- Free Tuesday at the local museums! Mom and Dad chucked the kids into the car and headed to the Rueben H. Fleet Science Center.
It is a great museum with many cool interactive exhibitions. Here, Keller and a bunch of other kids activate the display and create a tornado by touching the poles.
We also took advantage of the time to take in an IMAX movie. We watched Hubble.
Through the power of IMAX, HUBBLE enables moviegoers to journey through distant galaxies to explore the grandeur and mysteries of our celestial surroundings, and accompany space-walking astronauts as they attempt some of the most difficult and important tasks in NASA’s history. The film offers an inspiring and unique look into the Hubble Space Telescope’s legacy and highlights its profound impact on the way we view the universe and ourselves. Here's the trailer.
- We headed back north to visit Yia Yia and Papou. After dinner, one of the special treats we get is when Papou reads poetry aloud to us all. The kids really enjoy Papou's renditions of the poems.
Yia Yia and the kids play a friendly game of Texas Hold 'Em before hitting the sack. Keller looks like he is holding a straight flush and is ready to get back to the betting...
- Mom and Yia Yia stayed at home and Papou, Dad and the kids went to visit the LaBrea Tar Pits. We're all young at heart. Papou and the kids taking the alternate route up the stairs.
Once up top, you can look across the top of the museum on your way around to the front door.
Sophia and Keller discuss the finer points of paleontology and fossil reconstruction while taking in a varmint that got taken in by the pits.
Checking out the tar pit/lake combo out front. Something tells me that, if the fence wasn't there, Keller would be getting stuck in the tar.
- The kids really enjoy the rope swing Papou installed in the big Magnolia tree in the yard. Keller slings Sophia...
Sophia hucks Keller...
Papou brought out several brain-teaser puzzles for us to try out. Keller and Papou look like they are making some headway on these two puzzles.
As usual, after lunch, we head back home and back to reality. It's always so much fun at Yia Yia and Papou's house! Really a treat, always.
- Keller got a bee in his bonnet about making this special lasagna he saw while watching
on The Food Network. Mom relented, went to the store and got all the required ingredients. Here is Keller's rendition of
Keller set the table with our finest "Decorate A Plate" china collection and even put out candles to mark the special occasion. You may note the laaarge glass of wine set at Mom's seat after helping Keller make dinner...
The dish was actually quite good. It was a tiny bit spicy and had other tastes you usually don't associate with lasagna. Naturally, the kids didn't like it at all.
. I think we substituted beef for pork.
- After taking showers tonight, Sophia gave us another glimpse into why people often say, "She's soooo creative!" Who knew that a throw blanket and a few hair scrunchies (around her head, neck and two at the waist) could be turned into sleepwear? Keller sticks with the tried and true kick ass skull-and-cross bones footy jams. Note, this is mid-July, the boy reeeeeally loves those jams...
– Mom and the kids went up north to Yia Yia and Papou’s house. Mom’s brother, Uncle Bill, and cousins Cody, Dylan and Taylor came over from the islands for a nice long vacation. Dad had to stay home and work but came up on Friday afternoon.
When Mom and the kids got there, the cousins were already there and lunch was served. Here are Sophia, Cody and Taylor:
After lunch, it was off to the park to burn off some energy. Looks like Sophia and Dylan had a hard time staying on the swing. It also looks like Cody is enjoying the entertainment...
After the park, it was time to refuel at the ice cream shop. It looks to me like video games take priority over ice cream...
– Papou treated all the cousins to an ocean fishing trip. Mom and Uncle Bill got all the cousins up EARLY to catch the boat. Motoring out to sea provided the opportunity to get a lot of photos...
Time to catch some fishies...
The kids had great fun and everybody caught fish. Apparently, the real challenge was to get the bait past the mackerel and deep enough to catch the bigger sand bass lurking below.
Cousin Taylor proudly displays her bounty...
Cousin Dylan and his sand bass...
It looks like Cousin Cody caught the biggest one...
"Look Ma, one hand!" Sophia strikes a pose...
You may be wondering, "What about Keller with his fish?" Well, he wasn't going to hold any more fish today...no way!
On the way back to shore, the cousins enjoyed throwing leftover bait into the air for the seagulls to swoop down and catch in mid-air. They found that very entertaining. A fun day of fishing was had by all.
