We're "This Many"

When Danielle came to visit a few weeks ago with her daughter, she would tell everyone that she was "this many" and hold up 3 fingers. So, on the way to my birthday lunch, the 4 of us: me, Danielle, Jimmy and TG, were in the car together and I told everyone to hold up all of their fingers and that was "how many" I was. TG thought that was so funny, that was A LOT of fingers to be!
We had a great time in S. California celebrating Danielle's 40th. The weather cooperated and cooled off nicely after the sun set. She had a fun band, the most delicious birthday cake, and I saw a couple of friends from high school that I haven't seen since TG's baby shower.

On another note, I went to the foot doctor the morning we left. He took an xray that showed something suspicious between the 3rd and 4th metatarsal, and after getting a CATscan, it turns out that I have torn several ligaments and have very bad sprain. I have to wear a removable cast for the next few weeks. But now my foot hurts more than it did, in places that never hurt before. Which doesn't make me want to wear it. And since it's removable, it's easy to talk myself into taking it off. But everyone around me makes sure that I wear it. I suck at self-discipline. It all comes back to my lack of fortitude.

Despite hobbling around S. California for 2 days, we had a good time. We spent Saturday morning and afternoon with Lauree, Jimmy's sister, her husband Jim, and Eric, Jimmy's brother.
On the way home, we had dinner in Solvang.Solvang is a cute little town that was settled by a group of Danish educators in 1911. It was the first time Jimmy and I had gone to Solvang together. All the shops and bakeries were closed, but we found a little restaurant, and dined on Danish meatballs, sausage and red cabbage outside on their patio. I have to admit the atmosphere was far superior over the food, but it was great being in a part of California that we hadn't seen together.

Today, Sunday, we are relaxing at home. We intended on going to the hideaway, but with this gimpy leg of mine, I'm far to lazy to make another trip away from homebase. Not to mention that 2 1/2 more hours in the car, after 7 hours yesterday, doesn't sound very appealing. So the remaining of my Sunday will be spent either clicking a remote or clicking a mouse.

Home sweet home!
_

Rounding off the celebrations

Saturday was the final installment of my birthday celebrations. It was a combined birthday party with Jimmy, since he turns 40 in less than 2 weeks. All in all, I think I had 6 different events celebrating my notorious 40th.

The first was in May when my cousin from Seattle came for a week to visit with her family. They're shy, otherwise I'd post pic.

The day before my birthday, I went to fondue with Danielle and her sweet little girl. bad photographer (that'd be me) should have moved those water glasses.

The day of my birthday, we went to Benihana.

A week-long combined celebration at the hideaway with family and friends.

A mini GTG (get-together) at the Old Spaghetti Factory with the Yuens and Brewers because they couldn't make it to...

A dinner party for both of us at our favorite Mexican restaurant with the Bowens, Chanceys, Phin, Madmax, the Parentals and my youngest SIL.

That's a whole lotta cake and/or ice cream consumed, not to mention great food!

But the birthday celebrations aren't quite over yet. For me, yes. But Danielle and Jimmy's birthdays are the 13th and 14th. We are going to Southern California this weekend to celebrate Danielle's. Then we'll celebrate Jimmy's with the parentals on his actual day.

Hurray! More cake and/or ice cream! Must keep moving more than consuming though.

Not a bad way to start off a new decade, is it?
_

Spiderman

Can a climber resist climbing a chimney of rocks? Probably not, especially when his buddy is encouraging him.
If you build it, they will come.
_

The Girls

The girls came up with Steve (my BIL) and family for the week of Camp Retz. They were a lot of fun, helped out with the boys, and were very adventurous, too!
Day one on the tubes, Elton can't stop grinning.

Within a few minutes, she standing on the moving floatie...almost like surfing!

Her big sister, EllyMae takes her turn.

And of course, she's standing within a few minutes, too.

Back on shore, the adventurous girls do a bit of cliff jumping.

I have to admit, I was biting my nails from afar. But Steve was in the water spotting for them, making sure they were jumping into water that was deep enough.

All 5 kids and Steve in his boat.

Elton was able to kneeboard on her first try, too, just like my oldest nephew.

The two sisters striking a pose, just before they tried to knock each other off the floatie.

And ending the day with smores on the deck, all 5 kids on a sugar high, just before bedtime.

