As a kitchen slowly gets put back together, appliance boxes are becoming vacant, leaving weekend warriors free to decorate, play, and pretend.
What I thought was supposed to be a spaceship turned into Fort USA against the zombie apocalypse and the realization that the La Canada Homies are beginning to turn into true dirty loving, sweaty smelling, wrestle happy, boys.
And then there's Emerald the flag bearer.
Long President's day weekend....lazy President's day. We somehow have managed to stay home all day watching YouTube videos and eating cold Chick-fil-A.
Saturday we explored The Orange Circle after a breakfast at The Galley in Newport. Eggs and hot dogs at the counter, with multiple diner coffee refills and perfectly placed Girl Scout Cookies above the ice cream resulting in a purchase of Peanut Butter Patties (or Tagalongs if you grew up in the 80's).
At the circle, we wandered up and down, strolling into all the antiques malls; Nate pointing out his favorites and me remembering that he's actually more eccentric than I am. We also repeatedly commented on how we need to do Date Night at The Circle - the amount of new gastro-pubs and cool places to get some food and a cocktail is incredible. I also fell in love with Tiddlywinks, the toy store, and vowed that I would never go anywhere else but there for a present ever again.
I really hope I can keep good on that promise - because the store is INSANE.
Late lunch at Watson's Drugstore, which is completely remodeled, and although cool, I missed the original and understated counter on the side of a working pharmacy.
Made it home in time for Nate to watch motocross and walk across the cul-de-sac with a sleeping Captain to transport him on the Haack's house while we hung late and ate an amazing home cooked dinner.
Nate went riding on Sunday, which was supposed to be the inaugural family game night...but growing pains and a slight fever had Captain passed out by 7pm. So Nate and I ordered BBQ and watched American Made instead.
Our culdesac is like a bubble wrapped moment in time. It is all things amazing and Captain's childhood is richer than anything I could have done just by happenstance of receiving the best neighbors possibly in the world of ever.
And that bubble is extremely hard to leave. Practically impossible. From 7am to 9pm on weekends, the La Canada Homies are together, eating, playing, laughing, crying, fighting, pretending, wrestling, and getting into trouble - the days are usually filled with extreme emotions, such it should when you mix six kids all under the age of eight - it's like Lord of the Flies.
It was a weekend work event that forced me out of the bubble last Saturday - a Physique 57 x Beyond Yoga pop up class at Platform in Culver City - that set Captain and I off to LA with a loose plan of visiting the tar pits after the class.
We ate ice cream at 11am and shopped for new dishcloths for me and sunglasses for Kali at Poketo. We blared Imagine Dragons as we inched the four miles to the La Brea Tarpits, and rode the cool all glass elevator from the parking garage to the museums. We wandered through excavation sites, started at Mammoth skeltons, and touched the right femur of a gigantic prehistoric Sloth. We visited the gift shop twice but didn't fall in love, and ate at Ray's in between the Tar Pits and LACMA ....it was delicious. I taught Captain how to play hangman while we people watched and slowly ate.
And we were home by 4pm, leaving plenty of time for Captain to dart from house to house with his homies while I attempted to clean the house.
I didnt get much of a Sunday with the family - I left for Vegas around noon, so I packed Captain up for the beach with Brett. Nate got home in time to catch up to them at Blackie's as I headed off to John Wayne.
So not a full weekend. But enough of a weekend to have appreciated a day of loose plans and few chores; and the need to have this adventure weekly with one of my favorite people in the world
Beach&Pits
