Friday, August 31, 2007

Christmas

You may have realized that it is the last day in August. The other day when A and I were walking around the Wal-Mart to pretend like we were in college again (and I had to buy some face wash and a tweezer) we stumbled upon some Halloween decorations. We were excited and started browsing and talking about Halloween. Little did we know that we were headed straight to the Christmas section. Yeah, you heard me right: CHRISTMAS. Now, to review: Wal-Mart+August=Christmas? I don't quite get it, but I just can't get over the consumer based holidays that were once religion based. I am starting to read the book Not Buying It: My year without shopping by Judith Levine (just like Alice recommended).

The Week in Review

What a great week! It was SOOO nice spending time with A from College. She was so great with the kids and in the morning when Captain woke up, he always looked forward to seeing her.
Monday she arrived and we had to pick up my mother-in-law from an appointment that she had. Then we went and got some Chinese food from the place we like best. If anyone likes crab-rangoons and you are in the area let me know because they make the BEST and I can recommend. Then we hung out that evening because Fundi was working. We ended up going and visiting my sister-in-law and Z and M and then getting sodas from Kwik Trip and going home to watch a movie. Lonely Hearts with Jared Leto (who is like my favorite actor-crush) pretty much sucked and was totally grousome. Both A and I agreed that it wasn't a good movie and YUCK.
Tuesday we got ready in the morning and went to my follow-up doctor appointment. After that we went to an Irish Pub and had great food and then went to get the oil changed on the van. After attempting to sell me everything but blinker-fluid, we were free to go. You know how they have like the 21 point inspection or whatever... well, when we left the blinker didn't work. We went to Sam's Club and got almost everything on our list and then went back to the oil change place. It was threatening rain, so I asked the guy if he could check my blinker. Sure enough... it didn't work, so he replaced it for free right then and there. (So cool as we didn't have to unload the kids and then load them back up in the van in the pouring rain.) We did end up driving part of the way home in blinding rain. It came down in sheets and I hate driving in that kind of weather, but we made it OK. That evening we had a Mary Kay party which was a pretty good time. My dad showed up toward the end and then stayed so that we could play cards. We played the game 15 which is SUPER FUN and then A and I packed up (at 10:30pm on a Tuesday night... just like in college) and went to the bar of a high school classmate of mine. I will not go into detail, but we had a great time and then got a sober ride home at 2:00am from my classmate.
Wednesday morning came earlier than usual and we hung out with the kids during the day. We went to the local cheese factory for some cheese curds (a Wisconsin specialty) and then to my sister B's family's farm. We walked around the cows and the barns and spent some time outside in the nice weather. Then we went to the grocery store and got food for grilling. We ended up with chicken, sweet corn, potato wedges and cheesy garlic bread. It was soooo tasty and Fundi has now mastered the art of grilling chicken. I don't know if I have ever had chicken that good. That night we watched another movie: Perfect Stranger. That also dragged and wasn't much for interesting. The twist at the end was the best part but I don't know if it was worth the other hour and 35 minutes of torture.
Thursday morning we got up and hung out for a while and then ended up going to the casino. The Lambs had Formal there our senior year, but due to work A had been unable to attend, so I thought it would be fun to go there and play Bingo. A agreed and we had a great time playing. They were late in starting Bingo because their computers were having issues so we each got a $10 coupon for $10 off an admission to Bingo in the next two months. A ended up winning and the nice guy that sat across from us gave me the stuffed animal that he won on the Minnesota Zoo game (pick a stuffed animal and win between $100 and $600 depending on how much is in the envelope on the animal) for the kids. We had a really fun time. We stopped at the apple store on the way home and then when we got home A packed up and got ready to leave. She has some friends up in the Twin Cities that she is going to see for a few days before she flies out.
Last night after she left, Fundi the kids and I and sister-in-law and Z and M all went out to the last night of the pizza at Smith Farms.
We had such a good time with A here and tried the entire time that she was here to convince her that she should move to Wisconsin because it is cheaper to live here than in Cali and the men here are better too :)

Monday, August 27, 2007

A from Cali

My friend from Cornell College A arrives today from California! She should be here soon as she took the red-eye last night. I couldn't do that. Sleeping on a plane is uncomfortable.

