Split Mountain & Wind Caves

Memorial Day Weekend we drove through Split Mountain, a narrow path between 200 foot walls where two mountain ranges meet and explored the Fish Creek area.
Lunch was a picnic in the shadow of a cliff. Pray there are no eathquakes! After a mile long hike to the wind caves we ducked into one for some rest and refreshment.

View of the badlands in the background.

The recent rains and cool temperature made for a perfect day in the desert with no dust or heat.

All before noon

How much more of this am I going to have to take Mom?

Fisher LOVES helping! Hunter tolerates his big brother feeding him but appreciates Mom's accurate aim with the spoon.

For some reason I thought finger painting with shaving cream might be fun. Fisher thought it was more fun to use the camera flash as a scraper.

Fisher is proficient at dressing himself, ususally backwards. This morning I said "Fisher, your shorts are on backwards." He responded "upside down noh"

Wake up! Nap time's over.

This was about our fourth BIG MESS of the morning. The burners were disassembled and filled with table salt. When I instructed "clean it up right now, say yes ma'am". His resoponse "Mama man no, goyle. Dada man. Doo big boy." Translation: Mama, you're not a man. Dada is a man and Fisher is a big boy. Thanks for the clarification Fisher. Now clean it up!

Hunter Six Months

Happy to be a part of our family
Un-phased by his older brother’s antics
Nice and easy going
Teething all the time, gnawing on his fist
Excited by tickles, funny faces and sounds
Rolls over both ways and sits up too

Disneyland

Gee Gee (Grandma Gaddis) took the family to Disneyland and California Adventure.

Fisher's favorites were: riding the carousel with Gee Gee..
"jibing" with Dada...
watching the characters sing and dance in the parade down Main Street...

cruising around with Uncle J.D.

We caught Hunter hanging out of the stroller, teething on the snack tray. No teeth yet.

April

We joined the Opening Day festivities at SDYC to kick off the opening of the boating season.

Fisher can pedal his tricycle all on his own.

He loves the independence and wants to ride all the time.

This was Fisher's first time helping daddy in the engine room. A few weeks later just Daddy and Fish went up to the boat for the day. They worked together in the engine room getting the boat ready for summer. Fisher would leave the engine room, walk inside the cabin, take the socket set out of the cabinet, hop back down into the bilge, climb up Mike's back, over his shoulder then sit right in front of him and start working on whatever Mike was working on. It didn't take long for him to discover the thrill of power tools and quickly master the cordless drill.

After church Fisher, Caleb and Micah play like boys.

They race across the grass, climb the tree and jump off the sign.

Around the House...

• Fisher is potty training. He enjoys wearing underwear all day, even through naps, and is very good at going on the potty when Mom reminds him :).


• Hunter rolls over both from tummy to back and from his back to his tummy. He can sit up on his own too.


• The boys sit side by side in a large shopping cart when we go to Costco. Fisher will put his arm around "B" and hug him really tight. Just as I'm telling him to let go Hunter's playful smile turns into loud laughter. Hunter loves his brother and just laughs at all the crazy things he does.


• At naptime and bedtime the boys sit on Fisher's bed while Mom reads aloud. Fisher will stand up and jump on the bed, just inches from Hunter is laying flat on his back. Just as I warn him to move away from "B" Hunter starts laughing out loud. He likes being bounced and watching Fisher have so much fun.


• Fisher helps bathe "B" by holding the washcloth and giving Mom instructions to not get water in his eyes.


• Fisher's first sentence was "yowd no, B nigh nigh". Back in March while driving in the car he asked me to not play the music too loud because Hunter was sleeping.


• "Mama, may I..." is a new phrase he's using. "Mama may I open drawer please" was his first request.

Mama's Jeep

Jill's new toy is a 1999 Land Rover Discovery outfitted for desert adventures. Aunt Janeen, Jill, Fisher and Hunter trekked into the southern part of Anza Borrego Desert State Park to explore off road tralis and view wildflowers.
Aunt Janeen's semester of wildlife biology really came in handy. She and Fisher spotted animal tracks and droppings, identified various rock formations and practiced saying the colors of the flowers we saw. Fisher always answered "blue" then would correct himself by saying "blue no, red".
We followed S2 north from Ocotillo and hiked back to Mountain Palm Springs, a small oasis of palms in the desert mountins, where Fisher discover his shadow for the first time. He would hop around, wave his arms and spontaneously attempted skipping.
The Palm Spring trail took us to a stagecoach stop at a natural spring. There was a pool of water on the ground and a verdant green oasis of mesquite. Later we drove further north to check out Agua Caliente and were surprised to find a small airstrip. Next time we'll bring swim suits to take a dip in the natural hot springs.
The Culprit! The wildflower bloom is mostly finished due to warm weather and the onslaught of sphinx moth caterpillars. A herd of these caterpillars crossed the dirt road in front us, like the children of Israel following Moses across the desert. At our last stop, Canyon Sin Nombre, we drove in a sandy wash beside steep rock cliffs.

