tizimatt.info

It has been a pretty nice summer so far. The marine layer has not been so pervasive as in past years, and it has not been too hot, so we had the chance to enjoy many fun moments.

The nice weather brought a couple pool play-dates. We went to Alyce’s house and splashed in their pool. The water was not quite as warm as Keegan would have liked it, but he still managed to have fun and splash around. We even got to share lunch with them.

We also had a playdate with Van, his friend from school. Keegan remembered  last year ‘s pool party, and he has been pestering me (and Van’s mom) for a repeat. He was excited when I surprised him one day, and I picked up both him and Van and took them home. I can finally drive more than one kid in my car…

The pool water was the perfect temperature, and we all enjoyed swimming and jumping. They have a nice diving board, and we all had turns. It was great. The water guns just added to the fun.

The two kids got along well, if maybe a little too well: they were really wild and loud. We had dinner together, and I took Keegan home, exhausted.

Our pool also offers hours of fun and entertainment. The best part, though, is just get ting warmed up by the sun.

This summer, we also got the chance to see our friend Abby and her family. Abby was my maid of honor at my wedding, and she is also responsible for introducing Matt to me.  She has a daughter that is 10 days younger than Keegan, and we have not seen them since the kids were both less than a year old. It was great to seen them again. It turns out her daughter Nina is very similar, personality-wise, to Keegan, so they got along wonderfully. We met at Seaworld, and between the shows, the animals and the play area, they did not stop one second.

the dolphin show

the Abby’s Sea star Ride

The night-time Shamu show

We also spent a lot of fun times as a family. We took Keegan for a small hike at Torrey Pines, and besides some whining (which come standard this days) he did pretty well. I am glad, because I miss hiking and I am looking forward to take him along on some nice walks.

It was a beautiful day and the sights from Torrey Pines are always breathtaking. Please note the long pants: this one of Keegan’s latest things. He does not want to wear shorts, no matter how warm it. Of course then he complains he is too hot…

…which is why we usually pack some extra clothing with us, so he can change.

We finished our hike with a stop at the beach below. The water was too cold for swimming, but my two guys built a great sand castle, even without tools. And a little sand wrestling does never hurts either.

Of course we don’t need to go anywhere: Keegan always comes up with some fun games…which usually involve an adult’s participation and often ends with bruising. The boys often build forts using pillows, blankets and poufs. try to excuse myself as much as possible.

Wow, this summer is surely going by fast. We still have a few more weeks left so we will try to make the most of them.

Comments are off for this post

Independence Day was on a Wednesday this year, so we ended up having a whole week celebration: how fun is that? I particularly enjoyed it because that also happens to be my only summer vacation; so while Keegan is at school I have a couple of days for myself (and catching up).

We started the weekend before the 4th with our annual celebration at one of Clairmont’s churches. We discovered it by chance three years ago, and we have been coming ever since. This year we met Sharon and Jada there. It is great, because it is not crowded and it is free. We had hamburgers and ice cream, played in the jumpee, watched a magic show (Keegan was enthralled) and of course went up and down the water slide. Well, Keegan did.

There were also climbing structures and swings, and Jada and Keegan had fun with these.

On the way home, an Abraham Lincon impersonator even gave Keegan a penny for his piggy bank (which is pretty empty at the moment).

The school’s celebration was on Tuesday. We decorated the bike the night before with paper and flags and we were ready for the big day. Of course we needed to put the training wheels on. Keegan stubbornly refused to even try to use the bike without it, so he won this battle.

When I arrived, all the kids were anxiously waiting for the parents to show up. They were so cute with their patriotic outfits.

Ms. Jill, Keegan’s new teacher for next year…can’t wait (-:

We all headed to the back door, where all the bikes were waiting. The kids were so excited. Check out Keegan’s very patriotic shirt…bought in Italy. I swear there is more American clothing in Italy than here.

To celebrate my first Independence Day as an American, I got decked out too.

As always, the preparation is longer than the actual ride around the block, but it is still fun.

At the finish line with Julia

The best part of all: the iced popsicle waiting the riders at the end.

On Wednesday, we started the day with the Stanley Park Fourth Of July Celebration. Depsite having so much fun during his own bike parade, he refused to bring his bike along, so we just watched the other kids ride around. There was a nice stage with different groups playing or performing, and there were, of course the rides. We had to wait a little for them to be blown up, but then it was a lot of (expensive) fun.

After a quiet afternoon at home under gray skies, we headed out for the fireworks show. This is the first year we were keeping Keegan up to watch, and he was so excited. We went to a local church, Pioneer Ocean View United Church of Christ, thanks to a tip from Chrystal, Julia’s mom. It was great: you could see the whole bay, from downtown to La Jolla and up. The church had popcorn set up and welcomed everyone. There was no traffic, and a nice parking lot. The perfect place to watch the show. We meet Julia and her family there, so the kids had fun together, and I chatted with Chrystal.

Playing with glow sticks

glow sticks twirling makes great photography

From our advantage point we could see everything from north county, to La Jolla, Mission Bay and Seaworld and even downtown…if their well advertised Big Bay Boom actually worked. It was supposed to be one of the biggest fireworks display of the evening. As we were waiting for Seaworld show to start, we saw some huge fireballs over downtown: very spectacular fireworks…that lasted about 10 seconds. And then darkness. Well, it turned out that for a malfunction, the thousands of fireworks scheduled went off all together. The Fourth of July celebration was expected to last 18 minutes, but went up in smoke within 15 seconds.

We did get to see our normal fireworks as well, of course, and Seaworld did not disappoints nor amazed.

On Saturday, we had a playdate at the end of Mission Bay with Alyce and her friend Elin. The sky were gray and the sun barely picked out of the clouds, but the kids had fun anyway. They run around, played with the sand and even played in the water. The best part is always snack time.

We ended the week of celebration with one last bang. On Sunday we went to a Port Of San Diego Event: basically a large amounts of inflatables sitting on a pier over the water.With downtown as a backdrop it was an amazing sight.

The event also boasted the largest, inflatable, water-slide. Since we had a 2 x 1 coupon, I got a wristband too, so I could try it out. Keegan, bravely tried it twice, by himself, and on my lap, after which he decided he had enough, and it was too scary. I really think it was the splashing in the water he did not like. At any rate, I got my money worth, and rode it many times. It was really fun!

I can’t really say I win any award for gracefulness…

There were plenty of other things for Keegan to do, mind you, and he tired himself out going on every, single one. The T-Rex adventure and the Spider Man one were his favorites.

It was definitely a fun way to start our July!

Comments are off for this post

After a lot of soul searching, we have decided to keep Keegan at his current preschool for one more year, instead of transferring him at the Montessori school we have been looking at.

It was not an easy decision, but we felt it would be best for him (and honestly, for us), to finish up preschool at Bay Park: he loves it there, he has so much fun, so many friends, and he knows everyone, including all the teachers.

