Our crazy sports schedule!

Posted on March 1, 2013 by Patricia Zanuck

Slowly but surely, we’ve become a family with a crazy after-school sports schedule. Five days a week we find ourselves preparing for some kind of sports activity. Currently, we even have two activities on Saturdays.

But it wasn’t always like that and I always thought we’d never be a family with such a busy extra-curricular schedule. It all started so innocently and calmly. At age 2, Sonny began playing soccer with Coach Mark. It was only for an hour once a week on Saturday mornings. I was pregnant with Doobie so Daddy usually took him alone and often they hung out at the park with another dad and son afterwards.

For a long time, Doobie just tagged along to Sonny’s sports activities, whether it was just a general sports class or practice and games with a team. But it was only one sport each season. It was very manageable (except that some of the seasons were across town in Brentwood or Pacific Palisades which was a bit inconvenient with what LA traffic can be).

Then it was time for Doobie to play his own sports. It started at age 3 with soccer classes once a week with Coach Milton. Then he wanted to play on teams like his big brother. Soon both boys were each on a team each season. This was when we realized how important it was to stay close to home for sports teams, otherwise we’d be spending too much time commuting. Our local recreaction center became a life saver. Continue reading →

Geocaching Party at Will Rogers Park

Posted on February 1, 2013 by Patricia Zanuck

One of my favorite activities is geocaching. I can be a bit fanatical about it, as described here when we scramble to be “first to find” a new geocache in our neighborhood. For those of you who don’t know what it is, geocaching is high-tech treasure hunting. We use our iPhone to seek out containers of all sizes (from ones the size of your pinkie fingertip to huge boxes, see pictures below) in various locations (from within our neighborhood to across the world, in great urban sprawls or deep in the wilderness).

: Very micro cache with rolled up log

: Micro cache

: Very large cache!

Sometimes we just sign the log and replace it. Other times we also trade trinkets or we may pick up or leave a travel bug or geocoin. Then we go online and share our experiences with the geocaching community. It’s a great family activity. It adds some fun and excitement to what could otherwise just be a “boring” outing according to the kids. It also often brings us to places we would otherwise not have visited or even known about.

This past weekend a friend and I had the opportunity to introduce geocaching to a few families from our school. We planned the event at Will Rogers State Historic Park in Pacific Palisades. It’s the perfect setting for such an activity. In the middle of our urban sprawl is this beautiful escape into the wilderness. Continue reading →

Kon-Tiki at the Scandinavian Film Festival LA 2013

Posted on January 17, 2013 by Patricia Zanuck

SFFLA program cover The Scandinavian Film Festival LA is one of my favorite local Scandinavian events. I’m always eager to see what Norwegian films will be screened at the annual festival and I look forward to absorbing myself in my native language.

Usually, I need to run the list of films by my parents who live in Norway to see which ones they recommend, but this year there was no need for that. I had heard about the movie Kon-Tiki long before I saw it would be at the festival. It had been nominated for a Golden Globe and had made the short list for an Academy Award nomination (and then did become one of five films nominated). Kind of exciting that a Norwegian film gets that kind of recognition. Also, I’m familiar with the topic. I’ve visited the Kon-Tiki Museum in Oslo several times. I’ve taken out-of-town guests and also my own kids. I certainly wanted to see the Norwegian film that had made it this far in the film world and was now so close to home. Continue reading →

Family Hike: Hollywood Sign

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Patricia Zanuck

I was inspired by the suggestion of the California State Parks Foundation to explore more California state parks in the new year and then I came across the First Day Hikes initiative… So I suggested a family hike for New Years Day. We made plans to explore Griffith Park and the Hollywood Sign, an area I’ve been eager to hike for a long time. (It turns out the First Day Hikes initiative is actually guided hikes in certain state parks around the country, but hey, we were going out to a park in our state on the first day of the year, good enough for us.)

Our goal ahead!

I had two goals for us on our outing — to make it above and behind the Hollywood Sign and also to find possibly five geocaches that I’d picked out in the area. Neither goal was accomplished unfortunately, but it was still a fantastic outing, one that I want to try again now that I know the lay of the land. Continue reading →

Christmas in Los Angeles

Posted on December 30, 2012 by Patricia Zanuck

I’ve lived in Los Angeles just over 18 years so I’m finally getting used to celebrating Christmas dressed in short sleeves and surrounded by palm trees. While living here, we’ve had the occasional cold and snowy Christmas in Idaho with Hubby’s family or in Connecticut with my sister and her family, but more often than not, we’ve been in warm and green Los Angeles.

Our family advent calendar

Now that we’re a family, we’ve got a good little thing going with a family advent calendar that helps us prepare for the holiday and get in the Christmas spirit. Every day the boys open a box and pull out a slip of paper with an activity for the day. Slowly but surely, a picture reveals itself as they replace the box backwards. Some activities are totally related to Christmas, like decorating the Christmas tree, reading Christmas stories by the fireplace, visiting Santa, and watching a Christmas movie. Others are just activities to help us feel like it’s winter, like making paper snowflakes to hang in the windows, enjoying hot chocolate with all the fixings (marshmallows and candy canes), and making s’mores by the fireplace. And then there are the activities that are just special family times, such as having breakfast for dinner, having a picnic dinner in the family room (after the tree is decorated), and having a family game night with special treats (this year with chocolates and “seigmenn med nisseluer” (jelly men with Santa hats) thanks to my aunt!). Continue reading →

Stand Up Paddleboarding in Malibu

Posted on November 15, 2012 by Patricia Zanuck

Earlier this month I got to try something for the first time that I’ve had my eye on for a long time… stand up paddleboarding! Doobie and I were invited to join friends at their beach house in Malibu. Sonny was off to an event with his dad so we seized the opportunity, especially given that it was supposed to be a beautiful summerlike day… in November!

