My Traveling “Sweet Spot”

Posted on August 31, 2013 by Patricia Zanuck

The blog post “The Sweet Spot” by Julianna W. Miner made the rounds on the Internet early this summer. It was about suddenly finding oneself in a “sweet spot” as a family. You discover you’re finally in that period of child-raising where all is generally good and you’re enjoying all the hard work that came earlier. There still might be chaos at times, or a “goat rodeo” as Julianna Miner wrote, but you have moments of sanity and enjoyment.

I had that same a-ha moment on this year’s annual trip to Norway. Every summer I head across the globe on my own with the kids. My husband joins us later. I’ve traveled alone since our first child was a baby. We only skipped one year when Doobie was 1 ½ years old and Sonny was four years old. The thought of me flying alone with our two young active boys even made my mom stressed and anxious for me. She had lots of experience traveling alone with my sister and me throughout our childhood and totally understood us taking that year off.

I’ve never dreaded these long journeys with the kids. But it has been stressful getting ready for them—thinking of everything I might possibly need and then how to pack it so I could handle the carry-on and the kids. And the flights were never relaxing because I was always handling and/or entertaining one child or another or both. What has made me be able to do it is knowing that at the end of the trip my parents would be waiting at the airport with open arms and big smiles and a welcome eagerness to entertain and help with the kids.

on board After nine years of international travel, occasionally twice a year, my kids now know what to expect and don’t complain. Same with me. Continue reading →

My first voting experience ever

Posted on June 8, 2013 by Patricia Zanuck

As many of you know, I recently became a United States citizen. It was long overdue and a day of very mixed emotions for me, about which I wrote here. One thing I knew for sure, however, was that I was looking forward to exercising my right to vote and, probably surprising to many Americans, serving on a jury. My chance to vote came not long ago, and it was actually a somewhat important vote. Angelenos were voting for their next mayor.

I received my Official Sample Ballot and Voter Information Pamphlet many weeks in advance. It was a lot to read (88 pages!) and make sense of. I noted the date and place to vote, and then as the weeks went by, paid more attention to campaigning than I usually did.

Election Day came quickly. The day before my husband had suggested we go and vote together, but the day of we had a busy morning with commitments and lunch and then we headed back home totally forgetting about it being Election Day. It wasn’t until I was making dinner that I suddenly realized that we hadn’t voted yet. I was determined not to miss my first opportunity to vote. Luckily, the polls were open until 8pm and only a couple of minutes away from our house. After dinner, I quickly collected my sample ballot and made sure I knew how I was voting and headed to the polls. Hubby stayed home with the kids who were already in pjs. I wasn’t able to convince them to join me for an after-dinner family outing.

I was a little nervous. I didn’t even know how the voting machines worked. My kids, having accompanied their dad to vote in the presidential elections last year, knew more about the logistics of voting than I did. But I didn’t let that deter me. I entered the room where the booths were set up and was greeted warmly. I proudly told them this was my first time voting since I was a new citizen, and they were happy and eager to show me how to proceed. And they were curious to hear my story of becoming a citizen. I ran into a neighborhood friend there as well and shared my voting news with her, too. Everyone was very congratulatory and friendly. It was a very pleasant affair! And I felt a great sense of pride knowing that I had a say in who was going to be our next mayor.

As I headed back to the car, I called my husband to tell him about my experience. He asked if I had received my “I voted” sticker, and of course I had proudly put it on. It seemed like my husband was going to skip voting this time around so I did my best to convince him otherwise. I told him his name was there just waiting for him to sign next to it, and there was no worry about having to wait in line to vote. There was always somebody there while I was there but never a line, though it did seem to be picking up a little that last half hour before the polls closed. It didn’t seem like I had convinced him, but to my surprise, he was ready to leave for the polls as soon as I pulled up in front of our house. I felt good knowing that we both had cast our votes and been good role models for our kids who one day hopefully will be as diligent about casting their votes as well.

Celebrating Norway’s Constitution Day in Los Angeles

Posted on May 31, 2013 by Patricia Zanuck

For me, celebrating Norway’s 17th of May in Los Angeles began by vicariously experiencing it through pictures posted on Facebook by Norwegian friends. I woke up to a newsfeed filled with bold and bright Norwegian flags, happy families dressed in beautiful bunads, and smiling kids in parades. It was a lovely start to the day and I much appreciated them sharing their celebrations!

