M+B=E2O2

Yay!

We found out today that our homeowners insurance will cover the damage done in our downstairs bedroom.  Yippeeeee! The deductible is far less than the worst case scenario given by the contractor.  Feels as though a huge weight has been lifted.

Now if the fog would clear out of my brain life would be peachy. 

one out of three....

I finally heard from one of the three letters I wrote a few weeks ago.  I have to say that I am not terribly impressed.  Really I thought I might hear from the local Barnes and Nobel if anyone.  I guess not.  Instead it was the corporate headquarters of Starbucks that wrote a letter of apology.  Among other things they wrote that they would be letting our local store know what had happened.  (Apparently they didn't notice the cc at the bottom of the page!)  I also received a $10 gift card for Barnes and Nobel in hopes that I might give them another chance.  I'll likely give it away, I really have no interest or intent to patronize the local store.  Now had the card been for Starbucks.... well, I wouldn't go into the bookstore  one, but man it would be hard to not take advantage of a couple of cups of joe from the nearby drive through!!!!

The Pink Cast Phenomenon

I have a sitemeter thingy on my site.  Every so often I remember its there and I check it out.  Most of the locations are here in the US,  I can even make a reasonable guess who is who looking down the list.  Some I have no clue, but because they seem to either come from the blogs of people I know or from random searches or direct links I'm ok with it.  (Hi people out there reading this that I don't know).   

Here's where it gets a bit odd.  Since Olivia broke her foot and was in that cute little pick cast I get hits from people all over the globe.  What unites these people from Finland, Sweden, Germany, India, UK, Canada, and Vietnam is that they have all found this blog by doing a search for "Pink Cast".   Why is that?  First of all why would you do a search for a pink cast?  And why don't Americans?  Looking today at the last 100, I am not seeing this pink cast trend- but it is real.  It has boggled my mind since the first time I saw it. 

Who are you and why do you need to know about a pink cast?

Big Plans *poof*

I had some big plans today.  I was going to enter orgjunkies challenge for decluttering and reorganizing a space in my home and I had decided on our garage.  I went so far as to take a before picture and I even took a load of crap great stuff to the rescue mission.  Then a contractor came over to tell us the bad news about some repair work we need to have done on two windows and a base board.  um ya, if the worst case scenario happens, well, I don't even want to think about it, but even best case scenario, any extra $$ we had that I was going to use to get containers (like a small shed for our backyard, to unload a bunch of stuff from the garage), is now going to home repair.  *sigh* oh the joys of being a homeowner. 

P.S. No I won't be posting the before picture... until there is some hope that and after picture can be shown within a few weeks...

Ben's Birthday Weekend

It's pretty cool when a single day can morph into a 4 day event.   His actual birthday was Saturday, but he got to start celebrating on Friday at work.  Nothing major, but a nice gesture.  Friday night we left the kids with my MIL and went to the yacht club.  Every Friday they have a Friday Night Dinner.  Once a month they celebrate all the birthdays of the month during  the dinner.  This was the October Birthday Dinner, so along with several other members we sang Happy Birthday and got a bottle of champagne.  We met several new couples at dinner and really had a nice time. 

Saturday marked the big day- 35.  He received several rounds of happy birthday from the kids, then he left for the off track betting place to go bet on the Breeders Cup with his brother.  He didn't end up winning, but had a great time.  While he was gone the kids and I went to Costco to get him his birthday present.  We got him Airhog helicopters.  I can't tell you how long he has wanted a remote control helicopter.  They also had the adjustable weights that we've been waiting and hoping for them to carry.  Each dumbbell can adjust from 5 lbs to 52 lbs.  So he got an unexpected present from me. Needless to say he was thrilled.   

Saturday night we had made plans with G & C.  we dropped Olivia off with the grandparents and the rest of us (G, C & their 2 kids) piled into The Beast (my suburban) and we dropped off all the kids at the Halloween party at the gymnastics studio and the 4 of us went out to dinner-completely free of children.  Now that was a treat! 

We went to a favorite tri-tip/bbq restaurant near gymnastics.  G & B had never been so we were excited to share it with them.  After a lovely meal, they pulled out their gift to Ben.  I had wondered why G had brought a sail bag into the restaurant.  The bag itself was part of the gift.  They put together a "Sailing Conversion Kit" for him.   Because of how clever and how much thought they put into this, I am going to share with you the directions for the kit, which were included.

