First, we've got a Richard Scarry fan. Almost every night since acquiring this book, he's demanded to view at least one page.
"One blue ice cream!"
So, Houston has the rodeo, and Pomona has the Los Angeles County Fair. Bacon wrapped hot dogs and other fried treats were par for the course.
I actually thought the livestock section was quite fun for John. Here he is as a rooster.
John almost engaged with the goats and sheep at the petting zoo.
There was also an animatronic dinosaur exhibit. These kind of freaked John out.
I had to go out to Boulder again to work our NASA program. It sounds cool and glamorous, but it was actually quite a bit of monotony--that's just how space vehicle testing goes, it seems. The cool stuff comes later, once we actually get our things launched. In the meantime, here is the courthouse, which I thought was an interesting piece of architecture.
Of course, the mountains are what Colorado is known for. Besides, you know, the weed thing.
Alison vs John in the great mini pumpkin fight.
John wearing a silly hat.
The pumpkin patch in San Dimas is a rather small affair, mainly consisting of inflatable bounce houses. That didn't bother John one bit.
He wasn't even limited to this little bounce house romp. He got to go to his cousin Charlotte's preschool's "Fall Festival" (because Halloween is a charged term, to religious PC types--of which there are apparently enough to make terms like these ubiquitous).
We found a nearby shaved ice shop, which is the closest thing we've got to a Bahama Buck's 'round these parts (nearby being Irwindale).
John still likes chicken and catsup/ketchup.
One weekend we went to what was originally described to me as the Covina Food Festival. It actually was the Claremont Arts and Crafts Faire. Needless to say, it was far less interesting than I was hoping it would be. I think Alison had a good time, at least. I just pushed John in the stroller and dealt with it.
Baking for no real reason except to do it. These brownies became char a few days later after preheating the oven while the half-eaten pan was stored within.
Cousins in the One Less than Three Strikes Park.
Halloween party, where John's only comfort was the donut in his hand.
The day of Halloween. We walked around our neighborhood of ~80 homes. There were maybe 15 that were passing out candy, but John made out like a champ, since he got huge handfuls from everyone.
My college buddy Jordan convinced me to go to BlizzCon. I never had been to any kind of convention before, so this was interesting. It was held in Anaheim, and there were a lot of attendees, and a lot of cosplayers. The lighting was poor inside, so I didn't take very good pictures, I'm afraid.
Free swag that came with our convention ticket.
And Weird Al came. That was probably the highlight for me.
There was a shooting near my work site on Election Day. It put us on lockdown for over an hour while things were sorted out (we were never in any danger). I think it may have spooked some folks from going to the polls though. In any case, it didn't really matter for whom I voted, since Clinton ended up winning approximately 2/3 the vote in California.
I'll just go on record to say that she got my vote. Not the orange guy. An unexpected outcome, to say the least. The next four years will get weird.
Alison found a unique event for our anniversary: a Philip Glass opera. Akhnaten was at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in downtown Los Angeles, where I never had really been. Some cool sights.
Philip Glass himself was present at this performance. I was a bit shocked to see him there.
Some of the Dorothy Chandoliers.
An emblem of Aten, the god whom Akhnaten worshiped (a monotheist).
Glendora had a holiday "stroll" on the main drag, where folks came out to shop and enjoy the Christmas atmosphere. It was a nice, low-key event. John melted down when we got him ice cream in a cup rather than in a bowl. Two year-old things.
No comb for John.
On a plane to Houston for Thanksgiving!
We got to go to the Hobby Center for Jersey Boys. Wasn't really my idea, but it ended up being a decent show regardless.
John got a traumatic hair cut (they really don't come any other way), so we rewarded him with a "horsey ride."
Christmas came a little early from Grandma Debby. John got a Lightning McQueen scooter.
Moana is the first movie I ever went to with John. He did pretty well, I thought. He's a fan. That makes two of us.
John decided to try his hand at photography.
The cousins doing an advent calendar. Santa/Jesus comes on December 25th.
I bought our new Kia Sorento after Thanksgiving. The experience was successful, but it took much longer than I would have liked, especially with John in tow. 3 hours, from start to finish. Magolf goes back to the great VW dealership in the sky in January, as a result of the diesel cheating thing.
We got a new Christmas tree, since the lights were messed up on our old one.
This was part of the Scouts' service project at Foothills Presbyterian Hospital.
One last Disneyland trip for the year, before we're banned due to our ticket limitations.
We just happened to check John's preschool newsletter a few days before his Christmas concert. Good thing too, because it was pretty adorable.
John helped decorate the tree with ornaments that we had to purchase new, because we could not find where our older ornaments were packed away.
One of the unique SoCal Christmas events is the Newport Beach Boat Parade. We were occupied during the actual parade itself, so we just took a harbor cruise to see the rich folks' homes. Turned out to be quite fun, even though John didn't get super into the light displays.
A proper Christmas parade was held in Glendora. Local businesses, council members, and public services made up the bulk of the festivities. The Glendora High School band came out as well, complete with their bagpipes. Pretty strong Scottish tradition, for some reason; I'd be interested to learn more about that. John had a good time.
I achieved another multiple of 8 on my birthday. Alison set my cake on fire.
We had the best burgers I've ever tasted in the lobby of the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood.
Yeah, we went to the Dolby Theater. Like, the site of the Academy Awards events.
My man Joe Bonamassa was performing. Despite following his work for nearly 10 years, I'd never seen him live. He did not disappoint.
He was a little shorter than I expected.
Not a great picture of our new car, but it's the best one I have. This was taken to help remember our parking spot when we were going to see Rogue One (which was great).
And that gets you all caught up! We've got one more week of work to go before we go to Tucson to reunite with the Reeses.
