G.F.

For a time when I was a teenager, I shared a room with #9, Amanda (I'm #3). My Mom called her my "little shadow." I called her "G.F." (for Girlfriend). This is how I remember her from those days (note bird on shoulder):

But for her maturing years, I've been mainly out of the house, so it was a pleasure to have her out for a 9-day visit so we could get to know her better. She was great to have around and definitely knows how to have a good time!!

I try to do a new activity with each of our visitors (that way they feel special and we're always seeing something new). With Amanda we were going to go lawn bowling with the old people at Arcadia Park, but we were a little bit late and our teacher went home. :( Next time, Amanda! But we did have a couple other firsts, including a journey into the third-world-esque fashion district in L.A. to buy some cute fabric for a skirt, but no pictures of that, unfortunately...

The L.A. Arboretum, where I take everybody:

The one-handed walking

Amanda's always had a way with animals

I've never seen this there before






A first: Mini Golfing at "Golfland" (click there and make sure your sound's on... The voice is probably our lawn bowling teacher's).
Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures inside.
But I won a free game at the end for the first time in my life!


Arcadia Park
Whoever can balance on this thing is awesome!


Perhaps best of all: Newport Beach, also a first (and not a last)

Aunt Amanda showed Sammy how to take the waves

Keenan lost his head taking a rather large wave.

But he found another.

Come again soon, sister!!

Stay tuned for a recap of our Third Anniversary bash...

His mother called him Wild Thing!

The night Sammy wore his birthday suit and made mischief of one kind...

and another...



and made him king of all Wild Things...



(Bigger bathtub coming soon... more on that later.)

Haircut and Cheesy Smiles

Here's the last pre-haircut picture I have of Keenan. See how it was curling behind his ears and boofing out front?

It took Keenan quite a while to consent to let me cut his hair. I've done it a few times now. The first time was excruciating because it took FOREVER. Now that I've adapted better to how he likes it, and since receiving some great tips from a beautician in our ward, I'm feeling more confident (even though I'm still pretty slow). I started with the clippers with the 1/2 inch attachment (#4), and trimmed the back and sides. Then I cut an inch or so off the top with the scissors and blended. Lastly, I trimmed the front, not too short (my taste), and cleaned up the back and around the ears with the bare clippers. What do you think?

As for Samuel, he's taken to pulling a big cheesy smile when he sees the red light that precedes the flash on our camera. The smile then promptly disappears. Very cute.

He sure is starting to get around!! No independent steps yet, but lots of balancing and climbing.

Ten Days in Paradise

We've heard a lot of talk about Hawaii, but always thought it must be just a little overrated. After spending ten days on Maui and Oahu snorkeling, swimming wish tropical fish and sea turtles, seeing whales, basking in the sun (to our detriment), going to luaus, visiting volcanoes and waterfalls, and talking and laughing with family, we've learned we were wrong. For a couple years now, my Mom's been planning this trip (and saving skymiles) to take their kids who've graduated from college to Hawaii -- thank you so much, Mom and Dad!!  It was the most incredible vacation with some of the finest people, and we were devastated to come home.

Since there is no way I could choose just a few pictures to share, I put together a little slideshow for your pleasure.  Some of the pictures go by quickly, so hit pause if you want to study.  Comes in five parts: 

1) Keenan and myself -- 0:00

2) Samwise (as we sometimes call him) -- 1:05

3) Cousins Samuel and Abraham -- 2:20

4) Underwater photos -- 3:17

5) Family Favorites and Miscellaneous -- 4:07

ENJOY!!  We sure did.

Seeking bigger bathtub...

Here is my little bather 3 months ago.

But things are not as they once were. We have a wheel-chair accessible shower but no tub, so Samuel's still bathing in his little infant tub that is supposed to facilitate a toddler. But I fear he won't last much longer.

IDEAS?

Break's over... and How!

Okay, back in business. I think the reason I get behind is that there's so much to share! If I can't share all of it, why share any? Right? And then when I'm not keeping up my own blog, I'm generally not keeping up with anyone else's either, so here's to a fresh start.

Let's start with current news and go from there. Not only is today Tax Day (and we get a refund for the first time in a long time), but it's the Third Anniversary of the day Keenan proposed to me! Time sure flies. And I'm still loving every minute.

To our great joy, we've had oodles of visitors so far this year. Since I last blogged, we've had Meredith, Keenan's Dad, and Julia! Here are some highlights:

Keenan's spectacular first Masters Recital!!
(Bach Toccata in G, Beethoven 81a,
Ravel Gaspard de la Nuit, Schumann Carnaval)
He played his heart out!

Handsome father and son

Playing with Grandpa
(Look closely...)

Exhilarating LA Phil Concert at Disney Hall, including:
Ravel La Valse, Ravel Piano Concerto in G (with Martha Argerich)
Shostakovich Symphony No. 5


LA Arboretum with Meredith
(she blends right in)

My favorite fig tree

These flowers remind me of Meredith.

(Incidentally, I could devote a whole separate BLOG to the L.A. Arboretum. But it could never do justice... On we go.)

WHALE WATCHING! Boy we had great luck.

We saw a juvenile humpback, a mother/calf gray whale combo,
and these two humpbacks swam right under our boat!!

Check out my dolphin movie!

Samuel woke up for the end of the 3 1/2 hour trip.

What are the chances?


Waving goodbye.

For more great footage of our whale watching trip, click here.

We spent a few hours at the beautiful J. Paul Getty Museum, which was enjoyable. Keenan and Meredith both really know their art history, so I learn a lot from them. Speaking of Meredith, three people different people at three different times have told her she looks like a character from a Pre-Raphaelite painting, such as the one pictured below. What do you think?

View of smoggy LA from the Getty Center.
Look at my cute boy.

Julia and I got a yummy pizza from D'Amore's and
ate it on the beach in Malibu while we watched the surfers.

Watching a horse race at the Santa Anita Racetrack


My horse lost. Good thing I didn't place a bet.

Every horse race needs a decent frank.

Julia and I went and did a portion of the Hollywood Walk of Fame, where we saw lots of famous people's stars on the sidewalk. We also saw the filming of a TV show (forgot which), Kodak Theater (Julia had to tell me why it's famous), and all sorts of strange characters.

We went back to Hollywood Blvd. the next day with Keenan to visit Ripley's Believe it or Not! Odditorium. We viewed such rarities as:

a two-headed lamb


a five-legged calf


Marilyn Monroe, made of 250,000 thrown-out $1 bills


This picture of Jesus, created using miniscule words from
The Gospel According to St. Luke


My boy loves his Aunt Julia!

Are you really still reading this? If you are, it must be that you're dying to see the Grand Finale:

I think this is my longest post to date, and hopefully, it will not be beat.