Sorem Stories

Half the Man He Used to Be

2009-02-05T23:00:00.000-08:00

Our Andrew LOVES the Beatles song Yesterday. I play it almost every morning on the way to school for him. If I try to play something else, I hear about it. He LOVES the song.

Sometimes we can get him to sing it, which Robin and I love. We’ve been working on getting him to sing it for us on camera for a while. It looks like we are going to have to wait a while longer. After trying to get him to sing it on camera, he had a little accident and is now a little camera shy.

Here is the video we took of him singing and playing guitar back in September 2008. Let’s just say that thankfully no one was seriously injured in the making of this video. And despite the title, Andrew is really not half the man he used to be. This one never ceases to make Robin and I crack up. We hope you enjoy!

If the video does not appear above, here is the link.

Dylan's First Month

2009-02-01T23:30:00.000-08:00

This is just a quick entry about a few things about Dylan’s first month - eat, poop, cry, sleep, pee, eat, sleep, cry, poop . . . you get the idea.

The couple of days after we got home from the hospital were crazy. Something was not right with Dylan, but we did not know exactly what. He cried all the time (as if in pain) and needed to be held 24/7 though that did not provide comfort. We thought it might have something to do with his complete lack of bowel movements. On his first Saturday, we went to see the doctor about the problem. She suggested giving Dylan a glycerin suppository - can you say "Daddy job." This worked fine to help generate one movement, but after that, the problem got worse. On his first Monday, we went back to see Dr. Rubenstein about the problem. Dr. Rubenstein checked him over thoroughly and said that some babies are more difficult than others, but that it could be a gastrointestinal issue. Within two minutes after Dr. Rubenstein handed Dylan back to us, we were chatting with the appointment scheduler, who we know very well, and Dylan loudly "cleared" the blockage. Since then, Dylan has generally been just fine. Evidently Dr. Rubenstein can do it all - he can even make babies poop!

Crying is one of Dylan's activities. He's not so bad, but he's a baby - they cry. We got at least one good shot of him letting it all go!

Dylan Crying

Robin, as she did with both other boys, is breastfeeding Dylan. I don’t have a vivid recollection of this with the other boys, but since Dylan is right here right now, I see it. His tongue is very white. It’s the milk. But it is not white on the end, it is white way back in his mouth. I had been trying for days to get a good picture of him sticking out his tongue, but that is a game of patience. Something Robin is more than willing to tell you that I am lacking. But then, at about two weeks of age, I finally got it.

Dylan’s White Tongue at Two Weeks

Dylan’s brothers just love him. Andrew wants to hold him all the time. Noah always wants to “see Baby Dylan’s eyes.” This is only problematic when he is sleeping – which is most of the time! Both of them are incredibly gentle with Dylan, which is truly a blessing. Both of them are also somewhat willing to help with things for Dylan – get diapers, get wipes, throw away diapers, etc. Trust me, we need all the help we can get!

Dylan had his first bottle at 4 weeks of age. I fed him first and then Andrew joined in to feed him. It was great. And Dylan took the bottle just fine. He downed over 4 ounces of milk in 10 minutes. The kid loves to drink. Noah got a shot with the second bottle too - everyone joins in the act!

Daddy Giving Baby Dylan His First Bottle

Up Close and Personal

Andrew's Turn

Noah's Turn on the Second Bottle

Dylan just started smiling at us near the end of his first month. We finally were able to capture it. It’s sweet. Here are a couple shots of the smiles.

Dylan is also growing like a weed. At his one month doctor visit, he had gained 3 pounds and grown 2.5 inches. They stay small for such a short time. One month down, hopefully zillions to go.

Andrew is Six and in First Grade

2009-01-26T21:30:00.000-08:00

Andrew turned six years old on August 5, 2008. While it is hard to believe he’s six, he shows no signs of slowing down! First grade is in full swing, he is enamoured with Star Wars, and I am quite sure that he is one of the most persistent six year olds around. After recently spending a week with him, Nana refers to him as tenacious - ya think!

Right around his birthday, we headed down to our local Picture People to get a couple of shots of the boys at the year (Andrew 6) and half year (Noah 3.5) mark. Conveniently, Andrew’s birthday is August 5th and Noah’s is February 21st, so this works out great for us.

Here is the Picture People handiwork - not nearly as good as the Brigitte Patel handiwork…

On August 25, 2008, Andrew started First grade at Ocean Air School. This year there were 200 more kids at the school than last year. The morning of the first day, we walked ourselves up to the school. Everything felt very familiar and Andrew was right at home. We had gone up to the school on Sunday to make sure we knew exactly how to get to his classroom. He was ready – Darth Vader backpack and all. We arrived at the school early enough to give him time to find a few friends and make it into class no problem. He has several good friends from his Kindergarten class in his new class. His teacher is Mrs. Julie Cunningham. So far, it has been a great year.

Running Off to First Grade

With His Darth Vader Backpack

Andrew and Pregnant Mommy Outside His Class

Andrew and Daddy

Andrew and Noah Playing Tether Ball Before School Starts

Andrew and Annika (by Brigitte Patel)

Andrew Walking Into Class

Andrew at His Desk

Mrs. Cunningham (After a Semester, We Know That She is Awesome)

Working Away in First Grade

Just after lunchtime on his first day, we got a note from a friend of ours, the mother of one of the kids in Andrew’s class, indicating that she had been up at the school at lunchtime and seen Andrew “wondering” around the lunch tables. She helped him find a friend and he sat down to enjoy his lunch. While she probably just mistyped, boy is that our Andrew – wondering around – he is one of the best wonderers we know!

Andrew's Special Time with Nana & Grampster

2009-01-15T07:00:00.000-08:00

On August 10, 2008, Robin, Noah and I left Andrew in the capable hands of my parents. The three of us took off on a drive back home to San Diego from the Slade Family Reunion 2008 and left Andrew for a week of adventure.

From what I gather, everyone had a good time and Andrew did pretty well. He tired out his Nana & Grampster; he caught two rainbow trout (Nana and Grampster did not catch any, so Andrew skunked them); he enjoyed clapping and calling for Tiska (my parents Samoyed dog); he picked a few fresh berries from the garden; he learned how to put a washer and a nut on a bolt (to hold up a mailbox); he caused Nana & Grampster a little frustration – all as it should be. We got periodic updates from Andrew and from my mom and dad as well, but we did our best to just let them all share time together. My memories of my time with my grandparents have always been important to me and we certainly want our boys to have their own.

My mom sent a couple of cell phone photos of Andrew catching his trout. I think it was the highlight of the week for Nana & Grampster – and for Andrew too.

Andrew's Trout

Meanwhile, back in San Diego, Robin, Noah and I had a VERY quiet week. It is amazing how quiet the house was with just little Noah around. Not that I liked it better than normal mind you, but it was interesting to have such a quiet house. Occasionally we’d have to look around to make sure Noah was still there…. Every time, he was.

I flew up to Reno in the evening on Friday, August 15th. My Dad picked me up and we drove up to Susanville. It was very nice to have some down time to chat with my Dad. Both he and Mom are taking well to a less pressure filled life in Susanville. Thankfully.

When we arrived at the Roseberry House, Andrew was all ready for bed, but waiting for me. I got one of those, “I REALLY MISSED YOU DADDY” hugs, which I love. It was a little past bedtime, so I put him to sleep right thereafter and my parents followed.

The next morning we had some breakfast trout (my mother’s favorite meal). Andrew tried it out and had 10 or so bites before deciding he’d had enough. After breakfast, we all piled into the car and headed to the Plumas-Sierra County Fair over in Quincy (about 60 miles away). The fair was a small old time county fair. There were a couple of rides, some food, some crafts and some animals. Andrew was most taken by the rides, which allowed Nana & Grampster some time to relax (after they bought enough ride tickets to keep Andrew busy). Andrew’s favorite ride was the bumper cars – which I rode with him so that there was someone with a leg long enough to hold the gas down (barely).

Andrew Ready to Ride at the Fair

Andrew also picked out a few goodies from the U.S. Forest Service camping demonstration area. Typical Andrew, he picked out 4 things when the limit was 2. After negotiating with the Ranger for 5 minutes, he somehow accepted that he was only going to get 2 things “right now.” Thankfully the lure of another Icee drink made him forget about going back for more. In fact, it even kept him still enough to take a picture with my camera phone of Nana, Grampster and Andrew.

Grampster, Andrew & Nana at the Fair

On the drive back, we stopped right near Canyon Dam on Lake Almanor for a quick break. Andrew had been sleeping, but he woke up as we pulled into the rest spot. I asked if he wanted to get out and he said yes, so we did. As we walked over toward my parents, we started to notice several large birds circling overhead. And then more and more and more. All told there must have been between 20 and 30 golden eagles or some type of hawk (Cooper’s, Red-tailed, Rough-legged) circling overhead. Several of them swooped down to within 30 yards of us. It was quite a sight to behold. If only I had my SLR with the new 75-300mm Image Stabilization Lens!

After we got back to Susanville, we washed up and enjoyed dinner. As an encore, we did some Susanville Special Fireworks. Always a Nana & Grampster treat.

Andrew Double Fisted Sparkler

Andrew Enjoying

Andrew & Nana Doing Fireworks Together

Spinner in Action

On Sunday we played around with Tiska, watched Fox and the Hound (at least Andrew did – first time ever), and enjoyed the time with my parents before heading back down to Reno for the flight home. Andrew did just fine on the flight home. After we got over to baggage claim, Andrew saw Robin and Noah. He gave Robin one of those “WOW – I AM SO GIDDY TO SEE YOU” hugs, which she loved. He also gave Noah a big hug – to the point that they were falling down on the ground just outside baggage claim. Andrew confessed to having a lot of fun with Nana and Grampster and wanting to go spend time with them again sometime. As it should be….

Never a Dull Moment

2009-01-11T15:30:00.000-08:00

Things are never calm for long in the Sorem household....

The night after Robin, Dylan and I came home from the hospital, Andrew and Noah were running around the family room after dinner. Andrew slipped and fell and cut his chin open on the hardwood floor. After determining that the wound was pretty deep and likely needed stitches, Robin, Andrew, Dylan (with bili-blanket in tow) and I headed off to urgent care. Thankfully Nana was in San Diego (for the birth and to help out) and was able to stay with Noah.
Thankfully the wait time was not too bad for a Saturday night. When Andrew was triaged, the nurse taped a numbing solution to his chin and let us know that it was going to take some significant measures to fix up. The doctor came in a few minutes later and gave us a choice of staples or stitches. As staples go in quicker, we opted for that. Of course, as with all things Andrew, the nurses had to strap him down. First they put his arms behind his back into a pillowcase and then they wrapped a sheet around him. Kind of like a mummy. That didn’t stop a ton of kicking and screaming. But it did allow us (two nurses and I) to hold him down enough to let the doctor staple him twice and close up the wound.

Here is a picture of Andrew’s chin with the staples….

Never a dull moment.

Dylan All Lit Up

2009-01-11T15:15:00.000-08:00

Dylan (like Andrew, but unlike Noah) was a little jaundiced just after birth. Jaundice is a condition caused by excessive bilirubin levels in the blood that are not able to be processed normally by the liver. Our pediatrician, Dr. Rubenstein, kept us in the hospital for a day longer than we had hoped (we hoped to go home after one night) to give Dylan a chance to get his bilirubin levels down.

To treat jaundice, they give the baby phototherapy. At the hospital, they put Dylan under these large lights so that the light will cause the bilirubin to break down and then processed by the body.

Here are two pictures of Dylan under the lights at the hospital.

After a little intense phototherapy at the hospital, Dr. Rubenstein let us go home with Dylan on a bili-blanket. He was on the bili-blanket for about a week. The blanket is really a flat pad with a jacket that goes around the baby. It is attached by a long grey hose to a special machine that makes the flat pad light up on the baby's back.

Dylan on his bili-blanket - see what I mean...

Andrew and Noah kept asking us why Dylan had a tail (the grey hose constantly attached to him). Fortunately we got rid of the tail after a week!

DYLAN JOSEPH SOREM

2009-01-11T15:00:00.000-08:00

By now the word is out. We are now a family of five. Andrew said it best the other night when he exclaimed – “Mommy, Daddy, we are a big family now.” I don’t know if big is the right word for it just yet, but it surely isn’t small.

On December 10, 2008, Dylan Joseph Sorem arrived. Our life has not been the same since. Dylan was born at 3:05pm at Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, CA. He weighed in at 7 pounds, 12 ounces and measured 20.5 inches long. Dylan was right between both other boys on both counts (Andrew was 8 pounds, 2 ounces and measured 21.5 inches long and Noah was 7 pounds 5 ounces and measured 20 inches long). Dylan’s head measured 13.75 inches in circumference and his chest measured 14 inches in circumference. We are blessed to have another healthy boy.

Five days before the birth, my mom flew in to be here for Dylan’s birth and to lend a hand thereafter. We were concerned she might not make it in time as Robin started having some fairly significant and regular contractions a couple days before she arrived. But she made it and has now been with us for Andrew, Noah and Dylan’s births. How special that Mom could be there with us and share in the birth of her three grandsons.

Our dear friend Theresa Pollock attended Dylan’s birth as well. Theresa and I go back more than 18 years now (we met at our Freshman Dorm at UC Berkeley). Theresa has a Master’s in Public Health, spent many years as an educator for Planned Parenthood and has attended many births. I think eventually she wants to become a doula to assist other women with their childbirth. She was with us for Andrew’s birth and was a tremendous help. She had to miss Noah’s birth because she had just delivered her daughter, Lauren, 18 days earlier. But she was there for this one. We owe her an incredible debt of gratitude for being there and for supplying many of the facts and figures of this shortened version of Dylan’s birth story.

On the morning of Wednesday, December 10, 2008, we dropped both Andrew and Noah off at their respective schools and headed to the hospital for a scheduled “induction.” Because Robin had gestational diabetes during this pregnancy, she was not allowed to go past her due date. We arrived at the hospital at 9:45am and were checked into Labor and Delivery Room number 238. Our nurse put a heparin (hep) lock in – so that they’d have a line into Robin just in case – and we waited for Dr. Wendy Buchi, Robin’s OB, to come in. Dr. Buchi came in around 10:15am, checked Robin’s cervix and declared she was 5 cm dilated already. At 10:30am, Dr. Buchi broke Robin’s bag of water to induce labor (her fluid level was indeed low and there was meconium present). We had used this same method (breaking the bag of water to induce labor) with Noah and it worked out pretty well. From 10:30am to 11am, the nurse had Robin on the fetal monitor. Everything was just fine.

With Noah, after Dr. Buchi broke Robin’s bag of water, we walked the hospital stairs to get labor rolling along. We had planned on doing the same thing this time around. When we inquired about walking stairs, the nurse told us that the stairs were blocked on this floor and they did not recommend it. I asked if the stairs were accessible from other floors and the nurse said that she guessed they would be. I told her that we would go and walk stairs for 30 minutes and then be back. She begrudgingly agreed. At 11am, we all walked out to the hospital stairs and began the process. With Noah, Robin and I walked up and down the 7 flights of stairs 8 or so times. At the end I was exhausted, Robin was fine and it had moved labor right along. So we followed a similar path for this labor. From 11am to 11:30am, Robin walked the 7 flights of stairs up and down 4 times. I did 2 sets and Theresa did 2 sets. It pays to have friends. At 11:30am, we went back for more monitoring. Again, everything was going fine. From 12pm to 12:30pm, Robin did the 7 flights another 4 times. Again Theresa and I split duties. My Mom watched over us and took a short banana break.

Robin on the Fetal Monitor After the First Round of Stair Walking

The Stairs

Walking a Set with Theresa

Robin then took a short break. My Mom and I ran down to the cafeteria and picked up some food for the helpers but not the laborer. We were hungry and the least we could do was feed my Mom and Theresa. During this time, Robin and Theresa walked around the Labor and Delivery area and Robin was starting to feel more significant contractions.

After my mom and I returned with food, Robin and I went back and did one final set of 7 flights of stairs. We were planning on doing 2 sets, but Robin said one was enough. At about 1:45pm, we arrived back at Room 238 and real significant more painful contractions had now begun. You could see the changes in Robin.

Group Discussion of the Pain

Trying to Help Work Through the Pain

Breathing Through the Pain

The nurse checked Robin again and she had progressed to between 6 and 7 cm. We were moving along. Labor seriously picked up from there. The contractions were coming a mile a minute (each lasted about 40 seconds, but they never really died out and came on every 2 minutes) and Robin was giving all she had to handle the pain. But she was doing it all by herself! No epidural, no nothing. There was a lot of side rocking back and forth to get through each contraction. After about half an hour of seriously intense contractions, during which Robin was being monitored, Robin took Theresa’s advice and got into the shower. The water of the shower on Robin’s back made the pain a little more bearable – a little more. Robin stayed in the shower for about 20 minutes and worked through many more contractions.

Working Through Contractions in the Shower

After Robin got out of the shower, Dr. Buchi checked her and she was at 9cm. Robin was really struggling at this point to work through the pain.

Serious Pain

Dr. Buchi and the nurse started preparing the room and trying to get Robin in position to give birth. Dr. Buchi tried EVERYTHING (birthing chair, bar, standing up, over the top of the bed, etc), but nothing was working for Robin. And I mean nothing. And Robin was in MASSIVE (back) pain at this point. At one point, Robin screamed out – “Why is no one listening to me?” We were all listening, but nothing was working. Dr. Buchi finally had Robin laying on her side and burying into me.

Dylan is Seriously Close to Coming Out

That’s when Robin screamed out that Dylan’s head was crowning. Robin started pushing on her side and then was flipped onto her back. With two pushes Baby Dylan was born.

Mommy & Daddy Greeting Baby Dylan

Daddy Cutting the Cord

Daddy & Dylan Having a Talk

Nana Meeting Baby Dylan

Pretty Cute for Son #3

Dr. Buchi and Dylan

The Pout

The Pain Pregnancy is Over!

Aunt Theresa Meeting Dylan

We chose Dylan as his first name in respect of my grandmother (Deon) and Joseph as his middle name in respect of my grandfather (Milton Joseph) and both because of their meaning and origin. The meanings of his first and middle name are below:

Dylan - Meaning: a legendary sea-hero; Origin: Welsh

Joseph - Meaning: God shall add (another son); Origin: Hebrew

Another son we have… Perhaps he’ll be a legendary sea hero…

An hour after the birth, Dylan started to nurse for the first time. Robin is an old pro, so everything went very well with nursing. Another hour later, we placed the call to my sister, Karin, to get the word out about the birth. She took down the info and sent off the mass email about the birth.

A bit later that evening, our dear friend Brigitte Patel, who had watched over Andrew and Noah for the afternoon, brought the boys down to the hospital to meet their baby brother. How sweet it was.

Andrew & Noah (The Big Brothers) Greeting Baby Dylan

The New Family of 5 (Our "Big" Family)

Dylan Resting Peacefully

Now we’re a family of 5 and we have our Dylan Joseph. Our family acronym is now – ERAND (in order), EANDR (E and R), RANDE (R and E) or ERDNA (ER DNA – which is exactly what made all this happen…)

A couple of days later we took him home from the hospital. We were delighted to be home with him.

Dylan in his Carseat - Ready to Go Home

We'll leave all with a parting shot of Dylan, taken on day 2 of his life, by our photo expert friend, Brigitte Patel. Just two words for this one - Simply Beautiful....

Slade Family Reunion 2008

2008-12-07T22:30:00.000-08:00

Back in June of 2006, the four of us, my parents and Karin all went out to Mustang Island in Port Aransas, Texas for the Slade Family Reunion 2006. As reported then, my Mom, Charmy Sorem, was nominated to plan the 2008 reunion. Mom planned the reunion for the weekend of August 8 -10, 2008 in Ravendale, California at the Spanish Springs Resort. Given the turnout and all the smiles throughout the weekend, a good time was had by all.

My maternal grandmother, Deon Slade Evans, was one of five siblings, Arlee (Slade) Seaverson, Frieda (Slade) Fiero, Shirlee (Slade) Blackner, Deon Slade Evans and Joseph (Buzz) Slade Jr. Those five produced 18 “Slade” first cousins. We call them the Slade cousins. Instead of a secret handshake, the cousins can do a rousing version of the Wyoming fight song – Ragtime Cowboy Joe.

On Thursday August 7, 2008, just after 1pm, Robin, Andrew and I picked up Noah from his camp at Beth Am Preschool and started our drive north to Susanville. While the drive is always long, we managed to make it in less than 12 hours this time (thank you cooperative boys)! We arrived at the Roseberry House at about 12:30am. The boys had fallen asleep just after 10pm outside of Minden/Gardnerville, Nevada and both transitioned into their beds in the house very nicely.

We woke on Friday morning to Andrew coming into our room (he had slept in a different room downstairs) with a cute card and six one dollar bills. Richard and Judi Ernst, co-proprietors of the Roseberry House with my parents, had given him the card for his 6th birthday and he was very excited. He laid out the bills one by one. After Andrew got us up, Robin and I went downstairs (Noah continued to sleep) to say hello to Debbie and Curt Swiger (Aunt Debbie is my Mom’s only first cousin on her father Milton Joseph Evans’ side of the family) and Michael and Lynda Evans (Uncle Mike is my Mom’s younger brother). For us, the reunion had begun.

Around 10am, we all got into cars and caravanned the 50 miles from Susanville up to Ravendale. To call this place remote is a significant understatement. While for the rest of the world, the 2008 Olympics were opening, Ravendale was in the dark (no TVs, no opening ceremonies, no gymnastics, zilch). The darkness prevailed during the five or six hour power outage on Saturday! Since my Mom served as the reunion host, we wanted to be the first to arrive and setup shop. My immediate family all stayed in one large structure called the Conference Center and Bunkhouse. It was a nice setup and allowed us all to be together and have a little of our own space as well.

As afternoon rolled around, more and more people started to arrive. I was especially looking forward to seeing other members of the Evans branch of the Slade family, Michael and Lynda Evans (mentioned above), Kirk and Donna Evans (Uncle Kirk is my Mom’s older brother), Holly, Shiraz and Lyra Cupala (Cousin Holly is Kirk and Donna’s daughter and one of my three true first cousins), Ginger, Dan, Nellie, John, William and Molly Wilcox (Cousin Ginger is Donna’s daughter). It was very nice to see everyone and how they are all doing and growing up and also for them to get a look at the boys and how they have grown.

Before all of the others started to trickle in, we took the boys for a swim in the “pool.” Average daytime pool temperature – 68 degrees F; percentage of pool clean enough to swim in – 10%; amount of time spent in pool – 15 minutes; amount of time needed to stop shivering after visiting the pool – 30 minutes. Regardless, our Noah actually wanted to swim again on Saturday. He did – same results.

After swimming, we put the boys down for a nap. As folks arrived, most people were hanging out down in the main bar/clubhouse area. After the boys awoke from their naps, we headed down there. Noah was excited to join in the fun, but Andrew was very shy to start. After a couple of hours though, he started to warm up.