On another note... I didn't know it was supposed to rain again last night and then severe storms tonight as well? Geez... I don't think we need any more rain. We are already in a bad situation the way it is. People are still cleaning out their homes and everything here. Imagine my surprise when I woke up at 4 this morning and the power had gone out at least once because everything was flashing and there was massive lightning and thunder and pounding rain. I just heard on the radio that there will be favorable conditions for tornadoes and hail and really strong storms tonight. I like storms, but this is a little much.

As far as storms go, I must have been having the thunder and lightning influence what I was dreaming about last night because I dreamt about a friend of A's and mine from College who still dates one of the Lambs. He was helping me and another lamb Bri escape a tornado by going to this house he was building down the road from the Shopko that we were studying at (don't ask me...) There were computers there that people could use and I had my Flash drive and was working on a project there but I had gone to the bathroom at Shopko and came out and a classmate from high school JasM was telling me about how he had three kids and that he wasn't going to be having any more and then he kept grabbing himself and saying that that had been taken care of. (I don't think he has any kids in real life though.) Then I went back to where the project was and Bri was mad because I hadn't helped to get it done but I had only been gone for a few minutes. Then a white SUV came crashing through the windows at the Shopko and we had to run out the back way to get to the house that Den was building. Once we got there, contrary to what I wanted to do, he led us up to the top floor where there was the master bedroom and master bathroom. There were many many windows and we looked outside and we were somewhere tropical and I could see Jamaica from the window, but we weren't in Jamaica, we were in Florida, and there was a big tornado coming our way and we kept covering ourselves in these hard round lids and blankets and pillows and crouching down, but Den kept telling us that it was OK to get out and it really wasn't. Then he started talking about college and how fun it had been. Then there was a little baby that I was given (it wasn't mine and I don't know who gave it to me or what I was supposed to do with it) and I covered the baby up with the blankets I was wrapped in and then hovered over it so it wouldn't get hurt. The tornado never hit us and pretty soon it was sunny out. What should I make of all of this? I do have vivid dreams regularly, but this one was pretty complicated and lengthy. More interestingly is that I woke up to deal with the kids at 4am and then went back to sleep. That is usually when I lose my dreams, but this time I was able to keep it.

Yesterday I went with my Dad and kids to church at a neighboring Parish and then met my sister and her little baby there. We had a really good day and visited. Captain got to pick ducks out of the water to win prizes (all of which were Made in China) and he went "fishing" and got a little teddy bear. Burbles was really good all day except the two or three times she cried in church because of gas.

Saturday I spent most of the day cleaning as well as Friday. I got a little kick in the butt a few weeks back when the assessor came to look at our house to base our property taxes. I got upset because we hadn't been using the basement (2 bedrooms, living area, bathroom, pantry, utility room and Fundi's hunting/fishing/man room) but we were still paying taxes on it. In the living area we had all of my plants and tons of stuff that just needed to be picked up. So I went to work and picked it all up. Now the kids and I have a nice place to go when Fundi is sleeping. I made one of the rooms a toy room and took the CD player down from the baby room so we can listen to CDs like Raffi. The space is large and open with the only real safety concern being the stairs... Captain is pretty good on stairs except when he falls down them... I was busy, but I feel such a sense of accomplishment right now. The other bedroom has always been my scrapbooking room and a spare bedroom and that is now organized as well (due in part to A's visit this week but also to my scrapbooking drive). Neither the pantry nor the bathroom have ever been too bad. Fundi's room is his room. I would like to finish it sometime in the next year or so. My vision is a ceiling, a wall of shelves for his books and a sitting area with a lamp so that he has a place to go and nap or read if he needs a break. I feel like I could maybe get my dining room and living room back upstairs if I managed to move all the toys and kid stuff downstairs, but that might be a while yet. We might even be able to open the rooms back up and not have to divide them with a wall consisting of the toys, the couch, and the buffet. (Every time we need to go to the bathroom we have to move something to get through.) We could have family time downstairs and not worry about Captain catapulting himself over the couch or up a counter stool or climbing chairs. As for Burbles, it would be nice to have a bigger space for her to play as well. In the summer it is cooler down there and in the winter it is warmer because the heat storage unit is downstairs. Enough rambling, I'm just excited about the new usable space and it is even kid friendly.

