Fast Forward Eight Years -- February 4, 2023

Updates

October 21, 2023: Olivia's high school soccer team went on to take the championship, taking first place in Texas, in the spring of 2023. As noted, Olivia was one of three captains, a spot usually reserved for seniors. She was a junior.

Original Post 

My notes regarding the grandchildren all these years were placed at the main blog, tagged with "notes to grandchildren" or something similar. 

But, this is a huge milestone -- so need to post this.

Olivia was named one of three co-captains on her high school soccer team. She is a junior and captains are almost always seniors. 

Olivia is playing on her high school team which finished second in the state of Texas last year.

Olivia is also playing for a club team for FC Dallas.

Olivia lives and breathes soccer.

Quick Update -- June 3, 2015

After four years in Boston, the family moved to Grapevine, Texas, in 2013. They lived in an apartment complex in Grapevine for two years, on the same street as their elementary school, Colleyville-Grapevine Heritage Elementary - Middle - High School.

Over the May 4, 2015, weekend, the family moved into a home in the immediate area but they will go to new schools starting the 2015 - 2016 school year.

Sophia will turn one year old in June.

Olivia will turn 9 years old in July.

Arianna will turn 12 years old in July.

Soccer Season Has Started -- First Game

No one keeps score at these games, but it was noted by Papa that the only time our team scored was when I was on the field. I recorded several assists. Kiki was awesome.  -- April 28, 2012.

Making Spaghetti Dinner - Autumn, 2011

My sister and I making spaghetti dinner. Don't worry. Papa was watching us closely.

Baking Brownies -- Autumn, 2011

My sister Arianna baking Ghiradelli Brownies from a mix that our daddy brought home to us from San Francisco.

Arianna Visited New York City With Her Parents Last Week; Olivia Visited London On Her Own

Arianna and Olivia boarded the bus at South Station, Boston, and rode to New York City, with their mommy and daddy last week for a quick 2-day visit of the Big Apple.

I can't even imagine the number of highlights on that trip, but their daddy took them to the top of the Empire State Building, something I could never do (because of my severe fear of heights).

Throughout the visit, for some reason, Olivia maintained she was visiting London. She just knew that the city she was in was London. She did not say whether she saw the Queen.

San Pedro, California, Area Aquariums -- The Cabrillo Marine Aquarium and the Long Beach Aquarium

Arianna and Olivia visited two fantastic aquariums while visiting San Pedro, California, July, 2011.

The first aquarium was the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium. This aquarium has changed remarkably over the years, and is now one of the nicer aquariums in the country, comparing favorably, though much smaller, with the Boston Aquarium and the Long Beach aquarium.

Two nice things about the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium: it is not as crowded as other larger, more well-known aquariums; and, it is free.

It is very, very accessible. Parking  is available, and reasonable, for big city rates, but one might be able to find parking on a side street for free (which we did) and then walk down the hill to the beach, the park, and the aquarium.

Compared to the Boston Aquarium, the Cabrillo has some of the most unique sea creatures, and they are often showcased in a smaller aquarium right at eye-level and more easily accessible for very young children.

Like most aquariums these days, the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium does have a touch tank.

Most surprising, and something very, very unique was a brand new, state-of-the-art marine library at the Cabrillo aquarium. It has a huge window overlooking the park and the harbor; it has several new internet-connected computers free for use by the public, and a very extensive library. For those visiting the San Pedro area for an extended period, this library is a great place to relax, read, and enjoy the scenery. And again, free, with a very, very inviting librarian.

Of course, if one loves aquariums, one is not about to miss the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific when in the San Pedro area. We have not visited the aquarium in Baltimore but it is said that the Boston, Baltimore, and Long Beach are three of the best aquariums in the United States. We fell in love with the Long Beach Aquarium. Folks spending more than a few months in the San Pedro area consider buying an annual family or annual grandparents pass to the aquarium. It will pay for itself with the second visit; the grandparent package includes four guest tickets and opportunity to bring up to four grandchildren on any visit.

The Long Beach Aquarium has three touch tanks which I think is the most of any aquarium. Two of them are with sharks and mantas. The third is a jellyfish touch pool, which I think, may be unique among aquariums.

Lighthouses and the Vicente Interpretive Center Near San Pedro, California -- July, 2011

Olivia and Arianna visited two lighthouses while in southern California: Point Firmin and Point Vicente.

