Signs of a Like-able Teacher

Hannah had 'Back to School' night tonight. While exploring about her new classroom, I found traces of a like able teacher.

Dressing in Like Colors

A few months ago, a friends daughter at church pointed out to me that I am always dressing the girl in like colors. No I'm not I replied. Or least if I was, I certainly wasn't doing to subconsciously. Take a look at these pictures I've pulled out of iPhoto from the last few days. Yep, she was right. They are dressed in like colors alright, but it's not something I intentionally do. LOL.

I'm the Mother of a 3rd Grader!

I'm up. Aside from those camping trips, this is the earliest I've been out of my own bed in nine weeks. I'm thinking I should have gone to bed earlier than 10:30 last night. LOL.

This is the day. The first day of school. I'm officially a mother of a 3rd grader as of this morning. I can still remember taking Hannah to kindergarten like it was last month. And now that I think about it, if Kindergarten was three years ago, that means I've been keeping Hannah's Happenings three years! Amazing how time flies.

It's going to take a week or two to get back into the routine of getting up and out the door every morning. And it's going to take some time to adjust to it being just me and Rachel all day long.

Shaking and Baking: California Style

So I'm sure everyone has heard that Southern California had a pretty good size earthquake late this morning.

Me, the girls, and Gramma were in Redlands, at a ceramic painting studio and felt it. It rolled and it lasted a long time. Nothing fell off the shelves.

I hate earthquakes. Hate them. Hate them. Hate them. I've learned in recent years to keep myself composed for the sake of my watching children. LOL. But this one today, it just kept going. It's been awhile since we've had one of this size-able magnitude.

Blog Funny for the Day

A Dramatic New Arrival

About nine years ago, having just found out I was pregnant, I joined a message board on AOL for mothers expecting in April 2000. I met a lot of nice women on that board, and got to know some of them even better when about eight of us formed an email loop.

We've continued to email over the years, the past four years, we're down to just four of us who email on a regular basis. I've met two of those three women several times over the years. It's been fun to experience our April 2000 babies growing up, starting school, etc.

And while those 2000 babies were the last babies for half of us, the other half of us, have gone on to have more children, some of us more than others. :)

Kathryn, like me had her first baby in April 2000, in fact, Benjamin is just two days younger than Hannah. She had another baby in 2002, a boy. And then we were pregnant together in 2004, I had Rachel, and she had another boy just two weeks after Rachel was born. At the beginning of this year, Kathryn found out she was pregnant with #4. Having three boys, we've all been wishing her a girl. While we all excitedly encouraged her to discover the gender of the baby through ultrasound, she and her husband were waiting until the big day to find out. Kathryn was sure she was pregnant with a boy, afterall, with three boys already, what in the world would she do with a girl??

To make a long story short, Kathryn started having some contractions towards the end of last week. Thursday night she and her husband went to the hospital, only to be sent home in the early hours of the morning (I know how that feels!).

Fast forward to Friday night, as we were on our way home from Disneyland, I was checking email on Steven's iPhone. We had finally received word from Kathryn's sister that Kathryn had had her baby. She had had a girl!!!!! But that's not the only excitement that came in the email.

Kathryn and her husband headed out to return to the hospital mid day on Friday, her labor was farther along than she thought! Her husband had to cross 5 lanes of the major Alabama Interstate to get to the side of the highway. While on the phone to 911, the dispatcher had to talk Kathryn's husband through the delivery of his own baby!!! The paramedics arrived shortly thereafter and cut the cord and cleaned the baby and Kathryn up a little before taking them to the hospital.

Mama and Baby came home from the hospital yesterday and are doing just fine. Mary's three older brothers are 'thrilled' with her, although one has already admitted he will not play barbies with her. LOL.

Congratulations Kathryn, Shane, and the older brothers on the arrival of your Princess, who has already proved she loves to provide drama!

Vacation is Almost Over

Two days left. Just two days are left and then it's back to the normal routine of the school year. Back to getting up and out the door by 7:40.

We've been off for nine weeks, nine weeks! And I don't think I've gotten up before 6:30 at all with the exception of our three camping trips. For some reason, the girls naturally spring out of bed prior to 6:00 when camping. I think it has something to do with the bright morning sun shinning into the tent. LOL.

