Ethan’s first Intersession began this week. 3 weeks off in October! Woohoo! We planned a trip to experience the 4th grade mission curriculum live and in person. (Made more palatable to Ethan by capping it off with a trip to Disneyland with Zoe’s leftover Park Hopper passes – thanks Zoe!)

Grandma Penny and Grandpa Jim were ready to get Matthew and Jared to school and all activities while Ethan and I were traveling. It turned out they didn’t have to stay longer than one day when Glen was reprieved by Marketo early while he waits to start his new gig at Adchemy, so he had the whole week off!

What a way to see California!

We started at San Juan Bautista and worked our way south seeing 15 missions over 4 days (prudently skipping Carmel due to what was sure to be horrific traffic. We can hit it on a nice family overnight some other time.)

The missions are spaced at what was meant to be about a day’s ride apart along what was then Juan Bautista de Anza’s El Camino road and is now (mostly) 101. (Look for the bells marking it up and down California including in San Mateo. Amazingly he made his expedition in 1775-76 – the same year the east coast was trying to sign a Declaration of Independence!) Today that’s about a 50 minute drive on average between missions. What beautiful scenery – farmland, mountains, ocean, lakes, creeks, deer, quail, bunnies, hummingbirds, swallows.

Some missions are state parks, some are active parishes. Some are in pristine condition, re-built or preserved. Nuestra Senora de Soledad is mostly ruins surrounded by farmland. Capistrano is both a ruin, calling the remains from the church that collapsed in the 1812 earthquake the “Acropolis of America,” and the most beautifully preserved mission – truly the “Jewel of the Missions.” (Its chapel is the only church left standing that was graced by the presence of Blessed J Serra.)

The missions’ heyday lasted only about 50 years. The first mission, San Diego de Alcala, was founded in 1771 but they weren’t really up and functioning as the communes that the Franciscans envisioned until about 1780 (I think it was San Luis Rey de Francia that had 50,000 combined sheep and cattle!). The Spanish stopped funding them in the 1830′s and then secularized the land. Or maybe Mexico secularized the land after their revolution? It’s still unclear to me!

Why, you may ask, do we study the missions if they were such a short part of California’s history, when the American Indians displaced by them were here for thousands of years living in harmony with the land? Surprisingly, the missions are a fantastic jumping off place to study most of California’s history pre-gold rush 1849. Yes, the California Indians were here for thousands of years, but they weren’t exactly keeping a written history that we can read today. Every single mission, to their credit, had information about the Indians who lived on the mission land before the Franciscans and Spaniards came. Photographs, murals, artifacts including the hand-woven baskets (the best in the world – they could hold water and were used for everything including cooking), arrowheads, mortar and pestles and lots of information about way of life pre-mission like diet details.

Santa Barbara’s mission had an interesting essay entitled, “Free or Slave” about the legal status of the people who did all the work. The essay asserts that American Indians were granted the equivalent of the legal status of children in Spain at the time, and were therefore neither. Ethan thought that was hogwash since they never had the option of “growing up” under this system. Most of the information was not as patriarchal as the legacy of the missions. (i.e. the missions renamed the Indians based on the name of the saint the mission was named for, instead of calling tribes the names they’d given themselves. And most offensive to me were the statues of Junipero Serra with young Indian boys in truly questionable poses).

One of the missions, was it San Fernando Rey de Espana?, had a room dedicated to “14 Flags of California” which is a great story/curriculum about the legal status of California from the 1500′s to the date of statehood in 1850.

We weren’t the only ones with this great idea to tour missions. We ran into a dad and his son ETHAN, age 9 and in 4th grade, at San Buenaventura on Monday a.m. and then again at our next stop San Fernando Rey. They were doing the same thing! The Ethans enjoyed each other’s company and so did Vincent and I as we hit the rest of the missions. Too bad they postponed their Disneyland trip from Wednesday, although we wish them better weather than we had.

Anyway, this is a great way for families with kids age 7 and older to tour California. If you take your time and limit yourself to 2 or 3 per day you can also take time to enjoy so much of the magic California has to offer: hiking, beach excursions, Solvang’s Little Denmark and wine coutry, San Luis Obispo’s college community, Legoland, Disneyland, L.A….. the list is too long.

Ethan and I had a great time! And we learned a lot too!

Pictures coming soon!

It was a lovely summer!

