Two Brothers

Two Brothers
Originally uploaded by Jagrap

Jenny's Uncle Bill is a Magician, and that allows him to be a member at a club in Los Angeles named the Magic Castle. With his membership he took us to a brunch there on Sunday (children are only allowed in on Sunday). Being a fancy place, we had to dress up, and that means pictures!

Since Michael has read two Harry Potter books and is in the middle of the third this was a good time to see a magic show. The kids were very impressed with the card tricks, magic pianos and slight of hand.
RAP (8.18.2006)

Welcome To LA

WelcomeToLA
Originally uploaded by Jagrap

Micheal's reading prowess continuess to increase. Last week he read "Harry Potter: The Chamber of Secrets" in a handful of days. He started it on the weekend before we left and finished all the 347 pages by Thursday. The great thing is he is now interested in another reading challenge, and was even up for "Harry Potter: The Prisoner of Azkaban," but we have decided to steer him towards something else in order to broaden his horizons. Perhaps Judy Blume's "Ramona the Pest" or "Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing". Whatever we choose I am certain he can do it.
RAPatton (8.16.2006)

Dodgers win!

Dodgers win!
Originally uploaded by Jagrap

Michael loves the Dodgers, so each summer we try to attend a Dodgers game . This yearI tried to get tickets to see them defeat the nefarious Giants, but I had to settle for tickets to watch them crush the odious Rockies. After seeing the game, "settling" would be the wrong term; the Dodgers won the game at the bottom of the 9th when Kenny Lofton's double created the game winning RBI to break the 3-3 tie. What you see in this picture was the moment of jubilant celebration as the speakers blared "I love LA" and the crowd (including our guys) went wild.
RAP (8.15.2006)

Triumph

Triumph
Originally uploaded by Jagrap

I had been moving around this morning finishing packing and getting reading for work. Finally, a tad before 7, I came back out into the great room and the lights were on. I looked at the couch and their was Michael reading "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets." It is a 330 page book and he is halfway through; he only started Sunday. Jenny and I were talking last night and think that Michael might already read faster than Jenny! Not only does it do it quickly, he retains it and enjoys it!
RAP (8.14.2006)

Banshee

Banshee
Originally uploaded by Jagrap

Last Sunday we went to the Irish Festival. We went early because they had mass (in Gaelic and English), it was free if you entered before 11am and it was going to be a hot day. Despite our efforts to avoid the heat, it was so warm we bypassed most of the kids activities.

To hide from the heat, we ducked into an Irish Magic Show. Michael really wanted to be picked, but fate had other ideas. However, Alejandro was able to be a volunteer for "Tears of the Banshee." Actually, I think it was Alex trying to figure out how the trick worked that black-balled Michael; Alex was supposed to hold a sign flush to a funnel, so as to catch the Banshee's tears that streamed out. Alex, being a curious young man, kept separating the poster and funnel because he wanted to see the banshee cry.
RAP (8.11.2006)

Can We Dig It

Can We Dig It
Originally uploaded by Jagrap

Alex has had many one liners lately, but unfortunately I can not remember any now. The important thing is that his wit and wisdom are not waning at all. He always has a zinger or two ready, and usually they provide some sort of insight. Alex prefers to have others read to him, but he is reading quite well for his age. Some of it is memorization of favorite books, but he read the subtitles on the TV the other night.
RAP (8.10.2006)

Water Warriors

Water Warriors
Originally uploaded by Jagrap

The last week of July/first week of August is typically the hottest time of year, and 2006 has been true to form. In addition to cooling off at the pool there are other options, and on this hot, hazy day Michael and Alex went to the Homestead Park with their friends and their squirt guns. If you inspect the image you can see that Alex's shirt is soaked which either makes him the big loser (got hit the most), or big winner (was smart enough to allow himself to be hit to cool off!). Michael chose the smartest path; bathing suit only. It was cool as it could be, yet dries fast.
RAP (8.9.2006)