Dodgertown

Why should I start a blog, I wondered.  Nothing happens.  But I was wrong!

My husband's brother's friend's housemate's boyfriend used to be a batting practice pitcher and he passed on four club-level seats.  The drive there was so much faster than I expected so we had time to poke around club level where they have a mini-museum.

a ball from the 1988 World Series (sorry so blurry)

I didn't get to drive this, but it was fun to sit in.

Another bonus of sitting in the fancy schmancy seats was the use of the fancy schmancy bathroom.  They weren't so fancy, but they were sparkling clean and I had it all to myself!

club level bathroom (photo in honor of Carol T)

It was a beautiful night and we had a great view.

My view before some tall people arrived.

A beautiful evening

But what about the baseball game?  It made me feel like a kid again, having no hope of a win, but still enjoying the entertainment.  We watched the home team send the first batter to the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning, realizing he was the winning run, if everyone else in the line up scored, too.

Next up, Rancho Cucamonga Quakes?

Science and Art

Growing up we had a tabletop harmonograph,

a pendulum with paper and pen that made fantastic pictures (some of the time, but the rest of the time we pushed too hard and the pen went off the paper or we shifted it mid-swing and ruined the picture).

Cleveland's science museum has an enormous harmonograph, which I loved using.

Click on the image if you want to see the details of the art.

I just love how tidy it is.

We spent the most time at the batting cage (top speed for our family was 38 mph and the fastest we saw all day was 53 mph).  Another popular exhibit was a clever ball toy with a lever and protractor so you could choose the angle the ball bounced in order to get it to bang a gong, ring the wind chimes, or other targets.

The kids were excited that we got to see an IMAX movie, but were disappointed that To The Arctic was more guilt-inducing and less entertaining.  Maybe we are outgrowing the science museum and we'll head to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

Photo taken from deck at science museum.  If you look very closely you can see a gull atop each post  in the foreground.

Becoming an Angelino

I have decided in order to make it a peaceful summer I am going to have a change in attitude.  I will no longer complain about driving and will just pretend I am like everyone else in LA.  Last night we flew into John Wayne Airport in Orange County and drove to the Inland Empire.  Ten hours later A. and I were in the car driving right past the same airport on our way to UC Irvine for a soccer tournament.  The team didn't do very well, but the boys seemed to roll with it.

this doesn't quite capture their joy

Afterward we picked up some lunch and headed to Crystal Cove State Park.  A. and his friend had a fantastic time boogie boarding, learning that you could ride the waves without the boogie board, and creating who-knows-what with sand, water, and seaweed.

On an uneventful drive home I decided to embrace to the freeway.  I will be driven to the airport for several trips this summer, I will take others to the airport for their trips, and there will be trips for more soccer, more beaches, and more fun.  I don't want to miss out so instead of changing the world, or LA, I am changing my attitude.

p.s.  The car turned 126,000 miles (202,777 km) old today.  Best wishes for many, many more.

Good thing of the day

Each day at dinner we say our good thing of the day.  Yesterday my good thing was definitely riding my bicycle to Cumberland Pool with Dad.

A little mystery

Before we left for Hawaii a caterpillar had gone into its cocoon?  chrysalis? right across from our back door, maybe because the shade of paint camouflaged the cocoon?  I have only a picture of the remains and wonder where the butterfly or moth is now.

Do you see the meconium?  It looks like blood, but is just excess fluid.

Young chefs

In my effort to make sure my children feed themselves well when they are older (an in order to make sure I don't do all the chores), I encouraged them to make dinner together one night.  Thanks to a wrap recipe from Runner's World and a salad recipe from Catherine Newman's blog, we enjoyed a great meal and had enough to pack for lunch.  Success!

Mmmm

You can see the artichoke hearts inside the wrap, but you have to imagine the roasted red bell pepper.

And, yes, we did replace the plates that were older than our marriage.  Our cheese grater, mixing bowl, and other remnants remind us of grad school days.

Father's Day

You can't ask for an easier request for Father's Day.  My sisters each have blogs (here and here) and my dad wanted me to start a blog as a gift to him.

Happy Father's Day, Dad!  I love you on the snow, on the run, and in the water!