The Thompson Family

Just got back from an awesome show at Great American Music Hall... the "Fountains of Wayne" concert. Nice to have some grownup time after all that crazy kiddo time at Disney.

Lead singer Chris Collingwood had a toothache, but still rocked the house, and gave a great performance. I love the bass player Adam Schlesinger. He really made the show for me.

If you haven't heard FOW, check them out: funny lyrics, great tunes, just good all around music for grown-ups who don't want to feel too grown-up.

Here is a video of Nora throwing a crying fit in line for the Astro Orbiter ride. I am not embedding it here, because Nora was embarrassed about the video, so you have to pop over to YouTube to view it.

For those of you too busy, lazy or plain uninterested to browse the three sets of over 150 photos (and that's less than half of the photos we actually took!), here are 40 photos showing just the highlights. Enjoy!

If you want to see the photos for each day, here they are:

• Day One - Thursday
• Day Two - Friday
• Day Three - Saturday

Well, we made it to the last day... just barely. A little too much grown-up fun at dinner (read: wine/cocktails) made for a rough morning for Mommy. Luckily Nora and I slept in while Dell took Uncle Scott to the airport bright and early. Once Daddy got back, he lovingly took Nora down to breakfast then out to the pool for some swimming. Thanks Dell!

A late afternoon start at the California Adventure park was a perfect way to end the trip. First thing we did was the Aladdin stage show musical, which was AMAZING. Flying carpets, singing, dancing, a hilarious genie. It was Broadway quality, I tell ya! Then we did some kiddo rides in the Bugs Life area (Nora was scared to go on most of them, but once they were over with, she liked them fine). After the Electric Light Parade, the park closed, and we headed over to the Magic Kingdom.

No rides this time, just some shopping for trinkets, and a quick pull to try to get the Sword out of the Stone before hopping the tram back to the Embassy Suites for the final time. Bye Disney... Hope it isn't too long before we return. View the 34 photos on Flickr.

Another day at the Magic Kingdom. Lots of fun rides, waiting in not-too-long lines, cotton candy, corndogs, slurpees, the works. The highlight of the day was when we rode Autotopia. Nora was pitching a fit in line about not wanting to go, and of course, when we were done with the ride, she said "can we do it again?" The nice young man working the ride said we could go again without waiting in the line again, and then another guy said "Would she like to ride with a character?" We all said "Sure!" So, into the car climbed Pluto, and he drove Nora around the track! A once in a lifetime experience, I am sure!

Dell went and picked up Uncle Scott who was in California for some job interview, while Nora and I stayed at the park. Nora bravely did "The Haunted Mansion" with me! We also rode the "Pirates of the Caribbean" and the "Winnie the Pooh" ride.

We met up with Dell and Scott at the Disneyland Hotel in "Goofy's Kitchen" for a character dinner. The buffet was terrible (except for the delicious blackberry balsamic vinagrette for the salad!), the desserts were awesome, and the entertainment was priceless. There are lots of photos of Nora with Disney characters in this set of 86 photos on Flickr.

We had a great first day at Disneyland! Nora woke us up like it was Christmas morning, all excited and raring to go. Dell and I were a bit slow getting going after the long drive down last night (we finally got to bed after midnight). We hit the park and spent the day enjoying the magic of The Magic Kingdom. It was extremely special for me to be there with my daughter. I kept getting choked up all day! Dell had to head back to the room around 3pm, but Nora was a real trooper, and she and I lasted until after 5pm. Nora decided she doesn't like the "dark, inside rides, except Pirates of the Caribbean, but that is just a little bit scary." We are kicking back in the room tonight, having some room service and watching videos (Disney flicks, of course!) View the 33 photos on Flickr.

Nora got a new sassy short bob haircut today. Check out the photos on Flickr.

Ran across this today and wanted to share. Very cool art by Chris Jordan that, in the words of Anna Hecker from Threeminds, "makes a statement about American consumption and spending that’s a little more than just 'cool' and 'fun'. The way the pieces look has been considered as carefully as the messages they portray, and the artist allows the numbers to speak for themselves rather than flinging preachy messages at the viewer. It’s a simple, clever way to convey a lot of difficult information with an image and just a few words."

This new series looks at contemporary American culture through the austere lens of statistics. Each image portrays a specific quantity of something: fifteen million sheets of office paper (five minutes of paper use); 106,000 aluminum cans (thirty seconds of can consumption) and so on. My hope is that images representing these quantities might have a different effect than the raw numbers alone, such as we find daily in articles and books. Statistics can feel abstract and anesthetizing, making it difficult to connect with and make meaning of 3.6 million SUV sales in one year, for example, or 2.3 million Americans in prison, or 426,000 cell phones retired every day. This project visually examines these vast and bizarre measures of our society, in large intricately detailed prints assembled from thousands of smaller photographs.

~cj, January 2007

Laughternoon Break: Check out this funny video. Will Ferrell vs. Pearl the Landlord. Hiiii-larious! Mild language...

Wow! I was blown away by the Jersey Boys show last night. Truly amazing...

The cast is dynamite; I even swooned a tad bit over Christopher Kale Jones who plays the lead role of Frankie Valli. The story keeps you charged-up the entire time (one little sad point in Act 2, but even that was very moving). Great songs throughout. I didn't know that "December 1963 (Oh What a Night)" was a Four Seasons song!

If you have even an inkling of going to see a great musical, you don't want to miss this one.

Official website: www.JerseyBoysTour.com

San Francisco Chronicle: Nostalgia carries 'Jersey Boys' for a while, but show has more than just memories. Read the review.

Easter at the Ranch this year was nice and mellow. Joan and Ray had a simple brunch with just a few of the family friends. Nora was the only kid there, so she got lots of attention (and three separate baskets of candy!). View the photos on Flickr.

Here's a video of Nora and Otto...

We saw Meet the Robinsons in Disney Digital 3-D at the Metreon. The movie was great! Funny, touching, had a good message, and amazing animation. Definitely worth seeing!