Summer starts in Vancouver

Coming home after being away for five months, everything was new again for the girls. New and wonderful. They were excited to see their friends, their toys, their books, etc. What a huge amount of stuff they have, that we didn't bring to California!

One of the greatest joys for us to be back in Vancouver was our kitchen. It was so much more difficult to cook or bake in there, particularly with little ones in the mix. As soon as we got home, we (all) got back into it. Here's Tivona making some Father's Day muffins for me.



And here they all are.



The girls both had tricks they wanted to show off for my new phone-camera (ironically much better than our point-and-shoot). In this 105s special-moment video, Taya flaps her arms and T'n'T both sing, then Tiva shows her mischievous self dropping her cutlery.



Tivona pretending to clap, Taya and Tiva singing

T'n'T and I continued to be silly, in new ways with old things. Here they show off the pillow-heads we invented together.



Interestingly, we are even closer to a playground (Selkirk) back at home than we were in Goleta, even though we had one in the complex in Goleta. And it offered new challenges. Tiva--barely walking when we left--was already running, as she shows in this 16s special-moment video.



Tivona running for a flying disc

But we all missed California, for lots of reasons. In fact, we all missed Dr. O'Hara, our Goleta chiropractor. She did such great things for both Ljuba and I, and also for the girls. So, Tiva would sing, “The Dr. O’Haras on the bus say ‘Crack, crack, crack!’, ‘Crack, crack, crack!’, ‘Crack, crack, crack!’...”

Less beach and ocean time back in Vancouver, but much more forest. We got back into hiking/trail running once a week, and it makes us all peaceful. Here's Tiva and I snacking.



And here's Ljuba with Tivona and Taya on the Lynn Canyon suspension bridge. Because the weather was pretty poor in June, the trails were relatively empty, even on weekends.



And in this 82s special-moment video, you can see Taya and Tivona playing hide-and-seek right there by the bridge.



Hide and seek at Lynn Canyon

The girls grew so close over those months away, as Tiva became a truly interactive little girl. In this 36s special-moment video, see Taya icing a boo-boo on her toe and receiving a cuddle from her little sister.



Tivona hugs Taya after Taya's toe boo-boo

We all returned a month before my (Kai's) sabbatical was fully over for several work reasons, including a workshop I hosted with Terre at the Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies. The girls didn't get to meet all these wonderful people, but they did have a wonderful dinner with Neil and Mary Anne.



Amazingly, Tiva stayed in her infant car seat (32" max height) until we returned from Cali. Good thing, given that US car seats don't meet Canadian standards. Anyway, the box presented Ljuba with an opportunity to rejuvenate her cardboard-creations from California. Here's Taya and Tiva in their brand new car!



Even though the Duplo was one of the few toys we brought on our travels, both of the girls still play with it all the time. Here's Tiva with her high chair for the little man.



And then it was Canada Day! A local park has a fun little Canada Day celebration with ponies, so we jetted up there after nap time to get Tiva her first pony ride ever. Taya was excited about it too, and an old pro. Here's a 27s special-moment video of Tiva riding the pony a little nervously.



Tivona's Canada Day pony ride

The balloons were also a big hit. Here's Taya with a couple.



And here's Grandpa and Nanna with Taya. It was wonderful to have a few days with them.



In this 39s everyday-life video, you can see Tivona and Taya rehearsing Nanna's hand-washing ditty, "Rub-a-dub-dub".



T'n'T saying Rub-a-dub-dub

Tiva really missed Nanna and Grandpa after they left. Both Tivona and Taya, actually, although they show it very differently. Taya internalizes it and gets anxious and cranky, much more easily set off. Tivona mourns in a more open, peaceful way. After they had left, Tiva called out after nap time, "Nanna and Grandpa!"
KC: "Nanna and Grandpa have left already. They're going to Malaysia."
TK, quietly, "Yes." (She really does say 'Yes,' very clearly enunciated.)
KC: "I bet they miss you. Do you miss them too?"
TK, trembling, "Yes."
… (later)
TK: "Nanna and Grandpa!"
LK: "Nanna and Grandpa are on a plane now."
TK: "Yes…. Hug Nanna and Grandpa."