Uncle Kirk, Mom & Uncle Mike

Wilcox Kids - Will, Nellie, Molly & John

Uncle Kirk & Holly

Uncle Mike & Aunt Lynda

We played a little pool and found a little TV to play some video games – all was well.

Andrew really warmed up after the kids went outside and started doing some rock climbing with Cousin Lyra.

Friday night dinner was a family favorite – Chicken and Spaghetti. Evidently it is a Fiero family recipe that was passed down from Frieda (Slade) Fiero to my Mom. I heard no complaints and saw many people washing down their plates with a frosty beverage or two. We even managed to get the boys to eat a fair share! Great work by Mom & Dad – the cookers (as the kids call people who cook the food).

As dinner finished up, Shiraz Cupala brought out a case of Champagne he had brought along to celebrate a major event for Cousin Holly. Shiraz proposed a toast to Holly for her first major novel publishing deal with Harper Collins. Shiraz’s toast was very sweet – Holly blushed. Several people helped to pour the Champagne, but lots more helped to celebrate!

Boys on Wagon After Dinner

After dinner, the resort staff started a bonfire and out came the marshmallows. Everyone had fun and Auntie Karin really got into the roasting act; the boys got into the eating act; later Karin got into the twirling act with Noah!

After all that fun, we hit the sack. Getting to sleep in foreign environments is always a little challenging. Overall it went all right. Only 30 minutes or so until they were fast asleep. Robin and I followed shortly thereafter.

Saturday morning, we got up, had breakfast and trodded around the resort for a couple of hours. We hit the swings and the teeter totter, checked out an Indian teepee, climbed up a log structure and the boys watched me slide down a big pole. We then headed over toward the horseshoe pit where we ran into Aunt Debbie and Curt who were walking their cute little white dog named Chantilly. Apparently Chantilly had befriended a little black cat (later named Skip, because that’s what you name cats when you don’t know their name – at least according to Molly Wilcox). The boys took to the little black cat. So much so that Andrew said he loved the kitty and he wanted to take it home. Unfortunately for Andrew, Robin is allergic. So we spent the next several hours explaining to Andrew how it just was not going to happen. But in between our explanations to Andrew about how his latest plan to keep the kitty would not work, we played all around – horseshoes, shuffleboard, train crossing (a game that involves tennis racquets and a shuffleboard run) and the like. The boys’ new kitty followed us back down to the clubhouse area (with a little help I might add).

Noah Helping Kitty

When we got over to the clubhouse, the crafts were in full swing. Cousin Ginger was working with kids making craft cowboy hats and Cousin Holly was painting faces. Andrew put Ginger’s patience to the test (she passed with flying colors – after all, she has four of her own), and made a great cowboy hat. Noah did as well. Holly painted a darling train on Noah’s cheek and then painted a train on Andrew’s left hand and a wolf (with a moon background) on his right hand. Very cool!

After all this action, the boys (and Robin) took a much needed rest. I wandered around trying to setup a spot for family photographs. I found a decent spot right near the dining area and tried to plan it out a bit – Karin provided some much needed support.

After naptime, we took Noah swimming again (insane boy) and showered everyone up for dinner and pictures. We all headed down to the clubhouse before dinnertime. Uncle Kirk & Aunt Donna had bought the boys a little remote control car, which provided some great amusement! I also practiced snapping a few pictures of folks in advance of the family photos.

Andrew Playing Cars!

Holly & Lyra Resting

Uncle Mike & Aunt Lynda

Alas we had the family group shots. To say I took a dose of medicine for trying to put this all together is to put it mildly. The shots are fair (I chose to go with the sun in the face and I’m still not sure that was the right call). We got a shot of each of the groups of families and then a shot of all the Slade cousins who were there.

Fiero Family

Evans Family

Slade Family (and Slade Fiero)

Seaverson Family

The Slade Cousins

For dinner on Saturday, Spanish Springs put on a Tri Tip BBQ that was pretty darn good. As dinner was winding down, my mom (with a little help from my sister) served as MC for her self created awards ceremony. The awards were all things my Mom made up – like who traveled the farthest to attend (Uncle Mike), who traveled the shortest to attend (Uncle Kirk), most marriages (Cousin Kenny), the oldest (Cousin Laurian), youngest (Cousin Jeff) and so on. There must have been 30 awards, so lots of people “won.” The prizes were jars of my parents homemade jams. The prize is well worth the price of attendance. We’ve been eating my parents jams for years and they are the best. If you have never had a jar, you are missing out. Perhaps you should consider a trip to Susanville for one….

Mom Doing Her Thing

Hello Karin

Uncle Mike Scores

Uncle Kirk and His Jam

Aunt Debbie is Jammin'

Old (Laurian) & Young (Jeff)

After the awards, my mom handed off the family banner to the host of the next reunion in 2010, Cousin Jeff Slade. The handoff could not have gone any better. Jeff plans to hold the next reunion at Lake Powell down in Arizona. Nice! As a bonus, Jeff announced that the next reunion might be a little more expensive so the cousins (my parents) might need to help the kids out with the cost. I piped in that I thought this was a wonderful idea. My parents, however, evidently have other plans as my Dad piped right back saying that they’ve already created a special exception for us. I think it is called the “no subsidy” exception.

The Handoff - Mom to Jeff Slade

After all that fun, most people headed back down to the clubhouse/bar for some dancing and singing. While everyone had fun, I think my parents had the most fun dancing. The old folks have some moves. Far more than me, that’s for sure….

Mom & Dad Groovin'

Andrew Walking the Line

Andrew Getting Some Love from Nana & the Grampster

Grampster's Got Andrew by the Ears

Shake Those Bootys Ladies

To cap off the evening, some of the Cousins belted out Ragtime Cowboy Joe. While it was not the best version ever, it sure was spirited!

Back & Forward on the Saddle . . .

The next morning, Robin, Noah and I left Andrew with my parents and headed southward to San Diego. Andrew was a little sad, but he was set for a good time for the week with his grandparents. Just as any little six year old boy should…

On the ride home, just south of Bishop on US-395, Homer, our lovely Honda Odyssey, rolled right past 60,000 miles. We bought him in December 2005, so 4 months shy of 3 years and we’ve got 60,000 on him. He’s a trooper.

Lake Powell 2010, here come the Slades!

It Would Have Been Enough

2008-12-02T22:50:00.000-08:00

As Robin’s pregnancy wore on and on and on, we began to call this the “Pain Pregnancy”. Since the baby is now about to come, we are now finally getting around to telling the tale of the journey through it. This is obviously largely Robin’s journey. I just got called in to captain her ship from time to time when she had to head to the infirmary. She's taken a few trips there.

At first all the things that were happening to Robin were new and different. With Andrew, Robin was a delightfully happy pregnant woman. I even remember her saying things like, “I am going to miss being pregnant” and “I feel great today!” With Noah, there were a few more aches, but overall, Robin was still a happy pregnant woman.

Not this time around. It all started with the early (6.5 weeks) concerns about a blood clot behind the placenta and the chance that it could cause the placenta to pull away from the uterus and the pregnancy to spontaneously abort. Finally at 11.5 weeks, the clot disappeared, but that took a toll on Robin’s psyche. At about 10 weeks, the usual early pregnancy malaise morphed into strange upper abdominal pains. We were never able to obtain certain diagnosis on these pains (as true diagnosis requires exposure to radioactive materials that is not appropriate during pregnancy), but most think the pains are gall bladder related or possibly pancreatitis. Robin is not one to complain about pain, but this was different. IT REALLY REALLY HURT. The pains would come on almost daily and put her pretty much out of commission in the evenings. Fortunately, that is when I would be home to take over the helm.

At about 20 weeks, a new pain arrived. This one we had fully diagnosed - pubic symphysis pain. The cause is an early separation or loosening of the joints preparing for labor due to Robin’s body producing too much of the hormone relaxin. Relaxin’ was exactly what Robin was not doing once this pain hit. It was a ringer. Fortunately for Robin, it only hurt her when she would move (roll over in bed, pull on a pair of pants, walk, run, etc). She saw a chiropractor for many weeks and the sessions helped, but the pain persisted.

Next, at nearly 27 weeks, Robin felt a new very sharp pain. We went to Robin’s OB who sent us to the hospital to have it fully checked out. It turned out that Robin had a kidney stone which she passed five days after diagnosis. Unfortunately, her left side kidney pain continued and several weeks later, we think Robin passed a second stone. Since then, thankfully, no kidney pain. Phew! I think that was the most painful part of the pregnancy.

At the time of kidney stone diagnosis, they ran an abdominal ultrasound and determined that baby was in a breech position. Since both boys were vaginal births, Robin really, really wanted to avoid a C-section if at all possible. While the baby’s breech position provided some relief for Robin’s pubic symphysis pain, there was now the immense concern over whether he would flip to a head down position to avoid the possible need for a C-section. Baby stayed in a breech position for 8 weeks. Thankfully the little guy flipped at about 34 weeks and has stayed head down since.

The night the first kidney stone passed, Robin started running a fever. The next day, she started coughing horribly and coughing up blood and was having a difficult time breathing (she would say it felt like an elephant was sitting on her chest). Robin went to the doctor for this as well and they indicated it was tonsillitis, bronchitis or possibly walking pneumonia. They couldn’t do a chest X-ray to verify the pneumonia. We think she acquired this malady from being in the hospital for the kidney stone. They gave her some antibiotics and an inhaler and prescribed rest. After a week more, this finally cleared up.

Oh, and then of course, at 29 weeks Robin was once again diagnosed with gestational diabetes (she had this with Noah too).

The toll this all has taken on her psyche has been immense, but she is a trooper and has hung in there.

At one point, in early September, Robin sat down on the floor to build Lincoln Logs with Noah. Here is what she said about that experience:

“So, I sat down on the floor tonight to do Lincoln Logs with Noah. We made our fort, had a nice time doing it and Evan took a picture of us. I was hurting a little and uncomfortable while sitting but managed through. Then I tried to get up. Oh my! Talk about seeing stars....”

Brave Faced Robin, Noah and Lincoln Logs

As all the maladies came together, Robin wrote a riff to the Passover song Dayenu. Roughly translated, it means, “it would have been enough or sufficient.”

“If it was just a normal pregnancy, it would have been sufficient.

If it was just a pregnancy with a blood clot behind the placenta, it would have been sufficient.

If it was just a pregnancy with a blood clot and gallbladder pain, it would have been sufficient.

If it was just a pregnancy with a blood clot, gallbladder pain and pubic symphysis pain, it would have been sufficient.

If it was just a pregnancy with a blood clot, gallbladder pain, pubic symphysis pain and a kidney stone, it would have been sufficient.

If it was just a pregnancy with a blood clot, gallbladder pain, pubic symphysis pain, a kidney stone, tonsillitis, bronchitis and maybe walking pneumonia, it would have been sufficient.

If it was just a pregnancy with a blood clot, gallbladder pain, pubic symphysis pain, a kidney stone, tonsillitis, bronchitis, maybe walking pneumonia and gestational diabetes, it would have been sufficient.”

But that could not be everything. At 32 weeks, Robin found a lump on her left side rib cage. She saw three doctors concerning it and while none of them think it is malignant, none are absolutely certain. After the baby is born, Robin will have it removed and biopsy it to be sure. Just to add another thing…

Amusingly, I asked Robin at what point we give up on having a fourth kid and I get a vasectomy. That might be a good question... We’re not sure a fourth kid is in our future.

But thankfully this pregnancy is now almost over; the reward almost here. We’re hopeful for healthy. We’ll let you know when we do!

Happy Thanksgiving 2008

2008-11-27T19:19:00.000-08:00

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We were here in San Diego, just the four of us and the one in the oven. It was very nice to have special time with the four of us before we become five.

My parents were off in New York with Karin. Howard & Stacy took a surprise trip to Paris - HOW NICE!

To cap off our day of being thankful for each other, all that we are blessed with and all that is to come, Andrew gave us a special gift.

Andrew sang this little diddy (Albuquerque the Turkey) to the tune of Sweet Clementine at his school for his Thanksgiving concert and just loved it. On Thanksgiving he gave us a repeat performance. On the first take - he could not quite get it all out without laughing. Pretty funny.

Below is the video and here is the link.

And on the second take, he got it just perfect! Below is the video and here is the link.

Happy Thanksgiving all.

A Delightfully Happy Occasion

2008-10-19T23:00:00.000-07:00

We traveled to Salem, Oregon for a delightfully happy occasion over the weekend of July 18 - 20, 2008. My parents drove up from Susanville and my sister flew out from New York. Many old family friends made the trip from all around. On July 19, 2008, Erin Anne MacNeil married her longtime boyfriend Jesse Ellison.

We arrived on Friday afternoon into Portland Airport (PDX). Karin’s flight arrived just a bit before us and when we landed, we called and she said she would meet us at baggage claim. So as we exited the plane (with our 4 bags and 2 kids in tow), we were looking for the signs to baggage claim. Just then, Karin popped out from behind a wall to put a little fright in us! We all then headed down to baggage claim and then to Hertz to pickup our rental car for the trip to Salem. Our rental car was a Nissan Murano crossover vehicle – quite a nice car! After we got her rolling, we stopped for a quick bite (except for Noah who had fallen asleep not 5 minutes into the hour plus drive south). When we arrived at the hotel (thank you Residence Inn by Marriott!), my parents were waiting and helped us into our room. We unpacked and got ready to head over to Erin and Jesse’s place for a pre-wedding dinner gathering.

Their house was very cute and had a wonderfully large backyard. We enjoyed some food, got to say hello and congratulations to Erin and Jesse, and also got to say hi to a few folks we had not seen in a long long time. Of course we spent most of the evening giving chase to the boys, but it was nice for them to be able to romp around in such a big space.

The next morning we went down to the Salem waterfront. We met up with my parents and Karin, who had risen earlier and headed down to a farmer’s market (and had a bunch of tasty berries to show for it). The boys rode a carousel, romped around on playground, watched a paddlewheel boat cruise down the Willamette River, and checked out a giant earth globe. The four of us went into a children’s museum while my parents and Karin rested outside. We ran into a few of the kids we had met the night before. After the museum, we all headed back to the hotel to freshen up for the wedding. The four of us took a quick dip in the hotel pool – I even managed to practice tossing the boys into the middle of the pool and having them float up on their backs and then make their way to the side (not bad)!

Grampster Allowed Andrew to Hold His $100 Bill

Boys on the Carousel with Auntie Karin

Andrew Watching the Paddleboat Cruise the Willamette River

Grampster’s Idea of Fashion (Free’s Annual Marlin Tourney T-Shirt) and Hair (He’s a Long Haired Hippie)

The ceremony and reception were held at the Chemeketa-Eola Viticulture Center which overlooks a beautiful vineyard. My mom created a hand made version of the wedding invitation for the couple and they displayed her creative genius right as folks entered the reception.

Mom’s Handiwork – The Wording of the Invitation – Beautiful !!

The bridesmaids wore beautiful green dresses and carried large yellow sunflowers. But the bride outshone them all. Some people smile with their lips upturned a little bit, others smile with their eyes opening a little wider, but Erin smiles with every ounce of her. And I’d never seen a bigger smile on her than after her hands met Jesse’s and the ceremony began.

Their wedding ceremony was beautiful and just about the right length – 10 minutes. My old friends Craig and Kristi Patchin had a short wedding, but this was shorter. Everything that needed to be said though, was said. The pictures captured the beauty of the setting.

Erin Walks to Jesse – See That Smile

Erin and Jesse Getting Married

The Onlookers

A Delightfully Happy Couple

After the ceremony, the boys ran round like crazy racing cars and we gave chase. We did manage to sit them down for a second and get a photo with the beautiful grounds behind them.

Our Boys

The reception was in a beautifully large room with views of the center, the vineyards and all around. Other than our usual difficulty in getting the boys to sit still – they are boys after all – everything went wonderfully (thank you Leapster)! Later in the evening, we even managed to get both boys up and dancing for a little while.

Erin and Jesse Enter the Building

Karin Crying (Maybe)

Mom Serious

Robin Wondering Why I Am Taking Another Picture

Boys Playing Leapster!

Erin and Jesse Dancing

Boys Dancing

A Huddle on the Floor

Noah Tackles Andrew

A Little Brotherly Love

Boys Running to Daddy

They Got Me

Grampster Formal Style

As with most weddings (especially weddings with the boys), we had only a short time to talk to the bride and groom. We got to say hello to Erin, hear that she was heading to Alaska for a cruise for the honeymoon (I swear the blog entry from our Alaska cruise from August 2006 will be released any day now…), and wish the utmost congratulations to her and to Jesse.
About 9pm, we went back to the hotel and crashed for the night. We woke up early, got all ready, and my parents and Karin helped us to the car and saw us off. The boys traveled wonderfully well throughout. We were very lucky.

Congratulations Erin and Jesse! What a delightfully happy occasion it was!

I See You've Lost a Tooth

2008-10-18T16:30:00.000-07:00

October is turning out to be a month of big events for Master Andrew. In short, he can now see that he has one less tooth. On October 15, 2008, he lost his first tooth. On October 16, 2008, he got his first pair of glasses.

Andrew has had a wiggly bottom right front tooth for several months. Finally it got to the point where we were afraid it might fall out and he might lose it. So I drew the short straw (doesn’t that always happen) and ended up with the mildly unenviable task of pulling the thing out. Lovely. I started by twisting it around and around and around. After three twists and the start of some displeasure from Andrew, Robin suggested that I try the floss method. So I ran upstairs, grabbed the floss and tried to wiggle it under the tooth. Tah Dah, it worked. Despite Andrew’s original request that I remove the tooth, he was now unhappy that I had pulled it out. Fortunately, it only took a few minutes before he was happy again.

After yanking the thing, we took a few pictures of Andrew’s new mouth. You will notice that the permanent tooth is seriously almost in. Good looking grin there kid.

There's a Little Hole, But the New Tooth is Coming in...

Serious Joy

Did You See My Mouth?

Thereafter, we gave Andrew a little pirate tooth holder, which I’m pretty sure cost us more than the tooth. Andrew put the tooth in the holder and told us all about how the tooth fairy would come and hopefully leave him money – and possibly even a ring like she left for Melvin Bubble (probably not, but possibly). Andrew, in his infinite wisdom, also decided to write the tooth fairy a note asking that she leave the tooth and some money. Greedy little kid… We made sure he worded it really nicely.

Andrew's Letter to the Tooth Fairy

Before going to sleep, we had to work pretty hard to convince Andrew that the tooth fairy would be very quiet and would not wake him up. He was seriously concerned. Ultimately, Andrew went to sleep just fine and awoke to a surprise. The tooth fairy left him $5 and his tooth. The $5 is now in his wallet awaiting an opportunity to purchase another Star Wars figure. The tooth is now in a ziploc bag awaiting 19 other baby teeth. This one lasted from February 20, 2003 (when it appeared) to October 15, 2008 (when I yanked it) – a total of 5 years and 8 months. Not too shabby.

Andrew has been unable to see at a distance for a while. We had him tested a year ago and the medical professionals recommended waiting another year to see where things stood. We had an eye exam for him in early October and learned he is nearsighted to the tune of -2.5. When the ophthalmologist was testing his eyes and put on close to the right prescription, Andrew exclaimed “I can see it!” in regards to the letters on the board 20 feet in front. Obviously the poor kid just could not see stuff far away.

After the exam, we went a couple of days later and ordered up the glasses. They arrived the day after I yanked the tooth. We ran on down and got him fitted. When Andrew went outside, he was jumping up and down just thrilled that he could see. His joy was delightful to watch. The gentleman that helped us out at the shop said that he had seen some excited kids, but never one quite as excited as Andrew. Now that we have the glasses, we’ll see how he does wearing them…. Thankfully, the frames come with a two year warranty.

Here is a picture of our Andrew with the new spectacles.

Auto Reply - Out of Office

2008-08-28T23:00:00.000-07:00

I get an auto reply – out of office responsive email message from someone at least a couple of times a day. At first I thought it was because I started working for the State of California – and some state worker is bound to be out of the office every day. As more time has passed, I’ve noticed that more and more people “on the outside” are also having their server's fire off these auto reply messages.

I have one friend (who shall remain nameless) who honestly is out of the office at least 2 days a week. Get a blackberry already. If you are so important that you need to be out all the time, don’t tell everyone that you do not have access to email or voicemail.

I also figured out that some of my fellow state workers who are using this message on any given day are actually not out of the office. They are here, seemingly working away; they just don’t want to be bothered by email. Or they forgot to turn off their out of office message. Regardless, this is one idea I am starting to put more thought into!

For my next aut oreply message, I am considering this:

Subject: Auto Reply – Out of Office

Message: Sir/Madam: I am not available to receive your email message at this time. When I return from my sojourn, I will consider responding to your message. Until then, Cheers!

Oh, and I’ll be out of the office on August 29, 2008 without access to email or voicemail….Cheers!

Sorem is Norwegian

2008-08-27T22:00:00.000-07:00

I have three blood first cousins (two on Dad’s side and one on Mom’s) and four step cousins (all on Mom’s side). I also have a bunch of second cousins on both sides of the family. Of course I have many third cousins as well – although other than the one I know of since she’s also my first cousin, I cannot remember meeting one.

A couple of years ago, one of my father’s long lost relatives from Norway contacted me over the internet. Her name is Mette-Marit Sorem Granerud (she retained her maiden name, Sorem). I believe that she found the blog and then got in touch with me thereafter. We have had a nice correspondence over the years and she has a beautiful family. Not so long ago we figured out that she and my father share Great Grandparents, making them second cousins. Of course that makes me and her children third cousins.

Sorem Granerud Family

Mette-Marit lives with her family in a town called Alta, Norway, in the far far north of Norway, about 70 degrees north latitude. No sun in winter and all day sun in summer. This is not far from where we believe my Great Grandfather, Hjalmar Andreas Sorem, Sr., lived before coming over to the United States and Chicago, Illinois. That town, Tromsø, is also in the northern part of Norway. Both are definitely on the list of places to visit someday.

It turns out that her daughter, Anette-Marie Sorem Granerud, spent a year as an exchange student in Blue Springs, Missouri (sound familiar fans of David Cook) a few years back. Her “brother” from the exchange program was getting married in mid July and she decided to make a trip of it with a friend of hers named Lone (said – Luna). Fortunately for us the trip included a west coast swing and a stop in San Diego. Excellent.

Late at night on July 14, 2008, Anette-Marie and Lone arrived in San Diego (after flying in to Las Vegas, seeing the Grand Canyon, driving up to San Francisco and then coming down the coast to Los Angeles and then San Diego). Anette-Marie called me Tuesday morning at work and said they were in a hotel right in downtown. I arranged to meet them for lunch at Rock Bottom Brewery, just a couple blocks from their hotel. I arrived a few minutes before they did and started to secure a table. Then Anette-Marie and her friend Lone arrived. Anette-Marie is in her early 20’s – and just finished up an apprenticeship program as an electrician. She is currently working wiring houses in Trondheim, the second largest city in Norway (after Oslo, the capital). We had a great lunch, talked about their travels, our families, foreign languages and much more. It was a delight to make a connection back to one of my homelands.