Point Firmin is at the south end of San Pedro: just take Gaffey Street as far south as it will take you and then turn right or left, find a parking spot and walk across the grassy park to the Point Firmin lighthouse.

It is open almost every day. It has a wonderful staff who will give you a tour of the living quarters and the beacon itself, the Fresnel lens. Interestingly enough, there is another Fresnel lens at the Griffith Observatory in Griffith Park, Los Angeles, CA.


It looks like the "official" Point Fermin lighthouse website is no longer up (at least not today), but here is one source.

Of course, it never fails, here is another source at Wikipedia.

A second lighthouse Olivia and Arianna visited was the lighthouse at Point Vicente. From downtown San Pedro, the easiest and most scenic route is to take Gaffey Street to its end at Point Firmin, and then turn right (north) on Palos Verdes Drive toward Palos Verdes Peninsula. Hugging the scenic coast for a mile or two, one will see the lighthouse on the left. This is still an active military station, albeit very small, and is open to the public only one day of the month: the second Saturday of every month.

There are numerous sites where one can visit the lighthouse on the web:

• Al's Lighthouses
• Photo Blog by Richard Wong
• California's Majestic Lighthouses (perhaps some of the best photo)

Arianna and Olivia climbed to the top twice the day they visited. Children five and under are not allowed to climb to the top of the lighthouse. Olivia would turn five years old the week we visited, and because she was mature in her behavior, no one asked her age, and she climbed to the top with her older sister with no difficulty.

While visiting the lighthouse be sure to stop at the Vicente Interpretive Center for an opportunity to watch whales migrating along the coast. The best time to see the whales are in the spring and the autumn, but they are known to be in the area throughout the year.

We did not get a chance to visit the third lighthouse in the immediate vicinity of San Pedro: Angel's Gate lighthouse marking the Los Angeles Harbor. 

Summary of July, 2011, in Los Angeles

SUMMER IN CALIFORNIA

Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach (Touched sharks, mantas, and jellyfish!)

Beach, special day with Aunt Cindy (just Olivia)

Beaches
Birthday swim parties at Uncle Flavio and Aunt Cindy’s for Olivia and me

Boogie Boarding with Uncle Flavio

Bookstores

Books -- best ever Shark and Dinosaur books, 3D Animal Book, $1 classics from Target

Buddhist Funeral for Great Grandma Kay Forever

Cabrillo Marine Aquarium

Cars 2 Movie

California Adventure (Tower of Terror, Soaring over California, and other great rides)

Capt. Jack Sparrow in the parking lot (gave Olivia and me rings)

Chinese Restaurant with Jennie and Ray

Disneyland

Fourth of July in backyard.  Great view of fireworks.

Glass Church (Wayfarers’ Chapel, Palos Verdes Peninsula)

Hummingbird Feeder with daily visits from hummingbirds

Jacaranda Cafe Saturday Morning Breakfast Group with Kei and Leon

Legoland and Water Park

Lemon Tree (Walked uphill carrying three bags of lemons for the Jacaranda Cafe)

Lighthouses (climbed to the top at Point Fermin and Point Vicente)

Los Angeles Museum of Natural History new Dinosaur Exhibit -- Awesome!

Math one hour daily with Papa Bruce.   :-)

Meals outside on the patio

Monopoly, Bingo, Cards, Puzzles with Papa Bruce

Nature Walks down to the ocean

Ruby’s at the Huntington Beach Pier

Parks with ponds and ducks

Parks 

Playgrounds near the house and at the beach 

Playing with Cousins

Playing “Beach” and “Train” in the driveway with Olivia

Reading

San Pedro Fish Market at 5 AM with Papa.  Arianna fed seals and got salmon and sea bass.

Shark Book (best ever) and shark model

Skechers shopping with Aunt Cindy

Subway sandwiches overlooking the ocean

Sushi at Mitsuwa (Konichiwa)

Swimming at Flavio and Cindy’s

Uncle Flavio and Aunt Cindy

Walking to 7-11 every morning with Papa to get Grandma a newspaper

Whale watching

The weather outside is frightful ...

... but the pool is so de-lightful...

Swimming lessons at the indoor pool at Hanscom Air Force Base, outside Boston, Massachusetts, February 19, 2011.