[Me, outside of my comfort zone, at our city's Celebrate Davis event—and having a great time.]
For only $2300, you too can rent a zip line for your next party! Who’s in?
Have a great weekend! We’re off to Tahoe!
P.S. Thanks for being as excited as I am about our trip to Paris! If you have more favorite shops/restaurants to share, I’d love to hear them!
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Having Mother’s Day and our anniversary fall on the same day meant that the whole weekend felt celebratory. I thought I might share some favorite photos…
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Our poor baby boy got sick over the weekend and it was a doozy! That nasty stomach bug sent him to the ER on Monday for some IV fluids, which thank goodness brought him back to his usual happy self. It’s horrible seeing your little one in a hospital, but today you’d never know he’d been sick, and we can look back at it all with some laughter.
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My friend recently invited us over to share homemade pizza and half-cake for her daughter’s half-birthday. Isn’t that such a sweet tradition? Half-cake. I love it!
There was a really interesting story in the Times, not too long ago, about traditions and family entitled “The Family Stories That Bind Us.” Essentially it suggests we should make an effort to establish family traditions—the funnier the better—that are likely to get passed down and help build a narrative. The best story for a family is one that oscillates and includes ups and downs that can be recounted over and over.
That and half-a-cake are making me seriously consider celebrating half-birthdays from here on out.
P.S. You can use one 9-inch round, cut in half to build a two layer “half-cake.” Or, make a three layer like this one, where one-half of a second 9-inch round is, um, disappeared. Also, chocolate frosting (just multiply the recipe).
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Did you go to summer camp as a kid? There’s a whole culture of sleepaway camps that I know very little about (and that I associate with the East Coast).
I went to a day camp, the 49er sports camp at Cal State Long Beach one summer—where I learned that I did not have a future in basketball. (I’m a terrible dribbler!) Can you spot me in the photo above?
And then, when I was older and thought I wanted to write, direct, and star in movies (I said “like Eddie Murphy” in a monologue once–how weird is that?), I went to a summer theatre production camp. Nevermind that speaking in public is one of my least favorite things to do.
Eventually I got a summer job as a camp counselor for a couple of years with the Long Beach Parks & Rec department (just like my dad), and did crazy things like coach soccer (which I don’t play) and co-chaperone 20 four-year-olds at Disneyland.
I was intrigued to hear about Camp Galileo. They have 38 locations throughout the Bay area with the mission is to create a world of fearless innovators through imagination-sparking programs for kids from pre-K through 8th grade (while making sure they have a lot of fun). Fearless, joyful innovators? Sounds awesome.
Plus, if Hudson were to go, he’d be called a Nebula. How cute is that?!
Interestingly, I think it was around fourth or fifth grade when I decided I wanted to do it all (um, just like Eddie Murphy), which is the age that Camp Galileo says kids are ready to pick a passion and go deep exploring it. So at that point they introduce “weekly majors”: in pre-K, campers may build a crude xylophone or design a lion mask. By 8th grade, they may program their own video game, design their own fashion line, tell a story through digital filmmaking, or breathe life into some creation entirely of their own invention. Can someone please hit rewind and sign me up for one of those digital media courses? For all ages, the curriculum partners are Klutz, The de Young Museum, The Tech Museum of Innovation and The Chabot Space & Science Center.
If you or someone you know is looking into summer camps, check out Camp Galileo. (And save $25 per camper when signing up by May 31 with code 2013INNOVATE.)
Thanks to Galileo for sponsoring today’s discussion and for supporting Hither & Thither.
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Date Night 
Some Useful Parenting tips 
Where Hudson Sleeps 
And So it Begins 
What to Pack: Travel Gear for a Toddler 
twelve months 
Visiting the AMNH 
Bigger Boat 
City Kid 
Introducing Hudson 
Spreading the Word 
Time to Dash