LA Story - Day Three

May 12, 2006
USC Graduation Day

Alumni Memorial Park with Doheny Library in the background, the site of the 125th Commencement Exercises for the University of Southern California. We, of course, were seated in the Handicapped seating (Gram & Wanda used wheelchairs because they couldn't be on their feet all day) which was to the right of the main stage. So, again, we saw nothing. LA mayor, Antonio Viallaraigosa, was entertaining as the keynote speaker. Each school was recognized and then sent on to their own satellite ceremonies throughout campus.


Esteban (Julie's cousin) in cap & gown in front of Student Union where we ate ourselves stupid at the Graduation Buffet Luncheon. Before lunch, we walked all over campus and saw the buildings were Esteban attended most of his classes. It is a large campus and we did a lot of walking that day!


After lunch, we headed to the Shrine Auditorium where the School of Cinema Television held their satellite graduation ceremony. John Singleton, director and USC alum, was the keynote speaker.


Esteban received his MFA in Cinema-Television. He says that he is finished with school and now plans to enter the work force full time. We shall see...


About a year ago, Esteban asked me if I still watched General Hospital. (I've watched my favorite soap opera faithfully for over 25 years now.) When he told me that the girl who plays the character of Lulu Spencer, Julie Berman, was a classmate of his at USC, I was excited. She just happened to be seated in front of us during the ceremony and I got a quick photo of her as she marched by. This was, actually, my only "star" sighting in LA. Not a huge deal but, I did know who she was.

So, we were on campus for all things graduation for 10 hours and were EXHAUSTED by the time we got home. Esteban and his roommates had a big graduation party that night with food from La Barca and lots and lots and lots of margaritas. We were able to meet many of Esteban's friends at the party and they kept it going until at least 3:00am. Gram, Wanda & I pooped out and left the party at 9:00-ish.

LA Story - Day Two

May 11, 2006

Esteban and Julie left the other women at home and headed to the Coffee Bean for our morning caffeine fix. We also went to the Fashion District and browsed a few shops. Julie found some earrings and shoes to wear to the Baccalaureate banquet that night.

Julie begged shamelessly to somehow fit a Dodger's game into the LA itinerary. It took some doing but it eventually worked out. Esteban's roommate, Jay, was kind enough to escort Julie to the game, even though he had never been to a baseball game before. Julie grew up watching the Dodger's and, more specifically, their AAA farm team-The Albuquerque Dukes. Going to Dodger Stadium was a kind of a Mecca journey and it was an awesome experience to sit in the stands and actually watch the Dodger's play ball. Thanks, Jay, for helping make this baseball fan's silly dream come true!

While Jay & Julie were at the Dodger's game, Esteban took Gram and Aunt Wanda to the Fashion District. They had a great time and only stopped shopping because they didn't have room in their luggage to bring anything else home.

Esteban was very involved with the USC Catholic Community and was chosen to carry the banner in the processional during the Baccalaureate Service on Thursday evening. We arrived late and were seated on the far right hand side of the stage. We were not able to see anything and, of course, Esteban marched in on the opposite side. It was a nice service, though, and we enjoyed the awesome dinner that was served afterward.

Julie's LA Story - Day One

May 10, 2006

Our plane left Albuquerque at 8:35am and arrived in Los Angeles at 12:45pm. Little did we know that we would hit the ground running and not slow down until we arrived at LAX a week later for our return flight!

Gram, Aunt Wanda & Julie on airplane.

Sony Pictures Studio in Culver City (the drive-by tour).

Lunch at In-And-Out Burger in Culver City.

Rose Garden at Exposition Park in LA.

Esteban, Aunt Wanda, Gram, Julie, Jonathan & Jay enjoying dinner at La Barca in LA. This restaurant is less than a mile from Esteban's house and, apparently quite popular with the USC crowd. The wait staff all knew Esteban and his roommates by name.

After dinner and margaritas, we went downtown to see Esteban's new office in the Wilshire Grand Hotel. We met his future co-workers and learned more about the company, Debris-Free. It sounds like an awesome product and a great opportunity for Esteban!

Wal-Mart Photo

We had a coupon from Wal-Mart for a reduced cost portrait package and since we hadn't had Jamie in for professional (such that it is) portraits since he was six months old, we decided it was time. Jamie was very cooperative but would only give us his big toothy "cheesy" smile (see photo with Easter Bunny below...). We finally decided to go with a serious face as he was getting tired of the patronizing photographer and a meltdown was inevitable.

It's Time For Veggie Tales!

(Jamie, Spencer, Michelle & Richard)

Happy Easter! We woke up early and went to the Ecumenical Sunrise Service at Cole Park. We did the drive-thru at McD's and then drove to Farmington, NM to visit our friends, the Hamilton's. We gathered for lunch and a small birthday party for Spencer before heading to the Convention Center to see Veggie Tales Live! It was a great show and I think the adults had at least as much fun as the kids. We saw our favorite vegetables (and fruit) perform our very favorite Veggie Tale songs.


(Bob & Larry)


(The Hairbrush Song)


(The Dance of the Cucumber)


(Larry Boy)


(I Want To Dance)


(The Finale)

An Easter Egg Hunt was held afterwards. It was called an Egg Hunt but the eggs weren't hidden and there were hundreds of them...it was more like an Egg Frenzy. Anyway, Jamie & Spencer both had fun filling up their baskets, dumping them out and going back for more. They each had more than their share of Easter Candy and Jamie also won a prize. (He won a Disney Princess scooter but the Easter Bunny on duty said that we could exchange it at Wal-Mart.)

