A Day at the Long Beach Aquarium

We all had a day off, so we headed for the Long Beach Aquarium. Shmuli has been practicing photography, and had a great time with our old SLR camera. The twins loved running around and touching everything in sight. Shmuli was so pleased when the Lorikeets were eager to visit and sit on his outstretched hand.

Our House is Torn Down

I guess that this is the moment when one realizes that he has reached the point of no return. It is rather moving to watch a house (or at least part of one) that has stood faithfully for nearly 80 years be torn down in a matter of days.

The Concrete is Poured

The foundation was poured today! It is exciting to start seeing some real progress being made.

Our long narrow driveway almost caused us a major delay in construction last week. When our house was built in 1928, the driveway was nonconforming because it was less than 9 feet in several areas. It was only 8 feet wide along the fireplace, at the steps to the kitchen and along the breakfast nook. Although construction using the existing footprint was approved during the permit process, our on-site inspector took issue with it. Needless to say, we were upset because we had already begun construction at this point and were ready to pour the concrete for the foundation. We were delighted on Friday when he signed off foundation and spared us having to revise our plans at this late stage.

Everything is ready for the foundation to be completed. Here you can see the framing for the concrete.

Here is the concrete pourer, in place for the pouring of the foundation. We are hoping to get this step done in the coming week.

This is a view of the breakfast nook. Once the cement for the new foundation has been poured, the existing walls will be torn down, and this room will become the stairway to the upstairs.

Shmuli's room will also be torn down. It will become a new dining room.

This is a close-up view of the holes for the support beams for the second story.

Shmuli Goes Fishing

Every so often, Shmuli and Robert like to spend the day fishing. Sometimes they catch a lot of fish, sometimes a few and sometimes none at all. They always do come back relaxed after enjoying a day out in the fresh air and having enough time to really chat and catch up on everything. This was one of those days.

Twins in the Garden

Natan and Michael having fun in the gardens surrounding our apartment.

Baseball Season

Shmuli's favorite sport is baseball, so he always looks forward to baseball season. His team had a great season and Shmuli had the opportunity to play several different positions. Here are a couple pictures of him playing, one of him at bat and another on first base.