Thanksgiving 2008 - A Whale of a Tale

Patrick flew me to California for Thanksgiving. His parents were there too. He is living in Monterey, which is a nice little coastal town with an amazing sea life population. We stayed at a gorgeous hotel on the shore. The ocean waves lulled us to sleep at night. We woke up to the sound of seals and sea lions barking.

On Thanksgiving day we took a beautiful drive down the California coast. We started in Pacific Grove at Blubber Beach to see the seals. Next we climbed around on some rocks by the shore. Then we ended up around Big Sur and got to see some of the smaller (but still enormous) Redwood trees. We ended the night with a lovely dinner in Carmel and some Yahtzee.

Friday was our whale watching tour. We knew it would be hit or miss because it wasn't a major migration period for the whales, at least not in Monterey Bay. After about an hours ride we stopped and bobbed around like a cork but got to see a pod of Orca's, commonly known as "Killer Whales". At this point the rocking of the boat was making me feel a little green. After about 20 minutes the driver heard a report of Humpback Whales in another area of the bay so off we went. At this point I was getting a little sea-sick. This was quickly forgotten as we came upon a ship that was being bopped around by some curious Humpback Whales. They were really being rocked. The whales at one point turned toward another boat that was much smaller but thankfully didn't use it as a toy. I was amazed to witness such an amazing moment. After what seemed to be a half hour the whales started to move away and we headed back. Suddenly that green feeling came back and it was almost overwhelming. We had an hour ride back! Lucky there were some fun distractions on the way bay starting with a feeding frenzie; where close to 1000 Sea Lions had surrounded a school of sardines and were in full hunting mode.

President Elect Barack Obama

I have never been so proud to be an American. As Barack Obama's numbers climbed it was clear that he had become the next President of the United States of America! So many dreams have been realized on this historic day. Today America has shown that they truly can judge by the "content of...character". -MLK Jr Today our children learn that no matter what your skin color, economic/social class; America is the place where there are no bounds to what one can achieve. I will forever be proud to be a part of this moment in history

Scarecrow Festival

Joey asked me "Are we going to the festival with the Rhotons and the Zach family?" The answer was "Yes, we are going with the Rhotons and the Arnolds"

The Scarecrow Festival at Thanksgiving Point was a blast. I played almost as much as the kids did. In fact, my body is a little sore today. I am thus considering the purchase of a giant blow up slide for exercise purposes, jk.

We started with the jumping, sliding and bouncing. Then we downed an insane amount of popcorn, took photos and played around in some other areas while Joey and Bristol waited for TWO AND A HALF HOURS for the bungee jumping. It was worth the wait for Joey! He was squealing with joy as he was launched up into the sky.

It was one of our most enjoyable family days and we are very thankful to have friends like the Arnolds and Rhotons to share good times with.

http://www.louishkids.com

The Linguist and the Call of the Classroom

As the kids headed out for Newport Beach, California with their dad, Patrick and I started our drive to Monterey Bay, California. This was a bittersweet trip as I would be coming home alone. Patrick was off to Linguist school to learn Spanish. This will be a six to ten month separation depending on follow-on military schools. We weren't able to leave until later in the evening so we only made it Battle Mountain, NV. By it's name it sounds like it must have some interesting history, but no. We left early the next morning and drove to Lake Tahoe. It was nice just walking around the town with Patrick. We rode up the ski lift at Heavenly. It was a beautiful view, unfortunately for Patrick it was accompanied by food poisoning and some sort of allergic reaction from lunch. We were glad that the 60 bucks it costs to go up did in part go toward bathroom maintenance...or it would have really been miserable. Later that evening Patrick was free of Hivo, headaches and stomachaches so we headed to a lakeside restaurant for dinner. The atmosphere was lovely. There was serene live music and a beautiful sunset. Other then Patrick's raw steak and bitter dessert, it was wonderful. I think I was feeling a little upset already about the upcoming separation but still composed. The next morning we were on our way to finish our drive. We arrived in Monterey that afternoon. We had a nice dinner at a Thai place (my favorite kind of food!) and after walking around town a little it was time for bed. The next day was CHILLY compared to Utah. Luckily we bought coats to wear in Tahoe. We went to the amazing Monterey Bay Aquarium and had a fabulous time. With our recent Salt Water Reef Tank Hobby it made the trip even more interesting. This was our last evening together. The next morning it was up and off to the airport. After a quick goodbye I was off to Utah and back in my classroom at work by five. The teacher's work is never done.... I may be ready in 2040 for this school year to start. Luckily kids and work will help keep my mind off of missing Patrick.

Friends or Family?

When I see Auntie Em (My friend of 15 years) I feel like she is family; I mean after 15 years how could you not? I love that we are always able to pick up where we left off no matter how long we have been neglected by each other. She came to spend a day and night with the kids and me. We had a wonderful time together. We roasted in the Thanksgiving Gardens but the kids didn't seem to mind. They love splashing in the fountain and feeding the fish. Then we continued our entertainment marathon to the dinosaur museum. We ended our trip with a ride in a velvet carriage at the Thanksgiving Farms. Exhausted we went home, fed the kids and brought them over to their dad's house so they could begin their Califonia vacation with his family. Famished by now, Patrick, Emily and I headed up to Sage's Cafe in Salt Lake for a late dinner. My mom had once said that you know you have had a good time if you spent hours talking at dinner without wondering when it would be over or rushing off. That was certainly true of our lovely dinner. I was sad to finally drop Emily off in Salt Lake; it was nice to be in her company.