[R] Party in Eburg!

Momma Horse's Birthday (and, apparently, it is horse Mother's Day, too).

[R + W] Let's Do It! Let the Freaking Out Begin!

We here in A+land would like to take a moment to shout our joy to the top of every mountain in the world, for our sweet Ellie has tackled her final surgery and emerged kicking and screaming and mad as hell and we are so proud of and overjoyed for A+ Canada. WaHoo, A+, WAHOO!!!!!!!!!!

[C] Naked Pleasure

Can you remember when the simplest things in life made you the happiest? Today E and I walked down the street to our favorite neighborhood cafe, which was celebrating its fifth anniversary with free ice cream and balloons. When you're two going on three, there is nothing better than ice cream (and when you're an adult, free is always good). Throw in balloons, and you're talkin' heaven. All the way home E was walking on air, then decided it would be fun to tear through our apartment buck naked while yelling at the top of her lungs, "Let's do it! Freak it out!" I am unsure of the meaning or derivation of "freak it out," but evidently it is reserved for especially exciting occasions. Now, it's entirely possible that this ecstasy was the result of a pralines-n-cream-induced sugar high, but there was something so fantastic, so pure, so joyful - and so infectious - about seeing such unadulterated pleasure (although I managed to keep my clothes on). Would that we all felt like that a lot more often...!

Luckily, attired for modesty here

[C] Yearbook Yuks

OK, I have now officially spent way too much time playing around with Yearbook Yourself when I could have been sleeping or editing or doing any number of more productive things. Why does this stuff amuse me so much? Here are a few of my favorite faux photos... ah, memories.

[W] A Day at the Fair

We hit the fair with Grandma this week and had a rootin' tootin' good time. The highlight for me personally was seeing the Doggies of the Wild West Show which features a whole pack of trained chihuahuas who alternate between sitting in and on a chihuahua-sized wagon and doing exciting tricks. We happened upon it and I tell you, those fifteen minutes were worth the price of admission.

Other fun and exciting fair happenings included feeding goats and a calf, petting chicks and puppies, exploring an antique school bus, wandering a corn maze, and checking out a monster truck up close. I do love a good fair, and San Diego's got a great one. I've really got to get it together to enter a contest and go for a blue ribbon someday.

-W.

[C] Beach Baby

E took to the beach - well, I guess the expression "like a fish to water" is appropriate. Her first time at the shore was a big splash. Sandwiched between a string of stormy days, we lucked out with just a slightly overcast sky, which made for a very comfortable afternoon. E enjoyed picking up (and dramatically discarding) shells, making footprints in wet sand, building sand castles (which is perhaps overstating the architecture somewhat), and barely escaping the grasp of many foamy waves. In reality, the closer call was avoiding aggressive seagulls dive-bombing for our lunches, but all in all it was a perfectly pleasant trip to the seaside. Here's hoping for many happy returns...

[C] Under the Sea

Things I do to amuse myself... I mean, to entertain my daughter. My latest masterpiece is a montage of Little Mermaid characters, as rendered in Wikki Stix. Clearly the artist (that would be me) intended to comment on the neodialectic tension between traditional children's "fairy tales" and their manifestation in patriarchal narrative, and to critique the commodity fetishism of contemporary pop-cultural production. Oh, and there's something deep about the human condition in there too. Yes, this is indeed the apogee of art as we know it.

Ariellie: Amusement. 2009. Wikki Stix on melamine, 10" x 7" (25.4 x 17.8 cm).

[C] Toronto Reunion

During H and N and C's recent visit to Toronto (see sidebar slideshow) we celebrated C's fifth birthday, made cookies and dyed Easter eggs, took a ferry ride to the Toronto Islands, ate at our favorite restaurants... it was a wonderful weekend full of fun and lots of laughs. It was particularly memorable seeing C and E play together, but it flew by way too quickly. Which is the only problem with such a reunion - it only highlights how far away we are from our dream of an A+ cul-de-sac. Whatever happened to being neighbors with your friends and family? These days we all end up living where we work rather than the other way around, and when work takes you so far away from loved ones, you gotta wonder whether it's worth the trade-off. Sometimes people who are farthest away somehow still remain the closest people in your life, but it sure would be a whole lot easier and a whole lot nicer if they were right around the corner. Until then, I'll take what I can get and be grateful for it.

[R] We LOVE Trucks

Connie and Ellie's collage inspired me to post this collection of photos by Adele. We love trucks (vehicles of any kind, really).

[C] Orange Scavenger

I have just discovered a new artistic outlet. And a fun way to spend a day or two. And an excuse to use my camera's macro function. In any event, it's a current favorite activity for me and E. We've been on a scavenger hunt for colors lately, searching for images to add to a photo collage. I got this idea from my friend J, whose Greenday provided the original inspiration. In honor of H's upcoming visit we chose orange, her signature color, for our first foray. This is a great exercise in observation and awareness, whether you're two or thirty-something... amazing what you see when you really start looking. Most of these pictures were taken right inside our apartment. What color should we try next?