3/12 Redwood Forest

On Wednesday we drove down to California, and got to see the Redwood trees. You just cannot get a good sense of their size from any pictures. I've seen pictures of them all of my life, but seeing them in person gives me a whole new perspective. They are amazing and beautiful. We drove along the Pacific coast (Pacific Coast Highway), and even though it was a foggy and overcast day you can still see from the pictures how impressive the coast is. Very different from the passive coast that I am used to!

We took a cable car ride up through the Redwood trees, and it was really neat to be able to look down at them from on top of the mountain. It isn't often that you are above the Redwood trees!

Sean coming up in his car alone

3/11 Crater Lake

On Tuesday we visited Crater Lake. I was really excited to go there, because I have studied Crater Lake in depth, and know a lot about the geology of the caldera. It was amazing to experience it in person, and to be able to share the experience with my children. The temperature in Grants Pass (where my mom lives) has been in the upper 50's, but as you can see it is MUCH colder up in Crater Lake. The average snow fall at Crater Lake is 45 feet. Not 4-5 feet, but 45 feet! The picture that you see of the building (with Brendan on the top of it) is a three story building, and the snow was that high up to the building. It was about 25 feet high while we were there. It's just amazing. Along the sides of the road you see snow, and it's not that deep because it has been plowed. It's that deep because it is just that deep. 

If you ever have the chance I highly suggest that you visit Crater Lake. It truly is one of the most spectacular places I have ever visited, especially this time of the year with the snow covered mountains all around it. It's breathtaking.

3/10

We were pretty jet lagged the first day here, so we just hung around for most of the day. We took the kids to a local place to play games, ride go-karts, and just get out for a bit. 

Surprise

I couldn't post about it here before now, because my mom reads my blog regularly. We surprised her yesterday (my step-dad knew we were coming, and has been arranging this with me for a couple of months) by showing up at her house in Oregon!

I haven't seen my mom since 1993, and she had never met Bren, Erin or Brian before now (Sean flew out and spent two weeks here last summer with them). Her birthday is this week, so we decided to surprise her, and show up unexpectedly for a week. She nearly passed out after she walked into her living room to see the five of us sitting there on her couch (she had gone up to the store when we arrived).

I'll be uploading pictures all week, but here is one that I took of Grandma and Grandpa last night with Sean, Bren and Erin.

Tony

My little brother, Tony came into town to visit for a couple of days last weekend. It was great to see him. The kids always love having Uncle Tony around because he's a big kid, and he always plays with them. Tony, Brian, Papa, Sean, Bren and Erin ended up in an afternoon game of football (Jean and I watched from the sidelines and took pictures) on Saturday. I'm not sure if I've ever shared a picture of my baby brother, but here he is.

My little baker

Erin got a chef hat from Grandma K last year, and she wanted to wear it while she helped me bake a strawberry creme cake this week. Oh, we also made chocolate dipped strawberries, and they were delicious! Erin did a lot of the work including mashing the berries that went into the cake. She was a huge help!

Farewell #4

Slacking

I haven't had time to get any pictures, but I thought I would post quickly to let everyone know what the other surprise was for the boys (since a couple of you were waiting to hear!).

The boys came home on Sunday and were surprised to see their bedroom completely made over. Yes, I mean completely.  Brian and I spent the entire weekend while they were gone doing a complete bedroom make-over for them.  They have been wanting it done in chocolate brown and steel blue, so I painted it (three walls are light brown, and one wall is steel blue), new bedding, shelves, rug, curtains, light (took out the ceiling fan and replaced it with an awesome light fixture)...literally everything is brand new.  It is such a cool room, and honestly it is probably MY favorite room in the house now.  I'm amazed that Brian and I did it.  It looks THAT good. And their favorite part of their new room?  Their new 32 inch LCD TV that is mounted on their wall!! I've been promising them a new tv for their room, but they certainly didn't expect this one.  Brian mounted it wirelessly (all of the wires are running behind the wall so you see nothing!). 

So that is their little extra birthday surprise.  Their room is the one room in the house that we really hadn't paid much attention to yet, so it was due.  Now it's the coolest room in the house, and the boys absolutely love it.  They are actually spending time in there now, and for the past four mornings in a row they have made their beds before they left for school without being told.  We'll see how long THAT lasts!!!!!

So...that's why I've been so busy.  Sean's party on Friday, the room make-over all weekend (I was up until 2am on Saturday and didn't finish until the minute I had to walk out of the door to pick them up from the airport on Sunday night), three exams in the past two days, and now I FINALLY have a break for a couple of days.  Whew.  

My teenage son

Sean is 13 years old today, and it was a great day.

At 3:34pm today Sean became a teenager. We celebrated in style, and now he and Bren are on a flight on their way to Atlanta. They are due to arrive in about 30 minutes.

Brian picked Sean up early from school (we always let the birthday boy come home early on their birthday). He thought that we were going to be picking up his five best friends to have dinner at Kobe Steakhouse, and then they would be going to the airport with us to drop them off. Instead I had a black Expedition limo pick up his five friends, and then come to our house right when he expected us to be leaving. Not only was he surprised to see the limo, but he was even more surprised that his best friends were all already inside waiting for him. We all rode to Kobe for dinner and his birthday celebration, then rode in the limo to the airport to see the boys off to Atlanta. They both really enjoyed having the friends there at the airport with them while they waited, too.

