Riley's Homecoming

This was cool. Riley's friend Kevin invited her to Brea's Homecoming in a cool and unexpected way. He had Riley's bff Tessa hide in the bushes after Riley and Kevin went to movie. Tessa had flowers and this large card ready for Kevin to ask Riley to Homecoming. Really cute.

Everyone knows Riley is focused on school and her trombone (also named Kevin, hmmm) to the point of sometimes sacrificing her social life. I'm glad to see she is not missing out on teenage things like Homecoming dances. She somehow is able to maintain good friendships while she is on this crazy, intense schedule at Orange County School of the Arts.

DJ Turns 18

 

DJ turned 18 on October 16, 2015. This was a very significant milestone as it probably is for everyone. However, for DJ I had been thinking about how things should change now that he is 18. He already has a job and is going to college. He has a car and takes responsibility for himself most of the time. I had planned the day of his birthday well in advance so that we could both celebrate his new adulthood and take care of some tasks on day one.

 

I had DJ take the day off from work so that we could go to the bank, register to vote, register for selective service, get his own credit card, etc. DJ wasn't interested in buying lottery tickets (DJ knows basic math) but he did want to take some handguns to the local shooting range and shoot by himself for the first time ever.  

 

We tried to register to vote online but being his first time, the government needs to mail him something to start a paper process. After that we went to the bank. We met the branch manager at the bank and closed the joint account I had with DJ and opened a new one with only his name on it. I was surprised to learn that DJ had saved most of what he had earned at his job in that joint account. We also ordered a credit card with a low limit so he can start building a credit file. Most importantly, he has a relationship with a banker now so that he can get some advice on financial matters when necessary.

 

Later that night we had an expensive steak dinner at the Dal Rae in Pico Rivera on our way to the Met, a small theater that was playing the Green Day musical. We had front row VIP seats that I had bought months earlier. The pictures are from that show.

 

 

 

I got to spend the day and night with DJ on his 18th birthday. I am so proud of him and the man he is becoming.

Riley 14th

Holden's Head Shots

I took Holden for some head shots just to see how it goes. I think he's going to be a performer in some way but we will see.

If you want to see the headshots, follow this link.

Riley Earns Straight As; Gets $150

I am so proud of Riley for getting all A grades in the 8th grade at BJ High School. That's a tough age and grade to focus on school not to mention the extra energy and time she puts into the trombone. I pay $25 per A (nothing for less) so she gets $150!

Riley Says Farewell to Her Band Friends

Riley said goodbye to her Brea Junior High School band friends at an award banquet last week. She is the only one from her class who will be attending the Orange County School of the Arts in the Fall.

She was first chair Trombone in BJH Concert Band and we just found out she made second chair in the symphonic band at OCSA.

Her teacher, Mrs.Bartell, is really amazing. She seemed to turn a dying music program into three award winning junor high bands in just a few short years. It's almost a shame Riley can't stay in Brea because her teacher's husband, Mr. Bartell, is the music teacher a Brea-Olinda. His jazz band (Riley is not into jazz) has great chops.

More in her Instagram account here.

Holden's Photo of Anaheim Stadium

I wouldn't normally post an update that Holden and I went to an Angels game, except that he took this great picture with my iPhone6. Our seats were much lower but he went all the way to the top and used the panorama function to capture this cool view of Anaheim Stadium.

Sweden with a little Denmark

My Dad, DJ and I just finished a 12 day trip to Sweden and Denmark.

I had been wanting to visit Sweden for a long time but the airfare and the other costs seemed really high. I have two good friends from Sweden who live here and I'm part Swedish on my dad's side.

I found an offer online presented by Norwegian Airlines due to their new direct route on gleaming new 787s from LAX to Stockholm for under $500 round trip, taxes included. Knowing these deals don't last, I asked DJ if he wanted to go and he said yes, so I booked two tickets around Spring Break. I sent the confirmation email to my Dad and he booked the same flight.

The flight was only 9.5 hours on the speedy new jet. Even though Norwegian charges for the first bag and everything else like water and blankets, they don't charge for the entertainment which consisted of brand new movies and tv shows played on the LCD in front of us. The flight went fast. We had bought torpedos from Guilianos on the way to the airport so we didn't have to pay for the onboard meal ($45).

We went out the first night to Gamla Stan, the old neighborhood island in Stockholm. It's spotless with old buildings on narrow streets - most of them pedestrian only. We found a little restaurant down one of the corridors. DJ liked it because we walked down inside a cave to eat there.

Cafes are all over the place but few of them had ice for my iced coffee. The coffee was good but I can't enjoy it without ice. We finally found one cafe (besides Starbucks) that carried ice but they don't give much of it. Below is Espresso House which could be considered the Starbucks of Sweden. 

