The Getty

One of our sunny days in California we got to really enjoy the Getty Center. I really wanted to go, but was skeptical that the boys would like it very much. Wow. Was I wrong.

First of all, you have to have no pulse to not be delighted at the physical space itself. You enter the grounds at the base of steep hill/cliff and drive immediately into massive underground parking structure. From there, you take an elevator to a welcome plaza. At the plaza, you board a tram that takes to the Center itself, affording fantastic views along the way. When you arrive, its not stretch to say that it is breathtaking. The architecture is just amazing and the combination of the serene, pleasing open spaces along with its disconnection from the world below it somewhat clears your mind to really be "in" the day.




Connor and I got to enjoy a program called "Family Art Stop" wherein small group of kids and parents are lead by a teacher to a specific artwork and participate in 30 minutes of learning about just that one piece of art. Here's the one we studied:

A Storm On A Mediterranean Coast
by Claude-Joseph Vernet

The Getty has extensive on-line archives and you can learn about the painting yourself, here. We got to do drawings and imagine sounds and talk about what it would have felt like to stand on that beach that day. Very impressive program and very well executed by our teacher, William, whom Connor insisted on referring to as "Will" without consent. Its not a stretch to say that William was affronted. :)

After that we headed straight to the gallery with the only two Monets on display because Connor had learned about him and very much wanted to see them. From there we wandered down to the lower garden and to the sculpture garden. It was warm out and very sunny. As usual, Palmer was a trooper through the whole day.

I loved it. Its a place to devote an entire day to. Bring a picnic lunch, take a nap on the lawn, and enjoy being there. We'll be back. For sure.

The West Coast T T Mashup

So, by pure happenstance our friends, the Townsends, had a spring break trip to California as well. We were able to pull off the TT Mashup on the first Friday night of our trip and enjoyed a lovely walk along the beach from Shutters to the Pier. We had a ride on the roller coaster and got enjoy a Connor meltdown over a boardwalk game and walked to a fantastic dinner a Border Grill.

I'm so glad we got to meet up and play, if only for a few hours. And I just have to say that we make some fine looking children!

You're Going to Hollywood!

We spent the first few days of our Spring Break vacation in Santa Monica. It was a great central location for some authentic Southern California beach culture and a spin through Hollywood. On Friday, we went on a great 2.5 hour open double-decker bus tour of Hollywood which departed from Grauman's Chinese Theatre where we got to walk around a bit and see all those famous hand and foot prints.


It was a sunny, warm day so Palmer got to wear a hat for the first time. He didn't like it very much but he stuck with it.



We drove through Beverly Hills and got to see Rodeo Drive where there is a massive sculpture of a nude woman's torso. That really made Connor's day.



From very far away we got to see Iron Man's house (actually, Steven Spielberg owns it.)




Connor spent most of the tour at the very front of the top level watching and listening closely.




Palmer was pretty impressed, as you can see, with some Hollywood birds. Maybe they were Alfred Hitchcock's!


We got to see all kinds of other sights such as the famous Chateau Marmont, The Viper Room where River Phoenix died, the actual Car Wash from the Car Wash movie, the El Pollo Loco where Brad Pitt worked in a chicken suit, and the Sunset Strip. It was really fun and I'd recommend it highly to anyone who is a first time visitor.

8 Is The Number of Infinity

And infinity is how long and how much I love you, my first son. Happy Birthday to you. I love this picture because it shows the way I see your face most of the time. Smiling. Engaged. Taking it all in and taking big bites of life with us. I can't believe it was so long ago we brought you home to be ours. It's an honor to watch you grow and I am so happy to share my days with you. I hope you are always the best of what you are today. I love you SOOOOOOO much.

Farmer's Extravaganza

We just got back last night from our Spring Break trip for 11 days to California.
It was awesome and we are exhausted. I have much to post on the topic, but here's an easy and amazing slice of the trip.

On the first Saturday we were there, before heading to Palm Springs for a week, we made a visit to the Santa Monica Farmers Market. Its more appropriately called an Extravaganza. Really. To call it a "market" is to make it somehow akin to what we know in Virginia as our farmers markets and they don't even compare. Not. Even. Close.

Here's some of the visual joy from that day.

Yes, those are real green eggs!

I cannot tell you how amazing the air smelled standing in front of this table.

We bought avocados, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, pink navel oranges, beets, and organic pistachios. Awesome. Every bit of it.

And The Baseball Parade Again

Okay. It is kind of cute all those little baseball players marching in a parade. But, my oh my, it is so boring. Like, deadly boring. Like, I want to hit myself with a baseball bat just to have something to do. Here's hoping that the actual playing of the baseball is less boring than the parade to celebrate it!

When I Went To California

This "essay" came home this week.

When I Went To California
by Connor Tate

I went to California on a plane. I was a chubby cute baby. I know this because I saw pictures from this trip. When I got to California, we observed the airport. The airport was very nice. when we got out of th airport we got a rental car. I was beautiful to me, but not my mom and dad. We drove to the hotel. We had a very nice ocean view. We went to sleep in our puffy beds. Before we went to bed I said "Dada". The next afternoon was fun for me. My dad was holding me while putting me in the pool with him. We had a blast in California. Have any of you been to California?