I loved California. It was not what I was expecting at all. As soon as we left the airport in LA, I thought that we were in a third world country, it was dirty, covered in graffiti and overall kinda disgusting. However, 30 minutes outside of LA was very pretty countryside, that was very sparsely populated. If CA is the most populated state in the country, we have nothing to worry about in concern to overpopulation. We spent a couple of days driving around the countryside and would often not pass even the smallest town for over 50 miles. GA is way more populated in comparison. It was very beautiful this time of year, yellow, purple, and orange flowers were blooming all over the countryside, and it wasn't as much desert as I expected. The strawberries were in season and you could smell them for miles as you drove by acres of fields with undocumented workers picking them in the warm sun. (notice my political correctness) The oranges were wonderful as well, and I stopped at roadside farms and bought delicious fruit.
The highlight of my trip was the fact that I didn't have ONE BIT of anxiety. Our trip started off with a bang and that didn't even throw me for a loop. We left 10 minutes late, had to go out to Nate's shop, which killed another 15 mins, got a speeding ticket on the way down which killed some time, and barely made it to the airport with an hour to spare. Unfortunately, we had to park far away, and then we were checking a bag as well. I paid for the bag to be checked and then proceeded to put it on the loading ramp. The lady behind the counter said that we were 10 minutes to late to check our bag, we would have to see the customer service people to help us figure out what to do or put us on another flight. We hurried to that section and the lady there told us that all future flights were overbooked. She suggested that we store our large suitcase in a locker and buy carry on luggage instead. I told her that carry on would cost a fortune in an airport, but she directed me to a store that was having a sale. I hurried to the store while Nate went to secure a locker. I found luggage for $30 and $40 bucks so I bought them and hurried towards the area that the lockers were in so that we could unpack and repack quickly. I met Nate in the middle and he said that they wanted $56 to store our suitcase. The case wasn't worth that much so we decided to "lose" our large luggage in the food court next to the trash cans and elevators. We made it through security and hurried towards the concourse (trains) with only 15 minutes till take off. We got on at concourse A and we needed to depart from concourse D, when we arrived at D with only a few minutes to spare, I asked Nate what gate were we supposed to depart from. As it turns out he said that he told me we were supposed to have gotten off at concourse B and go to gate 24, I clearly heard concourse D, and if I hadn't why didn't he get off at B, since B obviously comes before D. At this point we realized that there was no hope, but just to make sure the nail in our coffin was pounded tight we went to B24. Of course our flight had departed and we had to wait in another line and see when they could get us to LA. The nice lady said that there were no available flights until 6pm that night and in order to book it we would have to pay an additional $150 a ticket. We decided to go standby, which was an enormous risk because all flights were overbooked and there were 10-12 people ahead of us. Our flight was at 11 and the next one wasn't until 1:45, so we had plenty of time to go in search of our "lost" luggage. We asked the janitorial staff first because they seemed the most obvious choice not to have us interrogated for abandoning luggage. When that didn't pan out, we tried lost and found. That too was to no avail. Finally, we had to approach the airport police, after I had said a few choice words like "we left it, ditched it" to the lost and found people Nathan ordered me to be silent while he spoke with the police. They said that our bag had been found, sniffed by the dogs and then sent to be destroyed. No one could locate it, so it was presumed destroyed. We decided to go eat lunch, and while I was this time, truly watching our bags I saw a janitor come out of an elevator. I motioned him over and asked if he had seen a large black bag in the bowels of the airport. He said that he just had now seen such a bag near the incinerator. He offered to retrieve it for us, and when Nate got back with the food, he had the privilege of escorting our wayward luggage to the car that was parked two miles away.
The story does not end there. We went to the gate that the 1:45 was departing from and realized that yes indeed they were overbooked and we were not going to be on it. The next flight was leaving at 3pm and there were 6 people ahead of us on standby. So we enjoyed the airport for a couple more hours and then nervously awaited to see if our names would be called for the 3pm flight. We watched the screens and were thrilled to see that we were the last 2 to board the plane. Of course we did not have seats together, but he was one row behind be across the aisle. It worked out that I was able to switch my window seat for the aisle and he was able to switch his middle seat for the aisle, so that we could kinda talk now and then. We were in the very back of the bumpy plane, but I was fine. Praise God!
Pages and pages of pictures.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
The Sea Lion story
We were driving along the scenic Pacific Coastal Hwy when we decided to pull over and walk along the beach since I have never seen the Pacific coast. As soon as we pulled over I spotted a large creature in the water coming towards the shore. I started yelling uninteligable words like, "wallspike, sealorn, waterspanther" and flailing for the camera. I dove out of the car running at full speed down the rock wall and flinging shoes, adjusting the camera and yelling at Nate "hurry, you'll miss it, isn't this so exciting." This is what I first saw.