They wanted to visit Mexico and then also do some dress shopping (for the wedding). I directed them to the trolley (not that they needed my help mind you) and gave them some written directions to downtown La Jolla. We arranged to meet the next evening at the World Famous San Diego Zoo. It would give them a good chance to see the kids in a fun environment and to see some animals they don’t see at home.

We met at the zoo, but unfortunately Lone had lost her wallet somewhere in La Jolla. They decided to go back and look for it while we started our zoo adventure. Unfortunately, they had no luck in finding the wallet.

Once we met up again, they met Robin and the boys. The boys, particularly Andrew, were shy at first, but they came out of their shells quickly enough. Both Anette-Marie and Lone obviously had some significant experience with kids and were picking the boys up, showing them things, holding their hands and the like. It was endearing. We spent a little while trekking over to the panda bears (sleeping) and then searching for something to eat (no luck). We did get a great picture of both Anette-Marie and Lone in front of the sun bear exhibit.

Anette-Marie & Lone in Front of Sun Bear Exhibit

Anette-Marie, Andrew & Noah

Lone & Noah

The boys were starving so we decided that we would take off for food and then to head home while they would continue to tour the zoo until closing time. Since their flight left the next morning at around 6am, their original plan was to forego a hotel. We told them we would happily put them up. So we gave them directions and said for them to meet us back at our house after they were all done with the zoo.

We got home, put Andrew to sleep and were about to put Noah down when Anette-Marie and Lone arrived. Mette-Marit had sent gifts for the boys (two here and one to come) – three Norwegian moose named Elgar. The cute little stuffed moose came all dressed up in either sweaters or Norwegian national soccer uniforms. Noah loved his and is sleeping with it every night now (as a part of his cadre of nighttime animals). Andrew also likes his Elgar. The whopper gift though was a large picture of a wedding in Chicago, Illinois of one of the Sorems that we think dates back to the turn of the century. We have now brought it up to my parents and we are doing what we can to try and figure out who the people are in the photo. It was very very sweet of Mette-Marit to send and for Anette-Marie to bring it over to us. Thank you!

Noah with Elgar

Old Sorem Family Wedding in Chicago

We stayed up until after midnight talking and getting to know both Anette-Marie and Lone. Most interestingly, Anette-Marie told us that there are just 39 people in Norway with the surname Sorem. There are another 10 in our family here in the States. Best of all, we now have an open invitation to come to Norway. Hopefully we can use it!

When Andrew was born, my Dad gave him a Norwegian nickname – Laars. Of course, he also gave one to Noah when he was born – Odin. Over the years my Dad has threatened to give other nicknames to our future children as well. In fact, Baby Boy Sorem #3 is currently referred to as Thor. We shall see…

Since we were pretty confident that we would get a different pronunciation from a true Norwegian, we asked Anette-Marie and Lone if they would mind giving us pronunciations on all of the names on video. Thankfully they agreed - here is the Video Link. They also agreed to teach us how to pronounce my grandfather's name, Hjalmar, and my sister's name, Karin, in Norwegian - here is the Video Link.

From San Diego Anette-Marie and Lone were off to Blue Springs, Missouri for the wedding of Anette-Marie’s host brother and then on to Houston, Texas (in the “Lone” Star state) for a couple of days and then New York City as well. Quite a trip! We were delighted to be a little part of it! After all, Sorem is Norwegian!

Robin's New Allergy

2008-08-26T23:30:00.000-07:00

I do not know when, but it has happened. Robin has a sneezing attack nearly every time she starts talking to me on the phone. Like clockwork, she says hello, starts into a conversation and then it comes. “Hang on; I’ve got to sneeze . . . HaaaaaChooooo! HaaaaaChooooo! HaaaaChooooo!”

It’s not the smell of me or the sight of me, no. Just the mere thought of me causes Robin’s allergic reaction. I wonder if the other times she has sneezing attacks it is because she was just pondering something about me. Who knows?

Robin’s new allergy – Evan. Lovely! Of course, you would probably become allergic too if you had to spend this much time with me….

Andrewisms and Noahisms

2008-08-26T23:00:00.000-07:00

I have previously posted two blogs of Andrew’s funny sayings, Kids Say the Darndest Things and Andrewisms Part Deux. We are now back with the third installment of Andrewisms along with the first installment of Noahisms. Since this is the first time for Noah, we’ll start with his.

* 12/24/2007 - Just as they were arriving home from a trip out, Noah turned to Andrew and said, "Andrew, you're my best friend." Andrew looked back at Noah and said, "Yeah."

* 5/2008 - Lately Noah ends each statement with the word “right?” This is all designed to get you to say yes so that you are affirming him and so that he’ll get what he wants.

* 6/28/2008 - All morning, Andrew was wearing a medal he got from some sport or another. Noah had been coveting the medal. Out of the blue, while Andrew is printing up something on the computer for Noah to color, Noah comes out of the bathroom wearing Andrew's medal, chanting something and marching away from all of us in the office. I did not understand what he was saying at first, but when I looked at him, it was clear. He was chanting over and over, "I've got a shiny new medal, I've got a shiny new medal, I've got a shiny new medal."

* 8/13/2008 - Noah, Robin and I were watching 2008 Beijing Olympic Springboard Diving when Andrew was up visiting with Nana & Grampster. Noah was very excited about springboard diving. We asked Noah what they were doing and he said, "They jump, jump and then they splash."

And now for the Andrewisms, the kid has been active.

* 12/8/2007 - We were up in Los Angeles visiting family. Andrew is driving back with Robin’s Dad, Papa, to his place to light Chanukah candles. Papa asks Andrew, “Are you going to get something at Disneyland tomorrow?” Andrew responds, “I can’t; I don’t have any money." Papa says, “If you need money, then you have to get a job. Do you want to get a job?” Andrew replies, “No, I’m allergic.”

* 1/12/2008 - We are driving in the car home from somewhere. Andrew is in his usual spot in the back seat next to Noah. Andrew says to Evan and Robin, "I am giving Noah a foot charm." We inquire why. Andrew says, "Because Noah did a good job listening to my directions."

* 3/5/2008 - Andrew and Noah are playing Cariboo in the Family room. Robin and I both notice that Andrew is dancing around like crazy, indicating that he needs to use the restroom. Andrew finally decides that he is going to go and he says to Noah: "Noah, I want you to pause the game." He uses the word pause the same way he does when he asks us to pause the TV so that he doesn't miss anything (a la TIVO).

* 4/2008 - We always give the boys fruit after they have eaten their other foods. One evening, I had cut up some fresh mango for the boys to eat. They frequently eat dried mango (Thanks Costco!). When I set the sliced fresh mango before Andrew, he said "No Daddy, I don't want wet mango."

* 6/9/2008 - While driving in the car, Robin asks Andrew if he is excited that Kindergarten is almost over and that next year he will be going on to 1st grade. Andrew responds saying "no, I'm not excited. I like my class and I don't want a new teacher."

* 7/16/2008 - While riding in the car, Andrew was explaining information about the planets to Noah. When he got to Pluto, he said "Noah, Pluto is not a planet any more, it is falling out of space."

* 7/30/2008 - Andrew asked Robin if he could see a picture of the baby. Robin showed him one and then Andrew said to me "Daddy, I’m getting old." I asked Andrew, "What does that make Daddy?" Andrew replied "Oh Daddy, you are way too old."

* 8/5/2008 - Andrew opened one of his birthday presents first thing in the morning. It was a new Rex (from Star Tours). Robin asked Andrew if he liked it and Andrew said "Yeah, it's pretty good. Good job Mommy."

To cap it off, I took Andrew to a Young Tinkerers Camp down at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Museum in Balboa Park for a week this summer. From what I gather, he and Nathan Pollock had a blast! While we usually listen to a little music (his current favorite song is Yesterday by the Beatles) and chat as well, one morning we talked the whole way down. Here are the highlights:

* Andrew decided that he wants to have his birthday party at the ceramic place. He really wants to do swim, but I told him that he can't have very many friends if he does that. So he wants ceramics. He definitely did not want miniature golf. Ultimately we are going with the swim party….

* Andrew wants to go to Red Robin for his first little birthday party. Maybe they will give him a chocolate shake. He'll share with Mommy, Noah and Daddy. He wants everyone to sing happy birthday to him.

* He wants a big big big piece of cake for his birthday. Other kids who are 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 can have a big piece too, but not as big as his piece. He wants the biggest. Kids who are 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 have to have a small piece. Really really tiny. But Noah can have a little bit bigger piece.

* Then we got into this huge discussion about who sings the song Yesterday. He thought it was sung on American Idol. He wants to watch American Idol so we can see who sings it. I had told him previously that two people wrote the song - John Lennon and Paul McCartney, but that John Lennon had died. He remembered that from a previous discussion. I then told him (incorrectly) that Lennon & McCartney wrote the song, but that Lennon was singing the song that we were listening to (it turns out that Yesterday was written and performed by McCartney even though it is credited to both Lennon & McCartney). Andrew then said, “But he's dead right? How is he singing it then?” Then I had to go into a whole discussion of how we bought a CD that was a recording the song from a long time ago. He asked how it was playing on the iPod. That launched a whole discussion of how we got a recording on CD, we put that on the computer and then we downloaded it to the iPod. Then he asked “What does download mean?” I tried to explain. Not sure he's got it yet, but he's smart - he'll figure it out.

What a treat it is to watch both boys learn….

Ping Pong Sister

2008-08-26T21:00:00.000-07:00

A long while back, I wrote Go West Young Woman about my sister Karin’s move from New York to Los Angeles. Well, for those of you on the east coast, the serve has been returned and it is game on. In April, Karin took a great job back with Fisher Price in the Big Apple. She’s moved into a new place on the upper west side and she seems excited about the job and the transition.
Of course we miss her. But we saw her up in Oregon for Erin and Jesse Ellison’s Wedding (post coming soon), for a little bit in San Diego thereafter and again for the Slade Family Reunion (post coming soon). For a bonus, I will get to see her in late August in New York (for Robert Hassimi’s wedding)!

I guess there is a reason they call it Back East – that’s where Karin is now… Care to try and return the ball folks? We shall see…

Bunk Beds and More

2008-08-20T00:00:00.000-07:00

At long last the boys now have bunk beds. We ordered the bed back at the beginning of the year, but it took forever for it to get here. The bed arrived on April 26, 2008 and the boys have not been the same since. They LOVE sleeping in the same room together. Andrew is the master of the top bunk and Noah the master of the bottom. They both look forward to Friday and Saturday nights when they get to stay together on the bottom bunk. There is no question that getting both of them to go sleep is a little more of a challenge, but they are starting to get the hang of it. Our best strategy is to put Andrew to sleep first, have him fall asleep and then lay Noah down. It is usually not very much fun for Noah to try to talk to an already sleeping Andrew. On the nights where we put them to sleep at the same time or together on the bottom bunk, rarely do they get to sleep with their nightlights. We take them away one by one if they are not quiet and once all the nightlights are gone, they USUALLY don’t talk much and they just end up going to sleep. Very nice!

We got a twin over full bunk bed so that we’d have an extra larger bed for when guests come. So consider that your invitation to pay us a visit! We actually had our first visitors pretty recently. Nana and Grampster came down for a quick visit before heading to Orange County for a wedding and then Laughlin, Nevada for some relaxation. The bed came in very handy!

We got a couple of shots of the boys with the bed just after it was setup.

We also got a few pictures of them several days later in their new ORANGE PAJAMAS. These were handmade right here in the USA by Nana The boys love the new jammies. The jammies say "Orange Pajamas" right on the front - it's a little hard to read on these pictures, but it's very cool!

When the boys were born, Auntie Karin gave each of them their very own handmade blanket. Andrew liked his, but Noah LOVES his. Noah got a LARGE Bison stuffed animal from Nana and Grampster for his 3rd Birthday. He LOVES his Bison about as much as he LOVES his blankie. Lately he has been taking to laying around with both his blankie and his Bison. We got a cute shot of him relaxing and LOVING both of them.

Best of all with them sleeping in the same room is listening in to them talking together before settling in. One night, Andrew slowly and methodically tried to teach Noah all of the colors in Spanish. The exchange went something like this: Andrew: “Noah, white is blanco, say blanco Noah”; Noah: “Blanco”; Andrew “Good Noah. Noah, red is rojo, say rojo Noah”; Noah: “Rojo”; Andrew: “Good Noah.” I think Andrew took him through about 10 colors. That was our bedtime music.

T-Ball Expectations

2008-08-19T08:30:00.000-07:00

T-Ball conjures up nice images of simpler days running around a field, trying to concentrate on hitting a stationary ball, and trying not to let the ball hit by the other teams ringer go too far overhead. For me, T-Ball was fun and a key building block for a lifetime love of baseball.

I always wondered if it would be something my kids would take up and love like I do.

How else to find out than to start the introduction? Last year, we signed Andrew up for Carmel Valley Youth Baseball. He said he was willing to give it a try and I thought it would be a good way to introduce him to baseball. After all, he has tossed pinecones into a creek and threw a snowball into a camera with a lefty’s touch. Not to mention his Uncle Alan Sorem played semi-pro ball as a lefty pitcher a few years back. Who could know what the future may hold?

Last year Andrew played on the Mets and this year he was on the Royals. The Mets sponsor was a local sports radio station. The Royals sponsor was something called Advanced Whole Horse (I’m actually afraid to ask what it is in the business of). Andrew even improved his batting grip year over year. Here are the official pictures from year 1 and year 2 of T-Ball.

Andrew as Mike Piazza (Sort Of)

Andrew as George Brett (The Righty Version)

After a season and a half, my goals for Andrew are quite modest. A little different than MY dreams of a future left handed pitcher for the San Diego Padres. I am hopeful that Andrew will take away the basics of sportsmanship, respect his teammates and the equipment, get a little exercise and enjoy himself. While the revised goals were not met in a day, we worked on them and made some progress.

Andrew, as I am sure you can tell from all the entries, has a mind of his own. Thank goodness. But at the same time, I’m not sure he is yet fully programmed for team sports. He actually does pretty well when his team is up to bat – he waits his turn and he hits the ball and runs the bases (with appropriate reminders about where to go). It’s in the field where the challenges truly present. Most of the other kids can stay in position and generally pay attention to the game. Not so much for Andrew. I spent many a Saturday sitting or standing right behind him and continually reminding him to watch for the hitter (I don’t want him to get hurt after all) and to stay in position and not to pick up the cones or kick them over or run to the fence to see if he can find ladybugs. For someone who (through much effort from my father the coach and my mother the scorekeeper) now understands the game, it is trying not to be able to impart it quickly to Andrew. But all worthwhile endeavors take significant time, effort and energy. Much like Andrew.

I took the SLR out to one of the early games this year and got a few photos of Andrew in action. Here goes.

We're Still Working on Grounders

Check Out that Focus

Fleet Feet

Casey at the Bat !!

Run Forrest, Run....

Usually after innings are over, Andrew will be good for a hug for his Mommy.

He also seems to be getting the concept of sportsmanship at the end of the game all right.

Of course he understands snack and he’s always looking out for his little brother Noah.

We’ve got a ways to go, but I’ve now got a better eye on the long view. And now we have started soccer. That seems to be going a lot better. We’ll see…..

Three of a Kind

2008-07-22T22:30:00.000-07:00

Is a pretty good poker hand. We are hopeful that it will make for a pretty good family as well. The 20 week ultrasound is complete and the baby looks very healthy – which is welcome news after our rough start. According to the ultrasound technician, we are all hopeful Andrew and Noah will be welcoming a baby brother in early December. We are very happy and excited.

Our doctor said the baby is growing well and everything is on track. We got a great picture of the baby’s profile and of him sucking his thumb. He already has a comfort mechanism – he’ll need it with two older brothers!

Baby Boy Sorem #3 Sucking His Thumb

We have always said together we wanted three or four kids (yes, we are crazy); so this is an exciting day. I wonder what passions this boy will have. Most likely two older brothers will be among his greatest. Hopefully Andrew and Noah will count this newest addition among their greatest passions as well.

When we told Andrew and Noah about the baby growing in Mommy’s tummy tonight, both seemed pretty excited. That is until they heard the Ice Cream Truck coming around the corner. Noah laid his head down on Mommy’s tummy and both of them gave Mommy’s tummy a kiss. We asked each boy what they wanted – Noah said a baby brother (wish granted) and Andrew said a baby sister (he was a little disappointed). We explained to the boys that we may have a fourth baby at some point in the future and that it could be a boy or a girl. Right now, we are just hoping for a healthy baby!

We will see what our future holds: Three of a Kind, Three of a Kind with Queen High or Four of a Kind – any way it is dealt, it will be a great hand.

Theresa's Adventures With Noah

2008-06-30T21:30:00.000-07:00

Usually we do not post stories from other people. This is mostly because not that many people send us stories that fit so nicely into our blog lineup. It’s time for a change.

On May 12, 2008, Theresa Pollock was watching over Noah for us. Theresa (and Brigitte Patel) had taken Noah with them to Barnes & Noble for a little playtime in the kids’ area. This is a usual activity after Music Class.

Here is Theresa’s story:

“Your little Noah and I had a little fun in the bathroom today. He said he had to go to the bathroom while we were having our snacks in the café. I took him and of course I then feel like I have to go – so I ask Noah to stay in the stall with me. He very quickly turns and tries to unlatch the door. I try to sway him from doing that – he stops at the latch but just as quickly finds his escape by crawling under the door. I am now mid pee and really unable to do much more than talk to him to make sure he is still near. He assures me he will wait for me and then suddenly we are in a pitch black bathroom. Mind you – there are others in the bathroom – also in stalls. I rush out and get the lights still trying to zip my pants up. Noah thinks this is all very humorous. What an adventure.”

Somehow we all know that this is not Noah’s last restroom adventure. Thank you Theresa for sharing.

Expansion

2008-06-25T22:30:00.000-07:00

After a very difficult beginning, we are pleased to announce that Baby Sorem #3 is currently growing and should make it's arrival around December 11, 2008. If Nana has anything to say about it, the baby will be 10 days early - her birthday is December 1.

To say that this has been a trying pregnancy would be a massive understatement, but we are thankful to finally be out of the woods. Robin is right around 16 weeks and we got to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time this week. Beautiful music.

Here's a pretty good shot from about a month ago of the baby's profile. The mark by the baby's nose is a hand. Below the abdomen is it's legs and feet. Pretty cool!

We will probably find out the baby's gender in another month. You’ll find it here. A girl perhaps… A boy perhaps… Time will tell. Either way, we are and will be thrilled.

For a variety of reasons, we have not yet let the boys know - so please, if you see them, keep it on the up high (over their heads). We'll likely let them know if Robin starts to show significantly or in another month or so. We know that they will make wonderful big brothers.

Chanukah 2007

2008-04-15T22:00:00.000-07:00

Continuing the catch up effort, here is Chanukah 2007. As usual, we had a great gathering at our house with the Pollock and Patel families (where we enjoyed some particularly fantastic chicken soup with matzo balls, latkes (potato pancakes fried in oil) and my favorite, the jelly donuts). We had a very festive first night, and of course there were a few presents to share with our loved ones. To cap it off, Noah had a cute little Chanukah party at his school.

Without further delay, here is the photographic evidence to prove it.

Playing Dreidel with Andrew, Annika, Lauren, Noah & Nathan (Where is Lena?) – I Lost My Shirt

Looks Like Donuts for Dessert – The Kids are Very Focused

Hey Everyone, Look Over Here

Andrew Lights the Candles on the First Night

Noah Lighting Candles on the First Night (With Help from Mommy)

Noah, Andrew & Mommy's Hands Lighting Together (Daddy Taking Picture)!

Happy Singing on the First Night of Chanukah

Two Boys Loving Each Other on Chanukah

Andrew Opening the Razor Scooter from Uncle Howard and Aunt Stacy

Noah Opening His New Laptop from Uncle Howard and Aunt Stacy

Andrew Riding the New Razor Scooter

The Boys Opening a Hebrew Alphabet Puzzle

The Boys Opening Noah’s New Pirate Ship (Arrr Matey)

Noah Making His Menorah at School

Noah and His Friends (Sammi (and Big Sister Sarah) and Gabriel)

And Marni, Sarah and Sammi's Mother, Says that Sarah Never Smiles for Pictures – That Looks Like a Smile to Me

The wave is starting to build; hopefully we can get close to current. I’m still dying to get our Australia story out. But it's 20 pages single spaced. Soon I hope….Soon….

Moooo - The Cow Project

2008-04-13T23:15:00.000-07:00

Andrew got his first big school project from Ms. Meg a couple of weeks ago. The kids were all asked to pick an animal from the farm and then to do their "science project" on that animal. Right now, Andrew's favorite animal is the COW. MOOOO!

The project was his homework for two weeks. The project instructions requested that the parents not touch the final product (the poster board), that the kids write down where the animal lives, what the animal eats, what the animal looks like and why farmers raise the animal. In addition, the kids could add whatever artwork they wanted.

Andrew checked out a cow book from the library at school and we got to work. We helped him formulate ideas for what he wanted to do, made a stencil for him to trace and helped hold a ruler for him, but we did not touch his canvas. He was pretty motivated to do the project and was pleased with the end result.

The Project (Each Cow Head Has His Writing Answering the Questions, He Drew the Cow on the Bottom and Colored in the Ones in the Middle and on Top)

Cows Live On. . .

Cows Eat...

Cows Look Like...

Farmers Raise Cows For...

A special thanks to Aunt Theresa Pollock for providing stickers for the project. Not bad for a Kindergartener! MOOOO!

Santa Through the Years

2008-04-06T22:15:00.000-07:00

Since we just posted about Christmas 2007, I figured it was a good time to post pictures of our boys with Santa through the years. We've finally figured out where to find the "good" Santa. In order to keep the lines short, we're keeping this secret to ourselves.

Andrew and Santa 2002

Andrew and Santa 2003

Andrew and Santa 2004

Andrew, Noah and Santa 2005

Andrew, Noah and Santa 2006

Andrew, Noah and Santa 2007

We're batting 3 for 6 with the good Santa. Here's hoping we can make it 4 for 7 next year.

Christmas 2007

2008-04-06T22:00:00.000-07:00

For the past several years, we have gone up to Susanville for Christmas. Something about the cold, the truly incredible number of decorations my parents have, and the potential for skiing, along with the obvious chance to spend a little time with my parents and sister. It has been great. This past year, however, and largely in contemplation of our Australian Adventure, we decided to have Christmas in San Diego.

Far back in my memory, we started having Christmas Eve at my paternal grandparents' house in Pacific Beach and then Christmas morning at our house in El Cajon. It has always been a wonderful family time of year, filled with memories of gifts and food galore. This year, at our house in Carmel Valley, was not much different.

This past year, we picked up our tree from the forest around Susanville (Thanksgiving weekend), drove it home on top of our minivan, Homer, and parked it in our living room. A couple weeks later, we decorated the tree (and the house).