• 1 retro Ullman Sails Sail Bag-  Container for sail, gear, cold beverages, etc.  Can also be placed over head to disguise oneself after bad performance.
• 1 North Sails One Design Mylar Enclosure- To house all impeortant sailboat documents, note it is waterproof.
• 1 Yacht Club Burgee-  To be flown proudly from any vessel you may be aboard, duplicates may be flown from backyard to show off to friends you have enough money to be a member of a yacht club.
• 1 Jimmy Buffet Novel-  Does anything really need to be said about how to use this?  If ou ever forget how to have a "laid back" time, this book wil remind you.
• $100 Dollar Bills-  Just a friendly reminder of the obscene amount of money it takes to participate in this adventure.
• 1 Personal Sized Tube of Sunscreen- to be aplied liberally to all exposed areas.  Warning, not for spousal consumption.
• 1 Package Crusing & racing Magazines - Because when your're not on the water, you need to act as if your preparing to be.  The 'Showboats' one is so once again, you can impress your friends.  Just tell them you interseted in a new "time-share" that's way cooler than a condo.
• 1 Mount Gay Rum Red Hat - You'll be shocked to learn this is the coolest, most coveted sailing item in the industry.  Can be found on EBAY for exorbitant amounts of money.  If you ever need extra funds for your boat and you put this online, we will no longer be your friends.
• 2 Ullman Sails Stickers - To be considered one of the chosen few, you must tattoo your car/window with a sailing sticker of some sort.  These have been treated with UV protection.
• 1 Sailing Related Invoice - To prepare you for the reality that you will be spending a lot of those $100 dollar bills. 
• 1 Roll of Duct Tape - Haven't you heard, it really does fix anything.  Can also be used to cover the mouths of obnoxious crew members.
• 1 Extremely Used and Loved Sailing Book - This has some really good information in it and can occupy the nex 3 years of your bathroom time.
• 1 Pair Size 10 Flip Flops - Because no matter how hard you try to resist, you always feel more relaxed with out shoes.  Be free our friend, don't fight it!
• 1 Harken Block Key Chain - quite possibly the most expensive key chain you'll ever own.    You already have a wallet that proves your true identity,now you have a key chain that proves you've been converted to a true sailor.  By the way if you ever get rid of this, we will disown you.  We weren't kidding, these suckers are expensive.
• 1 Bottle of Mount Gay Rum - You are a sailor now.  You need to ditch the Captian.  This is the true sailor's rum of choice.  Besides, if all esle fails with the above mentioned items, you can enjoy this item thoroughly.

Seriously-how cool was that!  Like my friend Jenny said recently- "But regardless of whether those friends are helpful, thoughtful, intoxicating, or sobering, I've found that friends are always worth the effort."

So true.  Our circle of friends has grown in the last year, and truly the effort is beyond worthwhile. 

On to more of Ben's birthday.  So let's see we left off at the restaurant.  After a very enjoyable opening  (and reading of) gifts, we went back and got our kids.  We came back to our house and got them all upstairs and in bed.  FIL brought a sleeping Olivia back and again we were 4 adults with out children.  Awesome!  We had a few drinks, talked then played the game Cranium.  It was really fun!  The boys won in the end but not with out a good fight from us girls.  We hit the sack much too late, but I'd say it was almost worth it (I'm still trying to catch up on sleep!!!)

Sunday G & C had a Gal Guy sailing event so I kept the kids while they sailed.  Ben went out to lunch with his good friend C (thus marking day 3 of the never ending birthday), then he helped Ben pick out a computer for work.  C is our computer guru.  I am now the happy owner of Ben's old laptop, and Ben's office is sporting a new desktop PC.

Late in the afternoon, the kids were getting edgy so I piled them all in The Beast and we went to the yacht club.  C & G were just taking the boat out of the water so it was great timing.  I sat and chatted a bit then piled my crowd back into The Beast and we headed to MIL's house for Ben's birthday dinner.  She makes an amazing lasagna.  We sang to Ben (again) and he got a whole set of tools and a tool box from them.  Our house was sadly lacking proper tools.  We have a mix match of random stuff, but now- we've got it all. 

