Quiet Home

Well, yesterday morning, Ashley and we were up at 4:30 am to await Sally's arrival to fly with Ashley and the boys to Salt Lake City. Before 5, the boys were in their car seats, hugs were had all around, and Ezra waved as they headed off. Ashley was good enough to tweet and/or call to let us know all had gone well (even though Ezra was a bit squirmy) and they were all reunited with Bryce and Francis.

But for us, and Carolyn in particular, being in our once again quiet home, absent of the cries of Ezra's "Mimi!" or those of Porter wanting to be transfered back into mom's arms, little 'tokens' reminded us of the fun (and challenges) of having the Hales living with us for a month. A binkie in the back seat of the car, a bib draped over the high chair, the miscellaneous Cheerio, our cat seeminly searching for his newest friend, a bedtime story book that won't be re-read for awhile.

Carolyn will be heading to SLC later this month while Bryce is off at a conference, so she will be able to seem them soon, but the daily bath, or request for "up, up", or the walk down to the lake to see the geese through a toddler's eyes - all will be missed. The house is pretty quiet.

Orcas?

DSC_0081, originally uploaded by torhutchins.

On the calm trip over, we saw a small pod with these taller, floppier dorsal fins. Were they orcas or a larger form of dolphin?

Stowaways

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About 17 miles out, we had first one of these stoways land on our lines who was soon joined by three of his friends. The seemed to need a place to rest and were totally fearless as can be seen here. They checked out the cabin and the cockpit before leaving after twenty minutes or so.

Dolphin Escort

DSC_0008, originally uploaded by torhutchins.

Dennis, Stephen and I motor-sailed to Catalina this weekend under overcast skies and very calm seas. We again enjoyed being greeted by a huge pod of dolphins who effortlessly kept up with us and played off the bow as we made our way toward the island. I have plenty more photos on my flickr page.

The Collector

The Collector, originally uploaded by torhutchins.

Ezra enjoyed his first Easter egg hunt with grandparents and parents pointing out the plastic eggs (no chocolate) and Ezra added to the hunt by picking up a few extra items.

Greatgrandson

Greatgrandson, originally uploaded by torhutchins.

Wanda joined us in a visit to Ashley and Bryce's for Easter dinner and an opportunity to meet her newest grandson, Anderson Porter Hales. Bryce cooked a great tri-tip, Carolyn provided roasted vegetables and fresh fruit, and Ashley started it with appetizers and finished it with a great homemade cheesecake. All of it was great!

Ezra Welcomes Porter

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A sweet kiss from Ezra, Sunday morning in the hospital welcomes him to the family.

Anderson Porter Hales

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Carolyn holds and welcomes our second grandson, Anderson Porter Hales, with love and kindness. He came quickly into this world on Sunday morning, March 22, after about 3 hours of labor for Ashley and 5 minutes in the hospital!

Anderson comes from Carolyn's grandmother's side of the family (and Ashley's middle name) while Porter is Bryce's grandfather's middle name and which will be what their number two will be called.

Carolyn is staying overnight to help with Ezra and we expect Ashley and Ezra to return to their home tomorrow, Monday.

UPDATE: Corrected Porter's birthday - Ashley is right, March was previously reserved for her.

Hail Hail

CIMG4627, originally uploaded by torhutchins.

Carolyn called me around 8:15 Tuesday morning to let me know our home had just been pummeled with hail! It covered our backyard, the street and the common area with a blanket of faux snow. You can check my flickr site for more pictures.

Valentine Weekend

DSC_0007, originally uploaded by torhutchins.

Well, I had to share my bride this Valentine's weekend with another male in her life, our grandson, Ezra. Ashley and Bryce had requested our babysitting "talents" last autumn for a two day marriage seminar put on by their church. Carolyn drove down there mid-afternoon Friday, and I drove down from Upland through rain slowed traffic after work which took a mere 2:45!

We had a good time with Ezra except he didn't really want to keep to his schedule for sleeping and was definitely missing his mom. So instead of first going down at 7:30 it was more like 10:00, and his wakings during the night probably lasted longer than normal because mom and dad weren't there. We enjoyed playing with blocks, reading books, eating, and taking a long walk around the neighborhood. We even stopped in for lunch at Fuddruckers and Ezra had his own sliders.

He went down for a nap around 2:00 and so did we! Ashley and Bryce returned around 5 and Ezra was sure glad to see them. Bryce and I picked up Valentine's dinner at a good pizza place; we just should have asked for the olives to be shaped like a heart. Then it was off to home and a good night's rest.

DSC_0035, originally uploaded by torhutchins.

Winter Hibernation

Well, Carolyn has been bugging me to blog again which sent me to blogger to find that it has been nearly 3 months! I guess I've been in a blogger hibernation since the election and the subsequent holidays. I can only blame my laziness or lack of inspiration for my failures.

This weekend was once again a beautiful one in Southern California and after a few chores - washing both cars, doing a couple loads of laundry, taking the vacuum cleaner to get repaired, etc. - Carolyn and I made a picnic lunch and took it down to our lake. We'd thought about going to Irvine park, but the day had sorta of gotten away from us so we stayed very local.

I spread a blanket on the grass and we ate tuna fish sandwiches and ate navel orange slices while watching the three resident swans slowly paddle by. One had its wings slightly open like the images you see of the "Tunnel of Love" boats. Then, the largest decided to come ashore and slowly waddled towards us, followed quickly by the two others. Carolyn, having experienced their aggressiveness before on a paddle boat ride with Darla, grabbed her sandwich and drink and moved away while I rescued her shoes, my sandwich and the brownies. (I might consider laying down my life for good chocolate!) I retreated a bit as the big fella nipped at me, and then I reached in and grabbed our blanket. Carolyn commented that she was glad Ezra wasn't with us as he might have really been afraid.

Anyway, we gathered ourselves together and finished our meal on the front porch while watching the local game re-take the grassy knoll at the end of our street.