UN-happy

I'm having a big time packing crisis... It's so not funny. We are headed to Canada now and it's still just me and the kids and I've spent the last five hours trying to maneuver my STUFF to fit into my new (pretty) luggage.

I don't know how it happened. I have a zillion things and I'm at my limit of luggage. If my husband was here he'd totally kill me. I hope he reads this AFTER he picks me up and remembers how much he missed us all. :) With any luck he'll be sitting on a couch next to me reading this and I can smile and try to act cute.

Technically I quess I could take more carry-ons, but I know better than to take my allotted carry-ons. Car seats, strollers, kids... I don't have enough hands. I've done that before and it brings back memories of riding an elevator up a floor and throwing my carry on luggage out of the elevator... one at a time. ...then shuttling my, at the time, three kids out of the elevator and starting to kick our luggage towards the gate. That was fun.

So to everyone who gave us gifts... thanks a lot. :)

Oh, and in my defense I am carrying ALL of Paul's superstar motocross equipment, so if that looking cute trick mentioned above didn't work I will simply blame him.

PS...I did try and convince/pay off a child to wear all the dirtbike clothes to save space. One of them will have to wear the helmet though because I just had to take it out to make way for my shampoo and conditioner. :)

Nice break... back to shoving things into suitcases.

Dog Park

...Now going from pictures taken long ago with the kids camera... since mine is still missing. :( But I have to have pictures or Daddy will be sad, he misses us.


The big white dog is Sophie. We adopted her when Scotty was just a few months old but when the Denmark move came up two years later we chose to give her a happier life with my Uncle Bruce and his dog Buddy. Buddy needed a friend and Uncle was looking for another dog to be that friend... and we knew our lives would suddenly have us traveling more... not the best for a big dog that loves people.

So nearly three years later and Sophie and Buddy are best friends and I'm sure they are two of the happiest dogs on earth!! Spoiled to death and adored by Bruce and Ingrid. And we are SOOOOO happy to know Sophie is well taken care of.

Sophie usually has really long hair... like her tail. This is her summer haircut. :) AND her tongue is the longest dog tongue I have ever seen in my life. ...but I will admit to not looking at too many dog tongues. :)

iPhone pictures

Andrea and I shopping. I found this car cart in the parking lot and used it for our big mall trip. It saved the day and I'm glad we found it because I wouldn't have paid $5.00 to use it. I left it right where I found it and I hope another kid gets to use it without having to pay $5.00.

This was on the back of the car cart. In America we have rules for parents who are... not smart. We all know there is zero intelligence required to have a baby.

I give Andrea coffee to add a bit more "voom" to her step. HA. Yeah Right. If you don't know what "voom" is then you need to read "The Cat in the Hat Comes Back". :) Andrea has plenty of "voom" already... this is just water.

Auntie Trini and Uncle Frankie

We went to my friend Trini's house. :)

She is my bestest American friend ever. :) She and her husband, Frankie, BBQ'd for us and then we went to a little water park around the corner from their house. I love having friends that I can be away from for a year, then show up and have it be like I never left. :) So easy... Love ya' Trini!!!

My plan was to put lots of pictures up, but my missing camera is making that difficult. :(

I'll have to tell you that Trini is strong enough to pick me up.
Frankie's hat ended up very soggy after the water park.
Trini ended up very soggy after the water park.
Andrea loves tortilla chips dipped in cottage cheese.
I learned new tricks with ginger and lemons.
Sierra and Scotty played in the water mister forever and I want to bring one home. (Paul will it fit our German hose thingy? It's only $20.00 and hardly uses any water! Can I have one?)
Michaela ate the biggest two scooped ice cream cone on the planet... one that MOMMY never would have let her get. Auntie Trini spoils my kids... :)

I'm pretty sure the camera isn't gone forever... I'm on a rescue mission to Sacramento to see if I left it at my grandmas. I hope so!!!

