Mar Vista Mom

Small Ball Begins in Mar Vista

 

Today was opening day for the North Venice Little League, named for another part of town, but located at the top of Grand View hill in Mar Vista.

Little League Sign-ups Starting Soon

It's called North Venice Little League, but don't kid yourself: It's located in the heart of Mar Vista, at the crest of Grand View and with an actual Vista of the Mar. The season begins in February each year, but you must sign up this Fall. Early bird registration begins November 23rd and regular registration continues into December. Please see their site for details. I recommend getting there early. The league is very popular and divisions do fill up. 

Some say it's the lure of the volunteer-run snack bar, with its impossibly delicious breakfast burritos for those 8am Saturday games, others credit the smooth sounds of Venice as they sing for all the players on opening day, but I say it's all about watching your kids learn to play the All-American pastime and having a ball while doing it.

Mar Vista Mom A Guest On CiaoBambino.Com!

I wrote a guest post for Ciao Bambino about Staycation activities here in LA. Check it out and please consider leaving some comment love!!

Halloween in Mar Vista

People love to decorate their homes for many reasons here, and at Halloween they go all out! Here's a sampling of some SCAAAAAAAAARY yards around our neighborhood.

And then there's this house, which might not look like much from the outside, but in reality, it's an elaborate Haunted House Experience, free and open to the community every Halloween. Check out their website for all the details: FreeHaunt.com.

All Good Fun!

Halloween Is Big At My House

The men folk got the yard all decorated over the weekend, although I wouldn't put it past them to add more over the next 10 days. It's pretty impressive, I must say.

Labor Day Celebration

We spent the second-to-last-day of summer enjoying some of the Best of LA. 

Lunch at Pink's.

Free Admission at LACMA thanks to the fantastic Target corporation.

(And believe me, with the amount of money I spend there, I've helped them make the profits they used to make this free day possible.)

And no trip to Hancock Park would be complete without a visit to the Page Museum -- my kids' favorite.

Just beware of the Dreaded Tar Cones!

Block Party Fun!

It's been a week of colds and chilling out and not blogging (obviously). But I'm back in action and I want to start with a re-cap of our FANTASTIC 4th annual block party.

There was the giant food tent:

The giant bouncy (WITH slide):

And of course, the DUNK TANK:

What I don't have pictures of, but were also awesome additions to the block party, were the baking contest, the raffle, the snow cone machine, the margarita machine, the kegs of beer from Angel City (thanks, neighbor Michael!), and the 2 (two? yes, two!) pinatas.

Oh and also the fact that we had a WONDERFUL time hanging out with our neighbors and friends. It's always such a blast. We love our street and we are blessed to know so many of our neighbors. Yay Mar Vista!

More SoCal Summer Fun: Free Kids' Movies at the Bridge

Yes, that's right: every Wednesday morning of summer, the good people at the Bridge Cinema de lux offer up a different movie for kids for FREE. GRATIS. 

Oh wait, there is a cost: the kids need to have completed a book report to get in. And they can bring parents and siblings with them. A pretty nice price to pay, if you ask me. 

It's called the Bookworm Wednesdays, and we've been going for a few summers now. I HIGHLY recommend it. We've seen Curious George, Happy Feet, Bee Movie so far, and today is Shrek The Third.  

Here's the manager, Sam. 

He makes the whole experience fun with jokes and prizes and giveaways for all.

Just part of the fun in summertime here in LA.

SoCal Summer Fun!

 

OK, so it was a bit of a drive, but it was still in Southern California, and it was totally worth it! Last night we drove to Newport Beach and went to the Newport Dunes RV park Movies on the Beach. "Surf's Up" was the movie du jour, and it was a very appropriate choice, don'cha think?

The nice people who work at the resort set up a little bonfire so we could roast the marshmallows we had brought along because s'mores are a required condiment at movies on the beach.

A lot of people picnicked there right before the movie, but we met friends who live in south Orange County, and went to the family-friendly Crab Cooker in Newport for a lovely dinner beforehand.

I highly recommend both activities this summer!