Beach Days

After hours on the beach, I pile all the gear into and on top of the car, rinse off shivery bodies, pull out the dregs of the snacks from the bottom of the bag because everyone is STARVING, soothe the cranky and teary meltdowns , and try to hold it all together myself, not lose my patience, and end up saying things like, "if you don't stop crying, we are NEVER going to the beach again!"
And then we get home and it's quick! make dinner, get them bathed, and into bed because they are so wiped out.
It is always kind of frantic and crazy, and everyone is on the verge of hysteria.
Beach days end hard.

But those long, long, hours at the beach are worth all that.
Every. single. time. they are worth it.
Today William, Davy, and I spent an hour kneeling in the shallow water hunting for tiny, darting, fish that hide in the sand until our hands stirred them up.
William caught one with his quick little hands.
He was so proud.
What fun we had, spying on that quiet world under water.
Today the boys built a city of sand with their buddies.
They were building Stonehenge and Hadrian's Wall, and some other British landmarks they've learned about in history.
I loved listening to their conversation, "how did they get those stones up anyway?"
Today Lilly floated around in a little, green inner tube that someone left on the sand.
She is far too big for it, but was happy as a clam, as she floated along, booty dragging on the sandy bottom.
Today Davy romped around with all the big kids, and loved his life.
Today they spent hours in the water on surf boards and boogie boards, talking and laughing, and hanging out in the water with all their buddies.
Today they swam to the wall, jumped off the dock, and braved the swarm of boats being piloted by novice sailors.
Today, they lived a beautiful day.

Sure there were moments that weren't so perfect.
Sand in the face and sun screen in the eyes.
Toddler fights over sand toys, and water bottles.
2 pooping trips to the public restroom, where I wanted to barf rather than stand there waiting for them to finish, and have to tell my 2 year old not to touch anything 5,000 times.
I really, really, really hate public restrooms.
There is no such thing as constant bliss--at least not on this earth.
This quote really fits those kind of moments, don't you think?

As the sun sank lower and the beach grew emptier, my heart was full from our time there together with friends, and with each other.
Time in the sun, in the water, and enjoying God's glorious creation.
It blesses us so deeply.
After the tedious job of loading everyone in the car, we pull away from the curb, and I say the same thing every time, "I had such a great day with you guys!  I love being at the beach with you.  I love you all so much."
And it's so true.
Even if there is chaos when we get home.
At 9 pm I am still wearing my damp bathing suit and cleaning up the kitchen from our slap-dash dinner.
I am tired.
But it was worth it.
The good things always are.
I love summer time.

Hope your summer days are treating you right.--little stupid things and all.

Love from,

Greta

Practically Perfect In Every Way--Our Palm Springs Weekend

2 weekends ago Aaron and I escaped to Palm Springs.

When you have 4 kids, getting a weekend away requires more than a little bit of planning.

It took 2 sets of grandparents, an aunt and uncle, another aunt, and a dear friend to get all the kids taken care of for the weekend.

In the week leading up to our getaway, my mom fell and had to get her finger stitched up and a split in her chin glued together, my mother-in-law developed a terrible case of bursitis, my sister and brother in law were expecting 3 visitors and a dog to spend the weekend with them in their already crowded house, yet they all still said, "yes!  drop off the kids."

And then Davy got a high fever, a terrible sore throat, and wouldn't sleep at night.

It seemed the stars were not aligned in our favor.

He was a little better by Friday, so we decided to go for it.

(I never would have done that with the 1st kid)

Leaving much later than originally planned, we headed out.

At the last minute, Aaron decided we really had to drive the Falcon to Palm Springs, so we squeezed the whole fam in the wagon, and dropped the kids off one by one.

Driving in the Falcon always attracts a lot of attention.
But when it is loaded with 4 kids and a bunch of vintage suitcases in the back, we attracted a LOT of attention.
All told, we spent over 2 hours in the car, just dropping the kids off at their various destinations.