I forced myself to get out of bed at 6:30 this morning, quickly making the bed behind me so as I wouldn't climb back in. It's cool and overcast this morning which makes for perfect sleeping in weather. But that would only make Wednesday that much harder.

Our plans for the next two days? Hannah has a gift certificate to Color Me Mine that I was thinking of going and using. But after checking with the local stores, it would be to our benefit to wait until tomorrow to go. Tuesdays are 2 for 1 paint fees. I'd been having a hard time coming up with something for "someone's" birthday, and I think I'll have the girls paint something! A great gift idea, especially for a grandparent. :)

So today, we will spend finishing up laundry. Vacuuming. Making a trip to the dollar store for new poster board so that a new chore list can be made, seeing how it's the start of a 'new year'. And wondering where in the world the last nine weeks went...

Being Economical

It's been mentioned a few times about what people must think when they read my blogs. We do a lot of fun and exciting things and I'm sure it may come across as though we "live the high life".

That isn't so. Sure, we do a lot of fun and exciting things, but in everything we do, I try to be economical about it.

For example:

* When we go to Disneyland, I always pack snacks and drinks. If we are there over a meal, I almost always pack sandwiches and chips. If not for all of us, I especially do it for the girls because they don't care what they eat, and most times don't finish what's been bought anyways.

* Last week, when the girls and I went shopping for school things, I had coupons for each of the stores we visited, and I used each of the coupons. I even used coupons for lunch at Wienerschnitzel.

* Last month, when we went to San Diego, I had a coupon for SeaWorld that saved us $40! The hotel we booked, we booked on hotels.com which saved us. And I had meal coupons for when we ate at the zoo.

* The performance of The Wizard of Oz we went to last night, was totally free. And rather than stop at a fast food joint on our way, I packed sandwiches and cheese sticks and drinks and snacks. Aside from the gas it took us to drive there, it was free evening.

* That Hollywood trip we took at the beginning of the month to see Wall*E, that was Gramie's treat and we appreciated it very much.

* Our camping trips, the campsite for Mammoth was split six ways, and the other two times the sites were paid for. Camping is a VERY inexpensive way of getting away. Especially when you tent camp and don't have to haul a trailer or pay those payments, or the price of gas when towing.

A funny example of how I really try to save us the most amount of money was last month, we were at the San Diego Zoo and I had two coupons for 20% of your total meal. I suggested to Steven that we order separately, him take one girl and I'll take one girl. Then we each could use a coupon and save. Steven pointed out to me that 20% of the total order would be the same amount of savings whether we ordered together or not. DUH! That one had us laughing the rest of the day. I was just trying to save us as much as I could. LOL.

I agree, we do a lot of fun things and have a lot of adventures, and I'm very thankful for the deals, the coupons, and opportunities that come our way.

"We're Off to See the Wizard..."

The girls and I are packing a picnic dinner and lots of cold drinks, and a blanket or two and 'we're off to see the wizard'. The Wizard of Oz that is. The local music association in the city over is putting on the stage presentation of The Wizard of Oz, and tonight is the final night.

Rachel is excited. Wizard of Oz is one of her favorite movies. She's excited too because I'm letting her wear her Dorothy costume. Complete with ruby red shoes!! Look for pictures on her blog!!

The show doesn't start until 8:15, but I am planning on leaving by 5:00 to get there and get good seats. We'll eat dinner, and are hoping to be joined by our friends, Amy and Bethany! It'll probably be the last fun thing we do before the girls start school on Wednesday. But who knows, with three days left, we might try to squeeze one more 'last thing' in before Wednesday. LOL.

Water...It Makes a Difference!!!

Two weeks ago, I wrote about our neighborhood and posted a picture of the house next door, the one that had been foreclosed and the yard not watered for over a year and a half. Here is the picture again:For the last two weeks, Steven has been taking care of the yard. Having spent over two hours on adjusting, replacing, and fixing the sprinklers, the yard has been watered now for two weeks. Steven has shoveled the dirt spilling onto the sidewalk from the gophers and edged the 'grass'. That made a huge difference in how the yard looked. Here is the house now, two weeks after we started watering it. It's amazing what water does for a yard!
While we were gone this past weekend, a cleaning crew must have come. All the trash and belongings left behind in the back and side yards, and I imagine in the house as well, has all been cleaned up and removed. With the yard greening up, the house almost looks lived in!

