House of the Mouse

 

Josh and I have always agreed that we wouldn't buy Disneyland annual passes. We wanted visits to Disney to be special events, like Christmas. And they were. But they were also SO EXPENSIVE. And SO MUCH PRESSURE to see and do everything. The day would start too early and eveyone would be tired and cranky at the end, but we couldn't leave because we spent $500 on this one day and we're squeezing every last drop of "fun" out of it, goddammit.

So one Thursday morning we said, "fuck it" and bought the passes. The next day, Josh & I picked Dash up after school and just started driving. We didn't tell him where we were going (he guessed eventually). We got there at 5pm, rode a few rides, ate some corn dogs and ice cream and then went home. It was awesome and amazing and no one cried and we're going back next month and then again and again and again whenever we want.

You're Killin' Me, Smalls

The last weekend before back-to-school (4th grade, seriously?) we hit up Street Food Cinema's outdoor showing of Dash's most favorite move of all time, The Sandlot. It was a gorgeous night and we gorged on delicious food truck grub. It was a lovely way to say goodbye to Summer.

 

Summer Part 2, the Second One

God, as the child grows bigger and the days seem (get? right? get.) shorter, it becomes more and more difficult for me to find the time and energy to document our days. I think big batches of pictures are going to have to do the job for the time being.

When we left you last we had just enjoyed a lovely July 4th with our most beloved friends. After that there was some beach camping, some birthday-celebrating (mine!) and some Vegas vacationing. I have photographic evidence:

Dash worked on his boogie board skills at the beach.

Why is he wearing a t-shirt?

This is so funny to me. What the fuck are they doing that requires that level of focus?

Eating hobo packs.

Ghost stories

Boo, motherfuckers.

The next morning we went on a nature walk and Dash found this little crab claw.

Then we found and incorrectly reassembled the rest of it. We were hoping it would reanimate, but no. I'm pretty sure most of those pieces are rotting away somewhere in Dash's room now.

At some point I decided I was a nature photographer.

After we got back from camping it was my birthday & I got to revel in gifts and love from my boys. LOOK! BOOKS! I'm half way through the top one--Shades of Grey--and it so so incredibly awesome. A little confusing, but the kind of confusion that you can unpick, like a knot. So satisfying.

My birthday card from my sweet baby.

Weirdly specific & baseball-themed card, but I takes what I can gets.

Then we went to Vegas to celebrate & relax with our beloved Babkes!

Vegas is different when you have kids.

Dash couldn't go to any casinos, but was still able to create a pretty sizable gambling addiction for himself at the arcade. Ticket lust is no joke.

Birthday dinner at Caesar's Palace with our beloved Babkes. I was sitting on the kids side, natch.

When it's your birthday you can force your kid to take a shitty selfie with you.

I will find a way to display this at her wedding, mark my words.

Summer

It's been an incredibly chaotic Summer so far. My job situation was precarious, but it seems to be working out so far. Josh changed jobs, too. Dash has been in various camps and the scheduling has been insane. Plus I totaled my car (don't text and drive!). So here are some happy, quiet moments that I want to remember from this lovely season, too.

Making s'mores at the Babkes'.

More importantly, eating s'mores at the Babkes'.

Bartles & Jaymes.

I've started self-soothing by painting by numbers.

Dash learned how to play poker and then beat us both handily.

Dash & Ben ditched the last day of school and we took them to Magic Mountain. 

Dash was a bit nervous about riding some of the bigger roller coasters, so I promised him I would ride anything he wanted to try. I will never make that mistake again.

When all else fails, wine in a "Heroes of the Torah" glass.

'Murrica!

We celebrated our great nation's birthday with some nail polish, good friends, ugly cake and sparklers. It was an excellent time.

All Star

I don't know. This baseball thing. I will never stop being bewildered by it.

At the start of this season Dash announced that his goal was to win the Sportsmanship Award, which was a lofty and worthy goal indeed. Only one kid per team gets the award (vs. four All Stars per team), and it's the biggest trophy and the only one that's actually engraved with the kid's name. I love that so much about the league Dash plays in--that being a good sport and supporting your team is considered a higher achievement than just being really good at baseball. The only downside is that usually a kid can't be selected for both awards--they'll either be an All Star or get the Sportsmanship Award, not both.

Except...

...the kid got both.

All Star Game 2015 (they won!)

All stars! (One of our players was injured and couldn't play in the all star game, so the Coach's son filled in, which is why there are five kids in the pic).

Victory mugging!

Go North Young Man (and Old Lady)

As I mentioned in my last post, Dash & I  packed it up (poor Josh had to work so couldn't join us) and drove the distance from the Earth to the Moon to visit our beloved Grandma Sonja, Uncle Doron & Aunt Cheryl and Cousin Olivia. There were visits to the Jack London State Historic Park (what an inspiring and heartbreaking life. If you don't know much about his story, click that link and be get real sad for a while), the Luther Burbank House, AT&T Park to see the Giants and beautiful evenings at Grandma's and Doron & Cheryl's playing bocce ball and hanging out with the beautiful and delightful Miss Olivia.

So, a perfect way to kick off Summer.