Hi de Hi Campers!

Still recovering from what turned into a lovely yet exhausting few days up the coast, the smaller boys and I were getting dirty in the woods while Cricket scuttled downtown to pick up new tips in grantwriting etiquette.

early morning day one -
ours is the enormous, impossible -for-one-person-to-put-up green monster with already snagged zipper, ho hum...

Ist breakfast....

ah...second breakfast!

Sharing the ice-cream maker, 20 mins of ball play was worth the wait for freshly made scoops!

dog?
The kids went mad about finding this relic and made up all sorts of stories about how it came to be hidden in the trees....lots of hand washing later...

It's nearly done..

Here are some recent memories from our trips to northern beaches in Malibu this Summer. Being stuck in Los Angeles wasn't so awful after all!!

Thanks Olorin.....
Blooms are nearly on their way Mac Annie!
Donovan Boy, knows his waves now and stayed out of the slosh...
Oh, that's where my hat went....LIttle Gandalf taking a break from jumping the wash..
Yep, there's good eating at a beach break camp site!

friend or foe?
another picture...aw MUM......

Sharing a week...

Well, this week has been a blur of activity, yep I know - what's new? The boys very proudly dismantled the Admirals fine work to create original Legos so they can post them at Lego.com!

So it seemed only right to have the online debut here..

Little Gandalf's creation "The Forest Fighter" ...

....and Donovan Boy's build - "The Ultimate Mining Vehicle"

We also saw an excited Zoe the Wonderdog yesterday, when we shared Shabbos with Challah and her family and we made bread from scratch. Most of this batch below was scarfed with sea salt and Manischewitz last night, but my batch is home, dough is risen, frozen and waiting for next week....

Jamie found this beautiful leaf that reminds us that Autumn is coming soon and so for felting purposes I will begin the transformation on our nature table too...
Oh and my Tuscan melons are just hanging around!!

We said goodbye to some friends we met in la Leche Lague many years ago and have since played every week at our park playgroup for 8 years! They are leaving the States to return to Canada and so we wish them a fond farewell.

Mr Ben!

There was a great TV series in England called Mr Ben which has nothing to do with anything except that the same childhood memories were shared with my little brother, who we'll call 'Snip' and it's his special day today...so
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY"!
Many Happy Returns from all of us at the Chatter!

Yours in Scouting

That's how our pack leader signs off her emails...I think it's a little strange actually, but then I would! However, Little Gandalf has joined the ranks as a Tiger this Summer, walked in the July 4th Parade with Donovan Boy ( who is now a Bear). Cubscouts is excellent training; it trains them to be cubscouts.

6 Degrees...

...not of separation but of Little Gandalf!! Here are six things you may not have known about him before now...
1. He has exactly 1001 freckles and counting!
2. He likes sushi for lunch or 'crazy chicken' black bean burritos!
3. Likes to sing theme tunes (his own) whilst playing
4. Favourite colour is black!
5. Favourite movie (right now) is Spykids
6. Is now 6 years old!!

Here are some highlights....

Plenty O' birthday love from across the big water and land mass...

Happy as a lark in the Lego store spending birthday dosh and hard earned (singing) savings- Special thank you to Dr. John and Mac Annie!

no TV...no problem!
Humming playtime theme tunes whilst working on lego project...
Newest additions to the family...two dwarf hamsters...Cudby and Desparo ( both female!) in there sleeping right now.... Thanks Grumpy!

mmmmm.....(not a pressie) not his anyways...!

More Summer Daze

Yes, it's true our time in the hills are finally coming to a close, (wahh!) We are slowly moving the extraneous items back to the tree house and will make the final move southward on Aug 4th. in the meantime the Topangan fun is still brewing...


Making stuff for The Mac Annie...

Being neighbourly...
Having a read....
the smell of summer at your own hands...

Scallywags afoot...

There were plenty of pirates to go around, one renegade sea captain, a lost admiral and at least two stowaways turned up during the piratey party pandemonium! The clues were found, treasure discovered and all participants walked the plank into the pool before the cakes were devoured! The only apparent sad story of the day was that of the monster alligator that guarded the treasure, only to lose it's life in playful struggles at the pool!

The Hairy One as the renegade sea captain BlackBeard...

Arabella "Red Hand" Phoenix can't read the map....

Booty an' Plunder

Tired, but satisfied after finding the treasure...

The fire is lit and The Golden Pound delivers the chocolate...

Games..

It's all about Stratego (LOTR of course) and the number games this summer. Birthdays abound this month with today's 9 year change for Donovan Boy, Little Gandalf's leap from 5 ( and 3 quarters) to a full 6 and The Mac Annie - has a birthday too and we are only counting backwards.....or not at all, right?

The Jerry's Deli slice of birthday chocolate fudge stopped most of us in our tracks but I did get to save a quarter of chopped liver for home consumption, yum!

Yes...Little Gandalf won....with lots of trash talk ( and possibly new rules) aimed at his worthy opponent....

Donovan Boys' most wanted birthday apparatus.

Stunning card whipped up by the Admiral....

Happy Birthday J D, may you discover many new delights on your doorstep!!

Strange Visitor..

No, not the Admiral, although that may well qualify...but this rather large jumper...
Came to visit with a bunch of children squealing delight at the happy hopper...

Yes this will be the best scrambled eggs of all time, why? you may well ask - because Donovan Boy collected them and the last coup was filled with the bounty....yum!
Donovan Boy made this lovely wagon, felted tomato and paddock at scout camp...

Snapshots of Summer

It's been a dangerous time up here in the hills of Topanga, discovering we like the real woods, bugs, birds, reptiles in the mountainside, instead of just a few choice trees and landscaped pathways of Playa...now we just have to find a home we can afford up here.....

An evening visitor....

A shady spot to felt, relax while the kids splash...

A bounty hunt from neighbours' trees and coup...

No more veggies!

The Topanga Mountain Du-O...