Weekend of Wonders Day 3: Concert in the Park

On the final day of our Weekend of Wonders, we met with friends for a summer concert in the park.
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Since we never pass up an opportunity to dine together, the hubbies went to nearby Piknic Restaurant to order take-out. I try my darndest to keep this blog happy and positive, so I won't discuss how we now feel about this establishment. Let's just say that they're lucky that they're the only restaurant in the neighborhood. Very lucky.
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It was a perfect Sunday afternoon, and the park was packed with neighborhood families. As the band launched into their set, I noticed a very serious, very official-looking security guard down in front. He was standing there with his chest puffed out, his arms crossed, and his face in a stern expression that dared crazed fans to just try and rush the stage.
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I'm not sure if he noticed that the fans were all under four feet tall.
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The Boo didn't let the presence of a domineering bouncer to cramp his style. Instead, he boogied, danced, and vogued his little ass off.
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His fancy footwork caught the attention of a few little ladies. I swear they're tossing coy looks his way. And look - one of them is even clapping!
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His sister, on the other hand, found his moves to be laughable.
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Still, the Boo danced on, grabbing his best gal pal Kayla for a spin on the dance floor. Nolan tried to cut in and steal her away, but it didn't happen. Benjamin 'hawk blocked him.

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:)

Weekend of Wonders Day 2: Bureau of Sanitation Open House

Every year, the Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation hosts open houses at various distruct refuse yards. If you're thinking that the last place you'd like to go to an open house is at a trash collection site, then think again! It's actually really interesting - and not at all smelly!
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Julie and Shawn took Nolan last year, and he had so much fun that the families Chan and Ilardi joined in this time around.
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As soon as we entered the facility, each child was given a bright yellow construction hat. Unfortunately, only Nolan kept his hat on. Calliope's head was too small, and neither Benjamin nor Kayla wanted to disturb their perfect coifs.

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Our first stop on the tour was at a large trash truck which was remarkably neat and clean. The truck was so clean that my own car seemed disgusting in comparison, which is pretty pathetic considering that the dirtiest thing in my car is my mouth.
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Clean or not, Benjamin didn't really enjoy his tour of the truck's cab, and he had to be rescued by his father. I guess Benjamin prefers the comparatively filthy interior of his mama's ride.
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The next stop on the tour, however, got rave reviews. The kids took turns pulling a lever in the back of the truck and watching this big metal scoopy thing raise up into the air. These are very technical terms I'm using here, folks.
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After the Big Metal Scoopy Thing stop on the tour, the ladies (including the littlest lady Calliope) decided to grab some food and a table while the boys continued on the rest of the tour. The lines must have been pretty long, because it was nearly an hour before they joined us. By then, we had already finished eating most of the food we had gotten. Needless to say, they weren't too pleased with us. Ooops!
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Luckily, it only took another hour of waiting in line for the boys to score some grub.

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Many thanks to the Bowens for clueing us in to just how interesting waste management can be. And no, I am NOT being facetious. If you don't believe me, check it out yourself ! You won't be disappointed!

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Next up: the final installment of the Weekend of Wonders series!

Weekend of Wonders Day 1: Pretend City

One of the great things about being a parent is getting the chance to revisit all the fun stuff you loved as a child, such as blowing bubbles, visiting Disneyland, and sitting on Santa's lap (for most kids, anyway - not so much for Benjamin). In addition to the cool things we had when we were little, there's a slew of new activities for today's lucky youngsters. We managed to cram several of these into one very busy weekend, which will henceforth be referred to as the "Weekend of Wonders." On Day 1 of W.O.W., we headed down to Irvine with Kayla and Sheila to check out Pretend City.

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Pretend City is exactly what it sounds like it would be - a miniature version of a real city scaled down to toddler size. Pretend City includes many of the things you might find in an actual city - a fire station, a grocery store, a farm, a beach, a marina, an art studio, a theater, and a Persian restaurant. No, I'm not joking. Pretend City has an actual pretend Persian restaurant. Wait, is that a contradiction in terms?

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I was wondering if there would be Pretend City Cabbage Patch which I could use explain the facts of life to an increasingly inquisitive Benjamin ("Mama no have pee pee?"), but alas, there was none. Instead, there was something that looked like a padded garden with padded walls, floors, and flower petals. It was meant for babies, but it got me thinking that perhaps I should pad one of the rooms in my house to use when I'm feeling a little crazy.

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Just off of the town square was an ampitheater complete with lights, soundbooth, and costumes. Kayla and Benjamin had fun dressing up as a gypsy princess and tambourine-wielding pimp.
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But out of all of Pretend City's attractions, the kids enjoyed the art studio the most.
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In addition to the de rigeur paper and play-doh present in any kiddie art studio, this one also had two wall-sized plexiglass windows which begged to be splashed, sprayed, and swathed in paint.

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Lots of paint!
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All that playing and dancing and painting really worked up our appetites, so we headed to the Spectrum for a healthy lunch. We followed that up with not-so-healthy funnel cakes slathered with strawberries and whipped cream.
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As Sheila and I caught up on girl talk over our sinfully delicious desserts, Vince took the kids for a ride on the choo choo train. They were lucky enough to get seats in the caboose where they waved enthusiastically to everyone they saw. After the train ride concluded, we piled into our cars where both kids, happy and exhausted, fell asleep on the ride home.

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Stay tuned for Weekend of Wonders Day 2!