Train ride!

One of Rye's friends celebrated a birthday at the local train-themed park. He loved the train ride!

Rye is three!

We had a belated birthday party for Rye and Greg after the house finally was painted.

 We lucked out with a break in the heat wave, and friends spent a relaxing Sunday morning hanging out.

 Families made fairy gardens

 The kids loved choosing the elements for their gardens.

For some, this was not their first rodeo, so to speak. Fairy garden veterans.

Lemonade in punch glasses. Rye ate about 20 meringue cookies, in Greg's estimation.

Families made flower fairies for their gardens. The kids also explored to find fairy houses in the yard. Residents of each house offered treasures to keep or put in one's fairy garden.

 The fairies were everywhere.

A breeze kept blowing out the candle. There were two cakes, but since I didn't get them frosted until I convinced Greg's mom to do it when she arrived, many of the guests went home without having any. Oopsie. 

On the up side, Monday morning breakfast was delicious.

Friends, old and new

 The cake that was cut the next day in cooler weather didn't fall apart like a mudslide, like the one at the party did.

 The "before" beauty shot. Thanks for your icing magic, Grandma!

Rye and his BFF decided to "make chocolate ice cream" by mixing dirt in with the hours-old new white sand. Siiigh.....

Art Class

We're continuing art classes with Miss Molly. And we discovered she is teaching at the high school associated with Rye's preschool!

Rye practices listening, and looking with his eyes.

Look with your eyes....

 Making a strawberry

The tongue thing is new. I guess it helps him get the glue right.

First day of school

And so it begins. Rye likes how they have a dirt pile with shovels and wheelbarrows, and a wooden airplane. He decided he likes couscous at snack time! We're hoping that sticks.

The coffee shop didn't have any special muffins, for our first day of school treat, so he had danish instead.

Sandbox

the Aquarium

We love our aquarium membership! Rye is watching some eels the size of pencils stand up out of the sand. And we made (another) squished penny.

Modern times

At least a month ago, we visited the Aquarium, and while we were picnicking outside, someone (a citizen? A Long Beach Information Assistant?) zipped by on a Segway. We saw him for, maybe, 8 seconds.

This morning, Rye turned up with his own version, which he built without help using Grandma's massive Lego stash.

Birthday Celebrations

Update from the Birthday Gazette: It's been a week of South Bay Celebrations as painters and carpenters continue to toil away in the summer heat. We hope to be back in our house by Labor Day weekend (?). We also enjoyed a couple of weeks on the westside at Tio and Aunt Zena's place. We feel so lucky to have so much family nearby to spend time with and to take us in.

Rye enjoyed a birthday cheese sandwich on his special day, with Grandpa and Grandma. And he saw the Goodyear blimp out the window! A perfect day!

Daddy had birthday cookies and his favorite pasta salad.

 Mommy's molasses clove cookies! Those didn't last long.

Grandma made Rye an incredible cake!

 

Grandpa found the cone candles on Amazon, with a tipoff from Auntie Julie.

 It only took six or eight tries to get the candles blown out. Nothing like cake with a little extra "somethin'-somethin'" on top.

 Rye was crazy for it, and went to bed holding two of the trucks.

 Cousins help wrangle dessert.

Gifts!!