Meet the newest member of our family...

Sophie! The kids actually call her "Silver Sophie".

She is a brand new 2008 Honda Odyssey with dual power slider doors, 6 disc cd changer, triple zone electronic climate control, 8 passenger seating, stow and go seating, and lots of extras. We got the Silver Pearl color with stone interior. It's such a great van! We kept the old van for John to use and we've sold the Ford Crown Victoria. It's been a busy week!

I've been busy this week shopping for a new van, school supplies, school clothes, and getting unpacked from our wonderful trip. We leave tomorrow for a camping trip with Grandpa and my next task is to pack for it (and no, Sophie is NOT invited, she'll get too dirty!).

I've really enjoyed having the kids at home for the summer, but I'm looking forward to having a little break next week when they are back in school. I've still got lots to get done while they're there but I'll at least get lots of quiet time!

Ahhh, how great it is...

to sleep in our own beds! We're back home again after driving for 22 hours straight. The kids slept through the night while John and I took turns driving. We must have stopped 10 times before 8pm last night, and then only twice through the long night. The kids are ready to have fun and we're dog tired. If John and I can make it through a few more hours we can put them to bed and crash.

We had a great vacation, but it's wonderful to be home!

Another Two Theme Park Day...

We started out at Disneyland again today. We went on the Nemo ride, since the only time you can get on it is first thing in the morning. The kids loved it! We were at California Adventure when it opened too. This time we wanted to ride Toy Story Mania. The lines are over 2 hours long during the day. We were among the first in line and thought the ride was really worth a long wait! We rode California Screamin a couple of times, the Orange Stinger, the Jumping Jellyfish, and a few other rides we had skipped over on previous visits. We ate dinner at our favorite restaurant and headed back to Disney for the parade, the Fantasmic Celebration, and fireworks. We didn't get back to the hotel until after 10pm and the kids were already asleep. Our vacation ended in a blast of fireworks! What a great ending...

We're on the road tomorrow and won't be able to access the Internet until Sunday night. Wish us luck!

Another Wonderful Day...

Today we got the kids up and traveled to Universal Studios. It's an hour long drive from Anaheim in extremely heavy traffic, but we still made it right after they opened. We rode the Revenge of the Mummy ride, Jurassic Park, the Simpsons ride, Backdraft the Movie, Special Effects Tour, Universal Studios Tour, and watched the Animal Actors show. This picture was taken at the Backdraft exhibit and it shows the kids' reaction to a room that was ablaze. It looks kind of like hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil (Nicole was just removing her hands from over her eyes). This is pretty much how the kids looked after each of the rides too:) We're such mean parents to make them ride the scary rides!!We also let the kids play at the Curious George waterpark within Universal Studios. Nate was excited to learn so much about how his favorite shows are filmed and about special effects. The girls got to see Dora, Diego, Curious George, and Shrek and give them hugs so they were really excited. They all picked out pins (even Amanda settled on a pin!) and brought them home to add to their collection. We had yet another great day! Tomorrow it's back to Disneyland and California Adventure and then we leave for home on Saturday morning.

A Relaxing Day in California...

We haven't gotten many days like this on our California vacation. We slept in, ate a nice breakfast, cleaned three more loads of laundry, went swimming, and just generally relaxed. After swimming we cleaned the kids up and took them out to lunch at Sonic (yum!). Then we took them to Downtown Disney and let them pick out souvenirs. Amanda picked another stuffed cat (does that surprise you?), Nicole picked out a picture holder, and Nate picked out a Disney pin. We got them all another pin and a lanyard to start their pin collections. We've decided (a little late) that they will collect pins from their many travels. Now we have to find pins for Legoland, San Diego Zoo, SeaWorld, USS Midway, California Adventure, and Universal Studios. It should be fun!

Tomorrow we're off to Universal Studios. We're not sure how the kids will like it, but we have tickets so we're going! Time for bed...

Two Theme Park Tuesday...

Today we got the kids up early and were at Disneyland for early entry at 7am. We got in the lines for our favorite rides (Dumbo, the Teacups, Alice in Wonderland, etc.) when they opened and got in 10 rides before 10am when we hopped over to California Adventure. We went on Muholland's Madness (2x), Orange Stinger (2x), the Golden Zephyr, Soaring Over California, California Screamin (3x), the ferris wheel, and Grizzly Rapids (3x). John's really got FastPass down to a science so we didn't wait long for any of the rides. We figured we rode on 20+rides today and watched a show or two. The kids even got their first experience going on rides by themselves in "It's a Bug's Land". They were a little worried at first but got over it quickly.

