Once we reached L.A., it was GO,GO,GO! We never stopped, we could hardly catch our breath! First things first, there was the debate between Magic Mountain and Raging Waters... Jason wanted to do something fun before we left California but we are "Disneyed out". So J posed the question of Magic Mountain or Raging Waters on fb, but when a cousin (there's like a billion of them!)offered to take the kids to Magic Mountain, two out of three kids jumped at the opportunity! That left just us and one of the kiddos to got to the wedding :)
And what a wedding it was!! This wedding was more like a production! This lovely young couple have friends and family from many cultures and so their wedding represented the many cultures that their friends and family come from! The food, the music, the dancing! It was like a party from start to finish! There was American and Guatemalan food, and it was soooo good! There was a Mariachi Band, a fantastic Cuban band, AND American Music! to which Jason and his cousin Patrice danced the night away! We had so much fun and the couple took such good care of their guests! They gave us cool umbrellas and fans for while we sat in the sun and heat and then flip flops for our footsies after all the dancing in our fancy shoes! This was a wedding I will NOT soon forget!Oh and about those cousins, I was wrong, there's like TWO BILLION of them! lol
A couple days later, we finally got a day of rest and "grown up time". Uncle Ruben and Auntie Pat took us for the best foot massages we have had in...I don't know maybe ever! After about 90 minutes of having our feet and bodies pampered, we went and had some of the BEST fish tacos I have ever eaten in my life! BAJA TACO baby!! MMmm good!! The only thing better than that was the delectable cheesecake samplings that Auntie Pat brought home from Harriet's... OMGoodness!! All I can say is Key Lime Pie cheesecake! wowzers!
Pretty much every day after and in between we were off visiting one family member or another. There are an awful lot of people trying to see "CPT America" before he leaves the City of Angels. This means lots and LOTS of meals, and a little bit of cards where Ceara managed to hustle me, her dad, and her uncles out of $11.00!! IN NICKELS!!
Our time in the heart of L.A. is coming to a close it's time to make one more visit to Moreno Valley AKA "the oven" here's where we split up! Kids with yet another cousin, Brenda. While Jason and I went to visit a cousin I had never met before, Pandora in Big Bear ;)
Big Bear was beautiful! And Pandora was great! She was so much fun and we had a great time hanging out with her! It was finally time for some real rest and relaxation! GREAT TIMES! Back to Moreno Valley and it was anything but HOT in fact it was downright chilly! I even had to pull out my sweatshirt in the evening! A welcome change from 115 degrees. We spent the last two days packing everything up and getting ready for our final American adventure...The plane ride.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
8/19/10
So, as the Las Vegas chapter ends, the Moreno Valley chapter begins...
Part 1- Jason's Class reunion: The day prior to the event was supposed to be a day of preparation and shopping and pedicures. That day of preparation turned into a day of "extreme" parenting complete with discipline and lectures AND a surprise sleepover with one of our children...we were however able to squeeze in lunch and cheesecake to go at the Cheesecake Factory and a pedi at this seedy little place that surprised us with great work! Jason's feet looked so good when the lady was done and I'm sure she was building muscle while working on his feet! There was a pile of junk on the floor where his calluses used to be!! Jason said they drew blood on his toes! Lol
Reunion Day! We got up early and hit the stores early. Lucky for us, we brought our shopping A-game, I found my dress right away! First dress was the one, no fuss, no muss! Wardrobe set, we had time to catch a matinee. Karate Kid at the $2.00 movie! It was great!! Yeah, we're late, I know, but with the redeployment, packing, kid to college, etc, etc we were happy to still see it on a big screen. So we think we are doing good on time until Jason takes two hours to get the car washed and run some last minute errands. Good for me because that gives me plenty of time to do the hair, make-up, and get dressed. Jason is the one who has to rush to get ready...
The reunion. I was nervous and perhaps Jason was too. First order of business after getting signed in was a bee line to the bar. Jason ordered us two stiff drinks and that pretty much set the pace for the night. It seemed nothing has changed in twenty years as there were about six to eight tables for the dinner. There was the cheerleader table, the student body table and we sat at the band table which consisted of a trumpet player, two drummers and a flag girl. Also honoring at our table was Mazi Mitchell who twenty years, was Best/Most Likely "Everything". So he walked away with many attributes that night, but Jason and two of his buddies did walk away with one for their National Service to our Country. The reunion ended with "Poison" by BBD and the whop, the cabbage patch, the running man, the robocop, the electric slide...
