Happy anniversary ...

... to my wonderful parents as they celebrate 54 years together today!  Love you and miss you both so much.

Our sweet pets

Every night when I go to fix dinner the dogs take their "position" - Jake right in front of the sink and Buddy right in front of the stove but sometimes angled around the end of the bar for maximum coverage!  (The pictures are a little fuzzy - okay, a LOT fuzzy - as I used my phone and the kitchen window was messing with the lighting!)

And we can't leave out Newton who is holding one of her "turtle chaser" treats in her mouth!

I did my CT Scan this morning which took less than 27 seconds to complete.  Getting the nasty drink down was the biggest challenge!  I hope to find out the results in the next couple of days. 

Quiet Sunday

We discovered this sweet little dove's nest in the corner of the gutter outside Grandma's part of the house.  Connor got out the ladder to see if there were eggs in it and, as you can see, there are two.  Fortunately we can see the nest from our bathroom window so when the eggs hatch we can get some more pictures without scaring mom away.  I so wish we had a camera by her to watch the eggs hatch and the little babies.

 Mommy bird is keepinga close watch ...

I'm not sure we even made it a month but Kelleigh decided she was done with the blue streaks and wanted her hair a darker shade of brown.  I must say, the color is quite beautiful on her!

Connor's first tackle!

The freshman football team had a scrimmage on Thursday night which gave each player a chance to be in some plays, coaches are on field, etc.  A "real life" practice of sorts!  The circled player in the picture above with the least amount of his body visible would be Connor making his first tackle.  He was so excited.  Next Thursday is their first real game against a La Jolla school. 

Off to school we go ...

We're all striving for a successful year as Connor enters high school and Kelleigh finishes up middle school ...

Our Day at Disneyland

This was our last weekend before the kids return to school so they were able to choose where they wanted to spend Sunday.  They had Disneyland, Sea World, Soak City, or Legoland to chose from and picked Disneyland obviously!  It was a truly beautiful day and surprisingly wasn't very crowded so the lines to the rides weren't bad.  In retrospect, we/they actually did a lot of rides!

I was a terrible mom and forgot to take my camera - can't remember the last time that happened!  So ... we only have the pictures Mark took on his phone.  Here we are on the Mississippi River Boat ...

The kids returning from the Pirate's Lair (ala Tom Sawyer's Island) ...

The goofy chipmunk ...

... and bridal Minnie!

Today started off with Connor and I doing our labwork - him because of his daily meds and me in prep for the CT Scan.  This afternoon Connor did his registration and is set for Wednesday.  We're not sure what one class is so I need to send his counselor a quick note to see what is going on.  Tomorrow should be a quiet day with only football and the company coming to see what the deal is with the kid's bathroom.  $$$ !!

Not the best day!

Today just hasn't been the best day.  I'll start with poor Buddy.  He started noticably limping a few days ago.  I was hoping the burr that I found on his foot was the cause but, alas, it wasn't to be.  Today we went to the vet and an x-ray revealed a bone spur and hip dysplasia.  He got a shot, has to lose 15-20 lbs, and has a week's worth of pain meds.  If we're able to get his weight down, that will help slow the progress and avoid daily meds to keep him comfortable.  We had already changed his food to a diet one and so far he's lost only 2 lbs!  So, we'll reduce the quantity even more.

I also had the doctor today due to pelvic pain that I couldn't avoid dealing with any longer.  She's fairly confident it's another round of scar tissue adhering to the incisions from all my other abdominal surgeries but wants to do a CT Scan and see what it reveals.  Monday I'll do the lab work in prep for making that appointment.  I'm hoping that I'll get away with just a laparoscopy this time and I'm not even thrilled with that.  I told Mark to just put Buddy and I out to pasture as we've worn out our usefulness!

Connor had their first scrimmage tonight against the JV team and Kell leaves in a few minutes for her lock-in at church.  Connor has his last Saturday practice in the morning so they should both be nasty by afternoon!  Ryan was able to call yesterday and sounded good.  It's great to be able to talk to him since we haven't seen him in so long.  I continue to be grateful that he is taking the program seriously this time.

... one week to go ...

... until the first day of school!  My incredibly talented and crafty friend always has the top of her cabinet and fireplace decorated for the holiday and it's so attractive.  I don't really have an area that works well enough to be that obvious so decided I'd choose the garden window in the kitchen.  After all, it's where we spend most of our time when we're in the back of the house!  It makes me smile when I'm in there and will be fun to change as the holidays approach.  (The picture isn't very good as the reflection off the BBQ seemed to be there all day long!)

Take special note of the "slide rule" in front of the pictures (remember those?!) and the gold frame holds a kindergarten picture of Mark's dad when he was 5 (circa 1919). 

Our blue haired girl!

I keep forgetting to post a picture of Kelleigh with her blue hair streaks ... and her goofy (play) glasses on!

Busy times

Connor survived football Hell Week and was gone most of Saturday too between practice, fundraiser blitz, BBQ for the players, and a movie on the field.  He was a tired boy on Sunday!  This week he just has practice in the afternoons which is more civilized.

