Camp Snoopy

 A taste of what the kids enjoyed.

Fine Planning

The kids had a student-free day on Monday which means it's teacher in-service day. I told Hector about it and he managed to get the day off. Of course this was waaaay before I realized that Monday Sept. 27, 2010 would be THE HOTTEST DAY EVVVVVVER!
We went anyway. The good news is that the park was nearly empty. Seriously. I think there were about < 20 cars in the parking lot. The bad news is...well, you already know that. The good news is that there was minimal or no wait time so we went on all the rides that us adults along with the kids could ride. Total time spent at park = 3 hours. One hour was spent at Mrs. Knotts Chicken Dinner Restaurant where we ate chicken and drank our body weight in fluids. So that means we spent 2 hours in the park...minus 20 minutes in the rock/mineral store taking advantage of the AC. The kids rode practically everything in Camp Snoopy and after lunch we went on the Calico Mine Ride and the Log ride. Then we called it a day.
Phew.






I took pictures too. Btw, the temp was recorded at 113* in LA and the stopped working so it might have been even hotter. Officially, it was the hottest day ever recorded since 1800-something. :)

Beat the Summer Heat

You didn't think I'd forget, did you? Just in time for fall, I have uploaded a couple of Hawaii videos. Our summer season in SoCal has been absent mostly but this weekend it's supposed to get HOT! I'm not sure whether to believe all the reports but if it is true then why couldn't have made an appearance last weekend when we could have used our Soak City passes.

So enjoy the beautiful ocean, sunset and my kids and try to stay cool. :)

ETA: I forgot to post this because I was waiting for the video to load to Youtube. So here it is just in time for the real heat.

Keeping Cool

Blazing heat yesterday and hockey tonight. The weather has cooled down a bit with overcast skies in the morning to scattered clouds right now. I managed to clean up the boys playroom and vacuum too. I think I didn't suck up one Lego piece which is excellent.

I need to load up Tyler's pics from Knotts yesterday so look for that tomorrow.

So excited about the preseason Kings game against the Ducks. Always a physical game. Also a big plus in Vanity Fair, Ryan Miller (Sabres goalie) took some pics of his fellow NHL players and one of them is Drew Doughty. Yay, click here for slide show. 

I'm cooling off in our one A/C spot and thinking of lunch.

Muse Concert

This is the 2nd concert of the year that Kat and I have gone to and we pretty much got to see the 2 major acts of the year (although I'd love to see Lady Gaga). It was also the hottest weekend of the entire summer (even though summer is over) and we so lucked out. Green Day was at an outside venue in August and it was on the cool side. Muse was at playing at Staples Center where the Lakers, Clippers and Kings play where we had nice cold air conditioning in the 95 degree heat. :)

Our seats were way off to the right side of the stage and at first it looked like some big towers and backdrops would obstruct our view but the usher person assured us that we had great seats (upper level and upgraded to disabled seating courtesy of Kat's lameness). Sure enough, the show began and the backdrops fell and I was stunned at the sheer visual technology and light show. Just great.

This was the opening song which is just set the mood for a rocking night to a sold out show and nobody left disappointed. I know we didn't. :)

This was really cool because lots of these huge eyeball balloons were released from the top sections that made their way down to the bottom. Then once people started popping them, all this confetti came out which was fun.

This are some pictures from my iPhone and remember we were up at the top!

Uprising video.

Marsh Stop

The boys and I took a quick walk around the marsh after school. Tyler got a new digital camera for his bday so he was eager to try it out. Not a lot of see but we're anxious to see how the rain will change the landscape.

While we enjoy the marsh, I'm sure this area contributes to our skunk issues.

Bug sighting. :)

chillin

Finally, we were able to celebrate Tyler's birthday with a laser tag party with his friends. It was a good sized group of about 13 kids to play three games of laser tag fueled with pizza and soda.



Ready to get their weapons!



Excuse the blurry photos but you get the idea. The kids had a great time although Josh got upset because he was on the losing team all 3 times. Poor guy. :(

Hector had to leave midway through the party because my mom's faucet started leaking under the sink. But that's a whole other story and Hector would have to tell it since I  wouldn't be able to explain it properly.

Sunday was pretty chill for me unlike poor Hector who had to fix the broken faucet and all that went with it.

• I finished the heels on my lace and cable socks while finishing the 2nd season of Supernatural.
• I also watched The Time Traveler's Wife.

Tomorrow I plan on heading to the Toyota Sports Center in El Segundo to watch the Kings practice and maybe get some good pictures and possibly some autographs. Stay tuned to see if Kathy will geek out if she runs into Brad Richardson #19.

Traveling Woman

No, I'm not going anywhere. Traveling Woman is the name of my latest FO (finished object). A real honest to goodness shawl knit with thread-like laceweight yarn. Really fine yarn. Very pretty knit up into something lush but kind of awful to knit with. I can barely grab hold of it to knit and it clumps together so the stitches will get knit together if I'm not careful. I love the finished project and this is the first so maybe I will soon love the process.

