Getting Ready to Go!

So most of you know we will be doing our annual road trip up north to visit friends and family. The kids are so excited and they wanted to pack early so I typed them up a list of things to bring. First thing out of their mouths was, "what? Fifteen pairs of underwear?" So I explained that even tho we will have access to a washing machine at Omi's one should always be prepared to not have access to a washing machine. It isn't like we have to pack super light, I mean we have an excursion for goodness sake! Might as well fill it up!! It is extremely helpful when bringing sisters and nieces clothing and so on...We don't have to re arrange anything a bunch of times and Carl can actually bring along his bike so he can ride in beautiful areas of Canada. So after I typed up the list, they packed all the summer clothes they have, not much I am afraid, but good enough for this trip. Cole gets hand me downs from friends but Kaleigh doesn't so she is shy a few pairs of shorts and so on. She has a few capri's so those are going too. They each get one new toy for the car, this year they got hand held games ($10.00) at Walmart. Cole got Cars racing and Kaleigh got SpongeBob Yahtzee. That should keep them occupied for a while and they have their lapdesks too, with paper, crayons, markers, pencils etc.

Kaleigh and Cole both picked out books at the local bookstore and have not seen them since they picked them out. I will give them to the kids once we are in the car and then there is another part of the drive taken care of. Especially for Kaleigh since she is really into the Geronimo Stilton books, they are chapter books and even though she is a pretty speedy reader, they take her a bit to get through. Cole will be done with his too fast but hey he likes looking out the window at different things and listening to CD books too. They do really well most of the time and they know the cost of complaining....hmmmm what privileges can we take away? No pool when we get to the hotel? No more yummy snacks? No souvenier? Lot's of things keep them from complaining, which makes it a really fun and easy time. And no, we are not driving Lightening McQeen, I just like blogs with pictures...heehee.

Never Again!

I took on the task of throwing my friend of many years her first Baby Shower. I figured it can't be that hard, I have done games for showers many many times and I even have help with the food and such. I don't even have to get the cake! So here I am trying to come up with the invitations....she doesn't have a theme, so we start from scratch. I ask what she would like to have on the invites and she says, "well maybe pink flowers?"

Ok, that can't be hard to find, I figure I go to an office supply store and find some nice pink flowered card stock that I can print on my computer. No go. Not even anything remotely near what I am looking for... ok, try something different. Find a flowery pink print on print shop and print my own..again not gonna happen. Everything on Printshop looks cheap and no cute little pink flowers anywhere! Now you have to understand, I am doing this for an interior decorator! So I really want to get it just right. As you can see, this was the best I could do on my budget. Scrapbooking card stock sheets with vellum on top with bows and flowers. So I hope they look nice. Kaleigh said they looked "elegant". Thank you Kaleigh! We will see how the shower ends up, but the invitation thing, I will never do again, that was a lot of work and a lot of money! Whew!

Cole and Sparky

Ok, so Cole has had Sparky the dalmation from around the time he was about 20 months old. The second photo was taken last year when he was 5 years old. He has become very attached to Sparky, even so far as having birthdays for Sparky and bringing him on every trip we go on. Sparky has seen more than most people I would say. However, Sparky is getting a little grey, I do wash him in the washing machine, on gentle and I am hoping he will last that way for a while....at least until Cole gets too old for him. Of course right now Cole is saying he will keep Sparky forever. I have decided if Sparky doesn't fall apart before Cole is too old for him, I will keep him as a reminder of how much Cole loved him....

So now, to the point. Is there anyone out there that knows a really good way to clean a stuffed animal that is white? Sparky is now kind of grey and with normal washing he doesn't really get that clean....we have gone so far as to look for a new Sparky and we know that he used to be from Toys R Us, but they no longer carry Sparky...sigh...isn't that always the way?

Anyway, if anyone has a good stuffed animal cleaning method let me know.

Remembering what used to be....

Take a good look at that picture. Kaleigh loved smoothies from Juice Stop! I was just looking through some photos before digital that Carl scanned and this one was in there. I remember going to Juice Stop (now long gone) and getting a smoothie. Kaleigh would hold out her hands and say "Peasse?" Adorable. Well, both my kids still like smoothies and with our Vitamix it is really easy and they have fun helping make them. They taste better than most of the smoothie places. However I still can't figure out how they made the #15 at Juice Stop, that was my favorite. I can't seem to find Pineapple sherbet and that is what I think they used. So I am trying to just freeze some pineapple and see if that works. Well, I looked for a photo of Cole drinking a smoothie but there weren't any, so he will get the billing next time. For now have a good laugh over Kaleigh the smoothie girl!

