California Dreamin'

All the leaves are brown,

And the sky is gray.

I've been for a walk,

On a winter's day.

I'd be safe and warm,

if I was in L.A.

California Dreamin'
On a winter's day.

I'm catching up on my blog entries on a cold driving rainy fall day here in New England. We are past the glow and magic of peak colors and the shades of browns have taken over while other trees have shed all their leaves giving us a preview of winter. The weather-lady said it was the perfect day to stay indoors and nap on the couch with a blanket. Taking her lead, I'm on my couch, with my laptop and lazy cat TomTom reminiscing about our California vacation over labor day. This blog entry took forever to put together due to the voluminous number of photos shown.


It had been two years since our last trip to California. We try to schedule our vacation around Chuck's annual corporate meeting being held in Newport Beach. We were able to visit with Mickey Mouse and the Disney gang along with many of the Arnold family and friends along the way. We jam in as much visiting as we can in a week's time.

First stop out of the car rental, is In and Out Burger. Chuck longs for some of the food establishments he cannot get on the east and we make our ritual visits to them when on the west coast.

Chuck's taste buds are saying, "I'm home."

Gramps makes a special effort to leave plenty of his homegrown lemons and oranges for his east coast grandchildren to pick.




We stayed with Gramps for the start of our vacation and much of the family were there for a dinner gathering, including a distant cousin.

Aunt Arlene and Jackie

The kids with cousin Amber. Arlene and Amber made a special trip to So. Cal. to join us for Disney.

The kid's with Penny and cousin Amy

Gramps and Aunt Joann

The Arnold gang

All the cousins.....minus Bryon, who is in New York, Robby and Brad's kids.

Grampsy

At Disney in "A Bug's Life" with cousin Amber and Aunt Arlene.

Grampsy with his sister, Aunt Molly.

Thanks to Aunt Arlene, we were able to go to lunch at club 33 at Disney. It's a 5 star restaurant with a lovely atmosphere and delicious food. We were really stylin' at Disney this year.

Peeking into the restaurant.

Pictures on the balcony, overlooking the park.

We had a perfect day at Disney, temps in the 80's rather than hitting 100 Degrees like years past.

Robby surprised us by meeting up with us at Disney. He also visited us when we were staying in Newport and took Zac out golfing. Zac was so happy to hang with his cousin and be able to golf.

Robby and his Mom Aunt Joann

Main street Disney

Zac really wanted a Mickey watch as his souvenir.

Jackie was thrilled to pick out Marie for her Disney keepsake.

Jackie was so happy to run into Minnie.

Jac n Zac were on their feet for 12 hours trying to keep up with Aunt Arlene who has marathon powers to play at Disneyland. We finally gave up trying to keep up with her and made our way out of the park with two very tired children.

The kid's are looking at the city of LA view at Grampsy's house.

We made our way to Newport Beach as Chuck needs to attend his corporate meeting and the kids and I get to enjoy some R and R.

Surfer dudes, palm trees, beach buggies. Yup, we're in California.

Sun, boardwalks, arcades, boutiques, out door cafes and surf shoppes. Yup, we're in California.

Myself and the kids went out to dinner with Robby as Chuck attends dinner at his meeting. The kids really look up to their all their big cousins and it is such a gift that they enjoy spending time with the little ones. This was the first trip we had some quality time with cousin Robby.

First time on a dial up phone.

We spent the afternoon hanging around the pier waiting for the sunset. A chilly fog rolled in, but the sunset still peaked under the cloud cover.

We spent the night at Aunt Joann's. 'Fancy Auntie' spoiled the kids with gifts, cupcakes, play and a ride in her convertible.

We had lunch with Grandma Helen and Papa Klim.

After lunch we were off for an afternoon swim at the Johnson household.

The Arnold twins with the Johnson triplets and older sister Kelly.

Van, Kyle, and Amy were share the same birthday as Jacquelyn and Zachary.

