What I Am Going to Miss About My Vacation

Well, it’s Sunday night and I go back to work tomorrow. I’m not looking forward to getting up when it’s still dark outside, being jarred awake by my alarm rather than the natural end of sleep. I will miss leisurely mornings drinking tea, doing the crossword puzzle, chatting with John, and playing Fi. I will miss hiking on a weekday and eating snacks whenever I want. I will miss visits from friends and making dinner every night.

I will miss scenes like this:

And this:

 

Yes, I am in her crib. Occasionally I get in after her nap.

I will miss John being home all day, because once we go back to work, he won’t be home until 6 (or sometimes later). I will miss wearing clothing made from stretchy fabrics all day instead of work clothes, that tend to be stiffer and less snuggle inducing. I will miss working out with my dad at the gym in the middle of day, because I will be at work when he goes.

I will even miss that long day I had in Pasadena, where I got to sit and chat with students outside of class, and get to know them as people other than students.

This vacation felt longer somehow, probably because the last day of school before it started was so unusual. I had so few students that we didn’t do anything academic. We watched movies in another teacher’s classroom during two periods and made angels that I mailed to Connecticut during another. So my last day at work wasn’t spent actually working. Now it’s going to be “back to business” time. At least every week brings me closer to summer vacation.

I will miss doing picture worthy things and having time to blog about them.

Winter vacation time always seems surreal to me. It’s like time is suspended for a couple of weeks and all the responsibilities of work and life disappear. The first day back is always jarring, to say the least, like being tossed into an icy cold lake without warning. Winter vacation is a warm and fuzzy place, where I don’t get paper cuts from grading too many papers and I don’t have to judge a person based on their mathematical ability or lack thereof. Things don’t feel rushed during winter vacation, and everyone seems happy and smiles and says things like “Happy Holidays” or “Happy New Year”. Life is slower, whereas during work, I feel a sense of urgency all the time, and there is not enough time to do everything; I feel like I am running around like a chicken with my head cut off.

OK, I’m going to stop complaining now and be thankful I have a job to go back to.

I hope everyone else had a peaceful and restful holiday season. Real world...here I come!

More Visits from Friends!

This week we had the pleasure of hosting Krista, Dan, and Sophie, who we have not seen since April. Krista and Dan used to visit around New Year’s Eve every year but they missed last year. I think they more than made up for it.

They arrived on Tuesday and left Thursday. During that time we shared meals, laughs, lots of coffee and tea, and time outside. Here are the girls eating a snack on a hike we took:

 

Both girls are fantastic little hikers. Fiona also squatted on her own twice and had no accidents. She loves going outside and does not need help from at all.

Krista and Dan holding hands on the trail:

Looking out at the islands:

  

It was an amazingly clear day, and if I look at the photos full sized on my computer, I can see the arch of Arch Rock on Anacapa Island:

  

Another snack break:

The girls took off by themselves because the adults were dawdling:

 

What a funny family!

Krista read to the girls:

A trip to the park:

We were treated to a lovely chorus when Sophie began to sing and Fi imitated her.

Swinging:

Walking on the pylons:

During the visit, Krista and I had a chance to get away. We got our nails done, shared a biscotti and tea lattes, and went to the supermarket. Those activities seem so mundane until you realize how rarely a person with a child gets to do them alone. For example, I had a pedicure the weekend before Fiona was born. My next pedicure was this August in Texas and this one is the next one. I so rarely get time away during the day, and it was really nice to do it with such a wonderful and close friend.

After Krista, Dan, and Sophie left, the house was so quiet and seemed so empty. I think we were all sad, as we are whenever friends visit and leave. I keep consoling myself with the idea that I will see them again sometime this year and that in the meantime, another friend is moving much closer (I’m looking at you Jen).

Fiona and Sophie got along really well and I think they had a good time. Fiona has asked about Sophie and Krista (sorry Dan) several times today. She always has fun and learns so much from Sophie.

Safe travels dear friends! Enjoy your family vacation and have a safe trip back to Hamburg! (for Krista, at first I accidentally typed HUMburg) And Stay warm!

Happy New Years!

It’s almost 2013. When I was a kid, my friends and I all thought the future would look very different. For example, we thought that by now there would be hover skateboards and flying cars and robot servants. We didn’t think that things would look about the same except we would use cell phones instead of making more concrete plans, email instead of writing, Netflix instead of the local video store, and Amazon for everything.

