a surprise concert

i love a good surprise.  well, actually i don't love surprise parties.  they are too much work, you have to deceive the ones you love and i don't think all of that work and hassle is worth the five minute surprise.  but that's just me. i do love mini surprises though; buying the kids donuts after telling them they couldn't have any, putting a love note in bobby's car (which i haven't done in a long time), and planning a little big surprise for the boys.

it all came about in a bizarre way.  we were given some awesome tickets to the clippers vs. lakers game last wednesday night.  we never go to games so this was a treat.

basketball is not big in our house, and we haven't been to a game in years, but we couldn't pass up vip seats.  it was a blow out game but we had a good time. i was more interested in watching fergie perform and seeing what the kardashians were doing courtside.  they were eating popcorn and texting in case you were wondering.

during the game, bobby got an email that the foo fighters were putting on a surprise benefit concert on saturday at the forum.  he ran out to the lobby for better reception and was able to score 4 tickets for the show.  it was then that we decided not to tell the kids.  i organized a sleep over for sofia at her friend's house - thanks debbie - and we were set.

it's hard for me to keep secrets.  i was excited for them and i wanted them to know so they could be excited too.  but i also knew that it would be cool to drive up to the forum, hand jordan his foo fighters t-shirt and tell them we were going to see them live.  i even had to act surprised when we heard the commercial on the radio about the concert.  "i thought they weren't going to be here until september?" i listened as they explained.  i felt bad, but so good.

on saturday, we dropped sofia off and then told the boys we were going to see interstellar at a cool movie theater in hollywood - it helps that they don't know the difference.

we went to eat at a mexican restaurant and that is when we decided we had to tell them.  at first they were confused, then they thought we were kidding, then they were stunned and excited and quiet.  as we made our way to the forum the traffic was unbearable and it was raining constantly.  we made it in with enough time to get some t-shirts and find our seats.

not the best seats but none of us were complaining.

it was a concert in the round and the stage rotated which gave everyone a good view of the band.  jordan actually liked when the band had their back to us because he could get a better view of taylor hawins, the drummer. win-win.

we were sitting close to the ramp that led to the stage.  dave grohl would walk up and down playing his guitar and wowing the crowd.  this was also the runway that his special guests used to make their entrance. guests like paul stanley, slash, tenacious d, alice cooper, perry farrell,

and david lee roth!  when he came out on stage the crowd went crazy.  i may have been a bit excited too.  i listened to van halen growing up because i had/have two brothers who lived and breathed rock music.  they played in bands, had electric guitars painted like eddie van halen's and played their music over and over.  i don't think i had a choice but to be a fan too.  it was awesome to see dlr on stage dancing around like he was 20 and singing "panama" and "ain't talkin' 'bout love".

it was also dave grohl's birthday. so the audience, led by jack black, sang happy birthday as hundreds of balloons fell from the sky.  that turned the atmosphere into a party.

i haven't been to a concert like this in a long time.  every single person was singing and in awe during the three and a half hour show.

and he watched in amazement.  it's moments like this that i realize he has a dream of being on stage and playing the drums to a sold out crowd.  he wants to make music and entertain people and have a good time. i know that it's a tough insane road if that's what you choose to do with your life and very few people make it.  but i also know that dreams are for chasing.

we were both happy, and a little deaf, at the end of the night.

andrew and bobby had their own experience at the other end of the stadium.  it was andrew's first concert and he was a bit stunned by what he saw. i'm not sure he's ever heard the f-bomb dropped more times than that night. it would have been fun to sit together but we were grateful to be able to give them this little surprise.

high school | week one

we have (almost) made it through the first week of high school.  we are so tired and ready for the weekend to be here.

the night before school started we met up with jordan's friend and classmate to have our end of the summer, let's start school off with a party get together.  andrew and sofia were spending a few days with family so it was just me and jord.  we met up at mulberry street pizza - is there any other place to go?

jord spotted this autograph on the wall of dave grohl from the foo fighters.