Bay Park Early Learning Center

He seems to be learning some academics as well, and hopefully he will not be too behind next year, if we do decide to send him to the Montessori school. The schedule is also a lot better for us, and tuition is lower. Plus, he will have all his life for focusing on academic, so we thought one more year of playing will not be that bad.

They do play a lot, but also focus on pre-reading and writing activities, and of course focus on discipline. And they do encourage art and art projects. It is interesting to see all the artwork the kids create, especially because Keegan does not really like to draw, color or write. So, peer pressure must do miracles.

Can you guess which one is Keegan’s?

Here it is. I love the description!

Even if, as it turns out, a couple of his best friends left the school (MacKenzie and Kelsen, Owen and Erik), he is still enjoying school immensely. In fact he never wants to go home, which drives me nuts…but this is another story.

There is always so much happening at school: besides all the the learning, there is plenty of fun play. Dressing up is always an option; dragons, tigers or knight: you just need to choose.

Even storytelling is more fun when you are dressed up!

Sometimes I pick him up with glittery spray painted hair, or nail polish. Sometimes I get lucky, and there is only a temporary tattoo or skin drawing.

a spitting cobra. Scary!

One thing I am really grateful for is their emphasis on storytelling and book reading. We obviously stress it a lot at home, but it is great to see this great habit reinforced at school as well. So, oftentimes, Keegan and I found ourselves at the local library picking books to bring home to read. It is a small, disorganized place, but I can usually find something good. Keegan really likes these visits, and never asks about using the computers: he just dives into the books.

When it is summertime, Bay Park runs a summer programs, and even more fun activities are planned.  The older kids’ classes are joined together under the name Summer Explorer and they take trips and share their days and teachers.

The school usually kicks off the season with a bouncie.

Now that Keegan is old enough, they even take the kids to field trips. The first one was at the Chula Vista Nature Center. Unfortunately I could not go, but a couple of the moms that were chaperons took these pictures. It looked like they had a great time, even if I think they liked the schoolbus ride the best.

Victoria, Keegan and Julia

the junk jelly fish

and the junk crab

and the junk fish

group photos. Cute shirts, but couldn’t they get a smaller size?

getting tired up for nap time

going back to school, tired but happy. Julia, Rozelin and Keegan

All these activities definitely help to get some of his energy out (never enough): when he finally goes to bed, he sleeps soundly. So soundly, in fact, he did not even noticed I came into his room, and shoot a few pictures…with a flash.

Comments are off for this post

Gloomy skies have arrived, so it must be summer here in San Diego. It is always interesting to hear about how hot is in the rest of the country, when is grey and cool here. Well, we get our summer in September/October, in time for fire season.

Anyway, when the marine layer finally burns off, we do get to enjoy summer and with it a lot of fun activities. Summer, of course, for Keegan meanly means WATER FUN. There are so many opportunities to get wet in San Diego.

We went to Seaworld, and for the first time, we actually skipped the animals and shows and went straight to the rides and games, the wetter the better. We met with two of Keegan’s friends from school, Julia and Kenzie, and since Julia wanted to try the big Atlantis roller coaster, Keegan went along too. He barely met the height requirement. Well, it was an experience: it is an actual, adult roller coaster, starting with a big drop, landing in water (and getting totally soaked). Then the car is lifted up by an elevator, and down you go through very fast turns and twists. Granted, we were in the first car, the scarier one, but Keegan was not too happy during the ride. He did not cry but he did not want to try it again, even though he kept on saying how fun it was. It reminded me of the log roller coaster we did in Italy.

watching Julia come down the big jump

We were soaked, on a chilly, grey morning. I did not planned for this, but fortunately I had a change of clothes for Keegan. I even splurged on the $5 drier not to have to walk all day with wet pants. Then we headed for the kids area for some rope climbing.

We finished the day with another big soaker: the shipwreck rapids. It was really fun. This was the first time I went to Seaworld and  I really went on the rides.

More traditional methods to get wet abounds, of course. It is amazing how rarely we go down to the beach, even if we are 10 minutes away. Between the crowds, no parking, and all the stuff we have to lug, we often get discouraged. Plus, it is not all that fun when it is overcast and chilly, a common weather by the coast in early summer. The rare days the stars align just right, we do have a great time.

father and sun watching the waves (or checking out the babes?)

Of course it is a lot easier to bring the water at home, and Keegan had plenty of fun splashing around in various water vessels.

dinosaurs pool with dad. Who is having more fun?

Hannah’s and Natalie’s pool

slip and slide at Kenzie’s house

Unfortunately Kenzie, one of his best friend, left school in May. It was very sad, and we have been trying to get the kids together as much as possible. They get along so well, and even if they are not at school together, they still consider each other as the future spouse.

Seeing how much Keegan liked the slip and slide, we got our own, and invited Hannah and Mila over to try it out. It was a great success, even if the meaning of “slip and slide” got lost somehow. It was more of run and jump in the pooling water at the end.

Oh well, the important thing is that they had fun. And fun they had: no fights, and almost no injuries.

Even Father’s Day celebration involved water: the dads are paired up and they have to throw a water balloon to each other, in many outrageously difficult ways, and try not to drop it. Poor Matt got drenched.

Of course summer is not only splashing around. There are many other fun activities going on. Usually Torin’s birthday party kicks off the season. It is always a fun event. This year the theme was Lego and there were many, many Lego styled items: Lego pizza, Lego cheese and crackers, Lego flavors and decorations.

And of course, Lego cake.

Another fun, annual summer event is the San Diego County Fair, better known to us as Rides Galore, since we really don’t do much fair-related activities, and go straight to the rides.

This year is the theme was Out Of This World, which is great theme for us, since Keegan is really interested in anything space related.

 

In fact, we even went to the airspace museum once and got to listen to a real shuttle astronaut, who kindly posed with Keegan.

Colonel Sherwood “Woody” C. Spring

We went to the fair on Father’s Day, and we explored some of the animals pens, the famed piglets race and swim, and the space exhibit. It was pretty interesting: they even had an “alien” spaceship.

All of this, of course, was just a “side dish” to the main event: the rides. This year we planned better, and bought a wristband, valid for unlimited rides. This was a good idea, since we made up the price of the wristband with the first ride, that Keegan rode 10 times! 10 times, at 4 tickets per ride, at 75 cent per ticket…you do the math.

Another great thing, this year, was that he was tall enough for almost all the rides, so we did not have to go with. When all was said and done he probably went on 50 rides, at least!

He went down the Goliah slide, the only ride I would have not minded riding.

… and many, many car, trucks, and assorted vehicle rides…

Despite our fears he would not ride as much since he did not have a friend with him, Mr. Social Butterfly did not lose any time making new friends while waiting in line to find riding partners.

He went on dragon spinning rides, roller coaster rides, canoes rides…

…they even had the Bruco roller coaster he liked so much from Italy.

