Happy Anniversary

9 jaar getrouwd en dat vierden we vandaag met een lunch bij Nobu in Malibu. Het was weer heel erg lekker! Het menu is een beetje veranderd. Zo prees de ober het restaurant aan als "Japanese with a Peruvian twist". Dat Peruviaanse was nieuw voor mij! Het weer was bewolkt toen we aankwamen maar langzaamaan kwam de zon er door. Een heerlijke namiddag! Op naar een volgend gelukkig jaar met zijn tweetjes!

Stravinsky concert

Stravinsky's Rite of Spring (le sacre du printemps) in the Walt Disney Concert Hall, performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic and conducted by Gustavo Dudamel. A nice night out with Brandon and Andrea, Marco and Jill, and Buck and Dominique!

And on Sunday, another birthday party at Garfield Park! Yes, there was a balloon artist and Lily got a chain of hearts, because she likes to "spread love" :-)

Play date with Asher!

Ennio's school was closed today for a teachers' conference, so I took the day off and stayed home with him. We had his friend Asher over for a play date and the boys had a lot of fun. I did have to intervene a couple of times, as they often wanted to play with the exact same car (even though we have at least 30 toy cars laying around!) and Ennio has a hard time sharing!* But we are working on it, and that is what play dates are good for!!! After Asher's daddy picked him up, Ennio took a nap and slept for 3 hours! I'm glad he (and I) got the rest he obviously needed!

* What a difference with Lily! She would share everything she owns, to the last penny in her piggy bank. I sometimes give her a dollar for the "snack shack" at school, and she comes home and tells me she gave it away to another kid who wanted something but didn't have any money!!! She also says that later, she wants to be a "helper" and help other people!

Best big sister!

Alhoewel Ennio niet altijd de liefste in huis is (genre:  I don't want to share! I don't like my sister!) gaat Lily hier toch op een heel volwassen manier mee om. Natuurlijk is ze in eerste instantie ontgoocheld (Why does he say that? I always share with him!!!) maar dan leggen we uit dat Ennio dat eigenlijk niet meent (ja, dat hoop ik toch!!!), dat hij nog klein is, en dat het wel zal voorbijgaan (duimen jullie mee dat dit inderdaad maar een fase is?) Lily vindt familie heel belangrijk. Ze zegt dikwijls, "I love my family!" en ze maakt heel veel tekeningen waar we allemaal op staan! (Hiernaast: in de disco :-) Marcus doet zelfs een typische seventies-move, hihi. Lily had eerst geen oren getekend en toen hij vroeg waarom, zei ze: "because ears make you look like a monkey!" Toen hij zei dat hij toch oren wou, gaf ze hem deze exemplaren! Inderdaad ziet hij er nu een beetje aapjes-achtig uit :-)))

Ze doet ook niets liever dan "geschenkjes" maken. Dan maakt ze een tekening en verpakt die in geschenkpapier, met stickers en strikjes en lintjes en dergelijke meer, en geeft die aan ons, of aan vriendjes of vriendinnetjes op school.
Ook Ennio krijgt regelmatig een geschenkje, al dan niet met een boodschap van Lily, gaande van "I love you no madr wot and I forgiv you" (I love you no matter what and I forgive you) tot "You are my best frend" (You are my best friend). Die legt ze dan op zijn hoofdkussen in bed. Zooo lief!
Ik hoop maar dat Ennio gauw beseft wat voor een superlieve grote zus hij heeft!

Typisch Lily: uitgesproken wimpers, rode lippen en hoge hakken (ik weet niet van waar ze het heeft, want ik loop zeker niet elke dag opgemaakt en met hoge hakken rond!!!)

Science Sunday

We had planned to go to Nasa's JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) Open House, but unfortunately did not get in! This year's interest in the event was unprecedented. The Open House took place on Saturday and Sunday from 9:00 AM until 4:00 PM. We left the house around 10:00 AM this morning, were stuck in traffic for almost 1.5 hours (the center is only about 20 minutes away with no traffic) and when we got there and were walking towards the entrance, they stopped letting people in! Attendance was "at full capacity". Ennio was sooo disappointed, he was in tears and kept begging to go to the "space museum". After some quick brainstorming, we decided to head over to the Discovery Cube museum, just another 20-minute drive from JPL. Thankfully, this turned out to be a great decision. The kids had fun and forgot all about JPL. We watched a 4D-movie about Penguins, played in the Curious George exhibit, did the iPad scavenger hunt, went on a virtual helicopter ride, etc. etc. I also found out that JPL organizes tours for the public, so that is something I will look into and sign up for! At least then, we won't have to deal with the crowds and stand in line for hours, like many did today!

De traantjes zijn verdwenen!

Playing with shapes and shadows

Curious George's rocket!

The way the wind works...

Peek-A-Boo Lily

Planetary Research Station

Rock climbing

Outside having a Tweety and Bugs Bunny ice cream at the nearby playground!

A taste of Japan in Downtown L.A.

From the Mommy Poppins website:

25 things to do with kids in Downtown Los Angeles 

(We did numbers 6, 7 and 12 yesterday. We've done 1, 2, 9, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 20 and 22 on other days (not all with kids, though). We met up with Andreas Martin and Anna and had so much fun showing them around (and discovering new things ourselves!) We ended our tour at the dog park and playground near the Hollywood sign. Definitely another Sunday Fun Day!)

1. All aboard! Take a Metro Link train ride to/from beautiful Union Station. 

2. Across from Union Station, take a stroll through historic Olvera Street, a one-block pedestrian zone and Mexican street market, home to the oldest remaining structure in Los Angeles, the Avila Adobe (free entry).

