February

February was an eventful month. We went to Palm Desert and Palm Springs. We stayed with Granny and Blair and the doggies and saw Grandpa and Bube Sue a few times too. We had a delicious dinner at the Spaghetteria with them. Unfortunately it was too cold to go in the pool and it rained some of the time. We were able to visit the Living Desert though.



In school, Ella's class read a story called "The Rag Coat". They all decorated a square of fabric for a quilt.

There was also a big celebration to commemorate the First 100 Days of School. The kids made a crown with 100 stickers, a necklace with 100 Fruit Loops and a poster with 100 things (of whatever they wanted). Ella made one with candy hearts. Felix wanted to try on the crown too ("Mama, take my picture!").


Finally, my beautiful, fluffy, wonderful kitty Fluff Puff died peacefully in his sleep at a too-young age of 13, a few weeks after being diagnosed with a heart condition. Here are a couple of pictures of his last days. We will always miss him, especially when I sing lullabyes at bedtime, when he would purr and march on me, and at night when he slept with us, and out in the yard, where he loved to peer at the birds and squirrels, and warm his fur in the sun.

January

Playing catch-up...

January 18
We discovered for the first time the Sepulveda Dam Wildlife Reserve which we had drive by many times but never stopped at. There are hawks, herons, swans, songbirds, rabbits, etc. to see in this sanctuary in the middle of our busy, built-up Valley. Left the stroller the car and we all, even Felix & Ella, took a wonderful hike around. A well-deserved rest and snack-break of crackers and apple slices

January 19
The following day, we visited the Long Beach Aquarium and used our birthday-present tickets from the Weber-Fergusons. There was a friendly seal who actually posed to have her picture taken. She would come right up to the window to say hello and darted and danced around and around. It looks like she is smiling.
For EMILE - click here-> a movie of the seals


There is a section that like a tunnel that you walk through with a wall of fish on either side. The blur to the left of Ella is Felix jumping.

Felix counts

There is a longer post coming but in the meantime, enjoy this little rhyme from FDVD.