Carneyland

Bighorn Sheep overlooking Mouse's Tank

A friend of mine and I went on a photoshoot to Valley Of Fire State Park this past Sunday morning, very early, to get there before the sun came up.  We were joined by one of his friends, who isn’t into photography but is an avid outdoorsman.  I got a few decent shots, but the most exciting part by far was seeing this guy.  We were walking down a trail and saw what we thought were two deer bound across the trail.  After they popped up on the other side, we noticed they were bighorn ewes.  Then we heard a gutteral bleating behind and above us and saw this guy, a few hundred feet up the side of the mountain, watching over us.  We figure he wanted to make sure we didn’t bother his women.

Ok, for anyone just tuning in (again, sorry for the extended blogging vacation), read Ron’s  post just below this one for the first part of the story.  Alright - welcome back!  So, as Ron mentioned below, we went to Disneyland for the weekend - literally Saturday and Sunday.  Since our APs are already paid for the year, the only expenses we really had were hotel and food.  We decided to book the hotel through Hotwire since they had some great deals.  We wound up staying at The Hyatt Regency Orange County for a whopping $66.  The hotel itself was insanely beautiful - all glass, 14 stories (of which we were on the top overlooking the atrium - eeek!), lots of restaurants and conference/ball rooms, fitness room, pools, yada yada yada.  The room was standard however, and even had a cracked bathroom sink and a big red stain in the middle of the floor.  We joked all weekend  hoping it wasn’t blood!  The beds were comfortable though, and the bath toiletries were really nice, which was good since we did wind up using them.  The biggest problem was being a mile and a half from the park (which I, at one point, walked in the 90+ degree heat/humidity with 2 sleeping kids in the stroller while Ron - at my request! - drove the car to the hotel) and being at the mercy of the hotel’s shuttle, which as we found out, was none too reliable.  I know, I know, a mile and a half away sounds ridiculously close (especially for those of you accustomed to Disney World, where the CLOSEST hotel is probably a good 3-4 miles away), but understand, we’re typically spoiled by convenience during these trips, staying within a half mile of the park and walking everywhere we go.  We learned a valuable lesson in comfort vs. convenience though.  In my book, convenience wins every time, especially during such a short trip.  Anyway, we worked around the sporadic shuttle, the ridiculously expensive restaurants and the Internet and parking charges (?!?!? - again, spoiled) and managed to still very much enjoy 2, nearly full, days in the park.  (Side note:  we did have the parking charges reversed since the shuttle was so late we missed the parade we were rushing to get back to see.  No worries though, we saw it the next day ).  I digress.  Luckily for us, the crowds in the park were minimal and we didn’t wait longer than about 15-20 minutes for anything except Toy Story Midway Mania, for which we waited about 25 minutes.  Considering it’s a brand new ride, that, too was an amazingly short wait.  We packed dozens of rides into our two short days, including some new ones for the kids.  Matthew bravely rode Star Tours with Ron while the ladies stayed behind and avoided the motion sickness.  I think they both agreed that the air conditioning was the best part of the ride, but hey, it was an experience shared.  Rachel rode the carousel (actually both of them - King Arthur’s in Disneyland and the fish themed one in DCA) all by herself, which I was dying to have her do.  I had these visions of her in all of her adorableness sitting there on her horsey going up and down to the music.  She did not disappoint!  In fact, every few seconds she took her hands off the pole and clapped saying “Yay!” - so proud of herself.  It was truly precious, from me, the unbiased mother ;-)  Some other new ones for her were Dumbo, Mad Hatter (the teacups), Francis’ Ladybug Boogie, and Flik’s Flyers, all of which she enjoyed immensely.  In fact, she began saying and signing “more” every time we got into a line and approached our turn to board.  It’s so much fun to see her grow with every trip and enjoy them more and more.  It seems like just yesterday she was 2 months old and I was carrying her onto rides in the Baby Bjorn.  Now she’s riding them by herself and by my side, instead of in my lap.  The time just flies.  Now, if we could just get her to fall asleep in the hotel and not wake up screaming every 2 hours, everything would be perfect :)  Speaking of sleeping, there’s a warm bed upstairs with my name on it.  Have a great night everyone!  -N 