Part II. Hot Hot Hot! The next few days were spent in Moreno Valley where it's 100 degrees in the shade. This is where Jason's parents live and lucky for us there was a pool nearby which we would visit regularly. With a wedding coming up, we needed to get clothes for the kids. It's bad enough having one girl off to college, but having the other one now getting her clothes in the woman's section is just too much! With the shopping done it's time to eat and the kids want In N Out, yummy!
Dad gets a double double which causes a ruckus on facebook. The next day we have lunch buffet with the birthday grandma and tour her job.
Now it's off to Uncle Ruben's and Aunt Pat's near the heart of Los Angeles where it's twenty degrees cooler... LOVE IT!!
Part 1- Jason's Class reunion: The day prior to the event was supposed to be a day of preparation and shopping and pedicures. That day of preparation turned into a day of "extreme" parenting complete with discipline and lectures AND a surprise sleepover with one of our children...we were however able to squeeze in lunch and cheesecake to go at the Cheesecake Factory and a pedi at this seedy little place that surprised us with great work! Jason's feet looked so good when the lady was done and I'm sure she was building muscle while working on his feet! There was a pile of junk on the floor where his calluses used to be!! Jason said they drew blood on his toes! Lol
Reunion Day! We got up early and hit the stores early. Lucky for us, we brought our shopping A-game, I found my dress right away! First dress was the one, no fuss, no muss! Wardrobe set, we had time to catch a matinee. Karate Kid at the $2.00 movie! It was great!! Yeah, we're late, I know, but with the redeployment, packing, kid to college, etc, etc we were happy to still see it on a big screen. So we think we are doing good on time until Jason takes two hours to get the car washed and run some last minute errands. Good for me because that gives me plenty of time to do the hair, make-up, and get dressed. Jason is the one who has to rush to get ready...
The reunion. I was nervous and perhaps Jason was too. First order of business after getting signed in was a bee line to the bar. Jason ordered us two stiff drinks and that pretty much set the pace for the night. It seemed nothing has changed in twenty years as there were about six to eight tables for the dinner. There was the cheerleader table, the student body table and we sat at the band table which consisted of a trumpet player, two drummers and a flag girl. Also honoring at our table was Mazi Mitchell who twenty years, was Best/Most Likely "Everything". So he walked away with many attributes that night, but Jason and two of his buddies did walk away with one for their National Service to our Country. The reunion ended with "Poison" by BBD and the whop, the cabbage patch, the running man, the robocop, the electric slide...
Part II. Hot Hot Hot! The next few days were spent in Moreno Valley where it's 100 degrees in the shade. This is where Jason's parents live and lucky for us there was a pool nearby which we would visit regularly. With a wedding coming up, we needed to get clothes for the kids. It's bad enough having one girl off to college, but having the other one now getting her clothes in the woman's section is just too much! With the shopping done it's time to eat and the kids want In N Out, yummy!
Dad gets a double double which causes a ruckus on facebook. The next day we have lunch buffet with the birthday grandma and tour her job.
Now it's off to Uncle Ruben's and Aunt Pat's near the heart of Los Angeles where it's twenty degrees cooler... LOVE IT!!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
8/12/10
We finally made it to California with more than a few bumps in the road on the way...
But before we get to Cali we made a pit stop in Vegas or what Jason calls "Disney in the desert. We got there okay, but things quickly went downhill upon arrival.
So we get to the hotel where we have PRE-PAID and requested adjoining, non-smoking rooms only for the clerk to tell us that there aren't any rooms like that available and the closest they can get us is 6 rooms apart. After a little negotiation, she mysteriously finds us two rooms that she claimed were only two doors apart. Okay, that's not so bad right? Sure we can totally do that. I haven't even mentioned the fact that we reserved room with two beds and they claim not to have any of those either... Well we get up to the floor where our rooms are and lo and behold! They're in completely separate halls! One smells like the inside of a stale nasty ashtray! AND they only have one bed in each room!! Of course I am having a fit, but "cool as a cucumber" Jason calls and speaks to another clerk and then a manager and what did they find for us? Two rooms, adjoining, both non-smoking! Huh, imagine that! So that's settled. Once we were all settled in the rooms we decided to do the total touristy thing and "walk the strip".
