while finn was away....mom and scout played

with finn was enjoying 6th grade camp,
scout and i enjoyed something special too.
i proposed we have a mom/son date, as it had been
a few months, and scout got to chose the activity.
he chose belmont park, an amusement park just 10 minutes
away from home and located right on the boardwalk.
he specifically chose this place because he is now tall
enough to ride the rollercoaster that he has been so patiently
waiting for. over the years, he has watched his dad and i ride it
countless times, his aunties, his big brother and cousin soren.


his day FINALLY came.


first we rode something called the octotron.
i can't begin to describe this ride.  i just remember scout insisted on
controlling it and he kept it rolling us upside down the entire time.
i screamed, he laughed, and we both came out with crazy hair.


from here, we moved on to the giant dipper, the historical rollercoaster
that has been in pacific beach since 1925.  scout has  been waiting for YEARS
to ride this {he's been fascinated it with it since he was a toddler}, and at 51"
he made the height requirements {50"} and was literally squealing with excitement.


this time, he screamed and i laughed and we when it was over,
we bought one more tickets and rode it again. scout would have loved to have
stayed and ride it 10 more times, but it was a school night.


we ended the night eating ice cream sundaes and with smiles on our faces.
i don't think either of us will ever forget this night. 

the pianist of willesden lane

c celebrated a birthday last week.

also celebrating was my mum and my oldest sister.

july 10th is a very special day.

 

with all the craziness of summer - visitors,

getaways,  the endless shuttling of the boys and work,

i knew that c could use some r and r.    

 

my sweet friend, also c's chiropractor, came over with her

3 kiddos to watch the boys so we could get an evening together. 

my friend says its a little vacation for them, and it's free babysitting for us,

so it's a win-win. 

 

while they swam, ate pizza and watched one of the

harry potter movies, c and i headed downtown for a quiet dinner.

since there are literally hundreds of restaurants and bars downtown,

i didn't bother with a reservation.  we just walked until we found a place that

caught our eye. i don't even recall the name of the restaurant, but i could lead
you there if you asked me. *wink*

 

we enjoyed a lite dinner and a drink together before walking over to the lyceum theater 

to see the pianist of willesden lane. we hadn't been to a play together in over a
year and after having read a description of the story and the all the glowing reviews,
i knew it would be a great experience.

 

the play was unlike anything we'd ever seen. it was unique in that it

there were just two thing on stage - one actress and a piano. through her music

and her words, mona golabek, a concert pianist, told the story of her mother.

 

her mother was an aspiring pianist, and at age 14, was one of the thousands

of jewish children throughout europe, who was sent by train to england during wwII.
this mass migration was called the kinder transport. the woman's mother was one of
the lucky children who had an opportunity to leave. a more thorough description can
be found here.

 

the play was phenomenal - in both the story told and the music. somehow we had

front row seats in an already small theater so i found myself glued to mona's

hands on the piano. in all my years of taking piano lessons and having some

wonderfully talented teachers, and in seeing musicians perform, i've never seen
anyone so accomplished as this woman at the piano. it sat there in awe...of her talent
and her tragic and beautiful story.   

 

c and i left the theater with tears in our eyes, understanding one piece of history and

it's people we knew nothing about, and a deeper appreciation for music and it's

transformative power.

if this one woman masterpiece comes to your city, don't miss out.
it will be worth every penny you paid and every minute of your time.
simply amazing.