Holden is a Little Scholar

Holden was honored tonight at a ceremony following football practice. Pop Warner recognizes academic achievement in its players. Holden was one of three kids in his division to achieve Platinum status due to his excellent grades despite playing football nearly every school night.

Free Camry

At Toyota we had a contest as part of Camry's 30th Anniversary. Hundreds of small prizes like USB Chargers were given away and I didn't win any of them. Every day we had to log in to a special web site and answer triva questions about 1983 or about the Camry. Each question answered correctly earned you a token - an electronic raffle ticket. I answered a bunch correctly throughout the month, but not all. In early September, I received a phone call from the Camry Product Manager to inform me that I won the grand prize - a one year lease of a brand new 2014 Camry SE. 

Since I need to drive my Prius in order to use the carpool lane when commuting, DJ will be the primary driver of the new Camry. He turns 16 in October. 

The head of Toyota Automotive for Toyota Motor Sales presented me with a symbolic key at a recent announcement of new models. 

 

 

Opening Day

Holden had his first scrimmage as a Junior Peewee Brea Wildcat. This is Holden with his friend and teammate Brock Labelle. Next Saturday is the first game that counts. Holden had two tackles and Brock had a 32 yard run in the scrimmage that followed this picture.

25 Year Class Reunion

Classmates frim 1988. The woman on the right was voted Most Talented with me during our senior year, Krista Bunauro.

Dustin Borklund

Molcasalsa

The burrito is as big as Holden's forearm. Bigger, actually. This is a breakfast burrito from Molcasalsa, a 24 hour Mexican place near our house. We started going here for breakfast a few years ago and now it's a tradition to have breakfast here once per week. 

I always get the Machaca Burritto. It's filled with shredded beef, eggs, tomatoes, onions and bell peppers. DJ gets the chorizo burrito which only contains chorizo and eggs -- often more chorizo than egg. Riley and Holden share a bacon burrito which has thick chunks of bacon, eggs and cheese. Notice they don't put potatoes or beans in their giant breakfast burritos. This isn't just an excellent burrito but also a steal at $3.25 plus tax. 

DJ has done a little research on the restaurant and found that they have several locations but all are family owned, sort of like In-n-Out. Their consistency is probably due to the fact that they don't franchise - like In-n-Out doesn't franchise. They also appear to pay their people well. I only say that because the workers seem to be very friendly and happy, with low turnover, and they drive late model vehicles. They always recognize us and if a member of the family is missing, they ask where he or she is. 

One of the workers has nine fingers so that's how we refer to him. He is the friendliest and has seen DJ go from a half-a-burrito-eater to the guy that rides his skateboard there from his mom's house in La Habra, to the guy that drives up to the window himself.  Part of what makes the burritos there so good is the tortillas they use (almost translucent), the fresh ingredients, the friendly staff and tradition. It's something we all look forward to just about every weekend.

Chillin

Having fun with Holden and Huong. I'm holding my own phone camera here so it's not a great pic, but it captures the expressions and feelings well. 

The Pantry

The Pantry in downtown LA has been open continuously since 1924 and never without a customer. They do breakfasts better than anything else. Riley and I shared a bacon omellette, sourdough grilled bread, potatoes and biscuits with gravy. And cole slaw of course. So good.