swallows day parade

Today is the annual Swallows Day Parade by the San Juan Capistrano mission in Southern California. It's a parade that's been going on for as long as I can remember, and is touted as the nation's longest non-motorized parade. There's lots of horses and high school marching bands and good Mexican food. It's not so crowded that you can't see anything and we like to bring a blanket and some chairs and sit on the grassy area by the New Mission Church (not part of the original mission, but built in the "spirit and likeness" of the original stone church which was destroyed by an earthquake in 1812). It makes for a lovely Saturday morning.

Hope you have a lovely weekend.

friday night camping

Sandwiched between our trip to New York, my little brother and his family coming for a visit, and my shoot in the Bahamas (May has been busy!) we took a quick camping trip with the kids.

Part of why we moved to California two years ago was so we could be close to my family. My parents live about ten minutes away, and my older brother lives less than a mile away. The cousins love each other, and sometimes when I feel badly that C doesn't have a brother, I am so glad he has two older cousins who help fill that role.

So when my sister-in-law asked if we wanted to go camping, we were in.. despite our crazy May. We had three families in all... perfect for divying up all the gear that comes with camping. (And especially helpful when you get to the campsite first and realize you have forgotten all of the firewood. Oops!)

JR was in charge of buying a tent and came home with this little number. I took one look at it and reminded him there are 4 people in our family. To prove to me that his tent was the perfect size, he set it up in the living room the night before the campout.. and yes, all four of us fit (barely!). I love the feeling of having my whole family snuggled in together.

The most exciting part of camping for the kids is the campfire. They love gathering the sticks for the kindling and letting us know when we need to add another log. We kept it easy.. hot dogs for dinner followed by s'mores. All the kids went to bed around 8 (or at least got in their tents.. we could hear them talking and giggling for the next few hours) and the adults sat around the campfire and talked.

In the morning we had omelettes, made to order on two little camp stoves. My friend had chopped up all the ingredients (like peppers and onions) beforehand and she and her husband set up a little omelette bar. Delicious!

We took a hike in the morning in the hills around the campsite. Though I think my kids are pretty tough, they were both wanting to be carried about 20 minutes into our little nature walk. By the end of the hike, they were both in tears. I coudn't quite understand it until C came down with a fever that afternoon and the doctor told us it was strep throat. Bee came down with it a few days later. I feel a little badly about that hike..

I'm amazed that just 25 minutes from where we live, you can be in such beautiful countryside. May is the perfect time to go camping (at least in Southern California). It's not too chilly at night, and not yet hot enough that you are boiling in your tent by morning. I'm always glad to see that the kids can entertain themselves when we leave them to their own devices, they spent most of the morning looking for ladybugs and chasing squirrels and helping take down the tents and carry things to the car.

It does take a bit of gear to have a comfortable campout (this pregnant lady was very happy for our air mattress). And sometimes it seems like a lot of work for just one night. But will my kids remember that they went camping as a family? Will they have memories of different campsites and the funny things that happened along the way, the way I do from my childhood? I'm doing my best to make sure they will.

happy thanksgiving

I'll be away on vacation all next week and I'm afraid I won't be able to post while I'm away. I'm looking forward to a delicious Thanksgiving dinner with my family, a fall leaf or two, and maybe even a little snow. We'll keep our fingers crossed. Happy Thanksgiving!

photo by the lovely Anna Williams

the county fair

Is there anything better than the county fair? I get a little excited when it comes to town. The kids loved riding the ferris wheel, visiting the new baby animals, crashing into each other with bumper cars, watching the pig races, and eating corn dogs. And while all that is fun, I go for a different reason...

Classic black and white photo booths, the best I've seen on the West Coast. As you may already know, I love photo booths. It's getting harder and harder to find the old-fashioned dip and dunk kind, they keep getting replaced with those hokey digital photo booths, but these booths at the county fair are the real deal.

We always do a few strips. One or two with all of us, and now that Bee and C are getting old enough, a strip or two all by themselves. I love waiting for the film to slide into the little drying slot and seeing the poses my little ones chose. The strips this year were particularly good! Until next year county fair.. until next year.

the magic balloon

While everyone was out for spring break, some friends and I took a field trip up to what I call the "Magic Balloon". Built on the old El Toro marine air field, the Great Park will someday "include a 2.5 mile canyon and lake, miles of walking and biking trails, a cultural terrace, Orange County's largest sports park, and a botanical garden." But for now, they've got a big orange balloon. And you can ride it.. free of charge.

The balloon goes up to 400 feet, any higher and it would cause some problems for the nearby John Wayne airport. 400 feet doesn't sound that high, but when you look down and see that the only thing holding you to the ground is a tiny cable, it sure seems high.

I'm not sure who the designer is behind the Great Park, but they've done a wonderful job. Everything has been so cleary considered, from the graphic design to the landscape architecture to the little details like these huge offset arrows on the landing strip. Orange and white have never looked better.

I love these patches of orange and white checkerboards in the parking lot.

And they've kept some of the old markings from the old Marine air station runways. Viewed from the balloon, they are big and bold and just beautiful. I love the huge graphic circles they designed around the landing site.

The kids thought it was great. Bee was literally jumping up and down most of the time we were up. C was a little concerned, but warmed up once we started playing a little game of "I SPY".. I spy a little blue car.. I spy a patch of red flowers, etc.

We recently read James and the Giant Peach and while we were up in the balloon, being blown around by the wind, I thought of James and his crew teathered to a flock of seagulls flying around in a giant peach. Not such a bad way to travel.