Loosing teeth, left and right and left again...

Ok, so Kaleigh has had two loose teeth for about 2 months, and I was noticing they weren't getting any looser (she doesn't like to wiggle them) and were starting to look kind of weird. One had a red streak through it and when I asked the dentist about it he said teeth become more transparent the longer they are dead in the mouth. So yesterday Cole complained his tooth was "looser" than before and within 5 minutes had pulled it out himself, good for him! Kaleigh on the other had went in today to have both teeth pulled. One problem was that her mouth is so crowded that the teeth were either pinned against the permenant teeth or they were being pushed straight out. So she was a little nervous going in and it took a while (but we found out later it was mostly wait time) but they are out as you can see by the red area it was a little inflamed. The other sides tooth was already there, you can see it already and the other tooth that was pulled was kind of just hanging on behind it. Of course eventually the dentist will be pulling both eye teeth to make more room on top, but I was glad it wasn't today, she had enough with the two that were mostly healed already! We will also make sure we don't let her know ahead of time what will be happening. She does great when it just happens on the day we bring her in with no notice.. Hmmm.... a lot like someone else I know....the worst part of the dentist is the anticipation of what is to come...yikes!

Well, I just thought I'd share this bit of growing up with a 6 and 8 year old! Though a lot of you are past it! Now we are all done with doctors and dentists and ready for our vacation! wOOT!

A New Favorite Author- Kay Hooper

I have a bit of trouble when it comes to reading books. I run out of them! I have a few authors that I really like and I read all of their books, and then have to wait for the next one. Well, being the impatient person that I am, I look for new authors in the same genre that appeal to me. My latest method is to go to the library and read the back of the paperbacks in the Mystery/Thriller section. I read the back of a Kay Hooper novel and it sounded interesting so I borrowed it. I read it and had a really hard time putting it down (a sure sign of a good book). Some of the authors like that for me are Stephen King, Dean Koontz, James Patterson, Patricia Cornwall and Kathy Reichs. Kay Hooper, however, is a bit different. Something new that I find that I like. Hers is the typically serial killer murders with the detectives baffled but smart, but they aren't getting anywhere, so they call in a special FBI unit, the SCU Task Force. Special Crimes Unit. Now of course no one knows why they are special until they start using special abilities like Clairvoyance and Telepathy. It makes for a very interesting read. What I really like is that the killer (not always serial) is always someone you've met in the storyline somewhere, sometimes a bit part or in other cases a major role. I don't think any have ever been made into movies but it would be one I would see! So if you are a Thriller/Mystery/Crime reader, these books are for you! There are Trilogies, "Stealing Shadows", "Hiding in the Shadows", and "Out of the Shadows", then "Touching Evil", "Whisper of Evil", and "Sense of Evil" The trilogy I haven't read yet is the Thief Trilogy. There are a few others too, which I will be looking into. But these are definitely a good read!

Getting Wet When it is Sooooo Hot Outside!
Although it is very hot outside, the kids sometimes have to be "encouraged" to go in the pool. They sometimes would rather stay in the rather warm house and watch videos or play computer games. I had one that wanted to go in the pool, but not alone. So I gave the other some time on the computer with the understanding that after that it was pool time. That being understood the kids were out in the pool for about 2 hours! They really have fun once they get in. I tried to download a little video of them swimming but it didn't work. So these photos are the best I have. They are much less afraid now as you can see to put their heads in the water. I hope that keeps happening as swim lessons go on. So as we are doing, try to keep cool!

Lazy Days

Well, since Connie and kids left, we have been really relaxing around the house. We go to a store every once in a while, but for the most part the kids are playing together with their toys, watching TV or playing on the computer. It had been kind of nice and I know that the following weeks will be a little busier with doctors appointments, dentist appointments and also getting prepared for our trip up north. After that, there won't be as much time to relax and do nothing, so we are taking advantage of it now. Of course, now and again I do some laundry, and dishes, but I did read a bit. I am saving the new books that I got for our trip so I guess I am out of luck on books for now, which is probably a good thing, since I should get the house back in order.
So that is the plan. Carl is at work since it is his work weekend and the kids are still catching up on some down time. They were staying up a little late the last few days. I know this wasn't the most exciting post but there you go, I don't have anything exciting to say right now.

Surprise! We're going to Disneyland!