Jimmy called them "Elton" and "EllyMae" all week, which is perfect since I don't like using kids real names on my blog.
_

This girl

Is coming to visit today! Can't wait to see her and her sweet daughter!

We've been friends since the 9th grade. She was my maid of honor. She's seen the bad and the good. She held me when I was at my weakest. And she'll be here to celebrate my 40th birthday on Friday!

Check these old photos:
1984 baby. The last few days of our sophomore year.

What were you doing in 1984?
_

Girl Cracks Me Up Like

Monica and I instant message every day. She always cracks me up where I am literally laughing out loud. We have our own IM language and carry on full conversations just with smileys.
Photo is from last fall when her and her family came to our hideaway for a few days.
_

May Flowers

“But friendship is the breathing rose, with sweets in every fold.” - Oliver Wendell Holmes

Happy Birthday to my dear friend, Monica.
_

Legoland highlights - Day 4

On our last day we went to Legoland in Carlsbad, near San Diego. I've never been so it was nice exploring new territory. Although I admit that it was most fun for me to see the kids enjoying themselves so much.This Lego tourist dude was right at the entrance. If it had been a little more feminine, it could have been me with all those cameras!

Photo opportunities galore! This lego great white enjoys his Alaskan meal.

Lifesize Cross Country Volvo XC90 made out of legos. Very cool, especially since my better half drives a Volvo. And likes Legos.

Early the next morning I dropped my friends off at the airport and as they flew back to the Great White North, I drove home. I was tired and eager to see Jimmy, but spending those days with my friends will be cherished forever.
_

Hollywood Highlights - Day 3

After 2 days at Disneyland, the adults needed a little break from, as Sandy said "The Mouse". Since Sandy, "J" and "S" had never explored Los Angeles before, we decided to do the quick Los-Angeles-in-6-hours tour.

Our first stop was Grauman's Chinese Theatre and Hollywood Boulevard. This was the 1st time I'd been here even though I worked less than 2 miles from here when Jimmy and I lived in Southern California. It's just one of those places that you never visit if you live there.

So, here's a little tip if you happen to visit: If you plan on taking photos with any characters in front of the theater, be prepared to hand over your cash. It's not like Disneyland where you can take a photo with them and move along...these characters expect the cashola. The funny thing was that I thought they were a team, right? So I gave "them" a dollar, but by "them" I mean Supergirl, because Yoda said to me "But what about Yoda? Yoda needs something too."

Yep, that's Keanu Reeve's star. 'Nuf said.

Cuba Gooding was one of our classmates. So we had to take a photo w/ his star as a sort of class reunion, seeing as that was sort of a theme for the week. Too bad Loretta wasn't with us. Or Jimmy.

We also went to Rodeo Drive to do a bit of window shopping.

So I have a paparazzi story for you: We were driving down Rodeo Drive trying to find parking. Next to us was a Land Rover with the back hatch open and a couple of guys with big cameras hanging out. Traffic moved forward and so did I. But the Land Rover stayed put, and so did the Bentley behind me. Neither one would budge till eventually the Land Rover had to move because of all the honking cars behind it. Minutes earlier we were just joking about paparazzi and there they were. But we have no idea who was in that Bentley behind us. We did, however, see Dee Snyder of Twisted Sister on Melrose Ave.


A visit to California wouldn't be complete without a trip to the beach, especially for Alaskans who still had snow on the ground. So we went to Santa Monica Pier to dip toes into the water and have dinner on the pier.

The kids even got to ride on a few rides before the end the day.

On the way back to the hotel, I accidentally drove through South Central LA. It literally looked like a scene from Boyz in the Hood. Which by the way, starred Cuba Gooding, Jr. So I gave my visiting friends both sides of Extreme Los Angeles. Rodeo Drive vs. South Central.
_

DCA Highlights - Day 2

DCA stands for Disney's California Adventure, Disney's other theme park next to Disneyland. Its theme recreates California landmarks, culture and such. We spent most of the day here, till 8 or 9pm when we went back to Disneyland for a few last rides on the kids favorites.Even Minnie Mouse wears the casual California attire.

