Can You Hear Me Now?

Today was a pretty great day. This morning after I took his diaper off from the night before I informed Rhys that he will be wearing underwear. He took it very well.

We had an appointment today with his pediatrician. Before we left the house I made sure that he went to the bathroom. When we got to the office we went straight to the back where the wellness room is located. There were a few kids in there already and Rhys happily settled down with a Sesame Street toy. He was pretty entertained by the toy and so it was not surprising that he was not too happy with the idea of sharing it with one of the other boys in the room. The other boy started to get teary, but his dad told him that it was not his turn yet and that he will have to play with another toy. Shortly afterwards Rhys was called by the nurse. Rhys got up taking the toy with him, and to my astonishment he walked over and handed the toy to the boy. I was so proud of him!

The nurse led us into a room where she handed him what looked like half a headphone without the headband. She asked him to hold it up to his ear and say yes when he heard a beep. After a few minutes he started goofing off and then we realized it just wasn’t going to work. Soon after Dr. W came in and I discussed with him my concerns. He suggested that we get his hearing tested at an outside facility and gave me a referral at UCLA. He reassured me that it’s a good idea to have all my bases covered, yes, have him tested to take advantage of all the programs available. But stressed that the main problem is speech delay. Once that is corrected everything else will most probably fall into place. He pointed out that at 2 years of age Rhys was using words and that in the most cases of autism kids do not generally speak at all.

I’ve been living in a strange dreamlike state since I began entertaining the idea that there might be a problem. The second I started to think there might be a problem I immediately began trying to figure out how I could fix it. But isn't it always easier to think you can pinpoint a problem, label it and then try to change it? Instead of accepting the idea that this is probably a phase and/or that's his personality. "Yes, my son is a spaz." The closest way I can explain my mindset is the mode I go into when something needs to be done or fixed. I will not, and cannot rest until the matter is laid to rest. If he does have this it would explain a lot, but as I mentioned Dr. W also reminded me that Rhys is still just 3 and that he is going through the terrible threes compounded by the frustration of not being able to fully communicate. Another thing that is so frustrating is how slow everything is moving. These appointments seem so far in the future. The speech evaluation is not until June 11, and now I have the hearing test scheduled for the following week. And until all of these evaluations are completed nothing can be ruled out. The ironic thing is that both these appointments are at UCLA, and their offices right next door to each other.

After the appointment I got him something to eat and then we drove to Gymboree. I asked the teacher if it would be better if I put a Pull Up on Rhys since I wasn’t sure how he would act if he needed to go. She thought it was the best option so I complied. She also recommended that we sign up for the Play class, she feels it would benefit him to get a little more structure. So we’re starting tomorrow.

We played in the climbing structure in the food court for a bit before heading home. On the drive home, I kept stealing looks in the mirror to see if he had fallen asleep yet. He had not, at least not until we rounded our block. By the time I pulled up in the driveway he was knocked out. I was hoping he would still be up and would fall asleep when we went to pick Henry up thereby giving me some quiet time to sit and do homework with Henry, but that was not to be. I parked the car and turned to get him out of his car seat. When I reached to unbuckle him he started swatting at my hands in his sleep! He made it clear he wanted to be left alone in his seat as he napped.

I collected my things and took them into the house leaving the doors to the car open. I checked on him a couple of times before I finally was able to get him out without a struggle, but once in the house he was suddenly wide awake. So I put on a Spongebob DVD and he settled in until we left to get Henry. Once there I was greeted by the instructor with news that Henry had been goofing off in Karate class. I promised the instructor that I would have a talk with him.

The rest of the afternoon passed quickly with Henry finally finishing homework and Rhys consistently able to make it to the bathroom without a problem!

Museum Grounds

IMG_5513
Originally uploaded by kittymonster.

Butterfly Pavilion
Natural History Museum
Los Angeles


We had a lovely day exploring the Museum grounds.

