The Hills Are Alive...

Earlier this month we had a glorious cloud day. The day started out normally enough for California--blue sky and all--but way down south I could see mountains of billowing fluff building on the horizon. As the day wore on the clouds separated and moved their way over our heads. By the time the kids got out of school the clouds were calling my name--it was a very "Maria-from-the-Sound-of-Music" moment. I only wanted for a nuns habit and a wide open hill space so I could screech the birds out of their nests. Instead, I loaded up the kids and we drove out to find a good "cloud watching" spot.

Our first two attempts at stopping were thwarted by over-grown trees and a closed high way exit but the third time was a charm. The day was pretty windy, chasing the clouds over our heads before we got a good chance to call out the shapes we saw, but it was still beautiful.

Recently Wyatt has become Adell's Champion. She calls for Wyatt first thing in the morning--largely because he is the only one awake at 6:30 am and gives him lots of hugs. While we were taking our snack break Adell wanted to walk around. Wyatt dutifully carried her over the tall grass (she was afraid to walk over by herself) and walked her up and down the paths. Life is good when you are 1 and a 1/2 and you have a big brother wrapped around your finger.

Later Wyatt let Adell tear down part of the fort/dooms-day-survivalist-colony he had been building. He even appointed two sticks to be guns and one mangled branch to be the jail...

We had frozen blueberries and cookies for after-school snack--maybe not the best choice for a windy day. Lorien wore a skirt to school that day and was too cold to do much more than lay snuggled under a blanket.

I feel like we don't get enough of these kinds of cloudy days in California. Most days the sky is crystal clear blue--unless the quilt of fog is being pulled over the hills. Back East summer days were full of watching the sky as the clouds morphed into recognizable shapes. I love it when we have cloudy days like this in California.