Christmas Part 2 -- L.A. Story

We flew out to L.A. on Christmas morning to join Papa Tig and Mimi for a visit with Mark, Monica, Maya, and Emma.  This is the adorable house we rented off of VRBO.  It's Rita Hayworth's childhood home!

Swimming in December?  Sure, why not!

Papa Tig continuing to be a good sport ...

Chris and Maya, on the other hand, preferred to use a sleeping bag for one of its intended purposes -- lounging while watching a movie.

We visited the Skirball one afternoon.  It's a Jewish cultural center that -- among many other things --  has an amazing children's area that looks like a floor-to-ceiling animal-filled Noah's ark that kids can climb and explore.

The ladies did a little interpretive dancing in the activity room.

For our last night in town we headed to Benihana.  It was our kids' first time to eat teppanyaki-style at a griddle/table, but they rocked it.

Blurry (bad lighting), but too funny not to include.

Chopstick antlers.

Smoothing out her chopsticks, because apparently, Scarlett is a chopstick savant (see video below) and didn't want to get splinters.

Here's a video of Scarlett eating with chopsticks.  (She's not a fan of the corn, which she spit back out.  Bad etiquette, but I've learned that rubbing your chopsticks together is as well, so at least she's consistent.)

Max shows off his skills.

Next up ... Disneyland!

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Side note:  no photographic evidence like I had with Cuba Gooding Jr. a few years ago, but one night when we were out to dinner in Beverly Hills with Mark and Monica (Mimi and Papa Tig were watching the kids), we sat at a table next to Robert Duvall and his wife.  I never in a million years would have noticed him, and even when he was pointed out to me, it took me a good ten minutes to realize it wasn't Robert De Niro.  (Duvall/De Niro; tomato/tomatoh.)

(Update:  I was stalking Robert Duvall online and found this random photo on the Daily Mail's website of him and his wife leaving lunch in their green Range Rover with her behind the wheel.  This is exactly what they were driving (with her driving as well) when they left dinner, so pretend that it's nightime and imagine us in the restaurant watching this go down through the big windows at the front of the restaurant.)