…and he rode on any other rides imaginable. The only ride I had to accompany him in, was the ferris wheel, which for some weird reason really fascinated him. I find it pretty boring, but it did offer a nice view of the fair.

We left exhausted past 2pm. It was fun, but I am glad the fair comes only once a year.

Summer or not summer, there is always time to spend quality time with mom and dad. Dad is usually great for wrestling matches, climbing and building.

engineers at work

Mom, on the other hand, is great for book reading and cuddles. In fact, Keegan reprimanded me before because I did not pick him up from school in my PJs, since, according to him, I look better in those, because they re a lot softer and better for cuddles.

Well, summer has just began, and I am looking forward to more fun adventures in the months to come.

Comments are off for this post

In June, Matt and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary (Las Vegas wedding, obviously). Lucky for us, it happened on a Friday, so we could celebrate without rush. Matt came home with a huge bunch of flowers: Asian lilies, calla lilies and gladiolas. Keegan was a little sad he could not celebrate with us, and he really wanted to take a picture of us: this is his best attempt.

After he went to bed, Matt prepared an amazing dinner, as always, and we exchanged our gifts and cards.

The 10th anniversary is traditionally the tin anniversary: how came up with that? I mean, 1o years is a big achievement, so you would expect something stronger and more valuable than tin, especially considering that the 6th is iron. I am excited about next one, though, because is steel, and stainless still is one of my favorite materials.

Anyway, we both had steel boxes: mine contained candies and clothes, and Matt’s contained a mix CD he made for me with all the popular songs of 2002, and a couple of extra ones. (-:  As for gifts, Matt asked for a keyboard/mouse (yes, not very romantic), and I got a beautiful titanium ring (yes, not very spontaneous, since I chose it myself). We have been using the same jewelry store for years, so we now actually get coupons in the mail. That was convenient, and we got a great deal. Matt got the ring engraved for me: what a womnderful gift.

We had a nice dinner and talked and reminisced, helped by the cool 2002 soundtrack Matt created. It was a great trip down memory lane, and I am looking forward to many, many, many more years together. I am very lucky to have found Matt, and could not ask for a better partner.

Comments are off for this post

In the past 6 months we have been lucky to observe three exceptional celestial events. And thanks to good timing, Keegan was able to witness all three (even if he may not remember them).

We started off with a spectacular Lunar Eclipse on December 10, 2011. We were lucky the eclipse happened early in the morning, around 5.30 am and Keegan woke up earlier than usual that day (did he feel the special event happening?). We were all treated to a spectacular, blood red, over-sized moon. (of course none of the great pictures in these post are mine…thank you Google images)

The view from San Diego…

… and from Turret Arch at Arches National Park located near Moab, Utah

Then, on May 20, 2012 we had a partial solar eclipse. It does not seem like we will ever be able to see a total eclipse in our lifetime, so this was probably the closest we would ever get. Once again, the timing could not have been more perfect: Sunday, mid-afternoon. Of course we mobilized at the last minute, so all the eclipse glasses were gone, but I have found one old pair I have gotten many years ago. See, being a pack rat sometime has its benefits.

We drove east, since there were forecasts of thick marine layer on the coast, and luckily we only had to go as far as Lake Murray, a nice reservoir/park close to La Mesa. There is a nice walking trail, and ducks and other aquatic animals to entertain a 4 years old.

We took turns with the glasses and got a glimpse of a really remarkable event. It may have not been as amazing as it was in Japan (a full annular eclipse), but still it was a spectacular sight.

We watched most of the eclipse at the park, and as the sun set at home, we caught a last glimpse.

the whole eclipse somewhere in California (or so it seems)

the view from the OB pier: you probably did not even need glasses

close to the maximum eclipse phase

The final event happened on June 5, 2012 when Venus could be seen in transit in front of the sun. While definitely less spectacular than the other events, it was also pretty interesting…once you could actually see it, that is. Again, perfect timing: Tuesday afternoon, after the marine layer lifted off. With my trusty eclipse glasses I could actually track a small, tiny black dot over the face of the sun. Keegan was not too impressed, but he did enjoy watching: lately he has been really interested in everything space-related.

Thank you to Google Images, though, I can show some spectacular images. The real thing looked nothing like that, but who cares?

this was more like what we saw, but 1000 smaller

Comments are off for this post

As I mentioned before, 2012 is a year of big anniversaries. One of them, is the 20 year anniversary of my arrival in San Diego, on September 9, 1992. It seems impossible it has been so long: soon I will have lived here longer than I have lived in Italy.

I do miss my family and friends, A LOT, and I do miss some things about Italy, such as l’aperetivo, well designed & affordable furniture, vacation time and socialized medicine — yes, I am a bleeding liberal, at least here in the States, since in Italy, I am considered more on the right…imagine that.

However, I never, not even once, regretted my decision, for as hard as it has been at times. I love San Diego and would not trade this city for anything. And I have always felt I belong to two countries (or maybe to none…but this is different story).

SPOILER ALERT: following is a bitter recap of the immigration path for a LEGAL alien. Feel free to skip it if you like.

During my past 20 years I had to deal with the “wonderful” immigration department on many, many occasions. I think I tried almost any available visas: tourist, prospective student, full time student, temporary worker, full time worker.

Despite 10 years in which I resided here legally, paying out of state tuition, being forced to get health insurance (funny how nobody talks about this health mandate, since it is for “foreigners”), paying taxes, getting social security income withheld (without being eligible for receiving any of it) and being a law abiding person, I was never eligible for residency automatically. I spare you how difficult it is to get residency through work, or even as an outstanding professional.

Only my marriage allowed me to become an official, legal alien with parole papers (meaning I can leave the country and come back while I waited for my card): who came up with these denigrating terms? I finally got my green card, which is not green at all, after submitting to a background check, a joint interview with Matt and a medical exam that made sure I did not have HIV, a condition which would have disqualified me. Well, after all this is understandable I really did not want to have anything to do with immigration again.

END OF BITTERNESS

It has been so long, the department changed its name: I still never remember the new one. I am obviously not the only one: INS is still really high in Google searches. No surprise: which is easier to remember?

from INS (Immigration and Naturalization Services)…

to USCIS.

However being a resident is still not a permanent condition and so, as the big anniversary approached, and with an important election looming, I figured it was a good idea to become a citizen. After all this time, I was actually surprised at how quickly and efficiently the process went.

I applied at the end of January, dropping a nice, fat check, and swearing not to be a Nazi, or a communist or a drunkard, or a drug dealer or an illegal immigrant smuggler, basically proving of being of sound moral character (seriously!). Within a couple of weeks I received a confirmation text and email. Amazing! What efficiency. After more fingerprinting, I prepared for the civic exam, which was ridiculously easy: you are given a booklet with 100 questions/answers and they will choose 10 to ask you. As long as you answer 6/10, can write and read a sentence in English you pass. By the way, anwwer this one: how many voting members does the House have in 2012?

