A chilly bee huddled next to the "Bees in the City" workshop students at the Garden for the Environment. Mama attended, noting it was cccccold.

Mama looked for any queens in this post-swarm hive. ... no queens :( ... Not so sure she could hold that frame herself ... was standing 5 feet away.

The girls give Aunt Nancy fashion tips from the Dress Up Trunk.

Tilda favors the layered costume look.

That l-o-u-d ruckus from the girls' room turns out to be Ursula's drum kit arrangement accompanied by train whistle. All she needs now is a dancing cat and musical saw.

Daddy was instructed to sit for a portrait. Here he is shown in profile, one hand on computer, the other supporting his chin.

Mama was instructed to sit for a portrait. Note the wrinkly forehead ... ah aging ...

Tilda's drawing of Totoro.

"This is a mouse person - half mouse, half person. She has a weapon to hurt bad people. She wears a cape everyday. She even wears it to bed. She's the people's Shopmarket, she's the farmer. She really loves to get ducks and chickens and eggs, and baby ducks and chicks and she likes quail eggs. She also likes huevos rancheros, that's her favorite breakfast." - Ursula [the circle in the upper right is a "talk bubble"]

Playdate buddies + the dress-up trunk + bouncy bed.

New desk.

Ursula's recital for Gramma Kay's visit (she was looking forward to this moment for months).

Ursula assists daddy's nut experiments.

Golden Gate Park.

Climbing.

Climbing ... higher ... and higher ...

OMG [oh my goodness] IT'S TOTORO! IT'S TOTORO! DADDY IT'S TOTORO!

The girls were very excited to go to a noodle house after finally seeing Ponyo.

Noodle ssszzzip!

Nut experiments on the deck (these are almond seedlings).

At the Laurel Hill Cafe you will likely be served ... sand, with a side of sand.

Mama sewed a new dress from daddy's old dress-up shirt and then packed peanut butter and blueberry jam sandwich in the snack bag the first time she wore it. Yeah that's blueberry jam everywhere. .... (thank goodness it came out in the wash)

Craig's list booty and a Very. Excited. Kid.

Deck carrots are so awesome.

Tilda massages the dirt in the foreground while Ursula inspects insects in the background.

Daddy posed this shot. Not mama. Yes that's a cow patty.

Preschool pentagon of awesomeness.

Happy Valentine's Day. We are running low on glue.

Ursula really wants to take piano lessons. So we have told her that she can if she keeps taking the little lessons with mom for 6 months and then still wants lessons we'll look into it. In the meantime, she has decided to write her own music.

Break for GORP, sketching, and peeping over the grasses.

We finally had a break in the endless rain the first weekend of February and celebrated by trying out the otherworldy trails on Mt. Tamalpais. These are mostly scary-narrow on the sides of steep, steep hills (mama was nervous and clenching Tilda's hand here). See those two horizontal lines in the distance? Those are more of the trail network.

Tilda catching up the rear on the Briones hike...lotsa cows!


Free ride!


Enjoying the remnants of an old tree at Mt. Olompali State Park


Firestarting in the kotcha (no real fire...pretend)


Cedar plank version


Shoe sale?


24 hour flu...love the banana


Ursula's winter crop harvest


We're not obsessive!

Dec 31
Every 3 hours 25 minutes and 3 seconds Tilda asks "Where Gamma Kay?!" And Ursula will reply "She went home to do laundry." Just a few days ago while Gramma Kay was here the question was "Where Gampa an' Nani?"

The girls don't seem to share our passion with the New Year's deep cleaning tradition. Instead Ursula is working her posse (Tilda ...). They are parading around the apartment in dress-up clothes (most of which are disgorged from the trunk and sprawling across the bedroom floor) trick-or-treating. Tilda tried to take a book break with a tree guide and Ursula came over trying to keep her in line - "that's not a kids' book! That's not a kids' book!" [s]

Ursula has entered the Machine Age. She plays with this set of gears Santa sent constantly. Each of the gears in that tower revolves when she turns the crank handle.

The cuddly sweet photos of Uncle Bob with the kids are nice, but this pretty much says it all. TIlda frantically trying to grab his camera or kiss him and Ursula hysterically speaking in tongues.

Tilda gingerly pulls her hot pizza out of the "oven" (the shelf under the coffee table). Pretending she's been burned is one of her favorite parts.

Ursula enlists Gramma Kay as her slave labor - I mean - brick builder.

Goof off time at the Academy of Sciences.

Air kisses for the manta rays.

The Academy is stocking a new fish in the tank that cleans the windows. The kids - and I mean a HUGE crowd of kids - were absolutely rivetted by the custodial work.

Did you miss the last couple weeks of pictures?