We brought them to the room, let them play in the pool, fed them dinner, then put them to bed and we were all asleep by 9pm. We're going to let them sleep in tomorrow and have a rest and relaxation day. We really need it!

It's all about Disney!

We finally made it to DISNEYLAND today! We got the kids up early and were at the gate when Disneyland opened. We used a book to get to all the best rides first thing, collecting FastPasses as we went. We rode the Matterhorn, Indiana Jones, Buzz Lightyear (twice), Winnie the Pooh, Splash Mountain (twice!), Thunder Mountain (twice), Explorer Canoes, Space Mountain, Autopia, and Alice in Wonderland. We had a fantastic time and can't wait to do it all again tomorrow!

Touring the USS Midway...

We had breakfast with Mom and dropped her off at the airport today. We were all very sad to see her go. After we got our stuff packed up we took the kids to the San Diego Bay to tour the USS Midway. We got a personalized tour of the "Island" (the bridge, pri-fly, and chart room), toured the flight deck, the brig, the mess rooms, and the sleeping berths. It's hard to believe that they can fit 32 men in a room the size of a closet! They had to sleep in a fetal position to fit in the bed because it was so short. It was so interesting! We found out that John's Dad worked on the ship while it was in for refurb years ago.

After the tour, we were off to Anaheim. We checked into our hotel and took the kids down for playtime in the pool. John joined us after he emptied the van and we played for quite a while. We went out to dinner then brought the kids back to the hotel and collapsed for the night. We are going to just have an easy day tomorrow in preparation for a Disney marathon and a day at Universal Studios this week.

SeaWorld Mania!!!

Today was the was the day we've all been waiting for. We all went to SEAWORLD today! The kids and I have never been there, and John and his mom last went when John was little. It was truly a special day! We went up on the Sky Tower first of all to see all the things we wanted to try. Then we went to the "Bay of Play" and let the kids ride a couple of rides. After that we went to the Shamu Show! It was so amazing!! We sat in the "Soak Zone" and boy did we ever get wet. The kids just couldn't stop laughing. After Shamu, we went to the Dolphin show and met Dolly the Dolphin.

That was almost as great as the Shamu show. John and I wanted to go back to Shamu, but we got out voted. The kids were ready to play on the rides! We went down the Shipwreck Rapids ride and petted the horse (that one was for Amanda!), then down the Journey to Atlantis rollercoaster ride. At the end the kids wrapped our day up with a net climb in the Bay of Play. We went to our new favorite restaurant, came home and took showers, and were all collapsed in bed by 9:30pm after 9 hours of playing at SeaWorld.

Tomorow we have to move our family to Los Angeles, Anaheim to be exact. Now we're on to Disneyland, California Adventure, and Universal Studios. We've got a lot of work to do to get packed out of our hotel!

On a down note, Mom goes home tomorrow. We've really enjoyed having her play with us and helping to keep us organized. She's worked so hard the entire vacation and we really appreciate it. When I told Amanda she was going home, she started crying. She said "I don't want her to go, we're having too much fun with her!". I know none of us will ever forget having her go on such a thrilling vacation with us! Thanks so much for helping to make this trip possible and so incredibly special, Mom! We love you!

Koalas, Pandas, and Trams, oh my!

We went to the San Diego Zoo today. We asked the kids what their favorite part of the day was. Nicole answered "seeing the Koalas because that is my favorite animal (and they are not bears!)". Amanda's answer was "seeing the pandas". Nate loved riding the tram over the zoo. They all had a wonderful time, and so did Mom and I! Want to know what Shari's favorite part of the day was? Picking up John from the airport!!! We've had a wonderful time on this vacation, but the only thing that's been missing is John. He's finally here and enjoying the vacation as much as we are. He came into a manager's hosted barbecue at the hotel and they really know how to throw a barbecue! Tomorrow we're going to Seaworld. I can't wait!!!

San Diego Sea Lions...

We arranged our schedule a little and decided to go down to Seaport Village and ride the amphibious vehicle around the bay and into the water.