In Memory / Prayers for the Laurie Family

I grew up going to Harvest Christian Fellowship. My family started going there when I was five. It was the church where I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and savior.

The church where I met many friends over the years.

The church where I met my husband.

The church where we got married in.

The church where we had our oldest daughter dedicated.

And while the Lord called us four years ago to the church we are at now, Harvest holds a lot of memories for me and will always hold a special place in my heart as the church I grew up in.

Early this afternoon, the news started to travel. News that really has impacted our local Christian "society". The news that Pastor Greg's oldest son, Christopher, had been killed in a car accident this morning, leaving behind his expectant wife and 2 year old daughter.

Picture taken from Harvest.org
As I was thinking this afternoon from his wife, Brittany's, view, I was sad to think about how she lost her husband. How he won't be here for the birth of their second child in the Fall. Sad for his little girl. Sad for the loss that Pastor Greg, Cathe, and Jonathan has suffered.

But then, it hit me.

Christopher is in the very presence of our Lord this very afternoon!! He is in heaven. It's something he's heard about all his life. ALL HIS LIFE. And he's there now. As sad as it is to think about all those left behind, how awesome it is to think him being with the Lord in heaven.

Please keep his wife, Brittany (and her pregnancy), his daughter, Pastor Greg and Cathe, and his brother Jonathan in your prayers. As nice as it to think about how Christopher is in heaven, it's still a loss for those left behind.



** Thursday Evening: Edited to Add - News Article from The Press Enterprise.com

**Friday Morning News Article from PE.com

A Year Ago Today

I can't believe that today marks a year since our friends and neighbors left our neighborhood. If you've been following my blog for a while, you'll remember this post from this date last year. Man, those were some rough days that followed saying goodbye to our friends. I still extremely miss Christy, and the special friendship we had living right next door to each other.

On a weird and happy note, Mike (Christy's husband) is actually here in California this week working at his old place of employment in Long Beach. And we are having dinner with him tonight. It's weird that he's here this week, the very week they packed up and left California.

This is the second time Mike has been back, and the second time we'll have seen him since they've left. It'll be nice to see him, but you know, it'd be even nicer if Christy was accompanying him. :)

The PCH Trains

The San Elijo Campground literally sits next to the Pacific Coast Highway. For those outside of the area, the PCH is a major road that runs along the coast of California. It can be very busy at times, especially through little towns such as Encinitas, where the campground is located.

Just on the other side of the PCH, there are train tracks where trains run regularly. There is the Coaster, which is the commuter train that runs from Orange Country to San Diego. There is the Amtrak train. And there are regular Freight Trains.

A train ran those tracks at least once an hour. The Coaster ran through once an hour from 5:30am to 9:30pm on Thursday and Friday. And then it's run was less on Saturday and Sunday, but you still had the Amtrak and Freight Train running.

There was an obvious reduction in how many trains were running through the night on Friday and through the day on Saturday, and even fewer through the night on Saturday. But when they did run, they were loud!

Here is a video of just how loud. And Yes, that is our tent.

Camping at San Elijo

There are a lot of people who camp at our church. A lot of families have trailers and a lot of families who tent camp, like us.

Several times a year, a group of people go camping at San Elijo State Beach Campground. Because of it's closeness to the beach, reservations for the cliffside sites and sites with hookup go pretty quickly. The more seasoned campers know exactly when to make reservations, as reservations start at six months out. So in October, they know to make reservations for April camping.

When making reservations, one person can reserve two campsites. One set of friends we know, automatically makes reservations for two sites and then later finds a family to take the extra site, etc. There are always people willing to go camping at the beach!! This particular weekend, there were four families on two sites, right next to each other. There were two families in trailers and two families in tents. It was perfect. It was like having one large campsite. The kids were free to roam between the two sites and had tons of fun playing with each other. The restrooms were directly across the street which was nice, and the beach access was just across the street as well. It was perfect. The families we went with are all families we enjoy spending time with. We had a great time of playing games, talking, and getting to know each other better than we already did.

