm torn between thinking I'd be completely overwhelmed if I were considering any more possibilities than the two we are already debating, and feeling like maybe I should have looked around more to know what other options are available. But John reminds me that one of the reasons we chose our house was the school district assignments for our neighborhood, which has one of Portland's best elementary schools. So Josh should be in good hands even with only the two options we have for him come fall.

Learning to build BIG towers

With his own curiosity and some guidance from Josh, Lucas has been building large towers with his blocks (recognize these, Dante? they are a big hit!). In this series I captured this morning, he builds a tower taller than he is.

Here he stopped and waited long enough for me to leave the room, get my camera, return, and take his picture. Amazing, given his competing urges to build taller and/or knock it down in delight. But he waited for me instead. And he is smiling with pride in his accomplishment thus far.



Adding the "l" block, which makes the tower about exactly as tall as Lucas.



And now one more, which requires tippy-toes:



He actually had to turn this one and try again, but I only posted one of these, so the block is a bit turned in the next photo.

The finished tower:



The good news is, as much as he loves building and stacking, he is equally pleased when it all comes crashing down (and sometimes helps speed that process along), so this has been a fun activity for all of us.