Bariety

The last few days I’ve been driving down a particular street past a KFC restaurant. To my absolute horror and amusement I saw this on the KFC marquee

Yesterday we had our first significant rain storm of the year. Rhys fell asleep in the car on our way to picking Henry up for his dental appointment. He napped as we drove to Manhattan Beach. As we left the parking area I outfitted Henry in his raincoat and equipped myself with an umbrella. I did a good job balancing my Mary Poppins bag and while carrying a still sleepy Rhys I instructed Henry to stay close and hold onto me.
Please note that there is a TV on the ceiling to better distract the young patients! The thing protruding from Henry's nose is laughing gas. Orange scented. You can choose from a vast selection of scents. In addition to the laughing gas he was also given an oral sedative. Almost 2 hours later we were escorted to the car by the dental assistant who was kind enough to walk us back. The sedative Henry had been given had not worn off, he was still a bit dizzy and we could not trust that he would not collapse. He had 2 spacers put in to retain the place for his permanent teeth (this is due to the bad teeth that had been pulled out previously) and 2 cavities filled.

See Henry's shark teeth? The front two are really loose, and the permanent teeth have already broken through behind them.

Rhys surprisingly was pretty well behaved. He entertained himself by watching Cars and then Happy Feet which the office had piped onto the endless amounts of TVs located in the every room; some two to a room. Towards the end he got a little restless so he pulled out a pair of surgical gloves from the cabinet and out of desperation I decided to blow some balloons with them. They make it look a so easy on TV! It was hard to do. Sloppy and wet. Yuck. The only good thing was that it smelled nice and actually tasted a bit like mint!

Afterwards we went to grab a bit to eat. Henry got a shake since the doctor did not recommend chewing until the anesthesia wore off. We came home and rested a while before leaving for our play date with the twins in Henry’s class.

They had a blast! All four boys ran all over the house and played on the jungle gym in the backyard. Henry and the older twin settled down to watch cartoons while Rhys and the younger one engaged in a battle of wills. Their mom and I got a chance to chit chat. And all of the sudden it was almost 6p!

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I came back early from my walk this morning and was greeted with the image of Rhys hanging from the waist out of the broken window! His tear stained face looked up at me as he heard me approach. “Mommy!” he said relieved and smiled. I can only imagine that he meant to escape through the window to look for me. I immediately checked to make sure he was ok and then looked at the window. I was shocked by his new adventure, but so very glad to see that he had not gotten himself cut! Although the glass was missing there were edges of it still left all along the metal frame. This is one lucky boy with a very hard working guardian angel! I found Kenny in the back and told him what had happened. He was also extremely shocked and a little angry at the danger Rhys had put himself in. We will have to take care of that window pronto!

It’s 2p and Kenny just got home from running a few errands with the boys. He came in the house LIVID! They were at Toys R Us looking at the toys in the Lego aisle when Rhys ‘poof’ disappeared. Immediately Kenny began looking around and calling for him. After about 5 minutes of futilely searching, Kenny notified the staff and they put the store in a Code Adam lockdown. Everyone was looking for him! A few minutes passed before Rhys came strolling out of nowhere, calmly walking towards Kenny without a care in the world. Kenny said he was soooo angry, he picked Rhys up and told him NEVER EVER walk away from him in a store again! They came straight home and I was told the story in horrifying detail.

We are learning that each of our kids require a different handling technique. Obviously what’s worked with Henry is not working for Rhys. Rhys requires a sterner hand. I told Kenny today that Rhys is forcing us to grow up and be the disciplined parents.

Kenny is now more than ever convinced that Rhys will turn to him and say “Father how did you like that challenge? Get ready for the next round” in an evil Stewie Griffin voice. I wonder if this behavior in Rhys is somehow a result of drawing these characters for a living? He made a comment this afternoon that Rhys is payback for every single bad thing he’s done so far in his life. As an aside I’d like to point out that having been formally introduced to Seth McF by Kenny the last time I was at the studio, I feel qualified to say that he is an extremely attractive man.

We had a yummy dinner at mom and dad's.

Not as I Do

Boys and girls observe as Rhys shows us how NOT to act on a coin operated ride.


Kids please do not try this at home!


This being Thursday, dad came up for our usual round of lunch and grocery shopping. Today he came up a little early to sort out the Wells Fargo mess. After over 2 hours at the local branch I am happy to report that it has been resolved! We ended up having to speak with a whole gaggle of people. First it was a personal banker at the branch who took a little while before she could grasp the reason we were in there in the first place. She then phoned the online customer support dept., put me on with someone who after a space of time began to talk to me in a very patronizing way. He then asked me to hold for his supervisor. As I held on, the seconds ticking away I suddenly sensed dead air. I couldn’t believe it! He hung up on me.

