Happy Birthday Unc Z

 We had such a good time celebrating Uncle Zach's birthday at the Rose Cafe in Venice! We enjoyed dinner and dessert!  Wonder what he wished for???

MOCA

Today we ventured as a family to check out Printed Matter’s L.A. Art Book Fair.  This is a unique event for artists’ books, art catalogs, monographs, periodicals, and zines presented by over 300 publishers. It was interesting to see all the different works but it was also overwhelming.  There was so much to see that it was hard to focus.  I don't know if I would want to do  this event as a family again next year unless there is a Hot Mess booth.  Will Jawsh present some printed work next year???

Baseball season

  Micah told me that he did not want to play baseball this year.  I  could understand where he was coming from because last year he cried because he struck out a lot.  When I asked him why he didn't want to play, he responded, "it's too hard."  If he had said, "it's boring" or "I'm not interested," I wouldn't sign him up.  But because he said, "it was too hard" I had to sign him up again.  I want my boys to persevere and I want them to know that they are not going to be the best at every thing they try.   And most importantly, I don't want my kids quitting when it gets too hard.  How will this season go???

40

Happy Birthday to my dearest, Jawsh, who turned 40 today.  We had an amazing time in Palm Springs and headed back west to dine at the Tasting Kitchen.  We sat upstairs and had a great meal shared with our two loves, Noah and Micah.  This picture was taken by Noah, who wanted to capture this moment on camera.  We enjoyed the food, the wine, and afterwards we headed to Blue Star to pick up some amazing donuts.  What will this year bring???

Cabazon Dinosaurs

Yes, we are "those people" who made a stop at Cabazon for the dinosaurs.  And yes, those two pictured above, are "those people" who paid an admission fee to go into the Cabazon Dinosaur Park.  According to the sources above, it wasn't as bad as they imagined, and they even got to climb all the way up the T-Rex to his teeth!  Now that's what I call, cool.  Will we stop again???  No.  But I have to wonder... did Noah and I miss out???

Joshua Tree

In honor of Jawsh's 40th birthday, we headed east to Joshua Tree.  We didn't know what to expect other than gorgeous views of nature and it surpassed what we imagined.  We headed to the park early and walked the Hidden Valley Trail which looped for about a mile.  The boys loved climbing and jumping off the rocks, and Jawsh felt the spirit of Ansel Adams and took a lot of black and white photos.  It was a crisp beautiful day for a hike.  When will we do this again???

Two Amy's

A visit to DC is incomplete without Two Amy's.  This is one of our favorite places to eat and it really does not disappoint!  When will they open one on the west coast???

MLK

Today we spent time walking around the Capitol and visiting monuments.  Last time we visited, Micah did not want to walk any more so he missed Dr. King's Memorial and we weren't going to let that happen this time.  We walked around, reading all the quotes, and enjoyed the light rain.  We also visited Roosevelt and Jefferson's Memorials as well.  DC has so much history...  we can't wait to come back and to learn more.  Which memorials will we visit next time???

Women's March

On our second day, we joined the Women's March to stand up for our rights, our love, and our future. We peacefully walked with over 400,000 people in DC.  The boys made signs and were given signs and were a part of our history in a different way... instead of watching it they participated in it.  Will the boys remember the significance of this when they are older???

Mount Vernon

The arrangements to the Presidential Inauguration were made in the summer of 2016 with the hopes of viewing history being made with our first female President.  Just four years earlier, we were at the Capitol watching President Obama being sworn in with Noah.  This time, we thought Micah would be old enough to join us.  However, it didn't pan out the way we thought and we decided to keep our trip but to alter our plans.  In lieu of the Inauguration, we made our way to Mount Vernon.  The boys learned about George Washington's house,  as well as about slavery, and how it was like back in those days.  This was a great alternative to the Inauguration... will they attend a Sanders' Inauguration in 4 years???

Hot Mess

Hot Mess Show- Artist Statement:  The earth is getting hotter. A meltdown is coming. A serious lack of symmetry. Staring into the backyard of my mind. Searching for buried treasure. Melting down. Critical mass. Spirit quest to the inner world. Less and less concerned with perfection. Throwing stones. Meteorites of distraction. Exploding inside the eye. An unreliable mind. Making a mess. Making amends. The polar caps are melting. If my soul wore glasses. Sorry, I'm in the middle of self-deprecating. Any new thoughts on death? What do you do when your dreams are dying? Just stay focused. Pray for good ideas. Pray for clarity, flow, and quality. Pray to the art gods. Pray for enlightenment, a peaceful death, and a ripe avocado (or whichever comes first). Traversing the valley. Attacked by self-doubt. Climbing the mountain. Hovering along the cliffs of madness. Peace in the abstract. Preferring to live in metaphor. Just another hot mess.

Hot Mess in progress

It's just around the corner...  a year of work to be shown at Civil Coffee in a few weeks.  What will the opening have in store for Jawsh???

Happy New Year

 Today we went to my parents' home to celebrate the new year by making Korean mandu. Afterwards, they spent the night playing a traditional Korean board game called Yut Nori (Yunnori). Instead of dice, wooden sticks are thrown which determine the amount of spaces a player can move. The kids had a great time playing... when will we do this again???

Happy New Years Eve

 The last night of Chanukah and also the New Year!  We have so many blessings to be thankful for... what will this new year bring???

Happy Chanukah (again)

Another night of hosting Chanukah is a lot of work but we just had to celebrate with friends!  We changed up the menu with vegetarian chili and latkes (which was delicious) and had our largest game of dreidel...  we had 16 people play.    The kids had a blast and it was fun hosting!  I don't know when we will host an event again this large, so this will do for the rest of the year!  When is Chanukah in 2017???

Happy Chanukah

Happy Chanukah!  The tradition of the Smith-Shields celebration happened this year!  The kids had a great time playing with K and meeting his younger brother, K.  We enjoyed each other's company over matzo ball soup and yummy latkes!  When will we celebrate with them again???

Gingerbread house

The boys got to spend a little extra time with Uncle Zack today building their gingerbread house.  They each had a side to decorate and they had a lot of fun eating the treats.  When will we see Uncle Zack again???

Sing

The kids got to watch the movie, Sing, with Uncle Zack and Kelly Emo.  This was a great Christmas gift because the kids really wanted to see this movie.  Jawsh and I went to another show and saw Dr. Strange.  What movie will they want to see next???

Merry Christmas

The kids really enjoy spending Christmas together.  They are so happy to celebrate and sing songs in front of the family.  This year, Micah played the ukulele while Kaitlyn and Emma sang, "Jingle Bells," and Noah played the song "Sleigh Ride Holiday" on the piano.  The boys opened their gifts and received Nerf guns and bullets from "Santa Billy." My favorite part of the evening was when we played Pie Face Showdown.  What will Christmas bring next year???

Early gifts

In an untraditional move, Jawsh allowed the boys to open one Christmas/Chanukah gift of his choosing early.  With the barrage of toys, candy, and gifts, Jawsh wanted to make sure that these two gifts stood out.  He gifted each son one of his favorite books: The Hobbit for Noah and The Amazing Spiderman for Micah.  He also wrote a personal message to each one of them.  Do the boys know how lucky they are???