Here are some of my New Year’s Resolutions, in no particular order:

• To communicate and/or see friends more, especially those that don't live that far away.
• Make better friends with our neighbors. They are really cool and I need to be more neighborly.
• Be in more photos with Fiona. It is so sad, but often she looks at photos on the computer or my blog and asks "where's mommy?" because I am not in the photo. If I die suddenly, I want a record that I was there with her so she can see how much I love her.
• Be less morbid and more positive, more forgiving, and less critical of others.
• Get rid of more stuff and don't buy any more new stuff (been pretty good about this one, but I could always improve).
• Hand write more letters.
• Finish my project that is the first major hurdle to a Ph.D.

Normally I do not make resolutions on December 31/January 1 and instead use my birthday as the mile marker for myself (what do I want to accomplish this year?). But this year feels different, maybe because I need a change or just because November and December were such stressful months. I need a break from that time and it seems like the turning of a calendar page is as good a time as any to make that break.

We took Fiona on another hike. Here are some photos of her with her backpack. She carries her own snacks and water. Even though it seems that the water would be heavy, she does not mind it at all. On this hike, she figured out how to squat on her own. No more hand holding from me.

We hiked in the same area as the last hike, but a different trail. This one was much flatter and Fi did most of the walking herself, except for a very steep climb to the top of Lizard Rock, when I carried her in the Ergo.

We saw a many legged creature and stopped to admire, while Fi touched it:

Lizard Rock and Friday’s teepee:

 

We stopped by this rock and Fiona climbed on it, but not before noticing the crack and declaring it “the rock’s tushie”:

Fi exploring a plant with burs:

 

Well, that’s it! I hope everyone has a happy and healthy 2013, full good times, good friends, and family!

Happy New Year!

A Hike on Friday

Yesterday was a beautiful day! We decided to take Fi on a little hike, so we headed to Thousand Oaks to Wildwood Park to Paradise Falls. Our hiking book describes Paradise Falls as “plunging 70 feet down a wall of volcanic rock into a large pool.” A photo of the falls is on the back cover of the book. The hike is supposed to be short, only three miles round trip. It is mostly flat, with a little bit of up and down, but nothing very strenuous. We set out a little late and underestimated just how slow we move when Fi is walking because she likes to make frequent stops to look at rocks, pick up sticks, and explore plants, not unlike a certain friend of mine. In fact, at one point, John commented that “hiking with Fi is like hiking with Jen.” All in all the hike lasted about two and a half hours instead of the one and a half promised by the book.

We began by waiting for John to finish some phone calls related to the flood at my parents’ house two weeks ago. The surrounding area is very pretty and everything was colored vibrant green from the recent rains, so Fi and I sat on a rock and posed for photos:

 

My goal to make sure that there are lots of photos of me with Fi. So often I am the one behind the camera and so when Fiona looks at photos, she asks “Where’s Mommy?” and it makes me very sad. Years from now I want her to look at photos and know I was there.

First thing on the trail, Fiona requested carrots:

The hike was really uneventful. Fi fell once while running with carrots in her hand, and I showed her how to squat to pee in the wilderness. When I asked her what her favorite part of the day was, she insisted it was when Mommy went to the bathroom. Speaking of that, we have been potty training Fi and she goes without a diaper during the day. Even on the hike, she had no accidents and successfully squatted twice. She talked about it a lot yesterday evening.

Here we are at Paradise Falls:

 

 

 

There is a very good reason for the “no swimming” sign. The pool is not deep, the creek is not fast moving, or even deep enough to swim in, however, the water that feeds the creek and the waterfall is run-off from yards above the park. When I asked a ranger if the falls were running, he told me that they run year-round. As long as people water their lawns and wash their cars, there will be a creek with a waterfall. It explains why the area around the falls and close to the creek smelled bad, sort of sewery (because it is essentially a sewer). EW!

Fiona climbing up stairs:

Stopping to throw rocks through the fence:

Running and yelling like a crazy person, and giggling hysterically:

 

 

This is the “I desperate need a nap” a face:

We checked this bridge for trolls, but none were found:

  

There is a neat cave, called “Indian Cave” that we climbed into and out of:

 

It had two entrances and Fiona called it the Condor Cave because it was a little like the Condor cave at the zoo.

She was pretty tired and we wanted to get back to the car because we were running out of snacks and water and missed lunchtime, so we put her in the Ergo for most of the walk back (from the cave, we only had about half a mile left anyway):

She really wanted to walk back, especially when we were going uphill, but I carried her a lot of the way anyway, letting her out when we came to stairs.

She napped in the car and we had a nice little evening at home, where I cuddled her and she made a sour face:

 

Today, when asked what she wants to do, she keeps suggesting going for a hike, but it rained most of the morning, so we did not go. I can’t wait to take her again, though, I know she loves it and so do we!