Best get going. Captain is pulling on my arm and needs someone to play tractors with him.

Friday, August 24, 2007

Photos and Comments

Here is Captain playing with Fundi. Fundi builds block towers then Captain Destructo swoops in and topples them over with every part of his being... or he just takes one of the blocks from the bottom.
This is Burbles all dressed up for the Green Bay Packers Game night. She cried until I put a ribbon in her hair. She had never worn one before, but after I put it on her she quieted right down. I just think that she didn't wanna look like a boy.
Here is Captain in his high chair. On the day that I went scrapbooking, Fundi informed me that Captain was climing on and over everything and that much of his day was spent in and out of the high chair so that Fundi could look after Burbles. It is nice to know that he knows what I go through on a daily basis.
Fundi and Captain on the Carousel at Lark Toys in Kellogg, Minnesota. For those of you who know Chadd from Cornell, his parents own the toy store that we went to. This is a still shot of Captain on one of the up/down animals. He would never have stayed on an up/down animal while they were moving. He sat in a sleigh instead.
This is him in the sleigh while Fundi stands by. Captain moved his hands up and down in time with all the animals that were going up and down. He didn't know for sure if he wanted to be on the Carousel at all to begin with, but by the time it was over, he didn't want to get off.
Here is Burbles with her first bite of food. As you can see, the tongue thrust reflex is still there, but it is going away slowly. Today she had her first sweet potatoes. Mmmm.
Here is Captain as an astronaut. Just kidding. He puts this drum on his head and walks around with it like that. This is a trick that his big cousin Z taught him.
Here he is again... looks like he is a man on a mission doesn't it?
This is Captain the night that he walked in the puddle. He looks terribly pleased with himself and he is actually looking to see what I am going to do. Run after him or let him alone?
This is after he figured out that I wasn't going to do anything about it. He walked right through the deepest part of the puddle and got even wetter. He attended his big cousin Z's 11th Birthday Party that night-sans pants.
Burbles looking pretty in a shirt she got from Mommy's College Friend in California A.
OK, so this was funny. Burbles was wearing the mittens with the rattles in them. Fundi was feeling left out and took of Burbles' socks. I put the socks on his hands and boy was he frustrated. Try picking something up with no grippers and no thumb. It was like watching a cat with tape on its paws. Burbles looks just tickled that her brother is frustrated.
Captain with a serious mohawk in the sink bath--thanks to Auntie C.
After his bath, Grampa went and caught Captain a toad and then gave it to him. Captain let it go immediately but watched it hop around on the deck.
Yes-- that IS her middle finger.

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Yesterday

Yesterday was so nice. I spent all day scrapbooking at a local scrapbooking store. I arrived a little after 10am and was there until 8pm with the exception of a half hour lunch break. I was thrilled to be able to work on my California pages and it was really nice to be able to go pick out coordinating papers, etc when I didn't have what I needed. Hopefully Fundi will appreciate that I am happier when I have a chance to get away every now and again.
You will be happy to know that most of the scrapbooking stuff that I looked at yesterday was made in the USA. Terribly exciting, because I am not going to start making my own paper.
The biggest bummer of my day was when I was loading the van to come home and my box with 12x12 paper broke open from the bottom. Litterally hundrends of papers on the ground. The good thing was... it wasn't raining, so the ground wasn't wet. The bad thing was... it was going to rain, so I had to pick them up fast. The very nice lady from the scrapping store came out and helped and we got everything in the van before anything got wet. I think I would like one of those nice scrapbooking carry cases that people roll around. That would make me more mobile when I want to take my stuff and work on it away from home. If anyone knows of where to get one of these inexpensively, let me know.
Our toy store adventure was pretty unsuccessful for buying toys. Everything is made in China. AHH! We bought some books instead. For now we will have to live with the toys we have. I need to find a website with American Made toys. Does anyone know of one?
We are getting together with friends tonight. We haven't seen them since right after Burbles was born, so we are really looking forward to seeing them.
Anyway, I'm gonna put some photos on here after writing this. I just realized that i have some fun ones that I haven't put on here yet.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

LIES... ALL LIES!

Lead paint has lead us to attempt boycotting all things Chinese (except food). More and more things are being found unsafe and in an effort to do our part, small though it may be, we are trying not to buy things that are made in China. Now, that is easier said than done.

