SeaWorld Report

I wish I could post pictures and I sure hope my memory card is big enough to hold many more pictures.  There is a Best Buy not too far from here, but I'd still have to take a taxi and pay more than I'd like for something I have 30 of at home.  I asked a few guests and the front desk, but nobody seems to have a USB cord.  Shucks.

SeaWorld was fabulous!  I really enjoyed the Shamu show.  I have been whale watching a few times, but never seen an orca close up before.  It was incredible.  We had the best seats in the place....in the exact middle, right up front.  When the whales came out of the water and landed on the platform, they were right next to us.  Incredible!  We were in the "soak zone" but we didn't get wet.  We were in a pocket that the whales missed when they splashed the audience.

It wouldn't have mattered if we had gotten wet because we were already soaked from an amusement ride that took us under a waterfall.  Rachel really wanted to go on the ride and as soon as we got on she started shouting, "Get me off!  I want out of here!"  Silly girl.  She got really mad at me when she got soaked.  Sheesh....it wasn't my fault!  All afternoon I listened to her complain about being wet.

We lost Erin Joy's jacket someplace.  It was a really nice denim, Strawberry Shortcake jacket that she really liked (thanks for hand-me-down clothes Aunt Erin....sorry we lost it and can't pass it down to you cousin Mallory).  We were very wet and cold.  Erin Joy wore my jacket so I was VERY wet and cold.  I thought about buying a jacket there, but then I saw the prices and decided to tough it out.

We also loved the sea lion/seal show.  It was very humorous.  We had front row seats for that one too...right in the "soak zone" and we did get a little wet.  The sea lions don't splash nearly as far as orcas so it wasn't a big deal.  Rachel was chosen to be a volunteer and I got great pictures...you can just imagine.

I spent $6.00 for a few sardines that the girls threw to the seals.  We were in line to feed the dolphins, but Rachel started complaining about the chirps the dolphins were making and didn't want to do it.  Erin Joy had to go to the bathroom so we gave up on feeding the dolphins and I saved $6.00.

We missed the dolphin show.  We had just enough time to either go to the dolphin show or go to the Sesame Street "Bay of Play."  Guess what the girls voted for.  I was out voted.  They went on silly little rides similar to the ones we went on at Disneyland on Monday.  Erin Joy especially enjoyed Elmo's flying fish and Rachel loved Abby's sea star spin (just like the teacup ride).  We also enjoyed a fabulous Sesame Street show.  I'm sure the dolphin show was fabulous, but watching my girls play was great too.

I really enjoyed the bus ride to San Diego because our bus driver talked about the area and even got off the freeway for a quick drive around an old mission that my father would have loved.  It was built in 1776 and is now in ruins because of an earthquake in the 1800s.  It was very interesting and I took pictures through the bus window.  My dad has probably already been there, but the pictures are for him just in case.  He likes stuff like that and I had to admit it, but the older I get, the more like my father I am becoming....

I learned the origin of the name "Orange County."  It was originally "Bean County" because beans are the leading crop here.  Walt Disney felt that people wouldn't want to come to Disneyland if it was in Bean County so he started a petition to have the name changed to either Orange, Lemon, or Olive.  Orange won.  I'm very glad orange won because our hotel has orange scented everything.  I am really enjoying my orange scented shampoo and lotion.  It would be terrible if it were bean scented.

That's enough of a report.  We are off to Disneyland.  The girls are dressed and ready to go and telling me to hurry.  I'm ready to go back to bed.  I am tired and I have a sunburn.  Crazy.  I don't think I've ever had a sunburn in December.  I have been careful to put sunscreen on Erin Joy's birthmark, but I have neglected Rachel and myself.  Ooops....I guess we need sunscreen too.  I wonder if it is still snowing at our house?  I wonder if we still have 2 feet of slush preventing trash pickup and mail delivery?  Actually, I don't really care....I'm having too much fun.  

The Happiest Place on Earth And....

...we are happy, but very exhausted.  We left early this morning when only nocturnal animals are awake.  My girls were too excited to sleep on the plane even though I tried several times to get them to try to sleep.  They were so excited that they wouldn't let me sleep either.  Grrr....

