My sista from anotha motha…

Today is my dear friend Cindi’s birthday.



We moved across the street from her family when I was 7 years old, before she was born. I have adored this girl since the day her mother, Bonnie Lou, brought her home from the hospital. (I even named a daughter after her.)

Today we celebrated at Luigi’s & we laughed A LOT & I was reminded how much I dearly love these people.



Cindi & Bonnie, thanks for joining mom & me for lunch. Happy Birthday little sister.

Fun with the Newlyweds…

You may or may not remember that we like to take our “newlywed kids” on a weekend vacation nearby in an effort to create a memory & get to know their new spouse a little better…I’m glad we didn’t have to wait 4 ½ years to schedule this one! (Sorry Horners!)

It is interesting that five of our newlywed couples have chosen Disneyland as their destination for different reasons…it is, afterall, the “happiest place on earth!” However, anywhere we can spend time with family is the happiest place on earth to us – this was no exception.

One thing we didn’t expect was SNOW on the Grapevine! We had to crash at Aunt Sylvia’s late that first night which allowed us time to swing by Grandma’s early the next morning for a quick visit until they opened up Tejon Pass.



Psshhh...hardly the mess we see on I-80 through Donner Pass...I-5 was clear as could be!



Of course, I wanted to take all the mandatory pictures, like the “C” for Carter in the C-A-L-I-F-O-R-N-I-A letters at the entrance to California Adventure…



… but I was disappointed that they weren’t there!



Since this was Dara’s VERY FIRST trip to Disneyland (I know, it’s rare to find a native Californian that has never been.) & Ben was a sophomore in high school the last time he went – I was still able to be obnoxious with my camera, making it extra fun to be there with them & document this special experience.




Ben had never been on the Indiana Jones ride. We actually made it on all the “E ticket” rides except Splash Mountain (which was closed for the day).




I thought it was cute that Ben wanted to ride “It’s a Small World” because he thought Dara would enjoy that classic Disney experience but was okay with just the photo op in this prop version of the Tea Cups because he didn't want to “lose his churro” from the actual spinning ride.




The cold night air irritated my bronchitis so Dad took me back to the hotel so I could rest up for our second day of fun & we left the newlyweds on their own to close the park down & enjoy the fireworks show over the Matterhorn.

That next day we headed for Universal Studios, Hollywood. None of us could remember our last visit there & we noticed lots of changes!

On the “Red Carpet”…




We saw lots of shows & famous people like Dora & Dara the Explara…



The Waterworld stunt show is always a favorite...



Frank was there & many more…



We enjoyed the back lot tour & seeing how all the Hollywood "classics" were made. Thanks for sharing this time with us.



We crashed at the Deceusters' on the way home & enjoyed breakfast with them the next morning.



Can you believe that no one was really very excited when I busted out my camera? Someday they will all be glad that I am so picture happy! Gotta capture the moments to make them last!

Southwest “DING” to Seattle

I subscribe to Southwest “DING” which basically notifies me of special deals on flights that are only available for limited times - blah, blah, blah. Well, we scored some really cheap tickets to Seattle for our anniversary weekend so we hopped on the plane to see our favorite Washingtonians, Jill & family. We packed a lot into our short little trip…

Thursday - Macaroni’s preschool had a field trip to tour South Kitsap High School’s FFA program. I was impressed with the high schoolers - they were really good with the kids. The activities were well organized & they had bunnies, goats, & pigs for the kids to pet…





They played a fishing game & hammered a “real nail with a real hammer” all by themselves!




They even had a cow milking station…



Later, we played games & enjoyed hangin out…we tumbled & danced & got very silly!







Friday - We played with some Bendaroos – Mac is very creative!




We went to the library for story time & checked out books. They read a story about a moose with a “moosestache”…




Saturday - Kiff joined us & we took the ferry over to Seattle to the Pacific Science Center – we could have spent days in this place – there were so many fun exhibits & tons of hands on activites!



Crazy mirrors…



See & Touch tide pool…



My favorite was the Tropical Butterfly House…all kinds of butterflies, but these brown ones have an “electric blue” iridescent color on the inside of their wings (Of course, those pictures didn’t turn out!)





We made a bug…



And Mac was brave enough to “pet” this bug…YUCK!




She wasn’t sure about the dinosaur exhibit – they have several life-sized dinos that are kinda scary. I thought it was cool!



Romeo was a good sport to let us drag him around with us...he's a good-natured little-big guy.




Sunday - was our actual anniversary & we were invited to a “tea party” – so fancy! The girls giggled while G’pa & I danced… (Mac took these next pictures)




Mac went with the “rock star” look & Pip was “rockin” her style as well…



Poor Jill was workin’ in the kitchen all morning (much like Cinallellellella as Pip calls her) preparing our fancy tea party, but she managed to throw on one of her high school prom dresses just in time…it was my very first tea party ever – I’m a fan!




Later that night they busted out their popcorn machine for a special movie night…




It was fun to spend a little time in the Pacific Northwest. Thanks for entertaining us & sharing our anniversary in such a fun way – we really had a great time! I will be watching those “DINGS” closely for the next great deal! Maybe Utah? Phoenix?