I have that Eminem song going through my head, so I thought it would make an appropriate title…so I have been off of the Adderall for just over a week now; I stopped taking it July 25th, a week from last Friday. I didn’t stop taking it because I didn’t like the effects, well not entirely anyway. Our family doctor stopped taking our insurance, so we have to find a new one, and this happened right around the time I needed to go back in for my every-three-months visit to get a new prescription for Adderall. So, I decided I would take a break, because I have been SO focused while on the Adderall, I have let my creative endeavors fall by the wayside, so I thought it would be a good chance to see if those interests came back when I was off of the Addy. Well, they did! I am happy to say..I have been shooting away, and I have been meaning to post for a few days, but this past weekend we took a short weekend trip to Disneyland. It was almost the perfect weekend - on Friday, I ordered a smokin’ new computer, to do all my photo editing on, and then Friday afternoon, I passed my second Cisco certification test, so now I have 2 Cisco certifications. They are the entry-level ones, but it is a start. Now I am studying for my professional level certifications, which is a little bit more complex, it should be interesting. Then, Saturday morning, we went to Disneyland, and surprised Matthew once we got on the highway, he didn’t know we were going, so that made him really happy. However, as great as it was, I had a nasty head cold that also turned in to conjunctivitis (pink eye) so that was a drag all weekend, but everyone had fun, at least.

My new pc was already delivered, too! It arrived Monday. I took a half day, because I was just feeling crummy (I still am) so I was home when it was delivered. I am still setting it up, mostly just moving files around from all the different locations I had them stored around the house/network. I already have all my photo software installed, and the AWESOME new monitor I got is simply gorgeous. I also got some good speakers. So since I am still feeling lousy, I may do another half day, and work on getting it set up the rest of the way.

The trip was good, the kids were great, there were so many awesome little things to talk about, but I will let Nancy help out with that. The one thing I will mention is some things Matthew did on this trip. He has been watching a show Nancy recorded on the travel channel, Samantha Brown’s Top 10 Favorite Disney Things, or something like that, and he was doing so many things that she did in the show, it was very cute. On the ride Soarin’ Over California, at one point Michael Eisner, then CEO of Disney, can be seen on a golf course below, and he drives a golf ball that flys by you, and as it passes, Samantha Brown ducks, and says, “That gets me every time! Every time!” so of course, Matthew said the same thing, verbatim. It was priceless, because he doesn’t do it like he is mimicking someone, he says it so sincerely, its adorable. And at another point in Samantha’s show, she is talking to an animated turtle named Crush from the movie Finding Nemo, and he asks him how fast he can swim; needless to say, for the first time ever Matthew wanted to see that show, and he was lucky enough to not be picked ONCE but TWICE to talk to Crush. When Crush first started talking, he was taking questions from the audience, and he would describe someone, and the host, a Disney Cast member (they don’t call them Employees at Disney, hehehe) would take the microphone over to that person so that they could speak with Crush. Well the first person Crush described was Matthew, but the host went to the wrong child, and let the other child talk to Crush. However, Matthew kept his hand up the entire time, waiting patiently, and after talking to one other person, he described Matthew about as specifically as he could, and he came right down to the VERY corner of the big animated screen, and the host got it right that time, so Matthew got to ask Crush a question. Guess what he asked? “How fast do you swim” Haha! It was great…

I took a few pictures, not as many as I would have liked to, but I got some good ones. I would have taken more, but on Sunday, my head just felt awful, and it was so muggy I felt like crap. But I have been editing a lot lately so expect a lot of photos over the next week…

