redirect

February 8, 2009   

It's time to try out something new. Tresser*ize is moving over to Wordpress. Hooray! Now go check out the latest news on Clara and an awesome date night in Hollywood. peace.

tis the belated season

January 26, 2009   

Oh my! This is my fourth post in a row. Amazing. Equally fun was the month of December AND the photos. Jason finished his first semester teaching at Biola (hooray!) and we all enjoyed the extra daddy time, not to mention a ton of laughs with family and friends. For the first time Jason and I celebrated Christmas Day in our own home. No freeways, no traffic! We slept in our own cozy beds, woke to the glorious smell of the Christmas tree, and had an excuse to bake sweets for our cherished visitors. Last summer, in our wee apartment, we daydreamed about one day having a place big enough to host major holidays. It's such a treat to be in that place.

to my favorite dance partner...

January 25, 2009   

Happy Birthday Jason!

the month of november

January 24, 2009   

For those who want to take BBQ'ing to the next level...

I'm curious what our neighbors think.

Wonder what else we have been up to? Check out a few highlights in the gallery.

back at it

January 23, 2009   

It's the year of the ox and I'm making great strides to get working on this site again. I'm feeling creative and have tons of photos to post. How can two months breeze by so quick? I'm in the process of switching over to Wordpress & was attempting to get everything sorted before posting. Bottom line is I'm quite picky and perfectionistic. Given only 20 minute time spans between naps and cries for help, etc. etc. I simply can't get my creative & technical juices flowing. Therefore, I will give in and continue posting on this site. Let's begin with a wee update on Miss Lena... who's not so wee anymore.

smiles

Nov 25, 2008   

Morning fun with another nugget. Clara started smiling this week!!

from Utah

Nov 24, 2008   

My brother, Matt, joined Lena's birthday festivities from Utah!
Clara doesn't look impressed with technology in 2008.

lena's 2nd

Nov 23, 2008   

Two Sundays ago we celebrated Lena's 2nd Birthday with a small family party. We partook in balloons, burritos, and apple pie! I was overjoyed to make this favorite dessert, since both Jason and I prefer it over cake. I pondered decorating a cake to look like an apple pie (to be funny) but I'm glad we just went for the real thing. Lena received some awesome gifts and has been playing with them all week. She now goes around the house singing "Happy to You," her version of the birthday song. Thanks to the Triplat, Tresser, and Owens clans for making it out to lovely La Mirada to celebrate with us.

photos abound

Nov 19, 2008   

Hey hey. It's time for more Clara birthtime fun. Check out the photos. Life is full but rewarding. Clara is now almost 4 weeks old. She is quite chilled out and proving to be a good sleeper. Like Lena she has blue eyes, a widow's peak, a chin cleft and my awesome nose. The strikingly different features are her dark hair and weight. The girl is packing on pounds and we predict she will be the taller sister! As a side note I forgot that newborns are so soft, squishy and sweet-smelling. I want to nuzzle her all day long!

happy 2 you

Nov 18, 2008   

Happy Birthday Leenie!

candyland

Nov 17, 2008   

We aren't huge fans of trick-or-treating or scary, gory Halloween decorations however, we do think dressing in costume and displaying our sense of humor is pretty fun. (can you say youth ministry?) This year we decided to check out Biola's annual "Candyland" on Halloween night. A few dorms (housing many of Jason's students) transform their floors into delicious, tooth-aching, game locations & pass out candy and snacks. Hundreds of kids flock to the event.

Between Jason, my mom, and myself we came up with two sweet homemade Halloween costumes for Lena and Clara. The only difficult part was keeping young Lena from eating Cheerios off Clara's face. Apparently there are still people talking about our 6-day-old baby-in-a-cereal-box.

  

Lena was a scarecrow and Clara was a box of Cheerios.

clara makes the team

Oct 30, 2008   

fun with Lena

Oct 29, 2008   

Last week before Clara made her appearance we decided to venture out and about in the OC. Tuesday afternoon we cruised down to the Irvine Park Railroad for their annual Pumpkin Patch festivities. Lena had a ball running through the hay maze, riding the train around the park grounds, and sitting on pumpkins so mom and dad could snap goofy photos. The train ride was hilarious. One of the docents rode in the back car with a microphone highlighting not-to-miss sights... like the first park structure - a dilapidated bird bath, and what may or may not be one of the oldest sycamore trees located in Southern California, and a patch of poison oak left intentionally as a teaching tool for boyscout troups. It was wild. Unfortunately we didn't arrive in time to visit the OC Zoo so that remains on our ever-growing to-do list.

  

Fun times at the pumpkin patch.

newport

On Thursday we checked out Newport Beach. It was a beautiful, clear fall day perfect for strolling the boardwalk and piers. We walked from Newport Pier to the end of Balboa Pier, home of the original Ruby's diner. "Toddler" and "full-term pregnancy" don't exactly scream marathon endurance trek so we rested with drinks, fries, and a rooftop view of the ocean at Ruby's.

  

Ahhh... the beach. A beautiful day at Newport Beach.

right on time!

