Dates and Daydreams

The last couple of months have flown by--a blur of choir rehearsals, basketball games and piano lessons, applications and tests, all the good stuff that makes our lives interesting. I'll try to grab just a few of the highlights, and eventually post some pictures to fill in the rest.

I realized I never posted anything about our visit to Universal Studios in January, but man, that was a good time! I'm not sure I ever entirely convinced Aaron that there is more to that park than rides--I think his early experiences living close to Disneyland may have permanently damaged his DNA in such a way that he can't visit a park without checking out the ride line times and mentally calculating the best way to maximize the fun and minimize the standing in line, but we did manage to mix in a few of the shows and exhibits as well. The Jurassic Park ride was hands down the best ride I've been on in any amusement park ever--the dinosaurs were awesome, but I especially loved the way the entire ride was plotted as a (deliciously scary) adventure. My screams near the end of the ride were totally legit. Though I had less affection for the simulated rides, they were pretty realistic, and I found them more fun than things like Star Tours at Disneyland. The Waterworld special effects show was extremely cool, and we all enjoyed the inside peek at what real Hollywood stuntmen do on-set, and even though the drive on both ends was longer than any of us had realized, we had such a great day of it! We've been back once already, using our passes, and hope that we can squeeze in another visit before we bring home our baby, and quite a few after that!

Asher's basketball team made it all the way to the end of the line, ultimately taking home the championship trophy! It was a pretty fantastic play-off season. They started as the number 7 seed (of 10), but kept knocking off their rivals until the end. The last two games were nail-biters, but every single player pulled out all the stops, with Asher landing enough shots to make the difference all by himself (though I suppose technically you could say the same for almost all the players). It was really cool to see all the work that Asher has put into basketball pay off so spectacularly. Even though he thought at the beginning of the season that his work would make him one of the top players on the team, he quickly found that hops and ball-handling skills were a great start, but weren't enough. His awesome coaches helped the team come up with some great strategies and plays, and by the end of the season they were working so well together, really relying on each other, and it was the fantastic teamwork that took them to the end. Now if we can help that kid apply some of that work-ethic to school work . . . .

There have been some good dates happening recently. Though I haven't been religious about taking the kids out since moving here, I've been doing better lately--partially because when Aaron and I go out for lunch he always wants to hit up the same (admittedly awesome) taco shop, and I crave more variety! So I've been sneaking the kids out of school to accompany me to fun little lunch shops for all kinds of delicious fare, from fresh-from-the-ocean battered fish and chips to French Dip sandwiches to Pad Thai to gourmet burgers at Pure Burger--one of a very few burger joints I will admit to enjoying. It's always great to get my kids one on one, particularly during the school day when they are more prone to talk about what's going on in school than at any other time. I'm trying to do a better job of focusing on them as individuals and better learning where they want to go in life so I can help them get there. Aaron and I have squeezed in some great dates as well--not all to the taco shop either! We went to see The Imitation Game on Valentine's Day, and it was like the whole movie was made just for me: brilliant, misunderstood geniuses in tweed jackets talking about coding and encryption (that I mostly understood except the bits that I'm pretty sure they got wrong), a woman wronged by a misogynist society . . . I loved it. Afterward we got Cold Stone and called it good--honestly, I'm 100% all for simple dates on Valentine's Day. Not long afterward, we went out again for dinner at Cicciotti's, a great Italian place on the ocean with live music, where we watched the sun set before heading downtown for a concert featuring Westminster Choir College. I sometimes wonder how music programs in universities are going to survive with their focus on high-brow historical music that almost nobody ever listens to anymore. That said, I happen to love listening to it, and it was awesome to see such well-performed renditions of absolutely stunning choral music. It was a good night.

In other news, I have started a second piano class, one for older kids, and that has been great too. As I told Aaron the other day, it is nice to have something to give my life meaning (beyond cooking for and cleaning up after my family). I always feel happy after teaching, and it absolutely melts my heart when my little students come up to me at church to tell me what they've been practicing or just to give me a big fat hug. I also took the LSAT in February, and while I didn't feel as spectacular about it as I had hoped (trying to find parking before taking the test made me almost miss it, leaving me a bit scattered as I began), I didn't do as badly as I might have, and I suppose I'll find out whether this path is going to be the right one for me or not. I've submitted my application to USD, where tuition is beyond my capacity to pay, and if they decide to award me adequate funding, well, maybe I'll manage to get myself a law degree before I turn 40. Or 30. Wait, who's counting? It's insane how appealing I find the idea of sitting in classes, taking notes, having discussions and even arguments, sitting for tests, etc. right now. I feel like my brain has been stored in a freezer for about a decade now, and I'd really like to pull it out and thaw it off!

We've started making plans for next year, and after seriously considering a move back to Indiana for a number of reasons, including schools for the kids and cost of living, we've decided fairly firmly to stay here for at least another year. Aaron has been offered an opportunity to expand his teaching load (and therefore his pay and benefits) at the private school where he teaches, as well as salary increases with the Children's Choir and the church where he plays. Even though this will keep him spectacularly busy, we've decided that if we buckle down and save, save, save as much as we can, we will hopefully be poised to make decisions that don't factor money so much into the equation in the future. I'm still up in the air, hoping for an option besides staying home and cleaning up everyone's crap next year, but even if I have to settle for that for one more year (but seriously, I hope not), getting through one more hard year will put us in such a better place to put ourselves on a track we want afterward. Work before play--that's going to be our motto for the year, I think.

Beach Sunsets and Mini-Trips

With sunsets like these, you have to hit the beach at night as often as possible!

 

After franks and s'mores on the beach, the kids did some jumping for us

Love these silhouettes

Aaron and I watching the sunset from Cicciotti's

 

We took a second trip up to Universal in the daylight, and with much persuasion I got this photo in the daylight--though Aaron wouldn't join us in the picture

Nabbed him for this one though: The Voice--he loves that show!

Waterworld is the awesome stunt show at Universal

Emerson waited a long time (two years, give or take) for his "8-year-old trip," and was thrilled to pieces when he finally got it.

 



He originally requested Paris--which, sadly, was never going to happen

But Las Vegas makes a pretty good substitute! It's like going around the world in three days--you get your Eiffel, your Statue of Liberty . . .





Even your Italian frescoed cathedral ceilings!

 

This guy made it happen for him, and they had an amazing time

They hit up all the good stuff on the strip (so many people I know are freaked out by the gritty bits of LV, but there's a lot of very cool stuff too if you know where to look . . . and don't stay too late at night)

They visited Venice

And had an amazing night at a MoTown show at the Venetian--so glad these boys of mine got some awesome time together!