Despite being very preoccupied by Matt’s health, the exam went well. It was ironic they asked me who the USA fought in WW2. My answer? Germany, Japan, and Italy, for a while, before we switched sides and joined USA. The inspector laughed, and while the answer was not in the book, I still passed. By the way, I am sure more than the many Americans could not answer the majority of these questions.

Test your knowledge with these online questions.

So the day finally came for the naturalization ceremony. Matt graciously agreed to come with me to witness the momentous event. I am sure he regretted the decision as soon as we saw the huge line sneaking around the building, as we arrived, at 7.40 am, 20 minutes early. Fortunately, though, the line moved faster than expected: in fact when we were all seated, we had to wait a good half an hour, till 10 am for the judge to appear. To make matters worse, Matt was “relegated” to the balcony, so he had to sit and wait: we should have brought a book. At least I had my smart phone.

We all received our info packet, which included the oath of allegiance and of course a small American flag.

After a few speakers dealing with the technical stuff, such as how to register to vote, and to get a passport, the judge finally arrived and we got started. We began with the flag presented by ROTC kids (no comment), then the American Anthem. Then, there was a video message from the President: I guess I am glad I waited, otherwise I would have had to sit through Bush’s message, and that would have totally ruined the moment.

Then Bonnie Dumanis, San Diego District Attorney (and mayor candidate) spoke, and finally the judge. She started with calling out all the nations represented in the room: there were 680 people from 75 different countries. I could not see any other Italian, but guess which country had the most representatives???

After that, she just gave a congratulatory speech and then we all recited the oath of allegiance. The whole ceremony was over in about 30 minutes. We then lined up some more, to get our certificate. And that was it.

20 years of waiting and it was all over. I guess it felt very anticlimactic. Nor I felt any different…and since I still have my Italian citizenship (both US and Italy support dual citizenship) I will still criticize both countries equally. (-:

Matt went back to work, and I went back home (I took the day off) and resumed my normal life. Since it was only a couple of days before memorial Day, Matt was able to find some very patriotic red, white and blue flowers, completed with the flag and he brought them home to celebrate me. What a sweetie!

So now I am a “real” American; next step: a US passport and registering to vote (nor that my vote matters in California).

Comments are off for this post

Unfortunately my parents had to leave the day before Mother’s Day, but at least we had the chance to celebrate with Nonna at Keegan’s school Mother’s Day Tea. I am still not sure why it is called a tea, since the only tea served is ice cold, and especially why they insist mothers need to wear a hat: this is not England, nor the first day of horse racing. In fact every year less and less mothers comply. I obviously buckled under pressure, but did not wear the hat I hastily bought. Mom wore it instead: it definitely fit her better than me.

This year, fortunately they skipped the usual dance-along game, and just had moms and kids walk down the “walkway”: pretty embarrassing, but nobody was really paying attention anyway.

So we socialized with other moms, while the kids had some snacks and wreaked havoc around the playground.

Rozalin and Keegan goofing around for Nonno’s camera

On Sunday we had the real celebration. It was a little bittersweet as nonni left the previous day and we were all a little sad: we missed them! The day was beautiful, though.

I slept in that the morning (till 10.30!), while the boys watched some TV and prepared an amazing brunch for me. I woke up with the wonderful smell of pancakes and eggs.

I got my sweet cards, (from both of my “boys”), an orchid plant (how long will it take till I kill this one too?) and a  gift certificate for a massage place nearby. Certificate that Keegan keeps on reminding me I have to use!

He was so proud of all the gifts and of course of his handmade card. He stitched the work MOM on a piece of fabric and tucked inside a card he decorated with his drawing and name. He was happy he had the chance to do it, since we got back from our trip just 2 days before Mother’s Day Tea.

our annual Mother’s Day Photo

The afternoon was mellow: I enjoyed the last of the sun, before the marine layer rolled in. Then, we all went for ice cream and on the way back we played a little at our neighbor Jada’s house.

Keegan gave me another cool gift that afternoon when he told me, totally out of the blue: “You are always pretty mom!”. It was really sweet. I guess moments like these make up for all the other frustrating ones…

Matt cooked another amazing dinner for us and we just relaxed and watched a movie to conclude a good day. Thank you boys for making this  really wonderful celebration for me. I love you with all my heart.

Comments are off for this post

2012 brought an unusual amount of special anniversaries: our 10th year wedding anniversary, my 20th year anniversary since I arrived in USA, and both of my parents will be celebrating round numbers birthdays. So, since my mom always wanted to go to Hawaii, my dad felt this would be the best year to do so to celebrate together all this big dates. What an amazing gift!

WARNING: this is a mammoth post (2233 words at last count)! Feel free to skip to the pictures.

Even if we only had less than three weeks to plan it, and we were not even sure we could leave due to Matt’s health, my trusted travel agent found us a great package for 5 nights in Maui, at an amazing condo-resort, Honua Kai at North Kaanapali on the West coast.

We packed in a rush the night before, and we left by sunrise with a direct flight to Maui, ironically from Alaskan Airlines. Thanks to our trusted DVD player, Keegan was good during the flight and even we had the chance to enjoy a movie or two. We landed early in the morning (Maui time). We were greeted by the wonderful, warm, and drizzly air of Hawaii. Keegan was excited and a great help, carrying his pirate suitcase and penguin backpack.

We immediately went to rent a car, well, a minivan. For as much as I despise them, it did come handy, with 5 people and lots of bags.

We stopped for a satisfying junk food meal: Keegan’s — and my parents’ — first McDonald’s fare. Of course he loved the nuggets, fries and shake.

Since it was too early to check, but it was also Keegan’s nap time, we had the brilliant idea to drive west passing for the rugged north shore (follow the link for a great article describing the trip). We knew it was twisted and narrow, but we would have never imagined it would become a 1 lane, 2 way of traffic road, over soaring cliffs, without any guard rail to protect you from the abyss.

In fact, as we discovered on our return, most rental companies forbids you from driving that road, and that there have been plenty casualties there. Well, nobody warned us, and the maps were not very useful. I did wonder why no sites or guide mentioned that route.

So, we started the grueling, and nerve wracking 2.5 hour drive. Matt was nothing short than AMAZING. Despite the less than 5 hours of sleep, and the long flight, he maneuvered that mammoth like a pro. This also meant he had to back up, TWICE, on a curvy, almost dirt road with no protection. I stared straight into the abyss, and it was not fun.

On the plus side, half of the road was two lanes, and Keegan slept the whole time.

The view was indeed incredible, and in retrospect, I am glad we got to see it. We only took one photo, as we did not dare stopping since we did not want to wake Keegan up.

So I grabbed some images from the aforementioned article, showing some of the views we passed on the way.

