Long Beach Symphony Orchestra Instrument Petting Zoo

July 3, 2009

From today’s Long Beach Presss-Telegram: Take the family to the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra Instrument Petting Zoo! You can try out various musical instruments like violin, trumpets and tubas. All ages are welcome. 4 pm. Wednesday at Long Beach Main Library, 101 Pacific Ave 562-570-7500 and 2 pm Thursday at Brewitt Library, 4036 E Anaheim St., Long Beach, 562-570-1040. Free. There were no dates, so call first to make sure it is an on-going thing! I tried but they are closed for July 3&4th.

OK. So I googled “Long Beach Symphony Petting Zoo” and discovered it’s for last Wednesday and yesterday! Rats! Sounded fun!!

However, all is not lost! Some fun still can be had with the storytimes I found listed in the calendars as well as other fun activities. Here is the calendar. Just click on the activity that catches your eye!

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Crafts for the 4th of July

July 2, 2009

Need some ideas for patriotic crafts for the kids that look 4th-of-Julyish? Check out the article on the grandparents.com website.

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30 Essentials for Grandkids

July 2, 2009

www.grandparents.com has great suggestions in “30 Essentials Every Grandparent Should Have” for safety, snacks, and fun. There are also good additional suggestions in the comments that follow from other grandparents.

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Possible Plethora of Wildflowers

June 30, 2009

Because of the late, cool spring rains, the wildflowers in the Sierra Nevada may be in bountiful bloom in a few weeks. The warm weather that is expected this week will start them on their way. Actually, we’ve seen blue lupine, white prickly poppies, pink, red and light purple penstemon, and California poppies along the road already.

Some of our favorite wildflower books for the high desert are Sierra Nevada Wildflowers by Karen Wiese and Great Basin Wildflowers: A Guide to Common Wildflowers of the High Deserts of Nevada, Utah, and Oregon and Wildflowers of the Eastern Sierra and Adjoining Mojave Desert and Great Basin both by Laird R. Blackwell. Laird Blackwell also has Tahoe Wildflowers: A Month-by-Month Guide to Wildflowers in the Tahoe Basin and Surrounding Areas for the Lake Tahoe area.

Our mode of operation on our car trips, mainly on Highway 395, between LA and Reno is for me to give the high sign that I want us to pull off to the side of the road so I can pull out the books and camera to identify and record the latest splash of color along the road. According to the books, Horseshoe Meadow and Onion Valley are showy places. Also off of Highway 88 on Blue Lakes Road is another super spot. The mountainsides along 395 on the other side of the road from the Walker River splash with color. Carson Pass is another good place to find different wildflowers.

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Volunteer Vacations

June 28, 2009

USA Today reviewed two books loaded with ideas for vacations where you can make a difference. Check it out!

The 100 Best Volunteer Vacations to Enrich Your Life, by Pam Grout and
Volunteer Vacations Across America by Sheryl Kayne

While on Amazon I also found:
Volunteer Vacations: Short-Term Adventures That Will Benefit You and Others by Bill McMillon, Doug Cutchins, Anne Geissinger, and Ed Asner

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The Great American Backyard Campout is TONIGHT!

June 27, 2009

The Great American Backyard Campout is tonight. I wrote about this before. The Reno Gazette-Journal has an article here on Backyard Bonanza by Maggie O’Neill.

Do it! Have fun and take pictures! Send the best one in for a contest!
From the RGJ (Reno Gazette-Journal):
Send in a photo of your family participating in the Great American Backyard Campout for a chance to win a copy of Richard Louv’s book Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder. Your photo could be published in the RGJ. Send submissions to moneill@rgj.com

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Marine Science Adventure Camps – Summer 2009

June 24, 2009

Long Beach Marine Institute has two series of camps this summer. Ocean Adventure Camp is for ages 5-12 and Junior Oceanographer is for ages 13-16. The following information is from their poster:

Ocean Adventure Camp for Ages 5-12
Unique experience with hands-on marine science

Available June 22-August 21
$180/week or $680 for four weeks
Prices include all field trips

Each week has a different ocean related theme and is filled with projects, crafts, and aquatic fun designed to promote ocean sciences and conservation. Campers will enjoy weekly field trips, kayaking, snorkeling, an expedition aboard the Long Beach Marine Institute research vessel and lots more!

Week 1 & 6: Liquid Jungles
Kelp Forests and Coral Reefs
Session I: 6/22-6/26 & Session II: 7/27-7/31

Week 2: Mysteries of the Deep
Deep Sea Creatures and Habitats
Session I: 6/29-7/3

Week 3 & 7: Whales and Friends
Marine Mammels
Session I: 7/6-7/10, Session II: 8/3-8/7

Week 4 & 8: Invertebrate-A-Mania
Study of Invertebrates
Session I: 7/13-7/17, Session II: 8/10-8/14

Week 5 & 9: Shark Days
Study of Sharks
Session I: 7/20-7/24, Session II: 8/17-8/21

Junior Oceanographer Teen Camp for Ages 13-16
This oceanography and marine science camp is created for teens enthusiastic about learning and exploring our marine environment. Campers will have the opportunity to participate in oceanographic research and exploration while they live aboard the Research Vessel Conqueror. This week long excursion will allow campers to discover marine habitats along our coast and on Catalina Island. This camp will better acquaint students with the basic elements of geology, physics, chemistry, and biology. Hands-on activities such as snorkeling, kayaking and dissections are utilized to conduct investigations to re-enforce concepts learned. ** Inquire about school credit!

$1200/week
Price includes all room and board

Session I: July 13-17

Session II: August 10-14

Long Beach Marine Institute
6475 E Pacific Coast Highway #281
Long Beach, CA 90803
(562)431-7156

For more information, visit the Long Beach Marine Institute website.

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Dogs Move Too!

June 23, 2009

If you know a family with children that will be moving soon, there is a cute book called Dogs Move Too! written from Max’s point of view that may help alleviate any fears the children may have about moving. Max is helped in telling his story by his ‘parents’ Anthony M.T. Majewski (Author) and Julie Majewski (Illustrator). Max is a five-year-old yellow English Labrador Retriever. He shares his thoughts, activities and photos as he makes his move with his human family. His conclusion is that if he can move, kids can move, too! Check out his website, too!

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The Bucket List

June 22, 2009

Hmmmm…the buzz is beginning about Grandpa, Do It! I Do It, Too!. After the reading at Wayfarer’s Chapel last Sunday, one listener likened it to the movie “The Bucket List” in that you understand the deeper meaning contained within – when you ponder the simplicity of the situations and the significance they have later in life – given similar personal experiences you had yourself with your own grandparents. After the reading several people, most of them grandparents themselves, thanked me for putting into words all the kinds of experiences they had and their wonderful thoughts and memories they have of their grandparents.

The children at Long Beach Day Nursery also reacted very positively to the story last Friday. During the reading, most of them were very eager to share their own experiences with their grandparents or at least with static electricity – and the plastic slide! In fact, they voted to have me read it to them a second time!

Both readings were a lot of fun! NEW PHOTOS

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Weekend is Over!

June 22, 2009

I’m sad! Our quick, long weekend wth Austi and family is at an end! We just got out of the pool and now it is time for them to pack up and head back to the airport! We had so much fun in this SHORT period of time! We even made it to DISNEYLAND! Now we must plot the next visit! And it is hopefully soon!! Grandchildren are so special!!

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