When everyone got home and got cleaned up, Dad finally showed up at Yia Yia and Papou's house. He had to stay behind and work while everybody else played. Here's everyone together for dinner. Fortunately, we didn't have to have fish...
Saturday 7/24 – In the morning, Sophia and Keller treated everybody to a nice piano recital. Here's Keller tickling the ivories.
Uncle Jim arrived a little later to join in on all the fun the day had to offer. Here he is in front of his new wheels.
After a lazy, slow morning, Mom, Dad and Uncle Bill packed all the cousins and Uncle Jim into two cars and we trekked over to the Griffith Observatory.
Dad learned that navigation programs aren’t always what they are cracked up to be. We followed the directions to the letter, driving through the winding streets of a beautiful neighborhood in the hills. We arrived at our “destination” and the navigation program proudly announced, “Your destination is on the left.” Well, technically, the navigation program was correct. Looking to our left and then raising our gaze about 300 feet up a steep, brush-covered hillside, we were able to get a nice glimpse of the observatory. It would have taken an experienced Sherpa, some sturdy hiking boots and, perhaps, some climbing gear to enjoy our “destination”.
Fortunately, Uncle Bill and Dad were able to use their keen, inborn navigation skills to get back down the hill and over to the actual route back up to the observatory.
There was a nice view of the Hollywood sign and the kids posed for a postcard picture. Lined up in age order we have Cody, Sophia, Dylan, Keller and Taylor. Keller was sportin' a litte 'tude here. Ah, the angst youth...
At the observatory, we saw the exhibits and learned many things. We caught the afternoon showing of “Centered in the Universe” in the planetarium. It is a wonderful “movie” (projection of stars, etc), which is narrated by a live docent.
From the show, you really get a sense of how tiny our planet is in our solar system, which has only one star (the sun). That star is only one of somewhere between 200 to 400 billion stars within our own galaxy, “The Milky Way”. If we shrank the Milky Way down to be only 10 meters across (about 30 feet), our entire solar system would be only 1/10th of a millimeter wide (about 4/1,000th of an inch). The Milky Way is only one of billions of similar galaxies making up our vast universe. Dude, I think I need some cheetos…
We developed quite an appetite contemplating our insignificance in the universe and headed over to the kids’ favorite restaurant, Red Robin, before heading back to Yia Yia and Papou’s house absolutely stuffed and exhausted. But, you can never be too exhausted to have Dad push you in the tree swing...
Sophia gets a big push...
Cousin Cody looks like he is going to swing around the branch on this push...
Sunday 7/25 – As usual, the mornings start off kind of slow...
Then things really get moving...
By afternoon, the slugs were at top speed. There was some swimming to do. Yia Yia and Papou's close family friends (Greg and Katrina and their kids Anastasia and John) came over to visit for the afternoon/evening to celebrate birthdays.
Uncle Bill truly has the "patience of a saint" and swims with the kids when he is visiting. Seven squirmy kids versus Uncle Bill in the jacuzzi.
Uncle Bill survived the attack with a big smile (and big heart...)
A wonderful birthday feast was prepared for all. Grown up table...
After dinner it was time to celebrate the birthdays. First, Cousin Cody has the limelight...
The second group of candles were lit and everyone sings for Cousin Dylan...
The third group of candles belonged to Cousin Taylor...
Yia Yia and Papou enjoy all the kids.
In order to get all the kids to cooperate for a picture like this...
...you have to promise to take a picture like this!
Monday 7/26 – Today, Dad had some computer work to catch up on, so he went to Starbucks. Meanwhile, Mom and Uncle Bill took the cousins on a hiking adventure. Three boys and two girls, all with long sticks...what could go wrong?
After the hike, it was off to the library to get some books and DVDs to keep the kids entertained. On the way back home, Mom dropped Sophia off to join Dad at Starbucks. Sophia read and Dad worked until they couldn't sit still anymore. Then, they walked around the mall until they found a bookstore. For Sophia, a bookstore is equivalent to a toy store.
Meanwhile, back at Yia Yia and Papou's house, the boys enjoyed their library books in the living room.
Tuesday 7/27 – Mom, Dad and Uncle Bill woke up early, loaded the kids into the van and headed to Disneyland. We were treated to an overcast, very cool day and actually wore jackets at the end of July. Normally, it would have been over 100 degrees. The kids all in a row, ready to roll.
