Like a lot of my best plans, the last week of my kids’ summer vacation was a bust. My younger son was scheduled to start at a new preschool and that was supposed to give the 1st grader and me a chance to have some one-on-one time before he starts school this week. I thought I could get work done in the morning and then we’d go out in the afternoon and maybe ride bikes or go for a run in the park. I pictured us having meaningful talks that he would remember forever.
Well, the younger one was home sick for 3 days and that was the end of our plans. The poor guy was better by Thursday (but had to be fever free for 24 hours before he could go to school), and both kids were desperate to get out of the house. Luckily, I remembered that The Grove has a Kid’s Club activity every Thursday. It also has shopping, good food, and the occasional celebrity sighting.
The celebrity sighting last week was a good one. Mario Lopez was shooting a segment for Extra at The Grove.
After looking at beautiful people and then wondering aloud why we were looking at beautiful people, we settled in to watch the Kid’s Club show. The entertainment for the day was children’s Bluegrass band, “The Hollow Trees.” I really liked them and kind of wanted to tell the loud mommy group sitting near us to shut it so I could hear the band perform, but after a few songs my kids were ready to go.
We spent a nice rest of the day walking around, looking at the fountains, and having lunch at Loteria in the Farmers’ Market. I had mole tacos and they were excellent. After we bought fresh fruit from a vegetable stand at the Market, we headed home.
Finally on Friday, my younger boy started school. He seemed to love it, which was such a relief, so I took my 1st grader to the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles. I was worried that my son would be disappointed because the dinosaur exhibit is closed for another year, but the Age of Mammals exhibit was so incredible I don’t think he noticed. It was amazing and if we didn’t need to beat traffic home, we would have stayed until they kicked us out. I was most blown away by this 63-foot whale and to learn that whales once walked the earth.
My 1st grader and I didn’t have any long talks like I had hoped, but we did spend a lovely day together.