Father's Day Weekend in SoCal – Part 1 of 3

Thursday, June 15th
Frank and I took a mid-afternoon flight down to the Orange County airport to spend Father's Day weekend with Dan, Carrie, Vivian, and Lillian. Dan picked us up right after work and we hit the ground running. He drove us immediately to pick up Vivian from her preschool. The facility is part of a lake association swim club and so has a sandy beach and water right outside her classroom. My kids' preschool never looked like this.

The classrooms within were bright and airy and the preschool looked like a happy place.

After picking up three-year-old Vivian, we drove to get one-year-old Lillian from her daycare provider's home, and then on to Pump It Up for Vivian's end of the school year party. Pump It Up is an indoor playground with all sorts of inflated climbing and bouncing and sliding structures. What cacophony when a party is in session there!

Put this number of kids in it and it is not at all quiet and peaceful. The pose for this photograph was one fleeting moment of commanded sitting. Vivian is in the nearest seat in the second row, wearing a red dress, hands folded angelically in her lap. Frank is seated in a chair in the far back in the center, wearing a green shirt.

I climbed into one of the tumbling barrels to roll around with Vivian. Look closely and you can see barely see one of her legs poking out to the side from behind my butt. On second thought, maybe you do not want to look too closely. Aside from getting a bit nauseous, I now have this very flattering photo of us in action that Frank took to commemorate the occasion.

As long as mom and dad were not in her line of vision, Lillian was very happy to be held by Grandma.

After about an hour-and-a-half of playtime, a dinner of pizza and cookies was served in the party room at Pump It Up. Once refueled, we dropped by Dan and Carrie's house to pick up our mode of transportation. Dan had delayed selling his truck until after our visit so we would not have to rent a vehicle. That night, before bedtime, we squeezed in unpacking the gifts that I had stuffed into mine and Grandpa's suitcases. There was a puzzle in a tin for Vivian and a Hickory Dickory Dock finger puppet mouse book, intended for Lillian but which Vivian took an interest in reading it to her little sister. There was a fairy outfit for Vivian.

For Lillian there was a small giraffe by Early Learning Centre, the size of a toddler's hand, whose joints made appealing clicking sounds. Lillian also got a roly-poly owl toy by Kid O Wobbles, baby fist sized that tilted and swayed like those vintage Weebles™. Remember? "Weebles™ wobble but they don't fall down." You can see more Weebles™ and childhood memories in my toy memorabilia post from 3/23/17.

I am somewhat bemused that the giraffe has already gone on vacation with Lillian and her family and has visited a winery riding in her daddy's shirt pocket.

In the suitcase there were also a Lil' Red doll for Lillian and a mermaid doll for Vivian to complement the dolls they each had already received.

After gift opening, the kids were whisked up to bed. Once they were both tucked in, we drove off to our hotel, located about a mile from their home. There was to be no sleeping in for us on Friday morning. We were scheduled to babysit Vivian while Dan and Carrie were at work since her preschool was closed for the day.

Friday, June 16th

Knowing we would want a bit of time to recover from traveling and partying, Frank and I asked that Vivian be dropped off at our hotel in the morning rather than us being at their house bright and early. We took Vivian to breakfast at the hotel. Going through the buffet line she was very conservative and selective. She did ask first thing if they had apple juice so we made sure she got that. She picked scrambled eggs, cheese, milk, and yogurt but turned down any muffins or buns. I wonder if the Southern California influenced lo-carb craze has affected her decisions. She is a very wise three-year old. She is a big fruit eater at home but I guess in this venue she wanted mostly high protein options.

Vivian chose for us to eat outside next to the water feature in the courtyard. Luckily blueberry is her favorite flavor for yogurt, since it was the only option available. Oddly enough the hotel offers only one flavor per day, although it does rotate what that flavor is from day to day.