In the morning, we hit
Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters, the
Matterhorn Bobsleds and
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad before heading over to California Adventure for the afternoon. As always, the kids have to climb the giant letters just outside California Adventure and the parents, as always, have to take pictures.
There, we enjoyed the best, coolest, most fun ride in the free world,
Toy Story Midway Mania. The kids don their 3-D glasses before getting on the ride.
Next was
Soarin’ over California followed by the
Grizzly River Run. The kids were JAZZED to go on the water ride - even if it was a cool day. We were fortunate and didn't get too wet.
Last, but certainly not least, as always, we hit Sophia’s favorite ride,
California Screamin’. Twice. Thank heavens for Dramamine. Sophia and Dad took Uncle Bill and cousin Cody along for the rides also. Here's a picture from the first go-'round. If you squint just right, you can tell that Cousin Cody and Uncle Bill are in the front of the car. Sophia and Dad are just behind them but are difficult to see. If you click on the picture, a larger picture will appear and you can see better (applies to all the pictures in the blog).
On the second go 'round, Cody and Sophia wanted the front seat of the car. NO HANDS!
They really enjoyed the roller coaster and it was Cody’s first time to go upside down on a roller coaster. Ahhh, the milestones…
We went back over to Disneyland to grab some chow to refuel. Keller was super excited because he bypassed the 46” mark and beat the height restriction for
Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye. Mom, Dad and all the cousins minus Taylor and Uncle Bill went for the long wait in line. Uncle Bill and cousin Taylor ventured off and rode
Pirates of the Caribbean and then played in
Tarzan’s Tree House while everybody else got jostled and rattled on Indiana Jones.
We then regrouped and went to
Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room and took in the show. Dad watched through his eyelids. He's been to that attraction many times and still never seen the show...
We came out to find 2 to 3 bizillion people waiting for the fireworks show. Not Dad's picture, but you get the concept.
In order to beat the crowds, we decided to make a run for the exits. We jumped on the tram and were whisked off to the parking lot. As we were walking to the car, the fireworks show began and we got a close up view of the entire show. It was booming loud and they have a new show with a lot of very elaborate multi-colored fireworks that Mom and Dad have never seen before.
We hopped into the car and coasted out of the parking lot while the rest of the crowd fought to get out of Disneyland and onto a tram back to the parking lots. It sort of felt like cheating for some reason.
THIS is why you go to Disneyland...
Wednesday 7/28 – Today was all about recuperation from the Disney adventures of yesterday. The cousins sat in front of the TV and watched movies. Then, they graduated to the computer screen and played computer games and, finally, had some fun in the jacuzzi.
After dinner, Dad put together the tent for some backyard wilderness camping for the kids. Here, the boys help in the construction.
Once assembled, then Dad got the sleeping bags all set up. This tent holds three queen-size aerobeds.
Dad included turn down service as well. On the house....
It was hilarious to see how bad the cousins wanted INSIDE THAT TENT NOW!!! They barely held still for the pictures.
Sophia, Cody, Keller and Dylan. Boy....don't they look tired? More like wired...
Saint Uncle Bill offered to be the on-site grown up. He and Taylor are snuggled up and ready.
The camping was a big hit and big success. All the kids made it through the night and they actually slept.
Thursday 7/29 – Today was a fun-filled, action-packed day. As usual, the morning started with slow movement. After breakfast, Yia Yia had a special treat for her grandkiddies. Everybody got to have a frosting-covered ladybug cookie!
We packed coolers with sandwiches and drinks for lunch and headed out to the Aquarium of the Pacific for the afternoon.
We had a nice picnic in the park outside of the aquarium before going in to see the sights. Uncle Bill with cousins Cody, Dylan and Taylor.
There are many many wonderful things to see inside. Here, Sophia gets entranced by the jellyfish. They swim upside down!
Outside, they have several interactive pools in which you can touch the animals. This stingray found Sophia and Keller to be fascinating...
Next, all the kids ventured over to the Shark Lagoon to check out more than 150 sharks in one large aquarium. This one approaching looks pretty mean...
Yep, take a look at those choppers! An orthodontist's dream... Not likely a vegetarian.
