Too Cool for School

Some Saturdays you just want to sit around in your shades.  I'm not sure if Mary Jane is signing any autographs today.  But if you're willing to blow bubbles in the back yard, she may be willing to follow you.

Bunnies Not Feeling the Thanksgiving Love

For some unknown reason, the bunnies at the Erb household are not too thankful.  It's that time of year when the humans seem to be thankful for things but the bunnies come off as mildly unappreciative.

The bunnies nailed a seven-point plan on the back door, in much the same manner as Martin Luther did with his 99 Theses so long ago.  Mister John took a look and wasn't sure what to think of it:

The girls are not so happy to swap sleeping locations with the rabbits.

1. Allow more hopping time in the back yard for rabbits.
2. More time inside the house while the little children sleep in the cages.
3. More insulation on the cold winter nights.
4. Satellite TV.
5. Finely engraved carrots.
6. Free towing.
7. More stuffing and mashed potatoes on Thanksgiving Day.

Miss Jill is unsure about some of these (Mister John is perplexed at #6) but maybe compromises are to be had.

Cookie Sue thinking about her demands.

A True Family Photo

Now that is a family photo.  We used the letters of our last name -- which are situated high up in the living room -- and allowed our little ones to hold them for a precious birth announcement photos.  Jack was about a month old (maybe younger) for a sequence of photos for his birth announcement.  Betsy has a quiet smile about her and Mary Jane's hair is tossed about like she's her father!

Best photo ever... of course if my last name were Johnson, I might think otherwise.

Girls on the Farm

 A few weeks back the girls went to Underwood Farms and had a great time riding on the tractor as well as picking berries and sitting on pumpkins.  Tis the season for pumpkins!!!

 Jack is hidden underneath my sling.

OK, maybe too many berries for Betsy Jo Jo.

Half-Marathon Result

Full Results

John Erb

Los Angeles, CA
Bib #: 1458 | 41M

Time: 2:21:46
Pace: 10:49/M
Division: HALF MARATHON

Overall Place: 858/1791 | 47.9%
Age Group: M 40-44
Age Group Place: 76/126 | 60.3%

Visiting Grandpa on the Fourth

 After running a 10K for the first time in probably a decade, Mister John rested for a few hours before heading eastward with Miss Jill and the two girls to visit his sister's house.  There Mary Jane and Betsy Jo got to spend some time with cousins Garrett, Trevor, and Manny (the eldest of the whole cousin brood).  There was also an Aunt Jo and Uncle Jose sighting which is good for Mary Jane as she quite the memory and it makes it all the easier for her to look at pictures and point at them with the proper names.

In this picture, it's Aunt Pat, Daddy, Betsy, and Aunt Jo.  Alas, Mary Jane was already in her car seat when this impromptu picture was taken.  Pat and Jo were talking about sibling rivalry and how sisters bicker about certain things... perfect to know before Mary Jane and Betsy Jo get older.  Then again Mommy also had an older sister so she knows all about that.

Sleepy Bunnies... Or Not!

 Mommy is celebrating because Daddy is done with grad school for the semester.  No more Wednesday nights of Mary Jane trying to test Mommy's resolve while she fakes going to sleep.  But poor Mary Jane does have a nagging cold this week so she wasn't totally trying to work the guilt trip on Mommy.

 Cupcake?  Gimme some of that!

There's some yummy food for Betsy.

Cooking in the Kitchen

After Daddy cleaned the back yard kitchen with Mary Jane and Betsy Jo this afternoon, Mary Jane decided to cook her own meal.  Wisely using the microwave, Mary Jane cooked her pretzel with a great deal more efficiently.  After all was completed, she proudly proclaimed, "It's my lunch!"  Yes, it is your lunch... and a good one at that.

Bunnies Not Amused by Basketball Tournament

The only March Madness that Ruby Jane wishes for is a huge bucket of carrots.  That is all.  Rabbit Independence Day is coming...

Shifting into Park

Mary Jane and Betsy Jo had a great time a few weekends ago in a Westwood park (the area just outside of UCLA, fight fight fight).  They ran about and played for quite a while and tried out all the different apparatus that they could.

Watch out, here come the furiously furry feet of Mary Jane.

 Betsy Jo has an interesting way of going down slides.  She climbs on her belly and slides down backwards.  No reason to lie on her back and ease down the slide. This way she can keep an eye on the  camera-holding parent, in this case Mommy.

Betsy was not so keen on the large banana swing.  She kept begging to go into it but then wanted out as soon as she started swinging.  Oh well, that happens.  You can't always get what you want, Betsy.  But if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need.

Mary Jane in the Tunnel

Tunnel!!!  Mary Jane starts her way through with the help of Daddy at the far end and Mommy with the camera on the near end.

Happy baby!

Betsy rocks back and forth and is in her own happy land. Seeing pictures like this puts Mommy and Daddy in a happy land too.

Pope Francis

Mary Jane shows her appreciation for the new pope in this video.

Banner!