Missing in Action

Nope, not a kid. I know where all four of them are. :)

I have also managed to keep track of all ipods, iphones, and gambeboys over the past few weeks, but I'm sad to say that a camera has gone MIA on us. I know we had it on the way home from Grandma's though because Scotty was in the backseat taking pictures of the inside of his mouth again. ...but what happened to it from the car to Nana and Papas' house I am still unsure of.

:( It's irritating and I think of it at least once an hour... trying to figure out an other place that I haven't checked yet. Then I have some hope as I go and check my new place, but my hope is SMASHED TO PIECES when the camera is not found.

UGH. SO. No pretty pictures for the next few days, but I have to keep writing because my husband misses us and has demanded I be a good little blog writer. Maybe I'll go sift through the iPhone pictures...

I'm sure the camera will show up. In the last hour I came up with another odd, longshot of a place it might be, but that little bit of hope will let me sleep a bit better tonight because this whole thing is really irritating. :)

Shopping Spree...and I hate my bank.

First I'll whine about my Bank. It's not even a real bank. It's a Credit Union. ...and I don't even know what a Credit Union is or what the difference is of that and a bank. It's called Uncle Credit Union. Dumb name too...

Anyways. Every month our renters deposit checks into our account. They write our account number on the back and mail it to the bank... AND every month it goes into our Checking Account, except for this month because I'm in town actually USING the account... No really though, who knows why the bank chose to put the money into Savings, but APPARENTLY if you don't specify "checking" or "savings" the bank teller is free to put your money where ever they so choose so. Just "eenie-meenie-miney-mo... put-the-money-there."

"No procedure?", I asked. NOPE.
"No default process?", I asked. NOPE.
"Can I have my fees back please?" NOPE.

Nevermind that for the past 2.5 YEARS the money has gone into our Checking Account and our renters did the same thing this month as they do every month. That would lead someone to believe money by default, or bank protocol... mailed checks are deposited into Checking. NOPE, no process though... eenie-meeie-miney-mo-i-work-in-a-la-la-la-dumb-fake-wanna-be-bank!!

I talked to the Manager. It ended with me telling her that was stupid. A Bank Teller can just decide where to stick the money?? La De Da Savings for you, La Da De Checking for you... Wheeee fun? Then I told her I had a hard time believing that a bank that has rules and fees for everything and pages and pages of "small print" would not have a written procedure for handling people's money. I hope that manager gets sick.

It was at this point that I decided to close my account. "Give me all my money please." :) I waited a few minutes for them to transfer everything out of my account and then I said, "No, nevermind. Put it all back. I don't want to deal with finding a new bank now. I'll just have my husband call you." :)

Then for fun, after she transferred it all BACK, I told her, "I changed my mind again. Please close the account and give me all my money." ...then I looked at her and smiled. "Just Kidding". At least she smiled, I wasn't mad at her... just the bank... and the dumb manager who wore too much make up.

Really, I'm not mean... even though I spent a good 15 minutes harassing them to the point even Paul would have been proud. I'm just sure that the bank MUST have some rules for handling money, rather than... "stick it in whatever account you feel like it."

Go get em' Happy. Get my fees back. I tried and I lost. :( They made your wife mad and hurt her feelings. Are you going to let that nasty bank manager talk to me like that? Call them and tell them they are dumb. Get our money back. PS. Sorry I lost it to begin with! :)

I left the bank. Went to Starbucks and got a Latte to feel better. ...and went about my Shopping Spree Day. I had left Scotty behind and just had Andrea with me and we went to the BIG mall. Shopping with Andrea was slightly similar to torture. I guess it worked out for the most part though because I was able to buy some things and she probably saved me lots of money.

Then I came home and traded kids with Nana. I left her Andrea and took Scotty and went out to the small mall. This was a much more productive/expensive shopping trip. I bought pants that are short enough for me and lots of clothes for myself. I didn't by a kid one thing! (Except for a shirt and pants for Scotty)

:) ...and I got a great luggage set. :) It makes me happy... surprisingly happy. I actually LOVE our new luggage. I think I'll use that plastic wrapper at the airport and wrap them up so they dont' get dirty. :) Don't worry Happy, I'll get rid of three of those mismatched ghetto ones. :)

We miss you Happy!

