On our way

The plan was for us to pack Wednesday, I would start to drive our Thursday and Mrs. M would fly out Friday. By Saturday, we would all be together and we would bask in planning effectiveness. Needless to say, it didn't happen that way. We discovered that we had a lot more stuff than we thought we did. Once we got to the stage that we were putting everything in boxes we felt DOOMED*! I would still be in California loading an ABF truck if it were not for the the many people helped us out. We are in debt to the Elder's quorum , family, co-workers and neighbors who assisted in packing our truck. I also should include a shout out to the ladies that helped watch our kids so we could pack.

Even with all this help we still had to pull an all-night "pack-fest" before Mrs. M's flight to Texas. When it was all said and done all our possessions were compressed into 10 linear feet plus what I could shove into our Toyota Corolla. I set off a more than 24 hours behind schedule and very much sleep deprived. For the safety conscious readers, don't worry. I didn't push myself too hard and pulled over for naps whenever I felt like I was drowsy. Any way here are some photos of our preparation for departure.

*Technically, I guess we could have used FedEx to ship us, but I didn't think it was worth pricing it.

Winding down in Los Angeles - TASTE

As we're preparing to leave, it seems only fitting that the weather be perfect, the sky gorgeously blue, and all our vacancies fill. Today we used up our last Groupon and tried a new restaurant for lunch, Taste. It has a location on Melrose and one in the Palisades, and we chose the Palisades to be able to say goodbye to the beach and the ocean. We took the whole family and were very pleasantly surprised by a lovely dining experience in all aspects: personable and sincere service, a comfortable ambiance, ample menu options, food that looked and tasted great, and good value.

We had some delicious fresh bread served with butter and hummus as we waited for our food to arrive. There was a lot of natural light in the restaurant, beautiful dark woods, and a comfortable, casual feel. One of my pet peeves is loud music in restaurants. Another one is feeling like you are too close to the neighboring table. Neither one applied here.

Ethan ordered the prix fix off the kids' menu. His fruit arrived first, a generous portion of blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and sliced bananas. His main course was a grilled cheese sandwich on thick toasted bread with a small bowl of tomato soup; Scott opted for a cheese pizzetta. I tasted them all, and they were yummy. Mr. M had a grilled chicken sandwich with mixed greens, and I had a Kobe Beef Burger with mixed greens. Mmmmm, that beef was so delicious.

We decided to splurge for dessert, since we were celebrating life. Ethan had vanilla gelato and Scott ordered a chocolate cupcake, which arrived topped with a raspberry on a plate sprinkled with powdered sugar. He picked it up to eat with his hands, like a normal cupcake, and I suggested that it would be more polite to use his fork. He obediently picked up his fork, skewered the cupcake, and lifted the entire thing to his mouth. I couldn't contain my laughter and assured him that it would be fine to use his hands. Mr. M and I shared a chocolate brioche bread pudding, which arrived warm, topped with crème anglaise, vanilla gelato, and a beautiful raspberry.

When we were all finished, Scott exclaimed, "That cupcake was so good that my face is all dirty!" He did seem to be wearing a good deal of chocolate around his mouth.

As we walked out after paying the bill, our waitress handed Michael a small paper bag with some hummus, such a nice touch to finish a perfectly delightful afternoon.

If anyone is looking for a place to celebrate or just enjoy a meal, I highly recommend Taste. I also have a coupon for a free chocolate brioche bread pudding, which must be used by August 15th. I doubt that I'll be able to use it since we are leaving so soon. Any takers?

News

Mr. M has a new job, and we are moving to a new city! We are going to miss our friends and especially our GeroStudent here in the land of perfect weather and Trader Joe's, but we are looking forward to living in a house with a yard, breathing clean air, and letting the kids grow up with grandparents and cousins close by.

Here is the house that isn't ours quite yet, but will be soon. We hope you'll stop and visit when you're passing through Texas. (If you need more pictures, please visit this link.)

Summer fun

In the summer, we have lots of fun. The boys make up homework pages for each other. I found one yesterday, designed by Scott. There was a picture of a HUGE pig and these words:

"This pig is sick of waiting to learn how to count to one hundred. Help him."

New Zealand

To celebrate 10 years of marriage, Mr. M and I spontaneously took advantage of an amazing $399 round-trip fare from LAX to Auckland! All the details of childcare and time off worked out; Grandma M came to watch the boys and Uncle M helped a lot. Elizabeth came with us and was a fantastic traveler.

We had direct flights both ways which were about 12 hours. Easy. Elizabeth slept most of the way in the fold-down bassinets in our bulkhead seats. Here she is, modeling a bassinet:

We rented a car for freedom to toodle. Driving on the left, with the steering wheel on the right, was an exercise in mental dexterity and required CONSTANT VIGILANCE.

New Zealand is stunningly beautiful. Everywhere we went, we saw green, green, and more green. There were huge tree-like ferns, sandy beaches, volcanic islands, rocky coasts, hot pools, bubbling mud, mist-covered mountains and forests...

The above 2 pictures are from Whangarei Falls.

Tear your eyes away from this gorgeous creature and check out the bubbling mud in the background. This is at Te Puia in Rotorua.

We ate really well: the best Thai food I've ever tasted, hot and salty fish and chips that I doused in malt vinegar (sooooo good!), a very tender filet mignon, a traditional cooked-in-the-ground meal, and lots of pineapple lumps. Here is some video commentary from one of my favorite lunches (this was on Waiheke island) :

In Rotorua, we went to a Mauri cultural night with warriors in canoes, a meal cooked in the ground, the haka, and a walk through the forest.

I felt really fierce making this face, but the photo just reminds me of what Elizabeth looked like when she had her first taste of zucchini.

We found that the people in New Zealand were exceptionally warm and very accommodating for travelers with children. There were special lines at the airport for us, special parking spaces, and lots of smiles and niceness.

The main reason that we went to New Zealand was to visit our dear friends:

Dean took us to the Bay of Islands, and we took a boat tour out to the Hole in the Rock. There were dolphins swimming with our boat!



Our boat went right through that hole!

We had a wonderful time, and I hope to return to New Zealand with the whole family someday!