In Gamla Stan we found a copper store. DJ and I had no room for souveniers because we both brought one carry on bag each for our trip to avoid the $50 each way charge for the extra bag. Plus, they didn't have a copper mug that I could use for Moscow Mules at my bar, so we left empty handed.

In Stockholm, the most popular museum is a building built around a restored war ship from the 1400's called Vasa. It sank shortly after it's launch and stayed under the cold brackish water in the Stockholm bay for hundreds of years before it was pulled up and restored. 

We had a Volvo to get around the country but we didn't need it. The trains, subways and buses are easier than driving. We didn't experience traffic, really, just a lot of roundabouts and parking fees everywhere. 

DJ had a good time because the legal drinking age in Denmark and Sweden is a reasonable 18 years old, or anything if a responsible adult buys it for you.

We found a bar in Copenhagen, Denmark that sells 10kr shots of Akavit (a clear Swedish liquor) and played Liar's Dice. Everyone had a good time.

The bars in Copenhagen varied widely. The best ones were old and crowded.

Our schedule was 2 nights in Stockholm, 2 nights in Copenhagen, 2 nights in Gotenburg, 3 nights in Stockholm again. Somehow that was enough for a 12 day trip. 

I'm all about the food and the coffee. For food, we ate breakfast in the hotel if they had one. Most hotels provide a breakfast smorgasboard with hot cereal, muselei, yogurt, cold cuts, soft boiled eggs, onion herring, mustard herring, breads, and strong coffee.

For lunches, nearly all restaurants have a lunch special which includes an entree, side and drink for about $10US. 

For dinner, we had planned on picking up ingredients and eating in the room but we only did that once. All the other meals we ate out which gets a little pricey at night but we managed to keep it under $50 for the three of us for dinner.

I found the best iced coffee was from a common fast food restaurant called Max. The food was average but this restaurant, in contrast to all others, had an ice machine. It also had a Seattle's Best coffeemaker with real beans. Seattle's Best is owned by Starbucks, so they have decent beans. Half of the trip we spent driving to a Max - usually just for Iced Coffee.

My dad had a good time and at 74 kept up with us just fine. 

DJ is taking photography so he spent the most time with the expensive camera that my dad brought. He took many photos of strangers. They discussed F-stops and ISO speeds before and after we visited Stockholm's photography museum. I'm glad they have something in common. 

Here are some more pictures from the trip. 

Inside a Boeing 747 converted to a cafe and youth hostel near Stockholm Airport.

Lots of old buildings best viewed from the water.

DJ kept in touch with his girl back home.

Mirror inside eleventor at one of the many cheap hotels we stayed in.

Dj must have said something funny.

Fish market is probably the best option for dining well but at a low price.

On a ferry again.

Many waterways around with cool, low, old bridges.

When the sun is out, Swedes like to sit outside.

One of the three Starbucks we visited was in Gothenburg, the second largest city in Sweden.

Riley's First Recital

Riley had her first trombone recital in a high school auditorium. She and 30 other low brass musicians played one piece each in front of a small audience. These are all students of Amy Bowers, shown here, who is a popular instructor who teaches out of her Yorba Linda condo.

The performances started with students who were just beginning and each performer was better than the last. Riley was 21st.

Listening to this Youtube, you can see how far Riley has come and how she earned her acceptance into the Orange County School of the Arts.

DJ and Ukulele Phenom Jake Shimabukuro

On a whim, I bought tickets for DJ and his girlfriend to see Jake Shimabukuro perform at the Segerstrom Concert Hall.

If you haven't seen him perform, this YouTube is the TED Talk in 2010 is where I first learned of him.

After the show DJ was able to talk to Jake a bit and ask him to sign his uke.

Riley Scores Five As

Riley earned $150 for getting five As in her 8th grade first semester report card. I can't believe she didn't get an A in PE of all things. Who doesn't get an A in PE? If she is going to get one B, I would rather it be in PE than any other class, so I'm happy. Straight As are a definite possibility by school year end.

DJ First Stage Appearance

DJ and his singing partner Rebecca landed third place in a talent show called Brea Idol.

Here's the video.

And here is the program:

DJ goes by Boswell at school. No last name....

Riley Makes First Chair

Everyone who knows Riley knows she loves being in band in she loves the trombone. It seems like all of Riley's life events this year have been surrounding the trombone!

She got a P-bone - a plastic practice trombone that has amazingly good sound. The one Riley plays belongs to the school.
She visit and applied to the Orange County School of the Arts. We are waiting for the audition date.
She got a personal trombone teacher, Amy Bowers.
She got a new mouthpiece which works in both trombones and is the right size for her mouth.
At some point, she got trombone earrings.

That's a lot for a 3rd Chair Trombonist in a public middle school, but that didn't concern Riley. She  has been practicing her trombone every day in BJH Band and at home.

Last week, it finally happened. The band teacher held evaluations and Riley went from Third Chair to First Chair just like that. All I can say is that she earned it!