Oct 27, 2008   

Clara Elizabeth Tresser



Jason, Kim and Clara 2 hours after the birth.

Clara was born on Saturday, October 25th at 9:01am. She surprised us all by arriving on her due date! Who does that? We were blessed to have another safe and natural birth experience and thankfully, instead of taking seven days like Lena, Clara took about seven hours of laboring. Thank you for all your prayers! The Lord continues to be our strength and we give him all the glory for our beautiful little girl.

Clara is a name Jason and I adored after watching the 1940 film "Shop Around the Corner" with Jimmy Stewart. We think it fits nicely with Elizabeth, and wanted to name her after my mom who shares the same middle name. To top it off we couldn't resist having a "Lena Jo" and a "Clara Beth!"

  

Lena is adapting well to the role of big sister. From the first time she saw her she said,
"I hold baby. I hold baby!"

due date in sight

Oct 20, 2008   

My due date with #2 is this coming Saturday. We can hardly believe the time has arrived. To ward off impatience I'm savoring these last pre-newborn days. It's just a guess but I'm betting that life with two is crazier than life with one. During the day Lena and I have been going on shopping adventures and walks to the park. I'm forcing myself to nap longer than normal and intentionally spend time with Miss Jo, even if it means listening to "Spoonful of Sugar" fifty times a day and sitting, uncomfortably on the ground drawing wacky chalk animals. Saturday I managed to squeeze in a haircut and a lovely, long, leisurely, lunch with Sheila. It was blissful being on my own. Two words, Jason rocks.

the kids

Oct 18, 2008   

      Check out their updated pages.

Today Lena is 23 months old and Baby 2 is 39 weeks in utero! Lena arrived five days early so we are hoping to meet the new tyke this week. If so Jason would have lots of time with us due to a campus conference and minimal teaching schedule. Overall I'm feeling good and haven't had any contractions other than increasing braxton hicks so we don't know what to expect. I'm trying to get lots of sleep and plan fun things each day to keep from going crazy. Speaking of fun, we took Lena for a day at the beach last Saturday. We wanted to intentionally celebrate her and our quickly-fading family of three. It's strange to be at a place where our attention will expand to incorporate two. Our alone time with Lena Jo has been sweet indeed!

  

Lena liked being buried in the sand by Jason and Kim lounged in a sand chair.

Lena running back toward the ocean when we told her it was time to go home!
We all miss Santa Barbara.

hooray for tech support

Oct 7, 2008   

I'm finally able to post to our website. Hooray! After many frustrating weeks it was all sorted out with a simple call to the kind folks at UCSB. In my tresser*ize absense I probably spent an equal amount of screen time browsing FaceBook but it was nice to take a little break from the self-imposed demands of posting. In light of the inevitable server transfer now that Jason has graduated I also reassessed the site. I have decided to ditch clunky, tiresome hand-coding and manual photo posting, and embrace WordPress or some other automated & efficient, but still nerdy, tool to make posting life easier. (and RSS which will make a select few overjoyed) If you have any suggestions I'm game. So a new site will happen... one day. woo hoo.

Here's the latest Nugget 2 photo from September (at 36 weeks) I'm 38 weeks tomorrow and ready to meet the new little Tresser!

moved

Sept 17, 2008   

We finally have internet service at our new place in La Mirada - hooray! For a while I had to sit in the backyard and use a neighbors open wifi at night. (Probably not the best way to meet our neighbors) And then there was interference from Jason who needed his lappy to write lectures. How selfish!! Needless to say I'm now a happy girl back on the old clunky G4.

So we are here, in a new city, with a new job, and a new baby due in 5 weeks. At times it's frustrating and sad being apart from our dear friends but we are slowly figuring out how to stay afloat, inland. The climate is hotter then Goleta, there are spiders everywhere, and our surroundings are not nearly as pretty, but overall it's not too shabby. Unfortunately when most people hear we moved from Santa Barbara they reply with, "Oh, I'm sorry. Santa Barbara is beautiful." or "That must be hard. I'd love to retire in Santa Barbara one day." I think it would be more encouraging if I say we moved from some town in the middle of nowhere that continuely smells of sulfur, maybe... Trona, and have people be excited we transitioned to the LA County suburban sprawl. At any rate we ARE closer to family, Jason has an awesome job, and we don't have to deal with the steep stairs anymore! I'm a happy girl.

More to come regarding La Miradian adventures, and of course Jason's new status as Professor Tresser. Be warned - posts may be sporatic as I try to catch up on sleep before Nugget #2 rules the palace.

sweet cuppin' cakes

July 18, 2008   

I picked up a sweet (and free!) Brio board & train set a few days ago off craigslist. With a kid who sleeps in until 9am I'm usually not one to nab morning deals. For some reason I was awake early, looking for free moving boxes, and spied the listing. Score!

Lena's 20 month mark is today. Get to know her a little better here. She's even got an updated icon, with hair!

backyard sliding

July 15, 2008   

the last camp

July 3, 2008   

Jai Alai Diva Team, Amber, Tasha, Emily, Kaylor, Hannah, & Becca are dressed to impress at the "Obscure Sports" banquet.