Seabird Sanctuary

Kahakuloa Head (see map)

Nakalele  Blow Hole: finally a two lanes road! (see map)

Honolua Bay (see map)

click on the map to see it full size

The funny thing is that we ruled out driving the Hana road to kill time because we thought we would have been too tired for it…and then we found ourselves on a much harder road.

We finally made it to the Condos, by 2pm, just as Keegan was waking up. We had to wait almost an hour, but fortunately we could sit in the beautiful outdoor lobby, and watch at the ocean or explore the resort-like grounds. We were all tired and cranky, especially, ironically, Keegan, who was the only one who got a two hour nap, and it was not easy to entertain him.

Finally, we were allowed into the apartment and all I can say is WOW!!! It was three bedroom three baths, but this does not even start describing it. Two of the bedrooms were master bedroom, with a huge tub+ shower bath, and all rooms had king size beds. The kitchen /living room/dining room was immense. There was even a washer and drier. The whole place must have been a 1,000 sq. Incredible!

the kitchen: can I have one like this at home? Please?

the non-master bedroom (or Keegan’s room)

The balcony was overlooking the courtyard and had a full ocean view. In fact, the main image on the resort’s site could have been taken from our room.

We rested a little, then we headed to the beach, which was steps from the hotel. We learned that this particular beach is actually a wonderful snorkeling spot: how convenient is that? It was drizzling, so we saw the first of many beautiful rainbows. (even some full double rainbows, man)

Finally Keegan was in a good mood, so he jumped in the water and played. He even checked out the pools. After a great dinner at the Hotel restaurant and grill, we all crashed out very early: there are three hours difference, after all. Of course, sleeping was a challenge for Keegan, our “born traveler”. He acted out and did not want to go to bed. Then he proceeded waking up at 3.30am (Maui time), and after an hour of attempts we gave in, and let him get up. We set him up with the DVD player and went back to sleep for another couple of hours.

When my mom woke up, Matt and I left and went grocery shopping and rented snorkel gear. We were finally ready for 5 days of fun at the beach! So we all headed out to the ocean. It was sunny and beautiful. We did some snorkeling: it is amazing how close the reef is!. Even Keegan tried his gear on.

Not that he would really try to actually snorkel, mind you, but hey, baby steps…It was amazing: I missed Hawaii. After the beach, we explored one of three swimming pools; Keegan’s favorite one was the largest one that featured 2 small grottoes with waterfall, and most importantly a water slide.

He was excited to be barely high enough to be able to use it. Even I tried and I have to say it was pretty fun.

on the lanai (balcony)

After lunch we all crashed, even Keegan (even if with some difficulties). He woke up cranky, and after a few minutes, he simply retreated to our bedroom and crashed out again. So cute.

We planned some fun activities for the next few days and reserved our spot for a zip-line tour. So exciting. I was surprised Matt wanted to do it, since he does not like heights as much, but he was excited too.

We went to the beach late, played and waited to watch an amazing sunset.

We had a mellow evening, and enjoyed the fresh night air from our lanai (balcony).

The night went better, and Keegan woke up at 6. We again set up the DVD player and we got a couple more hours of sleep. After a quick trip to the beach, we headed to Lahaina. It is a nice, tourist town (nothing to do with the rowdy Lahaina bar in Pacific Beach). Right in the middle of the town, there is Banyan Tree Park, named after the famous, huge tree.

Keegan’s picture of us

After a quick tour of the court house, we headed to the docks. We scheduled an hour on the Reefdancer Boat, a glass bottom boat that would take us to the reef.

On the way, we got to admire the coastal view.

Once we got to the reef, we could watch the fish, and divers were swimming by the windows showing different specimens: our favorite one was the octopus.

Matt and I even spotter a sting ray floating by. After the boat ride, we were starved and stopped by the closest restaurant, where Keegan had his fill on fries and chicken nuggets.

After a well deserved rest, Matt and I went off on our own to do some snorkeling at Black Rock. In retrospect we should have just walked from our hotel…when we finally made it, it was raining, but sunny, so we still got into the water. This weather actually gave us a wonderful rainbow, and it was great to come up to the surface and watch it arched over the mountains. We saw amazing fish, and a sea turtle.

That night, Matt and I had a date night, and we went for a romantic dinner in the same resort we stayed last time we were in Maui, before Keegan was conceived.

The next day was a beautiful sunny day, with no trace of rain. So we went to the beach first for some play in the sand.

Matt and I left around lunch time and went to our zip-line adventure. We chose the canyon zip-line, since it was the closest one and offered nice views of the coast. It had 8 different zip-lines.

getting ready for the first zip-line

ready, set, go

now is Matt’s turn

a couple of the zip-lines

After a few of the lines, we stopped to have lunch at a beautiful vista, where we could admire a 360 panorama.

It was really a fun adventure, and really not scary at all. I would definitely do it again next time I am in Hawaii.

When we got back, Keegan was still sleeping. When he got up, we  went to do some shopping with my parents and had dinner at the famous Hula Grill. The food was great and they even had hula show.

we had to buy at least one flower lay

a romantic shot…maybe not romantic but a cute one.

The next day, the last full day, it was a little cloudy, but this did not stopped us or Keegan. He brought some of his favorite toys with him, and he lined them all up ready to play.

Soon, another rainbow appeared and with it the sun.

We spent most if the day in the water. We started at the beach, and did some snorkeling right there. It was a great day: we saw lots of different fish, and turtles. Amazing. Then moved to the pools and tried a new one as well as one of the hot tubs.

After lunch, Matt and I went for another snorkeling adventure, at Holowalu, on Highway 30, Mile 14. The view was amazing: lots, and lots of fish, and I followed and swam with a couple of turtles. It felt like being inside a movie. The reef was really close to the surface, which made for great snorkeling, but that also meant we got stuck in a few inches of water. It was a little scary, especially because we got separated, but we were able to come back on shore. What a great spot for our last snorkeling adventure.

When we got back to the condo, there was still time to play on the beach with Keegan and my parents, and of course to take some postcard-like pictures.

Matt and Keegan did some amazing building

What a magical place: we will miss Maui.

We spent the evening packing, but we had more fun before we had to catch our flight. The next morning, we left around 9 and we took the easy road toward the airport. As always Keegan was full of energy and ready to go.

We stopped for pictures at a viewpoint on the way to Maalaea Bay.

Our destination was Maui Ocean Center. What a great aquarium! It was nice to get to see all the fish we looked at while snorkeling up close (and not foggy or blurry). I even got to take a picture of my favorite fish. This fish is very elusive, so it is convenient to get it in a tank.

We also saw a pretty cool octopus that was moving graciously around. fascinating.

We saw also plenty of other ref dwellers, but no Dori or Nemo: there are indigenous of Hawaii.

What? no Nemo or Dori? Well, at least they have Scar.

Keegan listened to an informative talk about sharks and we watched turtle feedings.

