Sweet Rachel gave this personalized pillow to Tesla, or in Tesla-speak, a "ba." For whatever reason, Tesla decided pillows are "ba" which is nothing like "pillow" or "makura" (Japanese). Dav figured it out first, and when he pointed it out to me, sure enough, that is the word she uses consistenly.

Thank you, Kitten. It's a very sweet pillow. Right now it's on our sofa...later I'll let Tesla take it back to her room : )

Someone brought and built a real teepee. It was beautiful with the flaps using twigs to close, and the stick structure so elegant. I didn't meet the owner, but he later had a small fire going, and when Michelle stepped in, she said he seemed very much like a medicine man. Tesla was intrigued, and when inside, she bent over to yell out the bottom, "Fiiiiaaaa" so that Sofia would join her. Us four: Sofia, Michelle, moi, and Tesla. I took advantage and let Tesla enjoy the lake butt-naked. She loved it. Telsa, Sofia, and their new friend Alabama, all picking at the pineapple dessert. We had to hide it or there would have been none left for us adults!

*****

My goodness, we had a great weekend! First, it was perfect camping. We had our RV (1st outing of the summer) so it was fun getting back out in it, but the location was just 2.5 hours from SF and absolutely beautiful. I love ocean beaches, but gentle lakes are so calming and very summery in my mind. There were just 40 folks this weekend (others arrived later and will stay during the week), so it felt like an intimate homestead of sorts. Everyone had their camp spot, but there was a well-equipped kitchen, and we ended up doing a communal dinner and breakfast based on ingredients people had. Mark Powell was our head-chef, and it was a great learning experience for me in addition to being in a kitchen full of fun and laughter. We ate at a great circular table.

The best part for me was how kid-friendly it was. I felt this from our last trip with Chicken John, but this time there were 5 families all with young children, and since we weren't stuck in a bus all the time, the kids had a ball together. Our RV became quite popular too when the toddlers discovered they could sit in the driver's seat and pretend to drive. At one time, we had 4 toddlers roaming in the RV! Tesla loved it. She was on the younger side so spent a lot of time trying to follow along, but she did well. You could just see how delighted she was to be outdoors, free to wander, and surrounded by fun kids. She is so tired now, and taking a loooong nap today : )

As for the wacky part ... the theme of this camping trip was boats, as in homemade boats to enjoy floating around the lake. We went out as a family on the lake twice when everyone got onto something to do a group float, but each time, we forgot to bring the camera unfortunately. There were hilarious scenes I wish I could have captured. Dav has a few though, like this hot tub with a working stove! Yes, that's crazy. There was a floating bar (this shows the bar section before the rest of the boat was built). There were 2 giant floating clam shells (salvaged from a photo shoot) that could hold 4~5 people. One time, when we all gently floated down the lake, 3 women got on one of the clam shells and did a coordinated waving dance so it looked like we found mermaids or Lake Princesses. At these times, I felt like rubbing my eyes; is this for real? This was a lake, so once we turned the corner out of our little enclave, there were motorboats and jet skis. Can you imagine these vacationers coming across this group? ... A packed bar scene, 2 clam shells pulled by decked out canoes or those old-school paddling rides, and last but not least, a freaking hot tub? Those folks must have zoomed by thinking, "What the hell was that? Where'd they come from??"

The scary part for me was that everyone would pile onto whatever and float out without much planning. Granted they took water (and beer), but me and a few other mothers sensed that no one was very concerned about how to get back. Like with the first test drive of the bar, a group got on and went on their merry way. Later, a few folks came back in a canoe to say that the motor (which was weak so wasn't good against wind anyway) stopped working so the bar was drifting and couldn't get home. A bunch of folks had to paddle out and get them. They did the same thing at night again. We joined at the beginning, but I insisted we have our own boat, and after a while I asked Dav to take us home. Tesla had a life jacket, but still, we were out in the middle of the lake in the dark! The bar came home quite late after getting lost, apparently. Not a ride I'd like to be on with Tesla, heh. The bar group didn't seem to care and had faith that each time they'd somehow make it home...which they did. Crazy but it worked out well, and everyone was happy as can be. I'm just glad there weren't any accidents!

Cute bonus: Tesla and Sofia providing goodies for parents :)

Dav's complete set of pics is here.

We got the RV out of storage/parking, and are kick-starting our outdoor summer activities by joining Chicken John and a few hundred others for a lake camping/boat making event. Folks will make boats, and enjoy art installations and performances for a fundraiser for Chicken's next crazy project where he will float down the Hudson River from upstate NY to Long Island City on something he makes.

