Montecito 2011

For the third year in a row, Leila and I indulged in a jubilant celebration of winter at the Montecito Lodge in Sequoia National Park. We enjoyed our annual winter retreat with many of the "usual suspects" who make this trip so special. Even the Montecito staff remains largely unchanged. Night one kicked off with a raging bonfire and s'mores roasting extravaganza.
The adults (and some of the older kids) enjoyed a bit of archery, which has "targeted" itself as Montecito tradition.
While some skated on the lake, Leila trudged through the snow in hot pursuit of Jack Dutton, ("Mommy, I love Jack Dutton. He's nice. He's pretty." Should I be worried?)
Cuddling up to watch the skaters...
I got out for a hike up to Big Baldy, which delighted us with this spectacular view. Though much of the trail was covered in crunchy snow or ice, the 360 view was more than worth the 100 near ice slides.
The kids got into some "extreme gingerbreading," thanks to Katia.
So proud of her gingerbread creation...
Cozying up at the lodge for a mid-day read...
Posing with the Montecito bears.
The crew (most of them): heading out for a hike around the beautiful frozen lake.
Leila and Jack...
Not sure if you can see it, but there is one lonely duck braving the cold water (the wee bit that's not frozen over) behind Leila. Bbbuurrrr....
What a grand trip!! Already looking forward to next year's visit to Montecito!

Getting Ready for Christmas

Leila loved hunting for our perfect Christmas tree. We walked down every aisle of trees and landed on this one.
She was an exceptional tree trimmer, and with great care, she found homes for many, many bulbs on the boughs of our tree.
Ta-da... (so proud of her work!!)
And, just today (about a week after we got our tree), we got a new Christmas dress. Of course, she had to try it on. And of course, I had to take a few pictures...
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And a few weeks ago, Leila received her first professional haircut. She was very excited about the big-girl event, and remained perfectly still and focused throughout. The stylist cut layers into her hair and it looks super cute.

The "Belle" of the Halloween ball

Leila was positively giddy about Halloween. I think it ranks right up there with her giddiness for Christmas (she's been reciting the months of the year and finishing with flair for December... "and that's when Santa comes," embellished with a wildly enthusiastic smile). The main reason she's been so fervently anticipating Halloween is because of her chance to be Belle. She's had an enduring adoration for Belle and the story of Beauty and the Beast. When I told her I'd dress up as my favorite princess (Ariel), October 31 just couldn't come fast enough. Alas, it came and went and we suffered only minimal damage from all the generous candy pushers out there.

Here we are, about to hit the Halloween activity circuit. First stop, a costume party (of course)...Next stop, her preschool's fabulous annual Halloween carnival. Though she's only been in the school since May, we've now been to the carnival for three years. She was a pro! But she certainly wasn't above receiving some tips from Popo to improve her golf swing...
A little Halloween roulette? Yes, please...
Some treasure hunting...
And some Halloween rodeo action (she'll be ready for a mechanical bull in no time, right?)...
Cheery princesses [it took me a long time to type that]...
"Sheriff Dan" and his partner in crime get a squeeze from the Beauty...
Despite all the carnival fun, the real highlight for Leila (other than the costume itself) was doing the traditional trick or treating and watching in amazement as people put "the forbidden candy" into her bag.
Though we only had time to hit up a few houses, we visited some good ones.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

"AgFest"

Leila and I enjoyed another "farmy" weekend by hanging out at Tulare County's first AgFest, a celebration of the region's agricultural bounty. It was held at Tulare's International Ag Center, complete with a really cool, kid-friendly ag museum. We had so much fun learning about where our food comes from and the history of farming in the region. The highlight was definitely the bounce house (she must have got in a solid half hour of bouncing), followed by some friendly encounters with chickens, goats, baby lambs, a baby cow and miniature ponies...

Though it only involved pressing a couple buttons, I think Leila began to learn about where milk comes from. On my agenda is to set up a tour of the goat milk farm, where she might actually have an opportunity to get her hands dirty and squeeze out some milk.

Happy to take the wheel...

Stepping up to some serious machinery...
The old school tractors (pretty cool, actually)...

A Day on the Ranch

Leila and I made a most spectacular voyage to the Flynn Ranch on October 8. We enjoyed great company (with peoples and animals alike), great food and great laughs. Thank you to Karol for hosting the get together and sharing with us your wonderful ranch life!

School and other updates

Leila has been thriving at her new preschool. Everyday, she comes home from school enthusiastically brimming with new knowledge; it's so satisfying to watch her growth. In addition to her amazing art skills (she is both creative and precise, not to mention sophisticated with her sense of color), she has learned to count to twenty in Spanish, say the months of the year in Spanish, and she has been really eager to learn to spell words on her own. Her thirst for knowledge has her constantly sounding out words and trying to put new letter combinations together in hopes of spelling out new and interesting additions to our lexicon. As I go through these exercises with her, I am reminded of how nonsensical the English language can be, and I don't envy the important role of teachers who help kids make sense of it all.

On September 26, I went to Leila's back-to-school night and got a nice overview of a typical day for her. Greenhouse Montessori is doing an excellent job equipping Leila with great lessons and fundamental building blocks for an inquisitive and successful life of learning. Here are some pics from her classroom...

Leila's grass sock puppet (cute, but it never really grew)...

Some of the learning "works" that they do in class...

Welcoming fall at the cabin

Uncle Kris came out for a visit and so we all headed to the hills for a weekend at Nana and Popo's cabin. As usual, Leila couldn't wait to get up there, though the drive continues to prove to be unsettling to her sensitive tummy. We tried some homeopathic motion sickness pills, to no avail. Once we arrived at our destination, however, there was no stopping her. She loves exploring, playing and admiring the squirrels and birds. On this particular trip, she nurtured an abiding commitment to stacking Jenga towers... pretty funny stuff.

She also started to really get the hang of throwing a frisbee...
Uncle Kris and I got to enjoy an 8-mile hike while Leila stayed at the cabin with Nana and Popo. Here's a panorama along the way to the summit...
And a nice view of The Needles...
And my battle wound (I got a little clumsy on the way down)...