Ok, so now I will tell you about the trip to Disney itself - not the car ride, but the being in Disney part. We first went to the beach, straight from the drive to Anaheim. This time, instead of going to Newport like we have the last few times, we went to Laguna, just for a change of pace. It was very different, the beach itself, at least in the area we were, was very narrow as compared to Newport. Also, it was a lot more like Venice Beach, some beach-side basketball courts, volleyball games going on, stuff like that. It actually made it a bit more difficult with the kids, because the beach itself was down off the boardwalk, and it was kind of crowded. Matthew had fun, although Rachel was NOT fond of the cold water. It didn’t take long until they were ready to head to the hotel, so after a minor drama from dusting the sand off of Matthew’s legs (his skin is sensitive, but I don’t think it’s THAT sensitive) we headed to the hotel. Once we got our room, we had more drama, as the room we were put in had the bathroom INSIDE the bedroom; in the last room we had the bathroom was between the living room area and the bedroom, which made it a lot easier, having so many people in the room. Eventually we figured out they changed their room descriptors, and they no longer made any distinction between those 2 rooms, they just called them “Two Queens and a Sofa Bed.” The benefit was that the room that we had, with the bathroom INSIDE the bedroom, was on the first floor, whereas the other one was only on the second floor. As the official Pack Mule of these trips, I was quite happy to take the first floor room, since not only did it make unloading the minivan easier, but every trip to and from the park was easier as I wouldn’t have to lug the sleeping kids and/or the stroller up a flight of stairs.

Oh yes, I forgot to mention, before we made it to the hotel, Matthew started complaining about a tummy ache. We even made an emergency stop at a strip mall so he could use the bathroom, to no avail. As it happened, the strip mall we ended up in had a ToysRUs in it, so we went there, thinking they would be the most kid friendly. We believe one of our sippy cups is still there…oh well, they were getting long in the tooth anyway.

So anyway, once we were happily settled in to our hotel room, Matthew’s tummy still wasn’t feeling well, and he was quite warm, so all we did that night was go in to the park to renew his annual pass, and get some dinner. Then we went back to the room to get some rest, and an early start the next morning. Luckily for all of us, he felt much better in the morning, and he REALLY enjoyed the trip; even Rachel had a lot of fun, she LOVES Winnie the Pooh and Mickey & Minnie, so she loved seeing all of them in person. The only less-than-great portion of the trip was Rachel at night - she would go in to her pack-n-play just fine, and sleep for a bit, but eventually, after anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 hours, she would wake up screaming, UP UP UP, it was heartbreaking. So the last 2 nights I slept with her in the crook of my arm, and she seemed to tolerate that a lot more. We figure she was just waking up, not sure where she was, and scared. Well, I didn’t mind being the one to sacrifice and let her cuddle next to me Besides, before that, I was sleeping on the pullout couch, which was significantly less comfortable when pulled out than when it was left as a couch.

I have a TON of pics I am in the middle of editing, and I think I can start uploading them tonight - from Matthew’s graduation, through to the return from DL.

Well we are back from our latest trip to Disneyland (DL.) It was a total surprise to Matthew, and we managed to keep it a surprise a long time. We planned to leave Saturday morning, and we did very little before that, as it would be very hard to pack and keep it a secret from Matthew. So, Nancy did her best to run him ragged on Friday night, to tire him out and help him fall asleep early. However, for some reason, he had the energy to stay awake up until 9 or so. And, to keep him off the scent, I had told him he and I would set up all of our tents in the back yard over the weekend, since I needed to clean them out, and we could camp out one night. Right before he went to bed, he said, “Daddy, I hope tomorrow is a lot of fun” - I am still not sure what prompted that, but either way, I told him, “And why wouldn’t it be fun?” to which he replied “I hope you can play with me tomorrow.” I reassured him I would, and even promised - “I promise I will, as a matter of fact, I will play with you ALL DAY tomorrow” which made him very happy. Once he was tucked away in bed, with Nancy laying with him for a few minutes, I drug his and Rachel’s new suitcases out from the garage, and our suitcase down from the attic - the entry to which is right between Matthew’s and Rachel’s rooms; however, I managed to be as quiet as I could, and while Nancy said she could here me, Matthew did not. So, once Nancy kissed Matthew good night, we started packing. It actually didn’t take too long, we had done a little pre-sorting before hand, and that helped; and, we are very practiced at packing for this trip after the 10 or 11 times we have made the trek out to SoCal. The only difference was, this time, once we were packed, we had to make sure that there was no SIGN of us having packed. Nancy’s dad showed up about 10 with the minivan, and we packed all of our stuff in it, and then cleaned up as much as we could to make the house look normal. The only noticeable differences were Rachel’s pack-n-play was gone (packed away for her to sleep in on the trip) and when I had pulled down the suitcase Nancy and I were using, it had another suitcase inside of it, so we just stuck it next to my nightstand, where it was fairly inconspicuous. We finally got to bed not too late.