Since our original banker left to take another call, I flagged down the guy at the next desk. Luckily he got right on it. We spoke with another agent who seemed a thousand times brighter. She confirmed my suspicion that when dad opened up the saving account in February, (the agent who opened the account accidentally input dad’s name with mom’s ssn), the computer sensed a glitch and automatically froze and closed the account, thus canceling the bill payments that were scheduled. Up until this point everyone I spoke with at the bank assured me that this hypothesis could not happen because they were separate accounts! I cannot tell you how glad I was to find out that there shouldn’t be anymore problems with bill pay. Because I cannot even begin to tell you how much easier life is when you can pay bills online!!

Once that was confirmed I asked her to explain the situation to the banker who was helping us. He then spoke with the branch manager, who suggested that he call the originating branch to get them to make some kind of customer satisfaction report to credit my parents all the late fee charges that were incurred as a result of the cancelled payments. Uh huh. Got that? So let this be a lesson to everyone. This is the Patriot Act in action. Don’t get me wrong, in this day of ID theft I do appreciate the lengths the banks and government are going to protect everyone.

We were all starving by then, and so we headed straight to lunch. All through the ordeal Rhys was moderately well behaved. He grew a little restless and towards the end was so hungry he started eating the dried coffee creamer the bank had as a courtesy at the refreshment table. Umm Yum. Hydro Oils! The guy that helped us out was so accommodating he even dug out a box of markers and some paper for Rhys.

After lunch we made our customary stop at the Sanrio store. I really wanted to look around and reward myself for getting the credit for mom and dad, but restrained myself mainly because I sensed how tired Rhys was getting and did not want to take my chances since we still had to go to Marukai. On the way I prepped him on how I expected him to behave and as an incentive promised to let him ride on one of the machines in front of the market if he succeeded in behaving. As you have seen with your own two eyes he did it!

He fell asleep on the ride home. Was still asleep as I dropped a few bags off at Goodwill, stopped off at the library for a few DVDs and books, dropped Dad off and picked Henry up. He finally awoke as we were pulling up into the driveway.

They are now ensconced in their room watching the Sponge Bob DVD I got for them. I have to prep Henry on his spelling test tomorrow and give him a bath.


Rhys as a matter of fact had 2 showers today! One this morning… he jumped in while Kenny was in, and again when we got home. He walked over to me and said that he felt wet (the Pull up) and I think he thought he got his clothes wet and so requested a shower!

Forgot to mention that Rhys asked for 2 little cups of jello while we were at the store. One red and the other orange. One for him and the other for Henry. I got them seeing as he was being so good. Well. Let me just say I will think twice before buying jello again. I’m assuming they each had a few spoonfuls of the stuff, because some of it is lying in clumps on their play table and the rest is scattered all over the floor!

Rhys Evalued

Tuesday morning Rhys and I went to our 9:30a appointment with John at the Westside Regional Center. It was an introductory meeting that lasted almost an hour. It comprised mostly of questions about my pregnancy, Rhys’ early development, how he interacts with others and a bit of interaction between John and Rhys. We left with our next appointment scheduled in a few weeks with a psychologist.

In the meantime I need to schedule a hearing test with Rhys’ pediatrician. I finally received the paperwork from LAUSD Friday and have since mailed it back. All my cards in play.

When we got home dad was there along with the electrician/contractor and his assistant. We were stuck at home without electricity for most of the day, while they worked. The original plan of meeting Mary and the kids at Ben and Jerry’s after school, for the free ice cream cone day event was dashed because a. The work that was being done and b. It was really chilly and not really ice cream weather. Instead we firmed up plans to take the kids to the Natural History Museum with a visit to the Butterfly Pavilion over the weekend.

Rhys and I spent the day running errands. We managed to meet Mary and Isabelle at Target for some supplies. After arming both kids with popcorn and a drink, we set off on our shopping excursion. Rhys and Isabelle were very cute ! Rhys kept running up to Isabelle calling her by name, or what Mary and I think passed as her name. Isabelle started feeding Rhys popcorn straight into his mouth from her own private stash! All in all he was very well behaved, despite endlessly hoisting himself in and out of the shopping cart throughout our trip. We went to Borders afterwards where he went bonkers running wild through the store. When it came time to say goodbye I asked him to give Isabelle a hug and a kiss, he stood there offering her his cheek. Eventually he came around and gave her a nice hug.


Tonight we’re going to get dinner from El Tarasco. It’s Visitation night with 10% of the proceeds from 4- closing benefiting the school. Yum.

