Camping in the San Jacinto Mountains

Went camping with our awesome friends the Fergusons (Jessica, Patrick, Shane and Jesse) this weekend at the most magical, wonderful campground called Marion Mountain in the San Jacinto Mountains about two hours east of here.

It was completely and totally remote - only 14 campsites and it really felt like a pack in campground.  Really rugged, with absolutely stunning vistas and blessed, blessed quiet (except for our kids, of course).

There are also spectacular trails leading off right from the back of the sites.  Right there.  You can't really tell here, but they are at the tippity-top of a very tall mountain, after scrambling up a pretty crazy face right off of our campsite (and Danny and Matt in their socks, no less).  These guys are naturals!

Only issue was that it was in the 30s at night and a leeeetle bit uncomfortable...  Next time, I think we'll aim for September.

Party on the Farm

Carmen's party (Carmen is the one in the red boots) at Underwood Farms.  

Halloween!

So the endless days of Halloween work - I mean fun! - started with Matty's Preschool Carnival.  Seriously, though, this was my first holiday season while working, and well, wow.  Pretty crazy!  Kind of catatonic last night after it was over!  Working moms and dads of the world, give yourselves a big old hug.  I know I need one today.  

But just look at the cute, look at the cute, and it's all worth it.  

So Matty's preschool had a really sweet Halloween carnival on Wednesday, with which I got to help out.  In case you're not familiar, Matty is Jake from Disney's Jake and the Neverland Pirates.  

Here he is waiting for his class to head in to the party.  Check out this little girl's smile.  Can't stand the cute.

Here are his class and his teachers.  Adorable.

They had a little feast of orange food... 

...and here they are praying before they ate.  OFF THE CHARTS ADORABLE!

Here's Matt at the carnival.  I did not provoke or suggest these faces.  

Next up, here is Danny's Halloween Parade at school yesterday - which happened during my USC class, so I missed it.  But Daddy was a champion and wrangled both Danny in costume and Matt and a box full of Halloween rubber ducks for Danny's class.  

This is supposed to be a storybook character parade, but being as we are lazy and tired and frankly, just come on people, we modified Danny's actual costume into the character Finnigan from the book Bone Soup.  (Truly, a brilliant stroke by Daddy.)

Here is his seriously rock star hipster teacher Mr. Lin, as Pete from Pete the Cat.  Too much!

Here's Danny during the Halloween party.

Here he is next to his best friend James (a pirate), who is rad.

Here he is again, don't look at the totally awesome homemade Max costume on the right, just don't look at it, just don't look.  

So I rushed home after my class ended at 4pm, Daddy rushes out to get pizza and waits almost an hour, kids start knocking on the door at 5pm...it's madness!!!

But our heroes of the night Uncle John and Bristol came over, bearing delicious pumpkin and chocolate chip muffins and cookies, which were the only thing that got both kids out of bed this morning, by the way.  

Bristol made John into a creepy dead dude.  Looks awesome.

Here we all are, including our friend the skeleton who met the trick-or-treaters with a puff of smoke on the porch.  I was trying to be an Uggy Witch, but I realize I just look bored.  

And off we went!  

We met up with the twins from Danny's class, Dylan and Isabella.  

We'd heard it was crazy around here, and it really was.  I'd heard "throngs of people on the sidewalk," and that was not an exaggeration.  But the kids had a great time.  We stopped back home to relieve Uncle John and Bristol, and Danny decided "I have enough candy, I can't eat any more," and Matty wanted to go to one hundred more houses (Mom, don't say a word...).  So J, B, Matty and I all trucked up to the Haunted House up the street, Matty screaming "Happy Halloween!" to anyone within earshot.

Here's Danny and all of his loot!

Happy Halloween!!!

Matty's Castle

Well, just when you think you've got a handle on one little Butler kid growing up so fast (that he spontaneously takes his dishes to the kitchen while declaring that he loves his 4th grade reading buddy, Felix), there goes the other one, who sort of grew up while nobody was looking.

