I'm bored!!!!

Ok, it's too friggin' hot to go outside (108) and today was my first day off with the kids back in school. You would think it would be exciting to have the day to myself. Nope, I was bored out of my mind by 1 pm. Usually I would run errands, work in the yard, or go out and do SOMETHING, but since it was so hot I just stayed inside. I did go out for a coffee after the kids went to school at 8:30, but it was already over 90 so I came back home after that. Now I have 3 more days ahead with no plans and it will be just as hot. I would go to my sister's apt. to swim, but she is going out of town and I don't like to go without her. So I don't know what we will be doing to keep busy for 3 days.

What I learned tonight

These are the things I learned at BTS night at the kids school...

1. Both kids are in combo classes because they are well behaved independent workers. Who knew? LOL!
2. Teachers can no longer plan parties (pizza parties for example) and send home notes asking parents to contribute $2 towards the cost. Apparently the state has determined this constitutes "teachers selling food to students" and it is no longer allowed.
3. Schools now lose money when children are home sick even though teachers still have to run off the lessons, teach those lessons to the kids when they return and grade the work. Because of this new rule one classroom last year alone (that's one out of 30) lost $13,000 from their yearly budget.
4. 6th grade camp sound really awesome and I wish I could go (Zachary would die if his mother came to camp with him).

I'm sure there is more, but I'm sleepy.

Back to school-2007

The kids went back to school today. Zachary is in 6th grade this year and has grown so tall over the summer (and therefore is skinny, skinny) and Riley looks more grown up every day.
Zachary had a great first day and says his teacher is "great". I'm so relieved after our bad teacher experience last year. Let's just hope he continues to hold this grand opinion of his teacher. My first impression of his teacher was very positive though and I'm hopeful for a great year. Zachary is in a combo class, but there are only four 5th graders in his class and the rest are 6th graders. His teacher told him they were "hand-picked" because they were all very bright, independent, well behaved kids. So I am trying to keep a positive attitude about the combo class thing as well.
Riley has the same teacher that Zachary had for second grade and we love her. She also had a great first day and proudly announced "no tickets". LOL! This is an achievement for my girl who just can't seem to stop from sharing her thoughts out loud when she gets excited about something.
So one day down..... 179 more to go!

Riley's stage debut

Riley has been taking acting/improv. classes through our local community theatre. She had her stage debut today and played Sarah Kate from Afternoon of the Elves. She did such a great job and is a great little actress, if I do say so myself. Afterwards we gave her a bouquet of flowers, because every good actress gets flowers right? When I asked her how she liked acting the said, "it's great, I never even got stage fright".

My girl is growing up.

I came to the stark realization today that Riley is getting so big. What caused me to come to this conclusion is that one of my absolute favorite times seems to be gone. At the beginning of summer vacation Riley still came in my room most mornings and crawled into bed with me. I loved that quiet cuddling time in the mornings. Well, she has not done that in weeks. Now she gets up and heads out to the living room to play with Zachary or make her own oatmeal for breakfast. I'm constantly asking myself how these things happen and where does the time go???? So if you still have a morning cuddler enjoy every moment while it lasts. It will be gone before you know it!

Sleepless nights!

We got a new mattress on Friday and Scott was making fun of me laying on the mattress this way and that. I had to lay on my stomach because that is how I go to sleep. Then I had to lay on my back because that is how I lay when I'm reading. Finally I had to lay on my side because I always wake up that way. Scott wondered if I was going to nap on the mattresses too. He layed on the mattress for about 2 seconds and declared it fine. So we got the mattress home and Scott could not sleep that night. He said he was uncomfortable and could not get used to the mattress. Hmmm, who's laughing now. I refrained from an "I told you so", but just barely. He slept a little better last night, but it is going to take time for him to get used to the mattress. Maybe next time we go shopping for a major purchase he won't think I am so silly with all of my testing.

Cruise-Day 3

Our last destination was Ensenada, Mexico. The guys went golfing in Bajamar while Debbi and I only got off the ship briefly to shop a bit. This is a big difference from 4 years ago when we headed to Papas and Beer for tequila poppers and a wildly drunken afternoon. I guess we are getting old or we still have vivid memories that lots of tequila and a rocking ship don't mix well. LOL!

We were docked across from the Black Pearl (from the Pirates movies) so I had to get a shot of this for Zachary. I knew he would think it was pretty cool that we got to see it. Even though there was no way I was walking all the way over to get closer pics. So this would have to do.

When we set sail again we passed this sunken ship in the harbor that has become home to many sea lions. If you look closely the deck is littered with them just laying around taking in the sun. I spent several hours out on our balconey hoping to catch sight of some dolphins since Debbi's husband, Scott, said that he had spotted some everyday, but I never did find any and I still bummed about that. It was still very relaxing enjoying the ocean breeze while reading my book.

We had a nice last night aboard the ship. I had a wonderful hot stone massage while Scott napped after golfing. Then after dinner we went to the nightclub and watched a bit of karaoke. Those people were awful, but I've got to give them credit for getting up on the stage and willingly making fools of themselves for our entertainment. Brave souls! Then we watched a hilarious comedican before heading back to our cabins. Now I'm dreaming of a Meditteranean cruise for our 25th anniversary. We have been saving for a trip to Rome for our 25th, but now I'm thinking I would rather do the cruise which includes Rome and several other wonderful stops. So I'm off to dream of my next vacation.

Cruise-Day 2

Day two, which was also our 15th wedding anniversary, we took the tender over to Catalina Island. We did some shopping and thought the painted eagles were a good photo opportunity even though we still don't know quite what they represented??

Then we had lunch at the Landings overlooking the ocean and with a nice view of the casino. After that we headed back to the ship for a relaxing afternoon by the pool (again) before dinner. We also played bingo that afternoon which we had never done before and Scott won $241. Lucky guy! I never even came close to winning any of the pots, but it was fun which surprised me.

15th wedding anniversary cruise

Scott and I took a cruise to San Diego, Catalina Island and Ensenada Mexico for our 15th wedding anniversary. Our friends Scott and Debbi came along with us. Our first stop was San Diego, CA. We were docked right bythe Star of Inida and below is a picture from our balcony.

We decided to split up for the day and the guys went on a tour of the USS Midway while Debbi and I took in all the sights along the pier before we took the ferry over to Coronado Island. Of course we had to have our picture taken in front of a statue dedicated to the soldiers who served in WWII to show how impressively large it is. Had Scott been there we could have recreated the statue's pose like this adorable older couple did when they asked Debbi and I to take their picture.

Then Debbi and I were off to Coronado Island and the Hotel Del where we had lunch while taking in the fabulous view below. The hotel Del is so beautiful that I could post 10 pictures just of that. Of course Debbi and I split a ham and cheese wrap and got two bottles of water and it was $18. So it's a bit rich for my blood. It really reminds of old world hollywood. Beautiful architecture with tons of dark mahogany, old elevator with the metal cage around it, sprawling grounds that lead to the beach where they have private cabanas. Nice!!!

After lunch we caught a cab back to the ferry landing and headed back to the ship where we changed into our suits and headed to the pool. We had a nice time relaxing at the pool and drinking plenty of bahama mamas before we had to change for dinner.