Spring in Whittier

Well, technically, the calendar says February, but tell that to the wildflowers in the Whittier hills. With all the rain we got in January and early February, the flowers have begun to make their appearance. Tim and I walked up through a trail off of Turnbull Canyon this morning. We were rewarded with this view before we turned around and headed back. It was a beautiful morning with a bright blue sky, thousands of birds singing, and little critters scampering about. Supposedly there was a sighting of a mountain lion or bobcat earlier in the week, but it didn't get us. We enjoyed the fresh morning air, conversation, and seeing one of our neighbors riding his mountain bike.

Erin's dream car

We are now proud owners of a 2005 Jeep Liberty. Yes, Erin got her dream car. We bought it this weekend while she was at winter camp. On Sunday, Tim went to pick her up early from camp to take her to a volleyball tournament. The original plan was to pick her up from camp in the Jeep, but it would have put a couple hundred miles on it and we needed to keep the mileage below 36,000 to try and get in under the original manufacturers warranty when buying our extended warranty. (I know, it's a long story.) Anyway, Tim picked Erin up from camp in his van and went directly to the volleyball tournament. Lindsay and I came to the tournament later with the Jeep. After Erin's first match, we planned to have Lindsay tell Erin there were some chairs in the car that we needed to get, and she would ask Erin to go with her to the car and to tell her about winter camp. Erin fell for it without hesitation. So off they went to the car, and Tim and I were following discreetly behind them so we could see her reaction. Erin was chattering away, telling Lindsay all about winter camp, but when they walked past Tim's van, Erin kind of slowed down and started looking for my car. When she saw the Jeep, Lindsay hit the button to unlock it. Erin went crazy!! She jumped up and down and hugged Lindsay and screamed. It was quite a sight. Tim and I came running over to join in the celebration. She couldn't stop smiling, which was especially rewarding because she had just been on the verge of tears just a few minutes before because her team had lost the first match badly and the coach had given them quite a long talk. As she ran back to rejoin her team she was smiling and jumping up and down and showing them the new car keys. It didn't matter if they won or lost, no one could take the smile off her face. We made a great memory.

Lindsay's new look

Lindsay is looking more and more like the college student that she is. She shocked us by getting her hair cut shorter than she has had it in a long time. How can we possibly have a daughter in college? It seems we were just that age.

THE Annika

We had a great visit with Annika and her mom Sarah who visited from Minnesota. Annika was just a little over one year old when they left our little back house and moved to Minnesota to be near family. She is now 2 1/2 years old and quite the character. Mutual friends came to visit and play, and we got to go to their favorite restaurants (In n Out and a local Mexican restaurant). Their visit went by way to fast, but we loved being with them. And next time we see them they will have a new little brother or sister for Annika (this summer!).