I was still pretty worried about leaving Davy, but he turned into a different kid the moment he saw my Dad, his best friend.
He squealed and laughed and played, and was happy as a clam.
My parents assured us everyone would be fine, and shooed us off with instructions to come back as late as we wanted on Sunday.
With a deep sigh of relief, we were on the road!
Maybe it is just me (but I pretty sure it is a universal Mom thing) but I find it so hard to let go of the guilt whenever I leave my kids behind.
And I don't mean I feel guilty about leaving my kids.
I know they are fine, and that it is good for us all to have a break from one another.
I mean the guilt I feel about everyone who is watching the kids, that Davy might keep my parents up all night, that Lilly will fight with her cousins, that the boys will ask for too many snacks, and all sorts of other ridiculous scenarios I create in my head.
It took the entire drive for me to really relax.
The moment we pulled off the freeway and Mt. San Jacinto loomed over us, the light from the full moon hit the mountain and lit up all the snow.
"Oh look!" I cried.  "It's so beautiful!  It's magical!"
And it was.
It felt like that moment happened just for me--a reminder that we were really there, somewhere so different from home and our everyday life, and that I should soak it all in, and enjoy my time with my best friend.
So we did.
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We rolled into Palm Springs at 9 pm and ate dinner at a restaurant called Birba.
Not only was the food fantastic, but the people watching was extraordinary.
It was Moderism Week in Palm Springs (the reason we were there) and that night there had been all sorts of fancy parties where people dressed up in their mid century best, and had cocktails in places like Frank Sinatra's house.
For reals.
How cool is that?
I think Aaron was in heaven looking at everyone dressed up in fabulous plaid jackets and gorgeous, full skirted dresses, looking like they walked right out of 1962.
It was a fun night.

The next morning dawned sunny, clear, and Palm Springs beautiful.
I was so glad Aaron chose to drive the Falcon.
It was the perfect way to get around PS, and she looked right at home amid all the mid century architecture.

Seriously, isn't she just the cutest?

We went out for coffee and breakfast and then headed out of town for a hike.

Since we always visit Palm Springs in the summer, we never get to see the mountains covered with snow.

It is a really beautiful sight.

This was our first hike in PS.
Summer temps aren't conducive to hiking, so we never get to do it.
Aaron dressed for the occasion in an ascot, and a sweater tossed jauntily across his shoulders.
He spurns modern day hiking gear, and things like cargo pocketed hiking shorts.
His response to my,"That's what you're wearing to go hiking?": "What would Cary Grant wear if he was hiking?"
I love this guy of mine--he makes me laugh.

We hiked 4 miles along an amazing palm oasis in the middle of the desert.
It was astonishingly beautiful and one of the most favorite hikes I have ever done.
I'll tell you all about it in my next post.

We did a lot of looking at gorgeous vintage goods, but not a lot of buying.
We have enough vintage stuff now that things have to be a great price in order for us to add to our collection.
Or it must be something we don't have and is on the list.
We didn't get anything, but it was awfully fun to look.

On Saturday we spent the afternoon at the vintage trailer show that was part of Modernism Week.
It was so much fun.
Just look at this little beauty.
We got to walk inside all of them, talk to their owners, and dream of the day when we'll be sitting inside one of our very own.
It was fun to be around a whole bunch of people who geek out over the same things we do.
There will be lots more pics of my favorite trailers over at Picnics in the Park.
Be sure to check it out!

I even had a celebrity sighting at the trailer show.
Charles Pheonix!
He was really nice, admired Aaron's ascot, and was super excited that we lived in one of So Cal's original 50s suburban communities.
We speak the same language.
I love Charles!

But you know what the best part of the day was?
Just cruising around with my man.
He was in his element amidst all that mid century coolness.
We laughed a lot, held hands, sat close on the bench seat in the Falcon, and had entire conversations without being interrupted once.
It was glorious.