As we headed home on Sunday afternoon, we talked about how we'd love to go back and camp with church friends again. There is a group going in October, over Columbus Day weekend, and we had thought about looking into getting our own site, as the non-hook up sites don't reserve quite as quickly. But last night we were invited to pitch our tent on a site of friends with a trailer. So I think another weekend camping trip might be in our future in October. THAT is how much fun we had. It's a relatively pretty cheap weekend away, and it's a great time with friends. Of course I took a lot of pictures, 496 pictures to be exact. I've put the majority of them into an album to share. Those pictures can be viewed here, San Elijo Camping - July 2008.

Hash Brown Quiche

The friends whom we shared the campsite with, we did our meals together. And on Saturday morning she tried a new recipe that was awesome!

Steven and I both liked the hash brown crust a lot better than the usual quiche crust. It was sooo good, I had to share the recipe, and of course, a picture.
3 cups, shredded frozen hash browns, thawed and drained
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, melted
3 large eggs, beaten
1 cup half-and-half
3/4 cup diced cooked ham
1/2 cup diced green onions
1 cup shredded Cheddar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Gently press the drained hash browns between paper towels to dry them as best as possible. In a 9-inch pie plate, toss the hash browns with the melted butter into the plate. Press them into the bottom and up the sides to form a crust. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown and starting to crisp.

Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. When the hash brown crust is ready pour the egg mixture over it and return to the oven.

Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake for about 30 minutes until the quiche is light golden brown on top and puffed.

Recipe compliments of Paula Deen.

Home from Camping at the Beach

We're home from our four days of camping on the cliffsides of the beach. We had a wonderful, wonderful time and are already talking about the possibility of going again the next time church friends have reservations and an open spot on their site for a tent.

The car is already unloaded, camping stuff put away, and once again the wash machine is working on overdrive. I took 500 pictures over the past few days, I'll be working on putting them into an album to share. Along with posting special ones on each of the girls' blogs.

Happy Birthday Disneyland!

Disneyland celebrates it's 53rd birthday today. And while I'm leaving shortly for a camping adventure, I can't help but kinda wish....


I was walking right down the middle of Main Street USA.

Camping On the Cliffsides

Here is a picture of where we are heading to this morning. A campground right on the cliffs of the Pacific Ocean.Looking forward to a couple days of listening to the ocean roar, some great fun, and great fellowship with people we enjoy being around from church.

Also looking forward to cooler temps and hoping that the sea breeze will dry out my sinuses. LOL. Be back in a few days with lots of great pictures!

Ocean Sunsets

I can't wait to see some of these over the next few nights.

The Chick-Fil-A Cow Makes Me Smile

This mascot for the fast food chain, Chick-Fil-A, makes me smile.

A few months ago, while stopped at the intersection, after just having had lunch at Chick-Fil-A, the cow was dancing about on the corner, trying to get people's attention, hoping to entice drivers on their lunch hour. We were watching the cow dance about, and then all of a sudden he fell, smack dab on his cow butt. LOL It was hilarious, we were laughing so hard and when the cow turned and saw that we were laughing at him, he took a bow for us. Rachel talks about that incident everytime we drive by this particular corner and Chick-Fil-A.

On Monday, we were out in that area getting groceries, going to Costco, and the cow as out, on his corner, dancing about. This time I snapped a few pictures. And left that intersection with a smile because of that silly cow.

We're Going Camping...Again

Can you believe we're going camping again??? In like two days! Do I have everything ready you ask?? NO, I don't. But for some reason I'm much more relaxed about packing this time. Maybe it's because we now have a camp box and it's stocked. I have a few things to add to it since our trip to Mammoth, but it essentially has everything we need. If not, we're camping with two families who have trailers.

We are going to a California State campground that sits atop bluffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean. I can't wait to soak in the ocean for a few days. To fall asleep at night in our tent to the roar of the ocean, and hopefully not the sounds of the nearby PCH (Pacific Coast Highway). We're going with three other families from church. And I think I heard mention at church on Sunday that some families might come down for the day and evening for fun and fellowship. At any rate, I enjoy spending time with all the people going. And it will be an adventure camping somewhere new.

Now all I have to do is get us packed and ready to go.

Tunnels

Tunnels. Don't you love them?? Growing up, whenever we were on road trips and came across a tunnel, it was tradition for my Dad to honk the horn while passing through. Who else's Dad did that??

And now, it's something Steven does when we pass through a tunnel, although I think it's more for me than the girls. I don't think they fully understand how cool tunnels are just yet. LOL.