Two days after Jason's graduation ceremony we hopped in the car and headed up to Forest Home to join our students mid-week at camp. We now have seniors and this is their last summer camp as high schoolers. I can hardly believe it. My girls and I had a great week of bonding, freshmen antics, and rest. We were led in discussions about living "too pagan" or "too Christian/religious" as compared to how Jesus interacted among people. It was really practical and thought provoking. I probably ate one too many delicious ice cream shakes but they are hard to resist and make you forget about the uncomfortable bunkbeds and hot temperatures! One of the highlights was the Friday night banquet where our church (who always has to be original) dressed up in obsure sports costumes. My girls had the brilliant idea of dressing as a Jai Alai team! Equally brilliant were Jason's guys dressed for the Scottish Highland Games. Jordy even ascertained a caber from the bottom of the canyon to bring along to dinner! I posted photos on facebook for your viewing enjoyment. That's Jason blobbing a freshmen above, left.

Meanwhile, Jason's parents graciously and happily watched Miss LJ from Tuesday through Saturday. They rented a cabin in Big Bear and enjoyed every minute of grandparent time. We joined them on Saturday night at the cabin and got to experience all it's "Beary Cuteness!" We definitely missed our little girl but had a wonderful, toddler-free week with our students. The godrays below nicely capture our relief on leaving the cabin.

Steve, Rossayn and LJ.

the graduate... almost

July 2, 2008   

Father's Day, Lena and Jason

Jason is yet another step closer to completing his doctorate. He's not quite done but we started the celebrations early by seeing him hooded in the graduation ceremony on June 15th. Everything will be official on July 24th when he defends. We had a fantastic cheering section including Jason's parents, my parents, Jason's Grandma Eady, Grandpa Tresser, sister Lindsay and her husband Jon, as well as Lena and I. It was groovy and I'm proud of my husband! More photos in the works.

  

Graduation Day

crafty

July 1, 2008   

Lena continues to beef up her resume. In June she mastered unlocking the mailbox all on her own. Technically she needs a stepstool to reach our box, however, she can find the correct key, insert it in the keyhole, and open the box all unassisted. After retreiving our mail she likes to spend a good 10 minutes practicing her skills on the lower boxes. At 19 months the kid is crafty. Maybe we can get her a lock picking set for her birthday.

movin' & bendin'

June 28, 2008   

Last night we shared a final SB meal (Fresco...yum...I'm going to miss Fresco) with Dave, Christine, Nicholas and Sam and bid them farewell. Today they board a well-packed moving van and will relocate to Bend, Oregon. Rumor has it, they heard we are leaving town in July and were quick to be the first to get out of this dodgy town. However, as much as we pleaded, they decided to head in the opposite direction. This week Dave and Jason managed to squeeze in once last set of morning waves and the perfect lunch, Freebirds burritos. We happily look forward to the sweet Jacobsen-Tresser reunion.

Jason and Dave before taking to the waves

the senior guys

June 27, 2008   

Oliver, Tim, Jordan, Peter, Jason, Anthony, Davis, Trevor, and Jansen.

Earlier this month, Tim (Jason's co-leader), the Eckharts, and the guys pulled together a BBQ for Jason's last small group. And even though it was finals week every one of the guys showed up. It was such a cool way to celebrate and a little teary for Jason. One of the hardest parts of moving away from Santa Barbara is leaving our church community and the students we have mentored since their 7th grade year. Next year they will be seniors and although we leave them in capable hands, it will be hard not seeing them on a weekly basis. We are still on a mission to get a few of them to consider Biola for college.

Dr. Amanda!

June 26, 2008   

Dr. Amanda and Derek

Over Memorial Weekend I visited Amanda & Derek in Des Moines, Iowa and celebrated Amanda's graduation from Med School. Jason & Lena headed to San Diego and I had five solo days of Q and Iowan culture. I've talked about visiting her for years and figured this was my chance. In fact, my last chance. They already moved west & Amanda started residency in San Diego. Among the graduation guests were Derek's parents, and Amanda's sister, brother, and family friend Earl. Even though the graduation ceremony and festivities were fun (almost 4 hours folks!) my highlight for the trip was a surprise visit to the Des Moines Sheep Show. Could it be true? What timing! Amanda and I share a fondness for sheep & Derek, our social organizer extraordinaire, made sure we had time to see the show. Right after our pedicures, of course! As much as I like sheep, I have to admit it was my first show. We both felt quite giddy and out of place. The owners probably wondered who we were, as we ran around and took photos of ourselves with the sheep. It was hilarious. Other Des Moines (Johnston) highlights were the Living History Farms, tornadoes (one morning we found a huge trampoline in the backyard!), dramatic lightning shows, the post graduation BBQ, and having first dibs on the Post guestroom. Sweetness. yippee & thank you Amanda! So glad to have you back in California.