The next morning, I was up first, took a quick shower, and got dressed in my swim trunks and a tank top. The plan was to tell Matthew that his swim lesson, which is our usual first activity on Saturday morning, was being held in another place. Which was partially true, since we planned to go to the beach before checking in to the hotel once we were in Anaheim. We also told him that since it was in a new place, and we weren’t exactly sure of how to get there, that we would all be riding together, us and Nana and Papa. They come to most of the kids’ swim lessons anyway, so that was not too unusual. Once George and Karen arrived, I packed a few last minute items, and then put the kids in and we were off. Matthew, up until this point, had not asked any questions, so we knew were we’re doing ok as far as keeping the surprise. It wasn’t until we were on Interstate 15 that he got suspicious, and eventually, said “I think we are going to Disneyland” but he said it in a way that he usually says things he is pretending or playing about - like he would say “I think we are flying to the moon.” However, that was the sign for us to break the surprise to him, which we did - and he was SOOOO ecstatic. He is usually fairly stoic, but he was VERY expressive about how happy he was, he kept pumping his fist and smiling from ear to ear. It was a great sight for Nancy and I, after doing all we did to keep it a secret.

Ok this post is now officially long enough, I will post again soon and tell about the trip itself.

So, as happens every few months, our garage had accumulated enough crap in it to necessitate another cleanin’ this past weekend. However, this time, I moved the 3 large sections of shelving from the head-end wall to the side wall, since both Nancy and I both have a tendency to bump into them when pulling in, since we have to pull as far forward as we can to be able to open the rear hatch with the garage door closed. Now we have an extra 2-3 feet, which should make that a lot easier. Also, we consolidated more stuff, and since Rachel is growing like a week on fertilizer, we are able to donate more baby stuff, like Matthew first stroller - which I had wanted to donate MONTHS AND MONTHS ago, but Nancy refused, saying she was sure we would use it for Rachel at some point - 15 months later, we haven’t used it once. I think the was more emotionally attached to it than functionally. Well, she finally agreed it was time to let it go, so along with a few other things, it is being moved to her parents house for a yard sale that they are (theoretically) having. Also, we may have convinced Matthew to let us sell his John Deere Peg Perego ride on tractor on Craigslist, and he can use that money to buy something else. I say MAY HAVE because the last thing he said was that he wanted me to take it in to the backyard, and to let him ride it - I wouldnt mind that at all, although he barely fits on it now. We will see how that goes…

Meanwhile, our next Disney trip is this next weekend. However, this time, we have done it differently - instead of tellling Matthew about it, and having a countdown of chocolate chips, we have kept it a total secret, and have barely even mentioned going back to Disneyland at all since our last trip. The reason for that is part experiment, part preplanning for a surprise. The experiment part was to see if Matthew was that interested in the trips, or if it was more Nancy’s thing. Well we found out - ever since we have gotten close to his birthday, he has talked non-stop about wanting a trip to the beach and Disneyland for his birthday. Coincidentally, we have been planning the trip this weekend for months, and even before Matthew mentioned the beach, our plan included going there first for a few hours. Needless to say, we are SOO excited to surprise him with the trip. We told him, in response to his request for a trip to DL/Beach for his birthday, that we would “work on it” but it wouldn’t be on his birthday, which it won’t - it will be 3 weeks BEFORE his birthday - but he took it to mean, it would be AFTER his birthday. He was very disappointed but he handled it with aplomb, making us even more excited to give him this happy surprise