Brian, Erin and I just got back home, and there is even more planned for the boys as a joint birthday present for them that they don't even know about. I'm hoping that they will be too busy while they are at their dad's house to read this and even know about it. I won't post what it in just in case they do read this, but once they are home I'll update the blog with exactly what the "extra" surprise is, and more pictures.

Let me just say that I feel very honored to be the mother to such a sweet, compassionate, and loving child. Sean has been such a blessing of a child from the second that he was born (all 11 pounds and 23 inches of him!!). I remember being in the hospital while doctors from all over the hospital came to see him during our two day stay because he was the biggest baby to have ever been born there (at least up to that day). Being my first baby I didn't see what all the fuss was about until I saw him laying in the nursery next to the other babies. He was just my baby. And I was the lucky one for so many reasons!

Happy birthday to my sweet pea. As you have said to me since you were two years old, "I love you up to the sky and down to the ground!"

In the airport (taking pictures on his laptop)

My little man (ready to get on the plane)

The gang with a man who was walking through the airport!

Sean and one of his very best friends, Aspen.

Lunar eclipse

I managed to get one decent picture of the lunar eclipse last night.  It doesn't look like much with nothing to give it any perspective, but it was still neat to see, and I like the picture with all of the blackness around the moon.  All three of the kids enjoyed watching it, too.

Click on the picture to see a larger version with more detail.

Can it be?

Tomorrow I am the mother of a teenager. Wow!

Four-wheeling in Georgia

I've been wanting to post this picture for a while, but I've been waiting for Sean or Brendan to get me a copy of this picture. This was taken over Christmas while the boys were in Georgia with their family there. I LOVE this picture! It is Sean and Bren with their dad (Larry), step-mom (Martha), brother (Trevor), and sister (Madalyn) and all of their four-wheelers. Yes, even the little ones have their own, and they are 5 and 3 years old! Sean and Bren each got their own for Christmas from Larry and Martha, and they spent a lot of time out riding while they were there this past December. They had a blast, and as you can see they spent a lot of time getting DIRTY (=FUN).

The boys are flying back up to Georgia next weekend to spend the weekend with Larry and Martha (to celebrate both of their birthdays), and they'll have a chance to ride some more. They are both really excited.

Do not use www.flowershopping.com

Talk about terrible customer service!  I ordered flowers for Pam for her birthday.  Here is the arrangement that I ordered.
 

This is the arrangement that Pam received.
 

I was horrified when I saw the pictures of the arrangement that she posted of the flowers. They aren't the right colors or types of flowers, they are haphazardly thrown into the vase, and there is more greenery than there is color.  I think anyone would agree that the arrangement that was delivered was NOT a good representation of the ordered arrangement.

I emailed the online company, www.flowershopping.com and asked for a refund.  The following day I received an automated email notifying me that a refund had been placed.  No apology. Nothing.  THANKFULLY I called Pam to let her know what I had done, and also to let her know that another gift was on its way, because within a matter of minutes the local florist arrived at her door TO PICK UP THE ARRANGEMENT!!!!!!  Can you believe that?  That has got to be some of the worst customer service I have ever experienced in my life.  Not only was I humiliated once by the quality of the arrangement that was delivered to someone very important to me, but then I was humiliated a second time by them coming to her home and retrieving the flowers.  I simply cannot believe that they did that.  In good faith they should have not only left the "bad" arrangement there, but they should have brought her a proper arrangement.  

I guess it just goes to show that so many people are just not concerned with quality customer service any more.  It's more about the money than about pleasing the consumer, and that's a shame.  I will see to it that Pam gets the proper birthday gift, but in the meantime if you are shopping online for flowers DO NOT use www.flowershopping.com.  I know that I won't ever be using them again.

11 on the 11th

In about 30 minutes my BooBoo will be eleven years old.  At 10:19pm on February 11, 1997 my second child, Brendan Connor was born.  He has been a mommy's boy ever since that minute.

I picked Bren up early from school today (as a birthday treat), took him out for lunch, and then we went out to Macaroni Grill (his choice) for dinner.  He'll be having a party this weekend with his friends.

And I just have to tell everyone that I love that my 11 year old son isn't ashamed to hold my hand in public, kiss me in front of his friends, tell me how much he loves me in front of his best buddies, and I adore the fact that he still snuggles with me on the couch, and cuddles up against me on the weekends when I'm sleeping in.  I just love it, and I don't think it'll ever get old.

Happy birthday my sweet boy.  

The Giants

Wow, that was a great game last night.  The first three quarters were pretty boring, but the last quarter was enough to keep me on the edge of my seat.  They actually played some football!

This was my contribution.  Brian and Erin went to a Super Bowl party (I had to stay home and study for two exams), and I made this berry tart for them to take.  The hosts are from New York, and are HUGE Giants fans.  So instead of using the typical fruit that I use, I used the blueberries to form the NY logo (the best that I could anyway). Underneath the fruit is a layer of white chocolate and cream cheese.

Next year the Super Bowl is right here in Tampa again (it was just here in 2001).  Wouldn't it be something to see the Packers or the Jaguars in the Super Bowl right here in our own town? Woohoo!!!!