Pumpkin Patch, Stu Miller

We went back to Stu Miller's last night, for the rides. This time, Hannah, David, and Madison got to come. I don't have a camera anymore, so I'm only able to get a few shots with a cheap camera I have from work. Heather got a lot more pictures.

David and Katie, posing with the hay

 

They liked using the dried corn to chase and tickle each other

 David was playing with Hannah

 She looked so cute

 Katie on the bunjee jumping ride

 David on the bunjee

 whoo hoo

 Hannah on the bunjee

 Katie was mad because she couldn't throw the pumpkins around like balls.

San Antonio, Texas. Graduation and Marriage

We went to San Antonio to see Thomas graduate from the Air Force. He's officially an Airman now.  The base was not as nice as Fort Jackson, but we had a good time. Thomas was overjoyed to see Sammy. He cried when he held him for the first time. Sammy seemed to take to him right away.

 Mary and I went to this little town with Blake. I think it's called Gruene. The Guadalupe River runs through it's backyard.

 They had antique stores and a little outdoor boutique. This woman was trying to sell me an energy bracelet. It really did seem to work, but I didn't want to spend $32 on it.

 This is what I expected to see in Texas, but San Antonio was very much like L.A.

 the Natural Ridge Caverns had beautiful grounds. The trees were stunning. The cave itself, was hot and humid inside.

 The Alamo SUCKS

 Although, I did like this door leading into it.

 This was part of the San Antonio River Walk. It's a marriage island. It's supposed to be good luck if you are proposed to here. The bench has a carved heart in it. Apparently, several weddings take place here each year.

 Where we ate.

 Blake got this Gelato, and they guy burned us. $17.60 for 2 scoops.

 It's official!



My New Bike

I got a new bike from a yard sale for $50 and I totally LOVE IT. It's very comfortable and rides perfectly.  So smooth and comfy.  I love the basket. I'm not really a fan of purple, but it's a cute bike. I've been wanting one for several months but didn't want to spend a lot of money on it, so I am thrilled with this one.

So far, in the past 3 days I've rode it 30 miles.  About 10 miles per day. All I need now is a bell.

:)

David

David, going down mud pit at Adventure Playground in Huntington Beach. He had a blast today.

David adventure playground

David, on the rope bridge at Adventure Playground, Huntington Beach, CA

4th of July 2010

For the 4th this year, we stayed local.  Everyone was broke and we just wanted to do something small.  We had a barbecue at my mom's house. I brought Grilled corn on the cob, Macaroni & cheese, Pineapple and marinated chicken breast.  My mom made hot dogs and steaks.  The kids had a blast in a small pool Mary and I got for $5 at a yard sale.  They played in it all day. 

David was here for the end of June and first week of July.  He was scheduled to go back to Korea the next day.  I wanted to get a picture of him and Katie together, with the flag in the background. I think it came out cute.

We went to Heather's at night for fireworks.  David's dad and brothers were there to help them install a ceiling fan. We brought huge amounts of Rite-aid (Thrifty in my book) ice cream to share. We lit fireworks on the street.  Heather has a brick wall in the backyard that is perfect for sitting on, to watch the city fireworks.  The adults sat on the wall and watched the Fair Ground and probably Jet Hawks fire works.  They had a great view.

The girls were adorable in their dresses.  Hannah and Katie both love dressing up in dresses right now.

Even though we didn't do much this year, it was one of the best 4th of July's I've had in years. It was so relaxing and I loved watching the kids have fun.

David went to the Rose Bowl with Desiree and Thomas so it was a little sad not having them with us, but I had a great time.

Toy Story 3

What a GREAT MOVIE!!

This was such a great movie. Funny and sad and endearing. 

So glad I got to see it.

I got to sit with Katie to see it, and that made me happy, since I've hardly seen her since David has been in town.  She wore her new Jessie dress (and lots of popcorn) and looked adorable in it.  Katie said, "you look beautiful today, Grandma. I like your shirt".  She's so funny. 

I loved spending time with Katie most of all. I miss her and it makes me sad that I don't get to see her this month. I try to be understanding because I know David is leaving soon, but it still tears at my heart because I know she misses me too.

She didn't want to wear her 3D glasses, but she still watched it all. It was funny to hear the kids behind us crying when they thought the toys were in danger and wouldn't be rescued.

