Aloha! (Spring Break)

Horton and I spent our spring break on the Big Island of Hawaii.

I spent some time walking the shoreline, looking for tidal pools, where I might find some minnows to catch, and taking breaks just to soak up the beauty of it all.

I visited Volcanoes National Park.

 Oh yeah, Bampa and Grace came, too.  Bamma was camera-shy.

I walked through a lava tube, which was pretty wet inside, contrary to how I thought it would be.  (The red stuff is reflected lighting not hot lava, unfortunately.)

 We hung out by the beach and pool much of the time.

Grace hiked into the Waipi'o Valley.

And she wrote messages to the gods in the black sand.

I went on a grueling hike in search of petroglyphs.

 I scanned the tidal pools for sea turtles and more minnows.

The rest of my crew did a bit of snorkeling.

And Aunt B. buried me in the sand.  I can't wait to go back!

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Girl

 Grace's artwork was included in an exhibition at Loyola Marymount University over the last month.

 She and her classmates worked on their own versions of works by the artist Jacob Lawrence, from his Migration Series.

 This is Grace's piece.

For the artists' reception she dressed like the creative force that she is.

Shredders Shredding!

The paparazzi scouting Mammoth caught me in my first ski lesson ever.

I was forced to learn quickly and show off my mad skills for the cameras.

 Meanwhile, Grace graduated to the chairlift in the afternoon.

 She and her pal Zoe mastered getting off the lift.

 Well, Zoe got it down.

 Grace, not so much.  But at least she fell down laughing.

She bombed down the mountain after her second day of lessons.

And she skied until they shut the lifts down for the day.

As for me, apres-ski time meant a little hot-tubbing with my girlfriend.  What a trip!

To the Mountains

 Last week, I headed up to Mammoth Mountain for a little end-of-winter-break skiing.

There wasn't that much snow, as you can see, so I spent some time exploring a nearby golf course.

I thought I might find some treasure out here, so I looked really hard for the X that marks the spot.

 I crawled through these bushes but found nothing but a lost golf ball.

My friends and I made the best of it.  And we did get in some skiing, which I'll tell you about in my next post.

Bring on the New Year!

 What better way to open a new year than to play non-stop with a new set of Legos?!

 This giant tried to take over the police station while I wasn't looking.

But I quickly rid the area of her evil ways and set about protecting the citizens of Lego City. 

Have a happy and safe New Year!

Another Christmas in the Books

This morning, we had a 7:00 o'clock call-time at the Christmas tree.

We didn't have time to change out of our jams or brush our hair.  We had work to do!

We both unwrapped Squishables, which we had discovered during our travels last month.

 I love my pineapple, and G. loves her gingerbread man.

I also received this Lego City police station set that I had been coveting for quite some time.  I was able to lift it so easily because I've been working out recently.

 I immediately set myself to putting it together.

Later, at Bamma and Bampa's house, I played with my new Lightning McQueen remote control car.

 And Grace practiced her handstands and cartwheels.
We hope everyone had a great day!

Eighty Degrees in the Snow

 It was a good thing that it snowed in L.A. today, because it was way too hot for December.

 We were able to cool off by working on a snowman.

 Or by just standing next to one.

 Later, we took to the sledding hill.

 I was so hot, I took my shirt off.

 And I almost flew off the platter.

Luckily, my dad's legs kept me belted in ... barely.

 Then it was back to throwing snowballs.

I wonder if the snow will still be there tomorrow.