Ethan has transferred to a year-round school this year: he starts school about August 1 and ends school approximately June 30, with 3 3-week vacations during the year. (The 1st is coming up next week and he and I are taking a road trip touring California Missions and ending up at Disneyland!) Next year he will only have about 4 weeks off for summer. That seems too short! It’s impossible to do all the wonderful things summer allows in 4 weeks!

But this past year his last day of school was on the traditional school schedule, so he was done by mid-June. I now believe that 6 weeks off is the perfect amount of summer vacation!

A couple weeks of nothing, a week of camp and some family trips. Enough time for a diverse experience but not enough time to get bored.

Some of our adventures:

- we went camping in the redwoods with the preschool again. Beautiful June weather, days creek-walking, skipping stones, hiking, San Gregorio beach and then oops! some wasps built a nest 4 feet from the entrance of our tent on the last day! 7 stings for mom!

- E & J went to Berkeley Chess School camp (their choice) and spent the week with Grandma & Grandpa

- we spent 9 days in the northeast with Bapu, Susu and Abigail plus a side trip to see Peter, Oliver, Aunt Susie and Uncle Doug and Cousins Andy & Zoe. Parks, hikes, the flu, a family reunion (my husband’s family without my husband…. ), Westport beach, subway rides, seeing Twin Tower re-build from underneath, losing Matthew at the Penn Station PATH platform, eating Manhattan pizza, Metropolitan Museum of Art and a Yonkers kosher deli with Nana & Shana – clearly this is a blog of is own

- a week or two OFF with friends, trips to Coyote Point and hanging around the house

- visits from Claire Bear, Henry & Darcie and The Kent Family

- Peters/Adragna Family Reunion in Tahoe North Shore with 30 people in a cabin, lots of love and not too much complaining, tubing down the Truckee (picking fights with water-gun yielding teens and Matthew getting the best of them, Glen falling out of the raft!), me finding a musical to rehearse with across the street, beach, art fair, motor boat and water skiing, no talent show! Clearly, another separate blog.

Anyway, I meant to blog it as we went along. It was a lovely lovely summer.

Reading Now

Ethan is reading the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.

Jared is reading the Captain Underpants series.

Matthew’s favorite read these days is Tony Diterlizzi’s picture book version of the famous Spider and the Fly by Mary Ann Howitt.

I’m on an Ian McEwan kick.

Favorite YouTubes

Tribute to John Williams: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk5_OSsawz4

Ethan, Grace and Sophia in the Laurel Talent Show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=np9mj8sDcyE&feature=channel_page

Favorite Songs

Matthew: Oats and beans and barley grow, Raffi and Weird Al Yankovich’s The Saga Begins about Star Wars

Katie: Been listening to Sunday in the Park with George and 101 in the Shade

Ethan:  Bombs over Baghdad, Outkast

Glen: Death Letter, White Stripes

Jared: “I dunno”

I love these low-key happy birthdays.

Matthew turned 4 yesterday. His brothers woke up remembering it was his birthday and sang to him immediately (not the you-smell-like-a-monkey version!). I think he got everything he wanted – at least he says he did:

• Ice cream for breakfast!
• Pop sicles at his last day of camp in the morning!
• Oma and Opa and friends visiting! (Including best friend Anneke – the little monkeys!)
• A new Indiana Jones Wii game – just what he wanted – thanks Nana and Shana!
• Phone calls from grandparents, uncles and aunts! (Sorry to everyone who caught him when he was more interested in his new Wii game than in talking to them…. does anyone have pointers on that? Ideas about how to remind them that family is more important than video games? (I’m serious – I’m taking notes if anyone has any….)
• Requested dinner chicken parmesan!
• Presents to open!
• Birthday cake with sprinkles and with 4 candles plus 1 to grow on to blow out and sparklers too!

Last year for Matthew’s birthday we were in the High Sierra Nevada, near the San Francisco  Sierra Nevada Field Campus. Grandma Penny and Grandpa Jim rented a BEAUTIFUL cabin and we had great adventures.

But we forgot cake! SO we decorated a platter with oreos (don’t tell daddy), m&m’s, blueberries and 2 table candles!

That was another low-key but happy birthday.

I think I really confused Matthew yesterday morning though. We had all told him over and over that 3 was almost over and that he would turn 4. He knew it the second he woke up that – he was thrilled to be 4!

However, it can be very hard for a mommy to see her little babies growing up up up! In March I told Jared he was not allowed to turn 6 and enter real boyhood from little-boyhood. He thought this was very funny.