Finally, we get to Monday. The last and final day of Ben's birthday.  On Monday Fed-Ex delivered the gift I had originally ordered for him.  I got him wireless headphones so he can get on the bike in the early morning and watch the Justice League or Lord of the Rings- two of his favorite things to workout to.

And so it ended.  The 4 day birthday. 

At Least There's This

Saw this at I'm an Organizing Junkie.....

Take the 100 Acre Personality Quiz!

and Ben is...

Take the 100 Acre Personality Quiz!

What Happens in Vegas

Gets blogged.

We returned late Friday night from  our Vegas Vacation.  Well, most of us did.  Emma stayed behind for an extra visit with Gramma and Poppa, they'll all be here on Thursday.

So before I forget here are some of the highlights of the last week. 

Saturday night we hired our first paid non family babysitter.  H watches the little ones while Emma & Owen have piano lessons, but this was the first time we left all four behind.  We left them at around 2:30 and went down to the club.  We were participating in our first Dinghy Party.  Ben & I inherited a nice raft (dinghy) form my parents and our good friends (G&C) had a brand new 2 horse power outboard, so we combined efforts and had a great time.

 

We started out at the yacht club then headed over to the first house on the party tour.  The house was decked out for the 60's, there was  beer and wine for all plus some chips & dip and what 60's party would be complete with out brownies!! (Costco makes them straight though- bummer-just kidding- LOL!)

After chillin for a while there the party moved on to the next house-  this one set in the Renaissance.  There was mulled wine and dark ale, meatballs, chicken wings and cheese & crackers.  Here I caught up with on old family friend who once promised me a Porsche when I turned 16.  I gave him what for for neging on that one! LOL!  Our last stop before dinner was at a gorgeous home set in the roaring 20's.  Catered with delicate seafood and veggies and well stocked with vodka and gin martinis this house was hard to leave!  There was also a piano player setting the mood.

 

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Once back at the club we dined on great food circa 1950.  It was a really good time- blissfully child-free and a great chance for Ben and I to talk with grown ups uninterrupted!  We are developing a fantastic friendship with G& C, if feels as though we've know them for ever.  Well, actually I sort of grew up around G, he's a long time sailor in the area and just 2 years older than me-  so we crossed paths off and on as kids. His sailing skills were far superior t mine though-  still are!  C and I went to high school together and swam on the swim team together.   Her best friend and I swam together in college (as did Ben).  Even with out these connections though-  our friendship has a deep lasting feel to it- KWIM? 

When we got home later- around 8:45 the kids were happy and all in one piece.  Olivia did take a spill at one point- tripped on our step and we found out Sunday morning at the ER, she re broke her leg.  Looks like a fracture in the same spot as the first go round.  So she had 5 days with out a cast.  She is still in a splint courtesy of the ER, we see the orthopod tomorrow morning. *sigh*

After all that excitement, we packed up and left for Vegas at o'dark thirty Monday morning.   We stopped somewhere in BFE around 8 am for breakfast and arrived at my parents house around 11:30 am.  Tired, but in great spirits.

We took the kids for a swim at the community pool,  and just hung out at the house for the evening.  My sister and cousin came over and we all just ate, drank and hung out.  Actually my sister had recently bought Speed Stacking cups so I got to try my hands at that.  I got pretty darn focused!  I can't wait to buy a set for us- Owen was getting the stacking patterns down too by the end of the week.  I warn you though- it is very addicting. 

Tuesday we took a morning trip out to Hoover Dam.  That was pretty cool.

Emma near gave me a heart attack when she tried to climb up the wall to look over the side. 

You know right where it says . 

Course she couldn't see that since it was on TOP of the wall out of her site.   We made it out of there safely though and went on our merry way back home for lunch.  Next stop was to my sisters school to meet her class.  We got there for the last 5 minutes of class.  I have to say I don't miss the formal class room a bit-  her kids seemed sweet-  they are 5th graders,  it's the beginning of the school year and they mostly seemed eager- though maybe that's because it was time to go home!  Naw,  most of them have a rough home life, school is their safe haven, it is sad.  My sister does a great job with them-  and she has fun doing it.   My kids liked walking around a "real" school, though like all kids their favorite part was the playground. 

Wednesday marked 9 years of marriage for us.  It has been an amazing journey and it is so exciting that we are really just at the very beginning.  We all took a drive down to the strip.  We took the kids to look at Treasure Island and to have lunch.