After breakfast we walked the long hotel corridors and rode the elevator up to our room. Vivian, of course, got to press all the buttons. Well, almost all. At one point Frank absentmindedly pushed the button first. All of sudden her face was crestfallen and she was trying soooo hard to be brave and not cry. A couple extra trips to different floors with her in full button control mode seem to console her and avoid the potential meltdown. Thank goodness. I still remember Dan in his toddler years sobbing and throwing a tantrum for 45 minutes because I forgot to let him open the front door with the key when we came home from grocery shopping. In his case though, with my arms laden with bags, I relocked the door and handed him the keys to no avail. He sobbed. "But it's not the same!" I was relieved that history was not going to repeat itself with his daughter. Once in the room Vivian absorbed herself in doing a new Red Riding Hood puzzle that we had brought down for her. It came in a matching tin and had 35 pieces. Every time she linked two pieces together she exclaimed with pride, "I made a match!"

We planned to spend the rest of the morning and the afternoon at Dan and Carrie's house. Because of car seat logistics, I opted to walk the one-mile distance with Vivian in her stroller while Frank went separately with the truck. Frank walked part of the way with me first, to be sure of the route and assess the steepness of the streets with the stroller, before he returned to our hotel to fetch the vehicle. The day promised to be a real scorcher, but there was a breeze and we left sufficiently before noon that the heat had not climbed to an intolerable level.

Once at her house Vivian asked to change into her fairy costume. She dance and twirled in it for Frank and me.

"Grandma take a picture of us!" she insisted. This little girl knows all about selfies and videos and poses. She was also very amenable to taking off her fairy dress before she ate anything.

When it was lunchtime, I let Vivian pick her menu and her plate. The plate had a snowman on it. Christmas in June. Why not? One food item was string cheese which I think she usually unwraps, bites off, and chews. "Do you know why it is called string cheese? Let Grandma show you a fun way to eat it." It took her a few practice pinches to get each sliver started, but she concentrated and mastered it.

Yum. Vivian liked this new way of eating it.

After lunch was nap time. Vivian went to sleep willingly and without a hitch. Ahh! It was the first time since we left Livermore that Frank and I had had a breather. When she (and Frank) woke I played my melodica birthday present from Frank, while Vivian danced with graceful ballerina footsteps and arm motions to the tune Beauty and the Beast.

She also tried her hand at blowing through the tube and fingering the keyboard. (See also birthday post dated 6/21/17.)

At the end of the afternoon Dan called and asked that we get Vivian dressed in a nice outfit for the preschool graduation that evening. Wow! I got to pick what she wore? I felt privileged and trusted. Vivian's class was continuing, not graduating, but the entire school was part of a musical performance for the parents.

The kids really did a great job on a rather ambitious set of songs. Number Rock was very cute and the kids were engaged and enthusiastic with the beat. You can hear a version of the song on YouTube. I had never heard it before. Likewise ABC Rock was new to me but of course YouTube has a version of ABC Rock also. The letter verses were fine but the kids really got into singing the chorus. "OH BOY". Watching them go through all the motions of Bear Hunt brought many a laugh from the audience. I was very impressed with how much they had all memorized.

After singing there were refreshments of cookies, cakes, muffins, pastries, and punch. The seats were vacated quickly but I will admit the singers still filed out in order. Just very, very fast!

When the program was over, and we had consumed all those sweets, we went out to dinner at a local Italian restaurant called Peppinos. Vivian and Lillian had no problem at all with carbs there practically inhaling the bread and pasta. Lillian is very tiny for her age but, man, can she eat! She is a bottomless pit! It is a joy to watch, alleviating so much of the worry from her required surgery for intestinal rerouting at one day old. The story of her birth was told in my post for 5/26/16.

Outside the restaurant Vivian again wanted me to take her picture. Why she had to hug this fire hydrant is beyond me, but there you have it. Do not try to fathom the mind of a three year old. Sparkly pink shoes I can understand, but a fire hydrant...?

