The sunshine state

We had the opportunity last week during Micah's Fall break to head to the Florida panhandle (aka: Emerald Coast, aka: Hillbilly Riviera) to participate in the wedding of two dear friends: Christina and Darin. After eight loooong years they were finally getting hitched and my dreams of maid of honor were realized. Of course they waited so damn long I was now technically a matron.

We opted to stay with the family and wedding party at the two massive houses on the beach in Seagrove Beach, Florida that were rented for the festivities. We took in a bit of the famous sugar sand beaches the days leading up to the big day, as well as as much gumbo, BBQ, crab cakes, biscuits and grits we could muster in the four days we had there. After passing a Hog Heaven restaurant not 10 minutes after arriving at the airport, Zack conceded it was going to be tough eating in the South. The boys and I were in heaven.

Here the boys chillax in the shade:

Micah in the surf:

Levi teaching himself how to surf:

Then there was that night of debauchery at the Red Bar whereby the mystery of the missing gold slippers was solved by trekking up to the third floor roof top the next day. While I do not recall getting down from there the night before, I do (vaguely) recall being water boarded in the shower later by Zack. I was a mess. Needless to say it was not pretty.
Then the big day arrived. These photos do not give the setting justice. It was stunning and a perfect day. Sticks and sand make for happy wedding guests age 5 and under:

The groom, Darin, is accompanied down the aisle by his two older sisters, Jennifer and Kiersten (I'd like to add the dapper vest was my idea):
Bestman Nick and MOH Amy:

The ring bearers (sans rings): Micah and Kaden, aka: flower girl body guards:

Big hug to the groom from the little guys. I heard Kaden whisper,"good luck, man" and Micah whisper, "sucker!" Ok, not really.

And then the bride, Christina, made her grand entrance. Beach-goers stopped to watch and partake of the beauty:

Beauty:

Sunset photos:
Family in our wedding finery:

Best part: we all got to be bare foot! Second best thing: andouille sausage corn dogs and fried mac n' cheese appetizers waiting for us...God bless the South!

Uncle Justin comes to town

After three long years of anticipation, Uncle Justin and Aunty Bambi came down for a visit. It was a jam-packed, fun-filled weekend that included sand and surf, fog and farms. There were pumpkin patches, hayrides, gelato, Ojai street fairs, beaches, churros, Disneyland and State St. in Santa Barbara. We made the hard sell on more agreeable rents, weather and teacher-credential programs.

Here are some photos of the weekend, though Uncle J has more that we'll need to get our hands on:
Ojai:

In honor of Justin's birthday we braved the crowds at Disney.
Tomorrowland:

Star tours is now in 3D:
Fantasyland:

Good thing I started my new reduced work week, because I was knackered!

Rock the Sukkah

..."He thinks it's not Kosher! Rock the Suk-kah, Rock the Suk-kah"

I seem to have the Clash in my head.

Anywhooooo, in our classically Ventura Fall way, we are having a heat wave. I guess this is what eating in a sukkah must be like in Israel. Except we might have a real etrog, instead of a meyer lemon from our tree.

I, the doubter/skeptic/nay sayer, have been silenced . Though to be fair (and have the last word), we still have two more walls to put up and a middle support bar would have helped the inside clearance from the roof a bit better. But three cheers for Zack for actually making it happen. The boys and I take credit for the green and white construction paper garlands, however.


Here are the boys in our sukkah at our first night meal.

And the blessings over the candles...

I got it for my birthday

Today, on the birthday of our nephew Joseph (Happy Birthday Joey!), I am reminded to share Levi's latest saying. For some months now, often when vying for the same toy, Micah will feel particularly put out about sharing his "special" toy especially one that he got for his 5th birthday. Little Levi has heard this lament of, "I got it for my birthday" so frequently that he has interpreted that it is a relevant statement for any and all objects of his particular desire in the moment.

Example:

"Levi, shall I read this book tonight?" "No, this one. I got it for my birthday." (he didn't)

"I want that mama." (pointing to cup of milk, bicycle helmet, stick, etc...) "I got it for my birthday." (he didn't)

or as shown in this video about a lego piece:

micah the VIP

Micah is his class "VIP" this week, which means he gets to bring home Teddy and then tell everyone about their adventures. Here is the photo we'll use (unless we can get a better one by the end of the week) for the "Adventures with Teddy" book that his class assembles over the course of the year.

our first sukkah

Sukkot starts tomorrow. For the first time, we built our very own sukkah on the deck behind our house.

Doubters doubted whether I could pull it off.

Fortunately, our landscape provides an abundant supply of the roofing material, s'chach, which sounds like a Klingon word, but actually is Hebrew.
The skeptics were silenced.
Well, not completely. We still have to finish the walls and decorations tomorrow.

Back to School Night

I was recently at a dinner party where another mother whose daughter had also just started kindergarten and I were confessing that we were both a bit shocked with not having received THE phone call yet. You know, the phone call where the principals at each of our respective children's schools says there must be some mistake and our children are much too brilliant for kindergarten. Clearly they should be in 1st grade--I mean clearly.

As perplexed as we are, kindergarten is moving along just swimmingly and here is goofy Micah (oh yes, that socialization thing--maybe that is off setting the academic preparedness?) at Back-to-School Night:

Mound also has a shutterfly account which offers us a glimpse into his world from 11:15-2:35, like this assignment on the 5 senses:

Quick trip north

On a whim the boys and I accompanied Zack up to Stanford for a conference and we were able to get a quick visit in with Nanny and Pop-pop.

It is remarkable that I can even share this image. This all seemed impossible just months before, but here is my mom (Nanny) enjoying a bit of honey vanilla lavender at Scoop. She accompanied the boys and me to the park afterwards. Miraculous. Truly amazing.
We managed to squeeze in a quick Berkeley trip to ride the Steam Trains:
And the Little Farm with Jai, Fiori and Noam:

Levi and Micah hamming it up at Cordonices park:

Where in the world is?

By my estimate, at 5pm PST today, each of the Grossman clan were in very different places:

Micah was at his first friend sleep over at Edan's house in Calabasas. Here he is earlier in the day at Zuma Beach:


Levi was in Rexford, NY with Grandma and Grandpa. Here he is earlier picking apples in full East Coast Fall glory:
(Sticks!!!)

(Apples!!! as explained by Matteo, aka mini-Nick)

Zack was somewhere on the road between Rexford, NY and Cornell University and I was on the 405 leaving Long Beach where I had been fulfilling my matron of honor duties hosting a bridal shower. It makes me a bit sad to think that already we are starting to each do our own things (granted Levi didn't really have choice in the matter).