In California, we basked in the gorgeous weather and breathed in the salty ocean air, and we knew we'd miss it hugely when we left. In Vancouver, we have our own wonders, and we enjoy them every bit as much as we remembered and knew we would. Here's Taya on a glorious hike at Capilano Reservoir.



The girls actively play together in a surprisingly collaborative way. Together the conspired a plan for Tiva to lie down and be rolled up, 'swaddled', delicately and neatly by Taya in one of their blankets, while they both giggled and laughed. It's such a joy to watch them.

Of course, they also co-conspire other play, that isn't so innocent. Doing silly things with food, e.g., massaging avocado into Tiva's hair. Funny how it's almost always Tiva's clothes, hair, etc. Here's a less messy creation of Tiva's, a cracker and cucumber peanut butter sandwich.



In July, we were all keenly anticipating our trip back to Toronto. As a function of our sabbatical travels, we hadn't been back since Sep 2011, and we were really missing family and friends. Tiva showed her eagerness for the trip partly through her obsession with a book called "The Noisy Airplane Ride", which she wanted to read over and over again. And every time it ended, she would exclaim, "Toronto! Going to Toronto!" and "Nanna and Grandpa!"

Unfortunately, Tivona got sick not long before our trip. In fact, she was sick on and off for weeks, which was strange. Unsurprisingly, we all got a little dose of it, although Ljuba had very little. It's hard to avoid getting something when they're such effective little disease vectors. A few days before I got sick, just before I realized that Tivona was sick, Tiva and I had been snuggling in a way that had her licking and rubbing her nose all over my mouth and nose. It seemed cute at the time. She's hard to resist! Even when we knew she was sick. She was understandably still eager to kiss and cuddle, going after us persistently, saying, "Wosey nosey! Wosey nosey! Wosey nosey!" Which is her 'Rosy nosy', a kiss that entails rubbing noses. Ah, we'll take a rain cheque, sweet heart.

While T'n'T were both still sick (just before the Naturopath's magic tinctures cured them in a blink), we figured it might be good for Tivona to have some chill time coming to the hairdresser with me. Taya used to come often, but Tivona had only been once with Taya to chaperon, so it was a bit of a risk. Tiva routinely runs off and does things you explicitly ask her not to do, even sternly, without any concern. But she was golden. Here's an 11s special-moment video of her at the end of the haircut.



Tivona at Dada's hairdresser's

If only our trip to Toronto had been so smooth….

Homeward Bound

Hitting the road was no mean feat. I thought that packing from home was always more difficult than packing on the road. That may usually be true, but not when you've had time to sprawl into a place and accumulate a whole bunch of extra stuff, as we did in Goleta. Anyway, packing up from home was super hard, so even if packing from Goleta was just as bad, that's bad enough!

Of course I didn't have the wherewithal to take any pics or videos during that cataclysm of packing action. But the next day I got a couple of pics of the car, fully loaded.



Here Tiva came running to me for a hug. She went through a period of needing lots of Dada time, which was nice.



One of the first places that we visited was Morro Bay. It was gorgeous, and the girls enjoyed a little time outside. Here's Tivona.



Here's Taya.



And Ljuba with Taya, too.



There were a couple of driftwood shelters on the beach.



The girls loved playing in them.



Tiva became even more vocal over the course of the trip. She loved singing the 'wheels on the bus' song, and loved singing it about family. E.g., "TK: "Auntie 'Lisa … bus … sweetie pie," meaning "Auntie Elisa on the bus says 'sweetie pie', 'sweetie pie', 'sweetie pie', …"

And she started asking what everything was called: "That one called," she'd say again and again.

Ljuba and I had very fond memories of the Big Sur Coast. It did not disappoint!





In Monterey (Pacific Grove), we were fortunate to have the wildlife come to us. The girls loved seeing the deer.



We stayed in Monterey for a couple of nights to enjoy that area. We discovered that it really does help to call if we wanted to secure a suite with a separate room, as this was the first of two inns that had one name for two kinds of suites. Ljuba and I walked around the grounds while the girls fell asleep, then hung out in the corridor to the bathroom. Ay.

Our exploring day was much more fun than those evenings, as we went back at Point Lobos. We saw lots of harbour seals swimming in the kelp. It was enticing, but far too cold for us to try the same.



