California!

It had been a few years since we had gotten on a plane and headed west to visit our friends Kerri and Jeff, and Jon's brother's family, out in California.  Then Ildar moved in with us and we started talking about what parts of ye olde USA would he love to see.  Turns out he had been California dreaming.  So we booked us some tickets and snuck out of icy Minnesota over a long MLK weekend.  We absolutely lucked out on the weather, with every day reaching the mid-70's and the sun shining from dawn until dusk.  It was a welcome break from the dark cold days we had been having at home.  One of the first days, as we were driving up the coast in our rented wheels, Ildar took out his earbuds and said, "You know, my music just doesn't match the mood out here."  I haven't ever listened to his music, but I think he tends toward darker, angstier artists than say, the Beach Boys.  Theo quickly queued up the tune California from the O.C. for Ildar and then we introduced him to Jack Johnson, which apparently worked better.  Now that we are back in MN, he has apparently downloaded a bunch of Beach Boys tunes and is addicted. 

Anyway- our trip was a hootenany with lots of beach time, good laughs with good friends, and some quick peeks into the world of LA.  20 minutes at Venice Beach was enough for me, perhaps I would have liked it more if I would have taken up any of the hundreds of offers to buy me some medical marijuana.  Clearly I was showing some symptoms of chronic illness, because many people tried to treat me.  And this comes from a person who spent two years on the beaches in the Caribbean without ever being offered drugs.  I did enjoy watching the roller skating dancers and the amazingly skilled skateboarders.  There was one little guy who was about 4 who amazed our entire family.  Universal Studios was entertaining, as long as I didn't dwell on how much we had paid to be entertained in such a fashion.  But we spotted no stars.  I was longing for a peak at Johnny Depp.  I do adore him.  Jon, my own personal guide to the stars, informed me that Johnny lives in France, so I should stop rubbernecking, hoping for a glimpse.  We took the twisty road up to the Hollywood sign (well not all the way up, but close enough for me to get a little carsick) and strolled on the walk of fame for a while.  There was a big event happening with spotlights and crowds and I got a little excited, but once we got close enough we found out the stars being photographed were.....muppets.  I saw Kermit, but couldn't get close enough for his autograph.  shoot. 

A highlight of the trip for me was watching my boys delight in their 2 year old cousin Dara.  One morning Eli was sitting on the couch, all plugged into his ipod, earphones and all, playing some game.  I swear if I had tried to ask him a question, I would not have penetrated his cloud of concentration.  But little Dara came over, put her hand on his knee, looked up into his face, and in two seconds Eli had unplugged and engaged with his cousin.  His game forgotten on the couch.  Loved it.  I have to admit, I would unplug from almost anything to spend some time with that little ball of energy.  She is something special. 

And now we're home.  When we landed in St. Paul at the dinner hour it was dark and icy and below zero. But there are still Beach Boy tunes being played, we still have a little excess vitamin D pumping through our systems, and still are getting some laughs over our memories from last week. 

The bonds of childhood friends

The other night as Theo was getting ready for bed he was giving me the inside scoop about why he liked his friend Lowell so much.  Here's his monologue:  "It's just that Lowell and I are so much alike.  I mean, we both like nature so much.  We both have plans to live out in the woods when we are older.  And we love animals.  And we both think that money is what is corrupting the world."  That one caught my attention.  I had a little laugh to think about these sweet 8 year old boys bonding over money corrupting the world.  Not baseball, or worms, or even a shared love of noodles.  But the corrupting power of money.  I suppose Theo should know, because he has in his long and storied past fallen under money's captivating spell, wanting, needing, pining for the next thing he can buy.  But now that I think about it, we just got back from a trip to California without Theo spending too much time, and NO money, in gift shops.  Maybe a tide is turning.  I bet he wouldn't mind at all if we stopped giving him an allowance....

Fact or fiction?

Last night as I was driving Eli and Theo, and their pal Theo (gets a little confusing at times...) home from fencing, we got a serious case of the giggles.  It started with pal Theo talking about the song Greensleeves.  He was telling some story about music class.  Eli then piped up from the back seat with something like, "You know, according to Dr. John Dee, Greensleeves was actually a code name for Queen...." he was just starting to get into a serious monologue when I interrupted and asked how he knew this.  From a book he was reading.  We mentioned to him that the book was fiction.  To which he asserted, "I DO know the difference between fact and fiction." and then jumped back into his Dr. John Dee speech which included the somewhat shady info that the good doctor was actually an 'immortal humani'.  So I then asked him if immortal humanis were fact or fiction and he yelled out 'FACT....Wait!  I mean fiction....wait! I got confused.'  Which seriously damaged my confidence in him as a fact finder.  Eli then took my phone and looked up Dr. John Dee, who supposedly was a confidant of some queen back in the day.  But not, it appears, an immortal humani because his death was centuries ago.  Somehow the conversation then changed to Anne Boleyn and from there to Marie Antoinette.  Friend Theo brought up the phrase 'Let them eat cake' to which Eli quietly added, "Actually, there are two words for cake in French and for some reason the word attributed to Marie Antoinette is the more common word, which makes one think..." That's where we intterupted him him, demanding a source.  He of course claimed another book of fiction.  We gave him more crap, which he clearly deserved, but I must say, the kid does have a good memory for trivial details.  We dropped off brother Theo at home to get a jump on his homework, and Eli rode along to friend Theo's to give me some company.  After dropping the second Theo, I was saying to Eli how much I enjoyed laughing with him, and that I loved his wit, and his ability to laugh at himself, and especially how he can come up with a quick...quick....quick....I just could NOT come up with the word 'rebuttal'.  On my fourth repetition of the word quick Eli just about died laughing because he knew, of course, what word I was looking for and loved the irony of the situation.  Which made me love him even more.