Lake Shasta

This past weekend found us on yet another adventure. Only this time, we were going on an overnight adventure, a first since our time here in Pasadena began. We packed up our car and drove north to Lake Shasta, to join my parents who were camping there. We left Friday morning and arrived back in Pasadena on Monday night. The drive took 11 hours (including stops) and was well worth it!

We left the milder temperatures in Pasadena only to be greeted by 103 degrees at the lake. That's right. At one point in the weekend, the car thermometer read 106! There was no wind at the lake which left us feeling hot most of the day, and also meant no sailing in my dad's sail boat (bummer!). The temperature cooled down to the mid-70's at night, which made for comfortable sleeping. Can you just feel how hot and sticky this child was??Maddie was a real trooper! She slept all by herself in her own tent. It was a really good set-up for us. My parents had their tent, we had ours, and Maddie's pack-n-play was set-up in her tent, which sat in between our two tents. Although it was a challenge to enter and exit the tents quietly, without the zippers waking her up, it was still a successful arrangement. There was a fantastic concrete pad that Maddie played on. She loved walking around with her walker or playing with toys inside the play pen we set up for her. It was much cleaner than we could have anticipated!

My parents had been at the campsite since Wednesday and had raved about how quiet the campground had been. Unfortunately, we arrived on Friday night, which was when everyone else arrived as well. Across the way from us, there was a group of about 20 people who decided they were going to have a party. All..night..long. After an unsuccessful hour of attempting to put Maddie down for bed (mind you, it was 10:30, about 85 degrees, and LOUD), and had just about had it. Spending an hour with a baby who is tired but can't fall asleep due to the noise around her, can be very tiresome. They were blasting their music, drinking loudly and using profanity like it was going out of style. I was more than frustrated by the time I overheard one of the people say, "How about some Metallica?" At that moment, I put Maddie down in her crib, wide awake, and stomped over to their campground. When I say stomped, I mean stomped. My fists were tightening, my jaw was clenched and I was an angry "Mother Hen" ready to go to bat for the good of my daughter. Awhile before this moment, we had all been debating if one of us should go talk to the camp host, or talk to our neighbors ourselves. We gave them the benefit of the doubt and tried to see if they would quiet down after 10 (being the quiet hours on the campground). That didn't happen.

So anyway, my dad saw me take off with a look to kill and came up behind me just as I was approaching their party. Funny thing about moments like this: I was all ready to explode walking over there, but with each passing step, my courage went away and I began to feel like I shouldn't intrude. By the time I was noticed by one of the women, I said kindly, "I've got a baby over here who can't fall asleep. I was just wondering if you could possibly turn your music down just a bit?" Ah, nice and neat, huh? Well, kindness pays off. They were immediately apologetic and turned the music off. We said thank you very much and left them alone. Although the music turned off, their voices did not...we heard them telling stories well past 2:30 in the morning! Well, you can't have it all! :)

Saturday, we took a little hike up into some caves just across the bay from where we were camping. It was a great day for this, as the caves offered some relief from the heat! Unfortunately, Maddie was not too happy about the sudden darkness and environmental change, and she let us know!Holding up the caves! Okay, so not really. But it was a fun photo-op anyway.
After our trip to the caves, we went to the Shasta Dam and took the free 1-hour tour inside the Dam. They keep the temperature at 65 degrees 24 hours a day, so this was a fabulous point in our day! :) It was a really interesting tour and a bit creepy to be standing in a hallway with a wall of water just on the other side of the concrete wall...
We arrived back at the campsite and took Dad's boat out on the lake. (Sorry there are no pictures, Dad. I was taking them with your camera). Again, there was no wind, but we had paddles to row with. Dad, Brant and I rowed out into the lake, threw the anchor in the water and jumped off the boat to swim and cool off. It was great! Mom was wonderful and stayed behind on the shore to play with Maddie in the shallow water.Before bed, Maddie wanted to help organize the campsite...
Sunday brought with it more heat and more adventures! Prior to any more adventures, coffee must be enjoyed and walking around the campground must be accomplished. Anyway, we had heard about a lookout tower nearby that we were interested in checking out. The map showed a 5 mile drive up a road that dropped you off at the trail head to the tower, which was another 1/4 mile up. We drove up the road for 1.25 miles before coming across a road sign that read:We debated what to do for a minute before deciding to park the car and begin walking. We didn't know how far we would make it but decided we would take it as it came. Surely it wouldn't take us that long! Well, we didn't really think this hike all the way through. The outside temperature was hovering around 100, we had 4 water bottles, and a small lunch.
My mom was the real trooper - she carried Maddie during the hike, with a smile on her face and a song in her heart - literally. She sang and entertained her the entire time!We ended up hiking the road, which was a steady incline and elevation climb of about 2500 feet. We got to the top of the road and I was ready to give up. Can we say, "hot and bothered??" Me! Me! I can!! (Truly, this picture does not capture how I was feeling in this moment...but I'm sure my mom can remember! :) ) We had pretty much run out of water and eaten our lunch, when my three companions (minus my sweet daughter), voted to venture onward toward the lookout in the distance. Can you see it way on the top of the peak ahead? Yeah. There was still a bit of distance for us to go... They claim that it was my decision in the end, but I don't know how I was supposed to turn them all down, 3:1! Maddie wasn't really paying attention...So, off we went!