We got to our hotel too early to check in, so we left our bags and went to Disneyland.  We stood in a lot of lines, but the girls didn't mind as much as I did.  We went to the "Fantasyland" part of Disneyland today to get it out of the way.  These are the rides my girls have really wanted to go on (the tea cup ride being the one they have talked about the most).  They loved the teacups and were brave enough to go without me (I don't like going around and around).  They also enjoyed Flying Dumbo, the carousel, and other such rides.  We all enjoyed "It's a Small World" which they have redone with a holiday theme.   We saw Mickey Mouse today and that was a highlight too.  Now we can go to areas that I am interested in...Splash Mountain here we come! 

It is so HOT here!  My girls even complained about the heat a couple of times.  We have the air conditioning on in our room.  It feels really strange to go from feet of snow and slush to heat.  

Rachel said, "It is 2,000 degrees out here."  She was close....

We went back to our hotel armed with McDonald's take out.  This hotel has an amazing swim area and we swam for a few hours in the beautiful sunshine after eating.  Since I can't download pictures at the moment, click here to see pictures of our great swimming area. 

We were planning on going back to Disneyland tonight to see the parade and fireworks, but we are so tired that I think we will just watch a little TV and go to bed.

I forgot my USB cord to download pictures.  I am so mad at myself.  The only reason I brought my laptop was so I could download pictures and write about our adventures.  I was going to download a couple of my favorite pictures each day.  Imagine a picture of my girls wearing princess Mickey Mouse ears standing by the castle.  That is today's picture.

I'll probably just wait to write about our adventures when we get back.  It's boring without the pictures.  I hope my memory card holds lots of pictures.  Maybe I'll borrow a USB cord or buy one or something.  I took 70 pictures today.  Maybe I'll just delete pictures....

On to SeaWorld tomorrow!

  

Guess Where We Will Be Tomorrow!!!!

The roads in our neighborhood are awful. They are covered with icy slush. The mail carrier hasn't even ventured into our neighborhood since before Christmas. I'm glad my car is parked at the top of the hill.

Pulling our luggage up the hill in a sled added to our adventures.

Nothing but sun in the forecast for Southern California!!!

Weather Report

It snowed Christmas Eve turning to slushy snow/rain by night.  It was snowing again Christmas morning.  It was actually beautiful:  big flakes, no wind, calm, and peaceful. I am hoping the forecast is right and it continues to warm up and turns to rain by the weekend.  

My road is a mess.  All the compact snow and ice has turned to a slushy mess about 14 inches deep. Notice the last picture of the picnic table that I took today.  It is melting...weird because it continues to fall....it just melts as it falls because the temperature is finally above freezing.

We haven't lost power since the 23rd, but it has flickered and dimmed a few times.

The governor has declared a state of emergency for most of Washington because of the heavy snowfall.  Strange.  I bet Idaho or Alaska never declares a state of emergency because of snowfall.  We just aren't used to it.  If somebody would just plow my road, I'd be a lot happier.

I am trying to ignore the possible flooding that might occur when all this snow begins to melt.  Click here for an article about the state of emergency and possible flooding.

The current state of my road:

The ice and snow is turning to slippery slush:

Notice the tracks going off the road on the right....

A vehicle ended up coming within inches of my garbage can and recycling bin and my yard:

The picnic table...it's starting to melt!!!

Christmas Report

Santa found us! He is used to a lot of snow. The girls went to sleep surprisingly fast, however, Rachel woke up at 2:00 and wanted to open presents. She was told to go back to sleep, but she didn't sleep very well. Finally at 5:30, she woke Erin Joy up and they started in on the presents. They were done unwrapping before 7:00. They got what they wanted and more. They each got a journal, scrapbook kit, photo album, and cameras for Disneyland. Their Aunt Sue gave them (and me) spending money for souvenirs at Disneyland.  They had a lot of fun with Littlest Petshop toys, High School Musical Twister game, Cinderella Enchanted Slipper game, sewing and cooking, and riding scooter around the house.

I got what I wanted too! Santa brought me a panda Webkinz, Kung Fu Panda movie, and a jar of Almond Roca (I ate the whole thing today...sheesh...)

I think I have accomplished nothing today but clean up after Santa, sleep on the couch, play a little bit with my girls, and play with my Webkinz on the computer. I had good intentions of scrapbooking, but that never happened.

I thought I'd blog while the girls play in the bath tub with their bath foam and bath fizzes that Santa brought them. They each used their whole can of bath foam. Oh well....it's Christmas. They are excited to try their Hello Kitty hair dryer after their bath. I have never owned a hair dryer because I have natural curly hair and I'd look like a frizz head if I blew it dry. Rachel has felt neglected because she doesn't have a blow dryer and was so excited that Santa brought her one.