The shawl is on the small size but will work as a lightweight scarf. Lovely pattern too and I'm already knitting another one but in fingering weight (sock yarn) which will make the shawl bigger with more heft to it.
This shawl/scarf will do some traveling like its name as I plan to loan it out to Carol as she heads off on her 29 day cruise from Australia to LA. My traveling woman will rack up some serious miles! :)

Thursday Jaunt

Today I took Sherri down to White Point and it was a blast. Practically empty except for few fishermen, a couple of dogwalkers and some crazy cat ladies. We explored and rock-hopped. I think we have our new favorite place. :)

View of the Point Vicente lighthouse from the interpretive center.





Don't even think about it!!



View walking down the hill.

Another gorgeous day in the South Bay and we had it all to ourselves. :)

Morrissey

Moz forever!!! <3 <3


Lyrics to First Of The Gang To Die :


You have never been in love, Until you have seen the stars, reflect in the reservoirs

And you have never been in love, Until you have seen the dawn rise, behind the home for the blind



We are the pretty, petty thieves, And you're standing on our streets

Where Hector was the first of the gang with a gun in his hand

And the first to do time, the first of the gang to die, Oh my

Hector was the first of the gang with a gun in his hand

And the first to do time, the first of the gang to die, Oh my



You have never been in love, Until you've seen the sunlight thrown, Over smashed human bone



We are the pretty, petty thieves, And you're standing on our streets

Where Hector was the first of the gang with a gun in his hand

And the first to do time, the first of the gang to die, Such a silly boy

Hector was the first of the gang with a gun in his hand

And the bullet in his gullet and the first lost lad to go under the sod



And he stole from the rich and the poor and not very rich and the very poor

And he stole our hearts away

He stole our hearts away, He stole our hearts away

He stole our hearts away, He stole our hearts away

[ First Of The Gang To Die Lyrics on http://www.lyricsmania.com/ ]

I Say Nothing

Hector and I share a love for The Voice of the Beehive. Their first album is great and we know the words to all the songs. Well, Hector knows a lot of lyrics....I just pretend.

Rancid - Time Bomb

Today's dose of ska punk.

this kept coming up on my playlist so I had to find the video.

Skunk Wars v2.0

Hector would know exactly how long ago we last had skunks under the house (my guess is 2 years) and in the last couple of weeks we've suspected something is going under the house.

The other night I was sitting in the family room and heard  a noise right outside so I told Hector and he saw the the skunk under the house.

We barricaded it in tightly debating what to do. We gave it a chance to get out by pulling away the heavy stone and we'd hear it if it tried to get out. After 3-4 hours, it was time for bed and Hector replaced the stone. Of course as we get into bed, we could hear the skunk clawing at the grate.

Last night Hector set up his trap along with a cardboard box to cover the trap (don't want to get sprayed) and isoflurane to knock the skunk out for transport.

Hector baited the trap with a Reese's peanut butter cup and we waited. At this time we weren't even sure if the skunk was still under the house but after 9pm, we heard the trap shut close and there it was.

Hector has a system for placing the box over it with a long 10 ft pole etc. And it all works but still we have a mad skunk who will spray and boy, it did. Hector didn't get directly hit but that nasty scent managed to get in the house and spread all over. It's one thing to smell a skunk when driving along the road and another thing entirely when it sprays right outside your house. Man, I started coughing/gagging and praying I wouldn't throw up!

Well, Hector hauled it off to Carson so it can find a new place to live. The access under the house is now very securely blocked.
I didn't sleep too well because of that nastiness but Hector bought the carpet deodorizer and it seemed to take of the inside smell for the most part. The outside still reeks.

White Point Beach

Gorgeous rocky beach.

We saw this cool spot the previous weekend while driving along the PV coast with Lupe and had to come back to get a closer look with Carlos and the family.

The kids had a wonderful time rock hopping and checking out small sea creatures.



The seagulls hanging out.



There is so much to see and do here. I had a great time taking pictures although the rocks are really slippery/unstable so wear sturdy shoes. I'm definitely coming back.

Point Vicente

Our Saturday was filled with lots of activity but boy, was it fun!! We started with a late karate class and a belt ceremony for 4 people. The most exciting was the brown belt presentation for Jared who is only 12 or 13 years old. Hopefully, Tyler will see the possibilities and work hard at achieving as much as he can.

There was a pizza party thrown by Jared's parents and that was nice to chat with other karate students and parents.

Then it was off to grab Carlos who drove out this weekend and visit the Point Vicente lighthouse which is only open the 2nd Saturday of the month.

As we drove to the Palos Verdes coast, the skies were grayer, gloomier and foggy.

Carlos and Hector taking their pictures.

Carlos and the kids.

Totem pole.

There were about 3 or 4 levels and each level had a cadet or jr. cadet announcing the # of people going up or down. We had to wait on the last level for about 10 minutes to allow the people to come down and then they gave some extra time to enjoy the view.

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View from the top. Not much to see.

I was fascinated with the light which was so very cool.

I am sooo happy with my wide angle lens otherwise I wouldn't be able to fit the light in the entire frame. I think I was about 2.5 feet away from this massive light.

Next it was on to the helicopter pad. Josh had more fun running around the helicopter. :)

It was a really nice little place to visit. Too bad the weather wasn't so great.

But wait, our day isn't over....next up is the trip to White Point.