These are 3 old friends. We've known each other since the 4th or 5th grade. We weren't just friends in school, we hung out after school and during the long, hot desert summer months. Linda and Loretta were best friends through those formative years and maintained their friendship over the past 20+ since graduation. When Linda and I reconnected last summer, she filled me in on how Loretta's been. She lives with her family in the town where we grew up, which is about 1 1/2 hours from Disneyland. So she and her family spent the day with us at DCA. It was so good to reconnect with her and meet her family. It's just warms my heart that even after 20 years I can reconnect with these wonderful, beautiful women. I know for certain that my friendship with them, especially Linda, will continue, hopefully able to visit ever few years or so. I certainly can't imagine waiting till we're 60 (!) to see each other again. Now that would be a trip!

"J" and "S" posed in front of all of the letters that spell out CALIFORNIA. A few years ago on a Disney trip with Phin and Shan, they posed in front of all the letters with the intent of scrapbooking the photos. So I passed this little tip to Linda because coincidentally, she scrapbooks, too!

Our last ride of the night was on Space Mountain. Linda and J in the front. Loretta and her friend Deloris in the middle, and me and "S" in the 3rd row. All smiles!

Rides: Soarin' Over California, Tower of Terror, Mulholland Madness, California Screamin', Maliboomer, Orange Stinger, Sun Wheel, Tower of Terror. Then Indiana Jones and Space Mountain again at Disneyland. Note to self: Never ever again, ride on that damn ferris wheel. I actually puked a little. Roller coasters, loop de loops, fast drops? Sure, no problem! Just don't talk me into a ferris wheel where the cage freefalls around, please.
_

Disneyland highlights - Day 1

I spent 4 days in Southern California with friends from Alaska. Linda, my friend from high school, her son "J", her co-worker and friend Sandy and Sandy's "Little Sister" "S". Linda hadn't been to Disneyland since grad night 22 years ago, and it was the first time for the others.
The four of them in Toontown.

In the Buzz Lightyear ride.

On Splash Mountain.

"J" doing his pirate impression, wearing his pirate Mickey ears.

"J" with Stitch paws and a Jack Skellington hat. They boy cracks me up!

Rode on: Star Wars, Space Mountain, Matterhorn, Roger Rabbit, Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Splash Mountain, Tarzan's Tree House, Indiana Jones, Jungle Cruise, Big Thunder Mountain.
_

Where am I off to next?

Well, this one shouldn't surprise most of you.

I'm going to...
Disneyland!

Some of you may recall that last July when Jimmy and I were in Alaska for my brother-in-law's wedding, I met up with a long lost friend from high school. She has a 10 year old son and he's never been to Disneyland before so she thought this would be a great year to go. Plus, we both turn 40 this year so she thought it'd be a little extra special celebration to feel like a kid again as we head into this landmark birthday. As an added bonus, another friend from high school, who still lives in the high desert where we all grew up, will join us on Thursday. It's like a mini-reunion at the happiest place on earth.
_

Savannah's are now called Do-Si-Dos

I'm an 'auntie' before a weight watchers member.
That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!

Jimmy and I bought 5, yes 5 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies. We like to support the girl scouts, especially when we know a girl scout personally. We bought:
Thin Mints: Mint flavored cookie covered with dark chocolate. Both my and Jimmy's favorite. Who doesn't like eating a cookie and having fresh breath at the same time?
Savannahs/Do-Si-Dos: Peanut Butter Sandwich cookie. Jimmy's other favorite. He wanted 2 boxes, but when I was on the phone with Miss AB, I wasn't sure if they were the same thing. So I ordered one box of this and the other peanut butter cookie...
Tag Alongs: round cookie with a layer of peanut butter and covered with chocolate. Even though we've never had these before, I doubt we'll have any trouble whatsoever consuming a whole box of something similar to a Reese's.
All Abouts: A shortbread cookie with a layer of fudge on the bottom. We've never had these either, but shortbread and chocolate? Yum.

What are your favorite Girl Scout Cookies?
_

The Coolest Phone Call

ring. ring.

Me: Hello?
Little voice: Hello Auntie Madeline?
Me: Hi!!! Who's this?
bigger little voice: It's C.C!!
Me: Hi C.C!! Wow! Thanks for calling! Whatcha up to?
CC: I just wanted to know if there was snow in the mountains.

...well, the conversation went on for a good 4-5 minutes and pretty much all we talked about was the weather. But this brilliant boy asked about the temperature, told me about the weather at his grandpa's in Illinois, how much it's been raining in San Jose and about the power outages and trees that fell down during the storm we had a couple of weeks ago. But this was the first time I've gotten a totally unexpected phone call from one of my friends kids...just to talk about the weather! And he was so animated and full of little stories and bits of information.