Andrew Tops the Tree First

Then Noah Second

Andrew Helping String the Lights

Ah, The Tree in All it's Glory

And the Stockings Were Hung by the China Cabinet with Care

Yes, We Decorated the Outside a Bit Also (The Front of XXXX Calle Mar De Armonia)

Next - Food. It is always wonderful. Nana made her famous cinnamon rolls. I caught a shot of them rising up. Mom, Dad and Karin made the spedini (an Italian dish that the family has been making for YEARS). It is pounded steak, dipped in olive oil and then breadcrumbs, and then rolled with a piece of tomato, mozzarella cheese and onion on the inside and a piece of bacon on the outside. Just delicious.

The Rolls a Risin'

Spedini Ready for the Grill

Lest we forget the presents. I'm quite sure that Andrew and Noah would not let us forget! Andrew had been asking and asking for a harp (see, we told you the kid liked music) for Christmas. Santa obliged.

Andrew Playing His New Harp from Santa

Grampster and Two Boys Discovering the Surprises in Their Stockings

Noah Racing Upstairs With His New Brobee (Yo Gabba Gabba) Pillow (Made in the USA by Nana)

Andrew and Noah Discussing the Finer Points of Brobee vs. Muno

Noah in His New Sock Monkey Slippers (Courtesy of Auntie Karin)!

The big surprise this year was that Karin somehow managed to pull off getting my parents a Samoyed dog. When we were growing up we had a couple of Samoyeds and we just loved them. My first dog was a beautiful all white Samoyed by the name of Jenny. My Uncle Michael found her while on an extended vacation/trek in Hawaii. I loved that dog. My parents' new dog is named Tiska and she seems to be adapting well to life in Susanville (snow and all)!

Excited Mom & Dad - The Samoyed is Coming!

Mom, Dad, Tiska Replica and Karin

My big score was a couple of really cool new Canon lenses for our trip to Australia. I got a 17-85mm EF-S with Image Stabilization that works well for fairly wide angle shots. I also got a 28-135 EF-S with Image Stabilization that works great as a walk around lens. The colors and crispness of the pictures has been grand.

Sierra (Our Doggie) - With One of My New Super Cool Canon Lenses

Everyone in Our Family Room - With the New Wide Angle Lens!

Bryce, Brett and Uncle Alan in the Front Yard

Christmas 2007 turned out to be a wonderful family time. The next day, Robin and I left for Australia and Nana and Grampster's adventure with Andrew and Noah began. We are getting closer to getting the story out....

Three Already . . .

2008-04-02T23:40:00.000-07:00

Our little Noah is three. February 21, 2008 has come and gone and the boy is three. Thankfully he had a wonderful birthday and party.

His birthday was on Thursday. Noah attends preschool on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Beth Am Preschool. So his birthday fell on a school day. Robin and I both went to the school to share in his little celebration and to watch him do the honors as the Shabbat Aba. I got a huge hug when he saw me and the little party was wonderful.

Noah handed out egg shakers to the kids and they all sang little songs for him. Then the teachers handed out roses for each child to give to Noah, which was followed by a hug and birthday wishes from each child. The class then presented Noah with a cute little picture frame with all of his preschool friends pictures inside. It was truly darling.

Birthday Boy and His Crown with Mommy

Noah’s Present, a Picture Frame of His School Friends

After the celebrating, it was time to eat. Noah helped to lead the prayers and then had a little cake (that his class made) with candles and all. Just grand. The kids DEVOURED the cake and strawberries.

Noah Ready to Drink His Wine (Juice)

Excited Birthday Boy with Daddy!

That evening, we had dinner at our local Red Robin (you think this is a place just for my wife). The Patel family was able to join us to celebrate with Noah. He is such a happy and fun little guy. Noah is an Ice Cream Lover – and he polished off his sundae with vigor.

Me like Ice Cream!

I often wonder how much mischief Noah would create on his own. With Andrew leading the team (often referred to as TWO BOYS), they are mischief kings . . .

Like Andrew's 4th birthday party, we had a Pump-It-Up party for Noah on Sunday, February 24, 2008. It was a massive affair, with about 50 people (adults and kids) in attendance. Noah could truly feel the love. He had a ball sliding and jumping away at our favorite inflatable party zone! He was happy, smiling and really enjoyed his birthday song and cake. The theme for this year was Thomas the Train (picked out by Noah himself). Thanks to everyone who came from far and wide to join in the fun. Noah had a ball!

Noah, Andrew and Taylor Lyon on the Big Slide

Noah and Mommy Loving the Big Slide

Andrew Loves the Big Slide Too

Maya Rosenbaum (Too Cute Not to Include)!

Auntie Karin Strikes the Pose

Krisztina and Baby Robert Goodman

Please Sit Down Everyone; We Need to Take a Picture!

Noah Strikes a Pose for the Standard Pump-It-Up Full Party Shot

The Full Sheet Birthday Cake (Waaay Too Much Cake)

The Noah Fruit Eating Method - Pick Up Fruit with Hand, Put Fruit on Fork, Insert Fork Into Mouth

Singing to Myself!

The Third Candle is Out

Andrew Loving the Birthday Boy

Birthday Boy in His Throne

After the party, we went back home (along with the Patels) and opened way too many presents. Noah certainly did not think there were too many. His favorites are his Leapster (Robin and I refer to it as his current drug of choice), his Schleich Animal Nursery, a new Bison stuffed animal and his new sock monkey jammies.

Noah Opening His New Leapster - See the Joy! (Courtesy of Uncle Howard & Aunt Stacy)

Noah Enjoying Playing With the Animal Farm (Courtesy of Papa)

Noah in His New Knitted Cap (Courtesy of Nana)

Noah's Sock Monkey Jammies (Also Courtesy of Nana)

The post party play with the Patel girls was the cutest thing. I don't recall what it was that caused them all to hide in the couch, but they did and it was darling.

Happy third birthday to our Noah!!

The Last Bath

2008-04-02T22:50:00.000-07:00

Contrary to popular belief, we do bathe the boys. (I've always wanted to start out a blog with "contrary to popular belief" as it is one of those phrases that not a day went by where I did not hear it come straight out of my Dad's mouth into my ear). Every now and again, we'll even give the boys a bubble bath.

The night before Andrew was about to turn three, we gave him a bubble bath and grabbed the camera. We dubbed that Andrew's last bath as a two year old. I can still remember taking pictures of him in that bath.

Andrew Sorem - August 4, 2005

Fast forward several years. Noah's turn to turn three. What to do? We ran a bath, dumped a bottle of bubble soap in the tub, let it fill up and threw Noah in there (because drowning is a major concern of ours, I made absolutely sure to be right there watching over him during the entire bath). I had the camera right there and I snapped away during "the last bath."

Noah's Curls (Just Before the Last Bath)

These Are Bubbles

TA - DAH!

I Love My Bath

Brothers and Good Friends

There will be other baths, but no more as a two year old. Time is a flyin'.

E-I-E-I-O - Piano Style

2008-04-02T00:50:00.000-07:00

Old MacDonald had a farm - and if it were Andrew's choice, he would have a slew of cows (more about that coming soon in another blog).

After Andrew "graduated" from Music Class we searched and searched for a piano class for him. He adores music and we recently acquired a hand me down piano from a lovely lady I call Auntie Mickey (aka Mom #4). The piano has been tuned, but is still in need of a significant refinishing (somehow that has not risen to the top of the "to do list" just yet). In any event, we finally found a piano class for Andrew down in Bird Rock at a place called Nightingale Music.

The teacher is a young, hip guy named James Kerans and Andrew has taken to him like a fly to a cow pie. Andrew even enjoys his piano practice.

Andrew practiced up for his recital rendition of Old MacDonald Had a Farm. It is a very simple song for two hands based right off of middle C. Andrew did pretty well and really seemed to enjoy himself. On March 31, 2008, Andrew had his first little recital. The Pollocks (Theresa, Nathan and Lauren) even came down to the studio for the event.

We took a few pictures and a cool little video. Enjoy!

Mr. James Leading the Keyboard Class

Andrew Clapping for his Fellow Pianist

Andrew Takes the Prize

Mr. James and Andrew (Not Looking)

Christmas 2006 - Susanville and Skiing in Tahoe

2008-03-27T23:20:00.000-07:00

For Christmas 2006, we packed up the car and the family and headed north to Susanville. We left on December 22, 2006 BAE – 4:30am. For most people, the drive is 11 hours. With the boys, it usually runs us about 13 hours. And we were right on the mark this time. We arrived at the Roseberry House at 5:30pm – exactly 13 hours after our 4:30am departure.

Our Navigation System Did Not Like Us Going 395 North – It Kept Telling Us to U-Turn

Beautiful Drive...

Our Packed Car (Not to Mention the Rocket Box and Ski Rack on Top)

Arriving at the Roseberry House

Christmas was as festive and wonderful as ever. We had a lot of fun with my parents and my sister (Nana, the Grampster and Auntie Karin). We played in the snow, we made a gingerbread house, we took family photos in front of the tree, everyone opened presents, cinnamon rolls were enjoyed by all, it was grand.

Noah's Ponytail Still Has a Ways to Go to Catch Grampster

Andrew Likes Snow

Can You Say Snowball Fight!

Remember How Andrew Threw a Pinecone Left Handed on Mt. San Jacinto (April 2006) – Well, Here Comes a Snowball (It Nailed the Camera)

Andrew and His Gingerbread House - Evan and Robin Assembled it - Not so Well, But Andrew Decorated!

Andrew and Noah in Christmas Outfits - They're Excited!

Our Family and Rudolph

The Sorem Family

Evan and the Beard (Very Red)!

Open Like This (Nana's Yummy Cinnamon Rolls)

Nana and Her New Roomba – Clean Floors!

The Boys and Toys

Since we are Sorems, every year something goes missing. I can never remember whether it is found or not, but, trust me, something always goes missing. Below are pictures from 2005 Christmas (something missing) and 2006 Christmas (something missing). Bottoms up!

2005

2006

After Christmas, Nana & Grampster graciously agreed to watch over Noah in Susanville while we took Andrew up to Tahoe to ski! We spent two days at Northstar. We learned that we needed some gear (edgie wedgie and racer chaser) in order to help Andrew learn to ski. The two times we have taken him this ski season are a vast improvement over this trip, but it was nice to get him up there to the slopes and he had a lot of fun.

Andrew All Dressed and Ready to Ski

Robin Stopping for a Picture on the Slopes

Evan Stopping for a Picture (Down to a Goatee)

Robin and Andrew Heading Up the Gondola (Andrew's
Favorite Part)

Evan Working With Andrew on The Bunny Slopes (He Liked Going Straight Down (No Snowplow (Pizza), But He Did Not Like to Splat)

We are making some progress on the catch up blogs here. I think I am down to a backlog of between ten and twelve entries. Someday I will catch up. And then fall behind again. And then catch up. A pattern perhaps. Merry Christmas 2006 in March 2008.

Noah at Two and His First Haircut

2008-03-22T14:00:00.000-07:00

Noah Sorem on His 2nd Birthday!

Since we continue to be way behind, what better time than to post on Noah’s 2nd birthday celebration. He turned two on February 21, 2007. We opened some presents at home on his birthday and then had a fun little party at the San Diego Model Railroad Museum. The “Train Museum” is absolutely one of the kids favorites! Extra special for Noah was Nana and Auntie Karin’s trip down to join in the fun.

Noah and Andrew Excited about the new Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

Noah Really Wanted to Hug Andrew, So He Tackled Him

Singing "Rock-a-Bye Baby", Not "Rock-an-Eye Baby" Noah

Gee, I Wonder What is in Here

MMMMMM – Bagels Mommy, Bagels

Carl, Caitlin & Nathan

Nana Teaching Andrew Bad Habits…

Did I Mention the Little Einstein Theme

Noah Getting Ready in His Little Einstein's Shirt From Nana!

Noah, Ready to Blow

That’s Leo, That’s Quincy

The Party in Action

Shortly after Noah’s 2nd Birthday, we got his hair cut for the first time. Noah has wonderfully curly hair and we just did not want to spoil it. So we waited. When we cut it, there was a little drama. Noah cried; until he got a lollipop that is… His hair is still a little longer and still has a darling little curl.

Noah’s 1st Haircut – Before the Cut

During the Cut

Gimme that Lollipop

Looking Good with Lollipop

The Fourth Birthday....

2008-03-21T08:15:00.000-07:00

Because we have been so behind on blog entries, we never did get around to Andrew’s 4th birthday party. The short details are that we held it at Pump-it-Up – the inflatable party zone – on August 5, 2006 in the morning. It was a Disney Cars themed party. From what I remember, everyone had a good time – as you can see in the pictures below.

Andrew Enjoying Blowing Out His Candle at His School Party

Andrew and His School Friends Enjoying Donuts

Birthday Prince Eating Donut

Nathan, Annika & Andrew - Friends - Getting Ready to Pump You Up

Aunt Theresa & Papa at Pump-It-Up

Andrew & Robin After Coming Down the Big Slide

Andrew, Robin & Noah at the Party

All the Kids And the Standard Pump-It-Up Party Pose

The Birthday Cake - Go McQueen

Uncle Howard, Noah & Papa in the Party Room

Andrew Blowing Out His Candles (See - 4)!

Andrew and Ella Discussing the Situation (Andrew LOVED Ella from His Preschool)

Andrew Has Found a Solution

Andrew, Robin and Evan

Andrew and His Cal Hat and Shirt Made by Nana and Funded by Nana & Grampster

Andrew With His Lionel Train Light from Howard & Stacy

Howard & Stacy Opening a Small Anniversary Gift (2 Years)!

The night of the party, we departed for a 7 day Alaska cruise out of Seattle. Someday there will be a post on that as well....

The Boy is Five

2008-03-19T00:15:00.000-07:00

When the first born child enters the world and needs you for everything, it is hard to imagine the true weight of your responsibility. Most parents are just trying to survive – make it to the next nap, until bedtime, until the little one can sleep through the night and so on. And over time, the child’s need for the parent changes – and so does the recognition of the weight of responsibility.

Andrew’s 5th birthday was on August 5, 2007. The boy is five (because it takes forever for us to write, edit and integrate the pictures into these blog entries, of course now he is FIVE AND A HALF). It’s hard to imagine that he’s five. But he is. I think my recognition of the responsibility for him has been growing over the past year. It really hit me over the last couple of weeks. My job transformed from taking care of his basic needs to telling him what to do in each situation to trying to teach him how to make the best choices for him in those situations. Obviously this will be a lifelong process, but the responsibility of it all is a little daunting. Somehow it must all work out.

For Andrew’s 5th birthday, we had a party at the Helen Woodward Animal Center in Rancho Santa Fe. We had 20 kids and pretty close to 20 parents. The party started at 10:30am, so we arrived about 10am to pick out the different animals that Andrew wanted his friends to see. Andrew selected a snake, a tortoise and a dove and Robin picked a pony. I did not pick any animals. I just unpacked the food, drinks, party favors, and other assorted party supplies. Andrew had requested a fire fighter/fire truck theme, so we had a cool fire fighter/fire truck cake, plates, cups, tablecloths (littered with little red fire fighters – picture a red GI Joe and substitute a fire hose for the gun), napkins, and the like. We played pin the balloons on the fire truck.

Andrew Ready to Party with Firetrucks

The party started with a little playtime in the craft room. After 15 minutes of freedom, the structured educational portion of the party began. The educational leader was a wonderful lady named Leona (is there anyone under 55 named Leona – I doubt it). In no time flat, she had the kids marching around in unison like graduation day at Boot Camp. After marching over to a different area, all of the kids sat in a line on a bench waiting for the pony to come out.

Kids in a Line (Leona is in Blue)

Despite my best efforts, Andrew would have none of petting the pony; even though he rode one at the Del Mar Fair just months before. The boy has a very strong will. So we left it at no petting and invited his friends up to pet the pony. While the kids were petting the pony, Sam (Robin’s Dad), who had been waiting at Ralph’s for the cake to be finished up, strode in with cake in hand.

The Cake Man (Thank you Dad)!

We got some good pictures of the kids waiting to pet and the kids petting the pony.

Waiting Patiently . . .

This My Friends is a Pony

Nathan Pollock and Noah Waiting Their Turn

Cheryl & Carl Alberola (Is Carl Catching Some Shut Eye Standing Up?)

Caitlin Alberola in Deep Thought

Nathan & Taylor Lyon (Methinks They are Related)

Annika Patel Actually Pets the Pony

After the pony, at Leona’s direction, we moved inside (all marching in line) to see a snake. The python was inside a pillowcase inside a crate. I've had enough bad dreams about this already. Snakes in pillowcases – not good! All of the kids had the chance to pet the snake – with just two fingers – provided everyone was quiet enough. We had a few little outbursts, but the kids really did well. Most everyone pet the snake. Even Andrew!

Shhhhh - Quiet for the Snake (Thanks to Tobias Starling (his brother Gabriel) and Andrew)

The Snake

Andrew Petting the Snake!

The kids then marched in unison outside to the tortoise area. While the tortises had very cool shells – made of the same stuff as our fingernails you know – it was hard to get any good shots of the kids petting the tortoise. They did march into the tortise habitat in groups of four to feel that tortoise shell.

I Swear There is a Tortise Behind the Wall of Kids

After the tortises, we all headed back inside (in line) for the doves. The room was dark, so picture taking was a little rough.

Robin left the group before we headed into see the doves and headed over to setup all the food and drink as fast as she could. She did a great job – by the time we got back from petting the doves (two fingers again), the fruit and veggies were all out on trays, the 7 layer dip and onion dip were ready for chips to barge in and the chips were in baskets waiting for our greedy fingers. We were just waiting on the pizza – which arrived about 5 minutes later.

Leona then left us all to our own devices. Chaos insued. The kids could wander all throughout the yard and play with lots of different things – bubbles, beanbag toss, pin the balloons on the fire truck, etc. Thankfully we had lots of parents there to keep things to a controlled chaos. Robin and I mostly ran around the yard like chickens with our heads cut off trying to make sure every last detail was handled. The kids just played and had a grand time.

The Devine Family (Abby, Johnny, Ansley & Halle)

Mommy & Andrew (Shot of the Day IMHO)

Andrew's Friends from Beth Am Preschool (Milan Rosenbaum, Joshua Dagan & Gabriel Starling)

The cake and signing turned out pretty great. We had a little issue getting the candles lit, but it all worked out just fine; the candles got lit and Andrew blew them all out.

The Cake!

Andrew Putting the Fire Out

Andrew Gets a Taste of His Cake

So Does Noah!

Andrew (& Noah) Finally Gets Comfortable on a Horse

Andrew had a wonderful time at the party. As the party ended, he turned to Robin and said – “Now Mommy, Now I’m five.” He loved petting the different animals. He loved that a lot of his friends were there and shared in his celebration. Thanks so much to all of you who were able to come and share in his birthday (Carl & Cheryl Alberola (and Caitlin) even came down from Orange County – on their 6th Anniversary). After the party, we put all of the “stuff” back into the minivan and headed home. Noah went down for a nap right away. Andrew stayed downstairs – no nap or quiet time on his birthday – and got calls from Nana & the Grampster (right at 1:54p – the time of his birth), Auntie Karin and Uncle Howard & Aunt Stacy. He opened some presents from them and enjoyed playing with some of his new things.

Andrew Talking to Nana and Holding Some of Her Handiwork (Red the Firetruck Patch on Pants)!

Andrew and His Cars Shirt!

Andrew and His New Firetruck (Red)

I Think He Likes His New Geotrax

Thanking Papa in Person

That night we had some of the leftover pizza and headed out to Chuck E. Cheese’s to see how many tokens we could cram into the rides and games there. Both boys had a great time.

Now, he’s five. We’ve got a lot of work to do. He is intense and persistent and sensitive. And we love him more than anything.

Not This Year – Cal v. USC 2007

2008-03-17T00:30:00.000-07:00

Every year I say that this may be the year for Cal football. This year honestly looked like it might well be after the Bears started off with five straight wins and moved up to the #2 ranking in the country. This was higher than they had ever been ranked in my lifetime. But then the wheels came off the bus. They lost to Oregon State after a terrible last minute decision by backup QB Kevin Riley. They then blew a very winnable game against UCLA (we were at the Rose Bowl with Karin and watched the Bears implosion). This started a crazy string of games where Cal lost by throwing a last minute game ending interception. It was maddening. Maybe next year will be our year.

In the midst of Cal’s crazy losing streak, we packed the family up in the minivan and headed north to Berkeley for the Cal v. USC game. We go every year (as evidenced by last year’s blog on the game). We left on Friday November 9th at about 12:30pm. The drive took us FOREVER and we ended up arriving at Chez Cole at around 10:30pm. We quickly got the boys into bed so that they would be ready for the next day and the big game.

The next morning, we arranged to meet my Mom and Dad, my sister, Jason McCarthy and the Holstein family at Zachary’s Chicago Pizza on the North side of the Cal campus. Zachary’s is deep dish Chicago style pizza and is an institution in the Bay Area. The flaky crust, cheese galore and mountains of tomatoes on top never disappoint. We had a great time catching up with Jason and the Holsteins. This was our first opportunity to meet baby Alexander Holstein. He did a good job sleeping right in his daddy’s arms – as all good babies should! And we had a great time as usual with my parents and my sister. It was great we could all get together on game day.

My parents had agreed to watch over Noah while we took Andrew to the game. Thank goodness! It was a rainy day, so we needed all the help we could get. Sometime, on a sunny game day, we are going to have to get my Mom & Dad to come into the stadium with us and enjoy the taste of a Cal victory. Maybe next year!

As the rain began to fall, we (Evan, Robin, Andrew, Karin & Jason) headed up to Pierre & Kristin’s place for a little pre-game food and drink. It was nice to see Pierre & Kristin and to prepare ourselves for the game and the weather. Since it was the USC game and Robin roots for the Trojans, she chose not to wear red, but rather red shoes. Robin has been to too many games where CAL fans chant to “take off that red (fill in the blank). She does not want to suffer that embarrassment.

We headed off for the stadium, prepared to brave the rain. After the first quarter, it became pretty clear that we were not going to make it that long. The rain was pouring down and even with our umbrellas, we could not avoid getting EXTREMELY wet. As we got wet, Andrew (and the rest of us) started to get very cold. It was right at that point when Andrew decided that he wanted his frozen lemonade. At every game we go to, Andrew gets frozen lemonade. Evidently it doesn’t matter if it’s raining or not. So I headed over to the lemonade stand and picked up the lemonade and then wandered back to our seats. As Andrew ate, he got colder and colder and started to shiver.

Evan and Andrew in the Rain (Jason in the Background)

Jason and Karin in the Rain

Evan, Andrew and Robin in the Rain (Catching on Here?)

Andrew couldn’t make it through the lemonade. We couldn’t make it through the end of the half. With a couple minutes to go before halftime, we all got up to leave and to go find dry land.

Andrew's Half Eaten Frozen Lemonade (Too Cold for Lemonade)

The Scoreboard (Fuzzy - It was Raining) When We Left

We made our way back up the hill to Pierre & Kristin’s place to pickup Karin’s car. Robin did give me big kudos for carrying Andrew all the way up the hill back to Pierre's house in the rain. Going up that hill is tough under normal circumstances; much tougher in the rain with a 45 pound kid on your shoulders. From there we jumped in Karin’s car and headed to a café in Berkeley to warm up. Since our clothes were soaked, we tried our best to dry off. Andrew did a better job than the rest of us.

Andrew Generally Naked (Except for His Shirt and Underwear - Thanks to Karin for Providing the Blanket for Andrew))

Andrew Enjoying His Hot Chocolate (Better Idea than Frozen Lemonade)

Me Like Hot Chocolate! (See the Dark Spots on His Shirt – Water Spots!)

Karin Enjoying Her Warm Tasty Beverage

Jason and His

Robin All Wet

Evan All Wet

The game ended as it usually does. Bears lose; Trojans win. Of course it was another last minute interception to doom the Bears. Robin was happy. I was not.

After the game had ended, my parents came to the café to meet us. I thought Mom & Dad were close by so I wrapped Andrew up in the blanket and started to head outside to meet them. Just then I got a call from them saying they were actually only down on San Pablo. So I turned around and headed back inside to wait a little longer. As I do this, Andrew asks, “Daddy, why are we going back inside.” I said to him, “Because it is cold and raining outside.” Somewhat concerned, Andrew looked up at me and said, “Daddy, are we staying the night here?” Thankfully the answer was “no”!

Shortly thereafter, my parents arrived. Evidently, they all fared much better than the rest of us – not as wet. After we had Noah back in tow, we then took Jason back up to Pierre & Kristin’s to pickup his car. After we made sure Jason was off safely, we headed back to the Cole house to crash for the night.

The next morning, we met up with my parents for breakfast in Berkeley at Fat Apples. The boys had a lot of fun playing with Nana, Grampster and Auntie Karin at the restaurant. To top it off, there was a picture of Jack London and his second wife, Charmain Kittredge at the restaurant. My mother, Charmy Ann, is named after Charmain. Very cool!

Charmy Ann beneath a Picture of Jack London and Charmian (her namesake) at Fat Apples in Berkeley

After that breakfast, we headed over to the Tilden Park steam trains for some fun with good portions of the Cal Gang. We went on the train, blew our whistles, wore our hats (knitted by Jennifer Pesetsky) and had a good time hanging out. Of course, we took a few pictures of everyone together. It was a cool, but lovely day in the Berkeley hills.

Andrew Blowing His Whistle

The Boys Waiting for the Train

Ready to Ride with the Pesetskys

Jason and Evan Ready to Ride

The Pesetskys are Happy (Steaming Happy)!

Two Boys Posing in Front of the Engine

The Whole Group (Sorems, Jason, Pesetskys, Coles & KrishnaFullartons)

Justin, Noah and Andrew Watching the Train Depart

Andrew, Justin and Noah - Pose for a Photo, I Think Not!

Happy Family in Tilden Park

That evening, we enjoyed a wonderful dinner at the Cole house, courtesy of Susan and Pete. Jason joined us and it was wonderful for all. Pete even gave us a glimpse of his new HD camcorder. The picture on that thing was incredible. While we were watching the beautiful color and crisp picture of Justin’s Halloween celebration at his preschool, I told Robin that we were going to have to get one of these HD camcorders. She said, “Why?” Pete, in typical Pete fashion, chimed in with, “Robin, if you have to ask that question, then obviously you do not understand.” Understand or not, we don’t have the free cash to be getting one of those anytime soon!

On Monday morning, November 12, Veteran’s Day, we drove home to San Diego. The drive home was not nearly as long as the drive up. We had a great family weekend despite the Bears loss. Maybe 2008 will be Cal's year – one can hope.

Boo! Neigh!

2008-03-08T00:00:00.000-08:00

Every year Halloween is a big deal around our house. Halloween 2007 was no exception. Usually late October is about the onset of fall (as it goes) in Southern California. The weather gets a little cooler, high temperatures in the upper 70’s give way to the low 70’s, night falls a little earlier, the long sleeve shirts come out, the winds howl and blow some of our trees down and the neighborhood decorations start to appear. When fall comes, the Sorems get ready for pumpkins, pumpkin seeds, a little fall outing and wonderful costumes. This year we had a Ghost (Andrew) and a Horse (Noah) on our hands.

Most years we make a pilgrimage up to Bates Nut Farm to pounce around on some hay bails, check out some pony rides, pet a few animals and pick out some picture perfect pumpkins. Often we make the trip with the Pollock Family, but this year they had to bow out as they had just returned from their European Vacation to the soot and ash that lay across the Southern California Desert. So, on Sunday morning, October 28th, we trekked out to Valley Center with the boys. The day felt more like August 1st as temperatures were in the low 90’s in Valley Center and the boys drank water and Gatorade like they eat candy on Halloween. We went to the petting zoo, watched the boys ride the ponies around in a circle, went on a tractor hay ride, went pumpkin surfing and even pushed a few Big Mac pumpkins together for some pictures. Robin and I were both trying too hard to get just the right picture of the boys. In the end though, we think we got a few good pictures and we are still talking to each other.

Andrew Loves Feeding Goats

Noah the Horseman

Andrew Trotting Along

Hay Suspended

Two Boys at Bates Nut Farm

Daddy Pushing the Wheelbarrow (Boys Inside)

Noah, Pumpkin Surfer

Andrew, Pumpkin Inspector

Andrew Carrying Pumpkin to Market

Mommy Pushing the Wheelbarrow (Boys Outside)

Two Beautiful Boys on Two Big Macs

What a Beautiful Day at Bates

We bought three standard size pumpkins, two little pumpkins and two tiny pumpkins. All for a pretty reasonable price – though perhaps less so when you factor in the $20 in gas it took to get us up to Valley Center and back. We took the pumpkins home, worked with the boys to get them all cleaned out and Robin and I (MOSTLY ROBIN) spent the next couple of days carving away. The boys had a lot of fun carving up the pumpkins and pulling out the seeds. I so wish we were still eating pumpkin seeds (we like them baked with garlic salt – TASTY).

Noah Cleaning Out a Pumpkin

Look, He Got ONE Seed

Andrew - A Little More Efficient

Andrew Checking for More Seeds

Checking Closer

Robin (and I) have come a long way in our carving abilities over the past several years. By way of illustration, below is a comparison of pictures of our efforts from 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2007 (in 2004, we ran out of time and just drew faces on the front of the pumpkins – poor form).

Comparison Shots from 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2007 - Improvement!

You can see the improvement year over year. This year was a huge leap forward. We started with the Mickey Mouse pumpkin. In itself, it was not that big of a deal to carve the front. However, in order to keep the “ears” (aka little pumpkins) on, we had to devise a plan. Originally we were going with long bamboo skewers, but they proved too fragile for the task. Robin came up with the idea to drill into the top of the little pumpkin and the side of the big pumpkin and just leave the drill bit holding the two pumpkins “together.” Good idea! So here is our Mickey effort in all its glory.

Mickey's Lit Up

Assembling the Mickey Mouse Pumpkin (Drill Required, Knives Optional)

In addition, since we had a Ghost and a Horse, why not carve a ghost and a horse into the side of our other two pumpkins? Robin did a fantastic job with both of them. The details are really amazing (for us). After she was finished with all the difficult parts, I would come in with my little knife and clean everything up. But the real credit goes to her. Here they are.

Boo's Ghost Pumpkin

Odin's Horse Pumpkin

As discussed at length in the 2006 blog entry regarding Halloween and the 2005 entry my mother, Charmy Sorem, has been the costume guru since about forever and a day. This year, not only are the costumes lovely, but they are award winning. Andrew wore his Ghost costume to Kindergarten at Ocean Air School on Halloween and won an award for the Kindergarten grade. He received a nice card from Principal Gary Wilson and a $10 gift card to Barnes & Noble (thank you very much). Robin thinks that Andrew should buy his Nana a book with the gift card. Obviously it is intended to spur his continued reading efforts. As an aside, we are very pleased with his efforts and progress in reading this year; it has been amazing to see him grow and a true joy to watch. So now Nana has made an award winning costume for her grandchild. How wonderful! The excitement in her voice when we all called to let her know was palpable. How grand! A big THANKS to Nana for making the boy’s costumes.

This year, Nana sent the boys costumes down early. So we took a picture of both boys in their costumes just after we received them from the great seamstress of the North. The boys both loved them. My particular favorite is Noah’s candy basket, labeled “Odin’s Oats.” My parents have Norwegian names for each of the boys – Andrew (Laars) and Noah (Odin) – and the alliteration is perfect.

The Ghost and the Horse from Nana

On Halloween, Robin’s Dad, Sam, came down to San Diego to help us out and to see the boys in action. This allowed Robin to go to Andrew’s school on Halloween morning for the parade and the class party. She had the camera in full go mode and took several great pictures of Andrew and the other kids in action. We'll save these for a blog entry about all of Andrew's school parties (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Winter and Valentine's Day).

On Halloween night, I picked up Andrew for his swim class while Robin, Noah and Sam headed over to the Patel house to get ready to romp around their neighborhood and collect gobs of candy that we’ll never let the kids fully consume. After swim class, Andrew and I headed out to the car to drive over to the Patel’s house and meet with Robin, Noah, Sam and the Patel Family. But of course – MY CAR BATTERY WAS DEAD. I went into action mode. I pushed the car out of the parking spot, down the parking aisle and out into the long driveway area of the Noonan Family Swim School (and other businesses). I then gave the car a good running push (all the while Andrew was buckled into his seat with no driver). I ran around, jumped in the car and tried to jump start it. NOTHING. I called Robin to let her know that my car would not start. Unfortunately, I was panting so hard from my car moving and jump start efforts that she could not understand me very well. I then pulled out my jumper cables and proceeded to try and flag down the next five or so cars that had to drive around me to either enter or exit the parking lot. No luck. I then started standing in the middle of the driving lanes. I stopped the first guy, who just shook his head no and drove around me. I stopped the second guy, a 19 year old kid, who told me that his car was new and he did not know how to use jumper cables. I told him that it was no problem; all he had to do was sit in his car and rev his engine when I asked him to. He then said he just didn’t feel comfortable. Bear in mind of course that I am in a massive hurry to get over to the Patel house so we can quickly eat, get the boys in their costumes and head out for Halloween. Finally, I stop the next guy and he says that he is in a hurry. I must have given him a pathetic enough look because he said, “Yeah, OK, I understand” and got out of his car. He had a nice Range Rover, but he could not figure out how to pull the latch to open the hood. After a minute or so of fumbling around with that, we got it open, found his battery and hooked up the cables. The cable going to the positive side of his battery would not stay on without me holding on to it. So, at risk of life, and turning out looking like Young Frankenstein for Halloween, I held the positive side of the jumper cable onto his battery while he went over and started my car. It worked! After thanking the gentleman profusely, we were on our way. NOTE TO SELF: Next time someone needs a jump, help them!

Andrew and I made it to the Patel house a little harried, but just fine. The Patel kids, Annika and Lena, dressed up as a Barbie Princess and a Lion, respectively. The Patels had kindly put together a pizza and salad dinner for us. After dinner, we put the kids' costumes on and headed out. The kids all had a grand time trotting from house to house and truly enjoyed the spectacle that is Halloween. In particular, Andrew, in typical Andrew fashion, stopped to visit most every display, pumpkin, light, or other decoration that he saw. And our little Noah found it enjoyable to walk right into peoples houses when they opened the door. I think he felt like they were holding back on the good candy and he wanted to be sure he got his best shot. All of the kids had a great time, which is evident in the pictures below!

Boo and Odin

Put Your Arms Out Like This

We Have a Shot Like This Every Year

Comparison Shot from 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007

Annika the Barbie Princess, Lena the Lion, Andrew the Ghost and Noah the Horse Trick-or-Treating Together

The Four Kids!

The Only Shot Where You Can See Both of Noah's Eyes

Odin Dropped Some of His Oats (See, Only One Eye)

Lena Doesn't Look Ferocious

Spooky on Halloween

Now You See Why Andrew’s Costume Won a Prize!

The Beautiful Barbie Princess Leaving the Monster Party

Brigitte the Witch Casts a Spell on Lena to Close her Eyes

Miki (She Lives 2 Houses Over from Annika and is in Andrew's Class), Annika and Andrew

After we made it home, we took a few last pictures of the boys in their costumes in front of the pumpkins. The boys were tired, we were tired, but we got a few gems.

Andrew and His Ghost Pumpkin – How Fitting

Noah and His Horse Pumpkin!

Our Three Creations

The day before Halloween, Andrew asked me and Robin what we were going to be for Halloween. We told him that this year we were just going to watch out for him and Noah. Then on Halloween night, when we were getting ready to lay the kids down for the night, Robin, rocking Noah in the rocking chair in his room, asked Noah, “what do you want to be for Halloween next year?" Without delay, Noah replied, "A Bison." After laying Noah down, we asked Andrew the same question, to which he responded, "A Witch." I advised Andrew that boy Witches were referred to as Wizards and then asked him if he wanted to be a Witch or a Wizard for next Halloween. He replied, "A Witch." So next year, maybe we’ll have a Witch and a Bison on our hands. I wonder what Robin and I will be. A Wizard and a Native American perhaps...

Happy Birthday to Mommy

2008-03-04T23:30:00.000-08:00

Robin turned another year older today, March 4, 2008. This was not a milestone birthday like LAST YEAR, so we just played it mellow for the most part. Robin and I had a nice lunch together. The family had a nice dinner together. At dinner tonight, each of the boys sang their own version of Happy Birthday to Mommy.

When we got home from dinner, I asked the boys to sit on the couch with Mommy while I went to get presents. When I came back in, the boys were loving Mommy and wishing her the best of happy birthdays. See below....

Noah's Big Week

2008-03-02T23:59:00.000-08:00

The week (7 days) from January 30 through February 6, 2008, was a really big week for our Noah. He was preparing to turn 3 years old on February 21. And he got ready to welcome age 3 in grand style.

On January 30, the first of his 2 year molars (bottom left) began to appear. The second one appeared on February 6 (bottom right) and the top ones are coming in now. The two year molars are the last of the baby teeth. It took Noah a little while to get them, but they are in and chomping now.

Two days later, on February 1, Robin started potty training Noah. Robin is pretty ambitious. I went up to the Bay Area for the weekend (the first weekend in February is an annual pilgrimage for me for the Chi Phi Alumni Banquet). Despite my absence, Robin went for it. I left on Friday afternoon. By the time I came back on Sunday, Noah was pretty much potty trained. He had just 5 accidents the entire first week of training. He's had but a handful since. He was ready. Now he wears big boy underwear. Please use caution when asking him about this; he is all too pleased to show you!

Just a few days later, the front rail on Noah's crib broke. It had a small crack for a long time, but while Robin and I were "tinkering" with it, we broke it much worse. We promptly removed the crib rail and the next night, Noah slept in a "big boy bed" for the first time.

In the span of about a week, Noah went from our baby sleeping in a crib, wearing diapers and waiting for his final molars to come in to a little boy sleeping in a big boy bed, wearing underwear and with a full set of chompers. Crazy!

That's a big week!

Orange?

2008-03-02T23:58:00.000-08:00

Almost a year ago, I posted an entry about Andrew and his plans regarding future favorite colors. The title of the post was - What About Orange? Andrew picked lots of colors to be his favorites in years to come, but he left orange off the list.

Now of course, Orange is his new favorite color. After all, his hair is orange. Why not?

And in the spirit of that prior post, here are some recent pictures of the boys - in orange of course.... Noah at 3 Years and Andrew at 5 1/2 Years. Time flies....

Noah "The Pirate"

2008-02-23T22:30:00.000-08:00

On February 15, 2008, the four of us went to Disneyland with Karin. Our Christmas gift from my parents and my sister - passes to Disneyland for the four of us - is another big hit this year!

While waiting in line for Pirates of the Caribbean, we asked Noah to perform his pirate gig. He does a pretty good "Arrrr" followed by a rousing rendition of "Yo-Ho, Yo-Ho." Andrew gets into the act a little. And then Auntie Karin finishes it off with a stellar Pirate Wench "Arr..." We hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Here is the link.

Andrew Goes Skiing

2008-02-22T00:00:00.000-08:00

We've uploaded a short video of Andrew learning to ski at Snow Summit at Big Bear on February 12, 2008. He did pretty well and had a lot of fun.

Here is the link - Yee-Haw!

Hope you enjoyed 1/10th as much as Andrew did!

Valhalla Camping Weekend 2007

2008-01-20T23:00:00.000-08:00

My high school friend Scott Chadwick got married on April 2, 2005; just a few years back. At his wedding, Robin, Noah and I (Noah was just about 6 weeks old at the time and needed regular snacks) sat at a table with Craig Patchin and Richard Hedgpeth. While I have known Richard the longest – dating back to age 8, I have known all of them for a long, long time. Plus, we all went to high school together. On Scott’s wedding night, the seed for a potential camping trip was planted.

Finally, after a few years of talking, we finally put it all together. The four of us planned to meet up on September 28, 2007, in Kernville, California at Camp James for a weekend of camping and catching up. Evidently this is the same campground that Theresa Paluso (now Pollock) and her family visited time and again when she was a little girl. It turned out to be a great spot.

Craig drove down from his home in El Dorado Hills, just outside of Sacramento, and arrived in Kernville at about 6pm on Friday night. I arrived about 30 minutes later after driving up from San Diego. Craig and I set up the campsite, cooked ourselves some hot dogs and relaxed waiting for the two other guys to arrive. I was the best man in Craig’s wedding back on June 29, 1997 (over 10 years ago) and he was a groomsman in Robin and my wedding. We have been good friends a quite some time.

At about 8:30pm, Scott Chadwick arrived at the camp. Scott had driven up from Los Angeles where he was attending a labor related hearing on behalf of the City of San Diego. He works in the labor relations area for the City and from everything I can tell, he is doing a bang up job. Scott and Craig were close friends back in high school – ran cross country together, toilet papered a few houses together, that kind of thing. So it was great to get the chance to have us all reminisce together.

It turns out that Richard Hedgpeth got delayed a little bit and was not able to leave until Saturday morning, but he made it up there. It was sure great to get a chance to spend some time with Rich. It’s been a long time since we got the chance to hang out much. Rich and I were best friends from about age 8 or 9 up until the middle of high school. We grew apart a bit at that time, as friends often do. But I’ve always considered him to be one of those special people in my life. He is one of the few people that knew me best for a good portion of my formative years. We played a lot of baseball, soccer, basketball, and worked together in cub scouts, and various other endeavors. One such endeavor that I will never forget was my Dad’s crazy plan for the two of us to get sub minimum wage for scraping the old paint off and then putting a new coat of white paint on a seriously long (1/2 mile?) wooden fence that went around my parents’ old Sam’s Ranch property out in El Cajon. I learned a valuable lesson about hard work.

While I only took our little camera (did you think I was dumb enough to take the big expensive camera on a camping trip with my high school friends?), I managed to get a fine picture of the guys on Friday night.

Scott - A Little Too Excited About His Beer - and Craig

On Saturday morning, we broke out the fishing gear and tried our hand in the Kern River. Much to my amazement, after about an hour, we found a great fishing hole. I had one stretch where I pulled in a fish on three consecutive casts. Somehow, I think this had less to do with skill and more to do with luck. But I’ll take it.

Scott at the Fishing Hole

Cast This Way if You Wish to Catch Fish

I convinced the guys to go to the Kern River Brewing Company to watch the Cal vs. Oregon game on Saturday afternoon. Amusingly, Andrew and I had traveled up to Berkeley to see the Cal vs. Oregon game last year and the Patchin family joined us. So this is two years running that I’ve seen Cal beat Oregon with Craig Patchin. Perhaps he is the Beat Oregon good luck charm. The patrons at the brewery were so nice - especially given how loud I was during the second half. Just after Cal scored to go up 31 to 24 with just a couple minutes to play, Scott says, “Ok - I think we're good to go.” I looked him dead in the eye and said, "Obviously you don't know Cal football - no lead is ever safe." A pretty good Cal Blog agrees with me 100%, check it out. Thankfully I had driven to the brewery. So we stayed until the end of the game and I had a couple more heart attacks. But we won. What a game it was!

A couple of observations about the game:

1. The field goal was good. The game would not have been that close if the ref had decided to look up and watch the ball sail right over the goalpost.

2. Cal had 3 good chances to put it away late in the game and they let them go. There is no way we don't score after recovering a muffed kickoff return.

3. Tedford mixes it up, but thank god he was stubborn about the run all game. Our runs in the first half, where we didn't make more than a few yards, are what helped open things up in the second half. Without the run, they would have been much better able to key off DeSean Jackson.

4. DeSean Jackson is THE MAN. He had 11 catches for 161 yards and 2 touchdowns. Incredible. I honestly think every one of his catches went for either a first down or a touchdown (kind of like a first down into the end zone).

5. Tedford is a class act. Here is his post game quote: "It's not a vindictive win by any means," Tedford said. "It's just a great win for our program."

Exactly my friends. It's good to know we can win at Oregon every 20 years or so (our last victory was in 1987, before I even attended Cal).

After this game, the Bears were ranked #3 in the country. That is the highest they have ever been ranked in my lifetime. Go Bears!

After the game, we headed back to our fishing hole. After casting about for another hour or so, we determined that the fish were gone. During this time, Rich Hedgpeth showed up. Continuing to cast about and catching nothing, we decided to pack it in and head back to camp. We decided to cook up the three fish we had saved so we went out to the store to pickup some oil, breadcrumbs, spices and the like. We found what we were looking for and then proceeded to cook up the fish. We definitely need to take some cooking lessons!

Fish Frying

It Honestly Tasted Just Fine!

The fish tasted okay but the next morning, I did not feel well. Oh well. Better luck next time. For the rest of Saturday night, we played a little bit of cards, listened to some quality 80’s tunes on my iPod speaker hookup and enjoyed the fire and some conversation about old times and now. It was nice to be together with these old friends.

Rich, Craig & Scott

Rich, Evan & Craig

Scott, Evan & Craig

Any Idea Why the Short Guy is Always in the Middle

Sunday morning we headed out pretty early. I was feeling awful (from the fish) and everyone else had a good drive ahead of them – plus the Charger game started on TV in San Diego at 1pm. On the way out of town, Scott followed me. About halfway to Bakersfield from Kernville, I had to pull over to the side of the road. Some unpleasantries occurred there, but it sure managed to help me feel better. Note to self - Cook the fish more thoroughly!

Well, I learned a few important lessons from the weekend. The top 5 items from the weekend, in my book were as follows:

5. When sweeping out your tent, please ensure that all shin bones are clear of your swing (Scott got a big bruise after I smacked him in the shin with the duster)

4. Trout looks much better than it tastes, even when properly battered.

3. “Who do you think is next?” - That’s right, it’s Rich (Rich had never played the card game Hearts before).

2. Losing half your stomach on the windy road home is no fun – consider refusing to eat trout next trip.

1. The best fishing is definitely between 10 and 11am on the big rock down from spot 72 – I should know, I caught between 5 and 20 fish.

Of course, the best part for me was the Cal victory. Just awesome! Unfortunately, it was followed just a few nights later by the Padres collapse against the Rockies in the Wild Card play in game. Big highs and big lows. So it goes.

The weekend was a big hit. There was even talk of trying to do it again next year. We also discussed trying to be more inclusive of other old friends. So, if you get this and are interested in being a part of the Valhalla Camping trip for 2008, let me know. We shall see what the family brings next year. It was certainly nice to get together with old friends I had not seen in some time.

Look Out Australia – Here We Come

2007-12-26T03:00:00.000-08:00

For many years, Robin and I have talked about taking a trip to Australia. We thought about it for our honeymoon and we thought about it again a few years ago before Noah was born. Now the opportunity is upon us. On December 26, 2007, we depart LAX for a flight down to Sydney, Australia. We are going Down Under.

We will be in Sydney for five days and four nights. Most importantly, we will be there for New Years Eve. We look forward to an amazing evening on the Sydney Harbor. We also hope to get out to Bondi Beach and take a tour of the Opera House, amongst other things. We hear great things about Sydney and we hope to be able to say great things upon our return.

From Sydney we fly up to Cairns. We will be there for a day or so and will probably catch the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway and the Kuranda Scenic Railway. From there, we will hop on a two day, one night live aboard boat that will take us out to a couple of spots on the Great Barrier Reef. I have been dying to go there ever since I read the book Monkey Dancing – a great story about a father and an amazing trip with his two children, ages 9 and 13. The Reef is presently at grave risk due to global warming. According to the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the Reef as we know it will be functionally extinct by 2030. We’ve got our guidebook to Tropical North Queensland, we’ve purchased an underwater camera, and we have some tips from my Uncle Michael and Aunt Lynda (thank you guys) on underwater photography and are really looking forward to visiting the Reef. After our boat trip, we then come back to Cairns and head up the coast to Port Douglas for a couple of days. We will hit the Daintree National Park and Daintree River. On January 8, 2008, we return to Cairns then to Sydney and then back to LAX.

The boys are not coming with us. After some pretty pleases with sugar on top, my Mom and Dad agreed to come down to San Diego and watch the boys while Robin and I enjoy this trip. The boys are a handful, so if you are in San Diego and have some time on your hands, give my parents a call at our house. I am sure they would love to see you – and have you spend a few quality hours with Andrew and Noah.

When we resurface, I think a THANK YOU with a little more than sugar on top will be in order.

G’Day Mate!

Central Coast of Relaxation

2007-12-26T02:30:00.000-08:00

When Robin and I arrived home from our last “just us” trip, Andrew was having “quiet time” and Noah was sleeping. When Andrew was done with his quiet time, he came out of his room and started to head downstairs. When he got to the bottom landing, he was smiling, giddy and excited. He leaped down the stairs into Robin's waiting arms. He shed a few tears of happiness while Robin held him. Mommy (and Daddy too) came home. Noah woke right about that same time and he walked slowly down the stairs. Robin scooped him up too. Andrew let go of Mommy after a couple of minutes. It took Noah almost an hour before he wanted to go down from Mommy’s arms. We were home....

On Friday June 30, just after noontime, Robin and I got in the car and headed north for a getaway. We returned on the 4th of July. My Mom and Dad came down to our house and stayed with the boys during our getaway. Karin came down for a couple of nights to help out with the boys over the weekend. My Dad said, “It was really nice having Karin here; it's easier when it is 3 on 2.” Really?!? Despite the pure truth of that statement, we are not planning on hiring someone anytime soon. We wish.

We stayed one night in Solvang (Danish for sunny field) and four nights in Shell Beach, just north of Pismo Beach. We spent the time in the heart of the Central Coast of California. It was a great trip. It does not take much for relaxation to set in when you leave the daily life of watching over step and fetch-it. I do not think there is a better feeling than getting home and knowing you were missed. I think even Nana and Grampster missed us - or at least were glad we came home to relieve them of duty.

During our trip, we bought mood rings. While the colors changed slightly during the trip, it was usually from "Relaxed" to "Calm." It only took a day or two upon our return for us to discover new moods like "Fear," "Anxious," "Stressed," and "Nervous." Fortunately, during our respite, we were in the Central Coast of Relaxation.

Our drive up on Friday was miserable, which is good because we got the misery out of the way early. Robin wasn't feeling great - which is the only time I really drive. Let’s just say that I am not as “focused” when driving as Robin is. So I drove, for 7 hours in massive traffic on Friday afternoon, from San Diego up to Solvang. Thankfully we made it just before the sun went down. In contrast, the drive back home took Robin 4 hours 20 minutes and Pismo Beach is 50 miles further north than Solvang.

We had a nice dinner in Solvang on Friday night and a great day touring through the town in the morning. If you have not been to Solvang or Denmark go. The people were friendly, the Danishes were excellent, the sun was shining beautifully and the Beer Garden was just right. We had borrowed a polarizer for our camera for the trip (thank you Patels) and the pictures proved its worth. Now I need to go buy a couple for my lenses. I recently took a photography class and I would describe it as "somewhat" helpful. I still have a long way to go. (Thankfully though, we just recently got our camera sensor cleaned.) Regardless, check out the colors thanks to the polarizer!

Evan and Danish Flowers in Solvang

We Told You it was Solvang

Ahhh – A Big Cold One at the Beer Garden

Good Ol' Hans

On Saturday afternoon, we drove up to the Cliffs Resort in Shell Beach, just north of Pismo Beach off Highway 1. The resort was excellent. The "partial ocean view" from our room was nice. I got a good picture of the sunset the first night.

Sunset from our Hotel Balcony in Pismo Beach

Our room was very nice, but nothing could top all the wonderful food we had. Our first night, we had dinner at the Cracked Crab. According to Robin, this was the best meal of the trip. The basic premise of the place is super fresh shellfish boiled up and then dumped on your table. We were given about 6 different implements in order to bust up the crab and lobster. My personal favorite was my wooden hammer - which makes a pretty loud sound if you smash it on the table. We had two types of crab - Dungeness and Bairdi - and some lobster. The Bairdi crab was exceptional.

Cracked Crab (Lobster too) - Yummy!

They Make You Wear Silly Bibs – Felt Like Home!

Sunday we slept in and then went into Pismo for breakfast at a world famous cinnamon roll place, the name of which I cannot remember. But the cinnamon rolls were pretty good. We ordered three cinnamon rolls – under the theory that ordering four would certainly yield a funny look from the server. Robin was pretty much done after her first, which left me to finish off the other two (two plus two is four). I gladly accepted the challenge. Fortunately we skipped lunch. After cinnamon rolls, we headed over to an art fair at the Dinosaur Caves Park between Shell Beach and Pismo Beach. They had fifty or sixty different artisans’ works and we walked up and down the rows and rows of tents. After we tired of art, we headed over to the bluffs over the ocean. Robin sat down and patiently waited for me to take about 100 pictures of the ocean and the hundreds of birds prancing around giant igneous rocks jutting out of the water. Most of my pictures sucked, but under the law of averages, I did get a few good ones. My favorite is of Robin though.

The Art Faire at the Dinosaur Caves Park in Shell Beach

There Was a Lot of Bird Poop on this Rock

Birds in Flight

Robin in Relaxation Mode

Sunday evening I tried to take some pictures of the two of us off our balcony at the hotel. We got one keeper.

Us on the Balcony

That night we had a great dinner at Steamers of Pismo. It was the nicest restaurant and had a grand view of the Pismo Beach Pier (more on that later). My favorite was the 22oz Stella Artois I had and Robin's was the Seafood Fondue. We capped the night off by going to see A Mighty Heart with Angelina Jolie in the role of Marianne Pearl. The movie is good (particularly the portrayal of Pakistan's efforts to catch Daniel Pearl's abductors), but the scene where she finds out about Daniel Pearl’s murder will stay with you. It was worth it just for that.

Monday we kayaked up in the Morro Bay estuary. Robin and I went in a double kayak - our second joint kayak experience - the first being at Carl and Cheryl Alberola's wedding in Maui six years ago. The water was calm; we saw tons of birds (Brown Pelicans, Blue Herons, Seagulls, etc.), a few Harbor Seals, beautiful sand dunes, the massive Morro Rock, and a LOT of seaweed. Robin also found some wonderfully colored sand dollars - including GREEN - which we'll probably make into a shadow box at some point. There were two gals on the tour with us. While my photography has a long way to go, the picture that one of the two gals took of Robin and I in front of Morro Rock shows that they have a lot further to go than I do.

The Marina in Morro Bay before Kayaking (Thank You Polarizer for Tese Colors)

Morro Bay is a Bird Estuary - SEE!

This Crane Appears to be Walking on Water when in Fact, There is a Mud Flat Just Beneath the Surface

Robin and Morro Rock

A Green Sand Dollar (Who Do You Think That is for? :)

I Got Carried Away with Pictures of the Seagull

Robin and I (a little blurry - due to operator error) and Morro Rock

Monday night we had dinner at the world famous Splash Cafe in Pismo. The chowder was amazing. Robin got us a crab and shrimp topper - just put right on top of the chowder - and that made it even better. The gamesmanship involved in getting a table at this place should not go un-commented upon. After we ordered, Robin took charge of the filling up our soda cups and I tried to jockey for position. I found an open table just fine, but I could not pry a stool loose from anyone. On my seventh attempt at asking someone if they were using that stool, I got a reprieve. However, in order to get the seat over to the table, I had to go under another table. This did not seem to faze anyone in the place. But like I said, the chowder was exceptional.

After enjoying our chowder, we headed out to the Pismo Beach Pier. We watched surfers eek out every last moment of daylight searching for a passable wave. The surf was not great. We did catch a few glimpses of good form. And we were relaxing. As the sun was nearly gone, we headed down to the very end of the Pier. As we approached, a group of boys in their late teens/ early twenties were dancing all around one guy with a partial mohawk who appeared to be reeling in a significant catch. A crowd gathered around as he fought the creature. As the battle neared an end, several of his buddies dropped grappling hooks over the edge of the Pier and brought up a 50 pound Bat Ray. It took almost 4 minutes for the guys to get all of the hooks out of the ray and for enough pictures to be taken. They dropped it over the edge and it looked like it swam away all alive – catch and release in action.

Tuesday morning we headed over to Avila Beach. We toured through the cutest little town and had a wonderful lunch at the Custom House. The sugar packets at the restaurant, from a company called Sugar for the Soul, have these interesting quotes from Author Noah benShea on them. Our two favorites were: "Do not kiss your children so they will kiss you back but so they will kiss their children, and their children's children" and "Parenting is a journey from management to consultant, if you're lucky." We will be back to Avila Beach with the boys. The stretch of beach is super family friendly and the town is just the right size for the family to hang out for a few days.

The Avila Beach Pier

We then headed up to Hearst Castle in San Simeon, about a 50 minute drive north. William Randolph Hearst (newspaper and media magnate of the 1920’s to 1950’s) built a palace on a hill overlooking the Pacific. We had previously done the main tour, so we opted for the "Garden" Tour - which is really a tour of all the buildings except for the main house. The place is a palace. I've always enjoyed European palace tours, so this was no different for me. I took a bunch of pictures and a few turned out all right.

The Columns Overlooking Willy's (the Neptune) Pool at Hearst Castle

Cupid and the Ocean

Evan and the Ocean (Who's Cuter - Wait, Don't Answer That!)

Willy's House (Our Favorite)

Willy had a Nice View

Tuesday evening we had sushi in San Luis Obispo and caught the new chick flick, Evening. As usual, I liked the movie more than Robin did. But I am a sucker for emotional films.

For our holiday drive, Robin and I did Pismo Beach to San Diego on the 4th. It was much, much easier than the Susanville to San Diego drive on Memorial Day with both boys. We arrived home just in time for a little BBQ and fireworks. A fantastic 4th of July with the family!

Grampster and Noah Playing with Fire(works)

Noah Excited About his Sparkler

Andrew, the Pyromaniac/Fire Chief

Nana and her Boys

Many thanks to Mom & Dad (& Karin who came down for the weekend) for watching the boys to give us this special time. I understand that they had some adventures of their own…as it should be. We missed the boys and they missed us…as it should be. We got back to Insanity (aka Normal Life) pretty quickly. But we will always have our memories of the Central Coast of Relaxation.

Thanksgiving 2007

2007-12-24T07:30:00.000-08:00

We did Thanksgiving in Susanville this year. We’ve had a few years down in San Diego, but for a variety of reasons, we headed up to Susanville and the Roseberry House this year.

Thankfully, Robin’s Dad (Sam) agreed to drive up with Robin and the boys on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. I stayed back to continue working for the Man (in this case, CA Attorney General Jerry Brown) and then flew up on Wednesday evening. Although Robin reported that the drive was long, the boys did pretty well and everyone made it there in time (12:30am) to collapse for the night.

My Mom & Dad have been running the Roseberry House, a four room bed & breakfast, with the Ernsts (Richard & Judi) for almost 4 years now. In that time, they have redone two of the rooms, built a craft/workshop building and completely remodeled the “cottage,” where the two of them live. All improvements are truly remarkable. We are very thankful that there is plenty of room for all of us to spread out when we make the trip up.

This year for Thanksgiving we had my Mom (Charmy) & Dad (Richard), Karin, the 4 of us (Evan, Robin, Andrew & Noah) and Robin’s Dad (Sam), as well as Mr. Rich Free (my parent’s old friend). As usual, my parents cooked up a major feast. I’ll have to see if I can get my Mom to release the document that lists out the various dishes of the Traditional Sorem Thanksgiving. Mom?

The morning of Thanksgiving, we ate Mom’s Special Cinnamon Rolls. Noah got the best of them!

Noah Giving Thanks for Nana's Homemade Cinnamon Roll

The cooks got the best of the food – by far! And everyone else who got to eat it were the winners. This year my favorite was the gravy. Is it ok to put gravy on cranberry sauce?

Nana and her Pumpkin Pie

Grampster and his Bird

Gathered Around for Thanksgiving Dinner (Sam, Noah, Robin, Andrew, Mr. Free, Charmy, Richard & Karin; I’m Taking the Darn Photo)

The boys played very well together during out stay. Andrew even snuggled up to Noah at one point while they were playing. I guess he is thankful for his little brother after all…

Andrew Snuggling up to Noah

Noah Wearing Auntie Karin's Jacket

The Boys Watching Ratatouille After Dinner

Noah and Daddy Relax with Full Tummies

Andrew Reading "One fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish" to Nana

Grampster Watching Ratatouille - Looking for Some Cooking Tips for Next Year

On Friday morning, we went on a tree hunt. My parents bought three permits to go into Lassen National Forest and cut down three Christmas trees. My parents and sister went in Mr. Free’s monster truck and we went in Homer (our name for our Honda Odyssey) and headed out into the forest to chop down a couple trees. Fortunately Mr. Free brought along his chainsaw to make the job just a little easier. The boys had a marvelous time trudging all around and picking up pinecones and watching in amazement as Mr. Free fell three trees. And the rest of us had a good time watching the boys (big and small).

Noah and the Forest

Andrew Laughing in the Forest

"We're Going on a [Pinecone] Hunt! We're Gonna Catch a Big One! We're Gonna Catch a Big One!"

Noah Searching for Big Pinecones - A "big one, big one"

The Boys Watching Mr. Free Play Paul Bunyan with a Chainsaw

Noah Loves his Auntie Karin

Evan and Grampster Carrying the "Catch"

Timber... (What the Boys Were Watching)

Evan, Mr. Free's Truck and Trees Pilled High

Happy Sorems in Lassen National Forest

Happy Rosenbaums in Lassen National Forest - Sam Looks a Little Cold (Shirt, Sweater, Two Jackets and a Scarf)

My parents offered to let us take one of the trees home with us. We readily accepted. This is like an official tree. Something a little better than Home Depot’s $50 special. So, my Dad and I put down a yellow blanket (this will become important later), laid the tree on top of the blanket and then strapped it down to Homer. About 50 knots later, it was all ready to go. We got a nice picture (thank you Mom) of the four of us ready to drive 650 miles with our tree perched atop Homer.

Homer, the Tree and the Four of Us – Ready to Drive

The drive home was long, but the boys again did wonderfully. Our most exciting stop was in Bridgeport (about 60 miles north of Bishop on US – 395). The boys got out and ran around a little. I took a couple pictures of the boys running around. We had taken some pictures from our Memorial Day drive back in this same parking lot – here is the link to that blog.

Noah Running in Bridgeport – So Excited to be Out of the Car

Andrew Running with Glee

After we got the boys back in the car, Robin started to see and hear bees buzzing around the top of the car (by the tree). Either the yellow blanket protecting the car or the sap from the tree was a bee magnet. So we tried to get in the car as quick as possible, but one of the bees made it into the car. Robin is pretty fearful of bees. I usually tend to be the calmer one about them as I live by the mantra, “If you don’t bother the bees, the bees won’t bother you.” After a little insanity, I got the bee out of the car. Just then several started to swarm around my head. I swatted at them and hit one or two away from my head. Then of course I start to hear massive swarming so I run off as quickly as possible. At first Robin looked puzzled, but then she figured out that I had run from the bees. She started driving in my direction and then much like with the van in the movie, Little Miss Sunshine - I ran alongside the car, opened the door and jumped in as we were moving. I got in bee free! If you have not seen Little Miss Sunshine, rent it.

We made it home just fine, thankful as ever to spend a great holiday with the family and very thankful for our freshly cut forest tree.

Thirty Thirty Thirty

2007-12-23T23:50:00.000-08:00

On March 4, 2007, Robin Sorem turned Thirty. Since I have already been there for SEVERAL years, I had been waiting for this day for quite some time. Fortunately for her, unlike me, she's never looked better!

Thankfully, my sister, Karin, came down to San Diego on Friday evening and stayed with the boys all weekend (March 2nd through 4th). Robin and I took this opportunity to enjoy a wonderful weekend. Where else? Vegas baby, Vegas!

We actually went to Vegas for my 30th birthday. That birthday was a surprise group affair - my parents, Sam Rosenbaum, Howard Rosenbaum & a number of his old high school and college buddies (who will remain nameless, but you know who you are!) and Carl & Cheryl Alberola all came out for that. This trip was a smaller, but no less enjoyable group - just me and Robin.

Surprise - It's Mom & Dad! - I Was Totally Surprised!

Evan and Carl Relaxing in a Parisian Lounge

We flew to Vegas on Friday night. I think Robin was really ready to enjoy some great meals, some sleeping in, some superb shows and to remember what it feels like to be a little footloose and fancy free.

After we got settled in at the Hard Rock Hotel, we headed over for dinner at Smith & Wollensky. Dinner was way too much, but fantastic.

After realizing that we had eaten so much that it hurt to walk, we headed back to the Hard Rock. Because our plane was a little delayed and we were pretty tired, we just called it a night! Sleep was welcome.

On Saturday morning, we woke up and Robin went down for a spa appointment (Hot Stone Massage) at the Rock Spa at the Hard Rock Hotel. Robin enjoyed the massage and was ready to tackle the day!

After the massage, we went shopping at the Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian. We loved Venice on our honeymoon and this Venice is much brighter with significantly fewer pigeons. Oh – and the water in the fake canal is much prettier than the water in Venice! After a little shopping, we headed back to the Hard Rock to change for a night out on the town.

We headed over to the Bellagio, which has to be my favorite place in Vegas. It is such a beautiful place. We picked out a nice little present for Robin at the shops there for her 30th birthday. We then headed over to the Fontana Bar - great spot overlooking the water show at the Bellagio, with the Eiffel Tower of the Paris in the background. We enjoyed some wonderful fruity drinks!

Beautiful Fountains, The Eiffel Tower and Robin at 30!

That Looks Like a Tasty Beverage

After a couple drinks, we headed over to dinner at Shintaro restaurant. The food was fantastic.

We then wandered over to the Mirage for the Love Cirque Du Soleil show. The show was full of astounding acrobatics and theatrical displays all fused with the brilliant music of the Beatles. If you are in Vegas and even like the Beatles a little bit - GO. It was a wonderful trip. After the show, both of us got nice T-shirts and the Love CD to remember the occasion.

All You Need Is Love

We then went back to the Hard Rock Hotel and did a little gambling. Mistake - we lost!

Sunday morning we woke up and had a great breakfast at Mr. Lucky’s 24/7 at the Hard Rock and headed home to San Diego! We arrived home early in the afternoon; Karin and the boys picked us up at the airport. Karin and the boys had a great weekend together – albeit tiring (for Karin).

Since Sunday was Robin’s actual 30th birthday, we (Evan, Robin, Andrew, Noah and Karin) went out to dinner at Fillippi's Pizza Grotto with the Pollock family (Theresa, Tony, Nathan and Lauren). Thanks to everyone else, we even remembered to sing Happy Birthday to Robin! Candle and all.

Robin and Noah - How About I Blow Out That Candle Mommy?

Happy Birthday Robin - Just a Little Over 9 Months Late....

Robin is pretty amazing for Thirty. Hopefully this was a birthday and a weekend she will remember forever. I know I will!

Chanukah 2006

2007-12-23T22:00:00.000-08:00

Continuing our effort to catch up to last year, here is a window into our Chanukah fun from 2006. We usually have a gathering or two at our house, dish out some tasty chicken soup with matzo balls, enjoy some latkes (potato pancakes fried in oil) and I usually overindulge in jelly donuts. It turns out that I have no shortage of volunteers to help me out with that!

Last year, Andrew was in the Yellow Arieh room at Beth Am Preschool. His school had a Chanukah concert on December 14, 2006. Andrew is not much of a stage performer. Regardless, we all had fun going to watch him give it a shot. Here are a couple of cute pictures.

Andrew a Little Shy on Stage

Noah Clapping for His Brother

Andrew Loves Diana!

Andrew's Class Singing the Finale!

We usually make sure the first night is extra special. Both boys enjoyed lighting the candles with Robin.

Light the Chanukah Candles

Happy boys Helping Light the Candles

Just Like This Noah

The Shamash Lights the First Candle - Noah Exclaims "That One!"

How Many Chanukah Nights are There Andrew?

Andrew Loves His Fire Truck From Uncle Howard and Aunt Stacy (We Are Still Not Big Fans of the Sirens :)

Noah Loves Milo the Monkey from Aunt Stacy and Uncle Howard; Milo Sleeps With Noah to This Day

The Menorah Andrew Made at School

The fourth and fifth nights of Chanukah, we spent with the Pollocks (4th night) and the Patels (5th night). It was a lot of fun. The kids played, ran around like crazy, spun some dreidels and had a grand time together.

Getting Ready to Light the Menorahs

Noah and Lauren Lighting the Candles

3, 2, 1 Liftoff of the Space Shuttle Atlantis

Lena, Andrew, Annika, Noah - Getting Them All Together Sitting and Looking at the Camera is a Big Deal!

...That's Because They Knew Presents Were Coming

Andrew and Annika Hugging - Truly Darling!

Of course Chanukah 2007 has now come and gone. We’ve got some great new memories of this year – a nice Chanukah party; some special friends came to visit. Hopefully we will post on this soon. Someday I hope to properly sync real life with this blog.

Look Out for that School Photographer

2007-12-20T01:25:00.000-08:00

Every year the school photographer comes around and takes pictures of the kids. It turns out that one of the guys in my college fraternity now owns a school photo company. Let’s just say that he used to be a bit of a party animal. Now he is the crazy guy behind the camera making funny faces and taking the picture of Junior for you. I have a picture of him playing poker, which was posted on the wall of the Chi Phi bar, indelibly etched into my memory.

Our school photographers came around over the last two months. We bought the pictures of the two boys – Andrew’s Kindergarten and Noah’s first year of preschool. Both were pretty good.

We also got a composite of Andrew’s class. It is just a small window into the eclectic demographic of the Del Mar Union School District. For us, it seems just right.

Brigitte Patel - Photographer

2007-12-20T01:20:00.000-08:00

After Robin graduated from UCSD, she got a job with an upstart Biotech (that’s what we have here in San Diego) named Sequenom, Inc. There were two highlights of her time working there – all the money we failed to make and the good friends she met there.

As to the first highlight, in January 2000, while Robin was working there, Sequenom went public. We got the opportunity to buy a bunch of stock and we did so. We then watched as it went from our purchase price of $26/share to nearly $200/share and then all the way back down to $1/share. I think tax year 2007 is our last chance to reap the reward of all the capital losses we took from buying Sequenom high and selling it at rock bottom. But we learned an important lesson – when you buy low, sell high -- take your profit and move along.

As to the second highlight, during Robin’s time at Sequenom, she met Abby Devine, Brigitte Darnhofer (now Patel), Mayank Patel and Claus Hakenesch, amongst others. Amazingly, every one of the four families ended up having a baby in August of 2002 – Andrew Sorem (the 5th), Ansley Devine (the 18th), Anton Hakenesch (the 19th) & Annika Patel (29th). We called them all the A-Team. We still see the Devines and the Hakeneschs, but we see the Patels all of the time – we live a mile apart and Andrew and Annika go to Ocean Air School together.

For quite some time, Brigitte Patel has been a good photographer. She has a wonderful Nikon setup and she has a knack for catching just the right shot. She’s got a great eye! Over the past year or so, she has been taking photography classes and improving her skills. She has a new website - www.brigittepatel.com - to show off her pictures. Since we are good friends, she offered to take pictures of our family at the beach, in October, in order to further hone her skills and to get some good shots for her to post on her website. Boy did we win!

Before the beach shoot with Brigitte, we had some photos that we were planning on using for our holiday card this year (taken by yours truly). Once we got the pictures back from our beach trip with Brigitte, those pictures were out the window. Her shots were just so much better. We made a photo montage and just sent it out as our holiday card.

As an idea of the kind of thing Brigitte can do with her camera, below are just a couple of our favorite photos from the beach shoot. Check out her website to see more pictures of our family.

The Happy Thedell Couple - A Year Later

2007-12-01T23:00:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, November 25, 2006, our long time friends and sometime babysitters and dogsitters, Lynn Armour and Greg Thedell, got married. Andrew was the ring bearer for their wedding ceremony. The little guy only added to the excitement by wandering all around the stage after proudly walking the rings up the aisle.

Andrew was very happy to be a part of the excitement and boy oh boy did he look good in his tuxedo!

Master Andrew in his Tux (With Red the Firetruck)

Heading out for Some Pictures

Andrew, Ashley (the Flower Girl) and the Happy Thedell Couple

So Handsome

Mommy and Andrew

Daddy and Andrew

Andrew and Ashley Did a Great Job Walking Down the Aisle (Both Ways)

Since the wedding, we have had several occasions to spend time with the Thedells. They just celebrated their one year anniversary by hanging out at our house watching over Sierra while we were up in Susanville for Thanksgiving. Thanks guys - we wish you many happy years of marriage!

Thankful for 2006 - A Year Late....

2007-12-01T22:30:00.000-08:00

It is hard to imagine a more packed weekend than our Thanksgiving Weekend in 2006. We had a full Thanksgiving meal at our house in San Diego on Thanksgiving Day. On Saturday, we attended the wedding of Lynn Armour and Greg Thedell – Andrew was the ring bearer. On Sunday, we played movers all day up in LA for Grandma Dorfman. Indeed, we are very thankful that we have so many wonderful people in our lives to share special times with, to help when they are in need and to call upon when we are in need. We are blessed. Tired, but blessed.

For the third year in a row, we had a Thanksgiving feast at our house. It was a fantastic meal. Robin’s father, Sam Rosenbaum, was there with us as usual. Unfortunately, Robin’s brother and sister-in-law, Howard and Stacy Rosenbaum, were not able to make it out. But they did get to spend a very nice Thanksgiving with Stacy’s father and uncle up in Massachusetts. My parents, Richard and Charmy Sorem, lent a huge hand helping us make the Thanksgiving meal. My sister, Karin, now living in Brentwood, graciously agreed to head out to the San Fernando Valley and pick up Grandma Yetta Dorfman to allow her to come down to San Diego and enjoy Thanksgiving with us. As icing on the cake, my Uncle Alan also drove over from his place in Gilbert, Arizona. It was a great group, and everyone enjoyed their favorite dishes. Andrew and Noah’s favorite was the CRANBERRY SAUCE!

Robin Cooking

Karin Teaching Andrew & Noah How to Play Piano on the TV

Folks Over 60 Hanging Out

Turkey!

Richard and Alan Sorem!

Andrew is Very Thankful For Cranberries!!

Thanksgiving 2007 has just passed. We spent a wonderful Thanksgiving up in Susanville at the Roseberry House. We had a wonderful feast and some great family time. Pictures and story to follow - someday. But it is definitely something to be thankful for!

Andrewisms - Part Deux

2007-12-01T18:00:00.000-08:00

About a year ago, I posted a few of Andrew’s funny sayings – here is the link. I called them Andrewisms. Now we are back with the second installment. Part of what makes these so wonderful for me is his deadpan delivery. The kid is working on an impression of Steven Wright that I’ve never been able to master.

I suspect we are not far from picking up on some Noahisms as well. For now though, he’s mostly in a question asking stage. Incessantly. It’s wonderful.

So, here are a few Andrewisms:

On March 7, 2007, Andrew picked up my Bluetooth headset. He asked me to help him put it on his ear, which I did. After walking around with it on his ear for a minute, Andrew proclaimed: “This is my iPod. I got it in France."

On March 21, 2007, Andrew ran out into the street after getting frozen yogurt at Golden Spoon. Robin took him back over to the curb and asked him, "Andrew, do we run out into the street?" He responded, "NO." Robin then asked him "What happens if we run into the street?" He responded, "A car might hit me." Robin then asked, "What happens if a car hits you?" Andrew responded, "I would die." At least it's clear!

On May 1, 2007, Robin and I were explaining to Andrew and Noah that we were going away for the weekend up to the Bay Area (for Jennifer Marshall and Scott Pesetsky's wedding) and that Lynn and Greg Thedell were coming over to watch them. Andrew's first comment after we told him the situation was: "Mommy, Daddy - I am going to miss you." He then added: "Mommy, Daddy - I am going to stay with Noah and I will protect him from the monsters."

On September 2, 2007, Andrew and I were up in Berkeley for the Cal v. Tennesee football game and had just finished dinner at Kips. I asked Andrew if he was still hungry. He said, "No, I'm full, but I want some ice cream." I responded, "But you are not hungry." To which he said: "That's OK Daddy, ice cream is not food, it's a treat." Amusingly, Andrew is not really an ice cream kid. He’ll eat a few bites, but rarely if ever finishes a whole scoop. Noah on the other hand, REALLY likes “ice fream.”

That same night, as Andrew and I were driving back up in the Berkeley Hills to Pierre Chew and Kristin Nolan's house, Andrew said, "Daddy, do you know what we are in?" I said, "No Andrew, what are we in?" He said, "The woods." I said, "Why are we in the woods?" He said, "Because there are a lot of big trees and when there are a lot of big trees, you are in the woods; Pierre's house is in the woods." That it is my son, that it is.

Call for Comedy From the Electorate

2007-12-01T15:30:00.000-08:00

Is there ever enough comedy in life? I laugh plenty, especially with Robin and the boys. Yet, with all that is going on in the world around us, a little more comedy would sure help. It is humor that will save us - nobody ever died laughing.

So, send me your humor. If I get something great (a website, an email, or the like), I may just pass it along and attribute it to you.

In other news, if you want some help on figuring out whom you might want to consider voting for in the upcoming presidential primary elections, check out this website. I had a lot of fun with it. Suffice it to say that I am not voting for Fred Thompson or Mike Huckabee. Not sure whom of the Democratic field it will be yet. I however hear many of the candidates on Meet the Press. I would much rather spend an hour talking with Huckabee than with Thompson. Thompson barely has a pulse.

In still other news, it is my Mom's birthday today. So happy birthday Charmy Ann Sorem!

Pesetskys Wed

2007-11-04T02:33:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Jennifer and Scott Pesetsky!

In a recent post on the Berkeley Gang, I mentioned that my long time friend (over 18 years now) Jennifer Marshall, married Scott Pesetsky on May 6, 2007. It was quite an event and a great weekend up in the Bay Area.

On Saturday May 5, 2007, Robin and I left the boys in the capable hands of Lynn and Greg Thedell (married just last year - blog to follow on that!) and flew up to the Bay Area for the wedding. We flew up with Theresa and Tony Pollock and then rented our own separate cars and headed over to Peter and Susan Cole's house (where we were staying) for a Cinco de Mayo party.

Susan and Peter have recently redone their entire house (see remodel pictures on Colevault). It is incredibly beautiful. There is one accordion glass door that opens up a 15 foot room out on to a beautiful deck. It is party central. So what did we do? That's right - party!

Lots of old friends made it out to the Cole's event - Jason McCarthy; Matthew, Jeannie and Jessica Holstein; Angie Lin (and her new family); Lillian Asperin; the list goes on. We had a great time - and a few too many Pacificos.

From there, we headed over to the Marriott down in Emeryville for Jennifer and Scott’s rehearsal dinner. We met Matthew Katz (sans Kristen - it would have been great to see her too, but she was busy taking care of Annie and Lucy back in Houston, Texas)! If you want a wonderful (and regularly updated) blog about the comedic trials and tribulations of an overstressed mother of two and her wacky (and loveable) husband, take a look at Lollyblogger. The Marriott did a very nice job setting up a pretty darn good vegetarian burrito bar. And they had Dos XX. After the dinner, we headed over to The Elephant Bar, a dining adventure, and ordered up a few more drinks and a few appetizers. Later that evening, we even got to spend a little extra time with Jennifer, the bride-to-be, chatting about the upcoming honeymoon - 63 days in Asia! A while has passed and their honeymoon is now over, but you can read about it here.

Jennifer and Scott Touched at the Rehearsal Dinner

Pollocks and Pesetskys

The wedding day was absolutely beautiful. The couple wed at the Historic Dunsmuir Estate in Oakland. What a great place for a wedding. The grounds were beautiful. There were ducks.

The couple looked fabulous and the ceremony was very moving. Theresa Pollock had a lovely reading. As did many other guests. The highlight of the ceremony were several readings by Scott’s nephews (rough ages - 4 to 11), all in Hebrew. It sounded beautiful and it was great to see the kids in action.

Scott and His Parents

Jennifer and Hers

With This Ring . . .

Theresa Pollock's Reading

You May Kiss

I had an important role in the wedding day activities. I was the civil witness. I've signed a lot of important documents over the years, but this one ranks right up there and was pretty special. Thank you for including me Jennifer & Scott!

The reception was in a beautiful hall overlooking the estate. The only thing lacking was MORE LEMONADE! It was about 105 degrees inside the hall. It was HOT. The vegetarian cuisine at the reception was fantastic. Everyone had a great time dancing (or watching other people dance). My favorite moment was watching Jason McCarthy draw pictures for Jennifer's nephew, Jack. Jason is an architect by trade and he had Jack in a trance with his drawings.

Jennifer and Scott Dancing Together

Jack (Jennifer's Nephew) Entrhalled By Jason's Talents

The highlight for our group - the Berkeley Gang - was a toast we gave to Jennifer & Scott. Jennifer was the last of the Berkeley Gang to get married. Some of us have been married for just a little over 2 years and others for over 10 years. Each of us gave a 1 - 2 minute speech about our advice on marriage. Of course my critical piece of advice was to "have children" and I couldn't say it without starting to cry. After the toast we all presented different champagne flutes to the couple, to represent how different we all are, and gave them big hugs.

Jennifer and Scott Listening to Our Advice

Rama, Jason, Evan, Theresa, Matt and Susan Sharing With the Pesetskys

It was a special moment for a special group of friends. Hopefully Jennifer and Scott will dance off into the sunset together. If their wedding is any indication, it looks like they will, with a little spring in their step.

Southern California Firestorm

2007-10-24T15:00:00.000-07:00

Contrary to what I tell everyone that calls, we are NOT on FIRE.

But pretty much everything else in San Diego County and throughout Southern California is.

On Sunday October 21, fires started in San Diego County. Robin awoke early on Monday morning - she had a lot of trouble sleeping as one of the trees in our backyard was brushing up against the house due to the intense winds. As she awoke, the radio blared out intense warnings about the fires. Shortly thereafter we got word that there would be no school for Andrew and that all folks were urged not to go to work. So, we holed up in the house and even though we did not think an evacuation would happen, we started to plan.

As the day went on it seemed more and more likely that we would not be evacuated. The fire closest to us - the Witch Fire (aptly named) - seemed headed west and north. Thankfully not directly toward us. We had a pre-planned kid swap night with the Lyon family and so we decided to drop the boys off at their place and go to a local restaurant (2 blocks away) to try and relax a little. We had just been served our specialty pizza when we got the call from Karla that she "thought" we were being evacuated. That was enough for us. Check please!

We paid quickly and got the pizza boxed up and headed over to the Lyon house to pickup the boys. We took the boys home and madly started packing up all the things we had boxed up earlier in the day as well as the items we had written on our list earlier in the day. Robin was the packing machine and I was the laborer. We put the kids in the car, strapped them down, and put on the Curious George movie - all the while hoping they would not get any crazy ideas about driving the car around the block like the little monkey might have. When we checked our email, we saw that the evacuation did extend to us - see this link. We got packed up in amazing time and just as we were about to leave the house, we got the evacuation call. The call came from a system called the "Emergency Reverse 911 System." Basically, when an emergency happens, 911 calls you to let you know what to do. The call came at 8:54pm. We were ready to go right at that time and went out to Robin's minivan to get it started up and head out. Insanely, the battery in the minivan was dead and we could not start the car. We went into panic mode, immediately called AAA and started talking to them about coming to our place to provide a jump. The woman from AAA said that we were a first priority and asked if we wanted her to call the police, fire department or paramedics. Robin said, "Uh, NO, I think they are a little busy." As we were on the phone, Robin suggested putting her car in reverse and pushing it out of the garage so it would be in the driveway right next to my car; all with the hope that my car might provide a jump start. After a bit of maneuvering and a quick jump, the car started and we were ready to go. Thankfully, we were on the road right around 9:10pm.

Since we have family in Los Angeles, we headed north to stay with Sam (Robin's Dad) and Karin (my Sister) in West LA/Brentwood. On the way, we called the Alberola family (living in Tustin) just to check and see how they were doing. Turns out that they had a fire close by their house on Sunday night and had evacuated their home and gone over to Cheryl's parent's house in Westminster (northern Orange County). Carl and Cheryl graciously agreed to take in Sierra for us. This was a pretty big deal since we were headed up to Robin's Dad's place (a studio apartment on the 8th floor) and my Sister's place (a 1 bedroom apartment with at least 4 people sleeping in various spots). We made our way to Cheryl's parent's house around 10:45pm and dropped our Sierra off for a visit with the Alberola's 2 dogs (Summer & Scout) and Cheryl's parents adopted dog, Delilah. Thank you so much to the Alberola's for making our lives in LA a lot easier.

We continued on to LA and made it there about 11:30pm. We first pulled in to Sam's parking garage where I picked Andrew up out of his carseat, where he was in a dead sleep, and carried him up to Sam's apartment and laid him down for the night. We left my car in Sam's garage and I hopped in Robin's car and pulled over to Karin's place. There, Robin went inside with Karin to setup Noah's pack and play (portable crib). After Robin and Karin came back to the minivan in Karin's garage, I picked Noah up out of his carseat, where he was in a dead sleep, and carried him up to Karin's apartment and laid him down for the night. We then grabbed our other critical items and headed in to Karin's place to calm down and rest for the night.

It turns out that Karin works in Malibu and that her office was closed on Monday and Tuesday due to the fire in Malibu. Since she did not have to go to work, we all got some nice time with her and with Sam. Amusingly, when Karin went back to the office today, her work provided masks for all of the employees. A model of safety!

On Tuesday morning, we woke and listened to news and checked on the internet. It turned out that my work was closed for the day and that Andrew's school and Noah's preschool was cancelled for the balance of the week. So, we made ourselves as at home as we could be - THANK YOU VERY MUCH TO ROBIN'S DAD (SAM) AND TO MY SISTER (KARIN) for making that possible. Late on Tuesday evening, we got word that some evacuation areas could be repopulated, but the news was not clear and the roads going back into San Diego were very congested and/or closed. We decided to stay for the night and to possibly try and head back home on Wednesday morning.

On Wednesday morning, after insuring that the evacuation orders were lifted, we left LA around 10:30am and we made it home about 1:30pm. Pretty good considering we picked up Sierra and her doggie crate on the way home. Thanks to the Alberolas for watching her for us.

We are in our house now. There are several large branches (about 1/3 of the tree) down from the tree in our front yard; there are a few little branches down from one of the trees in our backyard; and the ground is a dusty gray/black from all the soot and ash.

But - we are safe - and feeling well - and looking forward to a MASSIVE unpacking job. We had a little bit too much time to gather all of our important belongings. I guess perhaps we would not feel that way if our house had burned down. But thankfully, the house is just fine!

Thanks so much to everyone who called and who wrote us to make sure we were doing fine. We are.

On a side note, we have decided that the Pollock Family is no longer permitted to travel during the month of October. Tony & Theresa just recently celebrated their 10 year anniversary. As a present to themselves, they are currently traveling in Paris, France, after a visit to London in England! What a wonderful trip indeed. The reason for the travel ban is that the during last large fire in San Diego, the Cedar Fire in October 2003, we were traveling with the Pollocks (then Tony, Theresa and Nathan) in Kauai, Hawaii. The smoke from the Cedar Fire was so bad that when we returned to San Diego by plane, we could not land at Lindbergh Field and were diverted just up the road to LAX. We then had the pleasure of renting cars (how would you like that Mustang Convertible Mr. Sorem) at about 11pm and then driving home to San Diego. So, in short, every time the Pollocks travel too far in October, disaster strikes. No more. The ban is in place. I think it will take an Act of Congress to lift the ban.

Disneyland With Grandma

2007-10-21T22:36:00.001-07:00

"To all who come to this happy place: welcome. Disneyland is your land. Here age relives fond memories of the past...and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams and the hard facts which have created America...with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world." --Walt Disney

On Monday October 8, 2007 (Columbus Day Observed – thanks to the State of California for giving me the day off), we took Robin’s maternal grandmother, Yetta Dorfman, to Disneyland. What an adventure! More on that below.

Our weekend started out with a Saturday jaunt to Disneyland/Disney’s California Adventure. We met up for a few minutes with Jason Sherr, his wife Donna and new baby Savannah right on Main Street. It was nice to catch up with them a little bit and to meet baby Savannah. She’s now about 5 months old and cute as can be. After chatting with the Sherr Family for a little and because we were heading to Disneyland with Grandma on Monday, we went to the old Disneyland parking lot (now known as Disney’s California Adventure) for an afternoon of fun. The boys had a lot of fun on all of the kiddie rides over at A Bug’s Land and a lot of fun at the Playhouse Disney show. Andrew’s favorite part of the day was his ride on Soaring Over California – otherwise known as the firework ride!

We left Disney’s California Adventure around 5:30pm and headed over to meet up with Carl, Cheryl and Caitlin Alberola for a crazy dinner at Buca di Beppo in Tustin. Carl and Cheryl just bought a new house in Tustin Ranch and this was our first opportunity to see them in a couple of months and to see their new house. It is a very cute place with fantastic dark hardwood floors, a great playroom (with a VERY LOUD drum set), and a beautiful backyard complete with a pool and lots of foliage that gives it a wonderful island feel. I almost asked Carl to crank up some Jimmy Buffet while we milled around the pool. We ended up getting to their house a little late, but the kids played for a little while, made a ton of noise – thanks drum set – and then we all got settled in for the night. Amazingly, Andrew slept in the room with the drum set and managed to control his urges and slept great all night. Sunday we had a lazy playful morning with the Alberolas and then went to a local park. We left around 1pm and drove to Los Angeles (to Karin's place - Karin was not there as she was traveling to Dallas on business). Noah napped at Karin's and Andrew and I went swimming in her pool. When Noah woke, he came in for a little dip as well. The boys are really getting much better at swimming, which is great. We went to dinner with Robin’s Dad at a local Baja Fresh (where we ran into Karin’s business school friend, Evan). We’ll be seeing him at two upcoming Cal games – UCLA and USC!

On Monday morning, I got up and went into the San Fernando Valley to pick up Robin’s Grandma. We then came back down to West LA, picked up Robin and Noah from Karin’s place and then we picked Andrew up from Robin’s Dad’s place (where he had slept on Sunday night). We made it to Disneyland around 11am. We rented an Electric Convenience Vehicle (ECV) for Grandma to ride around on – she doesn’t get around as fast as she used to.

Grandma and Her Electric Convenience Vehicle (ECV) – Oddly Named "Soren" – Grandma Allegedly Used to be a Good Driver (Not Anymore)

Within the first 45 minutes after entering Disneyland, disaster struck three times. Disaster Number 1 – I was putting sunscreen on Noah and got some in his eye. If you have not experienced “sunscreen eye,” save yourself the trouble. Noah was crying like crazy and because I had done this once before to Andrew, Robin was none to excited. I rushed Noah over to the first aid station where they flushed his eyes out. Thankfully, this solved disaster number one. Disaster Number 2 – After walking away from first aid, on our way to the first ride, Robin realized that Grandma’s cane was missing. Evidently Grandma set it down just outside the main gate and left it there. Not knowing where she had left it, I ran back retracing every one of our steps to find it. Fortunately, it was hanging on a railing just outside the park. I grabbed it and ran back to meet everyone. Disaster number two solved. Disaster Number 3 – We were standing in line for Pirates of the Caribbean and Robin noticed that our backpack was feeling wet (even though we had not packed any liquids). She opened it up and found a smooshed banana sticking to our video camera. Robin immediately called me (I was inside a store trying to stop Andrew from touching every sword and pirate in the shop) and I came out to help. Robin ran off to get some wipes, I sat the boys down and gave them a couple of apples to eat, and then we proceeded to clean off the camera. Thankfully, it still worked just fine. Disaster number three solved. After that, the day improved significantly. We had nowhere to go but up!

We went on the Jungle Cruise first. Everyone had fun. Especially Grandma and the boys, pointing out animals and such to one another.

Welcome to the Jungle Cruise

Andrew Pointing out a Hippopotamus to Grandma

From there, we went on to Pirates of the Caribbean. This turned out to be our longest line of the day. The great thing about the ECV is that you generally do not have to wait in the normal line; you get to either go in through the exit or jump in line like you have a FastPass. But on Pirates, the exit line must have been at least as long as the regular line. But it’s such a great ride, we had to wait. It was too dark for pictures, but a wonderful ride. I truly know this because the other day on the way home from dinner, Noah started singing “Yo ho, yo ho, a Pirate’s life for me….” From Pirates, we were on to the Haunted Mansion. Grandma got scared. But we made it. The Halloween touches are amazing. From there, we grabbed a bite to eat – it took forever to get the food, but we managed. We then jumped on The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Grandma got a big kick out of that one. It was a new ride to her and she was wearing a Tigger watch and we rode on a vehicle marked with Tigger’s name. It was bouncy!

We then walked over to Fantasyland. Before entering, we got a shot of Grandma and the boys in their assisted walking vehicles.

Three Vehicles, Their Occupants and a Pretty Castle (and some crap on our camera - in desparate need of a cleaning)

In Fantasyland, we went on Peter Pan, Snow White, Pinocchio, the Carrousel, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Alice in Wonderland, Teacups, Dumbo and It's a Small World (Noah's Favorite). All of the rides in Fantasyland were fast and easy to get on. It was definitely one of the best parts of the day. Time for pictures and lots of fun!

Who's Dumbo?

Robin and Grandma on the Carousel

Our Boys Holding Hands on the Carousel

Are you Dizzy Yet? Care for a Cup of Orange Tea?

"It's a Small World After All"

"There's So Much That We Share, That It’s Time We’re Aware, It’s a Small World After All"

"Look Grandma"

Grandma Gets a Noah Kiss

Then we waited for the Parade of Dreams and snacked while we waited. After the parade, we booked it over to the new Nemo ride and watched a video version of the ride because Grandma couldn't climb down the stairs for the submarines (plus, it was getting late and we weren't willing to wait for the true ride). We got in a Star Tours ride, then the Astro Orbitors (the Rockets - the only one Grandma couldn't go on). The last ride of the night was Buzz Lightyear – everyone had fun shooting down Zurg. Both boys fell asleep like 5-10 minutes after leaving Disneyland. Robin made it home with the boys around 11:15pm and I made it home (after taking Grandma back up to LA) around 1:15am. It was a long day, but Grandma had fun. She even called us the next day and left a long message thanking us and saying how much fun she had.

Hopefully we all will have wonderful memories of our trip to the Happiest Place on Earth.

It Was a "Parade of Dreams"

GRANDMA, HER OLD APARTMENT, THE JEWISH HOME FOR THE AGING AND 85 YEARS YOUNG

2007-10-18T23:08:00.001-07:00

On Sunday morning of Thanksgiving weekend last year, November 26, 2006, Robin and I got into our car and headed north to Los Angeles. Our plan was to rent a truck as soon as we got to LA (around 9:00am) and then take the truck over to Grandma Yetta Dorfman’s apartment in Van Nuys and start loading things up for her move to the Jewish Home for the Aging (JHA). Grandma has been living in her apartment for as long as Robin can remember and longer than Grandma can remember – at least 40 years.

Thankfully, on Thanksgiving weekend, we had the Patel family available to watch Andrew and the Pollock family available to watch Noah. Thanks so much guys for your help to allow us to help Grandma!

We picked up the U-Haul truck, arrived early at Grandma’s and were ready to go! We first tried to drive the rental truck around to the back of Grandma’s apartment building and we ended up running the top of the truck into an overhang (we only caused a few small pieces of stucco to fall down). We then backed right up, parked the truck out front and commenced loading boxes and bags and other items into our minivan for transport out to the truck. About 30 minutes after we arrived, my sister, Karin, came to Grandma’s to help us out. Our good friend Carl Alberola arrived another 40 minutes after that. We were very lucky to have all this help to make the moving process go more smoothly.

Most of Grandma’s belongings were congregated in the extra (back) bedroom in her apartment. We set up a human assembly line and tried to move everything as quickly and efficiently as possible. We grabbed boxes upon bags upon boxes upon bags of different items, brought them out to the minivan and then drove them out front, unloaded them from the minivan and loaded them into the truck. After loading the truck, we started on our way to the JHA. After arriving at the JHA, we unloaded some of the items into Grandma’s new space. We got Grandma unpacked in pretty short order. The room at JHA is small, but it is her space and she is in a pretty safe and fun environment.

After unloading at Grandma’s new space at the JHA, we headed back toward Grandma’s apartment. We did not get far before spotting a Tommy’s Burgers. It was a perfect refueling lunch and the least we could do for Karin and Carl was to treat them to chili burgers, chili cheese fries and Diet Coke. I have fond memories of the Tommy’s Burgers in Westwood that I used to visit every time I headed to UCLA (either for a Football game or to see some old friends).

The balance of Grandma’s belongings, which was the majority of her things, came back to San Diego with me and Robin. We unpacked them from the U-Haul truck into our garage and have spent a large amount of time combing through those items, taking some to Goodwill and still more to the National Council of Jewish Women. We are still working on what needs to be done and what is best to help Grandma.

In the process of Grandma packing up and us unpacking Grandma’s stuff, we have uncovered some gems!

During the move process, Grandma found Howard Rosenbaum’s (Robin’s brother) Bar Mitzvah album. Grandma had located Robin’s Bat Mitzvah album a little bit ago.

Howard’s Bar Mitzvah was in April of 1987. Howard was 13 and Robin was 10. Robin’s Bat Mitzvah was in March of 1990. Robin was 13 and Howard was just shy of 16. It is safe to say that a lot has changed since then. For Howard and Robin, it was a nice trip down memory lane. For those that did not know Howard and Robin all those years ago, this is what my darling wife and Howard looked like just a “few” years back!

Howard at his Bar Mitzvah

The Rosenbaum Family (Circa 1987)

Robin at 10 Years Old !!

Grandma 20 Years Ago

Brother and Sister!

Robin at her Bat Mitzvah

The Rosenbaum Family (Circa 1990) - I Graduated High School in 1989....

Grandma 17 Years Ago

Cheers to Robin on her Bat Mitzvah

Grandma lived in her old apartment in Van Nuys for at least 40 years. The apartment looked much older than that! A few pictures of the place circa today were in order. Here it goes!

The Front of Grandma’s Apartment Complex

View From the Front Door of Grandma’s Apartment - #22

The Living Room

The Kitchen

Grandma’s Bedroom

Since the move, Grandma seems to be adjusting to her new accommodations, meals and activities at the JHA. About a week after we moved most of her belongings, Howard came out to LA to help Grandma even more. Howard was able to work with the Salvation Army in order to get her old furniture donated and taken away. He was also able to help Grandma with some of her domestic needs. We are very thankful that Grandma is in a good, safe place and we are hopeful that she is enjoying her new home. As suggested by Rabbi Marc Gellman – a columnist for Newsweek - let us all say a Prayer for the Care Givers at the JHA! Although she would enjoy more visitors all of the time, Grandma seems to be enjoying the JHA and is as feisty as ever. We joke around that she will out live us all.

In late January 2007, we took a weekend trip up to Los Angeles, as we often do, to visit Grandma. She turned 85 on January 23, 2007. We took Grandma to the Picture People and got a few photos of her with our two prides and joys. It was just right for her 85th Birthday.

Grandma and Her Two Great Grandsons

Our Boys Behave - Nah...

2007-10-14T23:30:00.000-07:00

We've been working with both Andrew and Noah on a few little behavioral items for a little while now. The first one is for each of the boys to ask to be excused from the table after dinner. This is a part of our continuing effort to avoid them getting up 95 times during each meal. This has been going O.K. Better for Andrew than for Noah. The other benefit of this strategy is that we are then better able to have them clean up after themselves. These go something like this. "Mommy, may I please be excused." "Why yes Andrew, you may be excused; please take your plate and fork over and put it in the sink and then go to the bathroom and wash your hands." Amazingly, this usually works.

The other thing we are doing is not responding to "demands" and only responding to "requests" with the word please. So we get a lot of "Daddy, give me that" with no response. This is then followed by, "Daddy, may I please have the key." "Yes, of course you may Andrew."
We have our share of frustrations; after all, we have two boys. But we had a fall out of our seat moment the other day. While driving in the car (the two boys sit right next to each other in the back seat) Andrew said to Noah, "Give me that book!" Noah just shook his head no and said, "No Andrew, say may I please have the book." Andrew then said, "Noah, may I please have that book." Noah then said, "Yes you may. Good job Andrew." Out of the mouths of babes.

Robin and I were cracking up. Baby steps...

The Fall of Rocky Top

2007-10-13T02:07:00.000-07:00

Last year, the Cal Bear Football team got off to a rough start. The first game against Tennessee was a real embarrassment. The Bears lost 35 – 17 and they did not score until after it was already 35 – 0. It was not pretty. Robin and I watched the game from Lefty O’Doul’s on Union Square in San Francisco with a group from the wedding party for Alan and Laura Grebene’s wedding (will there ever be a blog on this??). Despite the support that we had, we got killed by the Volunteers. This year was revenge time. How sweet it is.

On September 1, 2007, Andrew and I boarded a Southwest plane (picture supplied by Andrew) to fly up to Oakland. We then hopped on the rental car shuttle bus over to our rental car and then drove into Berkeley for the game.

Andrew's Picture of the Southwest Plane

My Mom and Dad (from Susanville) and Karin (from LA) all convened on Berkeley at about noon. Andrew and I arrived into Oakland at that same time. We all got in touch and I then took Andrew directly to them – dropping him off right in front of Kips. I then made my way up the hill to Pierre and Kristin’s place where I dropped the car and all of our stuff and then ran down to meet them for lunch. It was a warm weekend in the East Bay, so it only took about 30 minutes for me to stop sweating after my 15 minute run down the hill. We all had a nice lunch at a Mexican place (just after Raleigh’s on Telegraph). After lunch, we headed up the hill toward the stadium and stopped by for a little bit at the old Chi Phi house for some people watching, a few beers and some time to watch Andrew run all over the place. It was nice to get some time with my parents and to gear up for the game. Amusingly, my sister and a friend of hers from business school, also named Evan, joined us for lunch, the quick trip to the Chi Phi house, and then the game as well. It turns out that Evan is a 1992 Cal grad and was a member of Sigma Alpha Mu (aka Sammy), a house right next door to Chi Phi.

Andrew Playing the Chi Phi Piano

Andrew and Nana at the Chi Phi House

Daddy and Andrew at the Chi Phi House

After hanging out at the house for a bit, Andrew and I made our way up to the game. All day, but for about 10 minutes at lunch, Andrew was on his best behavior. The game was no different. He sat, enjoyed watching the game with me and got excited at the right times. It was just great to spend time together having fun. Robin had given him two rules for the weekend – (1) Listen to Daddy and (2) Have Fun. He succeeded wonderfully at both. After the first quarter, we walked all the way around the stadium in search of a Minute Maid Lemonade Icee. We made it back just fine and then went up a few rows to sit with Karin and Evan (the friend, not the brother). Memorial Stadium was as beautiful as it gets. The sun was setting on the trees behind the stadium; there were 72,000 people in the stands; a good time was in the air!

Beautiful Memorial Stadium

Andrew is a most interesting kid. He enjoys the game – though I’m quite confident he does not really understand much of what is going on as it pertains to football – the people in the stands and all the excitement are not lost on him. But – he hates the loud noises (or as he calls them “the pops” – after the noise the cannon makes). So all during the game, whenever there was a good play or loud noise to cheer on the defense, he jumped into my arms and took my hands and put them over his ears. The closer and tighter you can cup your hands over his ears to minimize the sound, the better. Both Karin and I spent most of our time covering Andrew’s ears.

Thanks for Covering my Ears Auntie Karin

The game proceeded along wonderfully. DeSean Jackson ran a punt back for a touchdown – that will be the last time someone actually punts the ball in his direction this year. Justin Forsett had a great game on the ground. Nate Longshore was an efficient and timely passer. The defense stood up when it had to. We walked out of Memorial Stadium with a decisive 45 – 31 victory. I predicted the Fall of Rocky Top just four days before the game; I am elated that my prediction came true. The Bears are off to a fine start.

Andrew and Daddy Celebrating a CAL Victory

As indicated, we will be up in LA for the Cal v. UCLA game (October 20) and back in Berkeley for the USC v. Cal game (November 10). This could be our year . . . . As usual, Robin thinks otherwise!

After the game, I walked up the hill to Pierre and Kristin’s house. Although Andrew walked a little bit of the way, for the most part he was perched atop my shoulders, giving me encouraging pats on the head and saying “Keep going Daddy” or “We’re almost there Daddy.” I felt a lot like a thoroughbred horse being appropriately guided by his jockey. All while sweat poured off my brow and my chest heaved with deep breaths. It usually is not that big a deal to walk up the hill to Pierre’s house. But pack a 40 pound kid on your shoulders and it becomes a little more difficult. We made it – and we both slept great!

Sunday morning, we woke up a little happier, with a little more spring in our step. We met up with my parents, Karin and newlyweds, Jennifer and Scott Pesetsky, for breakfast at Chester’s Bayside Café on the north side of campus. We all had a wonderful breakfast and got a chance to catch up quite a bit. Jennifer and Scott returned just a few weeks back from a 63 day honeymoon across southern Asia. Check it all out at their website.

Oh, I should mention. My mother did it again. For Andrew’s birthday, she made him a SNAP (as Andrew still dislikes button shirts) shirt with some material that had a number of the characters from the movie Cars. Since it was just his birthday and because Nana made the shirt, we had him wear it on Sunday. Obviously he had to wear his Cal shirt on Saturday to the game. So Mom evidently found some extra material and for my birthday, she made me a matching shirt. I changed my shirt into the matching shirt and we took a few photos of me and Andrew in our matching shirts. This one is clearly a vacation shirt (a Car trip shirt in fact) and will be next to a few other gems I have – cloud shirt, marlin shirt and the like. I will be festive when I wear this baby, that’s for sure!

Evan and Andrew in Their Cars Shirts

Andrew Has a New Friend With the Berkeley Police Department (The Patrol Car Was Button Heaven)

After breakfast, we said goodbye to Jennifer and Scott. My parents and Karin drove us back up to Pierre’s and we said goodbye. Andrew and I then drove down to the North Berkeley BART station and grabbed a train into San Francisco.

Andrew at the North Berkeley Bart Station

Once we got to the City, we met up with Jason McCarthy. Jason had come up with the grand idea of meeting at the Ferry Building and then catching a few of the streetcars together. It turned out to be one of Andrew’s favorite parts of our trip. We caught a green streetcar, a silver streetcar and then the favorite orange streetcar. The orange streetcar evidently came from Milan, Italy. This was a huge hit because Andrew has a darling little friend named Milan. The orange streetcar quickly became Milan’s train!

Andrew and the Green Streetcar in SF

Andrew and the Orange Train (from Milan)

We also enjoyed our time with Jason. We had a nice lunch down in the Ferry Building. We went to watch the sailboats traverse under the Bay Bridge. Jason was even kind enough to catch a photo of me and Andrew together in our shirts. Nice job Jason. Amusingly, Andrew tried to take a picture of me and Jason, but since Jason is about 10 inches taller than I am and Andrew is a little lower to the ground, he cut off most of Jason’s head.

Andrew and Daddy at the Embarcadero

Andrew Cannot Quite Get Jason in the Picture - He's Too Tall!

After enjoying the streetcars and touching every item we could find in the little museum down near the Ferry Building, we hopped back on BART and headed back for Pierre and Kristin’s place. Andrew was very tired on the way back and said he wanted to nap. We tried when we got back, but for some reason, he couldn’t get settled in. So we showered up and hopped in the car for the trip down the hill to Kip’s in Berkeley. On the way of course, he fell asleep in the car.

It was a Long Weekend – Andrew was Pooped!

We had a nice meal at Kips, I enjoyed sitting back and thinking about the many times I’d been there before. After dinner, we walked around a little down on the south side of campus where I used to hang out all the time. It was nice to have some time, just me and my eldest boy enjoying each other’s company in a place I used to call home.

While Andrew and I were up in Berkeley, the Cole family came down to San Diego (from Orinda) and spent a morning with Robin and Noah and the Pollocks (Tony, Theresa, Nathan and Lauren) down at Seagrove Park in Del Mar. The Cole family got to show off their newest addition, Chelsea Naomi Cole, born May 28, 2007. Proud Papa Pete snapped a few photos of the kids, including Big Brother Justin, playing around at the park. Great shots Pete! You can see more at Colevault!

Noah and the Ocean

Noah Always Wears Sunglasses Upside Down

Noah and Justin Had a Great Time Playing

The Silver Train is Coming Down the Track

Part of the Cal Gang Hanging Out in Del Mar

On Monday, Andrew and I traveled back home to San Diego. While it was nice to cheer the Bears on to victory and see a few old friends, we were glad to be back home. No place like it.

Cal Football 2006 Recap

2007-10-11T23:58:00.000-07:00

Our family makes it a point of going to at least a couple of Cal Football games each year.

Last year, over the weekend of October 6 – 8, 2006 Andrew and I traveled up to Berkeley together for our first father/son football weekend. As it turns out, Theresa Pollock was heading up to the Bay Area to see our good friend Jennifer Marshall (to go dress shopping for Jennifer’s wedding, amongst other things) and Theresa was on the same flight with me and Andrew. When we arrived in Oakland, Jennifer was there to pick us up and take me and Andrew to Pierre Chew and Kristin Nolan’s house to get a good night of sleep. We are very lucky that Pierre and Kristin are willing to let us stay at their house (in their lovely suite) in the Berkeley Hills. As it turned out, Pierre and Kristin were there to meet us on our arrival, but headed out on Saturday morning for a wedding in Los Angeles. We had the entire pad to ourselves. Saturday morning Andrew and I ate a little breakfast and headed down the hill to the Berkeley campus. Andrew truly enjoyed seeing the Campanile and all the loony toons on Sproul Plaza. It was fun to be spending special time together.

Andrew in Front of Sather Gate on the Cal Campus

From there, Susan Cole picked us up and we headed out to the Cole residence to visit and share in some good food. Andrew and little Justin Cole played wonderfully together (Justin is just a month younger than Noah, so he inherited a big brother for a morning).

Andrew and Justin Playing with Sawdust

To this day, Andrew will often ask me, “Daddy, do you remember when we went up to the Cal game?” This launches an entire discussion about how we flew up on a Southwest Airlines blue, red and yellow plane, how we stayed at Pierre’s house, how we went to the Cal game, how we took a cab to the train station (BART) and how we took a BART train over back to the airport.

After an enjoyable morning touring the campus, sharing a meal with the Coles and seeing their massive renovation project in action, Andrew and I headed back to Pierre and Kristin’s house for naptime. Nearing the end of Andrew’s nap, my high school friend Craig Patchin, his wife Kristi and their son Ross arrived in Berkeley for the game. They had come down to Berkeley from the Sacramento area to head to the Cal game with us.

The game was a smashing success for the Bears against the Oregon Ducks. The Bears crushed the Ducks, 45 – 24. As Craig said, “it’s not like you want a good close game; you will take a blowout any day!” Darn right! Here are a few photos of the fun seekers at the game.

Andrew Enjoying a Warm Evening at Memorial Stadium

Andrew is Smiling Because the Bears are Winning!

Craig, Kristi and Ross Patchin Enjoying a Cal Victory

Me and My Boy - Both Happy!

Every year, our family goes to the Cal v. USC game; on even years, that game is in Los Angeles and on odd years, that game is in Berkeley. I am a Cal fan through and through. Robin is a USC fan through and through. Due to a long term arrangement between me and Robin, our children wear the home colors for the Cal v. USC game. On years when Cal plays USC in LA, our kids wear Trojan colors. On years when Cal plays USC in Berkeley, our kids wear Cal colors.

This past year, on November 18, 2006, Cal played USC at the LA Coliseum. Our family traveled up to Los Angeles to attend the game. On Saturday afternoon, we put Noah down for a nap at Robin’s Dad’s apartment and then headed out to pick up Karin and go to the game (since Karin is in LA now and is likewise a Cal Alumnus, she can attend more Cal games). The game was fantastically exciting. From the kickoff onward, I maintained that this was “our year.” At long last, I was proven wrong. It was not our year. But we moved closer and closer to winning a game against the top rated team in the Pac 10.

Here are a few pictures of the evening up in the stands cheering our hearts out (Karin and I for the Cal Bears; Robin for the USC Trojans; and Andrew a little bit for each).

Andrew and Robin Wearing Their "Red Shirts" - Outnumbered in the CAL Section

"CAL Band Great"

Andrew Loving his Auntie Karin

That's as Close as CAL Got...Maybe This Year

In the end, Cal could not contain the USC offense and could not effectively move the ball in the second half. Final score was 23 – 9 in favor of USC. So it goes. There will be another opportunity to beat SC next year! Interestingly, Cal came one win away from going to the Rose Bowl this year. Hopefully next year – it has to happen in my lifetime!! Go Bears!

For our Grand Finale of Cal football for 2006 (December 2), we put the whole family in the car and headed up to Berkeley for the BIG GAME. On years when the Cal v. USC game is in Los Angeles, we head up to Berkeley for the BIG GAME. During my 4 years at Cal, we never won the BIG GAME. But times have changed – for the better! We are currently on a 5 game winning streak. Go Bears! Again this past year, we beat the Cardinal (is that a serious name for a school or is it just a color?) 26 to 17 and earned a share of the Pac-10 title.

Again, the family stayed at Pierre & Kristin’s lovely home in the Berkeley Hills. Pierre & Kristin were even so kind as to throw a big party (as they do every year for BIG GAME). We got to see lots of friends and had a great time.

The Cal football season culminated in a smashing 45 to 10 win over the Texas A&M Aggies in the Holiday Bowl in San Diego. This avenged an ugly loss a few years back to Texas Tech. While we missed being at the game in person (even though it was in San Diego), we did catch it on TV up in Tahoe where we were trying to teach Andrew how to ski!

The 2007 college football season is now in full swing. The Bears are currently #2 in the country - the highest they have been ranked in my lifetime. Fortunately, this will not be our last Cal game this year. The Sorem clan will be up in LA for the Cal v. UCLA game on October 20. We will all be back in Berkeley for the 2007 “Clash of the Titans” – Cal v. USC – on November 10. As I always say, “this could be our year!” Let us hope! Go Bears!!