Flutterby Day

When I saw the ad for "Butterflies Alive" at the Santa Barbara Natural History Museum, I knew we had to go. We've been to something similar in Colorado with Rachel and Addy, and the colors and shapes of the flutterbys are amazing.Friday we picked up Naia, bedecked in pink scarves and purple iPod, and headed out. It's been awhile since Dick and I have been here, but some things don't change - like the gigantic blue whale skeleton in front of the museum, the same one that fascinated our kids when they were little. Naia had never been here before so it was fun seeing things fresh through her eyes. We spent some time in the butterfly enclosure - with Naia acting 'scared' of the butterflies - and me taking photo after photo (of course) until my camera battery died - then we wandered through the other exhibits and nature areas. I was afraid Naia would get bored and want to leave quickly, but she was interested in most of the exhibits and led the way into building after building, chattering about whatever caught her attention. On the way home, we decided to stop at the Ty Warner Sea Center on the Santa Barbara Pier. Great decision. Dick and I had never been here before, although Naia had. It's very hands-on and kid-oriented. Naia (and I!) got to touch a sand shark and the college-age docent took a lot of time showing Naia the shark fetal sacs (backlit so you could see the moving fetus) and tiny, newborn babies. She also got to use tweezers to dig through a bucket of 'goo' freshly pulled from the ocean floor, finding a small crab, shells and other goodies. With their crawl-through underwater tunnel, life-size models of sea creatures hanging from the ceiling and do-it-yourself puppet show, this is a great place for kids. We'll definitely be going back.

Happy Firecracker Day!

July 4th is probably my favorite holiday after Christmas and Thanksgiving. Dick and I have a pretty set pattern for the day. Ventura's Street Fair, where we peruse all the hand-crafted items and sample the food. We met up with Matt and company for a bit, just long enough to watch Naia get her arm painted and for Leia to get her first ride on PopPop's shoulders. Then home to drop off our treasures and get a short nap (hey, we're retired!) before moving over to Matt's house for a bbq and hanging out with the baby grands. Since the city moved its holiday display to Cam High, we don't need to drive anywhere to get our fireworks fix. We just take some chairs across the street where the view's a bit better and wait for the show to begin. I used my new camera to take pictures tonight and I'm not overly happy with the results. Of the 89 shots I took, these are all that are even close to usable. Gotta figure out the different modes before next year's display. Happy Independence Day!

Meeting the Cousins

The California grandkids came over this afternoon to visit the Colorado branch. First Leia got reacquainted with Auntie Rachel and Uncle John - and then with Cousin Addy. Addy was fascinated with little Leia; she's used to being the youngest and smallest at family gatherings on both sides of her family. Addy kept wanting to hold Leia, but since our chubby princess is only about 5 pounds lighter than Addy, that didn't work very well.

Naia and Addy hung out all afternoon, playing drumsticks with my plastic crochet hooks and putting together floor puzzles (or in Addy's case, taking them apart as soon as Naia put them together.) Auntie Breanne came over after work, bringing with her a princess outfit for Addy, complete with a set of colorful skirts and wings (actually a fairy costume Bre had worn for Halloween). As you can see, Addy was beyond thrilled. For someone who says she's uncomfortable around little kids, Breanne sure knows how to make them happy. We tried getting photos of the cousins together - minus Miles, who is with his dad this week - but wrangling Addy, 2 and a half, and Leia, 8 months, was like herding cats. Getting their attention focused during the same camera flash was next to impossible. We tried adding Naia to the mix after these shots were taken, but Leia decided she'd had enough and made her opinion known, loud and clear. Rachel finally got this shot of the younger two with her cell phone. I especially love that Leia's hand is holding on to Addy's shoulder. So adorable.

Birthday Girl

Look who just turned 8! Naia celebrated her recent birthday with a party at Pump It Up. I'd heard of this place but had never been before today. What a blast for the under-10 set! Two warehouse-sized rooms full of jolly jumps, plus a party room for cake and ice cream after the kids had exhausted themselves. There was even an inflatable throne where Naia sat to open her presents. The kids all bounced and ran and jumped and laughed and had a boy-are-they-going-to-sleep-well-tonight good time. At first, Miles was afraid to come down the big slide (he's hiding behind the boy in the brown shirt), but once he did, he was off and running for the rest of the party.