Returning back to Dan's place, the girls went to bed pretty smoothly with goodnight hugs and kisses. Dan had to hang out with Lillian for a bit near her crib. At bedtime she is a daddy's girl. Afterwards Dan came downstairs and Frank and I visited with him for a short while, hearing about his work projects, in particular a renovation of the lobby of the Grand Californian Hotel at the Disney Resort in Anaheim. Then we drove back to our hotel for the night. Tomorrow would be event packed and we knew we'd better catch our sleep while we could.

Livermore Rodeo 2017

The Livermore Rodeo, "The World's Fastest Rodeo" occurs annually the second weekend in June. Usually our summer has gotten a good start and it is typically quite hot that weekend. We historically have avoided sitting in the direct sun for a couple hours to watch the rodeo, although we have done it on occasion in the past. This year, the second weekend was breezy and sunny, temperatures in the high 60's, and not at all like the heat wave we were about to have the third week of June where temperatures reached triple digits. I'd forgotten about the rodeo until the sounds of the Saturday morning rodeo parade drifted down to our house from the short distance away. The weather was so gorgeous Saturday June 10th that Frank and I decided to walk downtown and catch the tail end of the parade.

As we leisurely strolled the few blocks to a vantage point on the parade route, Frank and I reminisced about when the kids were younger and how the parade had been such a huge event. We'd carry chairs, and water bottles, and snacks and be there almost an hour before the parade began to get good curbside seats so the kids could see it all. We recalled Robin, over three decades ago, semi-reclined in her umbrella stroller, taking a long draw from her bottle of ice water. With an exaggerated smack of her lips she uttered a long satisfied "Ahhhh" that made Frank and me burst into spontaneous laughter. Now he and I walked along the route, not pausing to find a seat, and watched a few horse formations.

Although we'd missed hearing the high school and middle school bands, we were able to enjoy a mobile mariachi band.

We passed by the owners of our local toy store CooleyKatz TOYS, standing near the entry door, in front of the display window. They are a really neat couple with many grandkids and a love for the toys they select and sell. We visit their store often for our grandkids and for Alex. They have a great sense of humor and happily posed for us wearing their matching parade spectator outfits.

Normally we do not attend the rodeo because it is too hot, but again, since the weather was so fantastic, we impulsively ducked into Baughman's Western Outfitters, our local store for boots, hats, and equestrian supplies, to see if they were still selling rodeo tickets. They were not, but they informed us we could get some online when we got home. We took time to pat the horse mannequin out front and take in the display of boots within before leaving.

Once home, we bought three tickets for Frank, Alex, and me for the next day. They were in the center in some low numbered row bleacher seats that were pretty close with a great view of the action.

I picked up Alex from his home shortly after his lunch and we drove over to the rodeo grounds. Here is Alex at the entrance.

Our seats were not initially in the shade but soon the shadow of the canopy covered us. We were delightfully comfortable, even donning a light coverup because of the gentle breezes. Alex busied himself studying the program. Whatever event we go to, he consistently does this intently.

Here were the events, although they were not necessarily in this order. Bull riding had been rescheduled to be last.

The opening ceremonies were strongly patriotic, with a huge flag unfurled and waving in the center of the arena.

The music throughout was fun, a great blend of country western selections. Alex did love the songs, the hubbub of the people, and the general spectator antics; but the events themselves were not of great interest to him. With a duration of 3 seconds to 8 seconds, by the time I had him looking in the right place, the bronco or bull ride, or the roping endeavor was over. The barrel racing worked better since that took a bit longer – on the order of 3 to 4 minutes.

There was only one very close call. During the final bull ride of the day, when the rider fell off, the bull went after him. The rodeo clown and several cowboys had their hands full jumping into full distraction mode until the dumped rider could scramble to safety. After the rodeo, we had dinner with Alex before taking him back to his home. It had been a glorious day for a fun, unique outing. There is something to be said for spontaneity.

Ponder Post: May Birthdays

June is about two-thirds over, and I am late blogging about the end of May birthdays. Alex and I share the same day. Alex turned 31. I turned 64 – a perfect cube in age and shape!  For completeness and tradition, this serves as our official birthday post. There is a perk in being a bit delayed, though; I am able to add some information on my using my present from Frank.

