Mom and Dad's Visit

Grandpa Dave and Grandma Penny have come and gone. We had a very nice time! We saw a lot of sights, ate some good food, watched some bad movies, visited many old friends, swam a lot of miles, ticked a lot of legs, accomplished some minor home and superhero cape repairs. We miss them, but look at all the memories...

Science Center

We went downtown to the Science Center on one of the first days of Mom and Dad's visit. Now it seems like a million years ago after all the other fun we found. I thought it would be a sleepy summer day, but the whole world of summer camp kids were there running around. We discovered a preschool room in each theme area and stuck to those.

Milo's Tree

Along the train route (see next post) we stopped along the way to stretch our legs. The guys found this huge tree. I think Milo would have stayed in that tree all afternoon if we let him.

Trains, Zebras and Golf

What happened to my blog settings, the pictures get all jumbled when uploaded. Is there a way to keep them in the order I selected? Anyway, these are out of order, but I am sure you can keep up.

We escaped our small condo and valley for a very nice hotel in a nearby town. It was Lyman's idea, and it was a good one. We really enjoyed the extra space of a hotel, prepared meals and refreshing pool; we kind of pushed our luck with the activities. We took a train ride on a historic train and sat in the dining car to eat along the way. Like most antiques, it was pretty shabby and worn (I guess you can't see that in the "Water for Elephants" film when it was used. I can't imagine Reese Whiterspoon lounging where I ate a patty melt. I'm lucky I got to eat. It took the cook forever to make our simple meal. I later understood when I saw the closet of a kitchen, and wondered why they bother serving food. It was fun, in the way riding an am-track is fun. At first a fun adventure that quickly turns tedious.

Mom and Milo in the hotel pool.

Another activity was putt putt golf, but it was just too hot- even at 10:30 in the morning. Milo and Lyman also hit the arcade, but there is never a good time of day for me and mom in an arcade, so we just sat and chatted over a coke.
A day or so before going out of town, we hit the zoo, but, again it was too hot. Look at these poor zebras. This was pretty typical for most of the animals.

Lyman and Milo on the train.

Barbeque

We saw a lot of people from Martinsville during Mom and Dad's visit. Funny, right? Lesli and Ivan are not unusual, we have been hanging out with them for 11 years, well Lesli anyway. Mom and Dad also have two couples from their old travel group who have moved out here to retire. It was fun seeing old friends in a new place and sharing ideas of places they like to go and food to eat. This is Lesli with her new niece, Ivan's brother's baby.

Milo and Sophia enjoyed her pool.

Two varmits.

Peaches

Oh boy have we had some great fruit lately. Best of all have been the peaches. Above is Dad eating at a local pie place we love and below is from my kitchen. My pie is the golden, juicy dessert I'll bet you wish you were eating right now, and with it is the recipe from the magazine. Doesn't mine look better? A tip from Giada, spread the top with apricot preserves for the golden shine. You're welcome.

Let's Go Dodgers

Yum a frozen malt!

This must have been an early inning or right after my malt!

My Dad likes to take his clip board and keep score. Actually, I don't know if he likes it, he has to; it's an obsession. Mom says if he has to go to the bathroom, then she has to take over! He kept score until the Dodgers finally won at 10:47 pm after trying really hard to loose in the 8th inning. Milo was a champ sitting through it all without following his Mom and Grandma's example of complaining and growling.

Think Blue

A view of the game.

Pool Time

It was fairly hot during Mom and Dad's visit. Not awful, like where most of you are dripping with humidity and swatting mosquitoes, but hot enough that we spent plenty of time at our pool and the one in the hotel. Milo is so fun to swim with now that he is independent, except for the torpedo move...

Torpedo Batman

I have my friend Wendy to thank (or hate :) for this move. Milo got the nickname torpedo after nearly knocking Grandma Penny unconscious and toothless with his move. Grandpa Dave was a much more willing participant.

Venice

With our last whole day together, we took a tip from Kelly and Mile and went to Venice Beach for the afternoon. Lyman introduced us to some very classy coffee, Milo jumped in the waves and we saw a range of humanity on the strip by muscle beach.

Just mere blocks from the crude and tacky strip of the beach, are the Venice Canals. The banks of these waterways are home to beautiful, charming, peaceful residences. I'm glad we ended at the Canals and not the beach! I am also so happy to know about this area after living here for 11 years, thanks Kel and Mike!

Last Video

Mom and Milo in the surf. Milo would have waited for waves all day!

Busy Start of Summer

Whew! We have been super busy lately with Lyman out touring and school finishing for the year. The weeks flew by in June with marathon days and busy weekends. Now, it's all over, and summer break is here! My pulse is definitely slower now that I am on break, and I am determined to enjoy it knowing it will all be over very soon with the fall rush.

Mini Golfing

For Father's Day, Lyman chose to go mini-golfing. It was super fun! I was worried Milo would whack someone with his club, but he was very careful holding it, if not very skilled using it! There was only one melt-down when his ball went in the water, but then he was ok sharing my ball. In the end, Lyman and I tied, and he won the tie breaker at ski ball. I am excited to add this new, affordable game to our list of "things to do" on long weekend and holiday breaks.

Lyman's Play

Lyman reprised his role in the one man-one bassist play "Five Uneasy Pieces" this spring at a Hollywood Festival called the Fringe.
Here is the listing in the LA Weekely and the posting outside the theatre.

Cars

One of the moms at Milo's preschool organized a group rate trip to see Cars at the El Capitan Disney movie theatre in Hollywood. The movie was "rotten" on Rotten Tomatoes movie rating site and with me too. 2:10 mins long and a plot no child under 10 could follow was not a winner with me. Sure it looked great, but basically boring if you're 4 and have no idea what's going on. Then you just need take several bathroom breaks and eat more popcorn. BUT if you're at the El Capitan this summer, for your premium movie rate, you also get to attend the Cars experience afterward. Just 1/2 a block behind the theatre is Hollywood High which has been transformed for the summer into a Car wonderland. This made the ticket price and 2:10 mins worth it!

You could make your own Lego car and race it down this slide.

You could take a lot of pictures with your favorite cars... and more

Cars Fun

This was one of those big slides you slide on a felt mat. Milo was loved to be terrified by it; he went down twice.

Video games, of course, for the new Cars game.

There was this big tent with tires all over to climb, toss bean bags in and swing on.

A photo op with Mater.

Springtime Jumper

To highlight the Cars trip to Paris, this jumper contraption was strewn with flowers and labeled "Springtime in Paris." I didn't think Milo would A. Want to jump or B. Wait in the long line to jump. You can see, he sure did, and he was great.

Start Your Engines

Finally, there was a race track with these speedy little bikes. Milo doesn't get a lot of practice on a bike, but he made it all through the track.