We hope you all had a great Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

I saw this on my aunt and uncle's blog and I had to copy (changing the pictures of course....)

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Lucky 13

I am so grateful to have a good friend who offered to drive us to Seattle in his four wheel drive vehicle for Erin Joy's 13th and FINAL laser treatment (she will need treatments every 3-5 years, but years is so much better than every 2-3 months).  He is my home teacher.  The best home teacher I have ever had and I really appreciate it!  I really wanted to keep this appointment because I have already paid the insurance deductible for 2008 and I would have to pay it again in January if the surgery had to be rescheduled. 

He not only drove us to Seattle, but he and his wonderful son played with Rachel all morning while I was with Erin Joy.  They played and he bought her breakfast at the hospital cafeteria and toys at the gift shop.

The freeway wasn't bad at all, but the residential roads were still pretty icy and snow packed...especially in my own neighborhood.  I was very grateful he drove.  I really don't know if I could have made it in my car.  I didn't want to find out....

It was fun to get out of the house...even if it was a trip to the hospital.  This is the first laser appointment I have actually really looked forward to.  Not only is it the last treatment, it was a great excuse to get out of the house.

Erin Joy was doing fine after surgery so we went to one of our favorite places for hot and sour soup and Chinese food.  I ordered a bunch of take out so we can eat it for Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas and probably the rest of this week.  Who needs ham and turkey??  We like Chinese food in our house!

When we got home, the power went out.  AGAIN.  I'm getting tired of this.  It was out for a couple of hours so I decided it was time to find a flashlight.  (Generally, it goes out and comes back on within five minutes or so). 

I then became frustrated because I couldn't find a flashlight (we have several....)  I was cross with my girls because they have been playing with them.  "You need to keep them on the table so we can find them when it gets dark," I said very firmly to them.  I was too angry with them and they were upset.  Rachel sat down and started to pray that the power would come back on and her mommy wouldn't be so mad.  Erin Joy joined her simple prayer.  Almost immediately, the power came back on.  Some might think it was a coincidence because our power has been going on and off for a week now, but I think it was the simple faith of my girls that restored power.  

They are both playing happily and eating chips.  I need to finish this blog entry, take the chips away, and feed them some real food.  We can have something warm for dinner tonight because we have electricity!  All is well.

We were up bright and early for Erin Joy's laser treatment.  (Notice how much lighter her birthmark is now!)

Erin Joy watched a lot of cartoons while waiting a very long time for her turn.

Good night, sweet angel!

Having lunch with their good buddy, Marshall:

Recovering nicely while playing Littlest Petshop. 

 The girls like to hang them upside down from the table and pretend they are bats (they are magnetic).  Erin Joy is a little bruised and a little swollen, but not bad.  She doesn't have any black spots or blisters.  It was successful!  

Picnic Table

Sunday (the 13th):

Wednesday:

Thursday:

Friday:

Sunday (the 21st):

Monday (today):

I have taken a lot of picnic table pictures this week.  It is interesting to see the difference between the depth of snow last weekend compared to now. Taking pictures of picnic tables is what happens right before a person loses his/her mind after being trapped inside the house too long!

Snowed In For Far Too Long

Church was cancelled yesterday.  In fact, our whole stake (in case you know what that means...) didn't have church.  For two weeks in a row, we have had no church.  I really, really, really miss going to church...especially this time of year.  We missed our Christmas program and missed hearing my girls sing.  I was disappointed about missing the Messiah sing-a-long.  I LOVE the Messiah and I have been singing along with the CD since Halloween.  It's been hard for me to focus on the real meaning of Christmas when I've trapped in my house.

The girls have no interest in playing in the snow any more.  It is just too deep and too cold.  We have over two feet of snow.  We are trying to stay warm in our house where the power keeps going on and off.  It was off last night and came on this morning.  This is the third morning we have been welcomed by no electricity and a cold house.  During the day, the power goes on and off.  I haven't bothered to fix the blinking clocks because I know the power will go off again soon.

Thank goodness the longest we have been without power was 12 hours.  I remember being without power for 6 days two years ago and it was miserable.  The only difference two years ago was that I was able to drive to a neighboring town with electricity and get a motel room.