Alex's home had their annual party for him, at which they served a meal of his favorite foods: home made lumpia, pizza, and spaghetti.

Capping off this meal, instead of a big cake, Alex got to enjoy blowing out the candles on a special uber decorated cupcake.

Wearing his birthday-boy blue lei Alex poses for a photo. I was given a birthday-girl pink lei to wear during the party.

Alex breaks into a big grin while all sing ♪ Happy Birthday ♪ to him. He then waits for all to count to three, ONE, TWO, THREE - multiple times - before he blows out the candles.

Afterwards, Alex opened up his gifts. Staff members each picked out a shirt for him. Alex chilled on the couch with his new wardrobe draped over him soaking in all the compliments about how handsome he looked.

Frank and I buy dull clothes. Baby, Marian, and Chris have much more hip taste. They also know how to throw a great party.

Along with a United States puzzle and a container of Hershey Kisses, Frank and I gave Alex a stacking toy where brightly colored gears twirl as they travel down a threaded post. You can see it in action in the video at the Fat Brain Toys site where they call their product Kids Spinagain Toy. He loved it, as did many of Alex's housemates and Alex's nieces and nephew. Of course, as doting grandparents, we've bought this marvelous toy for them, too. It does not go "Zip when it moves", nor "Bop when it stops", but it does indeed go "Whirrr" when it stands still per the Peter, Paul and Mary song. (By the way, Frank and Robin did their father/daughter dance to that song at her wedding.)

In terms of my birthday, Frank surprised me with a melodica, a wind instrument with a mouthpiece at one end and small keyboard controlling a row of reeds. The instrument's name is a blend of melody and harmonica with the accent on the second syllable lod. We were watching The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and I noticed the band leader was playing an instrument. I cried out to Frank "He's playing a melodica! I had one of those as a kid. I wonder what ever happened to it. My dad probably left it behind in the house in New Jersey. Bummer." Frank went on Amazon.com and found me one.

My original instrument had only a curved permanently affixed mouthpiece like the one you see at the lower right but this model also came with an interchangeable flexible hose option so you can play it on a table top instead of holding it as you would a clarinet. The cool thing about this wind instrument is that you can play chords! With other wind instruments, one fingering combination gives one resonating tone only. The exception is maybe an accordion, but you do not blow air through that, you pump it through. Plus an accordion is rather large and bulky.

This new model melodica weighs only 2.6 lbs and, at the dimensions of 21" x 3" x 7", easily fits in my suitcase to take along and play for the grandkids. I bought some popular Disney music books with songs that the kids would recognize so perhaps they might be able to sing along.

Here I am playing out of one of those books when we visiting Dan and Carrie this past weekend. Vivian is dancing off screen. Frank made a cell phone video of us in action, but when I would glance over to watch Vivian cavorting about, I took my eyes off the music and my performance went to hell in a hand basket. That video, yuk, is not for sharing!

One option I had not considered was that Vivian wanted to blow while I played. That was challenging as sometimes notes just did not sound if her breath had faded away. It sure was fun though. We tried it in reverse, me blowing and her playing the keys. Cacophonous – but still fun. It was an out of the box interpretation of a duet.

I am looking forward to bringing my melodica along to Oklahoma on our visit next month to try it out with Autumn and Isaiah. Autumn knows every single word to the song How Far I'll Go from the recent Disney movie Moana. She sang the entire song to me over the phone, so now I can accompany her. If you are not familiar with the song (I wasn't) you can listen to How Far I'll Go on YouTube. It was a fun birthday for both Alex and me and the gifts were hits.

Ponder Post: Just What Kind of Mother Are You?

Just What Kind of Mother Are You? ©2013 is a crime mystery centered around a missing child. This is the second book I've read by Paula Daly. The first was Trophy Child ©2017 and it was excellent. I reviewed it in my June 3rd blog post. This novel was also a page turner but did not appeal to me as much. There were fewer plot twists and surprises but the feelings and anguish of the lead characters was well portrayed. The same detective is the investigator in both books. This book introduces Detective Constable Joanne Aspinall.

