Los Angeles Arboretum

When I was little, my sister and I used to explore the forest in our Virginia backyard. We would go hunting for turtles, jump across the creek, and climb the trees. When we moved to California, we lost our rugged backyard and we both became outdoor wimps. I don't anticipate our family to move to the sticks anytime soon, but it doesn't seem fair that Tyler and Dylan's only exposure to ducks, turtles, and lizards will exist solely in the pages of their books. So, I finally purchased a membership to the Arboretum. I resolve to not let my boys grow up being afraid to get their hands a little dirty!

I think this mentality is starting to pay off. Just yesterday, Tyler and I were outside admiring the flowers in our front yard. Tyler thought it was the coolest thing to see a caterpillar eating a leaf just like the one from his book. I had to put on a brave face and pretend like I was not freaked out by the 1 inch insect. He immediately picked it up to admire its segmented body. Although inside I was panicking at the thought of him throwing it's 8 legs in my direction, I was also so proud of his bravery!

Here are some pictures from our last visit to the Arboretum:

Eagles Dixie Chicks Concert

Last week was our 6th wedding anniversary, so we celebrated by getting tickets to opening night of the Nokia LA Live theater, a new venue across from the Staples Center. It was a fun night to be one of the first to see the new theater especially because the Dixie Chicks and Eagles were performing.

When we got to our seats, it was pretty clear that most of the audience was there to watch the Eagles and were not huge Dixie Chicks fans. Our section was composed of old men dressed in dockers with their cardigan-sweatered wives. I couldn't believe that people didn't stand up to dance when the Chicks started playing. The age of the crowd was even more evident later when we turned around and, to our horror, found a few of the more "mature" people around us sleeping. By the Eagles' second encore performance, our entire row had cleared out. I guess getting out of the parking lot quickly is more important than watching one of the most popular bands in the world play music. Nonetheless, we shook our booties all night long to some of our favorite songs.

I wish the video quality actually represented even a touch of what we experienced, but for any Chicks/Eagles fans, I compiled a 2.5 minute glimpse of the concert. On a side-note, Don Henley is my hero for being able to play the drums and sing Hotel California at the same time.

The Getty - Tyler Style

As promised, here are some of the pictures Tyler took while we were visiting the Getty Museum. He really could be the next Ansel Adams, I think.

And a couple more shots from Tyler. They are far better than any of my self portraits would ever turn out:

The Perfect Pumpkin

I was so excited to take the boys to the Pumpkin Patch this year. In my mind, I envisioned that picturesque Norman Rockwell setting where the boys and I would be sitting on a hay covered wagon taking a stroll around the countryside. Tyler would be running through rows and rows of pumpkins searching for right one. I thought about that crisp fall wind rushing through our sweaters causing the first chill of the season. I did my research and found a pumpkin patch at the Santa Fe Dam in Irwindale, CA. This was going to be perfect! Among the activities listed on the website were a haunted house, games for the kids, hayrides, creepy carriages and the ever-popular bounce house. Ahh, fall had finally arrived!

We called a couple friends and rushed to beat the weekend crowds only to find that we were the 3rd car to enter the parking lot. By the time we unpacked the kids, one of the cars had actually left, so there was only 2 cars (including ours). This was a BAD sign considering we live in Los Angeles, where you can't go anywhere without a mob of people trying to get to the same place as you. As for the pumpkin "patch", it was more like 4 rows of 20 pumpkins. I sheepishly waited for our friends to arrive and actually considered driving back home before having to explain myself. We decided to stay and give it a try anyway.

I am not sure what a hayride is for people living in Irwindale, but it certainly is not this:



And the "creepy carriage" was something like this decorated with black streamers and skulls (oh yeah, and it cost $20 per hour to rent):

The rest of the kids piled themselves into the bounce house while my timid child, Tyler, pouted on the side asking if we could go home yet. I tried to find something fun for him to do, but had to face the fact that there really wasn't much going on. I made up some game about trying to find the perfect pumpkin, but then realized that I was sending an OCD child on an impossible mission. We finally settled on some "good" pumpkins, packed up our stuff and left. The highlight of the day for Tyler had nothing to do with hayrides or pumpkins. It was feeding rice cakes to the ducks and geese in the lake (which was definitely not included in my fall family fantasy). Oh, and when we left, there was 1 car in the parking lot.

***UPDATE*** Since the people at the Irwindale Pumpkin Patch were kind enough to take the time to comment here, I think I should mention that the all of the kids did have a great time and we obviously were able to get some really wonderful pictures at the scenic patch.

The Getty

After reading Debbie's post about her visit to the Getty Museum, I decided to battle the traffic and take the boys to one of my favorite places in LA. After all, it has been a couple years since my last visit, and the incredible views were too tempting. Since Tyler and Dylan don't have an appreciation for artwork, I planned on spending the entire time walking the grounds and eating lunch on the grass. However, I was surprised to learn that the museum has a family room for small children. The boys enjoyed drawing on the walls, creating foam tube sculptures, making masks (although not enough to actually wear them) and jumping on the 18th century aristocrat bed.

Trying to get a posed picture of the boys together was too hard, but I got a few action shots. After we had enough indoor time, we made our way to the garden area for lunch making sure to ride every elevator possible (Tyler is a little obsessed with elevators). Stay-tuned for pictures that Tyler took at the Getty. It is quite impressive!