Spring

Easter morning Fisher feasted from the large wagon full of candy from Grandma Sohair. A highlight of the Easter service at church was a special performance of "The Holy City" with Great Aunt Lindsay on piano, Cousin C.J. singing and Uncle J.D. playing his trumpet. We later joined family and friends for lunch and egg hunt at Grandma Rosie's house. Fisher's hunting pace was set by how quickly he ate his finds. When he found a plastic egg the contents were quickly emptied and consumed. Then he'd proceed to look for another. If it was a hard boiled egg he'd squeeze it with one hand until the shell cracked, then bite the top off and enjoy picking it apart.

In March Fisher, Hunter and Mommy visited Grandma Sohair & George. Fisher diligently mowed their lawn with his new mower.

Hunter has quite the "baby toupee". His dark, shiny hair looks thick and full in front, but lifts to reveal large bald patches over his ears and on the back of his head.

Treasure Trails '08

We joined the 42nd annual Treasure Trails desert scavenger hunt at Salton Sea. Aunt Janeen, Uncle Dax and his twin brother Rob were in the yellow Jeep. Grandpa, Mommy and two little boys in car seats were in the blue Jeep. We joined 400+ other off road vehicles in search of tiny 1" treasure chests hidden on various desert trails. We chose to search Gravel Trail first. The clues were challenging, such as "an eye to the sky, way up high" which was a rock with a dark spot in the center on top of a bluff. Whew, after finding the spot I was disappointed to discover the treasure already taken. We drove along the trail enjoying the company of other treasure hunters, many of whom have been doing this for decades.






On the way out we stopped at Salton Sea Beach to check out theses para motorers. It really is just like it looks. They strap what looks like a weed wacker motor with a huge fan onto their backs, run like the wind and then lift off and fly around like James Bond. Cool!!!

Cancun

Mid January we spent a week at Moon Palace Resort in Cancun. Who can turn down a free vacation? It was an incentive trip for purchasing air conditioners. Since we qualified for a second room we brought along Miss Leah to babysit. Mom and Dad got to have a "date night" every night! Highlights were a pirate ship dinner complete with swordfight and swimming with dolphins.

Merry Christmas 2007

Wishing You God's Peace and
Joy this Christmas and Always

Jesus spoke, saying, "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me
will not walk in darkness, but will have the Light of life." John 8:12

Doo is Two

Happy 2nd Birthday Fisher!

Fisher calls himself Doo. When this photo was taken he insisted "yocks off" so... he's barefoot, just as he likes. When we're in the car he always asks "mama, shue off pee" followed by "mama, yocks off pee" for permission to take off his socks and shoes.

One Month

Happy one-month-old birthday Hunter!

Here's a look at those blue eyes.

Thanksgiving Traditions

Mike was proud to take his two boys on their first cruise to Catalina. It is our family's tradition to spend Thanksgiving on the boat. This year we moored in Avalon Harbor and Grandma Sohair (Teta), George and cousin Ola took the ferry over to join us for two nights. During our crossing on Wednesday Fisher saw a huge pod of dolphins and practiced spotting birds on the water.











Friday the harbor partol delivered the weather report to every boat, warning of high winds and advising all vessels to go home. Many boats left, but we stayed, of course, Mike is our captain remember :). They missed a beautiful weekend with sunny weather and calm seas. Thankfully those weather forecasts aren't always right!





Saturday night Mike and his friend Guy went outside the harbor and set lobster traps. Fisher went along and enjoyed every minute. When he heard seals in the water near them he barked back. The light from the full moon cast a glittering light on the water and two large cruise ships with all their lights on passed by the harbor. It was quite an adventure for this little 23 month old!



Fisher's favorite words for the weekend were "bo shus" and "cha moh". He insits on wearing his boat shoes everyday. They are definitely his favorite! He loves chocolate milk and will say "mama, cha moh pee" for chocolate milk please. Mike is teaching Fisher to drive the dinghy and until he's behind the wheel he repeatedly requests "Doo jive". He calls himself Doo.

First Week Home

Hunter is a little angel. He is relaxed, quiet and sweet.

Fisher is enjoying Hunter more each day. Today he asked to hold him for the first time. He imitates Hunter's cry by saying "tie" then opens his mouth wide, squints his eyes and lets out a little "aah". He calls Hunter "bee" for baby and alerts Mommy by saying "bee - tie" when he hears the smallest whimper.

We all like playing in Fisher's room. He's been sleeping in his boat bed for about two months now. Hunter spends much of his wake time there enjoying the bright colors and bold patterns while Fisher and Mommy read books and listen to music.

GG (Grandma Gaddis) gave Hunter his first bath on Saturday.

A warm snuggle with Daddy.