Cole and Ilia Massie

Cole has been driving us crazy for the last year and half, begging for a bicycle.  Of course, in our situation it can’t just be a regular bike; it has to also have a therapeutic function.  His neurologist and his orthotist both wanted him strengthening his quads (the muscles on the tops of the thighs) so we worked with his PT and decided on the Catrike Dash.

Naturally, it costs more than our car. 

Luckily, the incredibly lovely people at Variety Childrens Charity have made it their mission to make sure every kid has a bike they can ride!!   So, they teamed up with our friends at Bent Up Cycles in Van Nuys and now Cole has a brand new bike!   Here are the pictures.  And here is the maiden voyage:

Well, we are finally getting around to posting after our fabulous trip this holiday season.  And what a trip it was!! 

First, our beloved Armand fetched us at Hobby Airport in a full stretch limo!  Talk about riding in style!  Then we immersed ourselves in visiting and Christmas and generally eating anything that wasn’t nailed down.  Please check out the Christmas photos here.

Then on Christmas Day, we had the unbelievable pleasure of seeing our good friend Claresa AND meeting her yummy (and I mean that literally) family.   I testify here and now that you have not lived until you have eaten yourself into a coma with Frankie B’s lasagne.  Judy and Frank Mandola made us feel like we’d always been a part of their family!!!!  And not only did they treat us graciously in their home, they had us as their guests at their downtown Houston restaurant, Damian’s!  The exciting part is that we got to see Claresa in Houston (where she grew up) and then again in New York!  Check it out here.

The day after Christmas we got to visit Ilia’s puppy raisers, Stacy and Sean Napoles.  And a bonus!  Stacy brought her parents!  Well, I didn’t know this, but Stacy’s dad Steve has been a teacher and principal for more than 30 years!!  He and Cole started talking history and that, as they say, was that.  Now Mr. G (as Cole calls him) is doing lesson plans on the Reconstruction and telling Cole all about it!  Talk about the coolest Social Studies teacher ever!  Here’s our day at the park.

After getting a new iFlip for Christmas, Cole has decided to try his hand at nature photography.  Check out the album we’ve put together here.

Staying with the Hargetts means you will get the very best tour of Houston.  Cole, Armand and Nick took off one day and did some exploring.

And this is the rest of our two week trip, including New Year’s.

On January 3, we flew into Newark and headed over to the Ronald McDonald House in New Hyde Park.  What a gorgeous house!!   Cole got new braces and in between appointments he got to see Wicked!!  On Broadway!!!  WOW!!  Afterward, we met Claresa at the Stardust Diner where Broadway-caliber singers serve you burgers and fries.  Afterward, Claresa took us to a bakery called “Crumbs”.  This is a lovely little bakery where they have cupcakes that can KILL YOU.  Oooooo…they were GOOD!  Then we met the fabulous Caitlin and Massimo at Teodora and ate outrageously good Italian food.   And Cole now has brand new braces that have made a HUGE difference in how he walks.  All in all, a very successful trip! Take a look! 

Hello, Humans!!

Ilia here.   I have no idea what it is about this time of year that makes people run around like crazy chickens, but as usual my pack is SWAMPED!  So, once again I’ve taken it upon myself to get our holiday video put together.    (You can click on the picture if you want to make it full screen.)  Please enjoy!!!

Loads of love,

Ilia Ignatius Beauregarde Massie

Well, I must say we’ve been a bit lax about keeping this site updated but it’s because we’ve been SO BUSY!!!

So what’s been going on since summer??  PLENTY!!

First, Cole turned 12 and had a fabulous Houdini-themed pool party at our beautiful friend Susan’s house.  The troops were entertained by The World Famous Andrew Goldenhersch, who blew everybody away (adults included) with his incredible illusions.  Be sure to check out the pictures HERE!

And, a mere three days later, AWESOME NEWS!!!  Our beloved Eddie became a daddy!!  Yes!!  We cannot think of anybody who’ll be a better dad (after three-and-a-half years with Cole you certainly can’t scare him!)  So we are delighted to welcome the spectacularly stunning Rhiana Leilani Torres!  Isn’t she delicious?!