We passed through a very old tunnel this last weekend when exploring the hills of Hollywood. Pay no attention to how dirty the car windshield is.

The Adventures of Getting an iPhone!

Steven has been wanting an iPhone ever since they first came out a year ago. But with medical bills, and the fact he couldn't get out of his current cell phone contract, he didn't get one. When Apple announced a month ago that the new and updated iPhones would be released today, faster, better, and cheaper, it's been a countdown!

Steven was able to quit work at 2:30 today. Which made it all the more convenient to go in search of stores with iPhones in stock. So off we went to the nearest Apple Store. And upon walking up, it was a good sign that there was a line out the door, that meant they had them!!

But little did we know that line not only was out the door, but it went around the side, the length of the building, and then the length of the back of the building, and half way down the side of the other buildings. So in line we got.

Knowing this was going to be an event worth blogging, I went back to the car to get my camera. And this my friends, is a pictorial of how we spent our Friday night, our adventures to getting Steven an iPhone.

The very end of the line. It was 4:30 when we got in line.The Apple Store dude showing people in line the three types of iPhones available today.The Apple Store staff was very hospitable. They continually came through the line offering iced coffee and iced tea.
Over 3 hours, it's 7:51 pm. Almost there. It's now 8:05 and we are about five people from entering the store. Where we'll stand in another line.After standing in a line where they wait for an Apple Store specialist to become available to help you, we were finally given over to a specialist about 8:45pm. By the time they switched over Steven's work phone number and got everything set up, it was 9:20pm.Hannah wanted to carry the cute little bag. When people saw me taking a picture of my 8 year old holding an iPhone bag, I'm sure they thought we'd bought her one. LOL. Steven played with his iPhone walking all the way out to the car. Once inside the car, he went to town in downloading an application. It's now almost midnight, and we've been home for about two hours and what have we been doing? Steven's been playing on his new iPhone of course, and me, I've been blogging. We're such technology geeks. LOL.

Our Neighborhood

We've lived in our neighborhood for ten years now.

About five or six years ago, our cul de sac became our own little tight knit community. We had block parties, we sat outside in the evenings and chatted, while the kids all played together. There were at least fifteen kids living on our street at the time. We had the type of neighbors we could easily borrow sugar, or anything else from. LOL. We had a great neighborhood.

And then, sadly, in early 2006. the first of our neighbors, the ones right next door, put their house up for sale. They moved out that March. Their house sat empty for 5-6 months while the house was on the market, and then while the banks tried to get people qualified and into the house.

And then in October 2006, the neighbors directly across the street from ours, sold their house and moved away, taking their six kids with them.

Both were sad losses and we were sad to see them leave, but the worst was when our neighbors on the other side of us put their house up for sale due to a job relocation to the East Coast. They left in July of last year. And if you've been following my blog for a while, you'll remember my postings of the hard times I had with having lost my best friend living next door. I can hardly believe in just a few weeks, they'll have been gone a year.

In recent years, our little neighborhood has changed. Gone are the days of the block parties. Gone are the days of massive amounts of kids playing out in the street. Gone is the tight knit little community. And gone are some of those new neighbors that only moved in less than two years ago.

The people who moved into the house next to us appeared to struggle from the beginning. Several times, there were numerous families living under the roof. And in recent months, they were pulling their car into the backyard behind their house. We believe to avoid the repossession of their car. Three days ago, the family was seen packing up, loading up trucks. Yesterday, the police were here to lock things up. No Trespassing signs were posted. The locksmith changing locks. The realtor placing a lock box on the front door. The family had lost their home. As sad as it is to think about a family loosing their home. In one way we're glad to see them leave our neighborhood. The house they lived in, once cute and attractive with a very well manicured yard, had been left to die, going unwatered for the majority of the almost two years they'd lived here. The yard often spewed about with trash laying about, the trash cans on pick up days overflowing with trash. It was really the first house and yard you saw when you turn onto our street, it made our cul de sac very unattractive. No, those things won't be missed.

But now, we're in serious restoration mode. Steven spent over two hours this evening in that front yard fixing, adjusting, replacing sprinklers. The water is still on, and until someone questions it, we're going to do our best to get that yard green again. In a few weeks, we'll ask our gardener to mow, edge, and trim.