Santa Cruz

We went to the BEACH. :)

It was a good thing I took along some other adults because four kids at the beach by yourself is near impossible. Thanks Uncle Mikey and Uncle Kev and Auntie Jessica for helping me chase/carry children, push strollers, and carry sand toys!

Once we made it to the beach I think I got whiplash from frantically looking from one kid to the next.... Andrea wanted to roam free all over the entire beach... chasing seagulls and waves. Scotty was determined to fill his bucket FULL of water, but was oblivious to the fact that although the waves go out they COME BACK quickly. Sierra kept going further and further down the beach chasing waves... and Michaela was trying to drown herself perfecting her boogie boarding skills. PHEW...

I put Uncle Mikey in charge of Andrea. I put Uncle Kevin in charge of Scotty and Michaela. ...and I relaxed on the beach watching Sierra. :)

Santa Cruz is extra fun because there is the Boardwalk with is an amusement park RIGHT on the beach. We got the kids wristbands and they rode rides until 10pm at night when Mommy finally decided she was done and wanted to go back to our hotel.

Santa Cruz has the worlds largest or oldest Wooden Roller Coaster... maybe. I know something is cool about that roller coaster. They also have a Merry-Go-Round that you grab rings that hang down and then throw them at a clown picture on the wall and try to make it into his mouth. I think it's one of the last one's on the PLANET. :) maybe. It's just a cool place. Corn Dogs, Dippin Dots, Churros, Funnel Cakes. YUM

We miss you Happy!!

Little Audrey! :)

Here is my little niece, Audrey. :) She is eight months old and such a cute, tiny, lightweight little thing! She loves me. :) Well she loves everyone because she's so happy all the time!

I thought Andrea would get mad if I held her, but I think Andrea kind of likes her too. Of course all toys in the entire house are Andrea's... duh.

Actually, Andrea will share, but she is much happier about it if you first give the toy to her and she gives it to Audrey. Andrea will decide who plays with what around here. :) Good thing Audrey just smiles about it all.

Scotty likes Audrey too. I asked if he wanted to hold her and he jumped up. He piles toys on her and tries to talk to her in a baby voice. :)

To Keep Warm.

This is how I plan on insulating our house this winter. :)

I took this picture a few weeks ago in Denmark. I took it for you Happy. Can you please keep us warm by sticking insulation on the side of our house like this? :)

Really, would it work though? I'm only half kidding...

My Favorite Food!

I think I'm over American Fast Food...everytime I eat it I find my self emotionally disappointed... and my stomach feels too full.

However, I have a serious American cereal problem. :) I eat at least three bowls a day ...and I only eat the colorful stuff.

My favorites change... I could pick out 20 different kinds at the grocery store and be happy eating nothing else for a week. :)

Ingrid, these are Captain Crunch with ONLY BERRIES!!! If you send me an address that I can ship to I'll send you a box!!!!!!! :)

USA #1

Happy Birthday America :)

This year the 4th of July fell on Sunday so some towns chose to have their big firework show on Saturday. Why? Happy will love this. Because security, fire departments, and police all would require to be paid double time on Sunday, but only regular time on Saturday. I've heard a lot of news about cities cutting back on their Fourth of July budgets so I guess it was cheaper to change the date that Independence Day has been on for the past 250+ years. :) I thought it was dumb and a bit cheap to do it on the third, but actually it worked out great for us. :) We cashed in on TWO firework shows. :)

Saturday the third, we went to my cousin Tawna's house near Sacramento. Her house is right near the high school where they set off the big fireworks so we were able to just hang out in her front yard and watch from there. She had a big party and it was lots of fun to see the family. Michaela, Sierra, and Scotty really liked it, and Andrea... well, she hated it.

