LA Weekend Getaway

Last weekend we had a little escape up to LA. Although it is only 45 minutes away from home we got a hotel and had family watch the kids for the weekend. We kicked off our weekend with a Rammstein concert at "The Forum". This is probably our favorite band and we always thought we would have to see them in Germany. We never thought they would tour in America. So I was elated when I found on Facebook that they were coming to LA. The band is a German heavy metal band so the crowd was a little "rough" I think there were 3blondes in the whole crowd. The rest of the women were "goth girls" or of Mexican descent. And Dan & I were some of the "older" fans (although we are still younger than the band members).
Before the concert, we saw 'Flake" the keyboardist in the parking lot. He looked a ton older and I didn't recognize him in time to ask for a picture. So Dan shot this one.
Here's us in our nosebleed seats...surrounded by pot smokers. (My hair smelled like pot for the entire next day, until I had time to wash it.)

The next day we got up and went into the Fashion District and Fabric District in downtown LA. I bought some fabric for some projects and got out of there. We then stopped in at the Mormon Temple in Santa Monica and took a 18 1/2 years later picture of where we got married.


We then went to The Getty Museum for 5 hours of "Art Exploration". Dan had his picture taken in front of Van Gough's "Irises" worth over $150 million. ( My interpretation is that it is a strange picture painted by a strange person and I would never pay that much for it. I don't think I would even pay $1.50 for a poster. (But then obviously, I guess I have no taste in art.)

I had my picture taken in front of "Old Man Winter" . I just liked him, and he reminded me of Christmas and the curls in his beard matched the curls in my hair.



The next day we woke up at 11:00 (I don't think that has happened in at least 15 years.) Went to lunch at one of our favorite places in Capistrano and went for a walk along the beach in Laguna. It was the perfect ending to a nice weekend.

Heidi Can Officially Ride a Bike

Teaching each of our kids to ride a bike has been a pain for us....living on a hill, and having random people run into parked cars in front of the house, has hampered their ability to learn like ordinary children. The only chance they have is when we take them to the park which requires us to pack up the bikes on the rack. So it is a great feat and accomplishment to finally have the youngest finally able to ride on her own.

Reed's Yardworking Ethics

I am assuming that it is tough to get the average 14 year old to do any yard work. It takes a good hour of fighting with Reed to where we actually "break" him and he realizes that we are not going to relent and he won't get out of the work. Such was the day...... Dan had Reed doing the simple task of Aerating the yard with some spikes you strap on to your shoe. Reed decided to goof around on them on the hill and the spike plank flipped and went through his shoe and into his foot. He was punctured in 2 places and when Dan took off his shoe, his sock was filled with blood. Reed doesn't handle blood well, so he got really faint and then threw up all over the front lawn. He has since healed and got out of a week's worth of PE and milked us for rides to and from school for a week.

Mother's Day

For Mother's Day, all I really wanted was a picture with all of my kids....They're growing so fast.

The OC Marathon

After months of training after school 2 days a week, Emily and Ashley ran a mile lap in the OC Marathon. Ashley gave it all she had and arrived in the middle of the pack.... Emily came in absolutely last just ahead of a kid in a wheelchair. She told me she just doesn't like to run. I am proud of both of them, keeping with the program to the end...and improving their starting time.......despite countless complaining every Monday and Thursday morning.

Lisa's Escape

This weekend I escaped for a "girl's weekend" filled with no responsibility, no appointments to keep...besides a spa appointment....and an open schedule to do as I pleased. I went with 3 other women and we stayed at Mandalay Bay. It was too cold to lounge out by the pool...but I didn't seem to have time to anyways....besides as Heidi told me, trying to convince me not to abandon her "You can lay out by the pool at home and read magazines."
Went to the Cirque De Soliel Show called "O" at the Bellaggio and it was amazing. I highly recommend it to anyone. The stage was a "transforming pool" making for some amazing tricks.
Dan did a great job taking care of the kids while I was gone. But he said "you know, your job isn't as tough as I thought it was" which angered me and encouraged me to plan my next trip...seeing how he can handle everything so easily.