California Gurls

With Reddy (the car).

(November 3, 2011)

When we last left our intrepid left-coast travelers, the family had narrowly averted a Marni meltdown at the airport...

The California Gurls had an uneventful flight. Food. Movies. Naps. We landed at LAX around 9:30 pm and headed to pick up our rental car. A little snafu resulted in us getting a nice, red SUV which the girls loved and quickly named Reddy.

We got to our hotel in Orange County an hour later and transferred the sleepy kids to their beds. So ended Day 1.

Day 2 started early because we needed to get to DisneyLand to meet up with Uncle Theo and Aunt Cindy. Mr. Theo hooked us up royally. First ride... "Soarin' Over California". Then, "Ariel's Underwater Adventure". And more, and more, and more! Everyone (including Theo) was having a blast.

We did hit a bump though when we tried to take the girls through the Haunted Mansion. As the lights dimmed and the scary noises got louder... the two girls went mad! And not in a good way. Time for an emergency extraction out the closest exit.

Things went smoothly the remainder of the day.

Even though Theo had made special arrangements for us to view World of Color, the girls' energy was gone after dinner. So we bid Theo and Cindy a fond farewell and headed back to the hotel and to bed.

Day 3 was also spent at DisneyLand, but sans Theo and Cindy. The wet whether didn't dampen our enthusiasm and we spent a full day doing everything! The favorite ride? Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters.

On Day 4 we attended the Bat Mitzvah of Lisa's friend Mark's daughter Kira. The girls' first Bat Mitzvah! In the afternoon we took the girls to meet the Pacific Ocean at Balboa Beach. Then, it was time for the main event... Kira's Bat Mitzvah Party Spectacular!

Stella and Marni busted out their most awesomest party dresses and headed for their first ever grown up party. Their heads almost popped off when they got a load of everything going on. Candy galore. Photo booth. DJ. Dancers. Food. Pinball machines. Custom hat makers.

The daughters did a great job of keeping up with the teenagers. They ate. Ran around. Danced. Played DJ games.

But by 10 they were begging to go home. And so ended day 4.

Petting sharks.

Day 5 started with brunch at the beautiful Rapp home in The O.C. Then we jumped into Reddy and headed for the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. Pretty nice place. There, the gals got to pet sharks, sting rays, and jelly fish. We also let exotic birds sit on our heads.

On Day 6 the Shepard family moved north for a very special visit to Disney Studios. Uncle Theo gave us a great tour of the lot. We even got to watch them mix sound for a TV show.

After our tour we went into L.A. to see the sights. Hollywood sign. Kodak Theater. Hollywood Walk of Fame. Grauman's Chinese Theater.

We wrapped up the day at Theo and Cindy's house for delicious dinner. The girls even met Kendall (the dog).

Our last night was spent at a rather nice Embassy Suites Hotel at LAX.

On Day 7 we headed for home. All was on schedule until we checked out and got onto the airport shuttle bus. It was then that we noticed that Marni's Bear was missing. Everyone off of the bus. I quickly retraced our steps in the lobby. Nothing. Then I headed back to the room, where I found Bear sitting on the bedroom floor.

Back on the bus.

The flight was smooth and without meltdowns. By early evening we were back in Brooklyn and getting ready for bed. Tomorrow was a school day.

As I write this post almost 2 months later, the girls are still talking about the trip. Pretty much every day Marni talks about wanting to go back to California.

But we have lots of other places to explore. They want to see the Great Wall of China. They want to go to Clearwater, Florida. And I think I've heard them mention something about visiting penguins in Antarctica.

Hanging with The Man

Meeting the Pacific.

Marni, Stella, and Bat Mitzvah girl, Kira.

Surrounded by candy and covered by bling, Marni is wiped out after the party.

From the Bat Mitzvah photo booth.

Stella (Adler) the star.

With Theo and Cindy at DisneyLand.

A wet day 2 at DisneyLand. 

Bird on head.

Marni and Kendall.

This post contains video that can only be viewed from the website. So go there!

The 2011 PS39 Winter Concert

Backstage with the superstars.

The buzz started a couple of months ago.

"I want to be in the Winter Concert! I want to be in the Winter Concert!"

It appeared that my chicken-shit kids were finally ready to perform on stage.

I would believe it when I saw it.

After a few weeks, notices began to show up from school outlining the rehearsal schedule and various other logistical items for the annual performance.

I half expected one or both of them to drop out as rehearsals progressed. But they didn't. They actually seemed to be enjoying it.

More details of the performance filtered out to us...

• They would be performing in their pajamas. Cute.
• Marni would be standing front and center. Huh?

And before you knew it, it was time for dress rehearsal on the actual stage. Lisa attended the rehearsal as a chaperon and sent me a video showing Marni up on stage, doing her thing.

Hmmm... this thing might be pretty interesting.

The performance was scheduled for 6:30 on December 20th. I showed up at 6:15 and visited the girls in the cafeteria where "the talent" was being prepped. Absolute bedlam with 170 hyper kids. Stella and Marni were raring to go.

I moved to the auditorium and situated myself in a good location for videotaping.

Moments later, the stage began to fill up with kids. Stella was nowhere to be seen. Too short to be seen from her position in the second row. But little Marni was in her spot... front and center. Right in front of music teacher, Mr. Trust.