VAtech

There has been a deluge of press coverage over the tragic shooting incident at Virginia Tech concerning a troubled youth who took the lives of 32 people before committing suicide. I feel awful for those who lost loved ones, but especially sorry for the parents of this young man. The guilt they must feel over what their son has done must be unbearable. Strangely this perfectly illustrates my thought that though we understand each of us has freewill, at what point does a parent not feel that the actions of a child are an extension of themselves?

Kite Flying

I am exhausted from sleep deprivation. I could not for the life of me get back to sleep after waking up at 2a, so I indulged in a ‘Gilmore girls’ marathon (Disc 2, season 1). I don’t think I actually dozed back to sleep until about 6:30a. This is a first for me. I’m usually an early riser as is Rhys, so you could imagine how I wanted to bang my head against the bed rails when my little one began doing everything he could to get me to wake up early this morning!

I was finally awake and ready for another round of screen gazing at about 9:30a when Kenny came in with a copy of the Illusionist with Ed Norton. It was brilliant! We were just about to start listening to the commentary on the movie, but were interrupted. I did find out that it was based on a short story. Now I want to read it.

Afterwards we got dressed and drove down to OC to pick Henry up. The plan was to go swimming, but it was cloudy and a bit windy with a nip in the air. So instead we headed for a park a few blocks from Hilary and John’s. We spent an enjoyable afternoon picnicking, flying kites, and batting balls.

I’m feeling quiet pleased with myself. Despite being dead tired I completed a perfect mom routine tonight. They were bathed, fed, teeth brushed and read to, I even got them to go to sleep in their own beds! This is a direct result of co-sleeping.

puttering

The weekends suck. I have this problem of not being able to get myself out the door. All week long I think about where I could go, what I could be doing with myself, and then the weekend comes and I feel guilty for leaving. ‘Cause it seems all I really want to do is nest. Putter around the house organizing things, watching movies, surfing the net or reading books.

I was only able to go to Kelly Paper today to get cardstock for the gift certificates I’m working on for Jen’s salon. And even getting to Kelly’s before they closed at 1:00p was a major ordeal. I was planning on going solo, but I had the hardest time dragging myself away from my new toy. This blog.

When we finally go there it was about a quarter to 1:00, luckily we knew exactly what we needed. Kenny took his time coming in, with Rhys leading the way. He asked if I could find out the paper weight was on a couple of books. He’s working on publishing the first of many books and is researching everything. Anyhow I found the same guy Jacob, who helped me back in December when I was working on all the Christmas cards. He was extremely helpful. Left a message for Jen to get back to me on envelopes. If she wants them to match the cardstock it’s going to have to be a special order.

Standing in line at the checkout I sensed all was not well in paperland. It became apparent that there was some tension between Jacob and his co-worker. There was a rush to get everyone out the door so they could close up, so while Jacob was working quickly and efficiently the new guy was joking around with everyone. I got the feeling no one was amused.

Rhys as usual was running around exploring his surroundings, trying his best to get into trouble. This time it was the water dispenser by the doorway. He kept running furiously across the room between where I was standing in line and the dispenser all the while stopping to take intermittent sips of water. Finally with his patience worn thin, Kenny picked him up sideways and carried a flailing and whining Rhys out the door. Once at the register Jacob commented that I had back up today. “So lucky… sometimes I can’t think straight when he’s around.”

Afterwards we left for the library to pick up some materials that were on hold. Rhys and I sat in the car because I was convinced he was going to fall asleep soon, but instead he spotted the fair in the park. Who wouldn’t have? They had a couple of huge jumpers and live horses giving kids pony rides! At first I thought it was a private party, and told him so when he kept telling me he wanted to go over there. Then he started saying ’wanna go party’ in a tired voice. When Kenny came back he said why not? Let’s go check it out. It turned out to be a school fair. Actually it looked like most of Westchester was there in one form or another. We stayed for a bit. Rhys got to go in both jumpers. There was a small one for little kids, and a larger one with a climbing section that brought you up to the top of a slide. You should have seen how quickly he scurried up the climbing section!

I was really disappointed in myself. For the first time in a long time I left my camera at home! I deliberately started carrying a smaller handbag so my shoulder wouldn’t feel as if I had crushed it hoisting an elephant, but now I’m having trouble finding room for essentials… like my camera! What to do?!

