Juliet Grows Up

Juliet is 16 months. Here she is at SeaWorld (we recently purchased season passes for SeaWorld - buy a year get a second year for free). her personality is really coming through. She loves to organize and clean, she eats anything, and she pro-actively tries to potty-train herself. Her likes? Purses, necklaces, and bathtime. Dislikes? Bows in her hair and whenever anyone leaves the room.

Baby Bat and Sky Spy

Does anyone remember these? Baby Bat and Sky Spy - the best kites a child could own. I grew up with these kites, flying them over La Verne, adding spool after spool of string until it became so heavy that the string dragged on the ground. Eventually the string would snap and we would chase them for what seemed to be miles. Don modified his kite by adding a battery and a light so he could fly it at night. I don't know what made me remember these kites but, thanks to the internet, I was able to find them online. http://www.skyspykites.com/. They're cheap, look great, and fly like no one's business. There's a near-constant breeze at the park near our home. We watch as the other kids try to keep their kites in flight while Baby Bat and Sky Spy simply shoot straight up into the air. Today Christian and I added two spools of string to Baby Bat and tried to take a video of it, but the kite was so high the camer couldn't detect it. Awesome.

First Day of Spring

Winter ended yesterday and today the temperature climbed to the mid 70s. We couldn't resist going to the beach.

Happy Valen-Birth-A-Tino-Day

The Nelson's Season of Celebration has come to an end. We celebrate all of our birthdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, and Valentines Day within the space of three months. The last week includes my birthday, Heather's birthday, and Valentines Day. By February 14th we barely have enough energy to untie the bows on our gifts. However, this year we had a special guest - Cardboard Liberace! He was a splash at the party but now he just stands in a corner. Its a little startling to wake up in the morning, stumble into the next room, and see the figure of a man standing in your home. In a nano-second, your basal ganglia snaps to attention and says "A man should not be standing there." A tiny shot of adrenaline hits you just as your frontal cortex says "Relax, its just Cardboard Liberace.

I'm a big fan of Berkley Illustration's series of animals dressed in clothing. www.etsy.com/shop/berkleyillustration. All prints are signed, numbered, and very affordable. I couldn't wait until Easter to give these to Heather.

Heather bought Taschen's Magic, 1800s to 1950s. This picture doesn't do the book justice. It is enormous. Six-hundred and fifty pages of full color vintage posters, photographs and handbills. Christian struggled just a little to hold it up for the photo. www.taschen.com/pages/en/catalogue/popculture/all/00378/facts.magic_1400s1950s.htm


Heather decorated these gems for Valentines Day. They measure nearly four inches across. Christian handed them out to his class. By the way, stock up on your old Sweetheart's Valentine Candy. After 145 years, they changed the flavoring and the recipe. Now they come in fruit flavors. What a terrible idea. www.necco.com/OurBrands/Default.asp?BrandID=8

What The Kids Are Up To

Tip toeing through the tulips.











Everyone stops Erika on the street when she wears this sweater (thanks Jane).







Messy sundae at Samy's.






Juliet hijacking Erika's bed.









Solving the world's problems or playing SuperMario Wii, I forget which.







Caged and confused.










Time to make the donuts.











Slam poetry.

Me Circa 1916

I'm lucky to have a youthful appearance despite my age. Here I am during my first tour of duty in the Great War. That conflict could have been avoided if the Archduke had only followed my advice - "Duck."

After a particularly nasty day of fighting in Somme, we watered our horses and rested for the night. Gypsy vampires attacked our camp, bit me on the neck, and voila - immortality. I've been collecting veterans' benefits for nearly a century.




Actually, these pics are Grandpa Nelson. When I showed them to other people three of them said, without any prompting, "You even stand like him." Really? Palms backward, one foot pointing North, the other East? "Uh, yeah, that's how you stand - straight legged and awkward - just like him."






I used to have this haircut in highschool. I remember dad driving me to school in our yellow van the day after the barber committed malpractice on my scalp. My kind father was never one to laugh at or ridicule his kids, but he looked at my shaved sideburns and couldn't contain his guffaws.

Another Snowy Surprise

Heather hit it out of the park again - another great party for Christian's seventh birthday. We sent out invitations which said "Its A Snow Party" and told them to bring an extra pair of warm clothes. The parents were a little skeptical - "Snow in San Diego?" My friend Sabah Toma of San Diego Ice came through with snow - lighter and fluffier than shaved ice. We sculpted a 35 yard track for the kids to sled down, put out the beach umbrella, and slathered on the tanning lotion. The first few kids ate a little pavement at the end of the run but that didn't stop them from sledding and sledding and sledding some more. Everyone was pelted at least once with a snowball. Our neighbor Josh ran around decked head to toe in ski gear but without shoes or socks. No one was going to put shoes on him. Below is a pic of just some of the kids from the party. All of them raved about it. Christian wanted "Mom's Texas sheet cake" - easy to make and delicious. Later we topped off the birthday with a late breakfast at Kono's by Crystal Pier.