Okay, I'm usually that person that will try anything once, you know live for the experience blah blah blah, but I really don't see the draw that people feel to come to this dirty, smelly (I wish I could get my lungs sterilized!) smut filled place. The name sin city is totally adequate! Also, I don't know about everyone else, but I prefer NOT to be herded along like cattle to and from everywhere. By the end of the first night, I was ready to LEAVE Vegas!!
Day two in Vegas or "America's trash can" as I like to call it was a little bit better. We went to the little amusement park inside the hotel. The kids had a blast and we definitely got our money's worth out of this place! Even those kids that claimed not to be having any fun were caught smiling and on the rare occasion laughing too! lol By the end of the day the roller coaster ride count for Ceara was sitting somewhere around 9, for Robert was 4, and even though Derrick didn't ride the coaster, he mastered the laser tag area! At the end of the evening everyone was exhausted, we returned to our rooms and slept...HARD!
Non-stop coasters and non-stop buffet eating sounds like fun right? Sure, but it does have it's consequences...by the time we checked out of the hotel, Ceara complaining of severe stomach pains! We get checked out and load up the car and ready to go...and the car won't start! I am now panicking! All I want to do is leave this place and get to my sorta kinda final destination. Jason goes to see if the hotel staff can help us with a jump, and NO DICE!! Sitting in the car, I begin to pray for someone, anyone to come and help us or at least be open to our request for assistance. And God answers!! He brings us John! A kind gentleman from Missouri, comes and offers to give us a jump. PRAISE, PRAISE, PRAISE! Robert said he wanted to bring Jesus to "Sin City" but obviously He's already there!
Now on the road, we are not far from California and a nice long break from long distance driving. Car is running again and everyone still excited about "all you can eat" and "unlimited rides" and things are looking up...until...out of nowhere, a spray of VOMIT!! All over the back of my seat, the center console, the back doors, pretty much the WHOLE BACK SEAT! Ceara tossed her cookies, EVERYWHERE! Pit stop at a McDonald's parking lot finds us cleaning up the car with wet wipes that I just happened to pick up in Ne and couldn't seem to find a use for, and everyone is scrambling to get out of their puked on clothes.
Well Ceara's stomach feels MUCH BETTER, and we are on the road again and after Jason sprayed the car down with some fabulous febreze type "smell good" stuff. There isn't even a hint of odor! YAY!!
We finally arrive in Moreno Valley to spend some time with our first group of family, Jason's parents. We're all very happy to be here in a place that feels like home, immediately the kids want to hit the pool and after a little while swimming, we head back to the house for dinner and a movie. It's been a really long day and we are ready for bed. I have the feeling this adventure is only just beginning...
But before we get to Cali we made a pit stop in Vegas or what Jason calls "Disney in the desert. We got there okay, but things quickly went downhill upon arrival.
So we get to the hotel where we have PRE-PAID and requested adjoining, non-smoking rooms only for the clerk to tell us that there aren't any rooms like that available and the closest they can get us is 6 rooms apart. After a little negotiation, she mysteriously finds us two rooms that she claimed were only two doors apart. Okay, that's not so bad right? Sure we can totally do that. I haven't even mentioned the fact that we reserved room with two beds and they claim not to have any of those either... Well we get up to the floor where our rooms are and lo and behold! They're in completely separate halls! One smells like the inside of a stale nasty ashtray! AND they only have one bed in each room!! Of course I am having a fit, but "cool as a cucumber" Jason calls and speaks to another clerk and then a manager and what did they find for us? Two rooms, adjoining, both non-smoking! Huh, imagine that! So that's settled. Once we were all settled in the rooms we decided to do the total touristy thing and "walk the strip".
Okay, I'm usually that person that will try anything once, you know live for the experience blah blah blah, but I really don't see the draw that people feel to come to this dirty, smelly (I wish I could get my lungs sterilized!) smut filled place. The name sin city is totally adequate! Also, I don't know about everyone else, but I prefer NOT to be herded along like cattle to and from everywhere. By the end of the first night, I was ready to LEAVE Vegas!!
Day two in Vegas or "America's trash can" as I like to call it was a little bit better. We went to the little amusement park inside the hotel. The kids had a blast and we definitely got our money's worth out of this place! Even those kids that claimed not to be having any fun were caught smiling and on the rare occasion laughing too! lol By the end of the day the roller coaster ride count for Ceara was sitting somewhere around 9, for Robert was 4, and even though Derrick didn't ride the coaster, he mastered the laser tag area! At the end of the evening everyone was exhausted, we returned to our rooms and slept...HARD!