First of all there is the cost issue: Yesterday Fundi spent double what he would have paid for a Chinese pair of boots on an American made pair of boots. American made products are more expensive because we don't use slave labor (or we aren't supposed to) and we have minimum wages. I'm sure there is more to it than that, but I don't know and frankly don't get into all the economics of it.

Secondly there is the availability issue: EVERYTHING is made in China. Of all the steel-toed boots in the store that Fundi was looking in, only seven pairs of boots were made somewhere other than China. Of those, only two pair suited his needs. One pair was made in Dominican Republic and one pair was made in America. He got the American made pair.

Thirdly there are the LIES: at Target the other day, Fundi and I were shopping clearance clothes for the kids (we don't buy full price anything for clothes). While there we were looking at all the cute clothes. Most of them were made in China. Then I began noticing something: some of the tags said "Made in China", some said "Made in Thailand", some said "Made in Malaysia", some said "Made in Vietnam", and some said "Made in Indonesia." Thing is... they were all on the same clothes, just different sizes of those clothes. Is this all a lie? I highly doubt that they would send the same fabric and pattern and everything to five different countries to get one particular pair of pants made in different sizes. I don't believe this. How are we supposed to know where things are coming from? This was the case on more than a few of the items that we were looking at purchasing. If that is the case they shipped a lot of fabric all over the world to get different sizes of clothing made. I DOUBT IT!

Fourthly some things are necessary: the bottles that we bought yesterday were "Made in China" but "Made to Gerber Specifications". I don't know if this is a real comfort. I'm sure the other toys were made to the vendor's specifications but some manufacturers were hiring out and ended up hiring people that used products that weren't to the vendor's specifications. Thing about these bottles is that they are BPA Free.

Today we are going over to a local toy store to see if they have toys that were "Made in America". At this point I would be willing to buy things that were "Made Elsewhere" but maybe that is a lie too? We also bought lead test kits (available at Hardware stores... for sure at Menards in the paint department) to test the toys that we already have to make sure that they aren't lead based. I should check... I wonder if the tests were made in China.

Ugh...

Ok, so I haven't written lately but I have a good excuse... or a few of them.
I had surgery on Friday--nothing major, but nothing I want to put on here either, but don't worry, I'm doing fine. That night we went out to Chinese with Dad and then went to a summer outdoor concert. Polka was the music and the kids loved it. Captain was so cute and offered a leaf to a little girl his age (like flowers) and walked around with her a little.
This weekend was busy but fun. Saturday was a recovery day and Fundi's Mom came out and baked at our house all day. It has been rainy for so long. We are supposed to continue to get rain. Counties near us have been flooded and there are people that have died in the floods as well. We are fortunate to not have to worry about our house ever being flooded. Fundi said something like "I think I should get another boat just in case." I said "OK, Noah." We live high on a hill and if we were ever flooded out, the whole world would be in trouble.
I'm also working on putting together a Mary Kay Party. I also want to have an Usborn Books Party but I haven't scheduled that yet.
Sunday we went to a church Fall Festival at a neighboring parish. The Mass was a Polka Mass and we all really enjoyed it. Captain wiggled as usual, but he was dancing too. Then we walked around the Festival grounds and then went to Target. When we got into town, Fundi remarked on how there were no cars out and about. I attributed it to the fact that it was Sunday. We shopped and got our nephew a birthday gift. Then as we were leaving town, we noticed quite a few news crews from large stations near us. I said that something major must have been going on. Here there were towns that had been evacuated and people that had their houses moved away by the floods. There was lots of flooding and there still is. With more rain on the way, lots of people are going to be out of their houses for quite a while.
That afternoon we went to my sister-in-law's house for our nephew's birthday party. We all had a good time and ended up staying there way past the kids' bedtimes. Captain got to play in rain puddles for the first time and was wet to his knees afterward, but I thought it was a great learning experience and he sure seemed to have fun doing it.
My sister B and her family are sick with a cold which would suck.
Yesterday we went to the doctor again and afterward we went shopping for house stuff... like screws, nails, glue, lead test kits (more on this later), and some other stuff we needed so that Fundi could work on his Honey Do list. That is what he is doing right now actually and he is doing a good job. We are working on converting most of the lights in our house to fluorescent.
We also went in search of the ever elusive BPA-Free bottle (If you don't know about this ask as it is important to your child's health and well-being). Then I picked up a few supplies for scrapbooking which I will be working on entirely tomorrow (Fundi is watching the kids and I get to go to a scrapping classroom and work ALL DAY!). Fundi has the camera in the truck or I would put pics on here of Captain in the puddle, but I'll do that later.

