State of mind

Do you remember last summer? The one where we moved abruptly, Dave had surgery for a double hernia, and Zach was either at the hospital or in a doctor's office every other day? And I gained 10 pounds? Yeah, that one. We didn't really *do* much of anything last summer because we were just trying to get through each day.

But we're starting to put that behind us now, and this summer we are...dare I say it?...starting to have some fun. I mean, we went to Bakersfield, for crying out loud - how much more fun does it get than that?

Also last week I celebrated an anniversary of sorts - the 15-year marker of the day I moved to California (thanks, Suzi and Bill, for the "anniversary" card, by the way). And it's funny because although I've seen some parts of California a lot (I'm looking at you, Palm Springs), there are many, many, many places that I still have left to see.

Last weekend we went to Fresno on a blogger trip I organized, with sponsorship from a few California farm advocacy groups. We had 5 bloggers and their families; 9 kids total. The farm folks absolutely outdid themselves with their hospitality: the hotel was nice, the meals were great, and the tour bus was amazing. Not only did the bus make it easy for the kids to hang out, walk around, etc. on the driving part of the tour; the farm folks made it as comfortable as possible by stocking the bus with massive coolers filled with every drink and snack known to man. So you can see why the four boys who were between ages 7 and 9 spent most of the trip huddled in the back of the bus talking about the merits of sodas vs. sports drinks, and so on.

Trip highlight: Luke won the contest to find and pick the biggest blueberry at the berry farm.

All told, we went to three farms and one (olive oil) factory. It was hot - like 100 degrees hot. And we did a lot of walking and so forth. So even though the kids love picking fruit more than just about anything, I kind of understood Zach's response when I asked him if he wanted to go pick some peaches at one more farm before we drove home: "No, I'm good."

Yesterday I was invited to a party/premiere of "The Odd Life of Timothy Green," to which I brought Luke and his best pal Blake. Even though the party was at a super-hot park (what can I say; we are spoiled at the beach and we can't handle the heat), the boys enjoyed the tug-of-war and the sack races. Then they enjoyed the air-conditioned bus ride to the movie even more (what is it with us and tour buses this week?). Then they were both absolutely tickled by all of the crazy characters walking the streets in Hollywood, and they can't wait to go back and see the "Museum of Death."

What they didn't care about was the fact that we got to meet Jennifer Garner, the star of the movie. And they totally missed the fact that to get in to the movie (at the historic Grauman's Chinese Theater) we actually walked past the milling crowds, behind the ropes, and down a green carpet (Timothy Green, get it?) with paparrazzi shooting pictures of us. (They shouted, "Who are you wearing?" and I yelled back, "Gap and Old Navy!") All they knew is that we were going to a movie. And all I could do was grin a big goofy grin, because this was definitely one quintessential California activity that I hadn't done before.

The boys' schedules are a mess this summer; Luke is doing beach camp Tues-Thurs mornings and Zach is doing the same beach camp on M-W-F afternoons so that he can be with two of his best pals (and now a third buddy whom he met at the camp). Yesterday he and his new pal won a sand castle contest, building something that the counselors called, "absolutely amazing." I am completely flummoxed, however, by the prize they got for winning the contest: Bubble gum. "What did you do with your bubble gum?" I asked him. He shrugged. "I threw it in the trash can." Fortunately, as part of the swag from the movie event, they had given us these Olympic-style medals from the field games - so I made a big presentation of giving one to him, and he wore it proudly for the next two days.

I have one other big event coming up this week; a behind-the-scenes tour of Dodger Stadium for food bloggers. This one's a real California first for me, although it's a cruel irony that it's me doing it and not Dave. And I don't really eat Dodger dogs. But I understand it's one of those true Angeleno experiences, so I might just have to, you know, take one for the team.