(Photos courtesy of M. Eriksen, E. Strøm-Gundersen, and S. Mjeldheim)

Ideally, I would have attended the festivities at the Norwegian Seamen’s Church in San Pedro that day. It’s a simple celebration with traditional foods (hot dogs, waffles, and Solo are our favorites), a parade around the block waving flags and singing, speeches, and fun and games for the kids. And let’s not forget the ice cream! But this year, “17. mai” fell on a Friday and the kids had after-school commitments until 5 o’clock. The idea of driving in Friday afternoon traffic to San Pedro was unfathomable.

So I had to find an alternate way to mark the day. I had seen that the store Moods of Norway was having a celebration. I was intrigued. Continue reading →

CicLAvia: To the Sea (2013)

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Patricia Zanuck

Our Ambitious Plans to Ride to the Sea

When we first heard about the event CicLAvia: To the Sea, we had great ambitions. We were going to take public transportation to Downtown LA and then cycle the whole 15 miles to the sea. An opportunity like this, with so many miles of road closed to car traffic, does not happen often and we wanted to take advantage of it.

We had participated in another bicycle event last June. Sonny and Daddy rode 15 miles along the Los Angeles River in the Family Ride portion of the 12th Annual LA River Ride. I stayed back with Doobie for the kiddie ride and activities because he wasn’t old enough for the other one. (You can read about it here.) This year we felt Doobie was old enough for us all to ride together.

As the big day approached, we reconsidered our plans. The thought of riding to the nearest metro stop in Culver City and then somehow getting our four bikes on the train, along with everyone else and their bikes, was too daunting. Instead we decided just to join the ride where it passed by our neighborhood, which wasn’t too far down the street. It did cut off many miles (about 10) but we still had many left until the sea, and then we might make it back again too without too much anguish. Also, there was a bike festival along the route at that point that we could explore.

Then when the big day actually arrived, it ended up just being Doobie and me who participated! Unfortunately, Sonny’s bike had a punctured tire and we had no way to repair it. I was disappointed that we had to leave Sonny and Daddy at home and it wouldn’t be a family affair, but Doobie and I ventured out eagerly anyway.

Continue reading →

In the Clouds at Parker Mesa Overlook

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Patricia Zanuck

What a treat to go mid-week hiking with a girlfriend! We dropped our kids off at school in Santa Monica, and then we headed north along Pacific Coast Highway. Fifteen minutes later, we were high up in the hills of Pacific Palisades at the edge of Topanga State Park, surrounded by beautiful nature and a promise of stunning views.

I had hiked in the same area not long before this. That hike started at the bottom of the hill at a private residence and worked its way up Los Liones Trail and ended at a viewpoint (and then we headed back down). The view that day at the viewpoint was fabulous…

For today’s hike, we drove up and up to the end of a long, windy road and started hiking about where the previous hike had ended. Today the view was still impressive, but the fog was teasing us and obscured it a bit. My friend and I ventured on.

I had more on my agenda than just hiking and chatting. I had learned that there were seven geocaches right along the route, and with my friend being a geocacher too (she’s the one with whom I hosted a geocaching party earlier this year), I thought we could try to find some caches as well. I also had a travel bug I needed to drop off in a new cache.

The first geocache came upon us quickly, and after initially being sidetracked by what we thought were trails leading to ground zero, we found the cache hidden in a neat pile of rocks off to the side in plain site. I happily said good-bye to the geocoin, but not until I had taken a picture of it with the view of the coast and the fog rolling in. The next few geocaches passed us by as we focused on hiking the uphill climb and were engrossed in conversation. We enjoyed the varied scenery around us and the many adorable bunny rabbits that hopped across the fire road. There were many places to enjoy views, but the fog was coming in quickly so I don’t think we got the full experience.

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As we continued onwards and towards the overlook, we could really see the fog moving in. We were walking in the fog without much knowledge of what was too far ahead of us. Suddenly, we were at the overlook, a nice little flat area with two benches and even a hitching post.