I love electricity.  I was so excited to do the laundry when the power came on this morning.  I really love heat.  I really love Christmas lights and music.  I love to cross stitch with the lights on.  I tried to cross stitch by candlelight this morning and it was very hard.

Being forced to stay home has hidden blessings.  My girls have played together so nicely.  We have enjoyed family card games, tickle monster games, Polly Pockets, sledding, etc.  It has been like forced bonding time.  We have bonded nicely this past week.

When we woke up to no electricity on Sunday, I told the girls that we wouldn't miss the heat because we could bundle up.  I told them how fun it would be to wear gloves and hats in the house.  I told them we wouldn't miss our microwave because we could have yummy tuna sandwiches.  The only thing I was really missing was the Christmas music.  I told the girls we had to sing Christmas songs because the CD player wouldn't work without electricity.  We sang a bunch of carols then ended up getting silly and changing the lyrics to familiar carols.

Here is the result of one of our silly songs:

Prepared

I was finally able to get the car out today.  The girls and I shoveled enough snow out of the way (the girls helped with their plastic shovels) to get the car out of the driveway.  I was able to back down the hill enough to get going fast enough to slip and slide up the hill.  The hill scares me because it curves with nothing but a cliff of blackberries on one side.  I have slid off the side before on icy roads.  I made it up the hill today on the first try while my girls watched from a safe distance on the porch.  Phew!  

It feels so good to have the car out of my driveway and parked safely on top of the hill ready to go.  I have not liked being stuck in the house feeling stranded.  Now, I feel free to escape to Arizona or somewhere warm...

After getting the car out, we were able to inch our way to town and get chains for the tires.  We also went to the very crowded grocery store and picked up necessary supplies (like chips, salsa, and Oreos) to prepare for power outages when our "blizzard" will hit sometime tonight.  We are supposed to get 8-10 inches of snow (on top of the 25 inches already in my driveway), wind with gusts up to 90 miles an hour, and cold temperatures.  It was -3 degrees this morning.  I don't think it can get any colder than that.  I have never seen it this cold and this snowy.  Apparently, it hasn't been since 1950.  Actually, by tomorrow afternoon the temperature is supposed to be warmer and the snow is supposed to turn to freezing rain.  I'm not sure what is worse....snow or freezing rain.  We'll see.  

Now that I have chains, I'm pretty confident that we can make it to Children's Hospital in Seattle on Tuesday and to the airport on the 29th.  We should be good.  I just really hope the power doesn't go out.

Ready for Vacation!!!

Let Christmas vacation begin!!!  It seems like it started a week ago with all the snow and no school.  Although I am very tired of being stuck in the house, it will be a white Christmas this year!

We are sleeping under the tree tonight.  It's our tradition to sleep under the tree the first night of Christmas vacation....Bella the cat joined us.  I just pretended to sleep under the tree.  Now that they are asleep, I'm finding a soft bed.  Old age...

Tired of Snow Pictures??

It actually isn't snowing today.  The snow is supposed to return soon and continue for eternity.  It will be a white Christmas for sure. 

Very deep snow:

Trudging to the river:

Walking in a winter wonderland

Picnic table with even more snow than yesterday:

The garbage man didn't come on his regular day.  I didn't think he would.  I'll just leave the garbage out until he can make it.  Maybe he'll pick it up in May?

My mailbox is frozen shut.  I'm not sure if there is mail in there or not....

Let There Be Light

We have been without electricity since yesterday afternoon.  Our power came back on this morning, but my neighbors are still without.  It is really weird.  I am the only one on my street with electricity.  I'm feeling very guilty, but very grateful.  It is too cold to be without power.  I'll invite all my neighbors over....

It is 9* right now.  Definitely too cold for me.  It is supposed to be sunny, but cold today and tomorrow and then ANOTHER storm will be here.  This time, not only will there be snow and cold, but there will be wind.  I probably won't have power.  The tree loaded with snow that is hanging over my neighbor's roof will probably fall on the roof with a little wind.  I hope not...

Definitely stuck here until at least Christmas when the snow is supposed to turn to rain.  It is then supposed to snow AGAIN the weekend after Christmas.  

I'm really tired of being stuck in my house, but I'm so grateful to have power.  I am so sorry that my neighbors are without.