Sunday morning dawned clear, windy, and cold, (for us) but still sunny.
We admired the pool from inside the warm house.
It's pretty wonderful to have generous friends who let you stay at their Palm Springs house because otherwise you could never afford to visit Palm Springs in the high season.
Thanks you guys!
We even had a view of the snowy mountains from the breakfast table.

After a visit to a vintage garage sale, and coming very close to purchasing a 1962 Shasta trailer, we went for another hike.
This one was the beginning of the Cactus to Clouds hike, and it was 1.5 miles of straight up.

It's an 850 elevation gain in only a mile and a half.
If you go the whole way, it's something like climbing 10,000 ft. (makes the 850 seem pretty lame, right?)
Doing that whole hike is now on my list of life goals.
It was a lot of scrambling over rocks, but the views were breathtaking.

And then, breakfast at my favorite spot.

The rest of the day was spent tooling around PS, doing a tiny bit of thrifitng, (not much to find this time of year) and leaving as the sun was setting behind the mountain.

This was the first time we'd been away for a night since my birthday, last August.
And it was the first time we'd been away for more than 1 night in probably 3 years--maybe more.

As hard as it is to make it all come together, getting in the time together away from our kids is really important to keeping our relationship healthy and strong.

Also, it is a lot of fun!

Thanks to all the fine people who made this trip possible.
We owe you big time.

Palm Springs, we love you!

Love from,

Greta

Of Trees and Trails: Hellman Wilderness Park

I haven't done a post on one of our hikes in quite a while.

Since we go on 3 or 4 hikes a month, I have quite a few I'd like to share with you.

I like these posts to be a place where I can capture my favorite moments and memories from the day, but also share my impressions of the trail itself, and give notes to any other people out there looking to hike a trail with kids.

I read lots and lots of trail reviews, but most don't give much info, or any, regarding kids on the trails.

Since I do almost all my hikes with my kids, that information is important to me.

And since I have little hikers ranging in age from 8 to 19 months, there is a pretty good chance I've got a little hiker close in age or ability to yours.

If you search "hikes and nature trails" in the "Posts By Subject" box on my side bar, you'll find other hikes we've done.

I haven't updated it in a long time, but there are still some good ones from times past.

And like I said, I have a lot of hikes to share with you--so let's get started!

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This was a new hike to me and almost everyone in my group and we all loved it.

I'll give you the stats first:

Hellman Wilderness Park in Whittier.  (link here)

There is a very small parking lot at the trail head, but you can park on the street if the lot is full.

There is no fee for parking.

We hiked a 2.9 mile loop that had a 600 ft elevation gain. (*for a description of the trail, go below to the pictures)

It's pretty much a continuous ascent to the top.

Once you reach the top, there are lots of other trails to take to add mileage to the hike.

All the way up the hill, and certainly once you reach the top, the views are spectacular.

We enjoyed seeing the ocean, downtown LA, the Hollywood sign, Palos Verdes, and much of Orange County.

This trail is not stroller friendly--not even your super tough jog stroller.

We saw some hikers using hiking poles, but our group of little hikers, as well as moms with babies on their backs were able to manage the trail just fine without any poles.

There is very limited shade.

There are no bathrooms, or drinking fountains.

We saw lots of birds, lizards and deer.

I read reviews stating that in warmer months there are a lot of snakes, but it was too cold for snakes when we were there.

I highly recommend this hike in cooler months.

I think it would be brutal in the heat.

Also the hillsides are green and lovely from winter rains, and in spring I am sure the wildflowers are beautiful.

If your kids are up to the challenge of the climb, I highly recommend it.

My kids all complained at various points on the ascent, but once we reached the top, they were really proud of their accomplishment.

On the way home, and in the days since we did the hike, all my kids have mentioned what a great hike it was, how much fun they had, and how excited they are to try it again.

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Here is our hike in pictures.

We took the Hellman Park Trial, to the left of the trail head.

You walk past a covered reservoir, and at first the trail does not look too promising.

But the trail quickly opens up into this little canyon and all the sights of the city are left behind you.

