The Napoletana

Most people look at me like I'm crazy when I express anything less than enthusiasm about going to the Cannes Film Festival.  Admittedly the south of France is a sexy location and Melissa and talk about tacking a vacation on to the end of it at some point in the coming years.  That said, it really isn't as sexy as it sounds.  I spend most of my days (and nights) in antiquated, hot and smelly theaters watching mostly mediocre to outright terrible movies.  The one major highlight is the food and specifically the pizza.  I'm particularly partial to the Napoletana, a pizza smothered in anchovies and olives.  Its a salty treasure and it goes great with a salade verte on the side.  I've had it at several restaurants here in Cannes and I like Vesuvio's the best.  Its a beachfront restaurant with great italian food and a selection of great desserts.  It also offers a lovely view of the ocean and the Croisette.  It is a quintessential Cannes experience and makes the rest of the job worth it. 

Making FHE A Little More Impactful

We've undertaken a little project to make FHE a little more engaging and impactful for the boys.  Our first "stunt" was to teach about Noah and about the role of prophets and then visit the Noah's Ark Exhibit at the Skirball Museum.  If you haven't been or seen photos, you can check it out here.  The kids had a great time and the only hiccup was Christian's fear that our house wouldn't be safe through the flood.  We assured him it would be there when we returned.

We were impressed that they remembered the lesson so much more vividly as a result, so we've decided to try it out a little more regularly.  We're going to cover the six days of creation for the next few weeks.  I'd appreciate any thoughts on good activities for each week and also any teaching thoughts.  This is what we've thought of so far:

Week 1:  Light and dividing of day and night -- Picnic and watch the sunset at the Santa Monica Pier
Week 2:  Creating the firmament and Heaven -- Still at a loss on this one
Week 3:  Dividing the land and the sea -- Tide pools
Week 4:  Plant life -- Huntington Gardens
Week 5: Lights in the Firmament -- Griffith Observatory (maybe combine with Week 2)
Week 6:  Sea Life -- Long Beach Aquarium or Marine Animal Rescue
Week 7:  Animal Life -- LA Zoo or Natural History Museum

Anyway, this may be too activity heavy, but we'll see if we can have some fun with it.  Look forward to your thoughts.

Christian & Jack: Cat Hunters

I'm not sure how Cleo turned out the way she did, but any other cat would have clawed my boys by now. Thankfully, she's very accommodating as the boys (Jack especially) love to chase her. Visits to Grandma and Didi's house sure are an adventure!

Jack's Haircut

We've been resisting cutting Jack's hair for a long time now. He just has such perfect golden locks that we've let it grow long. Here he is a couple of weeks ago.



The problem is that its starting to get a little ratty and people are starting to think that we have 3 sons and a daughter. Jack is easily our most accommodating child, laid back, easy going and a real treat considering how opinionated the rest of us are. I'd like to think he's the most like me, but the truth is he's probably the least. So, he hasn't made a big deal of cutting his hair.

While we were up in Sacramento for Easter with, I asked him if he wanted a haircut. He was totally excited and asked for a short cut. As you can see from the pic below, this was as short as I could allow. As you can also see from the pic, he was absolutely overjoyed to have that hair off of him. What a sweet guy. Shame to lose the locks, but what a great face and smile. Totally easier to see now that the hair is out of the way!

Happenings....

It is spring time around here, well sort of, and on Emma's birthday we ventured to the district to fly a kite, walk around, and see the beautiful cherry blossoms! Here are some pictures...




The cherry blossoms are beautiful, and the district has been packed for the 100th anniversary. It is crazy!

Happy Spring to all of you!

National Christmas Tree lighting

A few weeks ago, I found out we could enter a drawing for tickets to the National Christmas Tree lighting. So I entered us, and low and behold we won tickets. Last Thursday was the big event, and I thought I had brought enough warmth for us (blankets, jackets, hats, scarfs), but we were still cold. We had a great time though, and although we werent able to stay til the end of all the performances (due to freezing) we got to hear the President speak, and saw the Christmas Tree lit by the first family. It was very neat! Here are a few photos...

(This is the tree before it is lit, I didnt get a good one after it was lit, my hands were shaking- brrr)

(They are so cute!)

(This is Mr President, obviously from a distance)

(This is the White House, so pretty!)

Gabe

Doesn't Gabe look so beautiful??? I'm a happy mom today...