Yesterday morning as he crawled into our bed where his whole family was waiting for him, I told Matthew that he had to stay 3 because I didn’t want him to turn 4, he freaked out! He started yelling at me and he  actually looked scared – like somehow I had ripped the fabric of time and it was all so unfair.

If I only I had the power to control time! Of course, for now he doesn’t have to know I can’t. For a little while longer Glen and I can be omnipotent. Although, for the Lipka boys 4 has traditionally been the age where they challenged that notion with every fiber of their being. We’re in for a fun year!

While one can expect Disneyland to be fun, I didn’t realize that my children would grow from the experience.

Ethan had never been on the big, adult roller coasters. He had never had the chance. He loved every minute of them! He not only went on the fastest roller coasters there, like California Screamin (which includes a loop de loop!) but even on Tower of Terror – 13 stories free fall! Thank goodness for Uncle Daniel who accompanied Ethan on most of these rides.

Ethan’s favorite rides: Tower of Terror, California Screamin, Indiana Jones

Jared was terrified of many of the rides. After trying the Matterhorn early on the first day, which is very jerky and has “scary sounds,” he was really nervous about getting on any but the mildest rides. Over the next 2 days he found the courage to try some rides that scared him, particularly Orange Stinger and Mulholland Madness at California Adventure Park, and actually enjoyed them! The thrill for him was not how much fun he was having on the rides like Ethan, but in how proud he was in himself that he had conquered his fear. I could see a huge change in him during that trip and in the weeks since. Conquering that fear at Disneyland gave him new confidence in himself. And it made him happier.

Jared’s Favorite Rides: Orange Stinger, Pirates of the Carribean, Peter Pan (he especially enjoyed Uncle Daniel’s commentary during this ride), Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, Gadget’s Go Coaster, Mulholland Madness, Redwood Creek Challenge Trail

Daniel also had to draw on character in this story. On the last night, as we sat lined up on the curb watching the Electric Parade, Daniel reached back to get his video camera and threw his back out. It was awful. He was in such pain and couldn’t move. On our last vacation with him, everyone in the house except Lindy threw up in the space of 48 hours. Then he had a kidney stone and Bapu had to rush him to the E.R. I hope he doesn’t decide not to visit us anymore, although I could hardly blame him! WE LOVE YOU UNCLE DANIEL!

Uncle Daniel’s Favorite Rides: ???

Aunt Lindy and I both had some favorites from childhood, including The Tiki Room, which wasn’t such a hit this time around.

Nana’s Favorite Ride: Definitely NOT the Toon Town Roller Coaster, Gadget’s Go Coaster

Aunt Lindy’s Favorite Rides: FROM AUNT LINDY: “My favorite thing about disneyland is reliving my childhood experience with molly and the lipka boys- it’s so fun to share all the things i loved so much as a child with them. Altho i’m sorry i had to miss it i’m SO happy that they got to see the electric parade – for me that counts as a ride. My other favorites are Pirates of the Carribean, the Jungle Cruise and the Tiki Room. The Tiki room appeals to me not just because it’s pseudo historical- it opened in 1963 and retains it’s 1963 cultural references- i also like the corny jokes, the family friendliness and the international flavor. I am also a big fan of Space Mountain (the inclines and declines are just right for me and it’s like an intergalactic chiropractic adjustment). It was closed this time- perhaps next time all the kids will be tall enough to accompany me!”

Note to Aunt Lindy: if we go again as soon as I’d like, they won’t be tall enough yet!!!

My Favorite Rides: Soarin’ Over California (you really felt like you were flying! I loved it!!!), Peter Pan, Orange Stinger, Storybook Land Canal Boats (we went at dusk and it was so picturesque)

Everyone’s Least Favorite Ride: The Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage (even though Lindy worked some of her Lindy magic and got all 9 of us jumped to the head of the line with no wait! How does she do it?) Ethan was like – there’s the surface of the water right there above our heads! This thing is not submerged!!!

One of the best things about Disneyland is the quality of all those characters walking around in flesh and blood: we saw Mickey Mouse, Goofy, Prince Caspian riding on a horse, Ariel, Sleeping Beauty…. They are amazing! They are so impeccably dressed and made up. Their mannerisms are so detailed and well-rehearsed.

Molly was in love with the princesses. She even came dressed as one! We went to Storybook Theater and got to hear Sleeping Beauty tell her own story! She was perfect! Even the Lipka boys were entranced! Then Molly and Matthew got to take a lesson with these court people on prince and princess etiquette, and they did a dance. Molly went to a special lunch where Ariel came and wished her happy birthday.