  After that we parted ways- my folks took our car and all the kids and we checked into the Venetian. Next we went to the Fashion Mall,  I got my movie star shades to help keep  the paparazzi off my back and Ben got some shoes and shorts. Oh and I got a new purse too-  a big black bag, it is way cool.

If I were on top of things I'd have tried on the dress I had back at the hotel before heading  to the mall-  it didn't fit right so I ended up shopping in the Venetian grand canal shops for something to wear that night to Mamma Mia.   Fortunately I found a great denim skirt at Banana Republic on sale- super on sale and I had a cute tank to go with it so I was set for a few dollars. Unfortunately I spent far too long looking for a shirt to wear instead of just going and getting a pedicure and wearing the tank.  It was nice to go shop though- in and out and in and out of stores- with no children in tow!

We didn't look at the tickets- we thought our show started at 8pm.  We got ready and went out to the car to get our tickets and head to the taxi stand so we would be there early- 7:30.  Once we got the tickets (and noticed we had a flat tire- good thing we planned on taking a taxi anyway!) we took a look and saw that in fact the show started at 7:30.  Crap.  It was 7:05 when we learned this.  We ran down to the taxi stand, grabbed a cab and got to the Mandalay at 7:22.  By 7:25 we were breathing heavily in our seats-  no not  snogging- just thankful that we (barely) made it!!

I LOVED the show-  LOVED it!  Ben also enjoyed it, probably not as much as me- but he did like it and obliged in getting me the soundtrack and a t-shirt!  We went back to the Venetian and spent a few hours losing money in the casino, then watched TV in bed since we could (we don't have TV in our room at home). 

After a little bit of a sleep in- we called up the grandparents and they came down to change the tire on the car and we all -minus my dad- went to Circus Circus.  OMG.  Yes we are in fact crazy.  We spent a good 6 hours there.  The last 1/2 was spent just trying to find our way out of the dang place.  The maps in there are USELESS- there is no "You Are Here"  dot.  So how the heck you are supposed to know were you are to find out where to go is beyond me.  The kids were whiny (I don't know why) I was whiny (again, I don't know why) and we were all tired.  We passed a bar as we were hunting for our exit and I told Ben to go get me a big margarita- holding my hands about a foot and a half apart.  He just heard the big part.  He came back with a YARD of strawberry margarita!!!!!!

Holy cow was that a lot  of drink!  It was left to my mom and me to suck it down on the way to the parking garage and then sitting in the parking garage at Circus Circus.

   I know I know - the "c" in Meesh stands for class.  *sigh*  we did get most all of the drink taken down. We filled two empty water bottles with the last bits and took them home.  The remainder of the evening was uneventful and peaceful. 

Friday was our last day-  and for the life of me I can not recall what we did in the morning.  OH wait we went to my sister's house to see the progress made to it since our last visit and what will be done to it soon.  She has a 1941 house and is renovating it with the help of my parents. 

Later we took Emma, Owen and Evan back to the pool for one last swim.   After a bit of dinner we packed up the beast and got on the road.  Unfortunately my dad and I didn't think through the first bit of our drive. It took us 45 min to get past the strip  (duh it was a Friday night!) to the freeway we needed.  once on that we got to watch spectacular lightning storms.  We pulled off at a gas station and took off our luggage rack just before it began to downpour.  I forgot that with Emma staying behind we could fit the 3 kids in the second row seat and put all our stuff in the third row.  Did I mention we took our two big dogs?  They slept the whole way in the very back.

Later we got lost trying to find our way to Pearblossom Highway.  That was somewhat brief though.  Around Midnight everyone woke up and had to hit the head (bathroom) so we pulled off.  By this time we were again in a downpour.  By 1:30 a.m. we were snug in our beds. 

A few of our lessons learned:

1. Never try to get to your destination via the Strip in Las Vegas on a Friday night. 
2. Always look at your tickets at least 2 hours before your show- no matter how sure you are of the time it starts.
3. Pay close attention when you park at Circus Circus.  The place is a frickin maze!
4. Be sure to specify what you mean by a "big margarita".  The refill on that yard is only $10 - but who the hell gets a refill!!!
5. If you don't have GPS- don't try to take Pearblossom Highway
6. Check the weather both in Vegas and at home before you leave- it's no fun driving in the wind and rain in the dark.
7. Go see Mamma Mia- it is the BOMB!