Then before I was even half way to the waters edge, I saw this.
And finally up close and personal, this is what I encountered.
He was so very dead, but I really didn't care, it was the second highlight of my trip. I even petted him while Nate told me not to. I hardly ever disobey my husband anymore, but he didn't really mean it, he was just repulsed at the idea that I wanted to touch it. Some other curious bystanders came along and were watching me take photos of it and touch it, but they were too scared to do it with us watching, so they waited until we moved down the beach and then I saw them touch it too. We don't know how he expired, because there were no visible wounds, but blood would come out of his nose after the waves rolled him a bit.
Then before I was even half way to the waters edge, I saw this.
And finally up close and personal, this is what I encountered.
He was so very dead, but I really didn't care, it was the second highlight of my trip. I even petted him while Nate told me not to. I hardly ever disobey my husband anymore, but he didn't really mean it, he was just repulsed at the idea that I wanted to touch it. Some other curious bystanders came along and were watching me take photos of it and touch it, but they were too scared to do it with us watching, so they waited until we moved down the beach and then I saw them touch it too. We don't know how he expired, because there were no visible wounds, but blood would come out of his nose after the waves rolled him a bit.
The little burros.
This is the horse that I raced around the track on, as Nate and I rode one day. We gave Tam a heart attack because we thundered down the straight away and she thought we were going to get pitched.
There is no proof of my next story, but it is true in it's entirety. I had to stand in for one of the trainers and rear the big white horse completely bareback. It was so much fun! I can now say that I officially stood in for Reese Witherspoon in a stunt. It was only practice, but if I see her do the stunt in the movie, I can have my props. We got to go to set and watch her and Tam practice for an upcoming movie that she is doing with the Twilight vampire star. We went to 2 days of rehearsals, and it was interesting to see how everything is done.
This is Vegas, and he can do some really amazing tricks that Tam has taught him.
All the girls after a long day of work. I missed taking pictures of the Yak's, wolves, Zebra, dogs and long horned cattle.
This is Vegas, and he can do some really amazing tricks that Tam has taught him.
All the girls after a long day of work. I missed taking pictures of the Yak's, wolves, Zebra, dogs and long horned cattle.
Sled (Tam's husband) was always driving something.
Titus (Sled's son) riding side saddle on the 4 wheeler.
This goat hated me, but I was not deterred from making friends.
Nate got pretty good at cracking the long Indiana Jones whip.
My pathetic attempt at cracking a shorter whip, I never did do it, although I did manage to catch my rear a few times.
They are the funniest creatures, they seem to be missing a few screws.
I was scared that he was getting ready to kick me, but apparently these guys are pretty docile and will warn you of approaching aggression.
Serena the tiger was enamoured with Nate. She licked and sniffed him, but completely ignored me.
These camels gave me the creeps, they were constantly wanting to lip me to death, and they snuck up on me once and scared me.
See the foamy mess in his mouth. Tam was prepared to duck for cover.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Sunny California here we come!
Nate and I are going to take a week long trip to CA tomorrow. It is the kids last week of school so they will spend half the time with Nanny and Papa, and the other half with Grandma and Grandpa. This trip came about pretty suddenly, actually Nate sort of tricked me/ pressured me into going all in a matter of minutes. You know how much I love to fly, so he caught me before I could make any of the numerous excuses that I normally make. ( sigh!) We had to use some tickets before they expired in June, and he has a meeting in LA on Monday, so we are combining that with a visit to Nate's sister Tammy who lives outside LA. We will be staying with her for most of the trip. I am excited about that, she is an animal trainer and so their facilities are host to some neat animals. I am getting a little excited about the prospect, but I had the Dr. prescribe me some anti-anxiety meds as a crutch.
In kid news, Luke scored the highest possible score that he could get on the CRCT test in reading. His teacher was so excited she called me at home to tell me. Reading was his weakest subject that was why I had him in 2nd instead of 3rd grade and even then he was still reading on a first grade level. He worked so hard and diligently this past year, I am very proud of him.
Evan scored incredibly well all the way around, and was awarded with several advanced reader certificates. His teacher said that he tested the highest of all 4th graders on one particular test. He has had a very good year as well.