At the overlook was also another cache for us to seek. The geocache description warned of rattlesnakes and advised caution. The cache owner recommended using a stick to probe the area first and then to double check before reaching in or under anything. We were happy to oblige, especially since I had seen a huge rattlesnake on my last hike in this area. Luckily, we found a great probing stick nearby and found the cache without running into any snakes. And I picked up another travel bug to move along.

The view at this overlook is supposed to be absolutely stunning. My guidebook states we should have seen 360-degree views. We saw absolutely nothing. The fog had come in so densely that we couldn’t even tell if we were looking at mountains or houses or the coast. I had lost all sense of direction. It was kind of an eerie feeling. We weren’t even really that disappointed that we couldn’t see anything because the feeling of being so surrounded by fog was cool in itself, but we certainly are very eager to come back again to see what we missed!

On the way back down, we found another geocache, but we left the remaining four for our next time up. We even discussed how this would be an awesome hike for our next geocaching party. The fog continued to come in and it even began drizzling lightly. We weren’t bothered by the weather at all; it actually added an unexpected element of intrigue to the outing. It also gave us more reason to return because most likely our next time hiking this trail will feel like a totally different experience.

April Culture Challenge!

Posted on April 5, 2013 by Patricia Zanuck

After all the positive feedback I received about my March Culture Challenge, I’m putting out another one for April. I don’t know if any of you actually ventured out and attended any of the events, but you certainly enjoyed reading about them. And I appreciated your feedback!

I focus on international cultures and diverse ethnicities. Every month on behalf of our school’s Diversity Committee, I compile a list of diverse cultural events that might be of interest to our school community, which I’ve decided to share here as well. My intended audience is families with elementary school aged children, so if you have younger or older children, research accordingly.

I would love to attend many of the events listed here, but I have my eye on two events in particular. One is a favorite we’ve gone to several years in the past; the other is totally new to us and I’ve always been curious about that series for kids. Can you guess which ones they are? And which events look particularly interesting to you?

WEEKEND OF APRIL 6 & 7

Rocka Your Soul: LA’s Celebration of Gospel, Dance and Ailey, Grand Park, Saturday, 1pm-5pm. The Music Center celebrates Los Angeles’ own Alvin Ailey and his iconic dance masterpiece Revelations, beloved by people around the world. This festival is a multi-dimensional cultural experience inspired by the rich heritage of the African American community and will let visitors of all ages engage directly with dance, music, and the arts.

The Renaissance Pleasure Faire, Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area, Irwindale. Saturdays and Sundays, April 6 – May 19. Travel back to the 16th century and experience the glory of life during the Renaissance era. The faire provides “a cornucopia of diversity where we are unified in inviting our guests to enjoy an environment we have created to escape from the stresses and demands of the modern day.” There will be artisans of all media, entertainment galore, food trucks and booths, games and rides (including pony and camel rides), a Kids Kingdom (with games, crafts, story-telling, song, shows, and characters), and a gnome quest!

Family Jam: Thumbs Up! The Music of Southern Africa, Fowler Museum, UCLA, Sunday, 12pm-2pm. The thumb piano, also known as the kalimba or mbira, is a popular instrument throughout much of Africa. Join the musicians from Masanga to enjoy its beautiful sounds and make your own lamellophone on the opening day of Ernest Cole Photographer and Mandela for President.

WEEKEND OF APRIL 13 & 14

Family Festival Celebrating Looking East: Ruben’s Encounter with Asia, Getty Center, Saturday, 10am-5:30pm. Experience Korean culture in this family festival inspired by the exhibition Looking East: Rubens’s Encounter with Asia. Master choreographers Kim Eung Hwa, Kwan Gyu Lim, and Don Kim present their world-class dance companies. Make your own charm, propeller, or Korean headdress at interactive workshops.

15th Annual Chumash Day Powwow and Inter-Tribal Gathering, Malibu Bluffs Park, Saturday & Sunday. Experience native foods, children’s activities, story telling, Native American art, and Native American crafts.

Western Heritage Family Day: My Family, My History, My Story, The Autry in Griffith Park, Sunday, 1pm-4pm. In this workshop, research your family history with the Southern California Genealogical Society, learn from storyteller Kat High (Hupa) how many Native Americans tell stories to remember their histories, and view a one-day-only exhibition on family histories created by students from Boyle Heights. Finally, make a time capsule of your own to preserve your family history.