Well, I must say Connie and my family did a pretty good job of keeping our trip to Disneyland a secret. The only one who had a clue was Catherine, who had gotten a little bit from Omi by mistake! But we told them to dress comfy because we were going on a hike, and we weren't lying! We walked for almost 15 hours! Whew!
The day worked out magically (pun TOTALLY intended)! We were waiting to be signed in by Carl and my friend Dave and he ended up running a little late. Well, while we were waiting, Carl ran into another old friend who offered to sign in 3 more!!! WOW! What an awesome start to our day! Connie didn't have to pay for any tickets and we only had to use 2 of our passes!
It was very very crowded, so we did not even attempt the Finding Nemo ride. Connie's kids have never been to Disneyland and we really wanted to have them see the classic stuff before the "not worth it long line" rides.
We saw Star Tours, Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear Blasters, Pirates, Splash Mountain, Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise, Indiana Jones, Peter Pan, and many others. We also went to California Adventure and saw Soarin over California and Mike and Sulley to the Rescue, and many more there too. Catherine, Mikael, Carl and I all went on Hollywood Tower of Terror and Catherine and Mikael were duly terrified! I think that was Carl's favorite part of the day! You all know how he is... loves to see that sort of thing! Mikael said he would never go on that again, and Catherine said maybe the next time she is here, but not any time soon.
They couldn't really decide on the favorite rides. But I think Catherine and Mikael are pretty sure they enjoyed Splash Mountain the most. Aaron, not so much. Connie just had to buy one of the photos at Splash Mountain because Aarons face is just classic! She will be showing everyone I am sure! It was soooo funny! I would have to say he liked a Bug's Land a lot and some of the other kid rides too. We all had fun on Grizzly rapids, yours truly getting absolutely soaking wet! My pants were still wet when we got home at 11: something! I am really proud of the 3 younger kids for doing so well. They were sooooo tired at the end of a very very long day! But they didn't complain and they did a fantastic job walking all day!
Connie and the kids left this morning at 8:30am for there next destination! Safe Driving Connie!

Connie and Kids Visit

Well, this is the first day of Connie and kids visit. They arrived around 3:30 on Sunday, so we had some play and relax time. Then today we took them to the beach, or as Mikael said, " to the Pacific Ocean!" We arrived around 10am and it was overcast but nice. We had practically the whole place to ourselves at first (this being Huntington Beach), after a while the clouds burned off and it was lovely. The kids all had a fabulous time! All 5 of them! The adults had a nice time too!

We certainly picked the right spot and the right day to go. Tomorrow will be a at home day and maybe Brea mall day. Connie and I are going to take some time and have pedicures too!

Then on Wednesday we are all going to .... -oops, can't say yet, it's a surprise!

More later!

7-7-07 Big Deal

I don't understand the whole "let's get married on the luckiest day ever!" deal. Marriage is a commitment, yes, hard work, yes, totally fulfilling with the right person, yes. Will getting married on a lucky day help? I doubt it.
If that is what couples are hoping for, I am assuming a lot of these "lucky" marriages will end in divorce.
Of course that is just my 2 cents.
To offer the other side, I guess for some getting married on a supposed "lucky" day will at least help them think that their marriage is lucky therefore they may work a little harder to maintain the luckiness by actually trying to stay together!
Who knows, we shall see if there is a major divorce trend in the next 6 months to 2 years....hehe.

Cleaning House is NOT Fun (but it sure looks nice when your done!)

Well, I did it, I am done cleaning my house for my sister Connie and family. I am not a big house cleaner normally so it takes a lot to get my house really tidy and nice looking. But as you can see, at least the office looks relatively tidy. The rest of the house is still on it's way to being tidy. It is clean at least. I am really going to try to keep it tidy. Our Excursion is a different story, some of my school things ended up in the back of the Excursion so other than the 8 available seats there is no room for anything else. So when we go to the beach we will have to take stuff out to put beach stuff in! Sigh....life with no storage! Carl is actually helping out by cleaning the bathtub, my least favorite job. He will most likely also tidy up the backyard and maybe put some stuff in the attic. I am pooped, so I am pretty much done except for the fluff stuff, like clearing some things off the table and putting new towels in the bathroom. Because Connie hasn't been here for 10 years (wow) and the kids have never been here, I guess I just feel like it should look really nice for the first see. I know their house was imaculate when we came last! I bet it stays better than mine that is for sure!

Ok, I am pretty proud of the job I did so I had to include the dining room and the family room too. : )