Merry Christmas!

We haven't even printed up our Christmas cards yet, so hopefully this will tide you over!

Rye was a very good boy this year!

Hideout

Do you remember ever being small enough that you could fit inside the bookcase?

Christmas tea

Rye and Mommy had afternoon tea, like the dog and crocodile in 

Melrose and Croc: A Christmas to Remember.

Sorry, poor exposure on the pictures.

Rye enjoyed his tea and sandwiches, after he unceremoniously removed the cucumbers.

We used the good china.

Raccoon ornament takes a drive

The monkey from barrel-full-of-monkeys in the back seat "hooked him up" with a string of Mardi Gras fish beads.

Pre-reading at mail call

Rye needed some quiet, cozy time today, so Mommy built him a fort, and then he outfitted himself with a desk, properly equipped. The Etch-a-Sketch may be his computer. Look out, Mitt Romney.

The video is five minutes, but includes some very sweet "reading" of his "mail." He even sounds out some imaginary words like his friend Jakob and his story friend Martin. Thank you to everyone who has sent postcards and other mail—Rye is enjoying it immensely!

Autumn leaves

 It's not cool and crisp here, but the liquid amber tree is playing along with the season...

Happy Halloween!

Pre-Halloween fun

Scenes from the annual trick-or-treat at the shops event in Atwater Village. Very crowded this year, but Rye loved "candy picking."

Day at the pumpkin patch

 Rye and Mommy spent a day at the pumpkin patch in Moorpark, about 45 minutes away.

 Rye chose a sugar pie pumpkin to take home to our neighbor.

 Rye really wanted to ride in the Cow Train. It was a bumpy ride!

Corduroy

When I put Rye in corduroy pants, he demanded a corduroy shirt so he could be "all corduroy....to be Corduroy."

You can't make this stuff up. Down to the note in his pocket with his name on it.

Light reading

 Some friends brought over this giant book of skyscrapers for Rye. 

Desert weekend

Joshua Tree weekend! It was another mega-cousin extravaganza, with some additional cousins from Portland! Whoopsie, we didn't get any photos of them. Sorry about that.

  Knuckleheads.

 Sticks.

 Sticker-ing with Alana

Date shakes and ice cream at Hadley's.

Space Shuttle!

 

We got up at 3am to watch the Space Shuttle roll down Westchester Blvd. and back into a Bed, Bath and Beyond parking lot on a layover during its journey from LAX to the California Science Center. Rye was beyond thrilled. Tree trimming trucks drove ahead of the shuttle and trimmed away as it moved along. It was a good 90 minutes behind schedule when it came by us, which was sort of a bummer considering how early it was, but we did score a front-row viewing spot as well as good parking.

The shuttle will be on the move again after lunchtime and will finish its journey to the Science Center tomorrow night.

Apple picking!

On the way home from Joshua Tree, we took Rye apple picking in Oak Glen.

He was a whiny mess since we'd missed his nap and had a late lunch and it was really hot and he hadn't wanted to leave the campsite in the first place. And then he leaned in stinging nettles the first thing when we got there, which really did make matters...more whiny. 

Good times.

 But he enjoyed riding on Mommy's back. And fresh cider. We didn't mention the potential of donuts. Next time.

 Press-your own cider-- One gallon: $15. Ten minutes of physical labor.

They press-your-cider--One gallon: $9. No labor.

Camping

Hiking out with Ciera

 Using binoculars

 Construction. The heat sapped all of Alana's energy, eventually. 

Art en plein air.