3. Visit the lobby of the Ace Hotel, located in the United Artists building, to see the wall of books and decor of real instruments - then take some funny photos in the old school photo booth.

4. Let your kid pick out some cool fabric from one of LA Fashion Disctrict's many fabric shops.

5. At the LA Fashion District, don't forget to walk through Santee Alley, two blocks of shops and a lot of fun.

6. In Little Tokyo, visit the tranquil James Irvine Japanese Gardens at the Japanese Cultural Center (free entry).

7. Take a walk through the Japanese Village Plaza and stop at the Mitsuru Cafe for red bean cakes (imagawaki). You can watch the fresh imagawaki being made through the window! 

 

8. Go bowling at X Lanes in the Little Tokyo Mall.

9. For a spectacular view of the city, take a ride to the top in the glass elevators of the Westin Bonaveture Hotel.

10. Catch a marionette show at the Bob Baker Marionette Theater. Be sure to book ahead.

11. Attend the Downtown LA Artwalk early in the evening. Artwalk starts at 5pm on the second Thursday of the month; bring kids to enjoy the early hours of the walk as the later it gets, the more crowded and rambunctious it can be.

12. Eat a meal inside a real LA Fire Station built in 1912 at Engine Co. No. 28.

13. Take a sketch pad and a pencil to practice your drawing while touring The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA).

14. Catch a movie and a snack at LA Live, an entertainment and dining complex next to the Los Angeles Convention Center. This is also a great location for winter season ice skating.

15. See Chinatown and take a tour, attend a music event, or have a quick picnic at the LA State Historic Park.

16. Visit The Los Angeles Music Center's three theaters and take a tour of Frank Gehry's Walt Disney Concert Hall, home to the LA Philharmonic. 

17. Enjoy some organic, fair trade ice cream churned and energized by a person on a bicycle at the Peddler's Creamery.

18. Sign the kids up for the Summer Reading Club at Central Library, take a tour, ride the elevators wallpapered with Dewey Decimal System index cards, and see the unique fountains outside of the library.    

19. Indulge in a picnic at the California Plaza at Bunker Hill amidst fountains, streams, and flowers.

20. Stop by Grand Hope Park for some good ole playground time. Take advantage of the photo op near the large dog statues on the grass. 

21. Shop the Thursday farmers' market at LA City Hall- South Lawn. 

22. People watch at Pershing Square or shop for some fresh produce at the Wednesday farmers' market. This is also a great location for ice skating during the winter. 

23. Walk the dog at the Arts District Dog Park.

24. Support the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy's newest park, Vista Hermosa Natural Park with beautiful views of Downtown LA, walking trails, streams, and picnic grounds. 

25. Take a unique, stroller friendly walk through the Grand Central Market, a bustling open market filled with shops and international cuisine.

26. And one bonus idea: let little ones bounce and play at Around the Globe Kids' Center, Downtown's indoor play space.

School Projects

In First Grade, students get one homework packet for the next 6 weeks. That means they get a lot of assignments, but at least you get to plan ahead and there's no weekly stress to get everything done by Friday! The teachers told us it is a new experiment for them (and the students and parents) and so far, I like it! Lily had to turn in her first homework packet on October 2. Part of it is a Family Project, to be done together with the help of mom and dad. The task was to create a family tree. "Please include parents, siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and even pets. Use paint, glue, pictures, or any other craft materials to make your family tree beautiful and unique. Also, please think about using recycled materials. The students need to know who is on the tree and how they are related to them. The students will present their trees to the class. Please, spend some time having them practice presenting their family tree." We had fun picking out photos from our family members! (glad I took so many pictures over the summer!!!) We also cut leaves from one of our trees and had them dry for 3 weeks under a big stack of books. Then we put the photos and leaves up on a cork board. I liked what we did, but saw some of the other family trees out in the school's hallway and must say I was very impressed. There are some very creative students parents out there!

Next, Lily was also Star Student of the Week. She got a poster and had to color and decorate it, fill in the blanks and glue photos or drawings on top. Here are some of the things she wrote down:

Breaking News: Lily screams her head OFF!
Lily Trumpp recently went on a roller coaster. This took place in Magic Mountain and people were screaming. It all ended when the train stopped.

Spotlight: I am 6 years old. I live at home with Ennio - mom - dad. That's my family. I show my family that I care about them when I say I love you. My close friends are fun to play with. We like to play dress up. I am a good friend because I love being nice to others.

Reader's Choice. Recently, I read an excellent book by author Sarah L. Thomson titled Cinderella. I recommend this book because it is a nice story and the book has beautiful drawings. The best part was when Cinderella and the prince got married.

Travel Guide: 
Caption: to kiss a dolphin.
A fun place to visit is Tahiti because it has peace. The last time I was there, I saw a dolphin and I kissed it. Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆

Fun Zone:
An activity I really enjoy is watching the iPad. I like it because I can relax. The last time I did this, I had fun.

Read all about Lily T's favorite things!
Color: prpul
Movie: inside out
TV show: teen titans go
Sport: swimming
Animal: kitten
Snack: cucumber
Drink: apple cider
Holiday: Valentine's day
Song: Roar
Celebrity: M.L.King

 

Ennio doesn't sit still either. He loves tracing names and will come home every night after school and write for at least 15 minutes!

Ennio's place mat we made for his lunch at school. He traced Ennio, Mommy, Lily and Daddy.