happy easter!

we're celebrating with our traditional neighborhood brunch and egg hunt, then off to the barn to celebrate a special birthday.

wishing you and yours a joyful easter, and happy spring!

Class of 2015

yesterday, E culminated from 8th grade. I still don't have my head around the fact that she is headed to high school. (though we've completed her registration and gone to orientation, and dug into her summer reading already!)




today, K culminated from 5th grade. this one was especially bittersweet as this school has been at the heart of our lives for the last 10 years. it seems like yesterday I was carrying her on my hip as we walked E to kindergarten. I have learned so very much about so very much in these 10 years. public education. community. equity vs. equality. pedagogy. leadership. and the importance of being able to let go. I love this school. I love the community that surrounds it. I love all it stands for. it doesn't have the highest test scores, or the richest booster club, but I have met few other groups of students who are more civic minded kids. their level of empathy and inclusion continually impresses me. they give me hope.




K gave one of the culmination addresses, and touched on all the aspects of her school experience that made it special for her. in a nutshell, community. "Grow Where You Are Planted", she said.

as they head off to our neighborhood middle and high school, I have no doubt they will.





now off for ice cream!

play ball

and here we are again, three years later and the little is up to bat for the 5th grade students vs. staff baseball game. the tradition of this is deep. i have neighbors who had kids here in the 60s and 70s who remember attending their child's game. so sweet.









bittersweet, in this is really the beginning of the end. this has been an incredibly special group of kids.

one more week of school...

my neighbor dede brought me this treasure last week. she knows my soft-spot for all things community building. how fun it would be to revive this - but i fear not very practical. perhaps as a e-blast?

this is just a taste. it is full of reports from the different neighborhood committees, including the "tender-agers" (1-5), teenagers, game club and so on. two pages are dedicated to all the neighborhood birthdays (listing by name) in july, august, and september. there are a couple of profiles on neighbors "The People Among Us" and a "Party Line" column that seems to be keeping up with the "gossip" of the 'hood:

Pat Humber went to Hawaii after two years of saving and planning. I understand it was well worth the effort. The Sullivans and Laskers "spent" some time in Las Vegas the early part of summer...


its is also a great document of the times. 1960 in the SFV. Stay-at-home moms. Busy fathers. Teens gathering at swimming pools and planning trips to Zuma and Pacific Ocean Park:

...the whole bunch of us went to P.O.P. (Pacific Ocean Park. It was a real blast and I really hope we plan another outing to P.O.P. real soon. There were just millions - well, maybe not millions - but there were a whole bunch of rides and every one of them was kicks. We all dreaded going home..."

love the ads.  all small, local.  sigh.

would love to find more of these, and start an archive at the school.

old habits

you know what they say...





this is the last month of habit. over the last six years it has been such a gift to visit and peek inside lives of women all over the world. the sparse words and images have always inspired me, as a woman, wife, mom, and photographer. it has been an honor to be part of this community, a guest there over the years, and i am thrilled to be participating in this, the final month.

hope you can stop by. xo

BOO! 2014

there was the school parade (our last!) this afternoon followed by the usual neighborhood festivities. this was the 8th year for our neighborhood parade, and the first i've missed. (thanks for the pic john!) our girls are growing up - and strangely it was the younger who opted out and instead chose to help at halloween festivities at our beloved ranch. i joined her, and the eldest daughter took over the reigns and led the way, before heading out to trick-or-treat with friends.

k decided months ago that she wanted to be Annabeth Chase from the Percy Jackson series
e hemmed and hawed but finally settled on a biker, joined by her BFF

d and i (sadly no pictures) dressed up as "Mr. and Mrs. H. Potter"

i love Hallowe'en. love that its a day we roam our neighborhood amongst familiar faces and visit neighbors. love that our elderly ladies on the street still pull out their lawn chairs and witches hats for our parade. love that there is a new group of neighbors joining in and taking on the organization and hosting of the night's events. i love the costumes and the energy and the candy! happy hallowe'en!

campout 2014 edition

i can't help myself. this is the 6th year we have done this. it has changed - as have we all - but the heart of it remains the same.


































so blessed to have these people in our life.


2013
2012
2011
2010
2009

6th (maybe 7th) annual parade

so this year my kid was officially the oldest who participated in the parade. there are a good number of littles in the 'hood now. fun to see the next generation connect - kids and parents.

we walk

in celebration of "walktober" we held another walk-to-school event(we also participated in International Walk to School Day earlier in the month) with some very special guests: Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, LAUSD Superintendent Dr. John Deasy & Los Angeles City Councilmember Bob Blumenfield.








photos courtesy LADOT

we are lucky enough to get to walk to school every day. i know it won't last forever, our middle school is not within walking distance, but for now we are enjoying every minute. not only does it start our day with some fresh air and gets the blood flowing, but it is precious time for k and I to talk and connect as we mosey along, picking up friends along the way. it builds connections and community.

i've been fortunate enough to work with the Safe Routes to Schools National Partnership, and encourage any who are interested in starting to walk to school to check them out. walk on ;)

......

last night was our 6th progressive dinner. it was so very good to be together. to get to know each other better. to meet new neighbors. to know that we are raising our girls in a community filled with love. we had over 80 people come through 4 neighbors' homes. so good to know we live in a place where strangers can be invited in to share a meal and leave connected.




























(this morning e brought up what happened in CT on friday. she'd found out through an image her cousin had posted on instagram. she showed me the picture she had saved on her phone of the young teacher who is now gone. i told her she was a hero. i told her to remember there are so many good people in the world. so many. we need to hold onto that. and we need to - collectively - find ways to stop this kind of thing from ever happening again. though i am not sure what those ways are. i do feel that the answer isn't found in building higher fences. in installing metal detectors. in preparing people for this to happen again. that can't be the answer. i am confident k doesn't know anything about it. i don't feel that her beautiful 8 yr old self needs to know. this is a good read on that subject.)