This year of economic uncertainty and belt-tightening has made us all re-think how we spend our time, gas and money on family outings. Pre-planning every detail for a family getaway is challenging enough, and perhaps the greatest deterrent to doing anything spontaneous with the family. But, rewards await those brave enough to throw caution to the wind and venture out on a completely unplanned family adventure.

Our summer "staycation" was punctuated by a very good friend's invitation to spend the day with her family at their resort destination in Laguna Niguel, a mere hour an forty minute drive from each of our homes.

Spontaneous decision number one; get in the car and drive -- no suitcases required.

After walking on the beach, enjoying a long lunch and great conversation about college visits and the upcoming school year with all of our kids, we decided to go see one of Laguna Beach's longest-running art show: the Pageant of the Masters. Celebrating it's 75Th year, this southern California art showcase is an eye-defying human re-creation of classic paintings, sculptures and porcelain figurines you have to see to believe. 

Spontaneous decision number two; go to a sold out show without tickets.

Yup, we didn't have tickets to this performance -- which runs every day in August and is already sold out -- but thanks to my friend's resourcefulness (and a little luck), we all managed to get tickets that same day -- 8 total! -- by various means; hotel concierge, some were donated back to the ticket booth, and one right at the door. Nope, we didn't pay extra either, they were all face value!

Once inside the outdoor theater, the "tableaux vivant" or "living paintings" had our incredulous attention the entire two hours. We were hypnotized by the actors' ability to pose completely immobile, in very uncomfortable positions, for the three minute musical pieces which accompanied each painting. After recovering from initial disbelief, the audience was treated to step-by-step reconstructions of several tableaux which included child actors posing ever so still, an amazing feat our kids couldn't achieve in their own seats!

Nineteen paintings were recreated at the Irvine Bowl during the show including the crisp white sculpture of Shakespeare's Memorial by William Kent, Henri Toulouse Lautrec's "The Dance", Edward Eyth's "Olympic Spirit" sculpture now on display in Beijing (pictured below), and the finale's traditional piece by Leonardo da Vinci: The Last Supper.

Try holding this pose for three minutes. They did!

If you're feeling foolhardy, here are some tips to better enjoy the pageantry of this show: bring binoculars, blankets and buy a cup of hot chocolate. This will make an otherwise chilly night outdoors more palatable.

Saying goodbye to our friends that night was bitter-sweet, but the experience was very rewarding and offered our children a few life-lessons:

* Small sacrifices yield big rewards

* Don't take NO at face value

* Have and intrepid adventure once in a while. It will certainly bring a smile to your face for years to come.

Sharing family stories and anecdotes with your children is the best way to keep those memories alive and pass them on to the next generation. Every four years, I have the opportunity to bring my family closer and relate the incredible experiences I had at the 1984 Olympics held in Los Angeles, California. I, along with 29,000 people, volunteered for the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee, LAOOC, in exchange for the opportunity to be part of this historic XXIIIrd Olympiad.

I have a ritual for this: I go through my edge-worn photo album with them, spread out my prized pin collection, and choose one to wear each day during the two-week competitions. As my family and I watch the athletes on television, I'll recount the adventures and memories I accumulated during the games twenty-eight years ago. (The memories part is getting harder to do as I move up the age podium!)

In 1984, a few months before the Olympics, I applied to be a volunteer interpreter and passed two language tests: Spanish and French. A few weeks later, I was the designated interpreter to the Mayor of Barcelona, Spain, Pascual Maragall, and this city's Olympic Committee bidding for the 1992 Olympics, which they won! (This is when I also point out to my children the usefulness of all those high-school and college language courses!)

Based at the Biltmore Hotel in downtown LA, the volunteer pool assembled there to get their daily itinerary. My list of activities during those two exciting weeks resembled a day in the life of a Hollywood celebrity; I rode in limos with officials and attended lavish lunches and dinners; I recall a private evening at Paramount Studios, and a spectacular luncheon put on by the Spanish Olympic Committee at a Hollywood director's home. Special food was brought in from Spain and prepared by Spanish chefs (I still remember the delicious chilled cantaloupe soup!). It was surreal to witness the glamorous side of the negotiations to secure the Catalans the right to host the 1992 Olympics!

During free time, volunteers with clearance were allowed to visit different venues and watch the competitions. The Olympic village at UCLA was a favorite place to see the athletes. It was there I spotted Nadia Comaneci, the world-famous Romanian gymnast, casually walking by with her parents, and asked if she could turn around for a photo. I quickly snapped away with my Kodak Instamatic camera and got the photo below!

Pin trading and collecting were popular activities during these Olympics. I collected several pins, but I'm most proud of the trade I made of a US pin for a pin representing the Egyptian Synchronized Swimming Team -- a rare pin because Synchronized Swimming debuted in Los Angeles as an Olympic sport -- and these were difficult to find.

As volunteers, we were given a special pin to wear (note the pink square on our tops in the photo below) with our LEVIS-designed LAOOC-issued uniforms and shoes. Ah, yes, pure polyester!

Another volunteer perk was participating in the full rehearsal for the Opening Ceremonies. After the bands and flags paraded by, everyone sitting at the Coliseum heard instructions on the loudspeaker to reach underneath the seats and pull out a color card to hold over our heads. Once all the cards were up, the entire stadium turned into a giant display of the world's flags. It was quite a low-tech Technicolor sight!

Closing ceremonies were also out of this world! They included a space ship landing reminiscent of the movie Close Encounters of Third Kind, and an All Night Long party with Lionel Ritchie singing until we couldn't dance anymore. Greg Louganis, Carl Lewis, Synchronized Swimming, the Russian boycott and other historical events took place in Los Angeles during the summer games of '84. But for a twenty-four year old waiting to start grad-school, it was a summer of Olympic size memories.

