Brenda Does The Bahamas

Brenda was thrilled to make a trip to the Bahamas! Her neighbor, Tunesia, and her mom had planned and PAID FOR a cruise to The Bahamas. Mom had to back out Brenda was invited to take her place.

They flew separately to Orlando and spent two days touring Disney World and area. Brenda said it felt weird going to kid place without her kids. She has never visited Florida before and loved how green everything was but did NOT enjoy the heat and humidity!

They boarded the cruise ship “Sensation” and set sail. Woke up in Freeport which was small and dingy looking. They rode in a taxi to the touristy part of the city where they enjoyed bargaining and shopping. They then cruised to Nassau. This beautiful port was filled with other cruise liners and surrounded by beautiful scenery. They taxied to the Atlantis Resort 10 minutes away and got a history lesson on the ride. They swam and enjoyed the beach.

During time at sea, they enjoyed High Tea, Bingo, clubbing, going to the gym, the spa, shows, comedy acts and eating! Brenda is a “foodie” and appreciated the time and effort that went into the delicious dishes, taste-wise and presentation. She also enjoyed her table mates. She had her picture taken “every five minutes.”

Back in Florida, they toured Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Upon her return to sunny California, she felt rested and revived.

Dan did his part taking kids to various drop off points for school and picking them up again. He was a good sport and, as he has no desire to take cruises, was happy she could go.

ADD "NURSE" TO THE MIX OF FAMILY CAREERS

It is official. Jen took her state boards and passed. She was notified just today. We now have a nurse in the family. No doctors, lawyers or Indian Chiefs, but we do have a cop, a nurse, a scientist and a teacher. Quite the line up.

A Fairly Hot Time!

Today we spent a few hours at the Temescal Valley Annual Fair in Corona. Morgand and Brenda came with the kids--Larry stayed home to work--and we had a great time except for the 105 degree temperatures. The kids really enjoyed the petting zoo. Here is Thomas with his friend a sheep.














Emily thought the baby goats were especially cute.




























Brenda just hung out inside with the kids.














Kent enjoyed playing the games and winning prizes, especially lollipops!
There were lots of activities to do...




























Kent and Emily thought the fire engines and paramedic units were cool!














Whew! Nothing like a ice-cold Diet Coke when it's 105 degrees out!
We all had a pretty good time at the fair!

Mischief in the night

I got up at 6:00 am Friday morning to go walk and wrnt out the front door as usual. Walking down the street there was some stuff out on people's lawns. I saw half opened wedding gifts and other stuff I didn't bother to stop and analyse. When I returned an hour later, I went into the garage to get into my car and go to the gym. Lo and behold, my car doors were open, everything inside the car that could be opened was and was left that way, the arm rest console, glove compartment, change drawers, etc. I was kind of shocked but assumed Larry had been looking for something. I went in and asked him and he said no. Hmmm.

When I got back into the car and closed everything and drove away, I suddenly put it together with the stuff I saw strewn around outside and thought, "I think we had a burglar!" When I got back from the gym, we checked and, sure enough, the Audi had also been opned and gone through! Everything opened, etc. I looked up and noticed that my large pantry cupboards were standing WIDE open! What the H! Larry is always leaving his wallet and other crap in the car but he checked and even his change drawer still had some change in it. Thank goodness he didn't leave his wallet in there.

Talking to neighbors, we found at least 5 others who realized they had had visitors in the night. ALL of us had left the garage door cracked open from the bottom for ventilation. Other neighbors lost GPS systems, cell phones, iPods, bags of coins waiting to be rolled, etc. We had none of the those things in our cars so we were lucky. I filed a police report on line as it never occured to me anyone would actually show up but the sherrif came out to another neighbor's complaint.

We learned big lessons, I thought, until Larry refused to put the door all the way. He left it opne about 3 inches. If anyone thinks they can slither under that, they are welcome to go for it.

Leaky, Leaky

Our Insinkerator garbage disposal began leaking recently. At least I hope it is only recent! There was quite a puddle under there but, as I always have that area full up, I only recently noticed it. Larry is a great handyman and went into full fix-it mode almost immediately. Went to Home Depot and spent a lot of money on another Insinkerator only to find the connections didn't match up! He spent the whole day trying to make a square peg fit in a round slot! He gave up and returned it. Spent more time at HD discussing the problem and now I guess we need a plumber. Great! Until the problem is addressed by various experts, my big mixing bowl under the sink is collecting water which I then throw on the tomatoes outside or somewhere. Do home repairs ever end?!?!

Labor Day Weekend was Worth Remembering!

My grandson Kent's birthday party was Saturday in San Diego. He is now 3! They had the party in the park on the street with a piñata, little friends and pizza. The photos were adorable! His grandma and grandpa missed it. BUT...the kids came up for the rest of the long weekend so that was great! They arrived Saturday night and we hung out for awhile. Went to church Sunday and had a great dinner of chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and corn. I made Morgan play hand and foot Canasta with me! Monday morning we had a wonderful breakfast out on the patio...the weather was gorgeous! After breakfast we went up to the pool and played and just relaxed. That afternoon we had a big barbecue. Dan and the boys joined us. (Brenda is on a cruise to the Bahamas! More on that later....) Dan worked on my

computer for me and helped Larry out diagnosing the troubles with our kitchen faucet! BTW, Moen stands behind their products--even after eight years! I have a new spray assembly and inner guts for the faucet in the mail--FREE! I love a company that stands behind their products!

It was fun having a full house!

Nurse Jen

Jen started a Practical Nursing program in August 2008 @ Somerset County Technology Institute http://www.scti.org/. It was rigorous to say the least. She learned a lot about herself and even more about nursing. Some days it was more difficult than she thought she could bear; others she survived quite nicely. She learned so much in her many clinical rotations. We enjoyed reading her narratives as she sent them. She had some really great experiences with her patients, and cannot wait to get back to it AND GET PAID. She graduated August 6, 2009. She started with 42 students, and only 20 graduated. She finished with the second highest GPA of the 20.

She is anxious to move forward with more schooling; she is currently studying her RN degree through Excelsior College in NY. She has yet to sit for her state boards for her LPN, but hopes to have her Authorization To Test number in a week or so. Wish her LUCK!!!