The Renaissance Pleasure Faire, Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area, Irwindale. Saturdays and Sundays, ongoing until May 19. See description last weekend.

WEEKEND OF APRIL 20 & 21

Tales from Around the World: A Tale of India, The Broad Stage at the Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center, Saturday, 11am. Celebrate magical tales, music, and dance from the other side of the world. After the show, gather on the Plaza for a celebration of the arts, crafts, and tastes of India. See website to buy tickets.

Scandinavian Festival, Cal Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks, Saturday & Sunday. Experience games and crafts for children, a Viking Encampment and Sami Village, a food court and food demonstrations, live music and dancing, shopping, lectures, and a festival stage.

Celebrate Israel Festival, Cheviot Hills Recreation Center, Sunday, 10am – 7pm. Come celebrate Israel’s 65th Independence Day beginning with a “Salute to Israel” walk (starts at 9am) and then continuing all day with musical performances, artists who have traveled from Israel especially for the festival, a kids zone (with crafts, puppy petting zoo, reptile show, magicians, stilt walkers, face painters, jugglers, and drum circles), an amusement park with rides, Israel’s Time Travel Tunnel, and a model of SpaceIL (first Israeli spaceship).

The Renaissance Pleasure Faire, Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area, Irwindale. Saturdays and Sundays, ongoing until May 19. See description under first weekend.

WEEKEND OF APRIL 27 & 28

Los Angeles International Children’s Film Festival, Aero Theatre in Santa Monica, April 26 – May 5. In partnership with New York International Children’s Film Festival, the American Cinematheque brings a selection of the most compelling recent films for kids to the West Coast for the first time. Included are beautifully animated features from Japan (A Letter to Momo, Wolf Children), France (A Monster in Paris, in 3-D), Canada (The Day of the Crows) and the U.S. (Meet the Small Potatoes), a Chinese take on a famed fairy tale (Cinderella Moon) and a short film showcase. And if you think your kid might be interested in being a Kid Critic, take a look here (applications due April 11).

International Children’s Day, Aquarium of the Pacific, Long Beach, Saturday & Sunday, 9am-5pm. Celebrating the amazing talents of children of all cultures, this festival will feature international music and dance performances by kids. An international choir, West African, Pacific Islander, Mexican folkloric, Cambodian, Chinese, Korean, and Japanese traditional dance are among the children’s performances. Kids of all ages can enjoy martial arts demonstrations and can also partake in an international drum circle, Native American crafts, Pacific Islander children’s games, face painting, mural painting, educational programs, and more.

World City Series: Väsen & Scandia Dancers, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Sunday, 11am and 12:30pm. Come get a feel for the Nordic culture with Väsen, a Swedish acoustic instrumental group who transforms “venerable polskas and waltzes into modern groove masterpieces,” and Scandia Dancers who perform a repertoire of traditional folk dances in authentic handmade costumes from Sweden, Norway, and Finland.

The Renaissance Pleasure Faire, Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area, Irwindale. Saturdays and Sundays, ongoing until May 19. See description under first weekend.

Were you able to guess which events I have my eye on? Which events do you think you might want to attend? I’d love to hear about it!

My Path to U.S. Citizenship

Posted on April 2, 2013 by Patricia Zanuck

People would always be very surprised when they found out I wasn’t an American citizen. I’ve lived in the States for years and I have no accent. There’s nothing about me that hints at not being American. But I’ve never been able to vote nor do jury duty, and that set me apart. That’s no longer the case! On February 27, 2013, I took the Oath of Allegiance and became an American citizen.

The Naturalization Oath Ceremony was a bitter sweet event for me. American citizenship is not something I have longed for for years and years. I became eligible for citizenship in 2001, but it wasn’t until eleven years later that I finally submitted my application.

Becoming a U.S. citizen meant automatically losing my Norwegian citizenship. That was the only thing that was holding me back. If I could have had dual citizenship, I would have jumped at the opportunity to become an American citizen 11 years ago. But I was very proud of my Norwegian citizenship and loved my red Norwegian passport, and I felt that losing them would be like losing some of what made me special.

I finally decided to take the plunge and submitted my application for practical reasons. It was the smart and sensible thing to do. I couldn’t be emotional about it anymore. There were some estate planning issues that could be dealt with in a more financially sound way if I weren’t a non-citizen spouse.

