Indiana Jack and the Backyard of a Modicum of Effort

As you all know, Jack is very very into Indiana Jones. Lately this has expanded into an interest in temples, pyramids, mummies, hieroglyphics (yes, he knows that word) -- all the sorts of things Indy himself might enjoy. Of late, Jack has had several "mummy sightings." He will squat down over a crack in the sidewalk, stroke his chin pensively and intone seriously, "I think there's a mummy down there." 

Well, Professor Jack's wealthy patron decided to sponsor a risky expedition to search for mummies in the backyard. (Being a cautious fellow, he made sure there was a reasonable chance of success ahead of time.) Accompanied by a documentary photographer (the selfsame patron) our intrepid hero fearlessly embarked on this history-making voyage . . .

Deep into the wilds of his backyard strode Indiana Jack . . .

Just as the sun was going down . . .  at least ten to fifteen minutes into his quest. . . what's this?!?!

Eureka! Surely an artifact of an ancient civilization right here in a Monrovia, California backyard!

With whip held high, it was time to head back to base camp . . .

Time to get to work!

With some help from his photographer, Jack soon unearthed evidence of an actual mummy!

With his heart pumping he continued his excavation tirelessly . . .

. . . until it was time to pack up his numerous finds and call it a night.

Nobody messes with Indiana Jack!

Chicks dig a man in a hat

As you can see Jack pretty much hasn't taken off his Indy Jones hat since we came home from Disneyland except to sleep. Above, here he is with his "girlfriend" Tatiana from day care. Every day when Jack arrives she and Jack have a big happy hug and jump up and down and then run off and play. This morning there was another girl there and she was giving Jack hugs too! As I went to sign him in they were both chatting him up. What can I say? The ladies love a man in a hat.

Indiana Jack

As many of you know, Jack is a big, big fan of Indiana Jones. He's seen all the movies (except Temple of Doom; with the others you can skip the scary parts with a quick fast forward or potty break, but ToD is just too intense all the way). Daddy took him to see the new Indy movie at the theatre and had a delightful time; the reveal/introduction of Indy is very gradual and the dawning look of astonishment and delight on Jack's face was worth double the price of admission.

All summer long Disneyland is having Indy events in Adventureland. Out in the "streets" of Adventureland Indy is searching for the Temple of Mara and a big, mean bad guy is in pursuit, so you can imagine the bust-ups that happen up on the balconies and rooftops of Adventureland. When we first came across such a thing Jack's eyes were as big as saucers. Jack and Daddy went to get a treasure map and when we came back who was talking to Mommy but -- Indiana Jones! Jack couldn't believe it. Indy was asking for her help in finding something but Mommy didn't know what to say! Indy was very frustrated.

Naturally we picked up a kid-sized fedora for Jack. (Needless to say, he had to wear it to day care today. He only took it off for his nap.)

Indy went off in pursuit of a secret treasure, the story of which was presented in a special show. The little guys got to sit on Persian rugs down in front.

Indy emerges from this Tiger temple type deal with an idol and surprise, surprise the lady archaeologist who's been leading the show (and getting help from the kids to solve Indy-style puzzles with moving temple bricks and such) turns out to be a bad guy! (Or as Jack says, a "lady bad guy.") She's no match for Indy though -- he even uses his whip to disarm her much to the thrill of the kids down in front. (They really get into it!) 

A tour of the Jungle Cruise was dotted with relics from the Indy films. Jack looked right at home.

On the way home, before drifting off to sleep, Jack told us about the whole day, and how Indy Jones was probably in the temple sleeping, or maybe "he is having aventoors."

Jack had an adventure of his own . . .

. . . but it takes more than a big rock to stop Indiana Jack!

I DRINK YOUR MILKSHAKE!

I drink it up!

Go Cubs

Jack in his new Cubs hat - blurry but too cute to not post.