We saw lots and lots of Sea Lions and sea birds like pelicans, terns, seagulls, and other wildlife. Nicole and I even saw a dolphin being trained by the military for underwater marine assistance. The tour guide said they will go out into the bay and let a trainer know if a boat needs to steer clear of obstacles in the bay. It was an overcast but still very beautiful day! After we rode the ducks (that's what we call them in Seattle), we shopped in the stores at Seaport Village, ate lunch on the grass there, and then let the kids play at a play structure right on the water. For dinner we took them to a wonderful restaurant called "Souplantation". They loved it and so did we! Tomorrow we're off to the Zoo...

Today is a better day!

Okay, so I avoided talking about it yesterday, but the condo we rented SUCKED! It was filthy! The bathroom hadn't been cleaned in years, the floor was a grimy black, the toilet was disgusting, and the carpets around the toilets had little bits of, well lets just say stuff on them. Mom cleaned the countertop in the kitchen and the rag turned black. We didn't even try to tackle the floors. The condo concept was good, and if it were clean it would have been perfect. I woke up at 1:30am this morning and noticed a few very questionable people hanging around our van. Remember my little van break-in last month? I was petrified that it would happen again. I stayed up practically all night watching them to make sure they didn't touch Betsy!

I called Expedia first thing this morning and got their okay for a full refund for the condo. Then I booked a two bedroom, two bathroom penthouse suite at Marriott Residence Inn for just a little more than I paid for the condo. It is gorgeous! It has a pool, free hot breakfast, free hot appetizers and food at night, and a cocktail hour with wine and beer. I guess it was a learning experience and I guarantee I will never make the same mistake.

After all the drama this morning our day was spent in relatively relaxing activities. We went to the beach and let the kids play in the sand while Mom and I relaxed. Then we checked in at the new hotel and threw them in the pool to play until they could barely move. We fed them, bathed them, and tucked them into bed after a big day. What a wonderful day it turned out to be! I owe the Marriott big time for getting us in on such short notice! They even presented us with a nice welcome basket with tons of goodies in it to try to turnaround our day! I would recommend that hotel chain in a heartbeat! Tomorrow we're off to the zoo.

Finally San Diego!!

We got a later than usual start to San Diego today because we stopped to have a real breakfast at Denny's in Anaheim. We weren't sure where we would get our next meal!

On the way to San Diego, we stopped in Las Vegas! Okay, not really Vegas, but Legoland, where they had all the most famous Las Vegas casinos in miniature. They also had New York, all the famous landmarks (Mt. Rushmore, Lincoln Memorial, the White House, the Washington Monument, the Daytona Speedway, the painted ladies of San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge, etc.) and quite a few rides.

We finally ended the day at our condo in San Diego. Tomorrow we're off to the beaches!

Fun with the cousins!

We met with Cheyenne and Jeremy today and their two adorable sons. We had an awesome lunch and chatted about everything under the sun it seemed. We really enjoyed getting to know Jeremy again and meeting his family. Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedules to meet with us Jeremy and Cheyenne!

We traveled over 400 miles to Los Angeles today after we visited with family. We saw trucks full of tomatoes, onions, and garlic on the highway which was very cool.

The kids were unimpressed with the view (miles and miles of desert grasses and sandy hills) and got more and more bored and unruly as the day went on. We were very glad to see our hotel tonight and get them tucked in for the night! Tomorrow will be a new and better day for them, since we only have to travel a couple of hours to San Diego and go lay on the beach for a while!

Sunning Ourselves in Sacramento!

We traveled from Medford, Oregon to Sacramento, California today, a voyage of a little over 300 miles. It was another uneventful day thankfully. We stopped just as we got into California to get gas and the air was so smoky we could barely breathe. As we traveled further south, the air got cleaner and we could finally see the mountains when we got to Lake Shasta. We stopped at a campground high above the lake and ate a nice lunch and let the kids run around for a few minutes.

The kids got to see a yurt (a portable domed tent) that is available for rent at the campground.

As we climbed higher into the pass, we saw more of the lake. We were surprised to see a huge float plane in the middle of the lake, surrounded by dozens of really nice houseboats. There were tons of people everywhere we looked and it looked like they were all having lots of fun.