The application process was actually much quicker than I thought it would be. I submitted my application at the very end of July 2012, just before leaving on vacation. It was processed so quickly that I had already missed an appointment for fingerprinting before I came back three weeks later. It took much longer to reschedule that appointment; I wasn’t seen until November. Then I received the letter notifying me of my interview. At the interview in December, the officer went over my application with me and tested my knowledge of the English language and American civics. I passed with flying colors; I didn’t even have to answer all the questions. And then in January, I received a letter notifying me of my Naturalization Oath Ceremony. Unfortunately, I was out of the country for that date and had to request a new date. I was given February 27.

The whole application process only took seven months, and that was with two appointments that needed rescheduling. I can’t even imagine how quick the process would have been if I hadn’t needed to reschedule those appointments. Three to four months maybe? I think that is impressive government work for something as significant as applying for citizenship, especially in such an urban, immigrant rich city as Los Angeles.

The morning of my ceremony came upon us quickly. We hadn’t put much thought into it. My family in Norway knew I was applying for citizenship, but I had forgotten to tell them of the new date for my ceremony. My husband’s family here didn’t know about the upcoming ceremony either. No friends knew. We hadn’t been trying to hide it from anyone; it just wasn’t at the forefront of our minds.

Just the night before, we realized that we would need to take the kids with us to the ceremony because we wouldn’t be able to get them to school and us to the ceremony on time. It would be a nice civics lesson, we figured. How many people actually get to see a naturalization ceremony take place?

We had no idea what to expect and were quite surprised. All we knew was that it was at the Los Angeles Convention Center downtown. We had no idea how long it might last and we hadn’t even thought about how many people might be there. We did not know that we would be separated. Applicants entered one place, and guests entered another. We were most astonished by the great number of people present!

I checked in, received a packet of information, and was guided to a row. Small world incident here — right in front of me was a lady from the hair salon the day before! We had seen the same hairdresser and she had been alternating between the two of us. We hadn’t talked too much and neither knew the other was being naturalized the next day. But we suddenly felt like best friends in this sea of strangers! My new best friend was from the Philippines. I sat next to a lady from Brazil whose story was similar to mine, except she didn’t wait as long to apply for citizenship. On my other side was a man from Iran. Since we were all single and sitting around just waiting, we chatted and enjoyed each other’s company.

Finally, the ceremony started. We’d been waiting for about an hour. I’m sure the kids were absolutely stir-crazy and out of their minds. I was glad I wasn’t with them. We had brought nothing for them to occupy themselves with.

It turned out we were 2,250 people about to become citizens. I was surprised by how special and meaningful the ceremony was despite the attendance of so many people. There were probably about 5,000 people there including all the guests. We recited the Oath of Allegiance very early in the proceedings. Then the judge gave a very personable speech about the many different paths to citizenship among us, what it means to be an American, our rights and responsibilities, and he concluded with telling us this was a day to celebrate. He encouraged us to “pick up the phone and tell how wonderful today was”. He really was able to make us feel how special and rare this experience was.

All of us waving our little American flags!

In his speech, he shared some interesting statistics. The country with the greatest number of applicants was Mexico, which was no surprise. Next was the Philippines, followed by Iran, El Salvador, and in fifth was Guatemala. I’d be interested to hear what the bottom five countries were. It wouldn’t surprise me if Norway were one of them!

The judge’s speech was followed by a special video presentation. President Obama was proud to welcome us as new citizens to this country. He congratulated us and wished us well. It actually felt like he was speaking to us personally. It was quite moving. The ceremony concluded with the music video God Bless the USA featuring Lee Greenwood. It was a beautiful video — moving lyrics and magnificent images. Take a look (click the picture below), I bet you’ll tear up a bit, or maybe that was just me because I was feeling a little emotional.

God Bless the USA by Lee Greenwood

March Culture Challenge!

Posted on March 8, 2013 by Patricia Zanuck

I’m lucky to live in Los Angeles. It is one of the most diverse metropolitan areas in the United States and offers so much to enrich our lives. I am particularly interested in anything having to do with other cultures. Every month on behalf of our school’s Diversity Committee, I compile a list of cultural events that might be of interest to our school community, and I thought I’d share it here as well. My intended audience is families with elementary school aged children, so if you have younger or older children, research accordingly.