Instead of spending Saturday and Sunday quietly at home recuperating - we went back to the yacht club.  it was a biggish race weekend (back in the old days when I used to sail  a lot this particular event was the premier event of the year. There are just not as many boats out there as there used to be. )(yikes did I just say back in the old days!!!!?????)

G & C both raced so we went down to drink with them support them.  I got to see lots of friends from yesteryear so that was cool.  Sadly C took a mis step on Sunday and likely tore up some ligaments in her foot- we'll give her a call tonight to check in on her Monday morning urgent care visit.  The good news is that our club ended up winning the Cup- yahoo! 

I got up way too early this morning and walked 30 minutes.  The Biggest Loser is back and I'm pretty motivated.  Does anyone else love that show???

Oh yeah and the OJ tour was all booked when we got to Vegas so no- I didn't get to hang with the Juice. 

My Garden +

We are winding down our garden.  The green beans have all been picked, we let the rest go to seed and have 3 bags of pods for next year.  We ate a handful of smallish corn- it was tasty but I really should have alloted more space for the corn, I knew better, so I'm ok with our meager return.  Our cucumber was fantastic, plenty to enjoy.  We have 8 largish pumpkins sitting on our front porch.  There are 3 small green ones left in the garden, that I am just waiting for them to start to turn orange so I can pick them then clear out our space.  For the fall/winter we are going to plant onions, carrots, and broccoli   and cauliflower.  We live in an area that farms year round so I figure I may as well give it a try. Oh and I forgot to mention that we have millions of tomatoes.  At least. 

Jenny-(Two posts in two days?  Is everyone ok?  ;))  Can you believe it!!  I seriously intended this to be a 3 for 3 post- but never made up actually do it!  I love Muir Woods- we camped there when we only had the first two.  Emma was in a wedding in Chico and we have a friend who lived in Sausilito (sp???), so we did Chico then went to SF then to Muir Woods.  Beautiful!!!

Laurie- I would love to see your street- but you know I don't envy the raking thing!  Never had to worry about that part of the tree thing!!

Timmy- Had no idea you worried about us!  You know Bungee would have torn apart any bad guys! Thanks for tipping him off!

Trees

I never saw a discontented tree.  They grip the ground as though they liked it, and though fast rooted they travel about as far as we do. They go wandering forth in all directions with every wind, going and coming like ourselves, traveling with us around the sun two million miles a day, and through space heaven knows how fast and far!  ~John Muir

When I was in my first year of college at the local community college, I remember having a conversation with a friend who was home for I think it was spring break.  She was telling me how much she loved being at the school she was at.  I remember asking her where she went- I was at a point where I knew I should at least start entertaining the idea of where I'd complete my B.A.  When she told me "Chico State", my first thought was- "what a weird name".  Then I asked her why she loved it so much.  "The trees, there are so many trees there and it is just so beautiful." 

Later that year I happened upon an opportunity to go to Chico with a friend.  I think it was that first trip that sealed the deal for me.   After an hour long flight and another hour and a half of driving we exited the freeway and drove down the prettiest street I had ever seen.  In the years that followed, no matter what part of Chico I lived in, no matter what exit made logical sense in order to get home, I always, always got off that same exit as my first trip. 

In so many ways college is a new world and those trees, those trees made my new world such a great place to be.  I don't think I ever knew how much I loved trees until university.  I understood my friend completely when she had answered my question of Why Chico?  Those beautiful trees. 

When I eventually graduated and had to leave my new world behind, the first thing I did was a take trip to New Zealand. One of my favorite experiences there was visiting a Kauri forest.  It was there that I actually hugged my first tree.  Don't laugh if you've never done it.  Trees do have a power to them, and those Kauri tress are amazingly powerful. 

Once back home, I took a trip out to Philadelphia to visit Ben in medical school.  One proposal and several months later I was living there.  Our apartment was just next to Pennypack Park.  It was not so  much a park as a trail along side a river, lined with trees.  I walked, ran and explored that park often.  I loved taking the dogs down for a walk. I loved knowing I was in this huge, historic city, yet I was surrounded my huge trees and all the wildlife that lives in their midst. I also loved autumn there.  Going to my Aunt's house in North Eastern PA was such a beautiful drive any time of the year.  In the fall though, holy cow.  There is one section where you drive through a tunnel, and as you exit that tunnel all you can see in front of you is hills and hills filled with tress.  The beautiful shades of reds, yellows and oranges takes your breath away. 