Andrea was not impressed by the weenies across the street lighting bomb-like M-80s... they are like a 1/4 stick of dynamite?? SO LOUD. NOT SO SMART NEIGHBORS you have Tawna. :) I've decided that a real bomb must be unbelievably loud... like lose-your-hearing loud. The M-80s were before the real firework show that compensates for the loud sounds with pretty lights, so for the entire night Andrea just focused on the loud booms and NOT the pretty lights. During the fireworks Andrea had a tight grip on me and refused to look at the fireworks. She watched Looney Toons on my iPhone and would glance up every now again... but she never did lift her head. :) Cute little kid.

...and Happy Birthday Aunt Gail. She gets fireworks on her birthday. Lucky Girl. :)

(sorry 3rd of July pictures on another camera I didn't bring the card reader for. Paul can you bring the XD card reader with you!) xxoo

On the real Fourth of July we spent the day with my Grandma. The kids played outside and I was able to deliver all my German newspapers and magazines to my Aunt Ingrid who is from Germany. She is a devoted Germany Soccer Fan and was happy to read about the game where Germany kicked England's BUTT. :) ...not the time Germany kicked Argentina's BUTT... :) Paul can bring those newspapers... I've decided soccer is pretty fun to watch, maybe it's just because they are the good teams, but it's pretty exciting if you get into it. I'll support Ingrid and root for Germany now since the US is out. Plus, maybe if Germany wins the people will all be happier and nicer to me when I get back. :)

So on the 4th we hung out with Sophie and Buddy at the dog park, went out for breakfast and ate greasy American food that sat in my stomach like a lead weight afterwards... but was yummy! :) We played at Grandma's house, then drove back to Tracy and the girls went with their dad to see the Fourth's fireworks.


was happy for Round Two of fireworks on the real Fourth of July. I took Scotty and Andrea to the high school and we watched from there. It was a really cool (as in temperature) night and we ran around chasing a soccer ball on the same soccer field I played high school soccer on. :) We bought glow in the dark necklaces with some money Papa gave us and we ate KFC ...which sat in my stomach like a lead weight afterwards... but was yummy! :) Andrea liked the fireworks the second time around though. Maybe "liked" isn't the word... she didn't "hate" it. :) She watched them the whole time and even clapped when everyone else did. :)

I know Denmark (maybe Germany) has WAY more firework action on New Year's Eve... but I still like the Fourth of July fireworks here. I guess technically I like the time before the fireworks: the hot day has cooled off, we had a big blanket to lay on, we were surrounded by friendly people all playing with balls and dancing to loud fun music. Everyone is throwing and kicking balls everywhere and everyone is happy. Everyone kicks and throws any ball that comes their way... loud fun music is dancing, everyone is singing and dancing... It's fun and I LIKE IT. Scotty has been carrying things for me lately. He says it is because he is almost five and stronger now.

We still miss you though Happy...
This is what my hair looks like now. :)

Yippie for California!

We made it to California... and we are finally sleeping at the right time. Being up before 3am was getting pretty old.

The flight was long and not so fun. I found myself hoping the drunk guy two rows up would become really "uncooperative" and we'd have to land the plane. I was also hoping the lady behind us getting sick would require immediate medical attention and we'd have to land the plane. I didn't care... just get me off the plane. :) No early landings... 11 hours later we arrived in San Francisco and just a short three hours later we were through customs and hugging Nana!

Really though, Michaela and Sierra and Scotty were great. I always get so many comments on how great they were. Michaela took care of Scotty the entire flight. Cut his chicken, blew on the hot noodles, shared her ipod.

Andrea wasn't happy with the flight. I guess she did fine until she got tired, luckily I had her car seat and she just got strapped in and cried but eventually she would calm down and fall asleep. 11 hours was long. I'm not sure if I'll do that again.

BUT we are here and enjoying the sun. It's not too hot so I'm not complaining yet... It's just a warm bright sun and I love that Scotty wears sunglasses everywhere. :)

More later...

We miss you Happy.