we are up at 5:45 for me and 6:00 am for him every morning to get ready for the day.  his school works off a block schedule so he has 4 classes on blue day and 3 classes on gold day.  gold day also has an x period where they can do homework or study with their teachers.  kind of awesome.  the problem is he has to remember what color day it is and make sure he takes those books and notebooks to school that day.

he decided on a two backpack system for organization.  one backpack holds his blue day class books and notebooks and the other holds his gold day books and notebooks.  he's hoping that will keep him organized and with the right books on the right day.  we'll have to see if this works.

we got to school around 7:30 on monday, just in time to get the embarrassing picture in front of school. they are such good sports.

jordan and ryan have been friends and classmates since pre-school.  they are more like brothers at this point.  we are so happy that ryan (and his parents) chose this as their high school.  maybe we should start looking at colleges together. ; )

day one, and the rest of the week, ran smoothly for jord.  he's been going to school for a few weeks now with band and water polo practice, so he's familiar with the campus and has friends already. he said his teachers are all nice and he's happy with his class load.  phew, huge relief for me.

after school we went to the barber shop to get a clean cut.  they have very strict rules on hair, shoes, clothing, etc.

for dinner we had a date at our favorite mexican place.  it's so nice to hang out just the two of us.  something that i  can already feel slipping away as he gets busier with his own life and not willing to go along with us everywhere.  so i'll enjoy it while i can.

but he is busy.  water polo practice started on tuesday.  wednesday he had a full day of classes then it was practice, a quick bite for dinner and then band til 9pm. the first school football game is next friday. we'll get a chance to see him march during half-time - so excited!!

i think he's adjusting well.  he has to focus on his time management for sure with such a packed schedule.  but that's something he's pretty good at thanks to cha.

the first few days of school i was home alone.  i had plans to get so much done while jord was at school but of course the time went by so quickly.  i did get laundry done and cleaned out my closet. but the kids rooms never got touched.

and while i waited for jordan to finish water polo practice, i cruised ventura blvd. and went into shops i've been wanting to see.

a nice way to spend the afternoon.

the kids spent time with their grandparents, great grandparents, aunts and uncle in the pool.

eating s'mores, playing skip-bo, eating pancakes, and going to disneyland.

they finally got to ride the cars' ride.  and sofia was very excited that she was tall enough for indiana jones.

thank you to our family for spoiling taking such good care of them.  they felt loved and happy when they got home. and thanks for the pictures.

of course they had to tell bobby all about their adventures, which he thought was very funny.  he's sad to be missing these first weeks. but he will be home soon for a visit and then we are almost halfway through his time away.

so this is our new normal.  at least for the next week.  then the other two start school and it will be complete chaos!  not sure how i will manage, but i will.

so happy for a good week for all of us.

happy halloween

he, he and she

he is starting his last year at cha, a school he has attended for 9 years.  he is big man on campus, literally. he has grown 6 1/2 inches over the last year.  he is starting his final year of swim team for our church next week.  he has mastered a few songs on the drums.  it's actually nice to hear him play.  he is adding volleyball to his sport list this year. he made a goal to try something new at school.  he is at a middle school retreat until tomorrow.

he is starting his first year of middle school.  he has his own locker (i hope he remembers the combination). he will have electives for the first time. he got to try out the new ipads in his class.  he will start wearing glasses in the next few weeks - after we order them.  he grew 3 and 3/4 inches over the last year. he refused to get his haircut any shorter. he enjoys watching the republican national convention and giving side comments. he is at a middle school retreat until tomorrow.

she is part of the lower school now.  she has lunch in the cafeteria and plays on the big yard.  she has her own desk. she loves her new grey high tops. she adores her teacher. she is greeted by every teacher, and a lot of students, as she makes her way up to class.  she is going to dinner with me and bobby tonight - her choice.  she gave me homework on the first day.

they are excited about the coming year.  they are having a hard time adjusting to the new schedule - we all are.  they are all at carpool together which makes it so much easier for me.  they love listening to the same songs in the car and sing out loud occasionally. they love going to the same school.

