Goodbye Glenoaks

 After more than 10 years, a dog, baby turned big kid and a major economic meltdown second this century only to the great depression, we packed our things and left our home, our condo in Pacoima.

 This was our home. This was where I brought my baby home from the hospital and spent many of the best years of my life. It was so small, and I thought we had so little until I filled box after box after box. Going back to leave the keys on the counter after already moving into our new home and a lengthy, drama filled escrow, it really felt small.

 My kitchen. I cleaned it a million times because it was so small if there 3 glasses on the counter it looked full. See ya! I also got rid of those pants after seeing this picture too!

Milo adjusted to the move really well. He slept in his room in his bed from the first night. He loves the backyard and scootering around the block with me and Murphy. He even has a school mate from his grade who lives 4 doors away!  I think we're gonna like it here! Want a tour? Check out the next post.

Hello New Home!

 Our new home is in a quiet little neighborhood with, so far, very friendly neighbors. Due to the drought, our yard is the typical sparse landscape. Murphy and I really enjoy walking around the block several times a day. There are a few dog walkers, but a lot of cats around. The public library and a park is also within walking distance which I plan to make regular use of.

 Come on in! Look, no stairs!  Right inside the front door is the dining room. I put the leaf in the table to help fill up the room, but it hardly makes a difference. There is a sliding door that leads out to the patio.

 From the dining room, you can enter the living room. The TV is on the wall opposite the desk.

 From the other side of the dining room is the kitchen. It's huge, and we love it. While the look is older/cabinesque the appliances are all new.

 I had to give a shot of the pantry that does not have to share the bathroom towels too!

 This is one of my favorite places in the house. Laundry. No stairs. Right off the kitchen.That door goes out to the back yard.  Heaven.

 Milo's room is very light and charming. He got new furniture for his new space, but the bed is our old frame and headboard from before he was two which I am glad I hung onto.

 Our room is peaceful and warm. We also got new furniture. I love it.

 MY bathroom. Lyman had the idea that there should be a boy's room and a girl's room. With our 15 year anniversary this month, that is the best gift he could ever give me. I am quite pleased with my bathroom with built in cabinet and white accents. I love that I was able to get the Colts poster up in THEIR room. That's the short tour. More to come when the yard is more pulled together!

Spring Break Grade 2

 It's Spring Break!  Well, it's my last day of Spring Break, so thank goodness I am taking the time to update my blog since my last post was about our Christmas trip to London!  My goal is to make a blog post before the first week of summer vacation!  Spring break was very chill and fun. Milo started baseball, and his first game was this week. Baseball is a ton of fun since the nights are still cool for watching the game. The kids are good too!  I hear that nice "clang" of the ball hitting the bat with almost every batter.

 One day we used our season passes to Six Flags with our pals. Perfect day. Sunny skies, cool breeze and hardly any lines equal happy moms and kids.

 Another day, we went to the zoo with other pals. Again, perfect weather and smiles all around. Now, break is over in the morning. Back to work, school, possible strike and maybe a move!  I'll keep you posted.

Auntie's Visit

 Auntie Kelly came to visit in March to escape the ice and cold. She found some sunshine here! 

 One afternoon, we went on a little hike on a nearby trail. Murphy had more energy that day then I have seen in a long time! There is a rope over a little trickle of water that Milo likes to swing on. Even though there seemed to be so little water in the creek (major drought here) he managed to get wet from toes to elbows! 

 Milo and I had to go to work and school two of the days, but Murphy and Auntie look like they had plenty of fun without us on the sunny balcony. Come back anytime Auntie!

Magic Castle

 One night in March, Lyman and I were invited to visit the magic castle with a group of friends. This place is AMAZING. It's an old, old (well, ok, old for California) Victorian home with many hallways, stairways, parlors, theatres and bars- a maze inside really. You can only take pictures in the lobby where I am with the bookshelves, then you say the magic word, the bookshelf slides open and you're in!  The dress is is formal adding to the classy atmosphere of a magical castle. We had a lovely dinner in the dining room. I had beef wellington, because, in the magic castle, it didn't seem outrageous to eat something like that at all! Desserts all around and then magic for hours.

 We saw one big stage show in a theatre with about 100 seats, then a small parlor show with about 25 people and then you just walk around and sit down at card tables or order a drink at the bar until the bartender starts doing incredible tricks. The whole night reminded me of one of my favorite books "The Night Circus" which is absolute fantasy. If this real place can make me feel even a little like I'm in an unbelievable fantasy story- than that is pretty magical.

Big 8

 February was Milo's 8th Birthday. We celebrated at an indoor play place on rainy Oscar Sunday with all our pals. This year, I made the cake and cupcakes- yum! 

 The place was called Gummy the Bear. This poor young gal who's probably getting her BA in child development had to wear this bear suit. She had to be steered around since she couldn't even see in the thing! 

 Mandy's little one found the best position to shoot the hoops!

 The bigger boys spent most of their time clobbering one another with these foam dividers. I think they took them from the toddler area. I spent my time making sure they didn't clobber an actual toddler or the gal in the bear suit.

 Milo got so many nice gifts from all our friends and family. It was a very nice birthday this year in every way.

Feel the Love

 Valentine's Day was a little more fun this year with a Sweetheart dance at Milo's school. It was super cute! Milo thought the whole thing was terrible, except for the cookies and lemon aide, and wanted to bail as soon as he ate the cookies and snapped the picture. Without this blog, I might forget that he thought the whole thing was a pain, and that he asked to leave every 10 minutes until we did really leave after 45 minutes! 

 Home Depot has free family crafts the first Saturday of the month. I hope to make it as many Saturdays this year as I can because Milo loved it.

 In the end, I told him how impressed I was with his hammering. He said that he has been trying to tell me what a genius he is! 

 After, we took our little woodworkers to the park to feed the ducks, and then I went home and cleaned my little duck.

London Holiday

 Lyman and I both agreed for our upcoming 40th birthdays we would both chose a vacation. So, when my old friend Nathan from my year abroad in England said he had a three bedroom house in East London while he's pursuing a degree in theology, there was no choice but to see how many flight miles we had available.  It turned out, we only had enough miles for one ticket, but we saved more than a year for the rest. We had an amazing time, that I know I will never forget and hope Milo is old enough to remember.

 We arrived on Christmas Eve, so the first full day there was Christmas!  Milo woke up to find that Santa found him in London to deliver his much asked for Nintendo 2DS.

 After church services, off we went to Southend on Sea to sister Rachel's home. There were 6 kids, 2 dogs, 2 cats, 1 flaming Christmas pudding aged 3 years and a pile of gifts! Milo had such fun running around with these kids; he was a sweaty mess.

 Oh, the food!  Lyman and I think English food has a bad reputation because we love it. Well, I didn't love this pork pie surrounded by jelly and cranberries, but I tried it!  The rest of the meal and all the restaurants were delicious enough to make all my pre-trip workouts worth it! We loved how traditional the food was and how warm Nathan's family was. It was a wonderful Christmas Day and we were just getting started!

 This was the Christmas of the selfie stick, right?  What a great invention for capturing these pictures. More and more posts about the rest of our trip ahead...