I [Heart] My Life

BIG Little-Kid Adventures!

You know you should really get out there and do something this weekend, but what? Here's a little inspiration for you. (These are perfect for pinning to your Pinterest for later inspiration, too!)

My daughter loves to climb right now, especially hillsides & rocks. These rocks were especially fun for her because they were fairly easy to scale. This is the beach we now call Toshi Beach for a favorite four-legged friend -- 26th Street Beach, Santa Cruz.

More climbing. This tree was recently introduced to us and I think we visited it three times this week! Schwan Lake, Santa Cruz.

(Not sure why that text is so small on this picture -- annoying!) Anyway, there are so many fun places a kid can bike ride. This is Arana Gulch, Santa Cruz.  There are enough hills to make it fun without it being a lot of work.  This week we also rode bikes on the wooden boardwalks at Neary Lagoon.

What adventures will you be up to this weekend?

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Destination: UCSC Farm & Childrens Garden

... this moment: The Beauty in the Pauses

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

I have to put in a few words... All the following photos are from today. This was a crazy busy day. An imperfect perfect day. It had so many wonderful moments both in the activities and between the activities, in the pauses... Nia & I started the day with a walk & tree-climb with friends. Then I zipped off to a doctor appointment -- lymphedema OT, which included the exam table getting covered in prosthetic breasts (foobs) at one point (I was so dying for the nurse to step out so I could snap a picture!) -- then I zipped home again to get as much work done as possible before zipping into the kitchen to make dinner. Midway through making black bean soup I realized my "black beans" were actually kidney beans. By then there was no turning back. The soup ended up being delicious and we ate it out on the deck in the beautiful mild weather. After that, Nia and I went down to the park on her roller-skates and happened upon a girl practicing her tumbling routine in the otherwise deserted field. By the time we got home it was bedtime. In the dark, we whispered about our favorite things. Her favorite thing about today was the Giants winning 1-o (!). After Nia crashed out, Joe and I had to sit down and do the monthly finances -- something we've finally figured out is pleasurable when done together and with wine and good cheese. It only took us how many years together to realize this?? I want to savor this perfectly imperfect day.

These expressions kill me!

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this moment... at the zoo

Destination: UCSC Farm & Childrens Garden

The other day I was standing around outside, talking with my friend Karah. Her littlest one, a new crawler, was exploring some grass at our feet. Nearby I could hear what sounded like dozens of birds up in the trees. A breeze gently rustled the branches, sending blossom petals floating down like a soft snow.

Suddenly my daughter let out a whoop. I looked up to see her and her friend Zoe running through a field of fava beans. Their hair streamed behind them, huge smiles on their faces. The stalks of the favas were nearly as tall as they were. Suddenly Zoe fell and disappeared completely from sight; we caught our breath -- "are you ok?s" on the tips of our tongues. Suddenly Nia collapsed into giggles, sinking down out of sight, and Zoe's own giggles rose from somewhere under the green. A game was born.

And I thought, this place is magical.

Have you been? It's the UCSC Children's Garden. It is a fabulous place to play and relax all through the seasons. The garden is free; parking on campus is $6. (Taking the bus would heighten the adventure!)

In addition to getting lost in the fields of fava beans, our little ones tasted oranges fresh off the tree, climbed a blossoming fruit tree, learned all about mulch from a friendly (and patient!) farmer, followed the farm cat, spied on the chickens & tried to pick up the rooster, crawled through vine tunnels, banged on drums under the orange & avocado trees...

If you're in need of a new place to explore, this is a great place for an inspiring green hour (or two!).

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Something to Do is Right Around the Corner

Our Read-Alouds Lately

Mud Season!

Our winters may not be white...

... but brown can be just as fun!

Each evening lately, Nia and I have been out biking together. Yesterday we ended up at "our" Gulch for a sunset puddle walk.

How nice to say, "Hey, how deep is that puddle?" instead of "Please don't get your shoes wet!" Gooshy, sticky, slippery mud is play for her.

Shooting it all on my camera is play enough for me.

And just being out there, despite the cold snap we're having.

The illustrations at the start of this post are from Holly Hobbie's Toot & Puddle, a really lovely, simple book about all the fun things to do in the different seasons (whether you're a kid or a piglet) -- and how the seasons are happening opposite one another in the different hemispheres.

Puddle was having mud season. Yay!