it's gonna be a great year.

the getty

one of the items on our summer to-do list was to visit a museum.  i give the kids' art teacher a lot of credit for inspiring them to learn about painters and works of art.  all three of them have an appreciation of art and self expression.  it's so important to me that they are creative. a bonus was getting to catch the herb ritts exhibit while it was there.  so off we went.

love that the museum has free admission, although parking was a little hectic.  i've only been to this museum once before when jordan was a little guy.  i only remembered the garden and seeing reese witherspoon with her daughter at the family center.

we started at the family center with lots of fun things for the kids to explore.

 and me too.

then it was off to the garden.

beautiful dahlias in every color.

peaceful spot with the most perfect weather.

then we took a break and got a snack.  this salsa was delicious.  i'm glad my mom was with me so we could figure out how to make it.

we went to the ritts exhibit and saw his famous photos of madonna, britney spears, and cindy crawford.  we navigated through the nude photos with care.  but i would love to go back and take my time admiring his work.

then it was on to the paintings.  it still blows me away that we can walk right up to a famous work of art that i've only seen in books.

we all loved the paintings by monet, van gogh and degas.  sofia was impressed to see the paintings in real life.  she kept saying "ms. bloom showed us that in class".  thanks ms. bloom!

and that ended our short visit.

the tram back to the parking lot was our last adventure.

cross another thing off the list.

first and last

it goes way too fast.

hello summer.
we are so happy you are here.

olympics @cha

every four years our school celebrates the olympics as its school-wide theme.  i am a huge fan of the olympics and love that the school embraces the spirit and competition of these games.

we had the opening ceremonies in november and the kids have been competing all year long in team sports.  they had 7 teams representing various countries and learned about the different cultures throughout the year.

this time around the kids were representing mexico.  the team spirit was great from each of the different countries.

at the end of the year we have a festival that incorporates everything that they have learned during the year. we had an olympic village which showcased the children's academic work and served as a resting spot for the kids.  

each child was given a sash and pins from their country.  they then got to trade pins with kids from other countries just like they do at the real olympics.  there was a contest to design a pin from each of the countries.  jordan's design was chosen to represent mexico.

the day started with a performance from each of the countries.  i love that all of the kids sang all of the songs.  we've been listening to them around the house for the last few months.  they sang "africa" from the world cup for kenya, "don't cry for me argentina" for argentina, "jai ho" for india.

for mexico the kids rocked out to "la bamba."  sofia really put on the magic while she was up there.  she had a big smile and danced her little heart out.  i love seeing her on stage and i want to encourage her to do it more often.

after the performance, the kids competed in five individual events of their choosing.  my kids chose:

long jump

frisbee toss

50 meter race

softball throw

swimming - where jordan set the record for the day. and it had nothing to do with bobby being the timer, or his swim coach being the lifeguard.  but it did have something to do with the fact that he is 6 inches taller, the pool is pretty small and swimming is his sport.  either way, he deserved it.

each of these events earned points for their country which were tallied on a huge chart.

we then gathered under the tent to eat an international feast of fajitas, rice, empanadas, bangers, hummus and pita bread.

after lunch we watched the teams compete in the finals for the team sports.  andrew played soccer for the gold.  he looked really nervous on the court and even more nervous when they put him in as goalie.  the score was 1-0 mexico.  south korea pulled their goalie in the last minute of the game to try to tie it up.  mexico's goalie threw the ball into play, andrew dribbled it all the way to the net and scored a goal for mexico.  the crowd went wild!  and the look on his face was disbelief, relief and sheer joy.  it was priceless.  mexico won the gold 2-0.

 we gathered in the olympic village for closing ceremonies and to hear the kids sing their final song.


they also sent off their wishes with bubbles.

after  a long day, and a visit to the book fair (thanks to tito and tita) the kids spent time reading while we cleaned up.

it was an exhausting and exhilarating day.  we will gather again in 2015 to celebrate the games of the 14th olympiad at cha.