day by day

June 11, 2008   

Last Saturday Josh and Jenna treated Jason and I to the PCPA Theaterfest production of Godspell. It was a chilly evening in Solvang but with second row seats (!) we were bathed in warm sweat from the performers. Ok not really, that would be gross. Akin to a Shamu show shower. However, it is a bit awkward to be so close that the actors can form eye contact with you and talk/sing at you. Not to mention the spit factor. I also found myself noticing tiny wardobe flaws, etc. At any rate it was fabulous and we left the kids with sitters (yahoo!) and shared a fun evening together. For the pre-show party I made a picnic feast for the four of us. We dined on the grass under the watchful eye of Hans Christian Andersen. And yes, Ernie, I thought of you many times during the performance.

project update

June 6, 2008   

Lena's Baby Book - ahhh No.
Our Wedding Album, heh heh - No.
Lena's Webpage - YES! hooray, dance around!

lions and tigers and ... oh my

June 2, 2008   

We woke on Sunday morning to find our housing complex littered with red signs warning of a black bear headed toward the airport. The signs are still posted so I'm hoping he caught his plane. NOT exactly your average Goodland wildlife siting.

sassy find

June 1, 2008   

rewind

May 31, 2008   

The month of May was jam packed. It started with Jason and I getting free tickets to see the Parson's Dance Company downtown at the Lobero, thanks to my friend Ernie. Although the videos don't do it justice, the piece "Caught" was a total crowd pleaser. Think single dancer flying above the stage thanks to strobe lights and awesome skills. Even Jason, who doesn't have my palate for dance, agreed the show was good fun. We also got to see a free sneak peek of the new Narnia film "Prince Caspian." On May 10 Westmont staff, faculty and friends (four theatres full!) were treated to the first audience showing after the red carpet debut in New York. We enjoyed the film (and free popcorn and drinks!) and were impressed with quality esp. the animated animals.
After the film we drove south to Downtown Disney to see Jason's family. It's our half-way, holiday, celebratory meeting & meal destination. Basically it's the happiest mall on earth - mickey, restaurants, and hired musicians with overactive fog machines.

An early Mother's Day meal at Downtown Disney.



Grandpa Tresser and Lena waiting for a tram. Lena was so excited by the parking structure trams we took a free ride.

ticket to ride

  

Jenna and Justus. Kim and Lena.

On a Monday afternoon Lena and I were treated to a train ride and ice cream with the Haydens (Jenna, Caleb, Cruz, and Justus). Our little adventure departed from the Santa Barbara station and went all of 13 minutes to Carpenteria. After a sugary snack we turned around and came right back. It was a quick trip but Lena's first train ride and good time Hayden fun. I think she liked being on the platform and seeing the train more than actually being on the train.

hair today

We spent the last day of April with my mom playing and getting haircuts. Well no haircut for Lena - she's still sporting the Carol Brady look.

where did April go?

May 18, 2008   

A few weekends ago we spent time walking down Ellwood, Sands, Devereux, and IV beaches. It's prime time to enjoy the coastline before June gloom. The beach is a feast for a toddler. Rocks, water, seaweed, birds, dogs, etc. etc. and lots of space to run around. The tides were low and Lena got her feet wet looking for marine life. The pools were rather like little baths and Lena loved it.
We also bumped into friends who found a small octopus!

  

Lena likes collecting rocks, chasing birds, and trying to eat the seaweed.

  

Daddy and Lena

Tidepooling

cuteness

Lena began this little shoulder-raised-head-tilted-smile combo a couple weekends ago. Jason started calling it her "cuteness" and now she busts it out on demand. 4-23-08

retreating

April 18-20 we went retreating with SBCC to the Salvation Army Camp in the Malibu Hills. It's an annual church event and may be our last. (tear) This year we decided to trade in our tent and brave what many lovingly refer to as the "screaming hall." Along with countless other young families we signed up for the single dorm room style accomodations and prayed that we wouldn't be up all night to the song of "someone else's" crying kids. Even with new babies on the hall, we happily slept through peaceful nights. It was better than expected and quite worth the extra $$. The downside was not seeing a lot of our friends who prefer to stay on the other side of camp, but we did make new friends.

On Saturday afternoon we went for a hike in the beautiful hills with Nate and Cora. We saw loads of wildlife including a turtle, tarantula, blue-bellied lizards, and various birds (Lena's fav). The area used to be a major film location (eg M*A*S*H) but has since become a preserve.
<-- Cora, Nate, Jason, and Lena.

View from the bridge.

Lena sacked out on Saturday evening. She enjoyed playing with the other kids!

daily walk

4-14-08 - Today we strolled to Sands Beach (Ellwood) and it was too pretty not to take photos.

new horizons

Friday April 4, Jason and I went out to our favorite Indian restaurant and celebrated his new job. Over tasty naan bread, Jason whipped out his pen and signed a contract for a tenture track professorship with Biola University! Horray! In August we are saying good-bye to the goodland and hello La Mirada. We are quite excited about the opportunity and all-around it was the best fit for Jason. He completed a Masters in Apologetics at Biola before embarking on his PhD at UCSB, so he is highly anticipating being back on campus as a faculty member with some of his favorite professors. It's also bitter-sweet! We have an extensive community of friends here in SB and have grown accustomed to living within walking distance of the beach. The hardest part will be moving away from the high school students we have mentored since 7th grade. They will be seniors next year and we are doing our best to try and recruit them to be Biolans. (quite a tough job in a Westmont world!)
Has Jason graduated? Not yet. He recently finished teaching at Westmont and is plugging away on his dissertation as I type. He plans to walk in graduation in June and defend in early July. A signed contract in hand provides the necessary incentive to finish!

