Burning Man - Metropolis.. the new earth..

Yes, we left in late August for Burning Man for our forth year in a row.. we we have an RV, we have NO excuse not to be there..
this year my cousins son Nathan rode up with us, that was a real treat.. he is 21, really alive and fun, he's been to 10 festivals this summer and he was on fire about Burning Man.. he'd been making necklaces and jewelry to offer as gifts and Reese got inspired and I bought him a bunch of beads and he started making necklaces, wire wrapping beads and making earrings, it was very cool..
We picked up a couple from Winnipeg in Reno (they spent 3 days on a bus to get to Reno) and they rode 7 hours into the burn with us. I drove up from Ojai, picked Steve up at the Reno airport and we drove in together.. Reese and Luc had a ball sharing stories of past burns with the 3 virgins ( someone who has not been to Burning Man before) and we happily arrived at Kidsville (our camp where we stay every year with 100 or so other families) early Monday morning.

The boys had these amazing custom Ninja outfits that Steve bought for them this year, I think they wore them almost everyday! Reese got to fire spin for a second time when a group of performers came to visit kidsville, he was a big hit. both boys also got to spin some fire poi (as well as the 2 other boys that were their friends that we claimed to be their parents.. haha) We had a blast roaming the playa, climbing on art, oohing and aahing at the amazing creativity, hooping at various camps, eating dinner as we roamed various camps and we were offered Bacon, turkey dinner and most exciting Top Ramon (offered in a giant tub), we played on a great obstacle course, battled with giant turkey legs, and watch the grown ups act like kids at Thunderdome bashing each other with foam bats! All over the playa, folks took our photos, gifted the kids cool stuff, offered us rides on art cars .. the usual gig..

I did some late night dancing, checked out the big rave camps, did some yoga, learned some acro yoga, thai massage, had a reiki session, did the human carcass wash twice (that's a blast you wash others and get washed using squirt bottles), did some contact improv, and some other cool adult activities that I won't write about here..

We had great weather this year and as usual got our hearts very filled up with all the love on the playa..

Elevate Party - Reese the fire spinner!

Just a week or so after we moved to our new home in Ojai, the Elevate crew (the is the company Steve works for now, www.elevate.us ) threw a big party at Glen Muse (our new home). Amazing party, see some great photos at http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=14220060&id=634875642&ref=fbx_album
met incredible folks, we had some amazing fire spinners on hand, and Reese got to twirl a fire hoop, a dream of his!! Top notch entertainment, singers, DJ's, sweet kids and loving heart centered folks.. that feel like a new family coming together!!

CA Homeschool Conference.. what a blast..

We were so fortunate to not only spend the summer in the South Bay and be able to see all our friends, including Colleen and her brood who were in LA for a month.. It's amazing how the kids are growing up.. her baby (that i was graced with attending his unassisted home birth) is 5, her oldest is 18, got to spend a few days with him and take him to a few meetings, that was a treat! Reese loved seeing NIgel, Janina, Iman and baby Andre! We took Colleen to the contact improv in Santa Monica and boy she loved that, such a beautiful intimate dance!

We spent 3 days in Ontario at the CHN conference, Steve came with us, hooray, and my mom came out for a day also!! Such an impressive line up of talks, my favorites were a mom who talked about a book group for kids (thats on my list of things i want to do.. can't wait to do a poetry discussion and read Rumi), another talk called WIld Days, that was all about nature exploration and letting kids explore and discover, an expert on green living & urban gardening, Laura from MBNS our old nursery school gave a great heart centered communication workshop and Steve raved about the dads panel. We want to host an unschooling panel next year! Reese gave an amazing performance at the talent show hooping as well as hosting and teaching Magic the gathering duals. Luc spent 8+hours a day building Kapla blocks creations alone, with friends, with daddy and grandma.. whatever..
So many of our friends were there, it felt like a family reunion, without the drama..