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From Fall to Winter: Our "Seasons Table"

Recipe: Almond & Cream Cheese Holiday Scones

Belated Valentine Wishes

Oh, blog, how I've missed you. The week just got away from me. Plus my laptop was in the shop for two days and last night the Internet was not working... You know how it is: work, life, etc. But never mind the excuses. I'm happy to be back, making a little time for this blogging habit. :)

Yesterday, Nia and I spent Valentine's Day at Rio del Mar. How I love this beach. It is so nice to just run and play along a huge expance with no need to worry about cars or bikes. Occasionally a dog will race by or a jogger will pass us, but that's it for as far as the eye can see. So nice to just let Nia do her thing, at her own pace (-- which might be her new awesome skill of writing her own name! It is such a rewarding thing to write something that can be read by others, but also to declare, in writing, "This is me!"). 

While she's doing that  I can get some exercise, too. Or just take arty pictures. Win-win.

This week we also made some great Valentine cookies.

These are the same sugar cookies we've done for Christmas, too. Such a tasty recipe! The secret is the almond extract, which wins me over to any recipe!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone -- go ahead and celebrate all week. ;)

Postcard From Santa Cruz

We got back into town from Austin around 9 last night, with a passed out little one in the back seat. The trip went well, but was exhausting. As these works trips always are! This morning, the sun was calling our names so we headed down to the beach. We found a boat that washed up on the beach in the storm over the weekend and Nia went to work on a "sand castle." After being cooped up in a hotel room all day Tuesday (thunder storms) and on a plane all day yesterday, it was wonderful to see her getting dirty and become totally absorbed in her work. ... and it was nice for me, too, come to think of it! Being in a hotel for days at a time probably isn't super healthy. ;)

It is lovely to be home!

All Dogs Love a Good Walk

And by "all," I do mean all!

Meet Rover. She (yes, she) loves walking in Arana Gulch and fetching sticks (with a little help from Nia, that is, who fills in the barks and the pants, too!).

It was a beautiful day to drag a stuffed animal through the Gulch. She got a little dirty. :)

Quick side story on the dress Nia is wearing: A few days ago, we decided to walk to McKenzie's for a chocolate treat, only to find the store closed thru the 9th. Instead of turning back, though, we decided to go around the corner to Staff of Life. In doing that, we passed a little yarn shop I'd never noticed before (Chics with Sticks) and decided to go in (I've suddenly decided I need to learn to crochet this year so I can make Nia a scarf). While in the store, the owner looked Nia up and down and they had this conversation:

Woman: "Are you about 3?"

Nia: "No, I'm 3 and a half."

Woman: "And do you like dresses?"

Nia: "Yes!"

Then the woman goes out the backdoor briefly and returns with this amazing, over-the-top party dress and gives it to Nia. Her granddaughter had outgrown it. Totally made Nia's day and I was pretty happy to. 

Chasing Winter's Fleeting Sunlight

This is as west as you can get without getting wet. Right here, on the beach. We come here to squeeze the last drops of sun light from the weak winter sun on a winter's day.

Finally when there is no more sunlight at all, we pull our shoes back on & drag our weary selves home. 

Christmas Weekend Tide-Pooling

There are certain times when I think to myself, "My dauther is a bad ass." Yesterday was one such instance. Pam, Nia & I were tide-pooling at Natural Bridges late in the afternoon. It was not warm and Pam & I were in jackets, sweatshirts and closed-toe shoes. Nia, meanwhile, was barefoot and had rolled her pants into shorts and her shirt into short sleeves and was walking in the water. On top of this, she was hauling a heavy piece of kelp (on her shoulder, no less!).

People were literally stopping to look at her. She was so full of determination to get this piece of kelp to the car. At another point we had to jump down off a shelf to the sand below. Nia lowered a rope-like piece of kelp down and hoped she could shimmy down it like a fireman's pole. 

She's full of plans and ideas, this one. I hope it never wanes.

I managed to take my eyes of Nia a few times and noticed that the tide pools were also beautiful. We saw many critters and enjoyed being out in the sun together.

"Green" Hour: Thanksgiving Weekend

This is Seabright Beach. It is always right here and yet I often forget about it as a great place to play even on the grayist days (sometimes the best place to play on gray days). Zomina got engrossed in writing in the sand, and Nia right away started digging for "treasures" -- actually first she made a circle of seaweed around her digging spot to keep the waves out, she said, then she got to digging. (She came home with a mussell shell.) And that freed me up just to listen to the waves and watch the happy dogs chasing balls up and down the beach. It's lovely when a little free time comes along unexpectedly.