viva la vida

April 29, 2008   

Hooray! It's time for another Coldplay album folks. Starting today, for one week only, you can download the new single, "Violet Hill" on their website for free. And if you're fashionable enough to live in London or New York (or can spare the flight change) then you may be able to partake in free shows this June. Lucky you. The US album release date is June 17th.

cinderella, cinderella

April 29, 2008   

Lena hard at work.

heh

April 28, 2008   

In January our local Rite Aid lost its liquor license for selling to minors and consequently is having to close its doors. Apparently this isn't unique and in fact, most convenient stores survive by the sale of spirits. What IS unique is the fluorescent sign outside the store. While driving by one evening, Jason proudly pointed out that the "A" has expired and it now reads... yep... "Rite Id." I'd like to think it's punishment from the authorities but I'm guessing it's just a brilliant coincidence.

J + K Getaway

April 26, 2008   

I'm still playing catch-up from March. Here are few photos from the first ever - J + K Getaway. For Jason's birthday this year his only request was to find a sitter and get away with his wife. As the wife I had no arguments. So the day after Easter my mom came to stay with LJ and we spent two days exploring the local coastline. It was the first time Jason and I BOTH went away together, overnight, AND left Lena at home. And, funny enough, the first time I had been away from her for a night. It was glorious! We didn't want to spend too much time in the car so we decided to book a hotel in Solvang and spend our time hiking, a mere 30 minutes from home.

Day 1 we left in the morning and drove up the coast to Gaviota. We hiked up the hills overlooking the state beach. There were beautiful wildflowers, weather carved caves, great views of the ocean and thankfully no mountain lions despite the posted warnings. We also took a short hike up to some hot springs and to Nojoqui Falls before settling into a nice nap at the hotel. Not having to think about a little girl for two whole days was fabulous. I didn't realize how much of my thoughts and actions revolve around taking care of someone else. It was so restful. We feasted on a great dinner and walked around Solvang that evening. It was deliciously deserted with thousands of twinkle lights parading around the trees and shops. On Day 2 we enjoyed a Danish breakfast & wandered around the mission before grabbing sandwiches to go. We drove back down south for a warm afternoon at Refugio Beach. Again, lovely lovely. At 5pm we returned home to a daughter that thoroughly enjoyed her time with gram (& vice versa) and didn't really notice our absence. In turn we are already devising the next getaway!

From the caves we could see down to Gaviota State Beach. The 101 fwy cuts inland on the left.

The wildflowers were in full bloom.

pigtails for easter

April 13, 2008   

On Easter this year we went to church and then to the Hayden's for their annual brunch and Lena's first official egg hunt. She was lookin' quite dapper in her dress and pigtails which daddy carefully created that morning. We were stunned that she kept them in because she usually detects foreign objects within minutes of their placement and immediately rips them out.
With a little assistance Lena happily paraded around the backyard and found quite a few eggs. One of my favorite moments was when she found one of the few eggs with a $1 bill. Our godson, Caleb, who apparently knew its value, quickly swapped her for an egg with a plastic ring. (below) It was awesome watching their interaction go down.

jaythen's carnival

April 12, 2008   

On March 16th we celebrated my nephew, Jaythen's, 5th birthday with a sweet carnival. Matt and Ash are the fiesta professionals! There were bounce houses, a popcorn trolley, carnival games & prizes, face painting, and food. If my brother had space for a petting zoo I'm sure it would have materialized that day. It was a ton of fun. My parents, Jason's parents, Jon & Lindsay, as well as many Triplat friends and family came to the colorful event. Jaythen's birthday is actually the 21st but he agreed to share a cake with Aunt Stephanie who's actual birthday was that day! AND Lena found two new loves. One, the bounce house slide, which made her hair stand straight up with static electricity (I have to get a photo from grandpa Tresser!) and two, popcorn. The girl ate and ate and ate popcorn until we thought she was going to burst.

the new deRenzo

We were super excited when the DeRenzo's and Valerie stopped by the party with big brother Korban and new baby Thayaden. It was our first interaction with Thayaden Adonijah! He was born on Feb 1st and seriously, why did it take so long for me to meet this little fellow? It's not like we live in separate countries!

favorite walk

April 6, 2008   

A couple photos of my favorite one hour walk. (1) on the cliffs near Coal Oil Point and (2) past Devereaux Slough.

ayyy matey

For this year's round of birthdays my parents took us to experience Pirate's Dinner Adventure in good ole Buena Park. Think Medieval Times but with eye patches and gold bits and water. We all donned purple bandanas and colored bead necklaces and truly went on a culinary adventure. Surprisingly Lena did great. Jax needed earplugs for it was a little noisy, but Jaythen, Matt, and Ashley all volunteered and took part in the show. Jaythen got to be on stage and row a dingy around the ship in the water! The show is all about audience participation as you play games and try to beat the other pirate teams. The storyline is a bit lacking and it's no Disney musical but none the less good family fun for a Saturday afternoon.