Another great feature of the aquarium was the tunnel tank: a tunnel is dug inside a huge tank containing all sort of sharks, rays and other fish. Contrary to the one at Seaworld, you can actually sit and watch them slowly swim by all around you. Magical.

Unfortunately, it was soon time to go. Even in Maui the airport experience is not a pleasant one. The computers were down, so it took even longer than usual, but we finally got on board. The flight went well. Keegan watched 3 whole movies…we were too exhausted to argue.

We arrived in San Diego in the evening, and I have to say that, at least on the way back, Keegan did not suffer the jet lag too much.

So it has been an incredible trip, and getting back to our normal life was not easy. But I know that the wonderful memories of Maui will accompany us for many months to come. We are deeply grateful to nonni for this great present and we did treasure every moment.  We really needed this vacation after the stressful months we had.

MAHALO!

Comments are off for this post

Well, this 2012 is really intense. It fells like we have not had a break since it started, which explains why, again, we are really behind on our blog. For archival purposes only, I will backdate these posts, even if it is really July.

My work has been really intense, since I had to create three brand new classes since January. Then my car broke down, for good, so, heartbroken, I had to spend two weeks looking for an immediate replacement: it is not easy to find a manual transmission car in California. I finally settled on a VW GTI, and so far I really like it.

As soon as I got my new car, Matt got sick, and we spent the following couple of months between doctors and exams. Fortunately everything is back to normal, and after a big scare, Matt is healthy (and very trim).

Right on the middle of all this craziness, my parents came to visit. We were very happy to see them as and they really helped us out a lot. As always we were glad we could have much time together and they spent a lot of time with Keegan, giving us a needed break, and also provided a much need distraction from our worries.

This time we all went to pick them up at the airport, and Keegan was soooo excited. They stayed at the apartment at the beach once again, so we had the chance to visit PB quite often. Unfortunately the weather was not cooperating, with grey and gloomy days, but it did not matter. We still got the chance to spend time at the beach and play around.

looking down at the pool, on a gloomy afternoon.

Plus, in the few sunny days we had, Keegan had fun swimming in the apartment’s pool. He really showed off his swimming skills, resistance and underwater swimming skills.

He also did a few jumps, before we realized there were signs everywhere forbidding it. Ooops. Keegan was very worried a policeman would come and arrest him. I like his healthy fear of authority and respect for the rules. Hopefully this trait will not change when he reaches puberty.

Keegan warmed up to them immediately and he even started practicing his Italian, which I had a little neglected. Of course he got really spoiled with excellent food (well, we all did), lots and lots of undivided attention, and, needless to say, plenty of presents. It started with many books, mainly the written Italian version of his favorite movies and some new ones. Then he finally got the one present he has been dreaming of and asking about since December : the Batcave, which is basically a doll house for boys. He was very excited, since he did not expect it till his next birthday. And obviously, since he is 4, he really did not play with it all that much.

His favorite toy present turned out to be a Buzz Lightyear figure that could talk and open its wings. This was totally a spur-of-the-moment gift from Nonno, and what a hit it was.

A few days after their arrival, we got to celebrate my mom’s birthday, and an important one at that. I had a nice lunch with them at the beach, then they spent the afternoon with us and we celebrated with muffins and gifts.

nonna wearing the new earrings

looking at the Let’s Make Art creative inspiration book

Besides of course enjoying their company, i nonni always give us the wonderful gifts of time: so, even if they were still jet lagged, they had Keegan  over for a sleepover ( or so he likes to call it) at the apartment at the beach even a couple of days after they arrived. We had a classic date night with dinner and a movie. It was great to be able to sleep in the morning without any worries. We really missed it.

Of course, Keegan had a blast with nonni: he stayed up a little later, played and played, and even got to swim in the jacuzzi, since the gloomy weather made the pool too cold.

Up to this day he talks about his sleepover at the apartment.

The second weekend we had a whole 24 hours for ourselves: we started off with the Cirque Du Soleil latest show, TOTEM.

Even if it was a last minute thing we had excellent seats, and we were lucky enough that no one was sitting in front of us. As always the show was great, even if I still think that O is my favorite one.

Since we were in Del Mar, we went for a romantic, sunset walk along the coats and then a wonderful dinner. And once again, the luxury of uninterrupted sleep is priceless. Thank you nonni!

Priceless was also watching Keegan and his nonni play around and laugh so hard it would echo everywhere. Or listening to the creative stories they are always ready to create to entertain the little guy.

Or hearing familiar Disney stories in Italian.

iPad picture

Keegan taking a picture of his nonni and mom

During their stay, Keegan also had another treat: a Legoland field trip with his classmates: daddy took him since i had to work, and it looks like they had quite a good time.

One of the most remarkable things about this particular visit was the extraordinary gift they gave us all: 6 days in Maui! More on the next post.

After our wonderful trip, we got to enjoy my parents for a couple of more days in our house before they had to leave and go back to Milan. We were all sad to see them go, but we had wonderful memories to keep us company till the next time we see each other. Come back soon, we miss you!!!

Comments are off for this post

This year Easter came really early, on April 8. As always, we found time to celebrate and have fun.

We had an early eggs hunt the last weekend of March at the YMCA. We met Alyce, his gym buddy, and they had a lot of fun sliding and jumping on the bouncies and playing on the playground.

Keegan and Alyce watched Alyce’s sister Betty collecting eggs. They were cheering for her from the sidelines, holding hands.

Then it was finally time for their eggs hunt. Keegan and Alyce were ready. For the first time, Keegan actually jumped right in and started collecting a lot of eggs…

…then “tragedy” struck. Somehow (according to Keegan a big kid run into him), Keegan stumbled and fell, spilling all his eggs on the ground. Of course he immediately started crying, while all the other kids kept on picking up his eggs. Poor sweetie. I went to help him and comfort him, and grabbed some eggs to put back in his basket: after all, it did not matter how many eggs you got, you still received the same goodie bag. The YMCA attendant was very nice and helped him gather more eggs, and then one mom gave him one of the special eggs, that provide an extra prize. I guess her daughter got two, so she shared one with Keegan, since he was so upset. It was so sweet of her…it really touched me.

So, he dried out his tears, collected his prizes and went back playing. How fun.

The following week was spring break, but fortunately Keegan’s school stayed open. We did have a play date with Alyce, though. We went to her house to do some eggs coloring and playing. It was fun. The kids had fun, and the adults enjoyed quiet time and a nice glass of wine. Keegan even got to share a delicious dinner of mac and cheese and chicken nuggets.

Incredibly, turns out that Keegan likes hard boiled eggs, a lot, and he gobbled 2 the next day, and 4 more within the same week. Well, this is an easy lunch to make.

The same week, there were more Easter celebrations at school. On Thursday, the Easter bunny itself came to visit and to do magic tricks, and Keegan was one of his assistants (I hope to get some pictures to post from school). The kids also baked Easter cookies and Keegan helped decorating them.

