Total Relaxation Mode

Ahhh, Vacation. It's a wonderful thing.

I know I've been slacking in the blogging department, but I wanted to check in. Things were kinda crazy busy last week and the weekend was full.

But as of today, we are on vacation, and as I sit here, typing this quick post, I sit here in our hotel room, the girls alseep in one bed, all tuckered out from playing in the pool, from a walk to town and then back, and our evening jaunt to to pool/jacuzzi. Steven is in vacation 7th heaven with a cup of decaf coffee in one had, his iPhone in the other, and I on our laptop. the roaring sound of the ocean coming in through the cracked sliding door. The 37 inch HDTV hanging on the wall is providing the mood lighting for this evening. LOL.

Yes, we are in total relaxation mode. Vacation mode. I don't care if you don't eat a single bite of your hamburger and yes you can still have ice cream mode. I have no stresses, no worries, not a care in the world at this moments time. :)

And with that....I shall go lay on the plush bed and fall asleep to the sound of Bedtime Stories and dream of what lies ahead of us for tomorrow!

Free Slurpees

It's summertime and we've been taking advantage of no school, thus the slowness in blog posting. :) However, what says "summer" more than a nice cold refreshing Slurpee!?!?

On Saturday, 7-11-09, Seven Eleven stores will be giving out free slurpees in honor of their 82nd anniversary!! I know where we'll be heading on Saturday afternoon, how about you?

Celebrating the Life of the 'King of Pop'

Like a good majority of people this morning, I had the television on, watching the coverage of Michael Jackson's memorial service at The Staples Center today.

I tuned in just as the golden casket was being placed into the hearse that would transport the body of 'The King of Pop'.

As I sat there watching the continual coverage of the drive from the mortuary to the downtown entertainment center, I was amazed that they'd closed several of the Los Angeles freeways to accommodate the funeral procession. Miles and miles of freeway literally shut down to make this transport go more smoothly. Hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of peoples morning commutes affected because of the freeway closures.

I was amazed at the masses of people that stood on freeway overpasses just to get a glance of the hearse and all the cars that followed.

I am amazed at how much money the city of Los Angeles is putting out for this event. Thousands and thousands of dollars, maybe even more, being spent to have 1800 police officers on duty in and around the area, the money put out for the use of The Staples Center, the countless other expenses of the morning. There isn't any sign of a recession in Los Angeles today - hotels are without vacancy, L.A. restaurants are expected to be busy this afternoon and into the evening.

What I've seen so far of the Memorial Service has been nice. A great tribute to Michael's life, to his music, to his humanitarian works. Our era has truly lost a great musical icon. And I hope his heart was right with Jesus when he died...

The Holiday Weekend

Whew! What a busy weekend, I need one more day just to rest.

Our 4th was a nice one, a very busy one, but nice. Spent time with family and friends and even took in a concert by The Riverside Blues Club at the California Speedway. They did an awesome job and looked like they were having fun.

Our church gathering was huge. A lot bigger than last year and they are figuring between 250-275 people came through throughout the afternoon. That's a lot of people to host at ones house. God bless John and Kelly for their wonderful hospitality!

Sunday morning we woke to car issues with Steven's car and had to adjust our day accordingly. Hannah had a birthday party to attend for a little girl who she's known since Kindergarten. It was a pool party, which was good for her in keeping cool, but hot for the Mama's on the sidelines.

Looking ahead to this week...it's going to be a good, but busy, week. It's the week before we head out on vacation and I CANNOT wait to get away and relax for a few days atop the cliffs overlooking the ocean. There's laundry to be done, packing to be done, sand toys to gather, and an oil change on the car to be done. This week can't end soon enough. LOL.

Happy 4th of July

The morning is starting out cool and crisp and it's nice. But it won't be too long and it'll be a scorcher, that's for sure.

A lot of festivities go on on this holiday - BBQ's, parties, fireworks.

But how often is this day just looked at as a day to get together? To party?

How often is the reason for this holiday overlooked, or minimized?