Dav is looking forward to the boat building fun. I'm looking forward to lounging around our RV with Tesla, painting the RV in preparation for Burning Man, and reading. Plus our neighbors are joining so there should be lots of relaxing fun.

Best of all is getting Tesla out in nature. No phone or internet for the weekend either.

T and I joined Sofia and M at Baker Beach this morning. It was great to arrive early before the crowds. At first Tesla was hesitant to touch the wet sand, and I realized she's actually had very little beach experience. She got used to it and loved getting messy. Luckily we're heading to NC's outer banks for a week this summer so she'll have lots of time to become a beach girl! Sofia and T looked soooo cute together. Loved it, especially when they held hands as we walked from the parking lot.

One reason I've been busy is that Web2.0Expo was last week, and Six Apart had a booth as well as threw a party for attendees. It was a lot of work, and although I usually don't handle an entire event like this, it needed to be done. Coming right after our Argentina/Peru trip was a bit intense for me, but overall, I'm pleased with the results. I feel energized by what was accomplished, and touched by everyone who chipped in without a complaint and worked super hard too. A lot of Six Aparters were involved and I felt a true team effort.

Anyhow, that's why I haven't bothered blogging, and have some catching up to do. Below is from our recent road/camp trip with Chicken John.

These are old airplanes left in the airplane graveyard we visited. Tesla learned to say "hikoko" which is airplane in Japanese. We had a tour guide on the bus with us, but I was in the back with Tesla and couldn't hear a thing. Audience at the Amargosa Opera House, and the walls Marta painted herself. Quite an amazing, one-of-a-kind story. She just found her spot and thing to do, and has been at it ever since. Two cooked meals were provided which made this "road trip" fun and communal. It was healthy and delicious. Tesla covered herself in dirt/dust right after I took her to the hot springs. Of course, she initially just played with the dirt, but as soon as I begged her to stop since she was nice and clean, she dumped some on her head, down her shirt, and all over her legs... Scenes from the bus ride. Unfortunately, I get motion sickness easily, so I spent a lot of time during the trip lying down resting. Luckily, everyone was super easy-going and loved Tesla. The back of the bus was a giant lounging/sleeping area, and Tesla had much fun climbing over everyone and exploring. Since everyone was so nice, I could relax and let her do as she pleased while I rested. She quickly adopted a few other adults as her buddies, and would spend chunks of time sitting on their lap, or lying on their bellies as they slept. Last 3 pictures are Tesla watching a Baraka on Dav's iPod. She was fascinated!

I went over to visit granny, Dav's sister, and Tesla's cousin after work last Thursday. Tesla admires Maria-Rose, and Maria-Rose is so sweet to Tesla. I love seeing them together and really want them to grow up together as much as possible.

We all decided to go to dinner within walking distance of their house, and because Tesla had a fit when I tried to separate her from the toy stroller she was playing with, we let her walk all the way to the restaurant with that thing. It was very cute.

Unfortunately, Tesla also has a fit leaving the stroller when we sat at the table...and although she hung in there for a while, it was just not a good evening for her. Granted it was very late for her so she was cranky, but I basically had to leave early to get Tesla out of the restaurant because she had multiple melt-downs. Luckily, Colleen and granny were very helpful, and we just dealt with the situation as best as possible while I tried finishing as much food as I could.

p.s. Although tired, Tesla pushed the stroller back too.

This was from April 1st. Since we were still tired from our trip, we almost didn't make Jessica's birthday dinner, but I'm glad we did. Got to see Frankie, Rachel, Jessica, Toni and baby Aesha, and just at the end before we left, Khaleel and Noura whom we hadn't seen since they moved back from Palestine.

This was in the east bay at a Middle Eastern restaurant, and the cushion arrangements were perfect for a toddler. Plus, Tesla was mesmerized by the belly dancer. And that picture of Tesla with Rachel? I have no idea what goofiness got into Tesla, but she kept doing this weird squinting play; I'm pleased I managed to get her expression!

I haven't been updating much since I want Kokochi to look more how I envision it, and for the moment, it still feels in transition. Also, I've just been super busy lately. But here's some Tesla cuteness. Some folks have been missing T updates :) I got her sunglasses. She never wore the infant ones we bought her but now that she wants to copy us, she obliged wearing these for a second. Afterwards though, she wanted to put them on herself which proved a bit too frustrating.

We are heading to this in an hour. I've been super busy with tons of stuff no I'm just gonna link here. Ciao!