On Friday, they kids had an egg hunt, after painting and decorating hard boiled eggs we had provided. Keegan sent home a nice note he decorated himself to remind us.

The weekend was pretty mellow. We did not make too many plans: Matt was not feeling well, so we took it easy. I took Keegan to the gym and then he wanted to go straight home to play. He was simply not interested in the Clairemont Easter celebration, since he has already seen the Easter bunny at school.

So, when we got home, we did some more eggs coloring.

Keegan and I created a few, short lived masterpieces: we ate right at lunch time.

I spent Saturday evening filling eggs and preparing the basket. Just like last year, most eggs included some little surprises and very little candy.

On Sunday morning, after I woke up from my nap, it was eggs hunt time!. We placed the eggs in the yard, and this year we hid some of them a little more, but they were still very easy to find.

check out the big green one under the plant

what a bootie…

We had a few small eggs for his yellow basket, a large Easter basket with surprises and a few over sized eggs. It was fun to watch. He tore through all of it really quickly. He was particularly happy to get some new cars — Nigel, Shu Sudoroki and Grem, as well as a smaller Francesco and another lemon—new books and the Cars soaps.

While Keegan ate some candy, he did overdo it, and we all avoided the sugar rush. And after tasting some plain chocolate (and the good kind, straight from Italy) he affirmed that “chocolate is not really my favorite. It does not feel good in my tummy”. Oh darn, this means more chocolate for us. (-:

We called and Skyped with my parents and Keegan’s little cousins, and he proudly showed off all his new things, and we spent the rest of the day at home, playing with the new toys and reading  the new books. We even tested out our new tent, since we were planning on going camping the following weekend (which did not happen, since it was storming). Keegan had a lot of fun playing in his side of the tent. Hopefully we can reschedule soon.

Comments are off for this post

Birthday season is officially over…at least for a month or two. From January to March we are usually involved in a whirlwind of birthday celebrations. Fun for Keegan, but a little exhausting for us.

We usually start with MacKenzie’s and Calson’s birthdays, but this year we missed the combined celebration since we were in LA.

Next up was Van’s party. This is usually a very fun affair. This year, the theme was super heroes, and all the kids were wearing some kind of super hero shirt. There was games and food and a real Batman, who walked in at the sound of…the Star Wars music (uh?). The kids were excited. He did some games and blew up balloons. Keegan wanted a sword/gun.

He then posed for the obligatory pictures with all the kids.

Then there were more games, the Batman pinata…

and the awesome Batman cake and cupcakes

It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day and we all had a great time. The chilled wine helped.

Next up was Rozelin’s party. She had her celebration at the skate park, right next to our house. Despite a very early morning rain, the clouds quickly moved away, and we were still able to have fun in the grass. There was a flower bouncie, which was Keegan’s first stop.

A red haired local clown also showed up and brought a little, soft, cuddly friend with her. Very cute!

The kids had fun fighting with their balloon swords, and climbing in the nearby playground. Then it was pinata time! Rozelin actually had 2 different pinatas, so all the kids had the chance to hit with abandon.

Then, it was cake and cupcakes time. Keegan usually only eats the frosting, leaving plenty for me.

The good thing about all this morning parties is that Keegan usually gets very tired and fall asleep immediately for his nap.

Next on the list was Elliott’s party. I was really dreading this one, and not only because of parties burn-out. Keep in mind these festive occasions happened almost every week. This particular party, however, was to be held in the early afternoon, on Saturday, at Chuck.E. Cheese. I could not imagine a worse place to be on a weekend afternoon. Fortunately, Matt volunteered to go. Seriously! I have been on party duty for most of them, but I guess he does not mind Chuck. E. Cheese as much as I do, since there are lots of games to play. Regardless of the reason, I was grateful. I also had lots of work to do, so it was a win-win situation for me. I only have one picture of the party. Look at how Rozelin and Keegan are focusing on a shooting game, while Erik is looking on.

We had a couple of weeks break, and then there was another combined birthday party: Julia’s and Erik’s. This time, the party was in Mission Bay, on a chilly, but clear afternoon. Keegan took a very long nap that day, of course, but we still made there in time for all the fun. A slide, dolphin bouncie was there, as well as crafts, such as “make your own kite” kits. Keegan loved flying the kite. It is incredible how many variations you can have on the classic “bouncie at a park” theme.

Julia’s mom made some awesome “cake pops”, which looked as good as they tasted. Lighting candles was a challenge, but we gave it a shot anyway.

As the sun went down, and the fog started rolling in, we lit up a bonfire. I did not have a bonfire in a long time, and it stoked many memories…none including kids or bouncies, of course. We cooked some s’mores. This was Keegan’s first, and of course he really loved it.

Matt is in charge of preparing s’mores…

and distributing them

Julia, Keegan and Rozelin with theirs’mores!

This was fun. It was worth getting to bed a little later.

Last but not least, it was Markus’ turn, one of the neighborhood kids. The party was at his house, which was great, so we could walk to it. There was the obligatory bouncie, and soccer goals set up for impromptu soccer games. There was also a fum stormtrooper mask to play dress up with.

The kids were able to hit the pinata just in time, before the storm arrived.

As soon as the rain started, we all run inside for cake time. I am not sure if you noticed, but there is a common thread in all these birthdays photos. When is cake time, Keegan is always next to the birthday child, first in line for the goodies. Pretty smart, eh?

So, we can now finally rest. The tour de force is over. No parties for a few months, just regular weekend activities and fun.

Comments are off for this post

March 2 was Dr. Seuss’s birthday. Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel) is probably the best known children’s book writer here in the States, and he is even more beloved in San Diego, since he lived in La Jolla for many years. Keegan loves his books, so we decided to have a little bit of fun this year with his “birthday” (he died in 1991). Of course, school celebrated by reading his books and making related art projects. We were planning on making some green eggs and ham (the title of his most famous book), but we ended up going out for dinner with our neighbors, which was a lot of fun. The next day, though, we took Keegan to watch his first movie at a theater. We had been reading the Lorax, Dr. Seuss’s environmentalist book, and he loved it, and since the new movie came out the previous day, we took him to watch it.

He was excited. Now,  since we are dealing with Keegan, we did not dare take him to a regular movie theater, let alone a 3d one. Last time I tried to take him, he talked the whole movie, and would not stay still at all. So, we went to a drive-in, which I love. I was surprised they showed the movie at the same time it was released in regular theaters, but happy it was. So we headed up to Santee and secured our spot. The wait was a little difficult for Keegan, but we had a picnic and that killed time. The movie started at 7.30, a little late for our little guy, but Keegan staid awake. He loved it and really enjoyed the experience. In fact, despite the fact that he was so tired he was almost falling over, he wanted to stay and watch the double feature. of course that was a NO.

