So, the heat limits us, just like the rainy, 45F days did in Britain. We can go out in the morning. We can go out in the evening. But if we go out in the day, it is straight to the pool.
We still do our morning hikes, though admittedly, not every morning.
Two weeks ago, we had guests! Tim's cousin Nicole James came with her husband, Freddy, and their children Cayla, Eve, Malachi and Kaelana, all the way from Ireland! Joanna Pratt joined us, too, who is living in Kansas at the moment. It was great to have them here. Even though they live near beautiful beaches in Ireland, the first thing we did was ... take them to beach. We figured they needed the California experience.
Samuel was grateful to have another boy to play with. He and Malachi played in the sea for a very long time.
Here we are with the cousins after one of the most important human activities: dinner! The James's were kind enough to bring us Cadbury's, Smarties, Rolo's, Mars Bars, Kit Kats, Fruit Pastilles, and French Fries. We will be eternally grateful!
We had them stay for a few days. They went to the zoo, went with us shopping and to the pool, and just generally hung out and had a great time. Here we are, the adults saying goodbye, right before Nicole and co. drove to Las Vegas:
After the thrill of cousins visiting, we have thrown ourselves into other projects - or maybe, I have thrown the kids into these projects. We had a friend from church, Debbie Jones, come over and teach us how to make baby quilts:
And, me being me, we have spent lots of time in the kitchen, with the kids learning how to make strawberry jam,
sourdough starter,
and Victoria sponge cake. ESSENTIAL skill to have!
We also went to the Natural History museum down in San Diego. Not QUITE the Natural History museum in London. I am realizing that we were rather spoiled when it came to museums in England. But, we did see some dinosaur fossils, and the kids enjoyed it. The museum only displays fossils from the San Diego area, so there were quite a few whale skull fossils on display - totally fascinating!
And did ya know that there once upon a time there were woolly mammoths, sloths, and saber tooth tigers in San Diego? Abigail was all set to watch Ice Age when we got home.
Last weekend we were thrilled to see our friends Mark and Roxanna Patterson - for the first time in 14 years! We met Mark at church when we lived in Cambridge back in 1996. He's an awesome guy, who later married the even more awesom Roxanna. We met them for brunch in Escinitas - and so Tim and I got a rare date out of it, as well!
This weeked was the 4th of July - the first 4th of July I have had in this country for about 12 years, I think. We had the full small-town, Americana experience here in Ramona. It started out by going to a church breakfast in the morning. We then went to the Ramona parade, which was, umm, charmingly small. The biggest attractions in the parade were the Ramona Fire Engines ....
Tractors ....
Old cars ...
And small ponies ....
Then the good folks of Ramona had a sort of jamboree at the Ramona Oaks park, full of homemade lemonade stands, bouncy castles, food booths, and a stage band. The only thing missing, and I am being completely serious, was any sign of a pie-eating contest. I am determined to make one happen for next year!
And here is the National Anthem, being sung at the park, with the royalty on stage:
It was hot, so we spent the rest of the day swimming. In the evening, we took a picnic into Ramona so we could see the fireworks display. It was rather impressive for a town of 50,000 people. Tim told me that I had a 'fireworks' function on my camera. I know nothing about these things, so I was very happy when he took the initiative and got this great picture:
Americans are very patriotic. I know it rubs some people the wrong way, but after living overseas for so long, I find it comforting, endearing, and impressive. God bless the USA. Absolutely.
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