+dayTRIPS

As I mentioned in the previous post we tried to keep busy by taking as many little daytrips around the city as possible. We finally went and checked out the California Science Museum, where the boys had the time of their lives pushing various buttons and trying out the different interactive exhibits. At one point all four of us headed into a booth that simulates a hurricane. It was fun for about 10 seconds before I fled in terror!

Kenny and I even had time to squeeze in a solo dinner and movie. We had a romantic dinner at Nizam across from the Westside Pavilion before heading up to check out the new Landmark Theatres. We decided on 'the Savages' mistaking it for a dark comedy. Dark, yes. Comedy, no! On the bright side we had fabulous seats. We lucked out and landed in one of those special director rooms where you got to pick out your seat ahead of time. We sat in the back on leather couches with a very limited number of neighbors. Tres luxe! Definitely worth doing again.



On another day we decided to take the boys to the Central Library downtown. That was a beautiful adventure. The building was gorgeous.

It was an added plus that due to the holidays, there was very little traffic and the streets were bare! We wandered around the library's interior and explored the outside grounds as well, before heading down to Pershing Square to check out the ice skating rink.

At one point we took the stairs up this complex which housed the Maguire building, it was beautiful and so I whipped out my camera only to be told by one of two security guards that since 9/11 they have not allowed anyone to take any photographs on the property's premises. Can you imagine? I did sneak in a shot before I was told though, and he didn't seem to mind too much since the building was not my main subject.

We topped off the day with dinner and some exploring in neighboring Chinatown.

MOCA Daytrip to MurakamiLAND

Since this is the first year both Henry and Rhys are in school and currently on break, it feels doubly important to make the best of their time off by occupying their time with as many activities as we can muster up.

So for our first post Christmas outing we decided to take them to MOCA to see the Takashi Murakami exhibit. It's been a while since we've hung out in Downtown LA, it's been a few years since we had a membership at MOCA. We first visited the main museum and checked out Cosima Von Bonin's Roger and Out exhibit, which was a lot of fun. I loved her large stuffed animals.


It was pretty amusing and works as a nice accompaniment to Murakami. Unfortunately the Murakami exhibit is actually housed at the Geffen Contemporary, a satellite building a dozen blocks away next to the Japanese-American Museum. We ended up driving down to Little Tokyo and exploring that side of town as well as the exhibit.


I loved the exhibit! One of my favorite pieces is called 'That I may time transcend, that a universe my heart may unfold'. Pictured Above. I was amazed by the more sensational but risque pieces such as 'My Lonesome Cowboy' and 'Second Mission Project Ko2'. Wow.


The exhibit covered pretty much every aspect of media that one can enter in these modern days. There were tons of 2D pieces from prints, paintings to wall paper. Sculputures were everywhere, oftentimes making you feel you were in a tripped out version of Murakami-land. There were videos of his creations as well as his work for Louis Vuitton which were represented by this incredible Louis Vuitton store they had assembled inside the gallery!


Rhys was as well behaved as we could expect. It was a good first try.

Happy Christmas

This year we spent our Christmas Eve as we do every year since we've been married with Muni, Angele, Hilary, John, the cousins and Great Uncle Fred. This is the first Christmas Eve dinner since Great Aunt Charlene passed away earlier this year, not counting last year when she was too sick to attend.


It began with Angele and Muni picking Henry up for church as we stayed home since Rhys had fallen asleep, and ended with an ambulance taking Fred to St. John's due to chest pains. They checked him in to run tests, and he will be under observation for the next few days.

On Christmas Day, Henry uncharacteristically woke up first. He was so excited to get to his presents that he practically skipped out of bed, while Rhys who normally acts as our alarm clock decided to sleep in! Amazing. He was astounded to see that Santa ate the cookies and drank the strawberry milk they had laid out the night before. And once Rhys finally woke up, we all attacked our Christmas stockings and then the stash of gifts laid out under the tree.


My parents phoned to see if they could drop off presents, mainly to clear room as they were getting ready for the feast my mom usually lays out every Christmas. Once they arrived we got to open even more gifts! Then it was time to leave for brunch at Angele's house. We had another great time, visiting with Muni, Angele, Hilary, John, Great Uncle Jimmy and Lisa. There were an astounding assortment of great food and gifts. Oh. I almost forgot the Rhys drama of the day. He found a small piece from a toy that he decided he wanted to sniff all the way up his nostril. He went running to Jammie wailing and pointing to his nose. He was so upset it took a while before we eventually figured out that something was most definitely stuck inside! It took four full grown people to complete the operation. John held him down, Hilary, Angele held his arms and legs, and Kenny held tweezers to extract the offending piece. I was standing around useless wringing my hands.