I really liked it too: definitely a lot more than the original TV classic (which Keegan hated). Great animation and very fun voice-overs. I could have done without the singing, but overall we had fun.

The next day, was another fun, if not Seuss-related, day. We bought 2 for 1 tickets for Legoland in December, and we need needed to use them before they expired this week. So we headed up to Carlsbad, and had a fun day at the park. The weather was beautiful, and Keegan showed an amazing resistance.  We went to many rides, and he mostly waited patiently. We started with the boat tour which was a great way to kick the day off.

looking stylish with his tiger glasses (the only ones he would wear)

Then it was off to the roller coaster, which he loved…even if he was literally speechless on the first high speed dip. He still seems to be an adrenaline junkie, so I am looking forward to visit Magic Mountains with him.

He also had fun in the small driving course, and on the sky rider, which is, somewhat the most popular ride. Not sure why: it does not seems worth 45 minutes wait to me.

Unfortunately the Star Wars area was under construction, but we had time to squeeze in lunch and a few more rides in. On the way home, he wanted to pose with the Lego Family.

After a great nap, we just relaxed at home, and concluded the weekend with our planned Dr. Seuss meal: green eggs and ham. Keegan helped prepare them, pouring green coloring into the eggs.

Finally it was time to eat. I have to say it does looks weird to eat green eggs, and it took a couple of minutes for Keegan to try them out. But at the end, he realized the he did indeed liked them. … “I do like green eggs and ham…thank you thank you Sam I am.”

Comments are off for this post

In San Diego, February is Museum Month. This means you can get a pass to visit 40 museums in San Diego for half off. This could not come at a better time, since it gave us lots of opportunities to go and visit San Diego attractions when the weather was not always beautiful, and Matt got to take Keegan to many different places when I had to work.

Keegan and Matt went to the Railroad Museum, the Downtown Children Museum and the Museum of Man. Together we went to visit the Midway and the Maritime Museum.

The Midway is a retired air carrier that is anchored in the San Diego Bay and it now being converted into a museum. I was actually interested into visiting it, since I have never been.

There was a huge line to get in, since we picked the most popular time, mid-morning. Keegan was incredibly patient, and we finally made our way to the entrance, about 45 minutes later.

As soon as we got inside we did not know where to start: there was so much to see. We got the audio tour, so we can understand as little more about what we were looking at. There were airplanes, helicopters, engines, and all sort of fun stuff to see and to climb on.

Keegan is still mesmerized and fascinated by headphones

He really liked to climb in the cockpit of various planes and pretend to be the pilot. The one with the teeth was my favorite one.

We were then able to visit the inside of the ship, including the living quarters. Pretty amazing that people could live in such small spaces for such a long time. Definitely not a job for me.

After the inside tour, we went on deck to see the planes still “parked” up there. Real retired pilots and sailors were at hand to explain in detail how you land and take off from the ship. It does not sounds easy…I can’t believe there are not more accidents.

And of course, there were more photo-ops available. I really hope he will not want to be a pilot when he grows up.

Keegan seemed very interested, and since he is in his “shoot-up everything” phase, he was fascinated by all the “shooters” on the plane. When he asked me if bad guys were flying these planes, since they all had bombs in them, I deferred the question to Matt… (-:

The following week, we moved to different kind of boats at the Maritime Museum. Two traditional sailboats, two submarines and a ferryboat are part of the collection. Keegan wanted to start from the submarines. The smaller one still had a working periscope. Pretty nice. His favorite one, though, was the one from the former Soviet Union, which was huge.

Before getting in, you can try going though a circular opening, which is the exact size of the doors inside the sub. Keegan fit perfectly.

Inside it was almost claustrophobic. Again, it hard to believe being in such close quarters, with lots of other people, and UNDER the ocean. Even after so many years, the smell of diesel permeated the sub. Keegan did not mind. He loved going through the small openings and playing with all the knobs and levers.

After the sub, we went back in time, visiting two beautiful sailboats, the “pirate Ship” and the Star Of India. Keegan was trying to fins shooters on the boats, and was quite disappointed when we told him there were none. We did show him the cannons, and that helped.

the pirate ship (but no one in custom today)

He was only marginally interested, but I loved moving about the ships.

Inside the Star of India, the biggest one of the two, they had a small exhibits on the immigrants, showing their cabins  and describing their lives during months long trips. At the bottom, there was a small play area, with  a tiny sailboat replica, where Keegan could pretend to steer the boat to safety and lift loads on board.

All this excitement really got him tired, so he usually passed out in his car seat on the way home. Lucky for us, he still finds the car seat comfortable… and even luckier for us, he is still taking solid naps!

To conclude the month, I went to visit the special exhibition in honor of the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. While not as large in scale as the ones planned in England, it was very interesting. You were given a replica of the boarding pass, with a passenger name, and you followed all phases of Titanic’s short life, from design to sinking. Many real artifacts were shown, as well as recreated cabins and rooms. You could really get a feel of what must have been like to be on board. At the end, you could check to see if “you” survived the journey. I guess, my passenger was Mrs Annie Margaret Hold, traveling in second class, and she survived, while her husband died.

It was definitely an interesting experience, especially in view of the recent, similar sinking, of the Costa Cruise Ship off Italy, which fortunately had much less severe consequences…and which will definitively will not inspire any Hollywood movie.

Comments are off for this post

Happy Valentine’s Day! (a little late). In the past couple of years, Valentine’s Day has been a lot about Keegan and his little friends, and one of the “candy-eating” holidays he is looking forward to.

I was planning on making my own cards for school, but then life happened, with my car breaking down, and requiring time and effort (and lots of money) to get fixed. So, we bought cards instead, and we filled little goodie bags. Keegan, in the spirit with his Chick Magnet shirt helped out a lot filling in bags and adding cards, and personalizing cards for his friends.

This was supposed to be the photo fir our custom made cards, with a real lollipop included…oh well, next year.

On the big day, he brought his little gifts at school, and he was happy helping distribute them.

He really is a little heartthrob…

He came back from school with lots and lots of candies, cards and little surprises. The only thing he did not bring home was the card he made for us, since it mysteriously disappeared. Oh well, Matt helped him make a really nice card for me, so I was happy anyway.

When Matt came home with some pretty flowers for me, we had a small celebration. Keegan got a couple of books and an inflatable Toy Story punching ball, which he loved. He loved it so much, in fact, it immediately got a hole in it.

I guess we should invest into a m ore permanent one, since it really helped getting some of his energy out.

After he went to bed, we had our own grown-up celebration. Matt cooked an amazing dinner, and we talked about our 10+ year together (and 11th valentine’s day). We wrote our best memories and thoughts about each other in a set of two little booklets, called the State of Our Union, and it was really fun to read it and see how much we know about each other (and to still be surprised what how much we don’t know) and what great memories we shared. It was beautiful and very romantic.

I am happy to be married to such a wonderful guy.

 

Comments are off for this post