We continued on our journey to Sacramento and ate an early dinner, then came back to the hotel and let the kids play in the swimming pool for an hour or so. The hotel is part of a complex of three Marriott properties and all of them were completely full. Our hotel was full of soccer players and they are really living it up in the lobby and hallways. Luckily, our room is at the end of the hallway on the top floor so we haven't had much action down this way.

Nate noticed this car in the rest area we stopped at and thought it was really neat.

Tomorrow we're meeting my nephew Jeremy and his wife Cheyenne and their two sons. We'll end the day in Anaheim late tomorrow evening.

We made it to Medford, Oregon!

We made terrific progress today! John helped me pack everything up in the van last night and stayed to pack the few remaining items this morning before we left. We got to Grandma's house right on schedule at 9:30am and made it out by 10am. We stopped twice for bathroom breaks, ate lunch in the van and kept on trucking.

The kids were so patient and quiet for the whole trip! They watched a movie, played bingo, and read books.

We got to Medford at about 6:00pm tonight, ate dinner, and went on a hunt for our hotel. There was heavy construction all around the hotel and we had to circle it four times before we finally found a way to get there. The kids are fed, sleepy, and laying in bed now. Tomorrow we're going to travel to Sacramento...

Off to San Diego...

I'm preparing for my family's next adventure now and won't be able to post as much for the next couple of weeks. The kids, my MIL and I leave on Friday morning for San Diego. We will be staying in Medford, Oregon on Friday night, Sacremento on Saturday night, and LA on Sunday night. We have a condo booked in San Diego until next Friday night, then we move on to LA for the following week. John flies into San Diego next Thursday, and my MIL flies back to Seattle the following Saturday. We're going to have tons of fun and I can't wait. I just wish the van would pack itself:)

Day 8: Edmonds, Kingston, Port Townsend and Back Again!

We hopped on another ferry today to go meet Liz and Euvah's friend in Port Townsend. The day was absolutely gorgeous, but you won't be able to see it here because I was too tired to take many pictures! I never thought I'd see the day that I was too tired to get my trusty little companion out to document the days of my childrens' lives, but today was the day. Of course, I did get one very good picture of Liz:

I really enjoyed meeting Euvah's friend and would do it again in a heartbeat though. We had a great visit and used every moment we were given to explore our great state and catch up on old times. I'm going to miss my sisters as we all go off in different directions (Euvah to Singapore, Liz to school, and me to San Diego for the next two weeks) and I hope we can get together again soon.

Just one more picture to torment my oldest sister! This is the perfect picture for blackmail! I love you Sis!

Day 7: Seattle and Beyond...

Today we took the Kingston to Edmonds ferry and enjoyed the view. Then we drove to Bremerton and explored the new waterfront area around the ferry. We took the ferry to Seattle and took lots more pictures. We exited the ferry and drove through downtown Seattle on our way to the Seattle Center. We strolled through the grounds around the Space Needle and watched the International Fountain as it pumped water out to the sound of music. We visited the top of the Space Needle (the first time the kids can remember going there!) and explored the displays on the top floor there. We got home just in time to eat a delicious dinner prepared by John and everyone went to bed happy and tired. We'll have to see what tomorrow (my sisters' last day in Seattle) will bring.

Day 6: The North Cascades Pass...

We took our time crossing the North Cascade's Pass today. The emerald waters of Ross Lake were amazing!

We got to see the Diablo Dam, many river passages, and several waterfalls. Another great day with my sisters!

Day 5: Grand Coulee Dam...

We traveled across the arid desert to see the Wild Horses sculpture overlooking the Columbia River at Vantage today. The kids loved looking at the horse sculpture and checking out the Columbia River.

Later, we went to the Grand Coulee Dam, where we toured the Visitor's Center, took the Grand Coulee Dam tour, and watched the laser show.

We didn't get back to Grandpa's house until after midnight, but we enjoyed every moment of it. We really appreciate dad's hospitality. He had to put up with SIX extra guests this week and was always the gracious host. Thanks, Dad!

Day 4: A Leisurely Stroll Through Leavenworth...

We left the kids in Dad's capable hands today as we shopped until we dropped in the Bavarian village of Leavenworth. We found lots of neat stuff for our loved ones, enjoyed a peaceful lunch together, and just caught up with each other's lives today. We didn't take many pictures because we were too busy enjoying our time together. We had another wonderful day together.