Yoav’s Blog

Balloon in the distance

For my mom’s birthday, my sister decided that we should put them on a hot air balloon at sunset.  While my mom complained infinitely about how dangerous it would be and how she hates hights and everything…  When it was over, she LOVED it.   Guillermo and I waited at the beach to find out when and where they were landing, and picked them up.

Today, we will drop them off at the airport for their long flight back home.  Toby and Roxie have seen the bags and know that they are leaving, and do not seem very happy about it.  Hopefully we will see them again soon.

My mom and dad arrived in late February, and will be staying with me until mid-March.  They’re REALLY enjoying taking the dogs for daily walks and the sunshine (so I’m glad they’re getting sun instead of the rain that Liat’s family got).   Other than that though, they really don’t seem to be too interested in doing much, just relaxing I guess…

We went to the zoo yesterday, and went to Coronado three days ago.

I guess that means I won’t go to the Arnold’s to cheer Heidi, nor see Watchmen opening day….  but maybe I can convince them to sit through a 3-hour art-superhero-borefest anyways… ’cause I do want to see it!

Liat, Laurent, Carmel, and Jeremy came to visit us for the weekend.  We had planned to do some fun outdoors-y things, but the weather would have none of that.  It rained and was cold for just about every day they were here.  And the moment they left, it turned sunny and bright. On the Saturday,  (valentine’s day) I was busy with Guillermo, and so Liat and Laurent took the kids to Sea World.  Apparently they LOVED shamu.  Or at least we think they did since they came back with stuffed shamu plush animals, which Toby really really wanted.

On Sunday, we went to the Midway.  It’s an old WWII-era aircraft carrier, now converted into a museum.  You can walk around and see what it was like to live on board one of these vessels.  On that trip we also walked around the seaport village, and rode the carousel.

Monday, we went to the La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art, and saw very little.  But Carmel and Jeremy got to paint a light bulb (inspired by some extremely generic Jasper Johns ‘light bulb’ exhibit).  We then continued onto the Children’s pool, where they got to see a baby seal being born.  It was clearly a highlight of the day for Laurent, who enjoyed seeing the seagull trying to munch down on the afterbirth.

We went to Balboa Park afterwards. There we walked around for a little while since the rain had stopped.   But it started getting cold, so we elected to try out the science museum.  Carmel and Jeremy got to play with multiple ’scientific explanation devices’, and built little structures out of wooden blocks.

Finally, we came back home, and rested. The next day, we went to old town, and sadly, by noon, they had to be on their flight back home. Toby misses them and wants to chase Jeremy some more. Carmel had become an expert at walking Roxie. Hopefully they will be back soon, and this time for better weather.

So I’m back and mostly recovered from my trip. I had a GREAT time. So, a quick summary report of what I did:

First of all, in London, I got to see Mia, and her parents: Jossy, and Keren. I havent seen them since my last visit to London last year, and of course, in baby time, that’s forever. She was incredibly calm and relaxed, even when Jeremy was pulling her hair or hugging her. Cute as a button!!!

Also in London, I spent time with Liat, Laurent, Jeremy, and Carmel. Carmel had grown up quite a lot since I last saw her as a baby. She is MUCH more assertive and inquisitive. Clearly takes after her mom. She was a little shy initially, but then when she warmed up, was the darling I remembered. However, she couldn’t remember who I was (bah!!!). At least she remembered Shamu…. Her younger brother Jeremy was much more energetic. He LOVED being tossed in the air… “AGAIN! AGAIN!”. And he loved sharing things with his sister. We went out to get some cake for her when she was sick, and he got to pick the cake…

Of course, also in London, I stayed with my parents (Eva and Zaki). And met up with my sister and her boyfriend (Ella and John). It was my mom’s special 60th birthday. For her birthday, we bought her and her twin sister matching bracelets in turkey. We also picked up a Mac Mini for my mom to replace her 8-year-old windows 98 computer. She loved both gifts. Now she can skype with all her polish friends (boy am I glad I’m not home for THAT!!! — she’s probably consuming 99% of the UK’s bandwidth!!). My mom has become a serious techno-phile. Now we’ll see if she can convince her sister to use the computer too…

Finally, in London, I had coffee/dinner with Massimo and Andrea, and went clubbing with Lucas and his roommate Anthony (whom I just met for the first time). I ended up queuing for two and a half hours to get into the club (omg!!) but it was worth it..

Of course, I was also in Israel!

In Israel I got to see Yael and Barak, and their two kids Yonathan and Naomi. This was the first time I’d gotten to meet the two kids, but they were just as gorgeous as in all the photos. Yonatan loved to run around and hug his dad, although Naomi was mostly just about eating and sleeping…

Also in Israel I got to see my Israeli cousins: Michael, Yonatan, and Daniel, as well as their parents Marek and Marion. I had not seen them since my cousin’s wedding and so much has happened since then! It was really good to meet up and catch up with the whole Rozenbaum clan… We had our usual Saturday BBQ on the roof of their Ramat Hasharon Apartment. Wow Israel has changed.. Lots of new high-rise luxury condos were being built all over Tel Aviv. Yonatan has also moved in with his girlfriend Michelle into a very swank apartment on the border of Ramat Hasharon and Tel Aviv, and I got to visit them there. Hopefully they will come visit me in the states before my 60th birthday!!!

Finally, I went to Turkey for my cousin Verda’s wedding to Selim. I had not seen Verda and her sister Seyla since I was 13 years old. So it’s been a VERY VERY long time. It was also Fani’s (their mom) birthday. While there I got to see Lara and Maurice, my second cousins. Additionally, I got to meet a lot of distant relatives of my father’s, and hear stories about his childhood. It was a very sweet reunion, and I only wish I could have stayed in Istanbul a little longer.

Now I am back home in San Diego. Still sorting through all the pictures I took. It was a long trip, but it felt incredibly short.

Ok, I’m just barely recovering from one trip and I’m off on another one.  This time to visit family all over.  It’s going to be my mom’s birthday, my cousin Verda’s wedding, and I’ll also be making a stop in Israel to visit Yael and her family, and the Rozenbaums.  Hopefully I’ll get to go scuba diving in the red sea while I’m there.  Already excited for this next trip…!!!