Tonight, as I waited for one of the dogs to finish up her meal in the garage I went out in the backyard.  The house was dark and quiet, kids and husband asleep.  I looked out at the hazy palm trees on the next block.  The sky  overcast and starless.  As I breathed in the fresh, salty, cool air I could hear the ocean breeze begin to tickle the towering eucalyptus trees in my neighbors yard.  It sounded like rain drops hitting the pavement.  As the sound slowly intensified, the wind chime hanging next to me gently made its song.  My arms, chilled though they felt, tingled with the feeling of being alive. 

Maybe it's because it is summer

I can't believe what a struggle it seem to be to get here to post. There are many factors involved really-  but I do miss writing.  I have for the most part been able to keep up on reading my favorite blogs-  It helps that I have finally set up google reader and I have made igoogle my home page on both our computer and the kids.  So it takes but a quick second to see who has updated their blogs.  Problem there is that I can read from the google reader page, but not comment- so the extra steps involved in commenting seem to keep me from sharing my 2 bits worth of anything.  That is sheer laziness on my part I know. 

Right now I should be getting dinner arranged- or at least figured out-.  I haven't given it a thought honestly.  But the kids are quiet - wonder if I should be worried?  Anyhow, I am stealing this moment of time to do my own thing here. 

The goings on around here have been busy to say the least.  We  have spent some time at the yacht club we joined- it has been informal and fun.  The average age of this particular club is close to 60ish I'd have to guess- so the 30 & 40 something crowd is happy to have help in lowering that particular fact.  I haven't had a chance to take the kids out on the little boats again, but they've been asking so I hope to soon.  Ben & I need to get our own life jackets now so that we can borrow the clubs boats. I have a friend from high school -swam with her- and her husband- who I grew up sailing with- as friends there.  We spent last Friday night  with them at the Friday night dinner.  It was a date night for them and we came and invaded them with our kids (they have 2).  I think they didn't mind too much though.  We had a great time talking to them and getting to know them. 

The last two weeks have also been very schoolish.   The kids have been really into doing "school".  To the point of building a word wall on our dining room wall, compiling a insect/bug notebook, putting up a huge map of the US and sticking pins where people we know live and  math worksheets have been done.  95%  of this has been completely child led.  This  week they big kids are in Vacation Bible School, so the schooling at home has definitely slowed down.  I've started to keep a spiral notebook on the counter to jot down what things they do in terms of "school"' subjects, since I file us as a private school and just on the way off chance someone should ever question us I have a physical record of something.  Jenny has reminded me that I really should keep track of attendance- since it is required of me, but I haven't done anything about it yet.  I think I am going to print up a calender that fits on one page and attach it to the inside of my spiral notebook- then maybe just cross off the days that "school" stuff happens (as noted in the notebook itself) and call that my attendance record.  hmmm yeah I think that might work for me.  So for purposes of the State of California DOE our 2007-2008 school year has begun.  Cool!! I got sidetracked and found this and have it printing as I now type )and I wonder why it takes me forever to post a single post!)

As for me I am down another couple of pounds.  I have been super aware of what and how much goes into my mouth.  I have been eating a lot of almonds and nuts-  it really helps satisfy the crunchy salty cravings and is both filling and um well I'll just say that my fiber count is waaaay up and I'll leave it at that.  I now really want to combine my food habits and exercise- because honestly I haven't done nearly enough of that this last month.  I have great new walking shoes, and a great bike in my living room so I have no excuse.   If I can lose 3 lbs in the next 2-3 weeks, I will be 15 lbs away from my goal and in a number series that I haven't seen since I got preggers with Owen.  Kris you are my inspiration to  exercise, I do need to frequent the sparkpeople page more often,  I like the site  and read the emails all the time. 

Ok well I had to leave here for 20 minutes so I'm sneaking back up to close up and sign off.  I know my blogging  is pathetic, but it is what it is and I hope to make it better.  Don't hate. (am I hard or what?)

PS Jenny I totally forgot to email you that we wouldn't be able to make the tar pits- I so want to go there too- I've never been and we have a annual pass too (it comes with our LA natural history museum pass).  I hope we can see you the next time you are down!