Molly’s Favorite Rides: FROM MOLLY: “Well, I liked the rollercoaster which went slow and i liked the one which went FAST! I liked it because my cousins went on that rollercoaster with me. I also liked the carousel when i rode on the elephant and the ride where the ceiling was coming down i was a little bit scared. And the one where i was in the jungle.”

Matthew got to meet Mickey Mouse and take a picture with him at his house in Toon Town. I don’t think Matthew has ever seen a Mickey Mouse cartoon, but he was IN LOVE with Mickey Mouse from the moment we got to Disneyland. Late in the afternoon of our 2nd day we waited in line for about 15 minutes to get to meet Mickey Mouse in his studio and then we went into a room with about 5 other families. All of the other children looked nervous and uncertain and were clinging to their parents. Not Matthew! He ran up to Mickey and gave him a big hug.

Matthew’s Favorite Rides: Pirates of the Carribean, Dumbo, Jumping Jellyfish, Gadget’s Go Coaster, Mickey’s House Read the rest of this entry »

We had a blast at Disneyland. I had no idea it would be such a great trip!

When Aunt Lindy invited all her nearest and dearest to a Disneyland birthday for Molly (all 7,000 of us – she has a lot of friends! , I thought, what a perfect occasion to celebrate Molly’s birthday and take the boys on their first trip to Disneyland! Since Molly lives in Connecticut we don’t get many opportunities to celebrate her birthday WITH her. And without a good excuse to go to Disneyland, I didn’t know if we’d ever go!

Glen was less enthusiastic about it, and had just missed a week of work for Jessica’s Bat Mitzvah, so I convinced NANA to come accompany us!!! Nana is the PERFECT companion. Having her on a trip is even better than having her at your house doing laundry and re-orging your closets (Shana and Mikey, I know you hear me! . She didn’t complain in the car, she was amenable to everything everyone wanted to do and she likes to pay for things. Seriously, we ALL had more fun because Nana was there.

Honestly, the kids are SO LUCKY to have such loving family all around them. This trip was amazing solely because of, but could have been disastrous without, the support of Nana, Aunt Lindy, Uncle Daniel and Carol Greenwald. On the first day at Disneyland we had 5 adults for 4 children. Without that ratio the experience would have been different for my children. But it wasn’t just their presence – Aunt Lindy and Uncle Daniel engage with their nephews in the most loving ways. They are attentive and generous and you can just tell the kids know they are loved.

Carol, Lindy’s step-mom, was of course there as the adoring grandmother of the birthday girl. But that didn’t stop her from taking a side trip with Jared when the Matterhorn freaked him out. And as we know, Jared is not easy to get along with when he’s freaked out! But Carol turned him right around.

Poor Nana! She was the one who sat with the strollers while Molly and Matthew took 2 hour naps in strollers. She was the one watching all of our stuff while everyone else was on a ride. She was the one who almost took Matthew’s hand off from gripping it so hard on the 30 second Tune-Town kiddie roller coaster ride that Molly rode over and over again with her hands in the air!!! Nana had the patience of a saint, as always.

I’ll post separately about each child’s experience, because for each of them it really WAS a magical kingdom. Who knew?

The boys recently went to the east coast for their cousin Jessica Lipka’s bat mitzvah. Glen took them all by himself!!!! Yay Glen! He said he realized that I usually take care of 90% of everything that needs to be done on these trips. That was nice. I had rehearsals for Magic Flute opera chorus at Opera San Jose so I couldn’t go.

Allegedly, the boys were great! Energetic as always, but well behaved overall. They got to see Nana, who was visiting from Florida, and Shana, and stayed with Bapu and Susu and Auntie Abigail and of course saw Aunt Lindy and Uncle Daniel and cousin Molly. They got to play with cousins Genessa and Elizabeth. All of these adults tell me that the boys were great. I think it’s a conspiracy. How could they be well-behaved without me there yelling at them and mutchering them?

Matthew had a fantasy that he had to share with everyone. He is going to the moon. He is taking a rocket to the moon. There will be a party. There will be a swimming pool and a flag. There are many details to this fantasy. It is specific. Abigail asked, “How do we get to the moon, do we take the elevator?” Matthew rolled his eyes at her and patiently explained, “No. You take a ROCKET to the moon.” He did not stop talking about this plan of his the whole trip!

Unfortunately when they were in DC for the celebration, the line for the Air & Space Museum was toooo long. Man, that would have been a perfect place for them to visit!

They all had a great time and I was so sorry to miss it.