Sick, Sick, Sick

After a couple of weeks of off-and-on runny noses and coughs, I finally took the boys in to get checked out by the doctor. Verdict: viruses. So, nothing much to do but wait. However, Finn also has a fever (103.3 last night), so the doc said to watch him carefully and bring him back Monday if it’s not gone.

Our best laid plans of four hours of babysitting this morning (we can get so much done in four child-free hours!) have crumbled and the boys are parked on the couch watching old Tom & Jerry cartoons (which they think are hysterical).

Sick, sick, sick

As a side note, they both got weighed at the doctor’s office yesterday. Ezra: 43.0 pounds; Finn: 43.4 pounds. Little brother for the win! He is one solid little linebacker.

Playing Catch-up

I feel like we’ve just been running from one house to the other, having appointments with contractors, making phone calls to get quotes, etc. and I haven’t really posted much. So, I’m combining last week into one post of randomness.

Here’s Finn enjoying his ice cream cone on Friday. (At Ezra’s request we went to Baskin Robbins after school.)

Finn tackles the sugar cone

Here he shows off his physique complete with tool belt. He was doing some important work around the house.

Finn has a job to do

Ezra put up this sign … on his closet. Not sure what that’s about.

Ezra's sign

And here are a few from the new house. The boys like to sit on the stoop for snack time.

The boys have a snack on the stoop

Finn pretending to be a tree in the front jungle … er … yard.

Finn as a tree

They discovered this weekend that the giant windows in the living room actually open and they can get out that way. Ugh.

The boys discover that the window opens

Let the Cleanup Begin

This has been a crazy week of home ownership. In addition to removing the seller’s left-over junk, we’ve had three painters, four contractors, a roofer, a plumber, and a gardener come to have a look around and give bids on work that needs to be done. There is a lot of deferred maintenance. It’s exciting to be in the process of bringing the house back to life, but frustrating due to the waiting involved.

Yesterday our plumber came to fix some problems in the upstairs bathroom. One of them (a leak) had caused the kitchen ceiling below to bubble up so that it looked like a blister. Here’s Bruce popping it to let the water out.

Bruce pokes a hole in the ceiling

We were expecting a huge gush of water, but instead got a trickle. Not very dramatic, but probably a good thing. It turned out it was a simple problem to fix in the bathroom, too, so that’s a relief.

While we were waiting for appointments, we all did a little gardening. There was at least a year’s worth of oak leaves on the ground so Finn, Bruce and I started sweeping. Finn liked the shoveling the best.

Finn shovels leaves

Finn shovels leaves

Dumpster Madness

Friday afternoon brought some excitement to our new house — a giant dumpster. The boys were stunned and fascinated to watch how the truck dropped the dumpster in the driveway.

Giant dumpster!

Bruce and I were thrilled to know that the previous owner’s junk would be hauled away quickly. The next day, the seller came back with some hired help to load it up. Believe it or not, they filled it.

Filled!

The driveway, garage and backyard are now debris-free. The dumpster will be gone tomorrow. Things are moving right along.

MLK Hike

All three Moision boys had Monday off for Martin Luther King, Jr. day, so we decided to take a hike in the canyon in Monrovia. It was slow going for the boys at first with much complaining, but once they realized there was a stream it was all good.

Checking out the rocks

Getting their feet wet

Kids and Treasures

We went to the [hopefully] new house on Tuesday for the much-delayed City Occupancy Inspection and the boys had fun running around in the front yard. The landscaping is a bit of a mess right now with lots of overgrown plants and debris from the last storm that blew through. The two palm trees dropped lots of fronds, some of which are piled up near the street for the City to pick up. Ezra found two small fronds, though, and used them as a horse and sword, making him a knight. Finn found a rubber band and was in heaven. They do enjoy the simple pleasures.

Kids find treasures in new house front yard

Rest in Peace, Bernie

Jamma’s dad, Bernon Morningstar, passed away yesterday after 14 months of ups and downs. My heart is with Jamma today and I wanted to post this old picture I found last year of her and her dad. There is some discrepancy as to whose motor home it is (since the hideous orange interior was apparently quite popular), but I think it’s ours. I’m guessing my dad had driven it down to the Rose Parade route that year and partying with the out-of-town relatives ensued.

Jamma and her dad

Christmas Tree: Dead

Our tree was so incredibly dry this year that I couldn’t wait to get it out of the house. I think it has something to do with the fact that neither Bruce nor I ever watered it after the first day we put it up. We’ve been a little distracted.