Almost as soon as the trail started we saw wild gourds growing alongside the trail.

There were also wild cucumber vines, large tonyon bushes, and lots of different types of chaparral.

Before long, you reach a short staircase and then the ascent begins.

There is a long set of steep switchbacks, and you feel like you are just hiking up and up into the sky.

Once switchbacks end, you are still climbing, but the turns are a little more gradual.

Around each corner, the views open up and become more and more amazing.

After the switchbacks, the trails flattens for a bit.

It's deceptive.

It's a very short bit of flat.

Soon you are heading up a very steep incline.

It's a rough trail at this point, not slippery, but rocky and uneven.

It's also one of the steepest points on the trail.

The kids all leaned way into it as they climbed up.

And once we made it past the steepest part, they all flopped down in the shade of one tiny little tree.

They were quite spent.

I have all my kids carry a backpack with our various hiking supplies in them.

Lilly carries a small water bottle and our picnic sheet--a sheet is lighter than a blanket.

William carries 3 water bottles.

James carries everyone's lunch.

He asked me that morning if he could just carry his own "provisions" for the hike.

As you can see from the picture, carrying everyone's provisions can be a bit taxing.

As you can also see from the picture, I still make him do it.

As I mentioned before, there is little shade on this hike.

But our kids are climbers, and so if there is a tree--or overgrown bush--they will climb it.

The next section of the trail is rocky and steep again, but a bit more gradual than the previous bit.

I was able to run it with Davy on my back.

When I run, it distracts him a bit from the fact that he is stuck on my back for hours at a time.

He'd much rather run.

Once we reached this point of the trail, we settled down on the grass for our picnic lunch.

The views were amazing.

Mt. Baldy was in the distance, it's peak all covered with snow, and just across from us this Buddhist Memorial Columbarium at Rose Hills Memorial Park.

The combination of the two had us feeling like we were hiking in the mountains of Tibet.

Not a bad spot for a picnic lunch.

I used lunch time as an opportunity to let David run around.

Mostly that meant running away from us.

The boy is a natural explorer.

He'd be a really great hiker right now, he can go and go, but he hates to hold hands, and steep, narrow trails are not good for babies who don't hold hands.

So I let him run on the wide parts.

And he gets carried back by his brother and friends when he strays too far.
He's my first child who doesn't like to hold hands.
Detests it might be a more apt description.
I admit it is a pain, but I still win the battle of the wills--if you won't hold my hand, you get carried.
Or strapped on my back in this case.

After lunch we headed up the steepest part of the hike.

When the Hellman Park Trail ends at the fire road, you can head left or right. 

We chose right.

If you want a challenge, you can climb up a very steep, small trail--it's actually a fire break, not a real trail--or you can just follow the fire road around the steep hill.

Most of us chose the fire break.

It felt like we were climbing into the sky.

This part of the trail was so steep that I had to lean forward to counterbalance the weight of Davy on my back.

While I huffed and puffed up the trail, Davy cried and yelled in protest of being back in his prison.

He was done.

I felt pretty good when I got to the top.

And glad that it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be.

All those days running the bleacher and Signal Hill are paying off.

We did have a water break.

Even David.

Screaming and crying can make a guy thirsty.

Here is the view looking back down the fire break and the fire road.

Coming down the fire break is very steep and slippery, but we made it without mishap.

We took the Mariposa trail down.

It is a bit more shady and very green.

It's also quite narrow with a steep drop off the side.

Which can make Mommies nervous when they're kids want to run down the trail!

But again, we made it without mishap.

The nice thing about hiking this trail in winter, besides cool temperatures, is the carpet of green covering the hills.

It's all so beautiful.

On our way down, we were thrilled to spot 3 deer feeding on the hillside below us.

They were far away, but it didn't dampen our enthusiasm.

While we were watching the deer, we heard the song of a hummingbird right overhead.

We looked up and saw this little guy.

He stayed still for a bit and let us admire him.

Isn't he a beauty?