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Church

Last night's church service was to honor the Assumption of The Virgin Mary into Heaven both body and soul. We of course took both the kids and Captain was wiggly and Burbles slept. We did get to listen to what the Priest had to say during the sermon. He talked about how when a little child gets injured, he or she will go to the parents or someone loving to get comfort. As the child grows up, he will start dealing with his hurts on his own or with people other than his parents (significant other) and begin to deal with his parents in a more adult like fashion. We have to make sure that we are adults in our relationships with God. We shouldn't go to God only when we have problems. We need to make sure that we have a relationship with God during the good times and bad. We know we can lean on God during the bad times, but we need to make sure to thank God for the good times and keep our relationship with God as strong during the good times as it is during the bad times. I know that this can be difficult, but at the same time we need to make sure to thank God for all he does for us or gives to us.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Days

So, my life hasn't been really interesting lately. I have been home with the kids or running to the doctor. Had Burbles to the doctor for her four month yesterday. Dr. says she looks beautiful and he has no concerns. She is 13lbs 2oz and 2 feet long. Strangely enough, Captain and Burbles are on the same growth curve which is funny cuz she looks so much bigger than I remember him at that age. Burbles is rolling over both ways (don't know if I already said that...) and she acts like she really wants to get around. She is grabbing for toys and rolling to try and get them. She started cereal today! Unlike her brother, she seemed to really like it. She didn't make all of these disgusted faces like he did.
I turned the air off in our house. We have had lots of rain lately and now it is cooler out but more muggy. So I have been sitting here all day and wondering why the fan isn't really cooling down the house and circulating air like I would think that it is supposed to... climbed on a chair and pulled the cord and switched the fan direction and sure enough, feels like a brand new fan! How exciting!
Cousins stayed over last night as their mom is at school for a couple days. We had a good time yesterday with them shopping and running around town... what I wouldn't give for my own ten year old to help out around the house.... hmmm.... I wonder if I can rent him??
Captain has been doing this weird thing with his sister. Every time she drools he goes over to her and runs his fingers through it and puts it in his mouth. GROSS! Don't know what to do about this besides keep him away from her. I suppose it is just a faze, but it is sick.
Church tonight and have to cook the hubby supper... best be going.

Monday, August 13, 2007

Annoying Things

Disclaimer: Please do not read this if you are easily offended or become easily paranoid. I am not talking about anyone in particular and I am not trying to make anyone upset with me; however, this is my blog and I wanted to put this out there... so here goes:

1. When people insist that they talk about themselves but will not listen when it is the other person's turn to talk.

2. When people are rude to other people for no reason. Some people just feel that they should be able to storm through the grocery store and expect the crowds to part as they proceed down the aisles (same goes for driving cars). There is enough room in this world for everyone.

3. When people curse and are belligerent. I don't want my kids to learn all the bad habits that other people have and I just don't like to hear that nonsense.

4. Smoking.

5. Dick on Big Brother. He curses and smokes and he is rude to people, the epitome of my annoyances. Yuck.

6. Gossip. I like to know what is going on just like other people do, but there comes a time when a person needs to know that it is just none of their business to tell other people about something that is none of their business.

7. When a person is always rushing about making themselves look busy and always on the run. In this world, people are moving so fast that they forget about taking time to spend time with others (family and friends especially). People are constantly "plugged in" to their phones, TVs, computers, cell-phones, texting, etc. and forget about interacting with the people that are right there with them. Case in point: I saw four people out to eat when we were in California--three of them were on the phone with other people.

8. People who are mean. People who are mean and say things to other people to make them hurt instead of saying things that can help other people. People who are mean make other people's lives a little more difficult and make people unsure of themselves. Mean People Suck.

9. When people blame their kids' behavior on one thing or another when really they should just discipline. TVs and video games are not babysitters. Good quality time with real people is what will make the difference in a kid's life.

