Poor Malibu!

On Saturday we went back out to the coast to enjoy the CA beaches one more time. We went to Malibu because it is beautiful and the water and sand are a bit cleaner than the southern beaches.

Poor Malibu, now it is up in flames.

Saturday night the Santa Ana winds kicked up, with the 90 degree heat and dry conditions things were perfect for wild fires. Currently there are fires all over So Cal. We appear to be safe, there are fires to the west, east, and south of us but there is a lot of cement between us and the nearest fire.
The current concern for us is the air quality, it is getting brown and dingy from the smoke and dust being blown around. The local news has been warning people with respiratory problem to stay inside, and some schools are not allowing kids to play outdoors for recess. Since Sean falls into the "breathing problem" crowd I am keeping an ear on him.

The winds were very extrem this weekend. On Sunday we headed out to the church we have been attending, it is in the Simi Valley. The winds were so high that trucks were pulled over on the freeway unable to drive. After the church service was over we exited to find that a few trees had fallen on cars in the parking lot. With the winds being as high as they were, Jason had parked clear of all trees, so our car was fine.

Wow, extrem heat, flash floods, and now wild fires, CA is giving us quite the weather related disaster experience.


So here are some pictures from our Saturday at the beach. This is Malibu.


Yes, I know he needs a hair cut. I have tried, he keeps crying and holding his hands on his head when we go to get it done. Little stinker, I don't know where he gets his stubborn strong will from.




We started the day in Malibu were we enjoyed the sun and sand. We then headed south to Santa Monica, during Sean's car nap we drove to Venice beach, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa beach, then onto Redondo beach. After checking them all out we headed back to Venice beach for the rest of the day.

Venice seemed to have the most beautiful waterfront, with a long winding boardwalk, white sand, kids playgrounds, and a permanent street fair along the water. Well, Venice may be an extremly popular and well know beach but wow, it was quite an experience. I have to save the pictures and comments from that for another day, this post would be too long if I added it all right now.


You may remember from my previous post that Jason loves the water and Sean is very happy with the dry land. Well, here he is again trying to talk Sean into going into the water.








And he's off!!


Sorry Jason, maybe Ethan will be the water boy.


For now he is on his own.....


swimming in the Pacific ocean in mid October. Koo koo


We then visited the famous Santa Monica Pier.

The pier is a historical Los Angeles landmark, it is 1080 feet long, built in 1909.




This picture is looking North onto the Santa Monica beach. The beach is usually peppered with people, however we were there early, plus it is October.



The pier has an amusement park, restaurants, and an aquarium. This particular Saturday there was a children's concert going on. This giant octopus was greeting kids as they came into the concert area. At first Sean was excited to see him, then as he got closer and realized the plush sea creature was moving......



he turned and dived into the safety of his stroller.



On our way out of Santa Monica we saw this in our rear view mirror.



I guess it is a super nice Lamborghini. Jason and Sean were excite to see it, I however was a little distracted with the sidewalk we almost drove onto while Jason tried to take pictures of it.


Sarah

We found a Pumpin Patch!

well, not really.......we found a parking lot with hay and pumpkins. That seems to be the best we can do in L.A., a tent, some hay, and pumpkins.


On a busy road.


Sean really loves pumpkins, but even he knew this was no pumpkin patch.



There was a "pumpkin salesman" who followed us around trying to make the sale. He kept saying things like, "wow, your little boy sure likes that one" (insert sleazy car salesman voice), and "oh, you should have seen his face light up when he saw the big one over there!"

It was appropriate for them to have a salesman because you needed a loan to afford the prices on their pumpkins!



A parking lot, pumpkins, palm trees, flip flops, salesmen, and 94 degrees, it was not quite the Fall experience we are used to back in WA.



After we finally shook off the saleman we let our little pumpkin lover run around and enjoy the "experience".



A little pumpkin for Ethan too!



There was a whole selection of airbrushed pumpkins you could purchase. It is more popular to paint pumpkins down here because of the heat. If you carve them they will rot, it is just too warm.



Ah ha! The perfect little pumpkin for Sean.

Sean and I will only be here for another week so we tried to keep the pumpkin purchasing to a minimum. The salesman tried to sell us a pumpkin carving kit for this little pumpkin, Jason was not amused.





These are called "Cinderella" pumpkins. I don't think I have seen these up in WA, they are really fairy tale looking. Very cool. I know lot's of little girls back home who would loooove these!



Oh yes, there was a petting farm at the "patch" too. It was $4 per person, and consisted of a goat, a sheep, 2 bunnies and a duck.



A few weeks ago I received several pictures from different people back home showing there day at the pumpkin patches (thanks! I loved them). Hay rides, fall hats and gloves, apple cider, corn mazes, ahhhh I miss Snohomish and it's many patches! I plan on taking Sean to a real patch as soon as we land back home, he will love it (mud, rain and all).



Enjoy your pumpkins!

Sarah

Announcing.......

Ethan James Brouwer

Yup, we finally choose a name for our next little bundle of boy.

Ethan means strong and optimistic, solid and enduring, or permanent.

Ethan will be joining all of us on January 15th at 12:00 pm. Nope, it's not mothers intuition, it was the surgery center at Evergreen calling and telling me that's when I am scheduled for my c-section. Now don't write that in permanent ink on your calendars just yet, we all know what happened to Mr. Sean's due date....