Seals swimming at Point Lobos

The girls found it all delightful!



We had snack at a gorgeous secluded little pebble beach.



And then went on to see sea otters, and other wildlife. Of course the otters weren't close enough for a good pic, but this squirrel was. ;)



Back into the overflowing car--time to move on again!



On the way out we had a chance to explore Carmel by the Sea. What a gorgeous place. It's interesting to me how the things that hold the attention of little ones are small and at-hand.



And with a best example yet--small enough to fit in Tiva's mouth.



Whereas our attention is held by rather bigger objects.





And like me climbing these big rocks.



But then, I know I'm fascinated by the little things too.



Next stop: Mountain View. Tivona and Taya both remembered the luggage carts from the hotel on El Camino Real. Fondly!



Luggage cart!

It was so great to see Marian, Melanie, and Cody again.



And to meet Ella! Ljuba and the girls got to spend a lot of time with them (especially Melanie and Ella) while I was at Stanford for a couple of days' work. Nice to have my bike for the ride in, just like old times.



We had the good fortune of spending the afternoon of the solar eclipse with them. M&M had eclipse glasses, that allowed one to look at the sun without fear of eye damage. Amazing! Also amazing was the crescent pattern of shadows peeking through the leaves, which you can see dappled on the wall of M&M's house.



Taya was inspired by the experience, and pretended to look through a telescope (or monocle) back in our hotel room.



The girls also had some time exploring with Ljuba, at some of our old haunts, like at Shoreline Park. They saw geese and goslings, played on the sailboat playground, and in the dirt.



From there we drove through the city by the bay (San Francisco), had an unfortunate misadventure trying to go to Muir Woods (only to discover that all the parking lots fill up on nice days, even on May weekdays), and arrived at Fort Bragg. During our exploring day, we had a wonderful time at the Point Cabrillo lighthouse. Here's me walking in the fog/sea spray with the girls, while Ljuba did a little run (I'd just finished mine).



And on the Skunk Train. (Here's Ljuba with Taya and Tiva.)



Fort Bragg also had a fun toy store, where Tivona and Taya had a blast exploring the wares. Here's Tiva filling her shopping cart (28s special-moment video below). Too bad she had to put it all back. Fortunately, she was a good sport about it.



Tiva shopping for toys

After Fort Bragg, we travelled through big redwood country. What glorious trees.





Taya and Tiva ate their snacks (here) and explored.



And then we were in Arcata with Nathan again. We got to see the Kinetic Grand Championship, and all its amazing human-made and human-powered bio-kinetic amphibious machines, like this blue heron.



Tiva played with the blinds again (below) and Dozer (here).



We said good-bye to Nathan, and we were on our way again.



Next stop, Coos Bay, OR, our least favourite of all our stops. We had fun, though, despite the mosquitos, the cold rainy weather, the lack of chairs and tables in our room.



Tivona continued to come out with new sayings. I loved the way that she began to take a real interest in babies, and to see them as much smaller than herself (to me she still feels tiny). "Baby! Tiny baby!" she exclaimed.

After becoming reacquainted with stairs, and after we told her to be careful, when any of us climbed stairs, "Careful!", "Careful, Taya!", "Careful, Dada!"

And she said the names of all kinds of things we didn't know she knew. Starting the timer on my watch (she learned this on her own), she announced "Timer!" And after creating a car-like vehicle with Lego, "Grass cutter!" She undoubtedly learns much of this from Taya, who has thoroughly taken Tiva under her wing and tries to teach her everything she knows.

Then we were off again. Tiva had a little sit in the grass at an elk-viewing spot.



And we got several great pics of the elk.





Our final stop was Olympia/Tumwater, Washington. We had a great lunch at a Thai restaurant, where we received the following (all SO fitting) fortunes:
Lj: A positive attitude shines through the clouds (or something like that--she didn't let me save the paper copy!)
TK: Wealth and prosperity are in your future
TS: Getting together with old friends brings new adventures
KC: Recognize when it is advisable to compromise

We had a great little walk on the boardwalk in Olympia, and another at Tumwater Falls.



And then before we knew it we were over the border and back in Canada! Yay, for Canada!