All tiredness felt earlier as we climbed the trail straight up was forgotten once we reached the fire road again and we let the kids run down with reckless abandon.

It was another great day of hiking and exploring nature with our group of little hikers.

Hope this inspires you to get you and your littles out on a trail, either this one, or one near you.
Happy hiking!
Love from,
Greta

Remembering This Moment: James Does Palm Springs

Aaron had to deliver some paintings to Palm Springs this weekend. (see them here)
It was supposed to be 65 and sunny, so we thought we'd make a family day of it and go for a desert hike.
I found some amazing sounding hikes described here.
We planned on doing hike #4.
(Aaron and I hope to do #1 on our own first, and see if I can manage it with Davy on my back, and also if the kids are ready to do a slot canyon hike yet.  It sounds really great--I'll let you know when we do it)
I was looking forward to the day.
Alas, Davy and Lilly were sick in the night and it didn't seem like a good idea to hike with a feverish baby, who'd alsobe dripping snot down my back the whole time.
I was kind of bummed.
But James went with Aaron.
And they had a really, really great time.
I'm so glad it worked out the way it did.
It would have been so different for him with all of us along--more chaotic and less relaxing--that's just the nature of doing anything with 4 young kids.
Instead, James got to soak in the environment, architecture, art, and even the food in a way that he really appreciates.
He got to spend the day with his Daddy, who understands him so well because they are so much alike.
They understand each other in a way no one else does.
He's an old soul, that 8 year old boy of mine.
And, no surprise, he's turning into a real mid century aficionado.

When they got home, I asked James if he liked Palm Springs.
"Oh Yeah!" he replied.
He loved the store that's selling Aaron's paintings, Just Modern, and told Aaron, "Just Modern is different than I imagined it would be.  It's a really cool store."
Aaron took him to see this bank, a  famous piece of mid century architecture in Palm Springs.
James was blown away and described it to me with great excitement.
He also loved the visitor center.
He loved seeing the snow on Mt. San Jacinto and was pretty sure that after about a 3 hour hike, he'd be in the snow.
The giant windmills intrigued him.

Yesterday he was still thinking about the trip.
"It was such a clear day in Palm Springs.  We could see for miles.  I still remember everything.  I can just see it in my mind."
One of my favorite things about James is his love for discovery.
Whether he's learning a new idea, hearing a new story, or visiting a new place, he's always interested.
Because it was just he and Aaron, they could take their time and really spend time soaking in this place he'd never been before.
It was the perfect kind of day for James.

After delivering paintings, and driving around a bit admiring mid century architecture, my boys went to the ACE for lunch.
True to form, James wanted to check the whole place out.
He also wants to go back and stay.
"There are 2 pools there, Mom," he told me.  "One is for parties and playing ping pong.  And the other is just for relaxing.  It's really cool."
He really appreciated all the interesting details at the ACE.
That boy is just like his Daddy.

This is my favorite picture of the day.
He's 8 right now, but looking at this picture I can see him at 20 or 40.
And also when he was an infant, eyes wide open, taking it all in.
Oh my James, I do love you so.

His review of the food and drink at The King's Highway:
"Mom, the ACE hotel has reeeally good chocolate milk."

Since I was missing out on the trip, I asked for a souvenir.
My men did not disappoint.

This may be my favorite photo booth strip of all time.

There's such a tug of sadness on my heart as I watch my babies grow up.
But there is also something pretty wonderful about watching them turn into real people, with their own thoughts and ideas, interests and the things that make them who they are.
When James was only a couple of months old, a checker at Trader Joe's looked at him and his eyes wide open take on the world.
"He has an artist soul.  I can tell already," she said.
I think she was right.
How fortunate am I to be married to, and now mother to, such creative men.
It makes for a really interesting and beautiful life.
Happy days indeed!
Love from,
Greta

*All the pictures were taken at the ACE hotel in Palm Springs.  Including the photo booth strip, because they have a photo booth there.  Which makes it one of my favorite spots.