Mas pier jump

Pier Jump today

Josh overcame his fears and without hesitation, launched himself into the ether.  With a wet swoosh, he quickly resurfaced and swam to his board (although he might have suffered a pulled back muscle).  Good job junior lifeguard.  Couldn't be more proud.

Weekend in review

• Kids are officially done with school
• Josh has skated from the house all the way to North Beach
• Jilly had an end of the year slumber party
• Been studying and Geni-ing
• Jilly's birthday breakfast in bed
• Took the dog for a big beach walk and were rewarded by having lunch South of Nick's
• Took the kids to see Brave...meh
• Cleaned the garage

Geni Wednesday - The Holy Grail!!!

At last.  The thing that I have sought for some 40 years is finally in my hands.  The wedding license of my great-grandfather Benjamin (Burt/Bart) Greenblatt to Lena Goldberg.  I knew this one document would have all the parental nomenclature and help me take my tree back further.  The only problem is that is largely illegible.  I can say with certainty that Ben's dad was named Isaac (or Itzchuk or Isadore or something) and the mom might be a Hanah G?  Lena's parents might be Benjamin and Hosanah (if that's even a name).  The search continues...

The 9th birthday celebratory season continues...

Excerpt from an Essay...by Josh

...If you ask a student what they think of school, anyone would agree with the same opinion.  School is tough.  No matter how smart the person is, school can be challenging.  However, with the right attitude and great focus, any student can achieve their goals...

   Speaking of achieving goals, how should you set them?  For starters, no goal is too high.  There's a song by Frank Sinatra called "High Hopes."  The song is about an ant achieving the goal of moving a tree.  No one thought it was possible.  Therefore, any goal can be accomplished.  All you need is the focus and attitude of a scholar.

The Good Life

Ate dinner at Eddie V's - La Jolla last night (thanks to a wifey shop).  Can I just say:  phenomenal!  Food was delectable - from the crab cake to the caesar salad to the ahi tuna to the crab fried rice to the wine and to the bananas foster.  Yum.  Best views of any Eddie V's.  Felt like dining on Lake Cuomo, but it was the ocean and it wasn't Italian.  And this just days after celebrating our anniversary at Raya and seeing a fancy/schmancy (albeit terrible) movie at the new Cineopolis and hitting the beach yesterday.  And most importantly, my Dad came home from the hospital late last week in time for Father's Day.  Ahh....

And oh yeah, I passed my NMLS test.  Jilly wound up staying overnight at her AZ friend Emma's La Jolla pad...and technically blowing her perfect attendance record, though she already received the award.  Also, I bet Josh that I would buy him a new skateboard if he got all A's...which I thought was impossible due to the lack of assignments left in the school year.  But somehow, he managed to connive the teachers and he just might do it.

Photo...by Josh

Summertime

Best TV Dads of the Modern Era

So, one of my more popular posts has been Best TV Moms of the Modern-ish era.  Well, it's only fair to give the menfolk their turn:

Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable - Cosby Show

Dan Connor - Roseanne

Fred Flintstone

Sandy Cohen - the OC

Jason Seaver - Growing Pains

Eric Taylor - Friday Night Lights

Mike Brady - The Brady Bunch

Phil Dunphy - Modern Family

Steven Keaton - Family Ties

Howard Cunningham - Happy Days

Early Fathers Day present

Nice tie.  No, the ruler is not a coupon for a free car...it's for a free car wash.  But the best coupon is on the gray pen:  1 week without aggravation.  I'll believe it when I don't feel it...

Happy Flag Day...

...and happy anniversary to my adorable bride of 14 long years!!!  Feels like just yesterday....was June 13th.  Love Ya!


p.s.:  Today is also national bourbon day!  Who knew?  Coincidence?  hmmmm.....I see some Maker's Mark in my near future.

Party at Partiopolis jump-starts the start of the 9th birthday season

Somewhere Over the Rainbow Cupcake

Photography....by Josh

Art.........by Jillian

Portrait of a dog named Cubby

Dots at Dusk

The ol' ball game

Took in an Angel's game last night.  Thank you Local.com.  The seats were amazing.  Pujols right in front of us.  Saw Ichiro too.  Ate some burgers and dogs, nachos, hot pretzel and frozen lemonade.  Saw 3 dingers and the fireworks didn't even scare Josh.  Almost owed Josh a lot of money, but he made one bet too many.  Bring on Wrigley in July!

Beach camping

Josh is sleeping out on the beach, like a good southern California boy, with friends and neighbors.  I just visited to bring him the sleeping bag he forgot to pack.

Happy National Donut Day

National Doughnut Day is on the first Friday of June each year, succeeding the Doughnut Day event created by The Salvation Army in 1938 to honor the women who served doughnuts to soldiers during World War I. The holiday celebrates the doughnut (a.k.a. "donut") — an edible, torus-shaped piece of dough which is deep-fried and sweetened. Many American doughnut stores offer free doughnuts on National Doughnut Day.  Just keep them away from Cubby.