Leia got passed around like a big party favor and loved the attention. (Can you see the death-grip she has on Marie's necklace? I made sure to take the photo before I went to poor Marie's rescue. First things first.)

Naia had a great day, eating her cake and wearing it too. Oh, to be 8 again.

World's Cutest Baby*

The littlest princess turned 6 months old while we were in Colorado so we celebrated with dinner tonight at Red Robin. Leia is over 25 pounds now; she's wearing 12 month shirts and 18 month pants that fit well around her waist but are much too long. She's a happy, bubbly baby; always a big, infectious grin on her face (unless she's hungry. Then all bets are off.) She's pushing herself up, trying to crawl, but hasn't quite got the moves down. You can tell it won't be long though.

And her favorite person? Big sister Naia. Leia loves trying to grab Naia's braids, loves blowing bubbles in Naia's face (she just learned that trick), and loves when Naia makes faces to make her laugh. Can you tell Grandpa loves his girls?

*Since Addy is now a big girl. And I'll admit I'm a little biased. But you have to admit, she is a cutie.

Crafty Day

Naia and Leia were over for several hours today, so while Leia took a nap Naia and I worked on a project I heard about at Guild. It sounded so cool that I gathered up the supplies right after Christmas and I've been waiting - impatiently - for Naia to visit.
This is Sharpie tie-dye. (I used the instructions found here and here, but if you Google it, there are a lot of how-to sites.) To do this, you need colored Sharpie pens, white t-shirts, rubber bands, a spray bottle (or straws for dripping) and rubbing alcohol.
Naia and I spent a couple of hours drawing on shirts. We first tried tying tennis, ping pong, and golf balls in the fabric but found we liked having a bigger canvas so we moved up to coffee mugs and plastic food storage containers. We experimented with dripping alcohol onto the colored area but that was too slow - I didn't have drinking straws so we used our fingers; I think straws would have worked much better. We finally put the alcohol in a spray bottle, held our breath and saturated the fabric. We scribbled, wrote messages, and drew pictures. We made little dots and blended layers of color. Some of our shirts turned out really well - I love the watercolor effect above - and some were pretty much a mess. When we were done, we had 5 t-shirts that will fit Naia and Miles, and 5 onsies for Leia. I heat-set the colors by placing the dry shirt (it's important to let all the alcohol evaporate before you do this part) in the clothes dryer for 30 minutes. As you can tell, Naia thought her shirt was da bomb. Leia willingly modeled one of her outfits but you could tell she wasn't really into it. She'd much rather practice her push-ups. On the fun scale, I'd give this project a '10'. It kept Naia - and me - entertained for hours. And Naia will have a reminder of a fun day with Grandma, at least until she outgrows the shirts.

Moving Ahead

Thanks for all the sweet comments and emails on Oreo's passing. I got up from writing that entry last night and headed for the kitchen to make up her nightly medications. I think it's going to take a few days to break that habit.

I'm leaving tomorrow for two days in San Diego at TNNA - The National Needlework Association's twice annual show - where yarn shop people go to see what's new and order stock for the next six months or so. TNNA also has classes by some of the best known names in the knitting and crochet world. I'm taking Lily Chin's 'Crocheted Tips, Tricks and Hints' class. I've got a couple of her books and I've made some of her patterns, plus I've heard she's a great teacher/speaker, so needless to say I'm very excited. And after this week's sadness, I decided to splurge a little and got us a room at a little inn on Coronado Island for Thursday night (right across the street from this little place).

I finally picked up the pottery Naia, Marie and I painted after Christmas. Can you tell which two pieces are Naia's? She's very creative with her color choices and painting skills. This is the second time I've taken her painting and she showed more patience this time, covering more of the pieces with paint and putting the required 2-3 coats on most of the surfaces. Naia informed me that pottery painting is better than Chuck E. Cheese but not quite as good as Golf N Stuff. Always good to know where you stand.

Marie put a lot of effort into her lighthouse, continuing to paint for over an hour after Naia and I were done and gone. And my little jar is pretty and serviceable. I'll use it next to my TV chair to store stitch markers and yarn tails; Dick will be thrilled they aren't scattered all over.