We're also back in serious prayer mode for the Lord to bring us good neighbors. Perhaps a family with young kids who will get a good deal. Perhaps a Christian family whom we can befriend and have a common interest with. Perhaps an older couple who likes kids??

Anyways, our neighborhood is changing again. And such is life, full of changes.

A Lane Cedar 'Hope' Chest

For as long as I can remember, I've always, always wanted a Lane Cedar 'Hope' Chest. Growing up, I kept things that would normally be placed in a hope chest, in one of my Mom's old trunks or other various areas where there was room.

And now for years, with the size of our Master Bedroom, I've wanted a nice cedar chest to sit at the foot of our bed.

A couple of weeks ago, when Steven's mom came to pick up the girls for the weekend, she asked me if I'd be interested in a Lane chest she had. She said if I didn't want it, it was going to the Goodwill. I said "Yes!" without hesitation, and then began thinking in the hours and days following that perhaps I should have said let me take a look at it before I committed. LOL. But when we went to pick up the girls at the end of that weekend, she showed me the chest. It was absolutely beautiful. All cedar inside. Still had the paperwork sitting inside the drawer. No dings. No scratches. Just a few rough areas atop where in years gone by, some water had spilled on top and caused the finish to become rough. At any rate, we brought it home with us that evening and it looks awesome in our room! I'm so grateful.

Complimentary Feminine Hygiene Products

I bet that post title got your attention, didn't it???

When we were at Sea World two weeks ago, upon entering one of the women's restrooms for the first time I was amazed at the basket they had hanging on the wall inside the restroom. It was a basket of feminine hygiene products with a sign "Complimentary. More products available at the nearest gift store". And yes, I just had to take a picture. Only a true blogger would have caught such a thing!This occurrence wasn't just in that one restroom, they were in every single women's restroom we went in the remainder of the day, and believe me, with two girls, I'm pretty sure we hit every restroom within Sea World.

At any rate, I thought this was a very nice addition to the women's restrooms. Usually there are vending machines that most of the time are out of order or are empty. Kudos to Sea World for being so thoughtful! LOL.

Cardboard Testimonies

I've seen this video on numerous blogs, MySpace pages, and Facebook pages, but it's a great video and worth sharing on just one more blog.



What's your cardboard testimony???

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July! It's so hard to believe we are halfway through 2008 and in the midst of summer celebrations.

Thinking about today and what it stands for, we are so blessed to live in a country where we are free to live our lives. It wouldn't be that way if it weren't for the thousands and thousands of servicemen and women we have in our armed forces, and for that we are truly grateful. As for our 4th of July plans, we are heading out mid afternoon to the home of some people from church. They are hosting a huge BBQ complete with games, prizes, and even a pie eating contest, now if that ain't American on the 4th, I don't know what is?? At any rate, it'll be a great day of fun, lots of food, and good fellowship with our church family.

Whatever your plans may be for this patriotic holiday, I hope you have a blessed and safe day.

Cooking Class with Friends

Last Thursday, despite having just returned home from two whirlwind adventures, I had a cooking class to go to. It was a class put on by the Women's Ministry at our church and was hosted by two friends from church. The class is part of the summer studies and the evening was limited to twenty five women, so it was real small and intimate and a lot of fun!

The theme for the evening was Mexican food and they demonstrated and prepared enchiladas, rice, beans, three different kids of salsas, and homemade tortilla chips. In addition to that, for dessert we had cinnamon crisps with an awesome fruit salsa.While I already knew how to make enchiladas, beans, and salsa, I did learn how to make spanish rice (which I made successfully two nights ago!), as well as a few tips.

I tried out the tips learned the other night when I made enchiladas and believe it or not, they were great tips and Steven and I both thought the enchiladas were better the new way!!

Thank the Lord for friends with tips for making special dishes even better!

Addicted to the Internet

I know vacations are suppose to be about getting away from the hustles and bustles of life. Camping in the great outdoors gets you away from television, phones, and the internet. Unless.... ...You are able to find free WiFi access, whereas you sit in a parking lot quickly checking email and a few blogs. That was in Mammoth.

The hotel in which we stayed in in San Diego also had internet access. And Tuesday evening when my family was in the pool splashing about, I was sitting poolside checking on my blogging friends and what had gone on in their day. I would have had Steven take a picture of me sitting poolside, surfing about on our laptop, but his hands were wet...