The main character Lisa Kallisto is a harried, conscientious, overworked mother of three. Lisa also holds a full time job running an animal shelter. She loves her three kids and husband fiercely and is often exhausted giving them the attention she feels they need and deserve while still holding down a paying job. Her daughter is to have a thirteen year old friend stay over one night but the plan changes. In a case of cross-wires communication, the thirteen year old girl, daughter of Lisa' s best friend, goes missing. Lisa blames herself and tries frantically to assist the search to recover the girl in anyway she can. She also struggles with her own guilt and pushes through that to emotionally support the family who are desperate to recover their daughter, ever more fearful of her demise as time ticks by with her whereabouts remaining unknown.

Mysteries can be intriguing but to me this one was stressful to read, most likely because of the topic. The sinister threat of a child molester lurking somewhere nearby raised my discomfort level much more than it contributed to my suspenseful engagement. Just What Kind of Mother Are You? had good character development, a modicum of plot twists, and a plausible small town setting. I will not spoil the ending by divulging whether it was a good or bad outcome, but I will say the ending was somewhat abrupt, the wrap-up almost a hurried afterthought. I think there are other books out there more worthy of a reader's time than this one, but I do not regret sticking it out. I would have been dissatisfied with myself if I'd left the novel unfinished. I will admit, however, that I had a stiff neck when I finished this book due to the tension it induced. I will give the author Paula Daly a third chance but I will research the topic of my selected thriller more carefully.

Ponder Post: Rabbit Cake

Eva Rose Babbitt, the mother of two daughters, eleven year old daughter Elvis, and fifteen year old Lizzie, drowns while sleepwalking. Rabbit Cake ©2017 by Annie Hartnett is written from the point of view of Elvis as she tries to cope with her mom's death and navigate the grieving process, which she has been told takes 18 months. One of the reviewers (Beth Hoffman) states, "Heartbreak and dark comedy fuse together in this endearing story of family dysfunction and loss." I agree with every single word in this quote except the term "endearing". I hated this book.

Elvis and Lizzie's father starts wearing their mother's bathrobe and slippers around the house and carries a parrot on his shoulder who mimics the voice of his wife. Lizzie sleep-eats and breaks into chicken coops at night to eat the raw eggs, later spending several months in a mental institution. Part of her healing process from the death of the mother is baking 1000 rabbit shaped cakes to be entered into the Guinness Book of World Records. Elvis hallucinates that some of these cakes are twitching or otherwise moving. Meanwhile Elvis is researching the cause of her mother's death thinking it is a brain tumor that caused the drowning. She is also finishing her mother's book on animals and is very much an expert and fan of the naked mole rat. Elvis is a volunteer at the zoo and becomes distraught when a chain saw is employed to cut off the long neck of a deceased giraffe so it will fit in a truck to be taken to a crematorium at the zoo. A classmate at school is ostracized because she had a urinary tract infection that classmates think is a sexually transmitted disease. Are you ready to run right out and read this book yet? Dysfunctional is putting it mildly. It is downright weird in a Monty Python type of warped sense.

If this book were made into a movie it would go straight to DVD. After watching along with someone, each of you would turn to the other after the movie's conclusion and say incredulously, "Huh?" Or perhaps it might be screened as a film at the Sundance Film Festival. When I watch those productions they are usually too deep or too dumb for me to understand. This is a definitely a contender for those Sundance oddities.

Strangely enough when I looked at the review of this book on Amazon it is regaled as great and given 4+ stars. Why is my opinion so different from those other readers? Perhaps those reviews were submitted by those in the know from the literary crowd. I associate myself with the little child in the story of The Emperor's New Clothes who has nothing to lose by stating the obvious.

Probably equally strange is that I stuck with this book and finished it, clinging to the Pollyanna belief that it had to get better. I wasted my time. Hippity-hop away from this book as fast as you can. It was terrible. It never got better. The best part about it was that it ended.