18 Years Together...and Counting!!

Darrell and I celebrated our 18th Wedding Anniversary on Monday. I Love my Husband, more today than the day I married him. He makes me laugh, encourages me to do things I don't have the guts to try, appreciates all that I do for him, gave me 2 gorgeous boys, is a fantastic and "hands-on" Dad, puts up with my organized ways, washes my car, and works very hard every single day so that I can work part-time. Okay, enough mushy stuff...let's have some fun!!

This past weekend we took a spontaneous trip to The Mission Inn. It was so gorgeous. Everywhere you look there are beautiful antique furniture, amazing architecture, and colorful flowers. We have NEVER taken a trip on the spur of the moment. I usually plan stuff months in advance. My Mom and Larry took care of the boys and the Puppy.

This is a copper relief on an outside wall. I believe it is supposed to be Father Junipero Sera.

This was our room. It looked like it was in a castle.

Some of the peaks of a couple of the buildings. This hotel recently had a $22 million renovation, it now covers an entire city block. You could walk around and look at all of the furniture, walls, flowers, and statues for days. They had a guided tour, but we didn't have time to take it. Next time.

My friend Jill (hi Chilli) would LOVE this place. I took about 150 pictures...and I could have taken many more.

This photo was taken straight out of the door of our room. Can you believe that this is in Riverside??

Of course, we had to eat Mexican food.

Tacos for me.

Looking up in the Rotunda.

We had a great time. We would have liked to stay for several more days, but we missed our boys, even though they didn't miss us. They love staying with Grammy and Grampy. Tomorrow I'll post pictures of our delicious anniversary dinner at a restaurant across the street from Mission Inn. Maybe the best meal I have ever had.

By the way, I know my posts are sporatic lately, but it's summer. I have kids in and out of the house all day and we are taking a lot of field trips. Sorry, but the computer is my last priority.

Letterman Jacket

My son is growing up too fast and it's bittersweet. He is turning into such a great person, and I am hugely proud to be his mother. However, when you see stuff like this...it brings tears to my eyes. This morning, he and Darrell traveled about an hour to pick-up his Letterman Jacket. He looks so handsome wearing this, and the jacket turned out beautiful!!

The Athlete!

The Letter!

The School!

The Year!

His number and positions!!

Cruise Ship ~ Santa Catalina Island

Our first stop on our ship was Catalina Island. We went on a glass bottom boat and saw TONS of fish.

Darrell and Nathan...deep in conversation.

We also rented a golf cart and road around the Island for awhile. It was really fun. There are very few cars on the Island.

Lunch along the water. It was a perfectly beautiful day. We are already thinking about our next cruise, but we want Kyle to join us.

Cruise Ship...Our room

So...this is where we bunked for 5 days on the Pacific Ocean. To the left of the above picture is Nathan's bed, or as we called it his "shelf." The room is small, but very well laid-out and we didn't spend much time in the room at all.

Some of the towel creations that met us on our beds every morning and every evening.

Summer if moving too fast. I can't believe it is August already.

USS Benefold Tour

This past weekend we were lucky enough to be able to tour a United States Navy Destroyer. It was docked at Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station and they were having an rare Open House. The line to get onto the ship was over 3 HOURS long!! I couldn't believe all of the people.

One of the Navigational Leutients was talking to us. All of the men and women were so knowledgable, friendly, and willing to answer questions. I was very impressed and honored to talk with them.

The ship was ENORMOUS, but much smaller than our cruise ship. They have about 280 people working onboard.

This soldier was messing with Nathan while he was going through security. Even made him stand on one foot while raising his hand above his head...we were laughing so hard.

This is one of the Navy SEAL vehicles. Machine gun and all...

An army helicopter.

Oh No...O'Grady's!!!

On Saturday night my cousin Monique and her family were in town, so they all came over for dinner. It was really fun and relaxed... Not sure why the dessert picture came up first, but we had Cajeta with cookies, brownies, and berries. Cajeta (ka-hay-ta) is Mexican caramel sauce that you drizzle over the cookies and berries. It is very delicious.

This is our dear friend Curtis. (aka Uncle Curt-y) He has recently lost 80 pounds and he looks terrific. We love having him over, and my boys adore him!

The "little" boys playing Tech Deck in the entry way. Molly kept getting their little skateboards and running, it was very funny.

The "big" boys had a jam session. They were actually really good...and cute!

Jenna and Mom took a nap on the couch. Mom wasn't feeling well...

All of the kids swam, but I only got a picture of my Princess Holly.

Here are the guests of honor...Tommy and Monique. They visit at least once a year, and our kids are really good friends. They are headed back to Arizona right now...to the 120 degree heat!!

Cruise Ship Tragedy!!

So...here's the story. When we were in line to go through security, which is not an easy task, I dropped my "good" camera. It landed lens first on the concrete floor. Needless to say, I was sick over it because this was BEFORE we even stepped foot on the ship. It was so loud when it landed, the sound of shattering glass could easily be heard throughout the entire line. There was a spontaneous groan that sounded from everyone around us. Luckily, I had grabbed my "little" camera and had back-up, but it was not a good way to start a vacation. I know my dear friend JILL can relate to this...do you feel for me??

By the way, I did try to have it repaired in Catalina and Ensenada, but they did not have one camera shop on Catalina Island, and none near the pier in Ensenada. It's on my "TO-DO" list...