The Year in Pictures: May 2007

The month of May began with a weekend camping trip to the Temecula Valley, for a rendezvous with my mom and Woody, Lisa and Jon, and a large and rowdy contingent of fellow homebrewers from throughout Southern California. The occasion was the annual SoCal Homebrewers Festival, and it was our first year in attendance. The weather was on the cold (and windy!) side, and the camping at Vail Lake resort was disappointing--neither appropriately rustic/picturesque nor especially luxurious. But the beer fest itself didn't disappoint. During Saturday's festival, I intentionally left the camera behind, so as not to lose or damage it in a drunken stupor, nor come home with any embarrassing photos. But I did at least get a couple of nice shots of the boys playing with their trucks around the campsite.

The rest of the month, at least photographically speaking, revolved around Tony's school and cub-scout activities. One weekend it was a trip to the tide pools at Abalone Cove on the Palos Verdes peninsula, where we were treated to a bright sunny day and lots of wildlife and other photogenic natural features, such as Sea Stars, Marbled Godwits, and ocean-sculpted Altimira Shale.

Later in May, Tony and his den officially earned their Tiger badges, and crossed the bridge toward a second-grade year as Wolf cubs. Never has a sense of pride shined more brightly across Tony's face, and it was a moment to reflect on what truly had been a very busy and productive 2006-07 school year.



Speaking of school, May was marked by the annual Ocean Charter's annual Spring Faire. This is a huge event for the school, both a "Waldorfy" celebration of the changing seasons and the major fund raiser of the year. The latter more or less consumed Audrey's spare time and energy during the preceding months, and it was nice for all of us to get that task complete (at least until next year!). But the celebration was also much enjoyed by all, beginning with a traditional Maypole dance by Tony's class and followed by a day of play. Combined with the regular routine of school/work and weekend t-ball and ice skating, May was a busy month indeed.