My 1/15 of a Second of Fame

I've decided that I should take advantage of the fact that I live in Los Angeles. I am now taking opportunities that I normally wouldn't even think about doing anywhere else. For example, on April 6 I received tickets to go to American Idol. They don't allow cameras, so I wasn't able to get any pictures while we were there, but it was very interesting to see what happens behind the scenes. Jaime and I went together and somehow ended up standing in the "pit" right next to the stage - you know, the place where they put all the pretty, young girls who look good on television clapping for the contestants. We're not sure why the producers put us there, but our working theory is we happened to be sitting next to a group of pretty high school students in the waiting area and the producers must have thought we were with them. It was a lot of fun to watch the contestants perform and clap and scream like an idiot for them.


We were able to watch the show that night to see if we made it on TV. We could see the back of our heads a couple of times and my arm once, but nothing more than that. Until the took a very quick sweeping shot across the audience right where we were standing. We watched frame by frame until we found my head in exactly one frame that lasted all of 1/20 of a second.
So now you can say that you know someone who has been on national television. I'm not sure how I feel about spending my 1/15 of a second of fame on the very bottom corner of the screen.

Easter and Camping

As per tradition, I took the kids camping with the rest of my family for Easter (R was on call that weekend as usual). This year was a ton of fun because both kids were old enough to enjoy the wonders of camping. (I'm sorry for the really long post, but I just had to document all the fun.)

First A1 and her cousin Carmen rode bikes around and around and around ...... and even A2 decided he needed to get in on the action.
Camping in Zion National Park allowed us to go on quite a few hikes. Our favorite is Emerald Pools. We hiked ...... and rested ...
... and saw some wonderful sights! A1 has to do everything that Grandpa does, so she rested every time he did. We celebrated our hike with Smores. I think A1 likes it, don't you? Then we went back to the campground to prepare for the huge egg hunt. A1 chose her favorite color (pink, of course) to die her eggs ...... while A2 was just amazed that eggs could turn different colors.Because the kids were so good, the Easter Bunny took the eggs away to hide them. The kids waited patiently while Grandpa looked for the place where the Easter Bunny left the eggs and candy.Finally Grandpa found the spot and the kids went wild finding the eggs and candy. A1 was able to find the well-hidden eggs ....... while A2 got a little help from Grandpa.
We found all the eggs and celebrated by eating our chocolate.We absolutely love camping with our family. We look forward to the time when R can join us for all the fun!

Pre-Easter

We had so many Easter parties this year that we have to designate some of them as Pre-Easter! We celebrated as a neighborhood by having an egg hunt and a fun luncheon together. This was A2's first experience with egg hunting and he loved it! As you can see, he filled his basket just as quickly as A1.Then I taught A1's preschool right before Easter weekend. So we discussed Jesus' sacrifice and resurrection, then we shared the story of the Easter Bunny. The kids made bunny masks so they could pretend to be the Bunny while we had another egg hunt.Then we had a party with all the moms to eat Easter treats and other yummy food. The favorite was Jaime's delicious Rice Krispie eggs dipped in frosting and decorated with sprinkles.This pre-Easter really helped gear us up for the real thing!

Noah's Ark

Earlier this year, we went to the Getty Museum to see the area dedicated to Noah's Ark. They have animals made out of all kinds of materials - wood, old tires, recycled aluminum cans, old windmills, etc. Some even made noises like their living counterparts.

The kids "rode" a camel ...... and helped the animals into the ark ...... and climbed to the upper decks where the monkeys sleep (A1's favorite part!) ...... and cleaned up after the animals (A2's favorite part!).They had a really good time. I think we might have to go back again.

The PotatoHead Family

The kids recently received a Mr. PotatoHead set that included two big PotatoHeads and one baby PotatoHead and over 50 accessories. They have spent hours and hours putting different silly faces on the PotatoHead family, which just makes me smile.

A2 would spend all that time playing with the box if I let him. I'm afraid that I had to throw the box away a few hours into the play, so he has had to settle with the actual toys.

Rub-A-Dub-Dub

Rub-a-dub-dub

Three men in a tub.

And who do you think they be?

The butcher, the baker,

The candlestickmaker.

Turn the out, knaves all three.

First Article of Faith

As part of this year's Primary curriculum, the kids are trying to learn all the Articles of Faith. Here's the first. Hopefully, we'll see many more.

Horseplay

How to Ride a Horse

Step 1: Become friends with the horse. Patting or feeding usually works wonders.
Step 2: Mount up. Riding double helps increase security and confidence.

Step 3: Give the horse a good rest every 15 minutes so that his/her back doesn't break.

Cleaning

A2 has discovered a new toy: Between A1's love of mopping and A2's love of sweeping, I'm really enjoying my break from cleaning the floors!

Living in comfort

When one requires comfortable surroundings while performing everyday tasks (such as making phone calls), a private couch is just perfect.

But then again, where would one be without sharing and cuddling?Which do you prefer - one couch or two?

Twinners

A1 and her cousin Carmen look remarkably similar. In fact many people have asked if they are twins. What do you think? (Hint: the one with bangs is Carmen and the one without is A1.)

Beyond looking similar, they love spending time together and doing the same things. Their favorite activity is helping Grandpa cook. And all chefs know that you have to taste what you're cooking to make sure it will be good for others. (They tell me the frosting was good enough for the Christmas cookies.)

To celebrate the "twinners" favorite activity, Grandma made matching aprons for the two "Cooker Pals" and their Grandpa. Didn't she do a fabulous job?