I challenge you to pick out one cultural event to attend this month!

WEEKEND OF MARCH 9 & 10

Tales from Around the World: A Tale from Russia, The Broad Stage at the Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center, Saturday, 11am. Celebrate magical tales, music, and dance. After the show, gather on the Plaza for a celebration of the arts, crafts, and tastes of Russia. See website to buy tickets.

Los Angeles County Irish Fair and Music Festival, Fairplex at the Pomona Fairgrounds, Saturday & Sunday, 10am – 6pm. LA County Irish Fair and Music Festival is celebrating its ninth year. There will be eight stages featuring a variety of bands, storytellers, dancers, and performers.

Korean Culture Experience, Pacific Asia Museum, Pasadena, Sunday, 12pm – 2pm. Enjoy a short film overview of Korea’s ancient artistic traditions and contemporary industrial culture followed by a live reenactment of a Korean wedding ceremony and the serving of a traditional meal for all to enjoy. After the event, explore the new Gallery of Korean Art.

Family Jam: Songs from the Diaspora: Klezmer Melodies, Fowler Museum, UCLA, Sunday, 2pm – 4pm. Enjoy the fusion of Eastern European traditions and sounds of the Jewish Diaspora and let the expressive songs of Klezmer move your spirit. Inspired by Resplendent Dress from Southeastern Europe: A History in Layers and Light and Shadows: The Story of Iranian Jews.

WEEKEND OF MARCH 16 & 17

Family Art Day: Ganesh’s Sweet Tooth, Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena, Saturday, 1pm – 3pm. The Hindu deity Ganesh is known for having a sweet tooth. Recognized throughout Asia as the overcomer of obstacles, he is often depicted holding a bowl of sweets, which represents his love for the delightful things in life. Decorate a small bowl to enjoy your favorite treats or to share them with others.

Family Festival: Marking Transitions: Ceremonial Art in Indonesia, Pacific Asia Museum, Pasadena, Sunday, 12pm – 4pm. Enjoy free admission to all the galleries, crafts, demonstrations, and performances celebrating Indonesian art and culture.

WEEKEND OF MARCH 23 & 24

Kids in the Courtyard: Kid, You’ve Got Style!, Fowler Museum, UCLA, Sunday, 1pm – 4pm. Take inspiration from the festive fashion in Resplendent Dress from Southeastern Europe and make your own stylish scarf or sash. Use buttons, baubles, and bows to show off your personality with flair.

WEEKEND OF MARCH 30 & 31

World City Series: Cimarrón, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Saturday, 11am & 12:30pm. Music and dance of Colombia. See website for ticket information.

Stories in the Afternoon: Paul Klee, Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena, Sunday, 2pm – 3pm. The abstract pictures of Paul Klee transport viewers to fantastical worlds of color and shape. An avid traveler, Klee found inspiration in artwork from places like Tunisia and Africa. Craft an abstract boat to sail away to your own imaginary place.

Which event do you think you might want to attend? I’d love to hear about it!

Home Run for Kids Walk/Run

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Patricia Zanuck

After our great experience last year at the Kids 4 Kids Walk/Run, we were easily persuaded to participate in another walk/run this past weekend. And this time, the whole family participated, not just Sonny and me! Doobie and Sonny’s school highly encouraged families to register. There was even a competition between grade levels to see which one had the greatest number of registrations.

And we felt we had a personal connection to this event’s cause which made it even easier to commit to participating. Home Run for Kids was organized by Upward Bound House, an organization whose mission is to “eliminate homelessness among families with children by providing housing, supportive services and advocacy”. Sonny’s third grade class went on a field trip to Family Place, one of UBH’s projects which is a transitional housing facility for homeless families. The third graders learned about homelessness and visited an apartment at the facility. Afterwards they encouraged the school community to bring in loose change to raise funds to furnish an apartment there. They even made Valentine cards to send to Family Place.

Over 200 members of our school community participated in Home Run for Kids. I think what made it especially attractive to some families was that there was a Kiddie K. Doobie was thrilled to be running in a race just for his age group. And apparently, many other kindergartners felt the same way since Kindergarten won the school competition for the most registrations!