10. Kids on cell phones. People that can't drive shouldn't have a cell phone. People that are driving shouldn't talk a lot on their cell phones and shouldn't text AT ALL. This is multitasking gone too far.

11. People who can't make decisions. Some people just always have to check in with someone else before they can make a decision. If a person is secure in who they are, they should be able to make most decisions that concern them. I'm not talking about buying a house or some other large decision, but more day to day decisions.

Hanging out Day Photos

Burbles was looking so cute as always yesterday, so I got her picture with both Mommy and Daddy. Captain was so wired all day that he just couldn't take time to take a photo... He had jello last night at the picnic and was absolutely a crazy man then he tried to swip some of my soda on the way in from the van, but he didn't succeed...He's sneeky like that.

I know this is a little random, but this morning I just couldn't figure out what was the matter with Burbles. She kept crying. She didn't want her bottle, she was changed, and she was sitting in her favorite perch, but she just couldn't be consoled. I tried to burp her, but when I sat her up, she quieted right down. Come to find out, she just wanted to watch her brother eat his French Toast and Fruit breakfast. That is her perched in her Baby Papsan on the left and Captain is in his high chair on the right. He was talking to her through the whole breakfast then. He loves her so much but is still a little rough with her. He likes to pat her tummy instead of just leaving her alone. It bothers me more than it bothers her, but I figure that he just doesn't need to pat her at all whether it is on the head or belly or wherever. Look...don't touch... Geez.

Airplane




For Captain's First Birthday he got a wooden airplane from our neighbor that is really handy with woodworking. At one he was a little small for the plane and it was a danger, but he is old enough and tall enough now and understands cause and effect to some extent, so we finally brought the plane out of the basement. Captain is loving it. He gets up on there and says "Rock a bye" and "Vroom Vroom" It is so cool to watch him learn all of these things. He is so clever like that.

In other news, Burbles now rolls from front to back and back to front. She is obsessed with being on her tummy. It is so cool to see her developing too. She might start food this week... I'll have photos of that when it happens.

Church--Brown-noser

Yesterday at church, the sermon was about being a brown-noser to God. The Priest talked about how it is so important to not just act well for God when you think he is watching and to recognize that God is watching all the time and that it is so important to always do your best. The Priest also compared our relationships with God to our relationship with our significant other. We expect our partners to be loyal to us and to make sure that their actions and their words match the fact that they are loyal to us, but sometimes with God we are not as loyal as we should be. Do we put more importance on money or things than God? Do we put alcohol or drugs before our relationship with God? At some point in time, we all stray from our relationship with God, but yesterday I was reminded that I need to keep my faith a priority along with my family. I also need to be sure to make sure that my actions and what I say follow through with my relationship with God. This will also help my family to stay strong.

The Weekend

HI, I hope everyone had a good weekend.
This weekend was busy for us, but provided us some much needed family and bonding time. Friday night, our family went out for supper and then we went to the garden to see what was growing. Saturday, Fundi and I took off for the day while my sister-in-law watched the kids for us. Fundi and I were planning to go to a recumbant bicycle rally, but then it was supposed to be terribly hot and muggy and then it rained, so we ended up going to a Mexican restaurant that was barely mediocre and then to two and a half movies. We saw Bourne Ultimatum one and a half times (time to kill between movies) together and then jumped to Transformers (Fundi) and No Reservations (myself). Bourne was really good. Sometimes those movies move so fast that I can't catch everything. Fundi is pretty good at that though. So it was kinda nice to be able to watch the main part of the movie again to see what I hadn't been able to see the first time. I usually don't have the time to watch a movie a second time. Then I went and saw No Reservations. It was a tear jerker for sure. I will not ruin it for anyone, but it really got to me on so many different levels. I cried and cried and then got a terrible headache to the point where I was nauseous. Fundi disliked Transformers strongly.
That night on the way home, it was sprinkling and lightning. It was so cool. I enjoy watching storms--not my favorite to drive in, but watching them is neat. The lightning was stretching across the sky and fingering out. I would much rather watch lightning than fireworks, I think. Then we got home and got caught up on all that went on while we were gone. Our kids were sleeping and my sister-in-law was relaxing in the round chair watching TV and our niece was sleeping too. Everything was all in good order (we weren't worried to begin with, but you never know with Captain).
Then yesterday, we all woke up and went to church then out to the garden to fetch some zuchinis for turkey stuffing. We got home and our family hung out all day together. We played on the floor and baked a cake and had pizza for lunch. Then we made the turkey stuffing for the family picnic last night for the Knights of Columbus. We left for the picnic and spent time visiting with people from church including my dad and his girlfriend and her son. Then they came over and we played a game of Fifteen (card game that is too much fun). The kids went to bed without much ado, but Burbles was up at 2am and wanted to be held all night... AHH! so no sleep for me last night, but here we are today.
Oh, Fundi and I are watching Zodiac right now from NetFlix. It is pretty good so far, and I managed not to have any bad dreams last night, but I can't wait to watch the last hour to see what happens. Grousome!