Non-stop coasters and non-stop buffet eating sounds like fun right? Sure, but it does have it's consequences...by the time we checked out of the hotel, Ceara complaining of severe stomach pains! We get checked out and load up the car and ready to go...and the car won't start! I am now panicking! All I want to do is leave this place and get to my sorta kinda final destination. Jason goes to see if the hotel staff can help us with a jump, and NO DICE!! Sitting in the car, I begin to pray for someone, anyone to come and help us or at least be open to our request for assistance. And God answers!! He brings us John! A kind gentleman from Missouri, comes and offers to give us a jump. PRAISE, PRAISE, PRAISE! Robert said he wanted to bring Jesus to "Sin City" but obviously He's already there!
Now on the road, we are not far from California and a nice long break from long distance driving. Car is running again and everyone still excited about "all you can eat" and "unlimited rides" and things are looking up...until...out of nowhere, a spray of VOMIT!! All over the back of my seat, the center console, the back doors, pretty much the WHOLE BACK SEAT! Ceara tossed her cookies, EVERYWHERE! Pit stop at a McDonald's parking lot finds us cleaning up the car with wet wipes that I just happened to pick up in Ne and couldn't seem to find a use for, and everyone is scrambling to get out of their puked on clothes.
Well Ceara's stomach feels MUCH BETTER, and we are on the road again and after Jason sprayed the car down with some fabulous febreze type "smell good" stuff. There isn't even a hint of odor! YAY!!
We finally arrive in Moreno Valley to spend some time with our first group of family, Jason's parents. We're all very happy to be here in a place that feels like home, immediately the kids want to hit the pool and after a little while swimming, we head back to the house for dinner and a movie. It's been a really long day and we are ready for bed. I have the feeling this adventure is only just beginning...
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Saturday, August 7, 2010
8/7/10
My oh my...what a busy last few days. I think I will start with "date night". So, my brother decided he would hang out with the kids so that Jason and I could go and have an evening to ourselves. The night was going so well! Flowers dinner, movie (inception, it was great by the way!) and then...Kazonka, Kaboing! The car breaks down :( It was a great night all the way up to that point too! So we call Tey in the middle of the night (and everyone knows how pleasant She is when you wake her up from her sleep...) to come and pick us up where we are stranded.By the time we get to the hotel room it's 230! Sleep couldn't come quick enough.
Next day, we get the car towed to the shop and let me just take this opportunity to boast a little more about how I have the BEST husband ever because he let the girls go get their hair and tootsies done while he and Robert went and did all the laundry! (Pause for the "aww how sweets!") The car is finished and after dropping some cash on the repair people we are up and running again. Couple things to be thankful for: Praise! That the car broke down in Lincoln where we were surrounded by friends and family that could offer us assistance. Praise! That we have road side assistance on our insurance, so that we didn't have to pay for the tow. After we get the girls prettified, the laundry done and the car picked up, we arrive at our hotel just in time for their "happy hour" free snacks and beverages? yay!
From there we went on to see Jason's old friend, the "Fabulous DJ Romeo" who was DJ-ing at this REALLY classy place (insert sarcasm here...)
Yesterday, 8/6/10 if you're keeping track, the reason we came to Nebraska to begin with. Operation get Tey settled in school is under way! We spend some of the day at the UNL getting all of the paperwork Tey needed signed and turned in and had to make a trip to the IRS only to find out that some guy in NY has stolen my SSN and is working under it!! Sounds bad right? but if I hadn't needed to go get this paperwork for school, then I never would have known! So, I am THANKFUL ;)
So, from UNL on to the barber shop for dad and the boys to get their hairs cut...
This place MY GOODNESS! There were all KINDS of characters in here! And it was very entertaining, btw, this is DJ Romeo's side gig (not really, I think it's his real job) so we got to see him again and his trusty sidekick, I mean, younger brother KB. So cut, cut, cut, laugh, laugh, laugh...good times had by all, up until the moment that some random OLD MAN decides that he wants to hit on Tey, and he's being EXTRA aggressive! So, first he asked Tey for her phone number and she was just honest and said, "I'm not gonna do that" when he asked her why, she let him know that he was OLD and that she is a young girl oh and by the way, that's her father sitting next to him. THIS DUDE! Keeps on asking for her number! Finally he's starting to get belligerent so I get up and tell this man to stop asking she's not going to give the number, and he had the nerve, the audacity to look me in my face and tell me I should let him "take care of her, since she'll be in Lincoln and doesn't know any..." Needless to say I stopped listening to this mans foolishness and quickly gathered up my kiddos, but not before letting him know that he better show some respect AND stop talking to my kid or he was gonna be SORRY!! I might be a little bitter about this still, so I think I'm letting that go, no need to revisit angry feeling ( I was gonna get this guy!!)