Things are gearing up for school to start next week.  Today we did the last of the ortho/dentist appointments for the kids, tomorrow is Kelleigh's registration.  Did I mention that Kell has blue streaks in her hair?  What was I thinking when school pictures are tomorrow?!  Wednesday is Connor's Freshman orientation all morning, Thursday Kelleigh and I will help our Art teacher friend prepare projects for her classes, and Friday Kell is doing a church "lock-in" with her youth group until Saturday morning.  We've also had a little ant invasion - and you know how much I love ants - so Orkin comes tomorrow to spray inside.  Of course the maids will be here during that timeframe so we'll just add to the chaos. 

When Connor announced the other night there were ants in the kid's bathroom, I went in and saw that the flooring had all lifted around the tub/shower.  Lovely.  I have a company coming Monday to see if the boards have rotted or have mold as that was one of the problems discovered by this builder.  Apparently they hadn't sealed the tubs and showers properly and some folks had their tubs in their dining room below.  I can think of much more exciting ways to spend money but must get this resolved.  The joys of home ownership!

My family was kind enough to allow me to be gone Saturday afternoon and again all day Sunday to participate in Southern California's Shop Hop with a couple girlfriends. You buy a "passport" and go to craft and stamp stores who are participating in the event throughout a two week timeframe.  There are special pricings, make-n-take cards, and the chance to visit stores you generally may not go to.  We went to nine craft stores and one incredibly amazing quilting store between the two days.  Was a load of fun and lots of goodies for projects and Christmas gifts.  Never fear - I was home in time to prepare dinner each night!

Ryan's call

Ryan called last night after returning from their annual camping trip.  He sounded good and said he felt knowing he wasn't coming home this time made it easier to embrace the program.  He asked what we'd done throughout the summer then shared about his new sponsor.  He's only able to talk to Mark and I and call once a week for now but that's okay.  Was good to hear from him and grateful he's getting the help he needs.

Change of plans

This afternoon I talked to the house manager where Ryan is and we will not be seeing him on Saturday.  They have decided he needs to work through his 4th AA Step before they have us visit.  He'll be allowed to call tomorrow to talk to Mark or I but not the kids.  Earlier today Kelleigh told me she did not want to go Saturday "after all he did to her".  I told her we would respect that and she could go when she felt comfortable and was ready.  Has been emotional for me but we respect the decision of the house and will look forward to his phone calls.  He is doing good and making progress which is what we are most grateful for.

A sweet note

Mark left this sweet note on the counter this morning for Connor to see before he left for his first day of "real" football practice ... I couldn't resist sharing ...

Our Road Trip

This year the kids chose to return to a couple spots we visited on our California road trip a few years ago.  We drove to San Jose and had dinner with Mark's dear friend from high school, Kenny, and his wife, Debbie.  We always love seeing them when we are in the area and when they get to San Diego as it's an evening spent laughing and reminiscing.  Dinner at Dave & Buster's is always a good choice as the kids go back and forth to the games while we talk!

The next morning we went to the Winchester Mystery House and included their behind-the-scenes tour to the visit this time.  It's always a fun house to go through and amazing the amount of money spent for the era it was built in.  The behind-the-scenes tour was okay but not something we will repeat.

From there we drove to Santa Cruz where we checked into a brand new (only days open) hotel.  We walked to the beach and then to the nearby village where we bought some salt water taffy and looked in the little beach shops.  It was quite a walk and we were ready for pizza by the time we were finished.

The next morning we headed to the beach and boardwalk where we promptly started piling on the towels to stay warm!  We felt badly for the poor lifeguards doing some skills testing as the water (and out-of-water) temp was quite cold.  It never warmed up enough to take the layers off let alone go into the water.  Connor ventured a try and said he couldn't feel his legs so came back to dry off! 

I sat and read my Kindle while the kids went back and forth from the rides, shops, and food.  In the afternoon we packed the things in the car and each took a kid to do rides of their choice.

When the guys went off on their own, they returned sporting these henna tattoos.  Connor was quite thrilled with himself!

Kelleigh on one of her favorite rides - the paraglider!

Little R&R in Vegas

Mark and I took a few days to go to Vegas while the kids were at camp.  This time he chose to try the fairly new Encore as we had stayed at it's sister hotel, Wynn, last time.  All rooms are studio suites and they were very nice! 

The first full day there we got a cabana which was a good choice given it was quite hot there. 

View from our room overlooking the pool we were at earlier in the day ...

On our way to the M&M Store to get the kids something, we passed this sculpture which brought back SO many memories!  It was amazing when I posted it on FaceBook how only a few people knew what it was!

The shirts we got for the kids as candy melting in the car wasn't a good choice!

Off to Camp

I finally had the chance to download the camp and vacation pictures so will try and get them posted over the weekend.  Here are the campers prior to leaving!  I thought it was amusing that they wanted to sit on the fountain as "that's where we sat for last year's picture"!