Another Visit to the Tidepools

Yesterday was another ultra-low tide in early afternoon, so we joined some other family and friends for another visit to the tidepools. Again, the weather was fabulous - sunny, fairly warm (60's) and hardly windy at all down on the beach. We were anxious to see if we could find our octopus friend again. We easily found the hideout, broke open a mussel, and dangled a small piece in the water. Nothing happened. I moved it closer to the opening and waited. Again nothing. I pushed it just inside the opening, wondering if maybe nobody was home. Then I saw about four inches of tenticle reach out and grab the piece with lightening quickness. I knew we were in luck, and now the octopus knew food was around. We just had to be patient and try to lure it out so everyone could see it. I again dangled a piece in the water and wiggled it around with a stick. It started to come out, reaching with two tentacles. We could even see the body and its eyes. I moved the mussel farther away to see if I could lure it out further. It just reached further with its tentacles. But then we got the surprise of our lives. Just to the right, another tentacle reached out from under another rock! We had found another octopus! We were so excited! The second one was in a hole only about two feet away from the first one. We got pretty good looks at both of them. In this picture the first octopus is visible at the top. You can see three tentacles curled around and one eye. Because no suction cups are visible, she is really camouflaged, but maybe you can make it out just above the sandy area. We also saw the usuals like sea stars and sea anemones. We also saw a school of dolphins out a ways swimming north along the coast.

I also saw a tiny sea slug that was very pretty. He was only about an inch long. When I got home, I looked on the computer to find what kind he was. He is a navanax inermis. (If you want to see what he looked like, you can visit this website.)

Jonathan went to sleep in the wagon.

The sunset was beautiful. God has made such amazing and interesting beauty for us to enjoy.

Christmas Lights

One reason I love the Christmas season is the beauty of it. I love the lights people use to decorate their houses and buildings. Beginning after Thanksgiving, whenever we drive at night Alyssa also enjoys looking for them. It's one of our favorite things to do this time of year. Last week we drove down to the historic Mission Inn in downtown Riverside to take a look at their lights and other decorations. They go all out with thousands of lights, moving figures, carolers on each balcony, and other decorations. We were joined by many hundreds of other people, so it was hard to get around, but Alyssa and Jonathan were fascinated by it all.
Alyssa takes her doll Celine with her everywhere.

Our Christmas Tree

Our Christmas tree is one of our Christmas traditions we started a couple of years ago. All the ornaments on the tree represent Bible stories or verses. Beginning on December 1 when we put up the tree, we read a story or verse or two for our family worships and then the kids - Alyssa at this point - put the ornaments on the tree to represent what we read. She loves it, and it makes our Christmas tree both beautiful and meaningful while keeping our focus on the true meaning of Christmas. Many of the ornaments can represent more than story or verse. Every year when I go shopping I keep my eyes open for a few new ornaments, and I have a list of things I want to look for. If you have any ideas, leave me a comment below. Here is a picture of our tree this year.