So then it's getting kind of late, so we head over to Casa del Stover wehre we will be spending the next couple of nights for grilling and games...Jason says "never scum, twice the king" (Shout out to the Edgren clan <3)
We have one more day in Lincoln, and it's been so adventurous so far! I wonder what else we can get into?
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
8/2/10
This day started with breakfast at a family favorite (Starbucks of course!) I can't believe the girl didn't know what a "dirty chai" is?! Jason has come to realization that if the Starbucks in your city or town doesn't have a mug with your city or town on it...you aren't a city or town. Anyway, moving right along...after breakfast we left the loneliest state I know. Final destination-NEBRASKA!
From one end of Wyoming to the other there was nothing (and I do mean NOTHING) but construction and "reduced speed ahead" signs, but our "Fearless Leader" didn't let that stop him, even when there was law enforcement right there on the road with us! Everyone was playing by the rules observing all traffic laws, you know, playing it safe and out of nowhere comes Mr. King and he blows right by the officer! (okay he slowly passed the officer and quickly got back in line, but no one else had the nerve to pass her!) Ceara and I just knew he was going to get a ticket, but thankfully, he didn't :)
Next stop, lunch! Still in the loneliest place I know ( Wyoming takes a LONG time to get through!) but at least we had an awesome server named "Frankie" She was super cool, and if I ever figure out how to add pictures to this thing, you will get to see her :) Okay, bellies full and bladders empty we hit the road, yet again...
Finally! We enter NEBRASKA! As soon as we enter this state, Ceara perked right up and said "This is what I love!" and I asked her, what is that? She points to her right and says "See that over there?" and I say "yes" and she points to her left and says "see that over there?" and I say "yes" and she yells, "rows and rows of CORN! I love this place, where your food is just right there! There's nothing in between you and the things that you eat!" How sweet! Now Jason has been in the car with the boys all this time and they have been listening to "the funk" ( I don't know) music and then "Funk Master Father" started free-styling about Cadillacs, moving to Germany, and how his kids didn't know he had such a wicked flow...man, I wish I could have been there for that! Okay, so we arrive at the hotel to our own personal welcome committee! (Okay, it was my friend Tori and her daughter Meagan) Checked in, unloaded and unleashed the children on the pool! They had tons of fun with that.
Then it was time to pick Tey up from the bus station. So my friend and I get in the car and turn on the radio and what do we hear?! "Lincoln Ne is in a tornado warning until blah blah blah...WHAT? You've got to be kidding, well I should have known, this trip will be anything but uneventful. Needless to say, those sirens that were sounding must have just been a warning, letting everyone know...the King's are here! Take cover!! Okay, okay, we got Tey went back to the hotel room, kicked Tori and Meagan out (nicely) and hit the sack! Wonder what's in store for us today?...
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Monday, August 2, 2010
And away we go...
So, we've loaded up the vehicles and have hit the road, ready to embark on our latest adventure. First stop, Lincoln Ne where we will leave Tey aka "the brains of this operation" to start her own adventure! Woohoo! Let's do it!
Day one on the road was pretty much the same as any other road trip we've been on...rocky start until we got a few miles of highway behind us. One thing this trip will not be is uneventful. Thank you Washington for providing us with lots of interesting and at some time distracting things to see along the way! You know how on the news they talk about those folks that literally stop traffic to watch a car accident? Well I had never had to opportunity to see them in action until now, so thank you lookeyloos, thank you for showing me what has all the commuters all frustrated hehe. AND I saw a car on fire! A car! with actual flames shooting out of the hood! I always thought that if I saw something like that, that the car owner would be fleeing the vehicle, not calmly sitting on the side of the road, on his cell phone!
So after this it's pretty much smooth sailing, Jason- our "Fearless Leader" promises that day one is the rough day and starting now we get to have a little fun with this road trip. I feel a wacky picture coming on...
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