This Moment

Adam Yauch (1964-2012)

When Hello Nasty was really popular, I was corralling a bunch of kids (both special needs and not) around the Jewish Community Center as a Counselor-in-Training for Camp Shalom.  I worked there with my girlfriend at the time (Amy), who was infinitely better with the kids and stress than I was.  Her mom had graciously paid for me to enter the program because we couldn't afford it.  It was a great couple of summers, meeting tons of amazing kids and working with some people that I still see and network with today.

 That summer, I listened to a lot of Beastie Boys, Louis Prima and countless other artists, some at the suggestion of other counselors at the camp.  None of that music held any special message or resonance with me, nor spoke to my life's experiences.  But it was fun, and we loved to listen to it and cut loose during my formative years. I still tell stories about some of the kids from that camp and my other experiences at that age - like little Francesco, who was a huge challenge but an amazing kid - or Ethan, or Spencer.  Or the fact that, because of my palette expander and the resultant speech impediment, some old ladies thought that I had special needs myself!

Music has a lot of significance for me - songs resonate with me, or take me back to a certain place and time.  (I am certainly far from the only person for whom music holds special meaning):

I suppose that's why I feel particularly sad about the passing of Adam Yauch.  Beside the fact that he was a genuinely good person and was taken at far too young of an age, he represents that part of my life that I cherish so much.  Things have changed dramatically in my life since that time - some for the disastrously bad, and most for the very good.  Though he never knew it, he was a big part of an important time in my life and I'm going to miss him.

Oceanside Trip

Last week, Max and I drove with my parents to Oceanside, California, where we picked my sister up from the airport for a weekend of wedding planning fun. We visited with photographers, caterers, hair stylists, florists, and visited the venue. We got a lot done, got familiar with the area, and I think we all feel much more comfortable about the upcoming September wedding.

We also hung out on the beach, walked the pier, played at the park a million times, and swam in the pool. Max was wonderful the whole trip, other than a few sleep problems and some sick tummy issues. Although, he most certainly didn't enjoy the car ride to California and back.

But here are a few pictures from Max's first time at the beach. We went for just a short time the first night we were there.

"Water cold!"

"Water coming!"

But he loved every minute of it!

Butterfly Magic Class Trip

Last weekend my class took a weekend family field trip to the Butterfly Magic exhibit at the Tucson Botanical Gardens. The butterflies were super active, landing all over us, and beautiful as always. Of the pictures from the day though, this is my favorite one:

Max spent most of his time at the model trains, wearing this ridiculous outfit, but of course, he was still oh-so-cute. It's so funny that he needed to be bundled up, just 5 days ago, and now it's in the 90s.

Max's New Play Set

Well needless to say, the boys love their new play set.

A huge thank you to my parents for buying the play set for Max, and thank you to everyone who helped put it together: Jeffry, Bob, Jamie, Uncle Matt and Pat. We really appreciate everyone's help, and Max just loves it. Although, I will be honest, his favorite part of it, is the phone. "Hello? Pizza? Pizza please?"

Expedition Tanzania at the Reid Park Zoo

Last week we went to see the new "Expedition Tanzania" at the Reid Park Zoo. It was the first day the elephant exhibit opened, for members only, and it was PACKED. Max didn't seem very interested in the elephants, but they weren't moving much and we had to peek over people to see them.

He did enjoy running around though.

I've seen pictures since the crowds have died down, and it looks like the elephants are coming away from the back fence a little more and are interacting with each other.

I was slightly disappointed in the exhibit. I was hoping it would be a walk-around one, so you could get lots of good angles of the elephants. Also, all the best zoos we've been to try to make the exhibits natural-looking. But as I look through all the photos we took of the elephants, all I notice are the metal and electric fences.

We still had a great time at the zoo. They have a lot of fun interactive things to do, which will keep the kids busy for awhile. Max really just loved running all over. Hopefully we'll return soon, to see if I get a better vibe from Expedition Tanzania. I look forward to watching the baby elephant grow, much like we've watched the lion cubs grow. Here's a picture of our little monkey who you've been watching grow:

Doesn't he just look naughty?!

This Moment (Weekend Edition)

So, I haven't completely forgotten the 'This Moment' segment, I've just been a little lazy. We've been doing a lot of fun things lately and taking a lot of photos, and after I tag and upload them all to our Flickr site, I don't want to look at the pictures again for a good long time. But here are some pics to make up for my laziness.

At Jayvion's 2nd birthday party.

Feeding the giraffes at the zoo.

Max Cooks

When I was a kid, we used to "cook" food for the skunk that lived behind our house. We'd mixed all sorts of ingredients from the kitchen, then we'd set it on the back porch for the skunk. I saw an activity here that reminded me of my childhood past time, so I thought I'd give it a whirl with Max this weekend.

I put a big wrapping paper storage bin on the kitchen floor, along with the supplies I quickly grabbed: a small sauce pan, a whisk, a wooden spoon, a measuring spoon, and a strainer. The ingredients we used were flour, a cup of water, baby carrots, and some spices.

Jeff and I got the spices as a house warming gift from our apartment complex back in 2005. And they've never been opened. I figured this would be a great way make use of these spices that have been taking up room in my pantry for the last 7 years.

Max enjoyed pouring and stirring and mixing in the ingredients.

The mess was minimal, and when we were done, I just picked Max up and took him right to the tub. We will definitely do this again. I look forward to adding more ingredients next time!

This Moment

Three of Maxwell's favorite things: his Aunt Megan, baby Gwen, and balloons!

This Moment (a day late)