Happy Easter!

Happy Birthday Jamie!

Jamie's birthday party was held at Cole Park. The weather was perfect and the kids had fun playing on the slides and swings until it was time for cake and ice cream. Jamie invited his friends from playgroup and church. Special guests were his cousin, Shelby, and Aunt Emily.

The Cake

Julie had been in Denver for a Stampin' Up! seminar until late the night before the party. She had thought ahead enough to bake a cake using the cool train pan that Grandma bought. The plan was to decorate the cake on Sunday morning before the party. Well...you have to know that things never go as planned. The party was set to begin at 12:30 and at 12:10, the cake was only partially decorated and it was determined that it was time for Plan B. Julie raced into town and went to the grocery store bakery for a birthday cake...the only one they had was decorated with flowers. Ugh! Desperate times call for desperate measures...Jamie would just have to have a birthday cake with flowers. So, of course, it didn't matter at all. In fact, all of the kids were fighting over who got a piece of cake with a flower on it.













As the party was winding down, an Infiniti van drove up and parked next to us. Bill noticed immediately that this was a big dude and thought he was Alfred Williams (former defensive end for the Denver Broncos). I just walked up to him and asked if he was Alfred Williams. When he said that he was, I told him that we were having Jamie's birthday party and asked if he would pose for a photo with the birthday boy. He agreed and you'll notice that Bill got in on the photo too! (Bill happened to be appropriately dressed in Broncos gear.) Alfred & his family were passing through Alamosa on their way home to Denver and decided to stop and let the kids play at the park. So, Jamie and the other kids were definitely not as impressed as the adults were, but we can always say that a "celebrity" attended Jamie's 4th birthday party. Jamie does talk about the "big football dude" that was at his birthday, though.


Alfred Williams with Jamie & Bill

The Train Cake
The party wound down and we went home where Jamie & Shelby had a chance to play in the dirt together. After Emily & Shelby left, Julie finished decorating the train cake. It turned out very nice and Jamie was able to take it to his preschool/daycare and share his birthday with his friends there.

Bye-Bye Binky

We have said "good-bye" to binky! For several months, Bill & I have been telling Jamie that it was OK for him to still use his binky until he turned four. It became something of a daily mantra..."three year olds can use their binky and blanky but when you're four, you won't need binky anymore." Jamie would even repeat it to us, "I'm still three, so I need my binky and blanky. When I'm four, I'll still need my blanky but not my binky."

So, a few weeks before his birthday, we started thinking about what to do with binky when Jamie turned four. One day we asked Jamie what we should do with binky. He thought for a few seconds and stated, "throw it away". We discussed it a couple of times and Jamie seemed very comfortable with his decision.

On April 9th, Jamie woke up and snuggled with Bill in front on the television to watch "Thomas and Friends". When it was over, Jamie got up and went into the kitchen. He then called Bill in...he had thrown his binky away all by himself. He was excited to show it to me when I woke up. Jamie is four years old and doesn't need his binky anymore.

It's not often that one would have the need to take a photo of the contents of their garbage can. This photo, however, signifies an important milestone in Jamie's life. The binky has been thrown away!

McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park

We thought we had done the research before going to Arizona but learned from both Deb and Darrin that THE place to go for railroad fun is the McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park in Scottsdale. We didn't have time to go before Bill had to return to Alamosa but did talk Grandma into going with us later on.

The McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park is home to the Paradise and Pacific Railroad. It is built and operates as an exact 5/12 scale reproduction of a Colorado narrow gauge railroad and winds through the park on a one mile track.


The Park also has an antique carousel with 30 horses and 2 chariots. Jamie was afraid to ride on one of the horses so we sat and enjoyed the chariot ride.


In addition, the Park has railroad exhibits including the Magma #6 Locomotive, The Baggage Car and the Roald Amundsen Pullman Car. The Magma #6 hauled copper ore from Superior to Magma, AZ for 38 years before being retired in January 1960. The Baggage Car houses the Railroad Museum. It was built as a dining car and then converted to carry baggage during World War II.


The Roald Amundsen Pullman Car was built in 1928 for $205,000. It is best known for its presidential travel. The car provided maximum security and was used at various times by every president from Herbert Hoover through Dwight Eisenhower. It was on this car in 1940 that President Franklin Roosevelt and Canadian Prime Minister W.L. McKenzie King signed the Ogdensberg Declaration, an agreement that provided for the joint defense of North America, now known at NATO.



And, what would a Park be without a playground? We rode the train three times and played at both of the playgrounds before hunger and exhaustion got the best of us. The Park is grassy and has picnic tables throughout...next time we will bring picnic items and make a day of it.


The McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park is also home to several model railroad clubs and the Scottsdale Live Steamers Club (similar to Maricopa County Live Steamers). Unfortunately, these exhibits are open only on Sundays and we were not able to enjoy them on this visit. Now that we know about this great Railroad Park, we will definitely return for many years to come.

A Walk To Remember

One day, while in Mesa, Jamie & Julie decided to walk to Skyline Park. This was not just an ordinary walk...it was an ADVENTURE!!!

We read and repeated all of the house numbers along the way. Important work for a preschooler who is learning his numbers.

We stopped and smelled the roses (well, it was actually some sort of cactus...) and we watched a construction site.

After we arrived at the park, it was time to play with friends Costin, Caden & Lily Mae again.

Our walk back to The Casa was also exciting as we watched bees buzzing on a beautiful bush with red feathery flowers, picked up rocks, found a feather,

and found ourselves at the base of a massive saguaro.