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Fire on the Mountain

You may have heard there are brushfires in our area - I snapped this in the Trader Joe's parking lot near our house. Not to worry - the affected area is like two towns over, and there's been no damage or significant injury yet, though we have had a fair amount of ash blow our way. Unsettling to see the orange glow of fire on the mountain after dark. It will be several days before it is contained, they say.
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Birthday Boy

Jack's big third birthday weekend kicked off with a bang! We had great seats for the Angels/Mariners game on Friday night and were joined by my friend Ryan and his son Ulysses, who's a little younger than Jack. They are great pals and they are always very cute together, as you can see.

Jack was half focused on the game -- he loves watching baseball and cheers for any event, no matter which side benefits, a point of much bemusement for the Angels fans surrounding us -- and half focused on the row of pretty girls behind us. At one point he started flashing them his belly -- I couldn't get a clear pic -- but he had them cracking up with his shameless flirting.

For Jack's birthday we went, you guessed it, to Disneyland. We were joined once again by Ryan and Ulysees and had an excellent day overall. First up was a character breakfast at Storytellers Cafe, our favorite breakfast spot. In truth Storyteller's kind of has some b-list characters, but they are fun and always nice to Jack, ever since he was really really tiny.

First to visit was Terk, who's quite appealing if you can forget she was voiced by Rosie O'Donnell in the Tarzan movie.

Then there was  . . . Chip? Dale? I can never keep them straight.

Then it was off to the park. First stop was at City Hall for the requisite birthday phone call from Goofy and his Birthday Pin!

Then it was off to Fantasyland, for Birthday Boy demanded a ride on Dumbo! The park was extremely and unusually busy and the lines for Dumbo were long so I gave Jack's little legs a break . . . at the cost of several compressed vertebrae.

Look at all that grey, huh? I look like I have been out in a snowstorm.

Along the queue for Dumbo was a little fountain, and like every body of water in Disneyland, it is home to some ducks who the kids loved checking out.

Then it was time for Mickey's Birthday Party which was a bit of a bust and our last one for a few years, I am afraid. Jack's first year he had a great time at the little party and we got a great picture of him with Mickey and Minnie (and Mommy) but last year he flipped out at picture time and this year it was so close to naptime he didn't do much except eat all his cake toppings with a real intensity and completely refuse to have any part of the picture-taking ceremony.

Unfortunately this picture kind of sums up his attitude during the little party:

But a nap soon restored him and we went over to California Adventure for lunch. Both the boys had bananas. We always refer to them as "The Crazy Monkeys" since they love to run around so thought this was an awesome photo:

Jack has always been a bit of a ham. Sometimes he will just get on a roll doing a nutty little dance and then freeze making some kind of peculiar funny face. During lunch these were some of the offerings:

And at breakfast:

Later that night I picked up some popcorn, foolishly intending to eat it myself. But while we were in line for the Carousel, Jack and Ulysses (he had never had popcorn before!) went on a binge and literally crammed their mouths full of it non-stop. I think I ate like 1/4 of it.

A carousel ride and a spin on the teacups and that was it for our monkeys, and we headed home.

The next day was present-opening and this task Jack took to with deadly seriousness. With the focus of a ninja, he would pick a present and say "Hmm, what's in it?" and sit in his little chair. The he would shred the wrapping paper off a little piece at a time and fling it over his shoulder without taking his eyes off the present. Then it would be (matter-of-factly) "Oh! Wallace and Gromit!" (or whatever). Then he would put the toy down and go "What's Next?" and stomp over to the pile and do it all over again.

Naturally one of the most popular presents was the box some of his "real presents" came in:

Talk about a special delivery.

This Saturday we are having Jack's birthday party at home -- which is really kind of an excuse to invite friends over and make good BBQ Ribs. More to follow . . .

Car wash day

Spent Saturday saving a little coin by washing our cars. Jack was a big help, of course.
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Truth in advertising

The shirt reads "Mr. Mischief," in case you can't read it.
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Hi all -- sorry as usual for the dearth of posts but this one was too cute not to get up here right away. Genevieve took Jack to the Farmer's Market/Family Fair they have each Friday in Monrovia, right down the street form our house (one of the many things we love about living here). Jack took his first pony ride! And if there's a happier cowpoke in the West, I'd like to see his picture!