I think on this 4th of July, we need to reflect on the meaning of this special day. We need to remember the reasons why we celebrate - our freedom, our independence from an overbearing and unjust country. Especially this year, as we are slowly seeing some of our personal freedoms subtly being placed on the chopping block and voted upon.

Happy 4th of July! However, you may spend the day, be safe, have fun, and remember what the day is about, and truly be thankful.

Three Day Weekend

Thanks to the 4th of July holiday falling on Saturday this year, a lot of people have been given today off, thus making it a three day weekend! It's true for our house and it's starting off to be a nice three day weekend...not getting out of bed until after 7:00am, cinnamon rolls in the oven as I type, thoughts of needing to prepare my dessert for tomorrow. It's feeling like a kick back, easy going, kind of day.

A relaxing day at home will be good, because the next two days are FULL! Tomorrow my Grandmother is hosting lunch before family members head off to the California Speedway for the big Red, White, and Cruise festivities. My brothers band is playing and is the opening act for Taylor Hicks! So we'll be heading out to support the band. And then we'll be heading to the church family festivities where I heard they are anticipating 240 people showing up! They are roasting a whole pig in addition to the traditional hot dogs and hamburgers and all the sides imaginable.

Sunday is church and then Hannah has a birthday pool party to attend in the afternoon. Most definitely a busy couple of days ahead of us.

What are your plans for this fine three day weekend??

Summer

All the Southern Californians that were complaining about the 'June Gloom' a few weeks back, outta be shot and hung out to dry. LOL.

It's official, hot summer temperatures have hit Southern California.

There were a few days last week where the temp reached triple digits. This week it's been close, but still just hovering below that century mark. The humidity has been BAD and just makes it all around miserable. I cannot imagine what it'd be like to live in the South. No thank you!

Perhaps today will be the day we fill up the plastic pool...

Two Weeks

Two weeks from today, this will be my view when I get up.

No, I won't be camping on the beach. We'll be sleeping in the hotel atop the cliffs overlooking the beach. I CAN NOT WAIT!

Last Day of School..

I don't know who's more excited about today being the last day of school - Me or Hannah. LOL.

I'm so ready to be done with getting up, dressed, and out the door every morning by 7:30. I'm ready for a break. I'm ready for days filled with fun. I'm ready for days home...going absolutely no where.

What does make me a little melancholy today is that this will be the last day of school of only having one of my children in Elementary School! Next year, it'll be the last day of school for both Hannah and Rachel!! Unbelievable.

I am out the door a lot earlier than normal today so that I can get to the school and set up a table for selling cold water bottles during the 6th grade promotion ceremony. Because the entire school is on track at the same time now, all the 6th graders and their families don't all fit into the our tiny cafeteria, therefore they are having to set up outside on the lawn or maybe even the black top. And the PTA thought we'd raise funds by selling off all the leftover water from the softball game a week ago. A lot of the PTA Mom's are on vacation, therefore I volunteered to head up the sales...So I'm off to sell water on this the last day of school!

Kickin Off Summer

I know a lot of people think Memorial Day kicks off the summer season, the calendar says June 21, but for us, it's when school is finally let out. And while school isn't officially out for us until tomorrow (Monday) at 2:15, this weekend was a great start to our 5 weeks of summer break!

On Saturday, Hannah had a birthday party, cause you know what weekend wouldn't be complete without a birthday party to attend to. LOL. And then late afternoon, my friend and two of her four kids came over for dinner. We had a great evening of fellowship and the kids, including my two nieces had a blast playing well into the evening!

We had so much fun, that we wanted to get together again this afternoon. We planned to go to a new park in the area, but when the temperature read 105, we opted for Plan B - BBQ at our house, and let the kids all have a water war in the backyard to keep cool.

This evening we had our friend over and this time all four of her kids came, and then we had another set of friends and their daughter joined us. We had a GREAT time of good food, good fellowship, and some really good laughs, you know the kind where you laughing so hard, your stomach hurts? Yea, that kind of good laughs. The kids had a blast and had a huge water war complete with squirt bottles, water balloons, and the good ole hose. I think some buckets of water were added to the mix as well.

At any rate, it was a great weekend and a great kick off of long evenings and good gatherings!