The boys in blue t-shirts running alongside their daddy in black as he approaches the finish line for the 10K

I have to say, the Kiddie K was the highlight of the event for me. Doobie had cheered his daddy on as he finished his 10K and watched Sonny and me complete our 5Ks. Finally, it was his turn. Continue reading →

Inspirations to Get Out

Posted on March 2, 2013 by Patricia Zanuck

As a family, we try to make good use of our free weekend time together. These days, however, with both boys the ages they are and the interests they have in team sports year round, we always seem to have sports games one day of the weekend if not both! But when we can, we’re eager to get out and do something. It might be visiting a new place or a favorite from long ago, or attending a seasonal or cultural activity or special event.

With that said, it is easy to just end up lounging at home. The brothers generally play well together and we enjoy watching them spend time together. What helps us get motivated and out the door are some “family challenges” we have. We find lists of suggested activities and we set out to complete them. Currently, we have three lists that provide tons of inspiration for our excursions:

100 Things to Do in LA with Kids by MommyPoppins Los Angeles

MommyPoppins 100 Things to Do With Kids in LA

This is Mommy Poppins Los Angeles’ bucket list “of must-do activities for LA kids.” It covers just about every kind of activity imaginable: hikes, amusement parks, museums, aquariums, and festivals, just to name a few. And the list also provides inspiration to visit various places in the Los Angeles area: Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Malibu, Griffith Park, Catalina Island, downtown, beaches, and many other places. Some activities are definitely more easily accomplished than others.

18 hikes in Best Easy Day Hikes: West Los Angeles by Bryn Fox

This hiking guide provides descriptions and maps for 18 hikes that are easily reachable from the West LA area. It is not specifically meant for kids, but since they are described as “easy”, we thought it would work well as a guide for hiking with kids. One feature I particularly like about the book is that it has a list of best hikes for beach/coast lovers, waterfalls, children, swimming holes, views, geology lovers, and nature lovers. We can choose a hike based on an area we want to visit or the kind of hike we want to experience.

6 geocaches in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area ParkCaching Program

We discovered this challenge quite by accident. I had picked out the Solstice Canyon hike from Best Easy Day Hikes: West Los Angeles, but got my canyons mixed up when looking at a satellite map to see if we could add some geocaching to the hike. I thought we were headed to a canyon with tons of geocaches. Once we parked, we quickly learned that the geocache-filled canyon was not Solstice Canyon, but the one right next to it. It ended up being a lovely hike to a waterfall and ruins of an historic home with amazing views, but it only had one geocache for us to find. That geocache, however, turned out to be one of six in a series put out by someone working in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. At each cache, you can pick up a collector’s card; and in the end, all six cards complete a puzzle. The quest for these remaining geocaches will take us to various places in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area: the Visitor Center in Thousand Oaks, Paramount Ranch, Satwiwa Native American Indian Culture Center, Circle X Ranch, and Cheeseboro/Palo Comado Canyons, all places I’m totally unfamiliar with and eager to explore.

Does your family have any kind of checklist of activities that serves as an inspiration to get out?

A Viking in LA

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

My Traveling “Sweet Spot”

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My first voting experience ever

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Celebrating Norway’s Constitution Day in Los Angeles

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CicLAvia: To the Sea (2013)

Our Ambitious Plans to Ride to the Sea

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In the Clouds at Parker Mesa Overlook

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April Culture Challenge!

WEEKEND OF APRIL 6 & 7

WEEKEND OF APRIL 13 & 14

WEEKEND OF APRIL 20 & 21

WEEKEND OF APRIL 27 & 28

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My Path to U.S. Citizenship

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March Culture Challenge!

WEEKEND OF MARCH 9 & 10

WEEKEND OF MARCH 16 & 17

WEEKEND OF MARCH 23 & 24

WEEKEND OF MARCH 30 & 31

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Home Run for Kids Walk/Run

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Inspirations to Get Out

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Our Ambitious Plans to Ride to the Sea

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WEEKEND OF APRIL 6 & 7

WEEKEND OF APRIL 13 & 14

WEEKEND OF APRIL 20 & 21

WEEKEND OF APRIL 27 & 28

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WEEKEND OF MARCH 9 & 10

WEEKEND OF MARCH 16 & 17

WEEKEND OF MARCH 23 & 24

WEEKEND OF MARCH 30 & 31

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