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She has captured my heart with her smile.  Many times each day I just stare at her making noises to try to get her to coo and smile.  She especially likes her dad and coos at Brian the most.  Here are some recent photos of our cutie:

We spent a couple hours this afternoon doing a leisurely hike with friends  in Turnbull canyon.  We hiked to the water tower, which has a great view on smog-free days.  The total hike was 4.43 miles round trip and 1,667 feet of elevation gain.

As a family we love looking for wildlife, and today was great day for finding critters.

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The hike started with lots of excitement as we spotted this three foot rattler at the trailhead.  We found an even larger rattlesnake two weeks ago on our last hike in the area but didn’t have a camera with us.  This is my third time spotting a rattlesnake in Turnbull Canyon.

Ashley saw this spider running across the trail.  At first we thought it was too big to be a spider but you can count eight legs on this guy.

This is the biggest grasshopper I’ve ever seen in the wild. 

We’ve never seen a stink bug climbing before.  There were tons of stink bugs and they seemed unusually active today.

We have no idea was this fuzzy red bug is.  Anyone?

Ashley rolled her ankle on the way down so I had to carry both kids.  The load was a bit awkward but not too heavy (about 90 lbs).   Fortunately Ash was able to walk unaided back to the car.

This hike is just outside the city in Los Angeles National Forest.  The trailhead has picnic tables and places for BBQ so it’s a popular destination.  However, as our trusty Afoot and Afield book promised, we were all by ourselves five minutes down the trail to Switzer Falls.  The hike was only 4.5 miles but the elevation gain was 4,062!

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At the trailhead, ready to hike.

I love that boy’s smile.

We couldn’t decide what this thing is.  Autumn noted that it had the shape of a pear but the color of an apple.

Just as you reach the falls you find the remnants of this car, half-buried.  It would be great to hear the story of how and when this car came to rest alongside the creek.   It would also be fascinating to see a picture of what this car originally looked like.  If a automobile enthusiast is reading this and can identify the remains, please post a comment!

Switzer Falls.

Back at the trail head.

As we were driving home (aka sitting in LA traffic) from our hike today Ash commented that although we have been living in LA for seven years, it hasn’t been until the last year that we’ve really started getting to know the city.  Our hike to the summit of Mount Hollywood took in a lot significant LA landmarks including the Griffith Observatory, which I get extra credit in my astronomy class for visiting; the downtown LA skyline; the Hollywood sign; and lots of smog.

In September Brian and I want to hike Mt. Whitney in a day.   He has been interested in this for sometime, but I only recently became interested when we got this great book which convinced me that just about anyone can hike Whitney.  Even an out-of-shape mother of 3.  Last weekend we took a 1.6 mile hike to start off my training.  Technically my doctor told me not to exercise until next Friday so we didn’t want to do anything too strenuous.  Plus we have a new hiker with us who has to take twice as many steps as I do.  Here are pictures of our hike:

First- a few pictures of our cute kids:

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Brian carried Savannah in the Mei Tai made by Emily  and Hunter in a hiking backpack.  Autumn carried her own camelback that she received as a gift from Grandpa Larry for her birthday.

Autumn found so many exciting things.  Below she is seen holding a rock, a beetle, and a pinecone.  She also collected ladybugs in a zipper pouch in her camelback.  We brought them home so that they could eat the aphids on our roses.  It worked great because now all of our plants are aphid free.

We hiked in Rancho Palos Verdes.  On the trail we saw beautiful yellow (because of the mustard flowers) rolling hills and ocean views.

A great shot of a stink bug:

Mustard flowers everywhere:

We ended our hike a few minutes before sunset so we spent some time at a park and watched the sun go down. 

At the end of the hike Savannah got out of the Mei Tai for a snack and some time with mom and dad.

After lunch, I sat the kids down at the table and said, “today we will have school time.”   We started by reading  two books- one about colors (Hunter’s subject) and one about numbers (Autumn’s subject).  Then they sat down with their workbooks and began to learn.  We have informally taught Autumn her shapes, colors, numbers, letters, and writing for the past few years.  I decided now we need something more formal and I need to do a little more planning.  I found lots of great home-schooling resources online including a full curriculum for teaching one letter sound a week  that I’m thinking about using. 

My toddlers continue to impress me with their capacity to learn.  They both enjoyed “school time” and Autumn asked if we could do it again after naps.  I really enjoyed it too.  I found that I love teaching them and watching them grasp the  concepts we have been working on.  I also enjoy researching fun ways to enforce those concepts .  I already have a craft planned and prepped  for tomorrow.

When I was in grade-school I used to say I wanted to be a teacher when I grew up.  I reached that dream today.

I am excited that as Episcopalians we get to celebrate Easter for 7 weeks.  This week we have continued to read Bible stories about the empty tomb, we dyed Easter eggs for the 2nd time, and we have had fun eating all of our Easter candy.  

On Easter Sunday we had a wonderful time at church and at the Dupper’s.  There was a huge egg hunt at the Dupper’s and the Nick family ended up with a lot of candy.  Savannah was adorable in her little white Easter dress which was a hand-me-down from  Autumn.  She slept through the day being passed from one female to another both at church and the Dupper’s.  

As promised click “more” to see Baptism and Easter Sunday pictures

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Happy Easter!  We began our Easter celebration with the baptism of Savannah K at sunset last night during the Great Easter Vigil service.  This morning we are off to church again to continue to celebrate Christ’s Resurrection.  More pictures to come.

Yesterday we purchased Cars underwear because Hunter saw them in the store a few weeks ago and has been talking about them ever since.  Before our trip to the store he successfully went in the potty and we had a dry evening last night.  This morning we had another success in the potty.  I know from experience not to get too excited yet because this could be a several month process with a lot of messy clean-up. However, Hunter and I are celebrating this morning!

Baby Vannah is doing great. We were a little worried about jaundice for a few days but that has cleared itself up. She still likes to be awake at night, but some nights are better than others. The kids love having her around and are still very interested in being with her. Below are some more recent pictures of her.

Hunter is showing her his “flotball” Easter eggs. Notice her dimple, she has one on each side

One late night

Autumn recently learned how to use a camera and she took this shot of Savannah sleeping

Sisters