Prayer

Nora Lee has started wanting to pray before meals. At grandma's house we often hold hands and say a prayer of gratitude which I really enjoy. It's been so sweet to have Nora Lee continue that practice here at home. She likes us to hold hands and she leads us in prayer. It often goes something like this, "Thank you for this wonderful food and this beautiful Shire, Amen." This morning after saying "Thank you for this food, Amen" she said "I like praying. It is so calm and soft and fun."

The Knight

Yesterday Matt and the Dust Bowl Cavaliers had a show at a folk event out at a state park in Malibu. It took place in an amphitheater where the sound was incredible and the audience ate it up. We stopped for burgers and milkshakes on our way home. All in all, it was a perfect day and then came the icing on the cake.

As we were driving home I saw this knight near a trash can with a bunch of other stuff. As we passed, I said, "Did you guys see that!" Matt turned around and we admired this unusual sight. "I want it! We can't let it get thrown away," I said. So we raced home (just another block or two) dumped Matt's bass, which takes up the whole car, and went back for it.

As I dragged it inside our house I was laughing wondering where the heck I was gonna put such an object. I told Nora Lee she could put it in her room and she said, "Really?!" So I put it in her room next to her bed and she decided he would watch over her and keep her safe in the night. He's not the full size of a man but he is about 5 feet tall and about 2 feet wide and made of thin metal. So cool!

As we were trying to come up with a name for him, Matt told her that his name should start with Sir...Nora Lee said, "How about Sir-vivor". We thought that was hilarious. Don't know if the name will stick but his first night in our home he was known as Sir-vivior.

Topanga Blue Grass Festival

Matt's blue grass band, the Dust Bowl Cavaliers, played at the Topanga Blue Grass festival last month. This festival is incredible and brings out all the best in this field of music. It takes place on Paramount Ranch in Malibu and incredible musicians play not only on stage but jams break out all over the place - under a tree, by the pizza stand, you name it. Its really fun to see!

The Dust Bowl Cavaliers were a big hit, no surprise, and we had a blast.

Hogarth

Isn't he just adorable?! What a sweetheart and is madly in love with Nora Lee. He follows her around and sleeps in her bed.

Nora Lee

Nora Lee is 3 and 1/2 now and so full of life. She loves playing with other kids and is completely obsessed with two things - Lord of the Rings and Into the Woods, the musical. Her Lord of the Rings passion came about after seeing Matt in a musical parody of Lord of the Rings called Fellowship about a year and a half ago. It was her first play and she went to a special rehearsal where young kids were allowed to attend. She was one of three children who lasted the entire play and the other two kids were about 8 years old. She LOVED it!

Flash forward a year and a half and she is still singing the songs and regularly wants us to act out the whole saga of Frodo's journey. She has been begging for a Frodo costume and here is what we have put together so far.



She still insists that she needs a wig and a cape with a hood. So, if any of you see one or know how to make a cape, let me know!! She is introducing herself to people these days as Frodo Baggins-Nora Lee. When she did that to an older gentleman at the park while with grandma he said, "Grandparents these days just dont get a say in what our grandkids are called!" To which my mom replied, "Oh, thats just her name this week." He shyly understood.

Her other love is the musical Into the Woods. For those of you not familiar with it, its an incredible show and one of my favorites. It focuses on a bunch of fairy tale characters who travel into the woods to find something that will make their lives better and then, the actual outcome. Nora Lee has seen the Broadway version on DVD and we listen to the soundtrack daily. She is getting quite good at the songs, which is no small feat I may add! We're trying to get video of her doing it.

She is having trouble finding other 3 years old who share her passions, but we are working on it. I also want to give her opportunities to perform, but those too are for older kids. She and Matt are going to a children's theater performance of Beauty and the Beast today and she is thrilled.





One day she asked me if she could have a popsicle and soak her feet - hilarious!



This image made me laugh so hard. Just a regular day watching a movie, wearing a gown...and a bicycle helmet.

Our Garden

For those of you who haven't been to our house in a while, we have turned most of our front yard into a vegetable and fruit garden. We have three 10 x 5 wooden boxes on what used to be our front lawn. Two years ago I planted several fruit trees which are just starting to produce - peach, apricot, apple, fig, and lowquat. We have two old trees in the back, lemon and orange, which produce plentifully. I'm dreaming of adding grape vines and some berry bushes.



In the beginning of March we planted a bunch by seed but they were eaten by the squirrels. We've taught Nora Lee to shake her fist and holler, "Those darn squirrels!" It was the first time I tried planting directly into the ground rather than growing plants in tiny pots and transplanting them later. I really just provided a squirrel buffet for a few days.

In any case, I bought plants and replaced everything that had been eaten and began growing the following: zucchini, yellow squash, tomatoes, butternut squash and cucumbers. A few weeks ago we began harvesting the zucchini and cucumbers and are having a plentiful harvest, to say the least!




We are regularly bringing in bucketfuls of squash and cucumbers. I have made six loaves of zucchini bread and just shredded and froze enough zucchini to make 21 more loaves! I just began making chocolate, chocolate chip zucchini bread with cinnamon and walnuts. Delicious!!



Our tomatoes are on the way and I've just cleared out more space in the yard to grow more. We are having a blast!