And it was a gorgeous beach day. It felt like we were on vacation at some faraway vacation destination. We had clear blue skies, warm sun with temperatures in the 80s, no wind, a totally still ocean. We wore sun block and beach hats. It was the middle of fall and it was nothing like any beach day we had experienced during the summer when I was usually huddled under a towel trying to enjoy myself. Continue reading →

Our Halloween Season

Posted on November 2, 2012 by Patricia Zanuck

Halloween is no longer a one-night event that occurs on the last evening of October. It now seems to last all of October with the grand finale happening on October 31. The list of possible things to do in LA in the month leading up to the big night is endless. There are all sorts of possibilities for all ages, such as Halloween-themed events at theme parks, zoos, aquariums, and museums; haunted houses; carnivals and festivals; pumpkin patches, just to name a few. But with full days of school and sports on the weekends, I find it’s hard to find time to do much of it! We still managed to do a few special things this year, though nothing too out of the ordinary. Continue reading →

Space Shuttle Endeavour Flies Over Los Angeles

Posted on September 24, 2012 by Patricia Zanuck

Photo credit: NASA

It was a day with much anticipation… On Friday, September 21, 2012, the space shuttle Endeavour was scheduled to fly over numerous places in Los Angeles on its way from Edwards Air Force Base to Los Angeles International Airport during its final journey to its new home at the California Science Center here in Los Angeles. Perched atop a modified Boeing 747, it was supposed to arrive in the area at about 10:30am and fly at an altitude of 1,500 feet over several LA landmarks — the Getty Center, Griffith Observatory, Universal Studios, Disneyland, the Queen Mary, Long Beach Aquarium, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the California Science Center. I had my hopes up, way up, that I would be able to catch a glimpse of it.

Then I realized I had a hair appointment and would be stuck in a salon chair at that time. The morning of its arrival I learned that it wouldn’t arrive in the area until 11:30am and it seemed it would be doing a couple of loops around the city. I was optimistic that I might be able to see it, especially when I heard its route and I was going to be right along it as it made its way from the beach to the Getty Center. It turns out my hair stylist and other clients and stylists in the salon were equally interested in seeing it so we were on a quest not to miss it. Someone was stationed outside the salon to keep us posted. Continue reading →

Beach Days

Posted on June 21, 2012 by Patricia Zanuck

We live in a city with beaches envied and visited by people around the world. Yet it’s taken me 18 years to finally begin to have a desire and willingness to go to these beaches that have always been so close to us. We’ve taken visiting family and friends to the beach, but those have been short visits either for lunch at a beach cafe or just to get a glimpse of the ocean or to feel the sand, not to hang out and play and swim.

Visits to the beach with out-of-town family and friends

Visits to the beach with out-of-town family often resulted in unplanned sand and water play.

We live only 10 minutes from the closest beach and it’s a super easy drive, too. But I’ve always considered it too much of a chore to go—all the toys to bring, snacks and drinks to prepare, sunblock to slather on, towels and hats to pack. And then we have to park and lug all this stuff to a spot. And then of course, at the end of the day, we have to pack it all up and trudge back to the car with tired kids, wet towels, and toys full of sand.

It seems the tide is beginning to turn, however. The other weekend we went to the beach for Father’s Day, and we are already planning our next trip to the beach. It was Daddy’s wish to go. He was at an event at the beach not long ago and had the chance to body surf and boogie board again. He remembered how much he enjoys the beach. He’s always loved the beach. He grew up in a house right on the beach in Santa Monica. He wants his sons to become confident and competent in the waves. So we went to the beach. Continue reading →

12th Annual Los Angeles River Ride (2012)

Posted on June 12, 2012 by Patricia Zanuck

Los Angeles River Ride logo This past weekend, our family did something totally new for us. We participated in the 12th annual Los Angeles River Ride presented by the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition. I have become increasingly interested in the Los Angeles River. It used to be that I associated the term “Los Angeles River” with an image of a practically empty river bed with wide concrete banks. You often see that image in movies that take place in Los Angeles. Lately, though, I’ve learned more about its history and followed attempts to revitalize and restore interest in it. What better way to gain a better appreciation of the LA River than to do a bike ride along part of it!

Unfortunately, I didn’t actually get a chance to ride along it. While Sonny and Daddy participated in the 15-Mile Family Ride, I stayed back at the start with Doobie who was too young to ride it. Kids had to be 7 years old in order to participate in the family ride. The Family Ride started at the Autry National Center in Griffith Park, crossed the freeway and then continued south on a bike path along the LA River until they arrived in the Elysian Park area (near Dodger Stadium) where they turned around after some refreshments.

Sonny on the bike path along the LA River

For the 6 year olds and under, there was a special course in a parking lot at the Autry Center. Here they practiced their riding techniques. Parents were not allowed on the course. It was perfect for Doobie. He had to do a series of tight turns around cones, stop at a designated spot, start again, ride along a narrow path and turn along this narrow path, stop and start again, and then ride a figure eight. It was all about having control and riding safely, just the right challenge for him, and he eagerly did it several times. Continue reading →

A Viking in LA

All things Scandinavian through books, films, and events in the Los Angeles area and virtually

Category Archives: Los Angeles & Environs

Our crazy sports schedule!

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Geocaching Party at Will Rogers Park

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Kon-Tiki at the Scandinavian Film Festival LA 2013

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Family Hike: Hollywood Sign

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Christmas in Los Angeles

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Stand Up Paddleboarding in Malibu

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Our Halloween Season

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Space Shuttle Endeavour Flies Over Los Angeles

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Beach Days

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12th Annual Los Angeles River Ride (2012)

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