Winter in SoCal.......It is nice.

Last year we were at the beach the day after Christmas.  December in SoCal usually means 65-75 degree weather with some clouds here and there.  This year we got some rain.

What is this rain thing?  We will find out soon enough in Seattle.

Here I am at school making crafts!

Went for a weekend adventure up to Santa Monica, cool park.

Having a little break on the bench.

Just practicing for the lumberjack festival in Quebec.

Even Lael got into the fun and tried the beard hat on.

Eamonn was at school, so mama and I went to Target 

to do some xmas shopping and to play on the playground.

Road Trip: November is National Park Month for the Douglas'

For Thanksgiving we went on a major adventure into red-earth territory.  We visited two National Parks (Zion and Brice), Boise, Idaho and then a great trip down the Eastern side of the Sierras with a nice picnic at the base of Mount Whitney.  Lots of driving, lots of amazing sights and only a few hours of screaming from the backseat.

This is the entrance to Zion National Park.

It only took 5 tries and the promise of gummy bears to get me to smile this nicely.

This rock was so heavy I had to use my Jedi powers to move it.

A quick stop for a pick in Bryce Canyon...a windy, windy day.

Then there was this cool tunnel that we got to drive through.

The exit of Bryce Canyon.

The Boise Cousins:  Victoria, Roman, Benjamin, Zachary 

and uncle Aaron sneaking out the back.

#1 Milkshake Place in South Lake Tahoe...as long as you wanted 

chocolate ice cream in your milkshake!

The Mount Whitney vista, it was incredible!

The wind was blowing down a the visitor center.

Yosemite, Yurts, and Papa's B-Day

For papa's birthday, we decided to make a little road trip to Yosemite National Park and a stop over at Aunt Marcha (Marcia) and Uncle Nonnie's (Lonnie) house in Fresno.  Unfortunately, we did not see any bears, but we did see a lot of deer and a few very large bucks.  We really enjoyed the museum and visitors center and all the trails with lots of rocks to climb on.  Best of all, we enjoyed the yurt that we stayed in each night and the hot cocoa we had in the morning....mmmmmmmm...good!

 Out for a little hike.

We stopped for lunch down at the valley floor.  

I played with my hiking stick while papa made lunch.

Hot dogs on the camp stove and in honor of the great high Sierras

a nice cold Sierra Nevada beer for papa and mama.

The yurt was cold in the morning, so we warmed up with some hot cocoa before heading out.

This is probably the best thing to camp in.  Tents are fun, but yurt...they rock.

On papa's actual b-day, we did a hike up through an the ancient Sequoia Grove.

It was a 3.5 mile roundtrip hike and Lael was starting to lose it.  Actually, she already lost it.

A little selfie of mama and papa with Half Dome in the background.

Lael just woke up from her nap while papa and I were playing in the snow.

On our way home we spent the night at Aunt Marcha and Uncle Nonnie's house.

Just one exit down is Bravo Farms...a restaurant, market, cheese manufacturer, crazy place!

This was a multi-tiered tree house.

FALL HAS FINALLY ARRIVED

Well it has been a long time coming, but fall has finally arrived.  I am back at school three days a week and Laely Bug goes one day a week with mama.  We recently joined the YMCA and I started new swimming classes there with Mr. Ivan.  Laely Bug got a scooter for her birthday but she calls it a "gooter."

It was a little hard for me to not blow the candle out...in fact, I may have helped a little.

Here we are playing a little dress up in the morning.

 At the zoo with papa and the McGarry Girls....check out that Meerkat checking out my curly mullet.

 On the night of my birthday, Papa stopped off to get In and Out Burger.  Check out Lael going to town on her burger.

Here I am sitting with our pumpkins that we decorated at my school's Father's Night. 

And then....Halloween came and went.  That week we tried on a bunch of different costumes.  Here we were at the park...Laely Bug is dressed like a Lady Bug and was I Spiderman.  Even super heros need to wear helmets when they ride their bikes.  

 On actual Halloween night, I was Darth Vader because I am currently obsessed with being a bad guy.  Lael went as a Bumble Bee.  We first were at a BoothDay Party for my friend Ariston and then we all mobbed out trick-or-treating together.  It was fun.

 We had so much candy we turned into vampires!

Summer Time Adventures: a'la'Canada and back again.

LAKE OF BAYS 2014

CHIEF GUARD DOG WATSON

At the hotdog stand in Dorset.

Here I just caught my first fish in my jammos (pajamas).

Here I am happy in my life jacket, time to jump in the lake.

Going stir crazy on a rainy day.  Time to head to the park.

Back in Montreal at Auntie Lyne and Uncle Jim's 

for Henrik's Birthday.

Pedal Bike......Yeah That's Right, Cyclocross Season Countdown

While papa was in New York for a business trip, I hijacked my buddy AJ's big boy bike without training wheels and went for a little spin.  Do you remember the first time you rode a bike without training wheels, the fear of the unknown, the excitement of the fluid motion of the wheels being propelled by these things called pedals?  Well, I do and it was AWESOME!  That weekend when papa got home, we went to REI and whammo, we went home with a brand new shiny red bike.  Let the countdown to cyclocross season begin 91 days and counting.

That's right, it is red with a bell.

Practicing the Spiral of Death for cross season, it can make you dizzy.  

Lael just booted her her lunch.

Intensity wins races.

Birthdays, Farms, and Grandpas

It has been a busy last few months with lots of birthdays and visits by grandpas.  We even went to a local organic farm for a tour and some strawberry picking.

Riding the pony at Ava's b-day party.

Hey George....can I pet the rabbits? 

(Luckily this did not end like Of Mice and Men.)

First we had a visit from Grandpa Steve.

Hat, hat, hat, hat, hat...I like hats.  

Obssessed actually with hats and shoes.

Then we had a visit from Opa over Easter.

Riding the tractor with mama at Tanaka Farms.

We even got to try the veggies......mmm celery.

I like strawberries...a lot.