Our first field trip

We went on our first field trip to the Getty.  I was excited that we got to participate in a field trip with Jory’s school though I was worried about how long it would take us to get to the Getty on a weekday morning.  I was told to leave at 9AM.  Leave at 9AM and make it to the Getty in time to meet up with the other families?  It’s the 405.  Okay, I went with that and the principal was right.  The traffic flowed.  Jory, Layla, and I arrived at the Getty faster than I imagined.

Layla came with us because she woke up in the middle of the night, multiple times crying.  She didn’t have a fever, but she obviously didn’t feel well and she said her legs hurt.  It was chilly out and I had completely forgotten to bring Layla a blanket.  Luckily I had an extra jacket in the car as did Jory, so the large for Layla jackets became her blankets.  I eased her into the stroller and off we went to explore the Getty for the first time.

Jory was very excited to see that we got to ride a tram or as he called a train from the parking lot to the museum.  It was the highlight of his  morning.

I was worried that we wouldn’t be able to find any of the families or we’d miss the principal, but just as I was about to walk into the main building I saw families I recognized, including Amy, the kids’ Cubbies leader back in the day, and her children.  I was so happy to see them.  As we were deciding which tour to go on, the principal showed up and decided to join us on the tour.

After the tour, I thought we would enjoy another tour when Amy revealed she used to be a docent at the Getty.  SCORE!  And wanted to know if we wanted to walk around with her and her family.  SCORE!  I said, yes.  Her twin daughters, whom she adopted from China, were such angels.  They took turns with Jory pushing the stroller.  They tried to peak in the stroller to see the baby.  At times, Layla was sort of friendly.  At times, she was sleep.  And at times, she was downright mean.  

“Leave me alone!”

“Don’t touch me!”

“Don’t look at me!”

“I don’t want you to push me.  Only my mommy!”

I gently reprimanded her though I could see in her eyes she wasn’t feeling well.  Not feeling well doesn’t mean you can be mean to others. 

After seeing some famous paintings and realizing that I really didn’t care.  I’m just not a museum girl.  Oh look paintings.  Oh look some headless statues.  Happy, happy, joy, you.  It was cool to see part of a Bible written on animal skin.  

I loved that the Getty gave us free Ipods so we could look up whatever painting or vase or statue we were standing in front of to learn more information about.  Jory and the twins quickly became experts on them and couldn’t stop giggling when they saw the statue of the angel showing its bottom. 

I wasn’t sure how long we’d be staying so I didn’t bring lunch, so we ate at the Getty cafeteria.  And like amusement park food, the food was completely overpriced.  Layla wasn’t hungry so I lucked out and only spent an arm on food, instead of an arm and a leg.

Amy’s older sons invited Jory to sit with them.  He took his lunch and sat with the big boys.  My baby is slowly but surely morphing into an older kid.  Us, girls, sat at the other table.  Amy and I got a chance to chat.  I love spending time with Amy.  She helped me and answered my questions when I finally decided to homeschool.  She was my LA connection to the homeschooling world.

I checked on Layla in the stroller and while she still didn’t have a fever, there was definitely something wrong with my baby.  After lunch, we walked around the grounds that led to the garden.  I stopped Jory from climbing a wall and we just enjoyed the surroundings while the twins and Jory took turns pushing Layla around, who was now awake and being sort of playful- - okay, was tolerating the pushing.

 The view from the Getty

 My big boy on his first field trip.  Look at that jacket, did I think we lived in Moorhead or Butte?

 The 405 on a good day

 The various buildings at the Getty

 One of Jory's favorite things - the tram or the train as he likes to call it

 In front of a fountain

 Chillin' by the stairs

 A partial view of the grounds and outside the cafeteria

 Jory wanted me to take a picture of this bed.  How high would your ceiling have to be to fit this in your house?  And how do you clean that?

The garden area

 Jory and the twins pushing the baby

 and pushing

Under all that stuff is a real life baby

We bid adieu to Amy and her family.  What a great way to start off our first field trip.  Jory and I and Layla got to experience the Getty for the first time, together.  And the day got even better for Jory because afterwards, we stopped at Toys R Us to pick up the Power Wheels dune buggy that they didn’t have at Christmas.  Score!  A good day for him, not so much necessarily for his sister.