It's been a good month or so for banners!  And by the way, thank you, Utah, for finishing off the Ducks to give us the conference title.  It was an inconsistent year but that's what you get with three freshmen starting.  Now onto the conference tournament and beyond...

Betsy Starving Like a Bunny

I want my food!

Look at this poor girl to the right.  Little Miss Bets is sitting there looking so hungry.  She has her bib on but no food whatsoever.  If she were a rabbit, she'd thump her foot and say, "Typical."  Yes, our rabbits can talk.  Yours cannot?  Well, that's a problem between you and your rabbits now, isn't it.

As for Betsy, she was fed shortly after this picture and said, "Thank you."  Then she threw her bottle to the ground in protest.

Cherry Bugg would be proud.

Busy Days in the Desert

 As the previous video stated, Miss Jill and Mister John were out visiting family in Arizona over Presidents' Day weekend.  Nothing quite says the desert like riding through the dry wilderness as seen on the picture to the left.  Mister John is looking stylish in his prescription Ray-Bans.  Being cool and being able to see; there's a combo for ya.

Grampa Kendall kept an eye on the girls in the back yard.  Betsy Jo and Mary Jane walked here, there, and everywhere in search of birds, lizards, and rocks.  They found many of each.  Mary Jane was looking for a rabbit in a rabbit hole when suddenly a lizard popped out!  Oh goodness!  Hopefully she won't be afraid of lizards for the rest of her life now.

Here Miss Jill is getting the Desert Mobile ready to ride through the dry Arizona desert.  Not much to show there of cacti.  Some other pictures had them but not with Miss Jill styling behind the steering wheel.  She made sure that she hit the bumps nice and fast to scare her husband into thinking she was trying to kill him.

There's Doug the Dog.  He showed up on Saturday and Betsy and Mary Jane didn't really know what to do.  They prefer rabbits and most of the dogs they have met were of the scrawny kind.  At least Doug was a real sized dog, not one of those who could be carried by idiot Hollywood starlets.

Betsy Jo wasn't big on it at first but she managed to like being carried by her dad in a walking carrier.  He put in a decent hike with her as the sun set behind them in the Arizona desert.  Note: such rosy cheeks in Arizona for Betsy.  Maybe it was the dry climate.  Ironic as she was born in Lake Havasu City... you'd think she were a native city girl with her reaction to the desert.










Miss Betsy struggled a bit with the weather but did get in a solid 2+ hour nap on Sunday.  While the rest of the family thought she was asleep, she broke out of her confinement and Mister John found her smiling.  Guess the nap was over for Miss Bets.

Huge Day for the Stars! (More to Come)

All the Stars celebrating the big night of medals.

Mary Star of the Sea's two full Academic Decathlon teams did something absolutely unprecedented.  They won both Division II and Division III titles this evening out at Alemany High School.  I will supply pictures and stats at some point over the next day or two after I calm down from jumping into the air for an hour or so.  I would also like to thank the power of the Pengoon and Deborah the Zebra for helping lead our teams to victory.

Tomorrow Is Cake Day

Yes, indeed.  Mary Jane turns two tomorrow.  Time to think of telling a story or two later tonight on our blog.  Oh, such the nervousness of it all... after all those failed adoptions finally to have one come through. 

Oh, such the young girl...

Rain, Rain, Go Away...

The girls want the sun to come out so they can play in the front yard like in this photo.  Otherwise it's inside all day.

Not to worry, girls.  We live in California.  It doesn't rain THAT often.

Cough, Sneeze, Hack

Ah, the problem with having little children: they sneeze right into your face.  What chance does one have of staying healthy?

At least I am knocking down lots of tea today.  Miss Jill wisely bought me an electric teapot years ago which helps out the cause.

Achoo?

All-Time Bruin Rushing Leader

All Hail the new Bruin Rushing Leader

That Arizona game was quite impressive: nothing like a 66-10 victory to make you feel a little better about yourself.  But still three games remain.  Just make sure we win the one in the middle.

A Mar Vista Halloween

Mama with girls

 Nothing like a Halloween evening to get the girls in a festive mood.  They paired up quite nicely as Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf.  They made it to four houses on the evening as that's about all they could manage in our neighborhood.  Maybe next year they'll expand to ten but for now that's perfect.

Mary Jane much preferred to stand on our porch and distribute candy to all the other trick-or-treaters.  One of them (in a Scream mask) actually scared her so she backed up at first and didn't give them a candy.



The Big Bad Wolf with Candy

On a similar note, Betsy had a fit when she first saw Daddy in his Gramma (Wolf) costume.  She kept screaming not knowing it was her own Daddy.  That made him sad but he got over it... ultimately.

Little Red Riding Hood (Betsy) fell asleep as soon as she got back.  Too much stimulation for her.  As for Mary Jane, she did stay up late for her.  All of 7:15 but then she summarily passed out and the rest of the night was quite for the Wolfman and his Wife.

Look, it's Little Red Riding Hood!

Daddy on a Stroll