Long story short, we made it to the top of the lookout where there was a 365 degree view. It was more than spectacular! We stayed on the top for about 20 minutes to rest, before heading down back to the car. This is the lookout from a distance.
Mt. Shasta. So pretty!
The hike down wasn't significantly easier than the hike up, because it was incredibly hot and it was a steep decline. We determined that the round trip hike was about 9 miles. Whew! At least we can say we did it, right Dad?! :)We had such a memorable, wonderful time. Both Brant and I are proud that we took Maddie out on a real camping trip at such a young age, and didn't let her stop us. We are so grateful to be living this close to family to be able to do random, fun trips such as this one! We're looking forward to the next one! As for this coming weekend? I say again, I think we're heading back to the beach!

13 Months!

We are one month into Maddie's second year already, can you believe it? I don't know how that happened, but it did, and with it has come many wonderful new tricks and traits of our little sweetheart.

Maddie is a talker. She loves to fill up a room with her voice, be it to herself or talking directly to you, it doesn't matter. The important thing is, she has lots to say! We get a kick out of watching her hold up one of her hands, with a very serious look on her face, as she starts to tell us a story. Usually it is a very intense story, with lots of dramatic moments (as her voice gets louder and almost sharper), all the while, her arm is waving around as she speaks. It is hilarious! Sometimes, I will sit her in the middle of our bed in the morning, and she will go on and on like this, waving her arm in different directions and holding on a true conversation with us. I like to pretend that she is an interior decorator and she is giving us her free advice on what we should do with the room. I will ask her questions, and she will wave her little arm around, telling me her opinion. :) (She is very deep in conversation in this picture).Maddie has officially figured out how to climb. I'm not talking stairs - those were figured out awhile ago. Seeing as we do not have stairs, this action has been forgotten as of late. However, today, she decided to show me that she can put her little leg up and over onto the coffee table and pull herself up. What?! Yeah. And now she as successfully figured out the same trick when wanting to climb into my lap, while I'm laying on the couch. It is pretty sweet, but certainly has caught us off guard!Our little girl is still growing tall! At her doctor appointment 2 weeks ago, she measured to be 30 inches tall, and weighs 22 lbs. Today, I looked down the hallway and she was reaching up, standing on her tip-toes, just barely touching the closed door handle...uh, huh... Regardless, she is taking after us and is successfully being thought of as much older than she really is, due to her height. :)

Maddie is getting much better at playing in the sand at the beach. This last weekend, we went to Malibu for our beach day trip (hence the pictures in this post). We brought sand toys with us this time and she loved them! She has been playing with them a lot in the house, and once we brought them into the sand, she thoroughly enjoyed herself. She likes to stick her face into the bucket, tip her head back and listen to the sound of her voice (again, this girl loves to talk!). It was cute for a few moments, until she did it with a mound full of sand inside. We looked over just as it happened - she had her mouth wide open, talking away and smiling, while she tipped her head back...enter, sand. She didn't seem to mind, too much!Another super cute thing Maddie has been doing lately is dancing. This started a few weeks ago, when "The Office" theme song came on. Maddie started bopping her head, waving her arms and hands, clapping and rocking back and forth. She loves it! She will drop everything just to start dancing when the music comes on. This doesn't happen with all music everywhere, but we are noticing it more and more, be it with musical toys, to songs on the radio or a song we are singing. I will try to get it on video soon!

Maddie is really close to walking, but we are not there yet. She can walk around holding on with just one hand now, but still will not venture out on her own. It will come, and I think we are kind of excited for it to happen now. Our apartment is fairly well baby-proofed and we're ready to see her go for it.Maddie continues to say "Dada" and "Daddy", as her two favorite words of choice. They are used whenever she is happy or referring to anything that is familiar. She can get out the phrase, "Hi, Daddy," when she sees Brant, if she really wants to, but not always. When asked if she is hungry, she replies, "Ma." We are working on, "yes." :) Maddie is a pro at using sign language for "more," "please," and "all done." She understands us very well, even if she cannot use words to express it. We will ask her to find her "ball" or her "baby", and she will successfully go around the apartment to find the object. She loves to open and close cupboards/doors, and when we pair this action with the words, she will respond. So fun!Maddie is our joy and our delight. We are so enthralled by her personality and in love with her more everyday. I hope this has given you a bit of a flavor of what its like to be around Miss Mae at 13 months!

