Happy Fireworks!

Happy Fourth of July!

Rollerskating and Swimming

It's been a big weekend. We started Saturday morning with Jack and Sadie's first trip to the roller rink. I love rollerskating and am eager to be able to skate with the kids and now we are on our way. While it will be a while before we will all be racing around together, the kids did learn how to balance on their skates and get up when they fall. 

Today we spent the afternoon swimming at the pool at Pud's condo. The kids swam independently for the first time! Sadie and Jack are both very comfortable in water, including underwater, but today was there first time that they swam without any swim aides. It was a big leap forward. The kids can swim underwater independently.They need to build some strength and skill to be able to swim to the surface to take breaths and swim distances, but it was incredibly to see how excited they were to be truly swimming. We'll be spending a lot more time at the pool!

June 5 Voter Recommendations

Once again I am high jacking the kids blog to share my musings on the June 5th election. Friends, please vote. This election is very important and projected to have terrible turnout. When turnout is bad conservative candidates and propositions tend to triumph. Turn the tides by taking the time to vote and encouraging your friends to do so as well. 


My recommendations below are purely my own. Take what you like and leave the rest. I am no political expert, but I do take the time to research as much as I can on the ballot and make informed decisions. If you want more impartial information please check out the smart voter guide posted by the League of Women Voters http://www.smartvoter.org/ca/la/ and look up your ballot on the right hand side of the screen. 


State assembly district 51: Luis Lopez
As many of you know, I am a very big supporter of Luis Lopez. Luis is a fantastic candidate with a strong commitment to the communities of northeast LA. His values are fantastic, but beyond being able to answer all the progressive questions correctly (healthcare, education, environment, jobs, women's rights, etc.) Luis has the experience and depth to vote his conscience. He is one of the few candidates I know

who is not drunk with dreams of being the next president. He is in this race to serve people, not his own self interest. It is rare to have the opportunity to elect a leader who will do right.

State assembly district 50: Torie Osborn

While I do not live in the 50th district, I am also a big supporter of Torie's. I have known Torie for close to a decade. I worked for her when she was the Executive Director of the Liberty Hill Foundation. I also worked with her when she worked for Mayor Villaraigosa. I have seen Torie up close, under pressure and know that she is driven by her commitment to social justice.

LA District Attorney: Danette E. Meyers

First off, anyone other than Trutanich. I am so ready for Trutanich to be gone from political life. The good news is that there are very qualified DA candidates running against Trutanich. I was a bit torn between candidates Jackie Lacey and Danette Meyers for DA, but after quite a bit of research I am throwing my hat behind Danette. Danette is by far the most progressive candidate for DA. Her campaign is focused on equal access to the justice system and alternative sentencing - two areas that can both improve justice served and save tax payer dollars. She is also supporting the November ballot initiative to end executions under the death penalty, which she says is too broken to be fixed. I agree.

Prop 28: Yes

Prop 28 would change term limit law to allow state assemblymembers and senators to serve up to 12 years in either house. Currently state legislators can serve 6 years in the assembly and 8 years in the state senate for a combination of 14 years if they serve in both. This proposition would limit the total time in the state legislature to 12 years, but allow them to serve that 12 years in either house. This is important because legislators who clearly understand the rules of the body they serve in can govern more effectively. 

Prop 29: No

I am not a fan of “sin taxes” and definitely not a fan of sin taxes that then mandate the creation of a wasteful new government entity. Prop 29 would increase the state tax on cigarettes from $.87 per pack to $1.87 per pack and use the revenue to create a new state-run cancer research infrastructure. I am anti-cancer, but our state has a lot of pressing needs right now and this is not a good source of revenue or a good use of tax revenue.

LA County Measure H: Yes

This is a simple ratification of an existing tax on hotels at Marina Del Rey because of a law suit challenging county taxes voted on after 1990. This does not change anything, but protects this revenue source from future legal challenges.

LA County Measure L: Yes

Like Measure H, this is a simple ratification of an existing tax on landfill operators.