Meanwhile I am studying my arse off, trying to learn as much about Routing and Switching as I can. FYI, Routing and Switching is what I do for my job, my official title is Senior Network Engineer. Anyway, the main producer of routing and switching products is Cisco, and they have a line of certifications from entry level (Associate) to expert (cleverly named Expert.) So I am studying those, I plan on achieving Expert level by end of next year at the latest. That may seem far away, but there is a LOT to learn, and along the way, I plan on achieving numerous other certifications. Also, I want to make sure I don’t just study to pass the tests, I want to really LEARN the material, so that I feel comfortable with each technology.

Ok, back to studying…

Well, it’s been a long time coming, but it was well worth the wait! Rachel, who will turn 15 months old on June 2nd finally took her first steps all by herself! After about 3 months of cruising, she finally mustered up the courage to let go and walk alone. It’s almost like she’s been thinking about it for awhile now - either that or practicing in her crib late at night - because she went from 0 to about 10 steps all at once. Last Tuesday (I know, it takes us awhile to get these things posted!), I caught her standing, rather solidly, all by herself. I bent down and encouraged her to take a step to me. She thought about it for a minute, then all the sudden came toddling at me full speed ahead! As she came to me, I kept backing up until I had cornered myself. She fell into my arms with a huge smile on her face - so proud! Ron was in his office as this was happening, but thanks to our 2 sets of french doors, was able to see it all unfold through the window. I remember yelling “Ron, she’s walking, she’s walking!! She’s still going! She’s still going!!” We were so excited and SO proud! We practiced with her for a few minutes before grabbing the video camera. A week later, she’s gotten great at walking between two sets of open arms. I’ve even caught her walking between toys when she thinks no one’s watching. What a big girl! Hope you all enjoy the video. Have a great night! -N

I know it’s a little late (and now things are a little out of order), but I am sure all you families out there understand how quickly things can get hectic and how easily you can fall behind on your "work" - in this case, posting.  Anyway, as Ron had mentioned in a previous post, last weekend we went to the Summerlin Art Walk, an annual event where local artists and craftsmen set up booths around one of the most well visited shopping centers to display and sell their work.  We saw beautiful handmade jewelry, photography, sculpture, and much, much more.  There was also a children’s craft area, which was, of course, the highlight of the afternoon.  First, Matthew created a 3D image using yarn and glue, which was then covered in aluminum foil and decorated with paint.  Next, at another station, he decorated a pair of flip flops with glue and wildly decorated fabric.  We’re so proud of our little artist!  The afternoon was finally topped off with (free!) snow cones.  The weather was perfect, and a great time had by all.  Every Sunday should be this good!  -N 

Yesterday, we started swim lessons at a new place for both Rachel and Matthew. Matthew has been in lessons for over half a year, and has made INCREDIBLE strides - when he first started, he was pretty much afraid to get in to the pool unless carried by Nancy or I. Now, he can truly swim, he jumps in to the water, and knows how to turn around and swim to the edge, and hand-walk along the edge to the ladder. He can dog paddle, and he is now learning to swim WELL, with big arm motions and good leg kicks. So, for him, this was just a new place for lessons, however, for Rachel, it was her first time. So naturally, we took a coupla’ hundred pictures and video taped it She did very well, she screamed a little at first each time she was submerged, but she got ever it quickly each time and as the lesson passed, she didn’t even scream when she went under water. Overall it was a great first lesson, we think she will do well. The funniest part was at the beginning, the teacher was holding Rachel on her back letting her float, and she was NOT having it, she was trying to squirm around to be on her tummy, and she had the teachers hair, pulling it to get leverage as hard as she could. It was quite amusing, once she got over that she did great!