the road to montana

April 5, 2008   

In March we waved good-bye to our good friends Chris, Sarah and Iain. After a long week of packing, cleaning and one last garage sale, they jumped in their car and headed to Bozeman, Montana. Chris landed a post doc at the Univ. of Montana. Although Chris and Jason were in the same department at UCSB, we really got to know one another in a small birth preparation class before we welcomed Lena and Iain into the world. In Dec 2006 they moved into family housing paradise and we quickly realized the beauty of babysit-swapping with close neighbors. Sarah and I covered many miles with our BOBs and occassionally the guys were able to slip away for a TGIF pint. It was a sweet 15 months and we are already feeling their absence. Our plan is to land Chris a job and get them back to sunny California in 2 years! The last time I babysat Iain I took some photos including the one below of the kids playing together. Iain looks so devious. I like it!

Iain and Lena

animal house

April 3, 2008   

Check out the latest addition to my extended family. I got an email today from the Triplats. They are now the proud owners of Brooklynne, Sallie, and Abby (Chickens) and Lilly and Doc (Flemish Giant Rabbits). If given the chance my brother would have named them all Fred so it seems he was probably overruled in the naming game. At least "Fred" was the trend for stuffed toys and pets when he was younger. What a treat for 5-year-old Jaythen and 2-year-old Jax. Matt, do you remember Spike? Remember to feed the animals.

Flemish Giant Rabbit, Jaythen, Jax.

february favorites

April 2, 2008   

Lena likes taking walks out to the bike path bridge to see the wildlife. Egrets, red-winged blackbirds, squirrels, lizards, and a host of other birds are fairly common most days. Lena is learning to be really quiet so the birds nesting and dining in the reeds come out to play. Most of our conversation is me pointing and saying, "Lena can you see the bird?" and Lena with palms raised saying, "Where is it?" and then "There it is!" Over and over again - or simply, "ooooohhh."

We spend ample time in the backyard these days. One day Lena ran over to me after playing in the grass and emptied her hands into mine. I said, "Oh thankyou" as she looked up at me smiling. Upon opening my hand I discovered three little flowers that were too precious not to keep. She was so excited to share them with me that I scooped her up and we promptly went inside and put them in water.

Daddy keeping his little girl warm.

dedicated

March 30, 2008   

On February 24th we dedicated Lena to the Lord, alongside our church community and Jason's parents. Lena was quite engaged and didn't get too wiggly until prayer time. (Much different than my childhood baptism where I took one look at the water, screamed and ran down the aisle and out the back door! I was captured and sprinkled and don't remember any of it. A good reason for adult baptism.) After this service, we dined on Pizza Mizza. a local fav, and toasted the evening with chocolate chip ice cream, a huge treat for LJ.

Jason & I chose Psalm 146 as Lena's verses:

Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul!
I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.
When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish.

Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God,
who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever;
who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free;

The Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous.
The Lord watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the Lord!

a new workout

That weekend we also went hunting for monarchs on the Ellwood bluffs. Very few butterflies were still around and the day was cold and windy. I liked these photos of Jason amusing Lena and his parents.

whoa

March 28, 2008   

No postings for a month. What am I thinking? Well... that's what happens when you sleep every time your child naps. This weekend I will fill in the gap! For now I will mention our short and sweet visit with Michelle. After visiting the Krafts in Santa Cruz (back in February) we stopped in Monterey to see Michelle, who finished up her phD last year at UCSB and is now post-doc'in. She took us out for a scrumptous lunch and we toured her house and met her turtle. Lena wasn't too sure about the turtle. We miss Michelle!

Lena, Jason and Michelle.

walking in the countryside

February 22, 2008   

Today we went for a beautiful walk in north Goleta with Sarah and Iain. It's been raining on and off for the last few days and we were eager to get out into the fresh air. The hills were so green and vibrant. And the weather, although quite windy, stayed dry and sunny.

Beautiful green hills.

Lena and Iain just chillin'.

fun with krafts

February 20, 2008   

We spent the three day weekend in Scotts Valley (near Santa Cruz) with our friends - the Krafts. Last time we were together the girls were into "tummy time" and barely knew the term "solid food." Now they are 1 and into playing with large plastic toys, chasing one another and babbling. It was good fun watching them explore and share space. We played at a local playground, chased the dog, watched Planet Earth (the cave video is interesting!), and had a relaxing and wonderful time just being together and encouraging one another. It was also Toby's birthday weekend so he invited a few guys over to test out his hand crafted clay oven (check out the photos) and toast another good year.

gram triplat

February 13, 2008   

Yesterday Lena and I met my mom in Ventura for what I like to call a 3-gen (generation) day. For the past couple years my mom and I have tried to make it a priority to meet up once a month. We found that life's business was getting in the way of our relationship and we needed to make time to be in one anothers presence. Sometimes it doesn't work out but she's very persistent with emails and evetually we find time to meet. And now that Lena is along for the day my mom gets to spend some much desired time with both of us. It's such a priviledge for Jason and I to have parents that choose to be involved in Lena's life. We just soak it up.