I can't tell you how much it warmed my heart.

Kiddo, I love ya! You rocked my day.
_

Purple Magma Party

I've mentioned before about the group of guys who are friends and have worked together at one time or another since we moved to the Bay Area in 1993. You may recall that dot-bomb fiasco in 2000? At the time all 5 of the guys were working at the same place and all were...well...lets just say..."required to find other employment". So they formed their own contracting company called Purple Magma. A bit of a take from Austin Power's "Liquid Hot Magma". They're all working at other companies now, but since we're all friends, Purple Magma still remains a part of who we all are.

Since the company has formed, we've had 2 more marriages and 6 babies. 2 more babies are on the way soon.The youngest is 17 months, the oldest is 6 years old.

Travel back in time four years ago when Jimmy and I had a New Years Party at our house.At the time, there were only 3 babies. The oldest in the photo above is the 2 year old on the DDR mat. The babies are the twins left of center above, and are almost 5 years old.

Well, this year, we kind of kept to the xbox (360 this year) theme of interactive games. We rocked out to Rock Band.Jason and his son rock out to Nirvana's "In Bloom".

Then Baby Brewer and Chancey daughter rocked to Mountain's "Mississippi Queen".

More pics here.
_

Coal in my stocking

While I can definitely eat more than my fair share of Hershey Kisses, there's no way in tarnation that I coulda eaten all those kisses in my last post after the celebrating (ie: eating) I've been doing.

Thursday night, I went out with friends from another stamp club that I'm a member of. Only half of us were able to make it, but at least we were all able to partake in the same conversations.
We had dinner at Stacey's Cafe in Pleasanton, which is co-owned by Scott Adams the writer of the Dilbert cartoons. Not only did I finish my entrée, but I also had dessert (gasp!). I refrained from licking my plate since this was an actual cloth napkin restaurant. After I got home I made more of those Pretzel Kisses for my get-together on Friday with
The Bowen's. We had a casual dinner at their house then went out in the 45 degree weather to walk around their neighborhood and look at all the fancy lights. Do you burn more calories when your walking if you're shivering at the same time? Ok, I know some of my Northerner bloggy friends are rolling your eyes at me and my 45 degrees because I've seen your pictures and your snow and your ice but I was freezing. Maybe I should have worn a jacket. That probably would have helped. I'll make a mental note next time.
_

Christmas Party #2

The best part of this season is having a good reason to spend time with your friends and family. During the rest of the year, life just happens and despite good intentions to get together, things come up and well-intended lunches or dinners don't happen. Sure it's the busiest time of the year, but it seems like this is the time when we make the time to be with our loved ones.

Today, we were warmly welcomed at our friends, the Yuen's, home.Their tree was adorable, evident that they have a toddler in the house. All the ornaments were on the top branches. Loved it! So cute. Little J was taking her nap so we missed her in this picture.

I've mentioned before that there's a core group of programmers who are good friends and have worked with each other at one point or another. That's how Jimmy and Lun met. Several of the wives have become good friends as well. We've called ourselves The Wives Club a few times as a joke. It was pretty funny how the girls gathered together and chatted while the boys stood by the food and talked shop.
_

Tardy on a meme

2 weeks ago, I was tagged for a meme and I'm finally getting the chance to answer it. I love memes, so I was glad to be tagged and glad that I'm finally answering it. There were a lot of questions this time. Reminded me of a slambook my girlfriend and I did in the seventh grade that just went on for like 100 pages. She was my friend who's name starts with a B. These are my friends who's names start with an A and K...and W. But the meme didn't ask about her. That was 6 years ago. Oh to be in my early 30s again. LOL.

Now onto the meme, without further adieu:

1. Name one person who made you laugh last night? Jimmy decided to join the Secret Society of Bob Ross Admirer’s. Except it’s not a secret society because he proclaims his membership proudly.

2. What were you doing at 0800? Waking up.

3. What were you doing 30 minutes ago? refilling the water and realizing that the padded protection on an asian pear can resemble a yarmulke.

