Zimmer and Los Feliz lights

This morning Andy and I took the boys to the Zimmer museum, a Jewish themed children's museum near Beverly Hills. Upon pulling into the parking lot of the museum, which happens to be housed in the Jewish Federation building, we were asked to turn off the car's engine, pop the trunk and were subjected to a guard checking under our car with a mirror...I assume it was for a bomb? Inside the building, it felt like we were going through airplane security as we were required to walk through a metal detector and place our bags, etc. on a conveyor belt. Seriously, if Andy had any doubts before, this sealed it in concrete...the boys will never attend a Jewish school. He said something about it not being worth risking M's and B's lives.

Anyway. The boys had a stupendous time. They "cooked" food for us, which funnily enough included a bagel with lox and cream cheese on it. I'm totally serious...there was actually a play bagel with lox and cream cheese...I wonder if there's a special Jewish play-food factory where one orders stuff like this. I made Andy hold it up for a picture and if I ever get around to posting pictures, I'll post that one. But, I digress. They played inside an Israeli emergency vehicle, a miniature synagogue, put "money" in a donations area, built with blocks, splashed around at a water table, played with Lego's, colored, "flew" an airplane to see the elephants (this was where M said he was taking us), and even fueled up the plane. They had so much fun.

Around 7pm, Grandpa, Safta, Andy and I took the boys to walk the street where the Dept. of Water and Power hosts their annual holiday light festival. They both seemed to enjoy that. At first M pointed out animals and inanimate objects that he recognized, then either the cold numbed him or tiredness FINALLY settled in because he became much more subdued and actually wanted to ride on the stroller. It was nice to see them both so focused on the display, though. The only thing that was a bit bothersome about the event was the earsplitting level of the music. I'm not sure if the DWP was hoping to create some business for doctor's and hearing aid companies alike, but at the very least, Advil consumption likely increased in the greater Los Angeles area tonight.