The Spanish Buzz was HILARIOUS and so was the Mr. Tortilla. OMG.  That cracked me up.

World of Color

The Canoes. I love the canoes

Tom Sawyer Island

World of Color

No one will be buying this off the shelf anytime soon

We went to see California Adventure's World of Color. From following Disneyland on Twitter, we knew that we had to get there early to get a fast pass, and I had called Disneyland to find out how and where to get one. California Adventure opened at 10:30, but they were opening an hour early to let people in to get fast passes. We left our house at 5:30 and got there at 7:30.  The parking didn't open til 8:00 so I got out and ran to the tram area while Desiree and Mary waited in the car to park.  I was the first one on the tram (well, me and one other person who must have stayed at the hotel).  I got the the ticket line and there were already a few people in line.  At 9:30, when the gates opened, we all made a mad rush to Grizzly Rapids to pick up our fast passes.  Desiree was behind so I grabbed her tickets to get our fast passes.  We got the blue section. World of Color has a yellow, blue, and reserved section.  The blue section is the best and puts you in the center.  The yellow section puts you off to the side.  At 6:00 we started a line.  They rope off the area at 7:30 for people with fast passes.  We had a huge line behind us and at 7:20ish, people started arriving and making their own line. Maher, a Disneyland employee, told us that we would be let in single file and that no one would go in front of us, but then, at 7:30, they opened the ropes and let everyone DASH and run in. I was so furious!  We had waited for almost 2 hours, to have people who had just arrived, cut in front of us.  We still got good spots. The very front is the best spot, but you will get WET there.  The water shoots really high, and as it drops, it rains on you.  I was happy with the spots we got, 2nd tier, dead center.  We got misted, but not as wet.

The show itself was AWESOME!  They played clips of all the Disney movies against the colorful water spouts and songs.  Typical Disney fashion, they showed villians and heros. Fire lit up the sky during a few battles.

Everyone was quiet as the show went on. It was so beautiful.

The show played up high, so really, you could see it well, at any point, except if you were one of the unlucky people who stood behind someone with a kid on their shoulders. Note to parents, at shows, please don't put your kid on your shoulders. It's very rude and uh...annoying.  Notice the 8 foot kid just below Mickey in the picture above.

The lines were really short for most of the day at Disneyland and California Adventure.

We had a rare sighting of Rabbit, and David got a picture with him and Tigger

Tom Sawyer Island is open again. It was David's first time on the island, and he LOVED it. His favorite was the tree house. He went up and down it.

This is a jungle gym type thing, made of "dead man's bones" on Tom Sawyer Island. The canoes were open too, and those were fun to go on. 

The rapids were fun. I usually am never able to go on them because Heather and Katie don't like getting wet. I love the rapids.

The day was a blast. No lines, mild temperature, and relaxing. My only disappointment was not getting a "tigger tail" treat from the bakery, but after seeing the pictures of me, I didn't need it.  UGH.

Katie's 3rd Birthday Invitation

We have been so busy with Heather's house and things that we are way behind on Katie's birthday preparations. I got the invitations today and I guess we're going with a Cinderella theme.  I have a couple of cute ideas for the party and I hope they work out. It's next week already!

California Poppy Reserves, 2010

I took Katie to the Poppies yesterday, to take pictures and get out for the day.  The poppies are beautiful this year. Really vibrant.

Last year we were able to find a bunch of sheep grazing. This year, I didn't see the sheep, but we did run into a bunch of rusted old farm equipment.  I wish I had a cowboy hat. I feel like that's all that's missing from the photo below.  She looks like a little cowgirl, and a cowboy hat in her hand would have been perfect.

It was extremely windy up there, so after a bit of frustrating hair in the face, I had to pull it back and put it in a messy ponytail (click on the landscape pictures to see them bigger).

I love this one of her.

She liked playing in the tractor because it had an old spring cushion (minus the cushion) and she kept bouncing on it, saying, "boing, boing"

She looks like a little lady being invited to a ball here.  She's such a princess

While at the same time, being a child of the corn. LOL. She kept pulling out the grass saying, "corn! corn!"

I thought this tree was funny because it looked like a hand in the peace sign. I tried to get Katie to do the peace sign, but she didn't get it and she kept putting up her index and thumb instead (double click on picture to enlarge)