Thursday, August 9, 2007

Our Cali Trip Day 6

Our sixth day in California was a long day as well. We got up and packed up our stuff from Uncle R's. Then we went to breakfast and then back to my Uncle's Shop. We said goodbye and then headed to the beach. (Can you believe that we were in Cali for six days and we hadn't even been to the beach yet?) Captain wasn't a fan. Burbles sat there and looked. Anyhow, so the beach wasn't a big hit anyway, so then we made our way back to San Diego. We headed back to Balboa Park and went to the San Diego Natural History Museum and saw the Dead Sea Scrolls. It was very interesting, but both of the kids had pretty short attention spans at this point for such stuff. Fundi and I got what we could out of the exhibit and then we left. We started calling around to find a hotel, but there was some sort of convention going on and there were maybe two rooms left in all of San Diego. We finally found a decent room with a decent price. Conveniently, it was located near Sea World, Old Town, and the airport. We asked the lady at the desk about somewhere decent to eat. She suggested Acapulco or Guadalajara in Old Town. She gave us directions, and after a short tour of maybe not the best neighborhoods in the world, we found Acapulco.
The restaurant was nice. They were not too busy and we were seated immediately. Our waiter asked for our drink orders but would not help us get a high chair that had a safety belt (our Captain has turned into Houdini). He delivered chips and salsa but not the drinks. He came back to take our order but without drinks (we were pretty thirsty). Finally, we got our drinks. Fundi found a highchair with a safety belt and we were on our way... or so we thought. We asked for a refill on drinks and chips and salsa. At that time our food came. My soup was delivered luke-warm only a minute before my food (Captain was refusing to eat solid foods and only wanted soup through this part of the trip, so he was starving and mad about not getting fed first.). We reminded the waiter about the drinks, salsa, and chips. Then the question was... where is our silverware. Our waiter returned with our drinks and we asked for silverware. Ten minutes later, he came back to check on how we were doing. We asked again if we could have silverware and a refill on drinks. Our waiter returned three minutes later with silverware and no drinks. The kids were madder than all get out. We shoveled in our food (it was pretty good actually). When the waiter returned with our refills and our bill ten minutes later, we took the bill to the front of the restaurant where I asked to speak with a manager. The manager was so nice and apologetic and picked up our bill for us because of all the troubles we had had. It was unfortunate that our final meal in Cali had to be a bust, but what can you expect. Things had been going so well up to that point.

We got back to our hotel and unloaded what we needed from the car. Captain was thrilled that he could finally get down and run around. We all hung out until 10 or so when we could watch the fireworks from our hotel window. Captain had never seen fireworks before and he was very observant for the five minutes that they were going off. Then we laid him down in his Pack and Play and he drifted off to sleep effortlessly with Tiger and Glowy (Gummie gave these to him while we visited them. He has been sleeping with them every night since and really seems to be attached to them. I just hope that they stay in his crib and don't have to start coming with us everywhere.). Then we all drifted effortlessly off to sleep. Of course there were the late night wake up calls from Burbles, but by that time I was used to them again.
Uncle R with Captain and Burbles
Fundi and Captain on the Beach
Burbles on the beach
Captain...fast as lightning.
A Palm Tree... we don't have those in Wisconsin