So Bruce enlisted Finn’s help to carry it to the curb.

Dead tree

Finn and Bruce take out the tree

Happy New Year!

We went to the Heffernans’ [now annual] East Coast New Year’s Eve party, where we all ring in the new year at 9:00 and then head home to get to bed at a decent hour. The kids ran around like crazy people for a while, but then they started to crash. This picture was taken at 7:48; I thought we were going to lose some of them.

Looks like we're losing the kids

But they rallied! Noise makers helped … well, helped the kids. Not so much the adults and they were banned for another half-hour. Finn really liked this blower.

Finn starts to celebrate

Kai spent at least an hour, maybe two, making this awesome robot with Bruce.

Kai and his robot

Then we gathered around the TV to get ready for the countdown and watch the ball drop.

Getting ready for the countdown

And then … Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year!

Later I realized that Bruce and I hadn’t prepped Ezra and Finn for New Year’s Eve festivities, when Ezra asked what “all that counting” was about. Oops.

Superhero Moves

I asked the boys to show me their superhero moves the other day and here’s what I got. Ezra’s kicks and Finn’s wiggles are my favorite.

Christmas Vacation, Week 2

In an effort to keep everyone from going mad on this soggy, seemingly 17-week long vacation, we’ve had a couple of outings this week. On Monday we met the Becks and the westside Moisions at La Brea Tar Pits. I think the kids would have been content to run up and down this hill the entire time.

Running down the hill

Ezra and Finn also really liked the guy playing folk music outside the entrance. They were captivated (again).

Ezra and Finn enjoy the music outside

Yesterday, along with the Heffs, we tried bowling for the first time at 300 in Pasadena. The boys had a great time and have already begged to go back. Here’s Ezra rolling his ball down the little ramp they have for kids.

Ezra's turn

And here’s Lucy. She has a flair for the dramatic.

Lucy's turn

Finn got a spare early on and gave himself a round of applause.

Finn claps at someone's effort

And, lastly, some video. That is, HD video from my new camera! Thanks, Bruce!

Christmas

We had a pretty fun Christmas this year! After last year’s stomach flu debacle (Bruce and I got sick on Christmas Eve and had to cancel all plans) we were happy to be sickness-free and able to travel. We stayed home and had a very mellow Christmas Eve — made pizza with the boys, opened presents, played with new toys, etc. The boys went to sleep without their usual haggling after being told that Santa Claus would only come once they were asleep. (I wish we could use that line the rest of the year.)

We moved the couch away from the fire place so Santa could get in and it worked! Stockings were filled, presents left, cookies and milk consumed. The boys were thrilled to wake up to a Batcave for Finn and a new bike for Ezra.

It took us a while to get moving but we finally tore the boys away from their new stuff and hit the road to visit the Becks in Temecula. We had a great time celebrating in their new house. Always fun to have all seven cousins in the same place.

Of course, I took a ton of pictures. Here are my favorites in the form of a slideshow.

Eaton Canyon

Bruce took the boys on a hike in Eaton Canyon on Christmas Eve. Despite the chilly temperatures, they loved playing in the water, digging in the sand, throwing rocks, etc.

Eaton Canyon

Ezra

Finn’s awesome feet.

Finn's feet

Finn took a couple of pictures, too. These two are my favorites.

Finn's portrait of Papa

Finn took this one

And here’s a video.

Pre-Christmas Haircuts

We joined the rest of the Pasadena ragamuffins in need of a trim at Little Kuts last week and the boys got spruced up for Christmas. My iPhone photos are a little blurry but cute.

Ezra gets a hair cut

Finn gets a hair cut

Gingerbread Men

What’s better for a rainy Christmas vacation day activity than the ubiquitous (this year) Trader Joe’s Gingerbread Man kit? Nothing. The boys loved making them and eating all the leftover candy. At one point, Finn was spooning leftover sprinkles into his mouth. Pure bliss. Here are some pictures.

Getting started. Finn needed some help getting the icing on, but then he was off and running. Ezra couldn’t get the M&M bag open fast enough.

Gingerbread men decorating!

Finn decorates

Ezra really got into the piping.

Piping

Caught red-handed. Ezra could have eaten the entire bag of icing.

Caught in the act 1

Ezra’s gingerbread man:

Ezra's Gingerbread Man

Finn’s gingerbread man:

Finn's Gingerbread Man

He was very happy with the final product.

Proud Finn