Matt started at St. James today, which we call "Matty's Castle."  We used to drive by on our way to Dan's old preschool, and of course Matty would ask if there were knights there (good), and dragons (scary) and princesses (unacceptable).

Orientation was Wednesday, and our feeling about preschool stands - there is no sweeter way to get into schooling your kid.  They had donuts and coffee in the "consolation room" as they called it - to gather with other parents and wipe your tears about your little one starting school.  Really friendly, wonderful parents.  Also Pastor Todd, who got his Masters in Divinity at Harvard (ahem), who - seriously - is there for the preschool kids.  He's there for the preschoolers' spiritual angst and questions.  I'm enrolling next week.  I like crackers and clay.  I can duck in the little playhouse!

Orientation was an hour for the kids to get used to the space, and Matt did great.  As we left, he walked over by himself, hugged the teacher and said "Thank you, I'll see you Saturday!!"  Big laughs all around.

Today was the big day - the real first day - and boy was Matt excited.  I mean, seriously excited.  Of course, he hoarded every single "friend" from his bed - three Taggies, Snakey, Reindeer, and a green Matchbox car - we didn't see Lion, but I suspect Lion was hiding under some covers.

He made sure we packed his lunchbox, although he doesn't actually have lunch there.  This kid was ready.

Here's the school - the classrooms are on the left here, and the awesome playground is straight ahead behind the gate.





















Once we got there, he walked right in and sat down at the table.

I went over and told him we were going, and we'd see him soon, and he had a moment - some red eyes and the thought of crying, but by the time we were walking out of the gate, he was distracted by something else.

Phew.

Dave went to pick him up at noon, and said they kept the kids inside with the door closed until pick up time, on the dot.  At noon, the teachers opened the door, and the little ones started searching every face for their parents.  When Matty finally found Dave, his face broke out in a huge smile.  Dave handed him his "lunchbox," he threw it over his shoulder, and said, "Let's go, Daddy."






















And then, time for a celebration lunch with Daddy (hangaburg, french fries, and a chocolate milkshake).

Posatko Chompers!

So, let's start with the good news.  Matty had a wonderful first visit to the dentist.  

Danny, on the other hand, has two adult molars pushing through, the potential for a shark tooth situation (this is according to the dentist) where an adult lower tooth erupts behind his baby tooth, and some serious big-ole-Posatko-tooth action up top.

See for yourself!  Braces, here we come!

Grateful

It's been a bit since I've been able to really embrace that word, but I'm happy to say that I AM GRATEFUL.

Two ten-minute walks to school in the gorgeous California sunshine with the San Gabriel mountains as a backdrop and lots and lots of local families in the parade...

A happy happy Kindergartener who holds my hand a little bit tight every morning as we walk onto the blacktop with all the big kids and line up in lines for class...

And then releases it as we see what color bow tie his teacher is wearing every day...

A kid who has needed that alone time with Mommy or Daddy but we've never quite been able to figure it out, until now, and it's made both of us realize we have two of the most amazing kids in the world...

(When they're alone, ahem...)

Making healthy lunches each night as David cleans the kitchen...

Because - believe it or not - I've been cooking!...

Making Moroccan tagines and roasted CSA box veggies and not even caring if Matty eats it because it tastes delicious and it means we've gone on six weeks of CSA deliveries without throwing a single piece of food away...

Packing lunches with color-coded recyclable baggies for snack and lunch and "eat this before you get your cookies" and feeling so preposterously Californian and then - wait - feeling pretty darn good about that!...

Grateful for nighttime walks with Laura, Danny's preschool teacher, through secret private drives and down quiet, dark, scented streets and happy chats about our kids...

And so grateful that Dave is working from home so we can eat meals as a family and pray together and hear Matty pray for "pooping on the potty 100 times so I can watch 100 shows" and Danny can pray for "the costume I want for Halloween and Jesus" (and force a kid to brush teeth/put on socks/etc. without me threatening to kill somebody)...