4. What happened to you in 2006? Became an auntie. Ate too much. Snorkeled. Took over 10,000 photos.

5. What was the last thing you said out loud? “What do you think of my yarmulke?”

6. How many beverages did you have today? 3: water, tall NF peppermint mocha no whip, diet coke.

What color is your hairbrush? wood brown

8. What was the last thing you paid for? rice crackers from Mitsuwa

9. Where were you last night? @ home working on the annual family calendar and creating a new playlist in itunes

10. What color is your front door? brown wood, kinda like my hairbrush

11. Where do you keep your change? in a handmade paper basket by our keys

12. What’s the weather like today? Sunny, 60s.

13. What’s the best ice-cream flavor? 3 way tie: Baskin Robbins chocolate chip, B&R mint chocolate chip, Ben & Jerry’s Phish food

14. What excites you? hearing good news ie: pregnancies, engagements, graduations, celebrations; unexpected kindness, surprises in the mail, wearing clothes I haven't worn in 3 years

15. Do you want to cut your hair? Not right now.

16. Are you over the age of 25? yep

17. Do you talk a lot? i don’t think so but there might be a few people who think 'dude, can she just shut up now?'

18. Do you watch the O.C.? I watched the first 2 episodes. then I was done.

19. Do you know anyone named Steven? Yes, my BIL.

20. Do you make up your own words? I call it Madelinese.

21. Are you a jealous person? Nope.

22. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘A’. Angie

23. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘K’. Kristin

24. Who’s the first person on your received call list? Jimmy

25. What does the last text message you received say? (oops) allwent well. Thanks 4 ur thoughts & prayers

26. Do you chew on your straw? nope

27. Do you have curly hair? doesn’t get much straighter than this

28. Where’s the next place you’re going to? shopping to find a Chanukah gift for the nephews

29. Who’s the rudest person in your life? most of the people in my life are very considerate. and I try to be too so I could never say the name out loud.

30. What was the last thing you ate? An Asian pear

31. Will you get married in the future? Nope

32. What’s the best movie you’ve seen in the past 2 weeks? Oy. I watched Elf on tv last weekend. And I laughed. But not as much as I did the first time I saw it.

33. Is there anyone you like right now? Yes! As a matter a fact, there is!

34. When was the last time you did the dishes? About an hour ago.

35. Are you currently depressed? Nope.

36. Did you cry today? Nope.

37. Why did you answer and post this? Because Ragged tagged me and I love meme’s.

38. Tag 5 people who would do this survey. Would Lilli, Susan, and Rosemary care to play? I don’t think my other bloggy friends who haven't already answered do meme’s, but if you do, then consider yourself tagged!
_

A moment to breathe

Today was the first day in 2 weeks that I had a moment to slow down. And it was nice. Aside from the busy holidays, there is nothing else on my plate till March. But knowing me and how my life tends to flow, some adventure will come up that I will not be able to resist.

The trip to Pismo was good. It was a weekend more of reflection and remembrances rather than a playful weekend, but it was good to be there with and for my dearest friend.
Saturday morning we took a short walk on the beach.Enjoying the warmth of the sun. Reflecting on friendships. Looking for sand dollars to bring back to her beautiful daughter.

Later in the early afternoon, we went to the Monarch Butterfly Grove with some of Danielle's other friends.Every year, thousands of Monarch butterflies flock to the California coast between October and March. The trees were filled with these beautiful butterflies.
It was a peaceful place, watching the butterflies flutter around, sometimes resting on eucalyptus branches, fanning their wings in the warm sun.

We watched the sunset from the hotel.All of nature's little details were on our side.

We left very early the following morning which gave me some time with Danielle's daughter to dance with the Wiggles and have a tea party with her Little Einstein dolls before they had to take me to the airport. Spent the next few days in Vegas with the parentals loading trucks and driving for hundreds of miles.

In just a few days, we'll celebrate Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday. Usually we travel south for the feast but this year we're staying local and all the other brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews and one cousin are coming this direction. We'll be a loud and crazy bunch.

Anybody have to-do ideas for the day after Thanksgiving that doesn't include fighting for parking spaces?
_

I'm riding off into the sunset

Tomorrow morning I'm off on another adventure to Pismo Beach with my BFF. Pismo is about half way for both of us and 10 years ago we met up for the weekend and hoped to do annual trips. LOL, 10 years later we're finally getting back there.

Here's a quick digi-scrapbook page I did about our trip back then.I don't think it'll be a warm sunny day at the beach this time, forecasts predict mid-50s, but it still promises to be a good time. Then on Sunday I'm flying to Vegas to meet Jimmy and the parentals to help load some things. Won't get the chance to see the sights or a show or anything, but I'm sure our dining opportunities will be good.

