Annual Knott's Berry Farm Fun

Each November we plan a trip to Knott's Berry Farm when they give huge discounts to active duty military families.
This year they had a new ride: The Pony Express. It was pretty fun. It gives a whole new twist on those coin operated electrid pony rides at the local stores. These ponies follow a roller coaster track.
This was yet another ride the girls weren't tall enough for. Keep growing!
The wet rides are always a family favorite . . . especially on a warm day.

I don't think they got wet enough.

At Camp Snoopy the girls can ride all the rides, but Joseph and Orrin are too tall this year for some of them.

Aleya found a new friend.
She wants to bring him home.

Yes on 8! Yes on 8!

We put forth our best efforts in support of Proposition 8 out here in California. We attended rallies, participated in phone banks, phoned from home, posted signs, and waved signs on street corners, and Andrea was even a poll watcher!

We were even on several news stations for 1/2 second each. Orrin said, "Wow, we must be famous now!"Thankfully all our efforts paid off and Proposition passed 52% to 48%. HOORAY!

Happy Halloween

I LOVE HALLOWEEN!

Prince Zuko verses Avatar Aang. (from Avatar: The Last Airbender) I made both costumes.

Our kids could hardly contain their excitement and stand still for photos!


Aleya was Barbie Mariposa (a butterfly fairy) and Amara was a Glamour Girl.
Amara and Aleya stuck with me and we trick-or-treated streets nearby our home.Amara met up with a few friends.

Orrin trick-or-treated with his new friend, Marcus, and his dad and sister. They moved here from Rota, Spain (Navy family).

Joseph trick-or-treated with his friends, Parker, Mark, and Chris.
Even I dressed up! Christian brought me this belly dancer costume from Dubai. I am wearing a flesh-colored dancer body suit underneath to be modest.

Aleya's First Dance Class

Aleya loved her first day of dance class. Her teacher is Miss Tracey and is Amara's teacher, too.

The choo choo train.

Aleya loves ballet the best and is quite a graceful dancer, for a 2 1/2 year old.

A quick trip to the WAP

We have had passes to the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park for the better part of six years now. It doesn't get old seeing the animals in action! We just need to make time to visit more, especially since it is just Aleya and I at home on school days.

The Lions were all lounging right in front of us on this trip . . . hanging out atop this car (it is a feature in their enclosure).

No trip to the WAP is complete without the tram tour to get a closer look at the free-range animals. Aleya was mildly impressed.

Super Snorkel Day!

It was a beautiful day at La Jolla Cove. The water was a crisp 62 degrees, but it was clear and gorgeous. I wanted the kids to get another chance to snorkel when it wasn't overcast.

Orrin and I plunged in first and enjoyed viewing all the fun fish. Someone chummed the water and we found ourselves encircled in fish a few times, with fish bumping into us. Orrin was able to touch several fish.

Next Joseph and Christian took their turn and swam out to a rocky area where they could stand. Some snorkelers nearby had brought a bag of frozen peas. The fish went crazy! Joseph thought it was AWESOME to see so many fish. We'll have to bring our own bag next time.



Christian and Joseph finally returned and the kids decided to play on the beach for a while and climb on all the rocks.

While playing in the sand, we saw something large approach the beach. It was a SQUID! It was about 50 inches long. The waves nearly washed up onto Orrin's feet and it got scared and inked in the water.

Orrin couldn't help himself and reached in and gave it a pet. Watch out for the teeth!

Another squid soon followed and washed up on the rocks near shore. Several snorklers tried to push it back out to sea, but it turns out that they both came in to die.

Orrin tried to keep one alive that was stuck on the rocks by throwing water on it with a bucket.
Two eels found it lying helpless and helped themselves to dinner on its arms and tentacles. It was like National Geographic . . . LIVE!

Joseph stroked the poor creature as it took its last few breaths. Then they watched excitedly as the eels took some more bites. Wow! What an experience.

The

Our First Cruise

Christian's 40!

We can't believe it's already here! Boy has time flown by! Fortunately for Christian, 40 is the new 30. We all dressed in black, as traditionally done for the 40th birthday parties.
We had chocolate brownies (in keeping with the dark/black theme). We decided the 40 candles would be a fire hazard.

Christian received a lot of great gifts. Aleya thought the chocolate was the best. He received 2 musical cards. They were a hit with the kids! Look for them the next time you need to buy a card. They have some pretty cool ones.
We made homemade oreo cookie ice cream to go with the brownies.

Surprisingly, we were all still happy after our late party from 9-10PM, due to Orrin's baseball game. We tried to have a nice time together.

As a side note: I don't think I'll ever turn 40. I think I'll stay 24 forever. :o}