Our Cali Trip Day 5

Our Fifth day in California was also our three year wedding anniversary. We spent the day at Sea World San Diego. We had so much fun. We saw a few of the shows including the Shamu Show Believe and the Dolphin Show. We also saw Cirque de la Mer. Captain was in total awe of all the animals. His jaw was dropped almost the whole time. Also, the animals seemed to have an attraction to him. When we were petting the sting rays (de-barbed) my arm was in the water almost up to my shoulder trying to reach them. All at once, I looked down and there was a sting ray resting its head on the edge of the rocks right next to Captain's feet. I quickly took his hand and put it on the ray's head. Captain didn't think much of that, but he didn't really protest it either. Then, when we were getting ready to go, we went through the Arctic Zone. We were sitting next to the tank with the walruses and Captain was sitting on the ledge. (This was one of those aquariums where you are below the surface of the water looking through glass.) Next thing I know, the walrus is right up against the glass next to Captain rubbing up and down on the glass and kissing it and then going up to get some air and coming back down and doing this all over again. The other walruses were paying no attention to people at all. As a matter of fact, they were off swimming far in the distance. It was so cool. Captain really didn't know if this was a good thing or a bad thing. At first he was a little nervous, but he came to me and I held him next to the glass and he thought it was so cool then. We had such a great time and it was nice to enjoy our anniversary in such a memorable place with our family. That night we went back to Uncle R's house and visited with him for a little while then we all went to sleep. It had been such a long day.

A seal or sea lion that Fundi fed.

Fundi feeding the seal or sea lion.

Captain looking on in amazement.

Burbles enjoying herself.

Captain eating Goldfish (is this ethical?)

Captain and Fundi watching the Shamu show.

Shamu jumping for joy.

Nemos!

Sea Turtles

Our family getting ready to watch the dolphin show.

Captain and Daddy

Burbles and Mommy

Dolphins jumping

Manatees. My Favorite.

Our family after Cirque de la Mer.

The walrus trying to kiss Captain.

Here he goes again!

Captain and Puppy looking at Beluga Whales

A polar bear.

Fundi feeding Burbles a bottle at the end of the day.

OK, so it isn't a fish, but the Budweiser Horses are at Sea World and Captain fell in love with them as well.

Our Cali Trip Day 4

Ok, so on with the California Trip... Our fourth day in Cali was a Monday. We woke up and hung out for a while then Gummie and Guppy and the four of us packed up and went sight seeing in their town. It just so happens that an enormous dam was created there and it is beautiful and amazing. So, we went to all of the entry points of the Dam which now contains a huge lake. The lake is man made and was created to supply Southern California with water for six months if a large earthquake were to hit. The lake does have fish in it (Fundi would love to go rent a boat and catch some fish) but there is a no-body-contact rule on the lake which means that no one can swim in the water or touch the water at all (including going to the bathroom in the water). The Lake
Us at the lake.
Fundi and Captain.
The Palm In Gummie and Guppy's YardGummie and GuppyGummie and her plate hibiscus.
After touring the lake we went to brunch and then we packed up our stuff and said our goodbyes to Gummie and Guppy.
Photos of Gummie, Guppy, Captain, and Burbles
Then we drove to the City where my Uncle R and Aunt K live. They had to work and we were ready for some family time so we set out in search of the beach. We never did get to the beach that day, but instead we found this beautiful park with a shady picnic table and piece of grass just for us. It was a beautiful day and Captain and Burbles loved being outside and enjoying the weather. Captain ran around the park and playground. He loves the slides and the swings. Fundi chased him. Burbles and I sat in the shade and enjoyed ourselves. About ten minutes after we got to the park, a woman came over and began talking with us. She had a seven year old and a set of four year old twins. Her husband is deployed right now and she is a kindergarten teacher, so she is not working during the summer. We proceeded to talk for almost two hours. We shared stories and she just seemed that she was happy to have someone to talk with other than her kids. We were looking for a Mexican Restaurant to eat at that night, so she suggested one in the area. Her suggestion was a good one and we really enjoyed our meal. The waiter was very nice and since my cell phone had died and I needed to get in touch with my Uncle, he let me borrow his.
Photos from The Park:
When we got back to my Uncle's house, we set up our stuff in the guest bedroom. We put the kids to sleep and then visited with my Uncle R and Aunt K for a while. It was nice to catch up with them. They let us know that they would be busy while we were there. That was fine with us. We didn't expect them to take time off to show us around and it was nice to have a place to come back to and people to visit with after our daily activities.