Thoughts on temperature

I knew that moving to southern California was going to bring with it a number of changes. And many of these changes were things I was very excited about. One thing I've been particularly anticipating with happiness was the climate change. For most of my life, okay, basically my entire life, I have lived in cooler climates, more moisture, clouds, rain, you know, the Pacific NW.

I am thrilled to be living in a climate where the sun shines a majority of the year, and sweaters are not too common (however, I am in a bit of a predicament with my current wardrobe. I definitely will not be wearing a large percentage of the fall/winter clothing that I own).

That being said...(you knew this was coming)...I am a bit warm down here...okay, so really, I'm hot. As we like to say it around our house, when the temperature climbs this high, I can become "hot and bothered." :) The reality of it is that we are in the middle of a heat wave. Pasadena is sheltered by several "mountains", or as we Pacific NWesterners call them, "hills", which in turn, locks in the heat. We are currently experiencing temperatures that hover around 98 degrees, day, after day, after day...and when we go to bed at night, the temperature is still at 85 degrees!

You might say, "Oh, Jackie. Quit complaining. Be thankful you are experiencing summertime weather! It could be worse!" Well, it kind of gets worse..at least, more uncomfortable. You see, we only have 1 air conditioning unit in our apartment. This lone unit is placed in the far corner of our dining room, and does not push the cool air out very far. The remainder of our apartment must rely on our diligence in closing the windows and blinds at the right time in the morning, leaving any air flow up to the fans that are blowing 24/7. And because I'm in a bit of a "hot and bothered" state as I write this post, I will continue with one more fact about our hot apartment.

We have one window in the front part of our place. It is a very large window, one that provides a beautiful view of palm trees, blue sky, power lines and the street traffic down below. This same window is also hit with the afternoon sun, from 1:15 - 7:15pm, therefore adding to the heat that already hangs tight in our second story apartment.

Am I surviving this heat wave? Yes. Will I continue to love it down here in Pasadena? Of course. Am I allowed to complain that the builder/owner of this building did not do a very good job when they placed only one air conditioner in a southern California apartment? Absolutely.

Thank you. I just needed to let out a little steam. Now that I have cooled a bit, I'm going to fire up the stove for dinner.

Our Sunday Outing

Holding to our new weekly tradition to get out and explore our new territory, we took a little family outing yesterday afternoon. The weather was a low 82 degrees, making it perfect for our adventure. We went to Griffith Park, which is an enormous park about 15 minutes away. The park contains over 53 miles of hiking trails, the LA zoo, an observatory, a few little spots to eat, an old fashioned merry-go-round and playgrounds. The park is located right on the edge of Hollywood, which offered up another treat for us when we visited yesterday.

We headed up to the observatory to check out the view (which was pretty, even with the amazing amount of smog). The crowds were thick, but we managed to snag a parking spot at the very top of the hill. We got out of our car, took a few steps and turned to see this:Yes! I was very excited and actually a bit surprised at how close we were to the famous sign. I think we can get closer, by hiking through some of the trails, but I'm not really sure how close they allow you. Regardless, it was pretty awesome!

We walked around the observatory, which was an amazing structure. We would like to come back some evening and take a look at the moon through one of their big telescopes. I guess it is very cool, and they leave the park open until 10pm so visitors can come take a look.

Hello, all of you rich and famous stars living in the Hollywood Hills...And, hello, smoggy, but pretty Los Angeles...Taking in the view from the observatory...Yes, this is my new hat, which I love! Thanks, Target!
Maddie was thoroughly enjoying herself, pulling herself up on the stroller and talking to all the people passing by. Amazingly, she left her sunglasses on while we were hanging out - she never does that!We also played a rousing game of peek-a-boo! Still her favorite! :) Maddie is a busy girl, wanting so desperately to be able to walk. She isn't there yet, but with anyone, or anything, to help her along, she will move those little legs!Hooray, for new adventures! Next weekend? I think we're heading back to the beach!! :)

Happy 4th of July!

We had a fabulous 4th of July celebration as a little family!

First of all, we found a great church that we feel very comfortable and at home in. It is called Lake Avenue Church, and is only about 3 minutes away from our home. The nursery was fantastic, the preaching was terrific and the people were wonderful. We had several people come up to us to introduce themselves and to give us information on ways to get involved. We loved it!

After church, we drove to Redondo Beach to enjoy some time in the sun, relaxing with the thousands of other people who had the same idea. :) The weather was perfect - about 75 degrees, and we all had a great time. We didn't go to any fireworks show this year, but it was still a wonderful way to spend the holiday. Enjoy our pictures, and Happy (belated) 4th of July!!