waves

February 11, 2008   

On Friday we walked to the ocean with friends from our neighborhood. It's the first time Lena has been able to run free on the sand! We chased birds and got our feet wet and watched the waves sparkle. It was delightful.

the mail

February 7, 2008   

One of the ways Lena earns her keep in this family happens between 4 and 5pm each day. She is in charge of dropping off outbound post, checking for new mail, and carrying home all heavy boxes. For fun I taught her to slide around the livingroom on junkmail. I'm not so sure this was a wise choice. I am waiting for the day we find her skating around on say, irreplacable 100 year old photos, or Jason's bound dissertation, or her birth certificate.

I now question all temporal fun ideas.

And then usually carry on.

birding

February 5, 2008   

One of our favorite new passtimes is taking a walk around the apartment complex. There's a lot to do and see. We visit friends, go to the playground, get the mail, take the compost to the garden, watch the skateboarders, and occassionally patronize the coke machine.

Last Saturday after I was kindly told to stop playing soccer indoors** (someone is a little nervous about his mac) Lena and I took our ball and wandered around for a while. One of her favorite things right now is watching for birds. Lena doesn't mind if it's a blackbird, as long as it moves she's in awe. One postitive to living in a swamp is the amount of birds it attracts. Especially in the springtime. (We also attract a fair number of random binocular-toting people!) I often wonder if I've casually seen some totally exotic and endangered little puff of a bird, that a small population would give a limb to glimpse. Of course, as I have previously mentioned, I too enjoy watching the herons and egrets through the seasons and a little yellow-bellied variety that comes 'round in the spring. Lena is also becoming aware of the colony of squirrels that inhabit the underground matrix otherwise known as the "apartment foundation." I'm just glad she can't catch them. At least I don't think she can - yet. (I was always surprised what animals my brother was able to catch.)

Thus, we are discovering the great outdoors and some of God's beautiful wildlife. It's a lovely phase of one-year-old life.

**My senior year in high school I lived by myself and picked up the bad habit of playing soccer inside the house. Our home was up for sale and the empty halls and rooms were fantastic for practice.

The young birdwatcher at work.

For Christmas Lena received this sweet ride from Doug and Ronda!
We call it her grasshopper.

3's a crowd

February 2, 2008   

My friend, Sarah, and I swap babysitting almost every week. I use the time to attend a bible study and she likes to relax or take yoga classes. It's great having kids the same age and living near one another. On Wednesday I decided to shake up the routine and take the two toddlers to the park in our complex. It's tough managing a one-year-old at a park (should you be at the top or the bottom of the slide?) let alone two who don't have a clue about such things as slides, going down stairs, taking turns, and - the obvious - moving for big kids. However, to my delight, we found a handful of activities that seemed to keep them occupied. Iain is almost walking so he was quite fond of pushing Lena around in every large plastic wheeled vehicle. When they became bored we squished them together and I pushed them around (left). We also climbed the stairs and all squeezed into the slide tunnel for hair-raising, death-defying rides together (above). After two hours everyone was happy and tired and both Lena and Iain went straight down for naps. hooray for parks.

walking in my shoes

February 1, 2008   

Walking around in mom's flipflops was all the rage a couple nights ago. Lena strutted into view and completely surprised me. She was quite proud of herself and kept looking back and forth between me and her feet to keep balance. It's fun when she does things of her own volition that I don't expect. Take for instance this morning when we went to the park with a friend. One minute Lena was chasing after a whiffle ball and the next she was sitting on the ground carefully selecting and depositing acorns into the center of the ball, through the small holes. She's becoming proficient at sorting shapes and enjoys nesting objects so this wasn't new however, I was tickled that she applied her knowledge elsewhere - and that the acorns were not in her mouth!

31

January 28, 2008   

Jason turned 31 last Friday. We celebrated with his parents and (a surprise guest) his sister Lindsay over the weekend. The family got lots of Lena-love! Steve and Rossayn were delighted to take the early and late shifts with Lena allowing the youngins to sleep in. This is the best gift to us. The rain poured all weekend long so its a good thing we like each other, especially in our small place. We saw the movie Juno on Saturday and I was surprised how much it affected me. The directing was brilliant but being a relatively new parent I left the theatre conflicted. I must see it again.

owen

January 24, 2008   

Our friends Andy and Sara have a new little boy, Owen, and we finally got to hang out with them tonight. He was born in December but due to holiday hoopla we didn't cross paths long enough to enjoy each other. As you can tell he's pretty content in his papasan swing - yet another baby item I wished they made in adult sizes. Sara got the BOB hook-up so I'm hoping we get to go walking together soon.