Dania did not pass the CRCT even though Math was the only subject they required her to take. She is still terribly behind, she is going to have to make giant leaps over the summer, otherwise they want to keep her in the first grade. Academically they are absolutely correct, she is more like a kindergartner. She is missing some basic fundementals, socially however, I am concerned about her turning 9 next May and still being in the 1st grade. If she were to continue in school she would turn 13 in the 5th grade. Well, I have time to consider what to do, and work with her this summer. I may get a ESOL tutor to help her out. She is exploding with her language, and we have had many funny moments with her. The other day she was running out the door with no shoes and I yelled,"don't go out with your barefeet." She stopped in the doorway and turned around with an incredulous look on her face and said, "me no have bear feet, me feet no look like bear" then she crumbled in hysterical laughter. A few days ago Luke was sticking his feet in her face and she said, "take that out, I can see the stink," The boys thought that was so funny, they mocked her all day about "seeing the stink."
Austin is doing fabulous all the way around. He is definitely a teenager now. His mouth has been some trouble, he tends to back talk now and then. The wonderful thing is that he is so quick to receive instruction. He is a great help around the house, and always asks if he can help me do anything. He is riding his dirt bike like a professional maniac and even treated Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Warren and his poor mother to a pretty terrific crash on Mothers Day. He survived with only a black eye, and we survived watching it happen right before our eyes.
In kid news, Luke scored the highest possible score that he could get on the CRCT test in reading. His teacher was so excited she called me at home to tell me. Reading was his weakest subject that was why I had him in 2nd instead of 3rd grade and even then he was still reading on a first grade level. He worked so hard and diligently this past year, I am very proud of him.
Evan scored incredibly well all the way around, and was awarded with several advanced reader certificates. His teacher said that he tested the highest of all 4th graders on one particular test. He has had a very good year as well.
Dania did not pass the CRCT even though Math was the only subject they required her to take. She is still terribly behind, she is going to have to make giant leaps over the summer, otherwise they want to keep her in the first grade. Academically they are absolutely correct, she is more like a kindergartner. She is missing some basic fundementals, socially however, I am concerned about her turning 9 next May and still being in the 1st grade. If she were to continue in school she would turn 13 in the 5th grade. Well, I have time to consider what to do, and work with her this summer. I may get a ESOL tutor to help her out. She is exploding with her language, and we have had many funny moments with her. The other day she was running out the door with no shoes and I yelled,"don't go out with your barefeet." She stopped in the doorway and turned around with an incredulous look on her face and said, "me no have bear feet, me feet no look like bear" then she crumbled in hysterical laughter. A few days ago Luke was sticking his feet in her face and she said, "take that out, I can see the stink," The boys thought that was so funny, they mocked her all day about "seeing the stink."
Austin is doing fabulous all the way around. He is definitely a teenager now. His mouth has been some trouble, he tends to back talk now and then. The wonderful thing is that he is so quick to receive instruction. He is a great help around the house, and always asks if he can help me do anything. He is riding his dirt bike like a professional maniac and even treated Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Warren and his poor mother to a pretty terrific crash on Mothers Day. He survived with only a black eye, and we survived watching it happen right before our eyes.
Friday, May 07, 2010
Dania's big day.
Last Sunday, May 2nd Dania turned 8. No child in the history of the world could have been more excited about her birthday. I think that she had been home 3 weeks when the realization hit her that she would finally be able to have a party for her birthday. From what I have gathered from her (which is a lot) she had never celebrated her birthday. She wanted to have a pink dress to wear to her party, and she wanted a pink cake with flowers on it. Since she does not play with toys much at all, Nate and I gave her a gorgeous pink dress with tulle and embroidered flowers on it. She got it first thing in the morning so that she could wear it to church as well. The dress was one of those $50 dresses in Belks that had been marked down 75%, so we were able to snag it for $12. Her other gift from us was a trip to Walmart to get her ears pierced. She picked out tiny pink crystal earrings that look good on her tiny little ears. She was given other outfits, shoes, jewelry, a bathing suit and umbrella. She was in hog heaven and had all of her outfits planned out for the next day at school.
Birthday parties are pretty torturous for me. I just don't like them, and when you have a large family it seems that there is always one. This time though it was so nice to do this for her, she was so appreciative of it, and you could not help but be excited for her sake. She is a dear, sweet child who has captured our hearts. She is all girl, for the good and the bad of what that entails, and she has a family that loves her. I am so happy for her.
2 pages of pictures
Birthday parties are pretty torturous for me. I just don't like them, and when you have a large family it seems that there is always one. This time though it was so nice to do this for her, she was so appreciative of it, and you could not help but be excited for her sake. She is a dear, sweet child who has captured our hearts. She is all girl, for the good and the bad of what that entails, and she has a family that loves her. I am so happy for her.
2 pages of pictures
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