Life is good.  Really happy about that.

No Caption Necessary

Wiggles McGee

Somebody has a wiggly loose tooth!  And couldn't be more excited!

Our Big Kindergartener

Here is a photo of big D on his first day of school.

He has a pretty awesome teacher, Mr. Lin, who wears bow ties and matching Chuck Taylors.  Does it get any better than that?  I think not.

































We spent the day in the classroom yesterday, getting used to the space, learning a few rules, and singing a really silly song about peanut butter on your underpants.






































Needless to say, Danny was enthralled.  (Me too - in the back at the little table!)

































There is supposed to be another Danny B in Danny's class - Daniel Baech or something like that - but he didn't show up yesterday.  My lasting memory is of the teacher calling "Daniel Baech?" and our Dan hesitating, then jumping up, clearly thinking "I think that's me - and I'm here!"  Don't exactly know why, but every time I remember seeing him do that, I get a little teary.  That and when he couldn't find me amongst all of the parents, and kept looking around for me.

After school, Danny will be doing Kindercare.  We didn't realize it was on yesterday, so we didn't pack a lunch for him.  I ran home, Dave made a lunch, ran it back all before my endless faculty meeting at USC.  Well, somehow he "didn't know" I'd brought it and came home declaring he'd bought lunch, and it was hamburgers and french fries and chocolate milk, and he ate A LOT.

Today, Mr. Lin opened the door, Danny said "is it time?"  We walked over and I'm saying, "remember, put your backpack in the cubby..." and he responds, "Mom, please, can you stop talking?"

He walked in, and didn't even look back.  I started tearing up a bit, then a nice mom started talking to me, and there it was.  First day of school.  Whew.

Who's Got Issues?

Farley, although as sweet and adorable as can be, always finds a way to lay in the exact worst possible place.  The place you need access to.  Typically for me, that's on my pillow, the computer keyboard or on my appointment book.

I was working a bit on prepping my class this morning, with both kids in the office with me.  Matty in my lap, and Danny sitting on the floor, hugging my leg.  Normal.

Farley hops up and lies right on my appointment book.  I lift him off and put him on the ground, and say "Farley, if you come up here again, we are going to have issues."

Farley then walks out one door of the office, and back through the other door, hops right back up and starts to lie down on the appointment book again.

I lift him up - "Farley-" I start...

And Matty finishes, very sternly "- you are going to have tissues!"

Ach Mary, She Can't Make a Whoopie Pie for Naught!

When we were back in Delaware this summer, Pops took me and the kids to Dutch Wonderland.  John and I probably went there 100 times as kids.  And honestly, it's just as cool now.  Not only because it's a nice-sized, very clean and super-friendly amusement park where Danny could ride every single ride, but you get to go through Amish country on your way up, and see lots of Amish folks doing their Amish thing, which is always a treat.

Anyway, Danny just loved this place, and rode the scary roller coaster four times.  Here he is, being fourteen.  (What's happened to my little boy?!?)

Matt loved it too, although he was a bit frightened by the scarier rides.  "Too fast!!" he kept saying.  He liked the Merry-Go-Round...

...and this ride where kids can drive.

Because, who wouldn't like this ride?!  Are you serious!?

Danny of course asked if we could return the next day, and "one hundred days after that."  "One hundred" is his go-to for forever, or infinity.

Watching TV later that week at Lala's, we saw this commercial for Dutch Wonderland, and Danny lost his mind.  I don't exactly remember what he or I said, but he may have said "That's us!" and I may have said "Yes!"  Or something to that effect.

So, cut to tonight, as reported by Dave:

Danny:  "Mom and I are famous, you know."
Dave:  "You are?  What are you famous for?"
Danny:  "We were in a commercial."
Dave:  "For what?"
Danny:  "Dutch Wonderland."

(pause)

Danny:  "I didn't see us, but I know we were in there."

(second pause for Dave to die laughing, quietly)

Danny:  "So how do you feel that your wife is famous?"

Sweet Guys