week 5 of summer-fun-o-rama

It seems like I have more and more to say and less and less time to say it in. You will have to live with a few pics and short, informational sentences. You will have to live without my magnificent humor until Zola goes to college.

Last weekend Stephanie, Caleb, Zola Jane and I went to San Diego. We loved gawking at those poor caged animals, trashed a hotel and made fun of people gutting fish off the pier at Imperial Beach. We had a pretty good time, ate ridiculous amounts of sugar and watched hotel tv until the wee hours.

Caleb flew home Tuesday, and since then Stephanie and I haven't really done much. It's been a more relaxing installment of Summer-Fun-O-Rama this week since Stephanie has "been there, done that" for most things. On the week days, the most exciting thing we have done has been walk to blockbuster for more "Curb Your Enthusiasm."

Friday night we went to the Grove. They had a live band and some of the kid-faces of Disney were there. We met and got Zola's picture with Vincent Martella, the voice of "Phineas" on Phineas and Ferb and plays "Greg" on Everyone Hates Chris.
Stephanie is trying to "friend" him on Facebook. He messaged her a few times to figure out who she is (and remembered getting the photo) but I told her not to be disappointed if he doesn't friend her. She is friends with a band we went to see last year at the El Rey, and I guess they message all the time, so maybe Vincent and her will be laughing about this post together in a few years when they get married. Who knows.

Saturday early, I took Zola to get her pictures done. I've tried to do it every month on or around her birth day. I skipped 6-months because we took family self-portraits in Arizona. But, it seems like so much has changed from the baby who just laid on her back and smiled.


She was COMPLETELY ADORABLE in this photo session. After that, I took her to get her ears mutilated. We can now start the gender training in full. Next week, I am going to bind her feet.

Afterward, Stephanie and I went back to the Grove. They were doing a "Hawaii" event with hula, music, and free food, drink, lei making, etc. We toured Kauai while we waited for our showing of TOY STORY 3 in 3D... very, very worth seeing. We took Zola to her first movie in the theater and she was very well behaved. I was worried because people in LA are serious about their movies. She appeared to love the movie as much as Stephanie and I did. She laughed, she cried... and so did we. (Although we did it at appropriate moments and no one shoved a pacifier in our mouths.)

I think the big plans for today are to go hear some DJs perform at a public park and do some household maintenance. If we don't buy groceries soon, Stephanie will be forced to eat the baby. She's sweet, but I don't think it will work. I'd never be able to figure out if the sides should be savory or not.

ollie

Last night, we went out to see Oliver Stone speak at an event at Scott's work. We arrived early so that we could help Scott with whatever he needed setting up, and were glad we did because the place was pretty packed by the time the event started, and we got seats in the front. I did not know much about the man before the event, but he was really disarmingly funny, charming, well-read, and interesting. I was also struck by the plague of celebrité. I would hate to have fans. Okay. Fine. I realize you are reading this. I should say more fans.

crazy amounts to discuss

We have been doing so much stuff with Brittany. Meditation gardens, Los Angeles Contemporary Museum of Art's Friday night Jazz (above), an Improv Comedy show with Madhuri, a barbeque taco night at Nancy's, to see "Journey to the Center of the Earth" in 3D and "Dark Knight," to a mid-night party for the release of her favorite author's newest book (Stephanie Meyers,) shopping for school stuff, Scrapbooking with Madhuri every weekend, mini-golfing and batting cages, and the planetarium. Of course it wouldn't be LA without getting on set of a TV show (they were filming something for MTV at the mini-golf place) and being shaken up by a pretty decent-sized earthquake. (We're fine, by the way. But we were IN it. And it was relatively scary.)

We do have a lot of pictures, but not a lot of time to post. It's been a whirl wind.

Oh, and I got the score for my exam - a four. If you recall, six is passing, and last time I got a zero. So, four is okay. I can accept a four. And that means that next time, a six is within reason. Oh, and exam study season is already resumed. I need to kick butt.

week of thompson

My Friday bday surprise was goofy golfing, batting cages, arcade and homemade by Mark brownies with candles. A blast. But, I lost the SD card with the proof on it. Eva arrived Saturday evening (right after I got home from taking Stephanie to the airport.)

Venice Beach drizzle sand castle Sunday

Eva's kids are very industrious sand architects. After we built this castle, we built a hot tub.

Hollywood Boulevard Monday

They have street performers and costumed people for photos with tourists all along here. Chana had funny run-ins with both. First, a guy who did the robot really good got her to do a "white girl dance" in his show. Later she realized that what looked like red tights on this costumed guy was really just red paint on his skin - and he was only wearing a little leather g-string with tassles on his belt. She went over to try to clandestinely take a picture of his bare bottom to show her friends and he turned around and caught her. After that, he kept winking at her and waving, and then later came over, stood right in front of her, and started shaking his booty at her. It was one of those painfully funny embarassing things.

I had a good time hanging out with Roger, which I did a lot of thanks to our common love of roller coasters. Likewise for Mark and Eva with their common disinterest in coasters. (They went to the park together with the girls on Wednesday when Roger and I ditched them for the siren call of Magic Mountain.)

Knotts Berry Farm Tuesday

All but Mark went to Knotts. That park is perfect for a family with varying tastes in ride intensity. Roger, Chana and I (and sometimes Sade) broke out of Snoopy's Camp for some high-thrills. The Xcelerator shoots you like a rocket 80 mph in 6 seconds for 32 seconds worth of straight up, over a hump in the track and straight down into some loops. The Silver Bullet is probably my favorite (because the wooden coaster is closed for repair this year) - the bullet is a smooth, feet dangling coaster with lots of loops and cork screws. But the highlight of the day was seeing Aubri and Marissa become the next generation of coaster junkies. Aubri's quote, "That was awesome! Let's go again! My favorite part was when the skin on my face felt like it was falling off. Did you feel that, too?" Marissa also loved the rides, but was not big enough to feel her face fall off (she would have if they'd have let her.) So she stuck to the log ride, which was the scariest in her height bracket - and rode it 11 times.

Six Flags Wednesday

Roger, Chana, Sade and I hit the big-kid coasters. We rode every coaster at Six Flags except Superman and Tatsu. We worked the park pretty good. I've been to this park a lot of times, but surprisingly had not been on very many of the rides. The Riddler you ride standing up. The X2 - well, that one is really unpredictable - one minute you are laying on your back going up the track backwards, the next your seat swivels unexpectedly to face your head next to the track right before you plunge down. You just never know where you are going. We sat in the front row. My favorite is Batman or DejaVu. I learned that you can get too much of a good thing - after throwing up all night and still feeling like I was on a coaster all day at work the next day.

Wicked @ Pantages Thursday

I could watch this show every week. Poor Roger. Little did he know what he was in for when he insisted that he and Eva should do more for my birthday than just visit me. They treated me to this show - and it was a wonderful performance... I cried again. And I realized that one of the reasons I like it has a little to do with Eva (The Good One) and Mona (The Green Sheep) mirroring the storyline's path through friendship with one another, and ending up being Changed For Good by one another.

This one is for Eva: You asked for it.

Hollywood Driving Tour & Universal City Walk Friday

Mark took the fam on the usual drive around local points of interest. A very good Journey tribute band was playing the City Walk - and some b-boys gave a modest show. I hold Marissa to tell me I was hip, and she called me a hippo.

China Town Saturday

I collect paper money from around the world, and I got some Chinese Yuen and some Iraqi Dinar (with Saddam's face - but Mark thinks it's fake.) I don't have any pictures because I forgot to copy Eva's SD card before she and her beautiful family left today.