Superior Court Judge office 114: Eric Harmon

Making well informed choices about electing judges is virtually

impossible, but I do believe that this is one race when Eric Harmon is

clearly the best candidate. Endorsed by the LA Times and close

friends, I have heard nothing but praise for this candidate.

I have not researched all the other judicial candidates well, but here is the LA Times recommendations for the other judges:

Office No. 3: Sean Coen. Coen is a deputy district attorney whose courtroom experience, integrity and demeanor put him ahead of the other three candidates. He's an experienced felony trial prosecutor who knows his way around the courtroom.

Office No. 10: Sanjay T. Kumar. Kumar is an outstanding incumbent judge who is on the ballot only because he has been challenged by a lawyer who in a previous judicial race received a "not qualified" rating from the Los Angeles County Bar Assn. Kumar, rated "exceptionally well qualified," is by far the better choice.

Office No. 38: Lynn D. Olson. Olson wasn't qualified for the job when voters elected her six years ago, but she has worked hard to get up to speed and now does competent and credible work on the bench. The clincher is that her only opponent is a perennial candidate who is not fit to be a judge.

Office No. 65: Andrea Thompson. In a race among three skilled prosecutors, Thompson is the best choice for judge because she combines her first-rate courtroom skills and years of experience with the impressive air of calm that has made her so effective working with children who have allegedly been sexually abused.

Office No. 78: James D. Otto. Like Kumar, Otto is a well-regarded and experienced judge who deserves to remain on the bench.

Disneyland

Our birthday present to Sadie and Jack was their first trip to Disneyland. J. and I took the day off on Friday to take the kids to happiest place on earth - or at least the most expensive place on earth. Fortunately the kids are oblivious to all things commercial and were thrilled to run around, see all the characters and ride the rides. The kids loved Tom Sawyer's island and spent an hour exploring all the caves and pirate liars. Jack tried to climb on top of the skeleton dome, but we convinced him otherwise. Sadie's favorite ride was the go-coatser. Jack's favorite was Nemo's submarine. My personal favorite was Captain EO. Sadie was taken with all the princesses and Jack was thoroughly obsessed with trying to speak to Captain Hook. Jack wanted to tell Captain Hook about the pirate liars on Tom Sawyer's island. Jack was not frighted by anything, even the Astro Orbitor, which scared the bejesus out of me. Sadie emphatically asked us to never take her on the Haunted Mansion again. At the end of the night they each got to pick out one thing to buy. Sadie choose a Rapunzel night gown that she did not want to take off for 48 hours and Jack chose a bubble gun that brought him very intense, almost frightening, joy.

First Swim of 2012

Jack and Sadie had their first swim of the year today. The weather is warming up and Pud figured out how to heat the pool at her townhouse. The kids did not skip a beat, swimming all over the pool with their noodles. Hopefully they will be swimming independently by the end of the summer.

4 Years Old!

Our babies are 4! We celebrated Sadie and Jack's 4th birthday yesterday with a party at Vista Hermosa Park. It will be a memorable birthday. Sadie vomited in the middle of the party. It seems like it was part of a 24-hour stomach bug that has hopefully passed. Jack was not sick and seemed to enjoy his party thoroughly. He got very into being the parade leader as we lead the kids around the park before cake. Jack was so sweet, he asked for a coconut cake because J. likes coconut cake and he wanted to give a piece of his cake to his dad. It doesn't get much sweeter than that. Sadie wanted her traditional chocolate cake. She's a purist. Her stomach bug did not stop her from eating cake, which she thankfully did not throw up.

Once we got past the vomiting, it was a lovely party, made extra special because Pud was here to celebrate with the kids. We had lots of family friends and friends from the Playhouse, including all the Playhouse teachers.

Tomorrow we give our birthday present to the kids - Disneyland. Wish us luck!

Amirs Garden

We took a beautiful hike up to Amir's Garden in Griffith Park yesterday with Tatum, her baby sister Hazel, and Meghan. It was a mile hike round trip, but the kids did great and had lots of fun to boot.