Before long it was time to head on over to my parents house. This year the house which is normally packed felt ever slightly less so with my Aunt Louise and Aunt Alison's families in Hong Kong for the holidays. This being so, made it no less fun. we sat gabbing with everyone and making plans to meet up again for my cousin Abigail's 2nd birthday party in a couple of weeks.

PS We're sending out prayers and good wishes to Great Uncle Fred for a full and speedy recovery!

PPS Thanks to Linda at Fox who was so thoughtfully gifted the boys with gingerbread house kits to keep them busy!

Merry Christmas Eve

Here are two versions of our Holiday card this year. Although I like the first version a lot because it really shows the image in more of a 3D aspect, we went with the second because it felt more like nighttime.

Happy Sunday. Two More Days Til Xmas!

I got a good chuckle when I saw this on the Post Secret site this morning.

Reunion Reprise

Last night Kenny and I met up with some old high school classmates for cocktails at the XBar. It was another surreal experience reconnecting with the girls.


This time our little get together included a handful who were unable to make it to the official reunion. It was a lot of fun, and because a bunch more were unable to attend due to the impending holiday we have again resolved to plan for another get together soon.

Lunch! and a Ride

Today is Henry's last day of school before the winter break. After picking him up at 10a we did a few errands before meeting up with Grandpa for lunch and a ride.

Henry's Christmas Concert

It's that magical time of the year again! Tonight my parents, Angele, Hilary and John all gathered at our house for a quick dinner before heading out to the church at Henry's school for the annual Christmas Concert.


The pews were packed. We were lucky to find seats, albeit separately, not that it really mattered in the end, because a tired and whiny Rhys had a melt down that required he be put in the car. Angele generously offered to sit in the car with him, as she had last year when the same thing happened. Kenny, Hilary and I were able to inch our way up as close to Henry's class as possible. We tried our best to become one with the wall on the advice of the MC who had warned all present that the aisles had to be clear for the "actors" to pass.


It was a lively evening of carols, hymns and contemporary Christmastime songs. Henry's class did very well as did all present, but it was the littlest of all, the kindergartners that brought down the house with their rendition of 'The Little Drummer Boy'.


On the way home we spotted some neighbors on the corner jumping up and down waving at an apparition down the street. We were intrigued so turned around to ask what the commotion was all about. It was Santa with his fire truck brigade bringing cheer and anticipation, along with candy canes to the little ones. Henry got a great picture with the jolly one, but alas Rhys missed out since he was in slumberland.

a Picture from Today

The Merriest of Christmases

Holiday Card by Maryrose Cobarrubias Mendoza .

I am so relieved to have finally finished with my Christmas cards orders. It literally feels like the weight of the world has lifted from my shoulders. This year I am amazed to admit that I've competed 4 different sets of Christmas cards and 5 sets of mailing labels for various people including myself (I will post ours in the next day or so) . I was in such a panic trying to get these cards out that I thought I was going to pass out with every Christmas card we received. Among the stash we've received so far, this has become one of my all time favorite cards ever! The card pictured above is by Maryrose an artist/teacher Kenny and I met while taking a class she taught at Otis, and whom we are lucky enough to still be in contact. I'm not deliberately encouraging competition, or am I? (Say this in a corny Dr. Evil way) It's early days yet, but this card is simply sublime and I plan on framing it as soon as I can. And on this note, I will be entering Christmas Hell for the next week.

PS

Last Friday the whole family headed over to Kenny's office for an art show for charity and an impromptu Holiday Party. It was a great if bittersweet party, much different from the previous year because of the writers strike, but it was made all the more fun with the inclusion of Henry, Rhys and Tallulah who ran all over the studio amists shrieks of laughter. I had a really great time catching up with Maendi, Tallulah's mom, a professional photographer with a website! She has some really amazing images, so if you have some time, or are in need of a photographer, go check her site out at amandabrooksphoto.com

Jacqueline, this One's For You!

I ran across this article today and thought of my cousin Jacqueline.
Jacqueline, this one's for you! And this one too!
Also check out the claymation youtube set that Milo co-produced for American Eagle!

Christmas Cookie Princesses

Spent the day with the kids at my parents house for our annual Christmas Cookie Decorating Party. What I originally expected to last a few hours was gradually extended to an all day event. We got there a little past 1p and did not leave until close to 9p. We all had a blast. Rhys really wore himself out without a nap! And Henry got to hang out with Eva and Ethan. All four really outdid themselves with decorating pretzels and cookies before winding themselves down with some Nicktoons.



When we arrived Aunt May, Eva, Ethan were already there along with my parents and my cousin Victoria. Just fresh from her trip to D.C. she was all news and excitement. She and cousin Jacqueline and their families are heading for Hong Kong at the end of the week to spend the holidays! How fun! I am so green. I can't wait to see their pictures especially after hearing about Victoria's new camera.


