We'll start with the clean car bit b/c when you have 3 kids and am on the go like I am, typically a messy, dirty car is standard. I decided enough is enough! I am taking back this minivan into my own control!!! Ha! (Yea, right) So, after our last soccer game (HURRAY!) I cleaned my car. It was a beautiful day, great to be outside, Russ and Rach joined me and played in the front yard while I cleaned. Playing in the front yard is a rare occurrence in our neighborhood. Nobody is out front and there isn't much room to play. I CLEANED, seriously cleaned and it felt good. I took all that soccer crap out of my car, vacuumed all the grass from soccer shoes, cleaned fingerprints off the windows and readjusted the 3rd row seats for the trip CA. And can I say I love the 'leatha'! It makes seat cleaning much easier.
Consequently, while being out front, we met some new neighbors, another rare occurrence. The house to the left of us has been in foreclosure and for sale since we moved in. Well, a young couple bought it and moved in. We had seen them a bit on the weekends, but weren't sure if they were even living there. They happened to be out front trimming bushes and trees, looking a bit clueless. Of course, Martha couldn't help giving some pruning advice!! Ha! They seem very nice, were eager and proud to show off all the work they have done inside the house. Boy, the previous owner was bitter and took weird things with him – oven racks, interior door handles, light plate covers, the garage door openers and painted in really weird colors. So anyway, it was nice to meet some neighbors and chat with them, maybe we'll get to know them better.
Okay, back to the real reason of the blog…. The Thanksgiving Trip! We spent Thanksgiving with my mom's family. My Uncle Dexter and Aunt Linda hosted at their house. My Aunt Kate brought my Nana over, my drove down from Napa and my cousin Ryan and his 2 children were also there. We had a very pleasant day. Adam, the kids and I hit the road about 7am Thursday morning, which wasn't as bad as we thought and while we were driving we saw 4 different rainbows. Of course, the van was clean and that made it even better ; ) The kids all played well at Dexter's house, Rowan was appropriately adorable and had smiles for everyone. He showed off his new skills of clapping, waving, and his almost crawl. It was good to see my nana. She is suffering from Alzheimer's and in the last month or so she has been moved to a private care facility. She is getting excellent care, looks good, and seems to be happy on her good days. When she was living at home with her husband, ray, neither were taking good care of themselves or the house. It was filthy, she was filthy and so was he. Unfortunately, she and Ray are not in the same care facility and I know that hurts her, but she is coping. I guess that is one thing you really have to think about when you age and remarry. All in all it was a nice day and we enjoyed catching up with that side of the family. A funny side note. My Uncle Dexter said the weirdest thing to Adam. He was commenting on how he hasn't seen Adam in like 10 years and he said that he thought Adam had only gained 10 pounds in the 10 years he hadn't seen him. Now, I thought that was weird. Adam thought it was one of those comments that meant nothing. But the whole thing is funny b/c Dex has had gastric bypass surgery – he was obese. He lost a lot of weight and has managed to put quite a bit back on. So, I kind of think, who are you to comment on anyone's weight???? Bizarre.
Thursday late afternoon we left Dexter's house and traveled on to Carlsbad to stay in a hotel near Lego Land. Friday morning we met up with some of my Dad's family. My Uncle Chuck (Dad's brother who is so funny, he's always been a favorite), his wife, Charleen (also a fave), their daughter Erica (lives in the Chicago suburbs, she is a blast and so funny!) and her family – husband, Mike, son, Tyler (age 4) and daughter, Ashlynn (age 2). We haven't seen Erica and Mike since like 2002 and Adam had never met Chuck and Charleen. We had a fun group, all with easy going personalities and we did Lego Land together on Friday. It was a great time. It was pretty crowded, but I think for having such a large group, we managed the crowds well. The kids had a great time; we rode quite a few rides, played at the playgrounds, admired the MiniLand USA, and just visited while waiting in lines. Chuck and Charleen waited with Rowan quite a few times so Adam and I could ride with Russell and Rachel. Rowan has started the whole separation anxiety thing, so I wasn't sure how he would handle waiting with them, but it was no problem. Chuck and Charleen had him wrapped around their fingers or maybe it was Rowan had them wrapped around his! Rowan loved Uncle Chuck. And why wouldn't he? The guy makes great funny faces and let Row play with watch! Good times for a 10 month old!
Adam, the kids and I headed back to Lego Land for a 2nd day on Saturday. What a GREAT day! The weather was perfect. It was less crowded and we knew where to start and work the park from there. We got in all the rides we wanted and few extras. It was a really fun family day : )
Okay, a few funny stories and observations from Lego Land….. I think compared to any other amusement park we have been to, they have some of the strictest height and age requirements for rides. They also have small seating arrangement – like only 2 per row, boat, airplane, etc. That made it a little hard b/c Russ was tall and old enough to go alone on a lot, but he wants to ride with us, but one of us would have to ride with Rachel, while the other stayed with Rowan.
SO…Skipper School. This is a ride that you drive a little motorboat through a course. We thought the boats were on a guide underwater, like Autotopia in Disneyland. Russ had to drive his own boat b/c Rowan couldn't ride on it for some reason. The boats are super slow. Well, Russ is driving along and gets a little turned around – literally turned around! He is now going back the way he came while all the other boats are coming towards him!!! Adam is in another boat with Rachel and manages to turn him around. Well, he gets to another turn and almost turns around again. Then another turn, he gets turned around, Adam can't help him and Russ bumps this other family – who thinks it is very funny! The clerk has to come over and help Russ and get him to the end. I am cracking up, Adam and Russell are embarrassed. The mom whom Russ bumped was explaining to me about the delay in the turning on the boats and how she thought it was a little difficult. I just thought it was so funny to see him go the other way with boat traffic coming toward him
Rachel liked the roller coasters, but the whole time she rode she put her face down, like she didn't like it. She rode the Dragon Coaster, the Car coaster (that one is fast and has a the biggest drop) and the Coastersaurus. Russ didn't like the coasters; he rode the dragon coaster and looked like he was going to puke in the picture they take as you go around. Russ likes the action rides – Splash Battle – a pirate ship you shoot water at other ships as you go around. He liked the Land of Adventure ride – you ride in a jeep and shoot with lasers at the bad guys (like the Buzz Lightyear ride at Disney).
I think Russ was most excited about shopping at the Lego stores. We shopped on Saturday and he was thrilled!
The kids really enjoyed MiniLand USA – various US cities made in legos. There were parts of Vegas, D.C., S.F., SoCal beaches, New England, NYC, New Orleans, Nascar, a really cute barn, Hollywood, etc. Those were fun to look at b/c the detail is incredible. A lot of the animated displays were broken and very faded, so that was a little disappointing.
On an airplane ride – you control it going up and down kind of thing – I was with Rachel, Russ was alone and Row was waiting with Adam. So every time we went around, I waved at Rowan and said his name. It took him a few times to realize what was going on, but then he'd anticipate that we were coming and he would just start clapping when he'd hear us and see us. It was so cute. It was one of those melt your heart moments.
And as if that wasn't enough for one trip, we met with Adam's family on Sunday at the CA State Historic Citrus Park in Riverside. We met there, walked thru the visitor's center, walked up the hill to see the view, and went to the gardens where the park can be rented for weddings and parties and such. It was pretty, we visited for about an hour and then hit the road back to Vegas with the van was still pretty clean!!! (It's just good when it all comes full circle, you know???)
No comments:
Post a Comment