We wrapped up our little excursion up with a coffee break at Starbucks, a detour to Blockbuster and layover at the post office (where Kenny checked on his PO Box), before swinging by the Circle K (for a Klondike for Rhys) and finally home.

Got home and there was a message from a guy I used to work with at MTV, Ben, asking if I had time for lunch in about 2 weeks. He said he got my number through Dena who is going on maternity leave. She’s just left a spot at Discovery that he’s hoping to fill. So I’m figuring that it’ll be a threesome for lunch… probably four if we count Rhys, who I’m sure I’ll be bringing.

Rhys sure misses Henry. Periodically he would say “Henry. Henry? Henry at school?” and I’ll have to say “No sweetie, Henry’s at Aunties”. Then he'd kind of nod and murmur oh.

I had meant to go to Maryrose’s art reception at Bergamot Station. It started at 4p. Really had no excuse since it was on the westside. The last one was downtown or Pasadena. Anyhow we did not go ’cause you know our feet have cemented to the floors. I’m so lame! I’ll blame my crappy mood on the weather. It was overcast today. That’s the price you pay for living by the coast.

Girls' Night Out

Last night after Kenny came home from work I left to go pick Mary up to go to Caroline’s. I was bracing myself for a traumatic scene, but to my surprise Rhys noting that I was on my way out the door actually escorted me out! He held the door for me and said “Bye Mommy.. See you later” and closed the door behind me. As I situated myself in the car I glanced up and saw his face in the window watching me. And then I had to go and ruin it all by having to go back inside the house. I forgot the plant I got for Mary.

For a period yesterday it was very windy. The winds were so strong that it blew a mass of leaves into the backyard and knocked the power out for just a second. It wasn’t until I was on my way over to Mary’s did I realize that Westport Heights had been wiped out of electricity since the afternoon. The signal at La Tijera was out. At Mary’s Isabelle greeted me with a “where’s Rhys?” She was so cute. I presented the plant to Mary explaining that I was mistaken and that although the plant was real, the flower was not. The directions said to be careful not to get the clay flower wet. Clay flower! It looks SO real.

This is another one that I got:

When we got to Caroline’s she gave us a quick tour of the renovation. It was dusty but it’s going to be well worth the discomfort. It’s quiet a showplace! Can’t wait to see it when it’s finished.

Truxton’s was busy but we found a nice booth and stayed for the next 4 hours! It was really great to just luxuriate in conversation with good friends and not have to worry about who’s getting into what or having to get up every 10 minutes to get something for someone. So the evening passed quickly with stories and plans for future meetings. We sat around like old ladies telling war stories of life on the home front. I told them about my decision to post my blog and promised to send them the link. But honestly if anyone should be blogging it should be Caroline. She has got some hilarious stories!

After dropping Mary off I drove the few long blocks separating our houses, to discover one of the window panes by the door was broken and had been patched up with cardboard and tape. Turns out that Rhys had been pressing on the glass and the force of the pressing caused the glass to break. Luckily he had only a couple of very minor scratches. Kenny said he was mostly scared and had quickly fallen asleep after the incident.



This morning potty training resumes. He readily allowed me to put on a pair of Superman underwear. Though after a while they were abandoned in the bathroom. He is now bottom free, but at least he’s going in the toilet. A problem that I’ve been encountering for the last few days has been his tendency to unravel all of the paper on the roll and place it into the toilet!

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Angele, Hilary and John came over after work to hang out. We ordered in, played and read with the kids for a bit. While John and Henry worked out the complexities of Pokeman, Rhys and Hilary ran around the house trying to out scare each other, and Angele and I sat on the sofa with Kitty laughing our heads off.

Kenny came home for a spell before leaving for a movie night out with the fellas. They are planing on a dinner and a show (Grindhouse) at the Bridge. Afterwards Hilary and John took Henry for the weekend. We’re planning on meeting up again on Sunday. Rhys looked like he was ready for a weekend with Auntie and Uncle as well. He was SO sad when Henry drove off! Hilary said next time they’ll take him too!

It’s a quiet night for Rhys and I. We’re relaxing in the back room watching‘Monster House’again.

Snowed In

Today we had our little version of 'Snowed In'. This is the first day since Henry has been on Spring Break that we have not left the house. I've been spring cleaning, and the Wildthornberry's have been on most of the morning. It always feels great to clear things out and be able to see straight. I'm feeling lighter and happier already.