On to Halloween, where Cole and Eddie terrorized the neighborhoods in Pasadena.  We still have too much candy!  Check it out HERE.

We spent a lovely Thanksgiving with our friends Judy and Steve (who are also our neighbors.) 

On December 4, we went to our neighborhood tree lighting, then went with several neighbors to an art gallery and then to nearby noodle house to warm ourselves up.  I tell you, Atwater Village RULES!  We have the most awesome neighbors EVER!

Next up:  HOUSTON!!  On December 20 we are being flown there by our beloved Hargetts for Christmas!  Wow!  Fabulous, no?  We’ll be there until January 3, when we will fly on to New York for Cole to get new braces (having to go all the way back to NY to remake them was a little detail the docs forgot to mention to the people who live in CALIFORNIA.)  Anyway, we’ll be with our friends at the Ronald McDonald House until January 8, then we fly back to Houston.  On the 9th, we fly home.

Stay tuned for Ilia’s Christmas Retrospective!!

Well, summer’s been a wild ride!!  So much fun stuff’s been going on that we haven’t had a chance to post in a while.  But I’m finally on it and we’ve got new albums for all to enjoy!

First: 
Cole went to his first homeschooler field trip to the California Science Center on May 23.  It was a blast…literally!  They studied air!  Check it out:  http://picasaweb.google.com/MassieFamily97/CalScienceCenter2009#

Then, On May 29, we were asked by Corey Hudson, the National Head of Canine Companions for Independence to join him for lunch with international Australian businessman and philanthropist Mel Gottlieb.  Mr. Gottlieb is a big supporter of the Australian version of Canine Companions and his interests lie in supporting organizations that benefit children.  He wanted to meet a child graduate team, so Mr. Hudson invited us!  Cole, Mel and Ilia became fast friends (we hope to see him at the end of this month!) and he is in now in the process of donating to Canine Companions for Independence!  That means another child will get a dog!http://picasaweb.google.com/MassieFamily97/MelGottlieb2009#

On May 30, we went camping at McGill Campground in Fraiser Park.   The van handles so easily that we were able to take it right up to the campground and there was still plenty of room for the ramp to extend.  This van makes life ACCESSIBLE!!!!

http://picasaweb.google.com/MassieFamily97/McGillCampingTrip2009#

On June 22, Cole started summer camp.  He and his fabulous caregiver, Eddie, spent nearly every day in the surf boogey boarding, exploring sea caves and generally irritating tidepool creatures.   They also visited the Autry Museum and other fun places and had a real, actual campout!  http://picasaweb.google.com/MassieFamily97/SummerCamp2009#

On July 8, Cole shot the final material for the Shane’s Inspiration Educational Outreach Video.  We hope to be able to post it here soon!  This is a program that will be shown in classrooms all over California!

Our latest achievement is our favorite yet:  Yesterday we were asked by Shane’s Inspiration to attend a Parks and Recreation Commission meeting.  The Los Angeles Dodgers want to donate “The Dodger Dream Field” to Anthony Beilenson Park (Lake Balboa) in Encino.  This will become Los Angeles’ one and only wheelchair accessible baseball park.  Several of the residents didn’t want it because they were afraid it would spoil the views and disturb the park’s wildlife, even though a very thorough report by the Army Corps of Engineers found otherwise.  25 people showed up to speak and only 4 of them wanted the field!  When our turn came, Cole, Ilia and I all went up to the podium.   I told them I understood they didn’t want their park disturbed, but that virtually everywhere else in the city had turned us down.  I asked politely if we could please share their nice park.  After so many people spoke against it, I didn’t think we had a chance…BUT IT PASSED!!  In 2011, Los Angeles will have its very first totally accessible baseball field, donated by the Dodgers!  Woo-HOOOOO!!!!

OK…I’ll try to post more often so the entries will be shorter!