I am so happy to be able to put a name to all the kicking and squirming going on within me. It is also nice to tell Sean about Ethan, instead of always referring to baby brother (although when Sean say's Ethan is sounds like E-fan). So there you go, Jason, Sarah, Sean and Ethan, that's our little family.

Sarah

Pastry Heaven!

This is Porto's, it is pastry heaven.

Porto's is a Cuban bakery on Hollywood Way, I have to pass it twice a day taking Jason to and from work. Yea, I know, it's mean. There it is, a big fancy bakery, begging for me to come in and taste it's wares.



I first went into Porto's during my hunt for decent coffee (that is something I will have to post about another time). Instead I found this!!!! This is only one of the many cases of wicked, yummy, super tasty pastries. The selection just goes on and on and on.


At first I was trying to be casual, holding my camera down low, trying to be inconspicuous.


Whoa! Look at those baked pieces of buttery flaky heaven! Hello!


Soon I abandoned all pride and just nuzzled right up to the glass case and started taking pictures of my new found loves. I mean come on....just look at that!!!


These are the lengths I go to to bring you the best journalistic experience I can. I just had to show you this place! Look, there are orchids on those coconut covered little cake thingy's.


Don't mind the little blonde boy running free in the bakery.


Well, Hello there lover!


Having no shame, I continue to snap away.


I figure hey, I'm pregnant, whose going to say anything.



This bakery is not helping me keep my pregnancy weight down. I think I gained a few pounds just taking these pictures.


Shhhh, don't tell my thighs about that one.


If it weren't for the embarrassment I was bringing on myself by bending over and pressing my camera up to the cases, I would have taken even more pictures for you.


In order to truly bring you the best journalistic experience I can, I had to, of course, taste the pastries that I had just embarrassed myself for. Yes, I ate these for you!

This is a pear and cream cheese danish, and an apple turnover.


Oh man! the pear/cream cheese danish is worth the flight down here, seriously.


Whoa there Mr, grabby.......that's one way to get your little hand smacked!


Sean and I have gone to Porto's a few times now. The other day when we were stopped at the light next to Porto's Sean yells "look mom, it's our bakery. Let's get some pastries!" Jason turned and raised an accusatory eyebrow at me. "Oh, hee hee, where does that kid come up with these things. hee hee hee".

Ok, we don't have room for everybody, so you will have to take turns flying down to get your pastries.

I hope I didn't ruin anybody's diet.

Sarah

Book Report

Don't run away screaming! You don't have to do a book report. Relax, my sister is the English teacher not me.

I must warn you that I am a non-fiction reader. I don't have anything against fiction, it just isn't my cup o tea. I have been known to read text books for fun so you may want to take that into consideration before reading my recommendations.

I just finished this book.



If you have ever been interested in the Nature vs. Nurture debate, you will really enjoy this book. It is a memoir written by two identical twins that were separated at birth for a research study! No, this is not Germany 1940, it was New York 1968! Crazy huh.

The twins were put up for adoption by there mother who suffered from schizophrenia and was unable to care for them. The adoption agency at that time was involved in a study looking into nature vs. nurture and was separating identical twins to study them in different environments. The adopted children and the adopting parents were never informed that there was another twin, or that the maternal mother suffered from a psysiological disorder (which is hereditary).

So if you take two people who have identical DNA and put them in two different environments will they turn out different? This book is not only interesting from a scientific point of view it is extremely intriguing from an ethical stand point as well.

The twins both turned out to be journalists so the book is very well written. They did tons of research and reference several very interesting twin studies done throughout history. In the fist several chapters the authors take you on their emotional journey finding out they are a twin and then finding there twin. I do not particularly enjoy dwelling on strangers emotions so I found the first few chapters a bit hard to wade though. Once you pass that it is really an excellent read!

Here is a link to an excerpt from the book and a video clip of the authors.


So get yourself a hot cup of coffee or tea, some miniature construction equipment, a cozy pair of PJ's and a warm blanket, now get reading! That's an order!



Before I read "Identical Strangers" I read this book.


I am not sure why I chose this one, I think it is because it says "Best Seller" and the quote on the front cover says, "I laughed so hard I began snorting in an unbecoming fashion". Who doesn't want to snort in an unbecoming fashion? Sign me up!

This book is cover to cover sarcasm, and while the author is very witty it becomes a bit tiring. There is no plot or story line, just a funny southern woman ranting about life. If you have any connection with the south you will probably love this book. It is well written and an easy read, if you read it you will laugh.


I am currently diving into this book.


Jason says I can't seem to read a book that doesn't revolve around medicine. True, but he can't seem to read a book that isn't authored by a Navy Seal, so there.

Ever since I read "The Great Influenza" I have been interested in books about disease and it's epidemiology. After reading about the 1918 flu pandemic I began to understand why my grandparents didn't trust doctors :). The history of how we have come to our current understanding of the human body, it's functions, and diseases is very interesting.

Ok, maybe it is only interesting to me, but remember in medical school I had to read medical text books for years and dissect a human body, you don't just walk away from that with normal tastes in literature!


I find myself reading this book over and over! It is a must read!


The plot is predictable, but the heroine of the story will melt your heart. "An itty-bitty mouse, pitter-pat, tip-toe, creep-crawls in the cave from the fluff-cold snow."



Well, I don't want to ruin the ending so I will stop there!


This is the book I should be reading!




Sean is currently engrossed in the latest printing of the "Lowes Lawn Mower" flyer. Again, the plot is predictable and the cast of characters is the same as always, but Sean can't put it down!



Ok, it's your turn. What have you been reading? What do you recommend?

Sarah