First Half of November

I was trying to get Ever to do her chores. I told her it it's my job to teach her to be responsible, to clean, etc.; I have to teach her all the things. A minute later, she slipped me this note:

We went for a walk in Carlsbad after church one Sunday. We enjoyed this little spot by the lagoon.

Tiny collected all the giant berries until we discovered they were making a mess.

I love it when she calls me "Mamita." Also she is the silliest.

Ever wanted to hang from the tree, and soon there were three monkeys. 

Their staying power correlated to their ages and size. Tiny's joy quickly turned to terror, while Wrenzy's turned to concern. Ever, meanwhile, was fine still hanging on.

Tiny got some serious groove on while I sang a ridiculous made-up song.

I reluctantly allowed Play-Doh. It made a mess. 

But sweet Tiny was so happy.

She told me she was going to make me lots of Play-Doh cookies. The way she counts with her fingers is excellent.

Ever didn't want to miss out on outside play time, but she couldn't tear herself away from her book.

A blanket fort was constructed.

We went with Anna, Leela, and Rafi to Annie's Canyon. They had never been before. It was incredibly crowded. I wished we had gotten there earlier to beat the crowds, and I said so. Anna said she doesn't mind when hikes are crowded because she thinks it helps her kids think hiking is a cool thing to do. I am Debbie Downer. Anna is not.

Tiny's posing.

Candids work so much better.

We veered up a little side jaunt. It was fun. But a few minutes later, when we tried to get down, an endless stream of people heading up the trail prevented us from merging back onto it. I tried to be courteous and let people go (including groups that appeared to contain like 30 people). No one made any attempt to help or make way for us. I finally just had to start getting the girls down. The littles needed help, so I had to help one down and then go back for another. We blocked traffic for a minute or two, but it seemed like forever. 

When we did this hike before with Tutu and Papa, Wrenzy got most of the way up the ladder and then totally freaked out, crying and refusing to finish. No problems this time.

The littles are much more into looking nice than I am. They were so fancy for preschool that I had to photocize.

Sometimes Wren just can't help herself when it comes to Tiny's cheeks. I know the feeling. 

We stopped for groceries on the way home from school, and I wondered what people in the grocery store thought of me, who appeared to have just rolled out of bed, with children who looked as if they had just attended a wedding.

The girls went for a ride on the giant banana. 

(That thing lived in our house for so long. A year, at least. It caused injuries when children fell off and hit heads on the hard floor. Since I am writing this in April, I can say that in March 2020, when I was at Coco's house, Tiny fell off it and hit her head on the coffee table, and Jim popped it and threw it away. Sayonara, finally, giant banana.)