Once again, I'm abandoning the kitty cat.It's a good thing she's used to it.

When I get back, it'll be a week before the Thanksgiving feast. Can you believe it? Thanksgiving is only 2 weeks away from today. The holidays are here people. Are you ready?

_

Fotobooth Flashback

I've been scanning some old photos and found these silly photobooth pics from my junior year in high school. Good times, despite those crazy big glasses.
_

Cloudy Day at Clear Lake

Jimmy and Drew have been buddies since they were 12 and played little league baseball together. He was one of the groomsmen in our wedding nearly 17 years ago.But in the past 21 years since graduating from high school, they hadn't spent more than a few hours together. Sound kind of familiar? It's reminiscent to my visit to Alaska and rekindling a friendship with my high school friend, Linda. In our junior year, before Jimmy and I started dating, both Jimmy and Drew were in my American History class. That's the class that we all became friends. We sat in the same row, Jimmy in front, Drew behind him and me behind Drew. They called me The Flip. One test day, Drew was absent and Jimmy sat in front of me. That was the turning point in our relationship when Jimmy prevented me from cheating on the test. Oh yea, this isn't about me, but about Jimmy and Drew, huh? Anyway, after graduation, Jimmy and Drew kept in touch, but didn't see each other much aside from the occasional get together with other buddies, once every 6 or 7 years whenever we'd get back to the high desert or San Diego. Fast forward 20 years and Drew's parents found their own little hideaway in Northern California about 3 hours from us. Drew was here for the week to ride in the Konocti Challenge so we went to visit him for a couple of days. He took us to a few historical sights, showed us the scenic views from his ride the weekend before, took us wine tasting and brought us to a couple of really great restaurants like the Blue Wing Saloon and TNT on the Lake for great Mexican food right on the lake.

The Lakeport Courthouse built in 1871 served the county until 1968. It's currently a museum that houses many county records along with artifacts from the local Native Americans.

Jimmy and Drew check out some of the historical data. We were pleasantly surprised that we could freely browse through these old books.

In my previous post I probably wasn't very convincing about the fall colors. But as you'll see now, we were surrounded by autumn's beautiful bounty.
Walnut groves for miles and miles.

Ranch horse among the trees.

Clear Lake is about an hour north of Napa and the vineyards have steadily crept more and more north.


One of the wineries Drew took us for wine tasting was Ceago.
We don't really drink, but with a purchase they give you 5 tastings. Drew bought a bottle and gave me the tastings. I don't like wine and in general I don't typically like the flavor of alcohol. And Jimmy doesn't drink at all. So I started out skeptical and the first 2 tastes were bitter as I expected. But the 3rd taste, which happened to be the same one Drew bought, was actually decent. It was their "Del Lago" Muscat Canelli. I ended with that and forgo the other 2 tastings. After the tastings, we walked around the winery awhile.

Lavender fields at the winery.

Ceago has a dock to the lake. Clear Lake is the largest fresh water lake in California.

Enjoying the views at the winery.

Our last and most creepy visit for the day was to see the Castle near the northern shores of Clear Lake. It was originally a lake resort ill-timely built in 1927 just before the Great Depression. As can be imagined, there are rumors of ghosts that haunt the tower. Despite it's look of disrepair, it's currently used and operated by the Castlepoint Ministries.
After our long day touring the area, we headed back to his hideaway, had some dinner and the boys stayed up talking and laughing about who knows what for who knows how long. I hope we can make this an annual thing. We had so much fun!!
_

Well hello October, aren't you beautiful

I've got a pretty busy month ahead and I'm looking forward to the adventures.

We went to the hideaway this past weekend with our good friends the Bowen's.Ok, now aren't they one of the most photogenic families you've seen?

It was too cold to take the boat out, but the kids still enjoyed getting into the boat even though it never left the garage.Miss A does her best Titanic impression even though she's never seen the movie.

Prince W got so excited he had a devilish little grin.

He definitely loved pretending to drive it. The imaginations of children...so awesome to see in their eyes.

Miss A pretended to row the boat, all the while singing the appropriate song, but Little W continued on his journey powering down that gentle stream.

After our garage boating adventures, we headed to Covers Apple Ranch for some lunch and a ride on the little train. Apparently the theme of the weekend was transportation.Here's the whole gang getting ready for a little ride.