I hope I've inspired you to take the time to share your cherished stories with your own kids or grand-kids. And remember, your adventures don't have to be of Olympic proportions either; the tree house you built, or the mud fights at the near-by pond are just as much fun to re-tell.

Why not take advantage of these last few days of summer vacation to start a new tradition? You just may remember something you did a few years ago (well, maybe more than a few), that will impress your kids today!

"Swifter, Higher, Stronger" Olympic Motto

A Little Hollywood in San Diego Requires Much Patience

It's nice to have Hollywood visit our fine city for Comic Con; Fox, Nickelodeon, CBS, NBC, Lionsgate, Disney, Warner Brothers, and other major studios were here to promote upcoming films and television shows. If you were after celebrity sightings, this was the place to be this week-end.

The annual comic book convention had something for each of the 125,000 people there; Uglydolls and Yo Gabba Gabba for the younger set, plenty of blood and action figures for the older teens, and an endless collection of geeks, cooks and Storm Troopers to delight one and all.

To really take advantage of everything available for families at Comic Con you needed the same strategy used for a theme park; a lot of patience, and to choose your lines and attractions carefully.

Cast members for TV shows like "Heroes", "Pushing Daisies" and "The Big Bang Theory" were on hand to sign autographs and pose for pictures, but actually getting these was quite a different story; long lines to get tickets entitling you to an autograph or photo, another line to get it, pushing and cutting in line were all necessary tactics to get the coveted moment with a star. 

Amidst all the celebrities and movie hoopla, Paul Pope, an 'alternative' comic book artist voted Best Writer/Artist at the 2007 Eisner Awards (the comics industry's equivalent of the Oscars), and who's latest graphic novel, Batman Year 100 (DC Comics), won Best Limited Series, sat quietly at the Kidrobot booth signing the Comic Con 2008 exclusive Masked Karimbah vinyl figure he designed, and which sold for $125.

I asked him what he thought about Hollywood's invasion of Comic Con, and he told me he liked the influx of money to the overall event, and added "for me, it's a value-neutral situation since I already work with a few Hollywood directors." (Referring to The Amazing Adventures Of Kavalier And Clay, from Paramount Pictures).

The detraction from comic books to movies and TV shows at this year's convention was overwhelming; the spectacular logo-ridden studio and network displays overshadowed other artist's curtain-lined cubicles. Welsh actor Gareth David Lloyd of "Torchwood", a Sci-Fi British TV program, calmly sat signing pictures as the crowds mobbed studio booths to get free posters or buttons to carry in the Con's popular, larger than large bags!

When I asked Pope if the large crowds attracted by the movie studios was a good thing for his industry he replied, "Comic Con's gotten too big. It's like a really good [Wall Street] stock. It's ready to split".

We really enjoyed Comic-Wood this year. Let's just hope the San Diego Convention Center is able to keep this bit of Hollywood glamour from splitting elsewhere!

The first day of summer is finally here, and your family is enjoying the languid, warm days with little to do. Just a few weeks into this long-awaited break and you hear it. No, I'm not referring to the usual "I'm bored" summer anthem, instead your kids whine, "no, not again!" as the seasonal family reunion looms in the horizon.

Kids, especially teens, might think it's boring to be with people they only see once a year. Perhaps even if visiting with family once a week is a challenge, there's a great way to stop them from dreading these gatherings ... just let the games begin! If it's your turn to host the family picnic, make sure you organize some games the whole family can play, and you'll see what a difference a little Bingo can make.

I have never been one to segregate the children from the adults at family events, and have always looked for ways to be inclusive. Our multi-generation celebrations had to change once the children were no longer toddlers. Having a wide age range in one place for 4 to 5 hours at a time made for some uncomfortable moments between the adults who were trying to have conversations, and the kids who had nothing to do. Sound familiar? The key to harmonious reunions in our family has been to play games. Now, our family has found a way to be together while having fun and creating lasting memories!

In her blog post "20 Tween and Teen Conversation Starters", Vanessa Van Petten, author of "You're Grounded!", wrote that games can help with family communication: "The biggest problem is how to get us young people talking and engaged. I find that some of the best ways to do this is to play games like Scrabble, Clue or Sorry that you can all engage over the common game." Playing board games certainly contributes to family bonding, but playing physically or skill challenging games are also a great ice breaker and quickly unite a large group in uproarious laughter.

Keep in mind, that to successfully enjoy playing games during a gathering greatly depends on preparation and quantity. When planning, try to have more games than you'll need, and most importantly, take the time to prepare them; if you need to print up trivia sheets or set up a skill challenge, make sure you have what you need on hand so you don't break the momentum once the fun has started.

Here are some other helpful tips to successfully lead games:

*Form teams with equal numbers of both adults and kids.

*Write up trivia questions including things from both children and adult movies, TV shows or current events. This way they need each other to succeed.

*Have prizes. Anything from candy bars to $5 gift cards from Starbucks, Game Stop or Barnes and Noble work well. You can also ask everyone to bring a couple of gift cards or presents to use as prizes.

*If at home, use your yard as well as the living room. Try to plan several games to be played in succession once the group has settled in one area.

One more piece of advise, don't let anyone talk you out of playing. Teenagers will probably protest at first, but when they see how much fun everyone is having they will want to join in - at the very least, they'll want to get their hands on one of those gift cards!

Websites for games: http://www.partygamecentral.com/; http://www.party411.com/gameguide.html; http://party-games-etc.com/

Trivia websites: http://www.triviaplaying.com/; http://www.funtrivia.com/

Would you like to share a game or suggestion that worked for you and your family? Post it in the comments (requires registration) or send me an email. Thanks for reading!