mac daddy

January 20, 2008   

Jason's good friend, Robert, came to visit us this weekend. He got the royal Tresser treatment including his own air matress, morning coffee, and a 1-year-old wake up call. This is why people keep coming back. They can't get enough of the Tresser hospitality! We had a lovely time. Jason showed off his Westmont digs, relocated the iTank to his office and then we lunched at one of our favorite spots, Pedaro Beach Cafe in Carp. Lena played in the sand and chased the birds. Luckily we didn't take either home with us. We laughed and talked about macs, watched a funny english cop movie and ate ice cream. good times. Jason even convinced Robert that sharks are allergic to SB and got him out to ride the waves.

sunday afternoon at the castle

January 17, 2008   

Last weekend we ventured to Knapp's Castle up on the ridge off East Camino Cielo Rd. We were joined by our neighbors Chris, Sarah and Iain plus two baby backpacks for an easy hike and picnic lunch. We explored the ruins, brushed up on castle climbing, located a geocache thanks to Chris, and enjoyed the spectacular views of the valley all while munching on crackers and string cheese with the babes. Highly recommended if your looking for a Sunday afternoon activity. The original owner of the castle is quite interesting. Mr. George Owen Knapp retired here and donated lots of money to building hospitals, churches, roads and pipe organs. He was passionate about pipe organs and even had a whole room for his personal organ at the castle. If you know Jason, this little nugget warmed his heart. More photos

vending machine movies

January 16, 2008   

Seriously folks. Is there a Red Box in your neighborhood? It's all the rage in our home. New releases are $1 per night straight from the vending machine stocked weekly at the grocery store. The deal gets sweeter. When you sign up they periodically sent out emails with free rental codes. Try it yourself. We have paid $2 (two separate movies) to see six films (4 free rentals) over the past two months. bam!

the young william

January 15, 2008   

A round of applause for Camille, Garry and big sister Sophie. Pass out the cigars. Baby William Alexander Smith was born on Wednesday, January 9th in the middle of the night. He was a week early and 6lb 12oz. More babies with British accents please! I will go out on a limb and say William is a family name. Both Camille's dad and brother are Williams but maybe, just maybe, someone else caught their fancy. Was it William Wallace? or Shakespeare? or William Tell, Pitt, Wordsworth or Clinton? Will Smith, William Shatner, Herschel, Willy Wonka, Prince William, One-eyed Willy (where's my Goonie fans) or maybe it was Willy Nelson? awesome.

building

January 11, 2008   

Lena and Jason have been busy creating large, colorful friends and towers. According to Jason, it doesn't get any better than legos. I have to agree. There is satisfaction dumping out the big plastic bag o' pieces - building cool things - then knocking them over. And it's fun to watch Lena snap the pieces together with intention and find satisfaction in the use of her hands. Jason and I reminisced about our own lego days and to my surprise he still has his old sets in storage. He found a brilliant dutch site called the Brick Factory. It is a database of lego set instruction manuals. Someone has gone to the trouble of scanning & organizing hundreds of instruction manuals that you can download as jpegs for free. Matt, does this little service station ring any bells?

if only...

January 8, 2008   

...I had known about this site earlier, I would have sent everyone pixelated sweaters for Christmas! An ad agency put together this groovy Christmas sweater generator. You get to pick and resize any number of holiday phrases and icons to design a uniquely you sweater, cardigan or vest. In addition there are tunes to accompany the merriment. And in case you aren't cyber-crafty-chic they have a "window shopping" area with previously designed gems to browse for inspiration. Don't bother leaving your email for them to spam just grab a screen shot and your in business. Jason liked the idea of a giant mug o' sugar and I added the donuts for flare. Yum. If only I could print this out and wear it to a party.

rain

January 4, 2008   

Lena was interested in the rain this morning so we opened the door and gave her a front row seat while she ate lunch. The back courtyard is slowly becoming a swamp. Soon we will hear the chorus of frogs. And a long weekend of rain should trigger the calililies to bloom! After growing up in the dessert I'm always excited to have a little rain.

spicy decisions

January 3, 2008   

Today Jason made himself what probably began in his mind as a PB & J sandwich. After coating one slice of bread with PB he spied a Christmas gift from the Arnolds, jalepeno jelly, and lovingly applied it to the other slice. I walked in just as he took a bite. I questioned his decision and he remarked, "mmm... it's like a spicy peanut sandwich!" I like spicy food but I'm not sold. And in fact I'm out-numbered. Lena is making similar choices. I'm guessing anyday she's going to ask for Tapatio on her yogurt. She already gobbles down pepperjack cheese and salsa without any notice.

happy new year (of the rat)

January 2, 2008   

Downtown at the beach on a grey day in November.

This summer will mark 10 years since I graduated from college. Incredible. I have to say that I'm quite happy with those ten years.

Among my many desires for the year I propose to continue the following:
find contentment being at home during the day with Lena, embrace seasons (weather and life), be conscious of my environmental impact & make changes in my habits, paint paint paint, serve others, and at a stretch...get rid of unnecessary items before we relocate this summer. Who wants to move undesirables only to open the heavy boxes and wonder why didn't I sell, ditch, or give away particular elephants before the move? And since our options thus far are slightly inland, I plan to enjoy the SB ocean as much as possible.

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