Eric, Carole, myself and Chuck

103 degrees

Next stop that very day is dropping the kids off to Aunt Kristin's and Uncle Fred's for a sleepover.

Next day visit to Helen and Klim's for lunch.

Typical view of valley living tucked in the high desert mountains

Alex, Katie, Jack, Amy, Jac-n-Zac

Zac with cousin Jack

Another afternoon swim at Fred's house.

Our last night in LA at "The Grove" and outdoor mall. We went out to dinner with Gramps, Aunt Joanne, and cousin Crystal.

Some hollywood star must have been there, because the paparazzi were scouting out the Grove. I requested a picture of them.

Cousin Crystal with her pup Penny. She is in law school.....and I think of her as our very own Legally Blonde.

City views of LA from Grampsy's balcony.

Blue Belt Special

Jac and Zac have been taking Karate for a little over a year now. We are hoping they stick with it and earn a black belt. So far, they are motivated to continue. The Karate school they attend is an integrated approach of many martial arts styles. Each week they learn a lesson of the week which teaches the students integrity such as preserverance, confidence, conflict resolution, discipline, respect, balance, priorities, to name a few. The kids have just tested into their blue belt. This includes having attended a required number of classes, earning stripes each belt level and demonstrating proficiency in the skills taught. Now that they've made their blue belt they will continue with classes but also be introduced to sparring. Before I was a parent of kids practicing martial arts, I thought it was just self defense, but it is so much more. It is a place outside of the home where kids learn values and skills of life. They learn goal setting, working hard to achieve something. A black belt can't be handed to you, rather it is something that is earned. They learn more about how to avoid conflict without ever having to use kicks and blocks and punches. They learn how to use the power inside them, their voice and their brains.

Jac and Zac, we are so proud of your hard work. Congratulations on getting your blue belts!

My Little Helper

Being a Mom of boy-girl twins, I have a built in experiment on the mysteries of gender differences. Is it nature or nurture? I think we'd all agree that it is both, but nature sure does play a big role. Jackie actually enjoys domestic chores. She will ask to help fold laundry or make dinner. She will help put the groceries away. She's a great little helper. I have to stop my driving attitude that might say," Not now honey." because it will just get done faster if I do it myself, and take the time to enjoy her partaking in the duty. Meanwhile, rather than feeling left out, Zac is perfectly happy hanging back to play the Wii. Eventually he will be expected to learn the basics of self sufficiency.

On this particular night we made a old favorite recipe I got from my college roomie, Peg. It's called Flaky Bamboo and Beef buns. Personally, I'm not a big fan of the hamburger, so these buns are a nice alternative. Jackie doesn't care for them much, but it didn't stop her from wanting to make them. And my hope is if she makes them, perhaps she'll like them more.

Bon Appetite!

He did it!

Two springs ago, we encouraged the kids to try riding bikes sans training wheels. Jackie was willing to try and stuck with it. Zac attempted it once and 'put the breaks' on that idea. He just wouldn't practice and chose to ride with the training wheels all last summer. I've learned not to push Zac. In his own time, he will eventually meet the challenge. This summer, he was showing all signs that he could do it, but try to convince him of that, was another thing. On this particular day, I told him this would be the day he would go two wheels. He still said 'nope'. So I went along side him with my hand on his back giving him absolutely no assistance trying to determine how I was to prove him otherwise while I promised not to 'let go'. So I begged for only 5 seconds of no help....finally he agreed. Then I asked for 10 seconds, and on and on like this. Jackie was right alongside us cheerleading him on. Then the switch turned. He finally had proven to himself that he could do it. And he was off! In about 5 minutes, he was starting up from a stop solo, standing on his pedals, navigating the entry to the rollerblade hockey rink, riding off curbs and smiling for the camera. He kept saying, "Mom, did you get that shot?" Yup-Zac, I got it! So did you!!! and I couldn't be prouder of you.

Now biking is all Zac wants to do. This fall we look forward to some family bike rides. Now, on to the next challenge.....getting Zac to be willing to swim with face in the water. Where's the switch?