Junk Food Buddies

Whenever I see a box of Chex (which is fairly often since this is one of the few cereals my husband will actually eat), I am taken back to high school, when my friends Corey, Mary and I got together for a sleepover party. As was customary for sleepovers, we ate too much junk food and watched too many movies. One of the snacks in this particular memory was Muddy Buddies. If you have never had Muddy Buddies, your stomach is missing out on one of the great junk foods of all times. Picture a bowl of crispy Chex covered in chocolate, peanut butter, and powdered sugar. Yes, they are that good.

I wasn't sure if after 15 years, Muddy Buddies would be as good as I remembered. So, last night, I decided it was time to revisit this old friend of mine and put together a batch of scrumptious goodness. Sure enough, it was as delicious as I had hoped. The only problem was that 2 hours later, Arthur thought that there was something missing from the recipe. I ran to the cabinet and grabbed the Pepto Bismol, and everything was good again. Tyler, on the other hand, thought they were perfect as is:

Free Stuff

There is something about the Clinique Bonus that makes me smile

William Tell Overture

My friend, Lisa, shared this with me, and I thought it was pretty funny. Enjoy!

Baby Steps

I am not proud that my 13 month old knows what Cheetos are, but sometimes when the moment is right and the camera is on, you have to use whatever you can to motivate your kids.

Travel Town

Yesterday, I took the boys to Travel Town, a little train museum in Griffith Park. Tyler loved being able to climb up inside real steam locomotives. Dylan was wishing he could also climb up into the trains, but at 5'5 (with my platform sandals, that is), there was no way I was going to be able to get him up there safely. Poor kid! At least we could all ride on the miniature train together.

Who is Smarter?

A. 12 month old Dylan, who figured out how to pull out the soy milk so that he could stand on it to reach the crackers

or

B. the mom*, who decided to run and fetch the camera rather than save her child from falling

*And yes, as soon as I snapped this picture, Dylan fell (no worries, grandma and grandpa, he didn't get hurt too badly)

Girl's Night Out

My friend, Tisha, and her family have decided to leave the great state of California and move all the way across the country to North Carolina. Is this a good decision? For them, yes, I think so. For the rest of us living in South Pasadena, absolutely not. Everyone has enjoyed Tisha's ability to organize monthly Girl's Night Outs, weekly playgroup, family activities and so many other fun things. It was decided that not one, but 3 people will have to take over her responsibilities now that she is abandoning us.

In her honor, we had a special Girl's Night Out last week to bid farewell. These nights are crucial to all of us who spend most of our time saying things like, "No, you cannot shove a pencil in his ear!" or "If you finish all of your broccoli, we will let you watch Thomas after dinner!". I am not sure about anyone else, but being able to have an entire conversation without interruption is almost therapeutic. I walked away from the restaurant thinking I had probably had more interesting and entertaining conversations in that one night than in the entire month combined. I apologize to anyone who may have felt that I talked a bit too much. I blame it on the fact that I was not able to attend last month's GNO, so I think I had gone through adult conversation withdrawal. I only hope that we continue this tradition now that Tisha has moved. Otherwise I fear I will be doomed to become that person you dread to encounter in a stinky bathroom because you know you will be trapped listening to stories about dust mites or laundry. Thank you, Tisha, for all the fun! We are going to miss you more than you can imagine!

Here are some pictures from our fun night at BJ's :

Tyler's 1st day of Preschool

Last week we received a last minute call from a local preschool notifying us that a space opened up for Tyler. Other parents had months to mentally prepare themselves and their children for school, but I had only 5 days. Given that Arthur had to wait in line for 4 hours only to find out Tyler would be put on the wait-list, we were thrilled to receive the call.

Today was his first day of school. He was a little apprehensive at first and did not want me to leave. I waited outside the room with the other nervous mothers to make sure all the kids settled down within a few minutes. We took turns peaking in the rooms to check on each other's kids so that our own kids didn't see us spying. When the coast was clear, we decided it was safe to leave.

When I went to pick Tyler up, I was relieved to find that he did not have any major cuts or bruises and that he had not given any other kids cuts or bruises. He was actually in a great mood and told me all about his day. He played with trains and cars and got to go outside to the play ground. He was even excited to tell me about the crackers and lemonade he had for snack. I think he will end up doing just fine at school.

Turning 30 can be Wicked

2 weeks ago, I turned the dreaded 30. How could this happen to someone like me? It just doesn't seem fair. I don't know what I did, but my 20's just packed their bags, jumped in the car, and sped away without even saying goodbye. I looked in the mirror, and it seems that they even stole my wrinkle-free complexion. I really thought we were good together. Breakups are hard, but this one was tougher than expected.

I had a moment to mourn my loss, and then realized I had to get myself together. I did accomplish quite a bit in the past decade. I

• graduated from college
  
• fell in love with and married the love of my life
• purchased my first house
• gave birth to 2 pretty great kids
• ran 3 marathons
• lived on the beach
• celebrated a 5th wedding anniversary
• traveled to Europe and Asia
• bought and still own my first car

So, here's to the start of a new decade with plenty of opportunity to create spectacular memories!

My goals for my 30's:

• celebrate a 10th and 15th wedding anniversary
• watch 2 of my kids get baptized
• go on a safari in Africa
• buy a bigger car
• invent a Transporter to avoid having to drive the 6 hours up to Sacramento
• travel in space

Ok, ok, so maybe the last two are a little ambitious, but a girl can dream. After all, Thomas Edison invented the light bulb at age 31.

To soften the blow of being 30, Arthur surprised me with a babysitter and Orchestra Seat tickets to Wicked (I told you I married the love of my life). Here are a couple pictures:

If anyone out there has any words of advice to a new member of the 30's club, I would love to hear it!