It was wonderful hanging out with the extended family catching up with all their activities and stuffing my face! I couldn't think of a nicer way to spend a Saturday.


Today is Sunday, December, 16. It is the day of the Christmas Princess play. We ordered tickets a few weeks ago and Dalia was nice enough to take care of everything by mailing us the tickets. Heather, Jacki and I made arrangements to meet at our house at 1p before getting a snack and heading out to the play.

We ended up taking in a little refreshment at IN'n'OUT on Sepulveda, mainly because, gasp, Heather has not ever been! We all sat outside chatting in between the loud intermittent landing of planes at nearby LAX. The kids were all getting along so well. Each of them are our oldest and we were very happy to be able to take them out for a treat without their younger sibling to distract us.






We arrived at the playhouse with ample time to find some awesome seats. The kids were fascinated and loved the whole production. At the end of the play everyone in the audience, well really the kids were invited up on stage to dance with the cast. All except Henry who was too embarrassed to move from his seat. Both Sophia and Sofia headed straight for the stage and were excited to take photos with the cast members, especially the guy who played the pretend prince. Jacki later told me that this actor is the same one who was in 'The Princess Diaries' with Anne Hathaway. Strangely he also played a prince there too!


Just as we were about to leave we bumped into my old high school friend Nellie who was by to have dinner with Dalia. Looks like we might all be seeing each other for drinks at the Plaza on Friday!

Rhys' First Xmas Concert

The morning of Rhys' First Christmas concert we woke up early and things were going swimmingly as far as getting everyone cleaned up and breakfast ready and lunches/snacks done. EXCEPT my attempt to get him dressed in his outfit which consisted of a white shirt and black trousers. He absolutely refused until I threatened him with 'NO SCHOOL'! He finally complied. I wonder how long this threat will work :)

Weekend Update

We started the weekend off by catching the opening of Golden Compass. This is the New Line Cinema release that Mike is spearheading. Amazingly he's stated that the DVD is pretty much complete! We made an evening of it by meeting up at Gus and Velvet's for drinks. Unfortunately Maria was feeling under the weather and stayed in for the night. We took in a leisurely walk from the house to the Century City Mall. Strolled up to the food court and gobbled up a little dinner before catching the 9:55 show. The movie was a grand experience, I truly enjoyed myself, but to be completely honest felt a little let down by the ending. Art direction on the other hand cannot be criticized in any way. It was magnificent to watch.


We ended up going back to Gus and Velvet's for coffee and dessert and finally left their place close to 2? I don't even remember. Kenny drove us back to his mom's and we ended up crashing in the spare bedroom, rather than risk crashing into a pole. The next day we awoke to the boys, okay, Rhys jumping around. This is the first time in his life that he has slept in another house without the knowledge that either Ken or I were present. And he did pretty well. Angele said that he woke up around 3a and marched around looking for me. Once he was not able to find a trace of us he went back into her room and under the covers. We left a little after breakfast to run errands and get ready for the Family Mass and Dinner the Second Grade class was holding at Henry's school.

After a full day of running around doing errands which included a picnic lunch at the park Rhys was knocked out! So by the time we pulled into the parking lot at school he had been napping for about 20 minutes. We were there early because I volunteered Kenny to help set up for the mass which was set to take place in the auditorium since there was already a regularly scheduled mass in the church. Rhys slept close to two hours before completely waking up.


I waited as long as I could, hoping that mass was over before I suggested to Rhys that we should go into the auditorium. Just prior to entering I reminded him for the second time that we had to be very quiet and be on our best behavior. And he was! We entered through the doors and found Kenny in the front row, and the kids from Henry's class seated on the floor in front of the impromptu altar. One of the boys was so excited to see Rhys he started talking to him all the while Monsignor was saying mass! Rhys responded by turning to the boy and saying "SHHhhh!" Boy, was I impressed!


On Sunday Henry was invited to a birthday party for his classmate. We all had a very nice time socializing with his friends and their parents. Both Henry and Rhys enjoyed themselves immensely and Rhys was really very well behaved.

Henry's Got a New Belt

Henry tested for his new belt today, and did a great job!

Congratulations Victoria!

My little cousin Victoria recently wrote an essay on the state of the environment. The essay won her a spot as 1 of 22 students selected nationwide to attend an environmental summit next month in Washington D.C. This honor also got her featured on the local news. Check it out at MyFox Los Angeles. This is BIG! Congratulations VICTORIA!

PS Victoria had also recently took 5th place at the DTASC Drama Festival. This particular competition included entries from 70 schools and her winning submission was a recreation of a set from Peter Shaffer's Amadeus. Here is a picture she sent me of her winning piece!


PPS To all the NDA girls out there, yes, Victoria is wearing the school uniform.