I Don't Even Own a Snow Shovel

There is too much snow to play in.  I can't believe we still have electricity.  I trudged out in the snow to take pictures this morning and the snow was up to my knees.  We live in between two towns...one with 23" of snow and one with 6" of snow.  We have something in between.  There is too much snow to play in (according to my standards).  My girls don't even have snow boots.  I don't either.  The snow is higher than their rain boots and they would get full of snow quickly.  I'd probably lose a child in a snow drift.  Maybe if we were penguins or something....

I live in the Pacific Northwest where the winters are mild.  We usually get snow once or twice and it usually melts fast.  I have never seen snow like this since my childhood in Idaho.  This is NOT Idaho.  This is NOT Alaska.  Where is our mild winter?  Global warming come our way! (Actually, somebody told me that global warming would make our area colder because of the ice caps melting and bringing Arctic jet streams our way...they were probably right...)

It doesn't look like the snow will be leaving any time soon.  We will probably miss seeing Santa fly in by helicopter at the Museum of Flight in Seattle.  We will probably miss Winterfest and riding the holiday carousel.  We will probably miss seeing the lights at the botanical gardens in Bellevue.  We will probably miss the zoo lights.

Erin Joy is supposed to have a laser treatment at Children's Hospital on the 23rd.  I wonder if we can get out of our driveway by the 23rd.  We better be able to get out of our driveway by the 29th.  We have an appointment with Mickey Mouse in Disneyland!  It's not snowing there, but they sure have had a lot of rain.  It had better be sunny when we go!

Santa's reindeer practiced flying in the snow last night.  He left a gift for my girls.  He left a tea set that they can paint.  Hopefully, that will provide a little distraction and give them something to do.  They were so good being cooped up yesterday, but I know I'm pushing my luck to keep them entertained for much longer.

Another day with no school means more days to make up this summer.  Another day with no school means our science experiment snowflake crystals are growing out of control in my classroom.  Another day with no school means no fourth grade craft exchange.  Another day with no school means no gingerbread houses with our first grade buddies (Rachel's class).  I really would rather be in school that looking out my window....stuck in the house....

It is still snowing with no end in sight.  I have plenty of groceries so we are set.  Hopefully, the power doesn't go out.  Hopefully, my girls don't get cabin fever.  I have cabin fever.....I'm ready for spring.  Is winter over yet?

Opening an early gift from Santa:

Painting a tea set:

Rachel was mad at me for taking her picture because her tea set wasn't finished yet.

Snow last night on my red Japanese Maple Tree:

Snow this morning on my green Japanese Maple:

A tree--more like a big bush--heavy with snow fell on my swinging bench (just the corner of the bench so no damage done, but I'll have to borrow my neighbor's chainsaw to take care of it when the snow is gone).

Picnic table on Sunday:

Picnic table this morning:

Beautiful river across the street from my house:

Icicles on the river bank:

I've Always Wanted to go to Alaska....

...but I never thought Alaska would come to me.  We were dumped on with a bunch of snow...eight inches according to my ruler.  It is supposed to continue snowing.  School was cancelled today and I'd be surprised if we had school tomorrow.  Snow days are fun as long as the power isn't out.  It's a day with nothing planned and it seems as if the whole world stops because nobody can get out of their driveways.  It's a free day to sleep, play, and relax.  Unfortunately, every day we miss now, we have to make up in June.  Shucks.

The girls played nicely all morning.  I'm not kidding.  I did the laundry, dishes, and then played Webkinz on the computer.  I sure hope Santa brings me my own Webkinz so I don't have to play on my kids' accounts :)

I thought I would just wait until they started arguing and then we would go outside and play.  They never argued.  I just got bored.  I had to convince them to go outside with me because they were having so much fun.

We had fun sledding at the lake by our house.  The girls then began a new game...throw snowballs at Mom and try to hit the camera.  They were successful.  It fogged the lens up.  Thank goodness the lens was fine after going home. The girls are now playing nicely in the bathtub. 

Playing without fighting all day??  Can it be true??  I think I'm dreaming.....

 I have enough pictures to make another movie but I won't bore you again.  Here are a few of my favorite pictures from today's adventures in the snow:

My girls being pulled up the road...notice it isn't plowed...it will never be plowed...I don't think anybody owns a plow....

Snow covered lake near our home:

Ready for sledding:

FUN TIMES!

Pull Rachel, Pull!

Trying to hit the camera with snowballs:

Foggy lens....

Warming up and playing nicely in the tub: