What I did last summer

I never wrote down anywhere what we did. Here's a brief description:

1. Cursed Jiffy Lube. Got a simple oil change; they didn't screw on the filter tight enough; we drove to Arizona...wham! Our engine was ruined. Luckily, they had the engine replaced for us with not too much hassle, though it took a month. Our insurance company AND the dealership both said they get about four engine replacement requests every year because of oil shops like Jiffy Lube. Take caution, all.

2. Went to AZ to visit P.'s family...hot but fun!

3. Went on a rare all-day date with P. thanks to some "extreme babysitting" (patent pending). We went on a hike, played on the beach, saw the latest Harry Potter movie, bought new shoes, and had dinner at an Italian place by South Coast Plaza. That night we watched Sweet Home Alabama and ate mochi ice cream. If only
more days could be like that one!

4. Took Dangerboy to the Getty museum. DB wasn't terribly interested in most of the exhibits, but he likes the children's room (I did too) and the "King's Menagerie" and made a cool mask, which he put on so he could run around and scare strangers. The museum itself is beautiful, as are the gardens.


5. Spent a night at my Auntie Eva's near San Diego, reconnecting with some cousins, and hanging out at the downtown Escondido vintage car show, which is a fun place in the summertime--quirky places to eat, cool cars, old people, young punk-types, families, and 50's music: Mom and Eva swing-danced on a street corner for a while as the rest of us pretended we didn't know them (but secretly it looked like fun).

5. Went with a group of very fun friends to see Wicked playing at the Pantages in LA. I really enjoyed it--the talent was amazing--I especially loved the first act closer "Defying Gravity."

6. P. got to present a paper at a conference in Vancouver, which went really well. He made some good contacts, and people seemed to be really interested in what he had to say.

7. While P. globetrotted, Dangerboy and I headed up to Utah and Idaho to visit family. DB's favorite part of Grandma and Grandpa's was picking green apples off their tree and playing with them in the kiddie pool or the sandbox. We went to the zoo while there, and also had an adventurous canoe trip, which I will write about separately. He loved playing with his cousins too--we got to spend a day on the "beach" of a random deserted Utah lake with them. Again, hot but fun!