Pulling Weeds - A Post from April

This was sitting in the drafts page of our blog, so I decided to post it, sans photos.

I'm not sure where the time goes, but suddenly summer is around the corner and we've been in California for almost 5 months. I'll admit that there's a big transition period, and we're still not fully settled in. Some rooms still have boxes sitting in the open, and the others mostly have them stealthily hidden away. It's kind of like pulling weeds. You feel pretty good about what you've gotten done until you let it go for a week and realize more has sprung up like magic and multiplied when you weren't looking. (We have lots of weeds in the rockbeds lining the patio, so this is what actually happens in our yard every time it rains.) Maybe at some point your tolerance for what are acceptable levels of disorder comes back down to something normal and life proceeds in a less chaotic and more orderly fashion thereafter, but something tells me that's probability not the case. This truth I remember from my dad: There's always more to do.
Still, with art on the walls, carpets on the floors, and furniture more or less organized in all the rooms, our little place is starting to feel like home.

Silence in the House

It's been a very quiet weekend at home, with Alison and John visiting Debby in Houston. Several things have happened as we've begun to settle into our home. Although...we still haven't completely finished our unpacking. I'm missing my headphones and we're missing a thermostat, among other things. Ve must deal vith it.

Rob and I decided to get this Batman vs Superman controversy past us and just watch the dang movie. This was the crowd in the theater 2 weeks after release.

We spent some more time with the cousins of La Crescenta...

I discovered a playground built for an exceedingly wealthy neighborhood just to our north. Since everyone there are too rich to have kids, we were happy to check it out.

In late April, my family met us in Anaheim for a couple of days with Disney. I don't have very many pictures because Alison ended up using my phone for half the trip because hers took a swim in a public restroom.

Emotional stuffed animal manipulation = big haul for Build-a-Bear. John wouldn't release the display dog until we got a replacement for him.

Dad was always a speed demon. Here he is reading up on the specs; he probably will want something a lot faster when he starts using these full-time.

Random encounter with Donald Duck Lvl 38!

My charming brother and sister-in-law.

A creepshot of Alison from the queue for Hyperspace Mountain. She never looked up.

Queuing for Star Tours...photobombed by Eric.

One of the only pictures I have of most of the crew, including Haley and her friend.

Boss battle with Goofy Lvl 49!

John kind of lost his marbles in his excitement.

In one final Herculean effort, we got the gang's picture taken amid the parade peeps in front of Disneyland Castle.

One last spin with Papa!

We finally did some exploring in our town, strolling up and down the main drag. A nice place this is, although John became rather unpleasant shortly after these pictures were taken. It was nap time.

What to do with our boxes but to make playthings of them!

I've just been made Assistant Scoutmaster. Now I have to fake the enthusiasm I have for the Scouting program for prepubescent boys. Well...I actually have a lot of respect for the organization, but I really dislike camping. Too many years with modern conveniences has made me "soft" I suppose.

We're hoping and praying Alison can find work here. She got her credential, but competition for most jobs here is quite stiff...