Just about to go into the tunnel!

Interested in a little swim? Uh, no thank you. It may almost look picturesque, but I wouldn't even stick my big toe in that mucky water.

The ranch also has a few farm animals and the kids enjoyed feeding them some corn.

This last photo isn't in focus but she is just having so much fun that I couldn't resist.
Tomorrow, we're off again for another long weekend, first to Clear Lake then back to the hideaway with one of my dearest friends and her family.

My apologies to my bloggy friends, I'm very behind on catching up with your posts. We're only home for 2 days but I look forward to reading all about your autumn adventures next week. Till then I wish everyone a blissful, carefree, feel-like-you're-flying push on that swing.
_

She had a question for me

T: How do you get a tissue to dance?

M: I donno. How do you get a tissue to dance?

T: You put a little boogie in it.

_

Rekindling a friendship

Linda and I met in the 3rd or 4th grade. We had the same teachers till we got into jr. high school, so we became really close friends. During the long, hot, desert summer months, we'd hang out at each other's house, spend the night, ride bikes and go to the library or pool or lake together with a few other friends.
Here we are the summer of 1982, right before we went into high school. Linda is wearing the white shirt. I'm giving my mom that 13 year old attitude smile/smirk while she took the photo. I loved that t-shirt. And I just told Phin today that I never wore pink. Lies, apparently. It was OP (Ocean Pacific) with the little OP on the left sleeve. I digress.
Unfortunately immediately after high school, Linda and I lost touch so we haven't seen or heard from each other in 21 years. But when I found out that we were going to Alaska, I got in touch with her and we've been emailing since April, both of us looking forward to seeing each other again.

I spent all day Friday July 6th with her and her son J. They showed me around Anchorage and drove me to the nearest glacier. We chatted about what's happened in the past 21 years, where other friends are now, and remembering those hot summers in the desert.

On the way to the glacier, the highway follows an amazing scenic route.
Here we are with a view of Turnagain Arm behind us. The freeway follows this body of water for miles with amazing craggy mountains on either side. It's the complete opposite environment of where we grew up.

This is Linda and her son. He was so cool. He never seemed bored hanging out with us the whole day. He was full of great Alaskan facts, gave me information about the glaciers, wildlife and the tidal bores and mudflats of Turnagain Arm. It was funny for Linda and I to think was that we were around his age when we first became friends.

Here we are at Portage Creek. The color of the water was so amazing. This photo doesn't do justice. Behind us to the left is a hanging glacier. It feeds this creek along with a bigger glacier further up the road. The color of the creek is created by these glaciers.

Coincidentally, Linda and my brother-in-law work at the same company. They had never met, but when my soon to be sister-in-law found out, she invited Linda to the wedding, too. How sweet is that? So we were able to spend a few more hours together on Saturday, too. The wedding, which I'll post about soon, was in the wilderness about 30 miles from Anchorage. It was a beautiful setting for a wedding with a glacier fed lake in the background.

Here we are at Eklutna Lake. Beautiful, right? Just remember to bring bug spray if you ever find yourself in this neighborhood.

Of course, I had to include another photo with those horrible teeth.

Apple Valley High School Class of 1986.

I've posted more photos on my family website here with a lot more photos of my adventures with my old friend.
_

Girlfriends, Glaciers and Goats

A very busy day. Reconnected with my girlfriend from 20 years ago. Amazing how after all these years we can just pick up and talk and laugh like it was just yesterday. She was very gracious, picked me up and showed me her Anchorage. We drove to one of the glaciers about an hour away. Saw some Dahl Sheep along the highway - my wildlife viewing for the day. Her 9 year old son hung out with us, and he is so awesome and smart. Love it when kids aren't afraid to hang out with the adults. Jimmy joined us for dinner. After we said our goodbyes, Jimmy and I went exploring till 11pm, when it was still sunny out. I can't get over that. How it looks like it's 4 in the afternoon but it's actually 9pm.

Wedding in the forest tomorrow. Will need bug spray. The mosquito are huge and plentiful!

Wanna go for a ride?

Enjoy yourself. I'll catchya back here. As you can see from Phin's sb page and post on our collaborative art blog, I don't really do bicycles. Maybe if I had one of these stunner cruiser bikes, I'd change my mind. Maybe not.

Have a great weekend. We're heading to the hills. Be back soon.
_