Everybody has heard about a hammerhead shark. Who's ever heard of an automatic hedge trimmer-head shark?
Quick shot in front of the Shark Lagoon display window.
Sometimes, a picture says more than a thousand words...
Here, the kids check out a stingray and baby shark. They really enjoyed being able to see them and touch them.
The Aquarium of the Pacific was a wonderful learning experience and everybody had a blast.
We headed back home and when we got there, Uncle Jon and cousin Meghan had arrived. We had plans for everyone to go out to dinner to celebrate Uncle Bill's birthday but Papou caught a cold and couldn't go. Yia Yia stayed behind to take care of him and the rest of us went to Mom's favorite restaurant, the Original Red Onion Restaurant. The young lady with the wonderful smile is cousin Megan.
We divided the table into the grown up end and the kids' end. That gave the cousins some fun unsupervised dinner time. These are all the cousins from Mom's side of the family gathered together.
After dinner, we went home to do some more backyard camping. Uncle Jon narrowly escaped being the camp chief for the night. Mom stepped in to take the duty. Now, remember this is the end of July. Look at the winter gear they all had to wear. What a weird summer it was this year.
Mandatory goofy picture in receipt for the nice picture above. Yia Yia stepped into the fun, too.
Ready for a camp story and then sack out.
Again, the kids did great and slept through the night without a hitch.
Friday 7/30 - Some more morning laziness was to be had. Papou still wasn't feeling well and had some chills. Dad, Uncle Jon and Uncle Bill join Papou to warm up in the sun.
Today, Chayo came over to see all the kids. She was in heaven.
When we finally got everybody into gear, we took all the cousins on another adventure. This time to Santa Monica Pier.
Mom and Sophia start the long trek down the pier.
As you can see in the last picture, there is an amusement park on the pier. The amusement park is named Pacific Park.
High up in the ferris wheel. A bucket of cousins...
Looking northwest from the top of the ferris wheel.
Looking north along the coast to Malibu. Santa Monica has beautiful, wide, sandy beaches.
When we had our fill of the pier, we went to dinner at Islands Restaurant. Mom and Keller pause for a nice photo.
There rest of the table. Meghan enjoys a crayon appetizer...
On the way back home, the girls got to sit together in one car.
When we got home, yet
another one of Mom's brothers had arrived to join the clan! Uncle Rick and Hollee came with Sam and one of her friends.
Sam deals a friendly game of blackjack.
Saturday 7/31 - The last day of the month was the biggest day of the month and not just because it was Dad's birthday... I'm HOW old?
Well, let's see....yep, the day started off with some serious lounging in front of the TV.
Yia Yia and Meghan share a good belly laugh.
Good times around the breakfast table. What is Uncle Bill up to?
Dad (Uncle Barry) gets some snuggles from Meghan. Is it for the snuggles, or a ruse to get at that hot chocolate?
After breakfast, Mom (Aunt Maria) had some special girl time with Taylor and Meghan doing hair.
Taylor shows off her golden locks and Aunt Maria's handiwork...
In the mid-afternoon, people started showing up to go out for birthday dinner. Uncle Bob (Papou's brother) and Aunt Jan join Yia Yia and Papou for a nice picture.
Yia Yia and Papou pose with ALL their grands. Back row, left to right - Cody, Sophia, Dylan. Front row - Taylor, Keller, Meghan.
After Uncle Jim arrived, that meant ALL of Yia Yia and Papou's kids were home together for the first time a few years. Left to right - Uncle Bill, Uncle Jim, Uncle Rick and Uncle Jon.
Now that everyone was there, we all trekked down to Yia Yia's favorite restaurant, Marmalade, to celebrate Dad's birthday. Here's the table set up:
Sophia and Keller always like some lap time after dinner.
Back home after dinner, it was time for cake and presents. Here, Dad displays perfect form in "clapping" out the candles.
Then it was off to enjoy the cake and ice cream while opening cards and presents. Here, Sophia shows Dad how to decode her secret-coded birthday card.
Aunt Jan and Keller join to play a couple of duets on the piano. Aunt Jan and the kids really enjoy playing the piano together when she comes to Yia Yia and Papou's house.
Even if Dad got a year older, July was a great month! Many many memories were made, and that's what it's all about...