The continuing saga of potty training Rhys is going ok. I think he's a little freaked out about going No. 2 in the toilet. He insisted on a diaper, and would not entertain the thought of 'let's give it a try in the toilet'.

Between cleaning, separating the boys from each other or rather from one driving the other crazy (guess who!) and playing with the settings on blogger I've used up much of the day. And now I have very little time to get ready for girls night out with Mary and Caroline. We are celebrating Mary's very belated birthday dinner tonight. Her birthday was in January! Anyhow, it's going to be a very nice and simple affair. We're headed to Truxton's around 6ish.

Post Easter

Finally the day has arrived. I took Rhys and Henry to get Rhys registered at school. I was so gung ho about Rhys going to the other preschool until September but now have many reservations. Kenny and I have decided to redouble efforts to potty train Rhys and read to the kids often during the day. We will continue with the Gymboree class and figure what else will be available for the summer.


Easter Sunday was a lovely, albeit a little anticlimactic. Hilary and John drove up stopping here first before we met up again at the Beverly Hilton for brunch with Muni and Angele. They completely redid the restaurant room. It’s incredibly beautiful and serene. Rhys found the pool and ran to the waters edge much to the alarm and amusement of guests seated poolside. The waiter in charge of our private room looked like Daniel Craig’s older brother. (Which is ironic considering I got the deluxe edition of Casino Royale from the Easter Bunny that morning. The boys each got a really cool basket as well.) It turned out that he was an actor. Big surprise!


Yesterday was spent hanging out with Mary and the kids. We were supposed to go to the Natural History Museum but decided to postpone it to catch the Butterfly Pavilion in a few weeks. Instead we hung out at their house for a couple of hours before heading over to Manhattan Beach for lunch at Islands and a brief stop at the Apple Store and then on to Target. It was enjoyable and Rhys was so hyped up and tired that by the time we left the MB Village parking lot he was already asleep. Luckily I was able to locate a shopping cart with a baby attachment for him. He slept much of our time at Target waking up just as we were about to leave.

Today after registration, we went to gas up and got a car wash. The boys had such a blast watching all the gizmos attack the car with soap and water.

Rhys skipped his nap today and was cranky and silly in a not so great way for Henry all afternoon. Once we got home I put on both movies we picked up from the library on Monday and settled them in for the rest of the afternoon.

I have sadly come to the realization that no matter how I try they will still fight over everything! Despite purchasing identical play sets they still ended up fighting over it. Soon it was bath time and then dinner. I don’t know how where he got the idea, but Rhys pulled down his underwear and mooned Henry right in the middle of dinner! Strange.

Pre Easter Fun

Tomorrow is Easter. It’s 10:10p and Rhys is asleep. Henry is hopping around the room like a frog waiting for something fun to happen. He’s just finished a couple of hours of playing video games on his DS. The first season of the Gilmore Girls is playing. It’s very good. I love it. A PG Sex in the City.


Wednesday after picking Henry up (for Spring Break!) we drove down to see Hilary and John. We had lunch and then went to Boomers.On the way we stopped off at REI to get the boys new shoes.


Once at Boomers they had a blast. Luckily I brought an extra set of clothes for each of them, just in case. Who am I kidding? It was a sure bet for Rhys. He cannot resist the water fountain park. By the time he was finished, or rather when he allowed me to drag him away, he was sopping wet. I mean drenched to the core. Getting him dressed was another ordeal!


Last night after an early dinner at Chili’s I finally got Kenny over to REI. I wanted Kenny to check out the Keen selection, but he didn’t even bother. Henry got sick. Really awful out the back end sick. Thank God Kenny was there.

Wicked Fun

Had a fantastic weekend! Yesterday went to see Wicked. It was so great! I especially love the poster. Then afterwards had dinner at Bucca with Hilary, Kenny, Henry & Rhys. Walked the promenade and had ice cream before heading home. Hilary and I ended up getting flip flops at Old Navy because we both wore pretty party shoes that were killing us by the afternoon.




Today we met Vel, Gus, Nicolette, Janina, David, Ryan and Owen at Temescal Canyon for a hike. It turned out to be a glorious day and the hike was both strenuous and scenic. Afterwards we drove to the Colony in Malibu and had lunch while the kids played in the park area It was an ideal place for families with young children and the area was packed with locals and some tourists. It was an idyllic afternoon and we all left promising to make the best of the summer by making this a monthly ritual.