The crowd hushed, the music swelled, and the performance began.

I'm sure Stella was probably awesome. But no one could see her.

On the other hand, Marni could be seen... and she was totally awesome!

She had every move down and was selling it like no one else on stage. I was amazed. Her enthusiasm never flagged through the eight songs.

So proud.

Afterwards, every parent that knew me or Marni came over and complimented her on her amazing performance. Marni just glowed with all the attention.

Marni's kindergarten teacher, Ms. Imperiale, bragged to all the other teachers at the performance that the little firecracker in the front row was from her class!

The next morning Marni was a minor celebrity in the schoolyard as parents came over to tell her what an amazing dancer she was.

So now I'm thinking we may just have something here. Time to think about how to nurture this talent.

Watch out world... superstar Marni is coming your way!

PS... You can catch a glimpse of Stella in the last video (Jingle Bells). She's in front of Marni.


This post contains videos that are only viewable from the website. So go there!

The Littlest Busker

On our way home from visiting "The Tree", little Marni gave everyone quite a performance on the D train platform. We should have put out a collection hat.

This post contains video that can only be viewed from the website. So go there!

California or Bust (Introduction)

(November 2, 2011)

She had been warning us for weeks that she wasn't going to California with us. But we just thought Marni was being her kooky self and didn't pay much attention.

That was a mistake.

We were now only a couple of hours away from wheels-up and Marni wasn't changing her tune as we busily finished getting our bags ready to head to the airport. As far as everyone but Marni was concerned, we were heading off to California for 7 days to attend a Bat Mitzvah, go to Disney Land, and visit with friends. Flights, hotels, and car rentals were all booked. All we had to do was get into the car-service mini van to Newark Airport.

And then, all hell broke loose.

As we began to wheel our suitcases out the door, Marni began a meltdown of biblical proportions. Screaming, crying, fighting with me, and refusing to leave the apartment. We let her be as we moved the suitcases to the car. But I eventually had to carry her to the building's front vestibule. This is where she attached herself to anything solid and refused to be moved, all the while screaming and crying in terror in a way that we had never experienced before. She pleaded with me to find someone in the building that would stay with her in the apartment for a week so she wouldn't have to go on the trip.

I eventually detached her from the woodwork and stuffed her into the car where she stiffened her body and refused to get into the car seat. Screaming! Luckily, our driver was understanding... because this pretty much looked like a kidnapping.

The intensity of Marni's terror was shocking. It's something I never want to see again. Where this terror was coming from is anyone's guess. She's flown before. Happily. Something was surely spooking her now.

All that was going through my head was the possibility Marni was somehow prescient about an impending disaster. Maybe she sensed that our plane was going to crash and she was trying to save us. But we weren't listening, and were foolishly dooming the whole family to death. Or, then again, maybe she was just a scared 5 year old.

We drove for a while with a sobbing Marni standing in the car. Eventually she relented and we buckled her into her car seat. I gave her my iPhone and fired up Netflix so she could watch a show and get her mind off her fears.

She was calm when we arrived at Newark. A trip to an overpriced but brilliantly located kids toy store in the terminal resulted in a lighter wallet and a calmer kid.

By the time we reach security, Marni was back to her normal abnormal self. Joking. Dancing. Singing. Playing with the conveyor belt that fed our bags into the x-ray machine.

The girls played happily as we waited to board. I slipped away to the check in desk and had a chat with the lady behind the counter, explaining that we may have a terrorized tot boarding the plane. She understood and agreed to allow us to board early so we could deal with another potential meltdown.

But the meltdown never happened.

Marni skipped down the Jetway and into the plane where the captain invited her and Stella (yes, Stella was with us too) into the cockpit for a tour. Marni in the pilot's seat and Stella as co-pilot. Stella even got to wear the captain's hat.

After the tour, we made our way to our seats, settled in, broke out the iPad, and took off for California. Without further incident.

And, no, we did not crash and die.

The smile high club.

Shaking it with J-Lo

We don't own a Wii, or an X-Box, or a Playstation 3. So our poor, deprived children cannot play Dance Central or Just Dance, or whatever.

Instead, they dance along to music videos or other live performances. Below, the girls shake it with J-Lo on the American Music Awards.

(PS... I think Marni has the moves down pat.)

This post contains video that can only be viewed from the website. So go there!

Papa Harold

On November 20th, Lisa's dad and Stella and Marni's Papa passed away. Harold was 81 years old. The girls had been told that Papa was not well and that he may die soon. And even though we had prepared them the best we could, the news was still devastating.

We were in Albany at the time of Harold's passing and the funeral was planned for the next day. The kids, despite their protests, did not go to the service or the cemetery. They stayed at Nana Audrey's house with their cousins Tyler and Delia.

For them, the high point of the day may have been playing in the stretch limo that pulled up to take us to temple.

Stella and Marni have taken Papa's death as well as could be expected. They seem to understand, but come up with questions from time to time. They've both tried to make things easier for Lisa and Nana Audrey.

When I think back about Harold, two things make me smile:

• Harold was an optometrist... and the first day I met him, he immediately took me to his office and changed my glasses. He didn't like what I was wearing.
• He was the king of St. Maarten. We visited him and Audrey several times at their time share on the island and he was truly in his element when he was there.

We all love and miss you Papa Harold.

You can read more about Papa Harold here.