First Week of School

This week the kids started school.
Ana is a 9th grader at Coronado High School. She started high shool on her 14th birthday.
Sam is a 5th grader at Coral Academy of Science. It's a brand new charter school specializing in Science, Math and Technology.

The View from Sam's School

Sam is the only kid I know who has a view of the

Las Vegas Strip from his 5th grade classroom.

Poor Brendan

When calling a health insurance company with regards to a misfiled claim on a Pap Smear, it would be advisable to throw a little prayer up to heaven that a mature, adult WOMAN answers your call. Having to explain to a very young man why you can't just walk into a lab and get a Pap smear was nothing short of amusing.

Mmmm....

Today I taught my children about

Peanut Butter & Marshmallow Fluff

Sandwiches. Yum.

The Beach

Ana and I spent Saturday at Balboa Beach

The view wasn't bad

These women prove size doesn't matter

Everyone enjoys the beach

This mom took great care to keep her little

one out of the sun

These folks looked entirely TOO HOT.

I can't believe they were enjoying this.

Swim suits not required

This man spent hours digging this hole

I hope it wasn't for this man

I really wanted one of these...but they were

only advertising...not dropping from the sky.

Isn't she beautiful?

NOT HER!!

My daughter! Walking toward me in the bikini!

Mike's Family

Front Row: Aaron, Mike, Dean, Scarlett

On the couch: Savannah, Ana, Karen, Sam, Dominick

Behind the couch: Patty, Shawn, Louise

* Picture used WITHOUT permission from Life in Oregon

Thr3e

TEAR - UH - BULL!!!

No other words descibe this movie.

Thr3e was possibly the WORST movie I have ever seen.

I'm only grateful it was a Netflix choice and

didn't actually cost me any more money to watch it.

California Dreamin'

In 10 days Ana and I will embark on our

Mother/Daughter trip.

The Hyatt Regency Irvine where we'll be staying

Fashion Island - a huge shopping mall

I'm sure I'll be the first one voted off the island.

This beach area comes highly recommended.

I'll try to talk her into Mission San Juan Capistrano since we've never been. That will be a hard sell with shopping and the beach to occupy her time and attention.

Italy looks nice

This one made me laugh out loud

so I share it with all my female readers.

Who's that girl?

If this weren't a stolen picture,

it would be bigger.

My larger copies are in the mail to me.

note to self

I should probably check the strength of the

massage therapist before I utter the words,

"Yeah, I like a lot of pressure."

Charlie (female) has very strong hands.

The Oregon Vacation

Strap on your seatbelts, folks. This is a long post!!

Just back from nearly a week in Oregon visiting Mike's family. The weather was warm for there (85 degrees) but the mornings seemed really cold to us (65 degrees) since the overnight LOW in Southern Nevada usually drops into the 80's. We packed our winter clothes (just kidding) and were just fine.

Day One

Where we stayedKaren by the Koi pondThe back yardThe side yardLunch in Salem @ Thompson's Brew PubAna on a carousel horse

(It's so hard to be cool on a carousel when you're 13 years old!)Sam on a carousel horse

(Not as hard to be cool when you're 10!)

On the dock at the Willamette RiverThe Oregon State Capitol

We had a view of this from our house in Salem

The four beavers

The one in the black shirt graduated from OSU

Ana and the Hydrangeas at the Municipal

Rose Garden @ Bush Park

HydrangeasRosesMore rosesAfter dinner at Morton's Bistro with our good

friends, Dave & Melodie

Day Two

Sam & Ana in a wheat field

Look! He's touching her

Sam outstanding in his field

Lunch at the Fox & FirkinMore lunch at the Fox & FirkinReading the historical information near the waterfront

Apparently, 70 degrees is warm enough to play

in a fountain in Oregon

They also have very large dust devils

Day Three

Doesn't everyone have a balance beam in their backyard?

Ana did alrightSam was a mess!I guess this is why they have one. My niece is

quite the gymnast.

They also have a trampoline. More wasted money

if it were in my backyard!

The four cousins on this side of the family

Day Four

Went to the Bite of Salem (disappointing) and

the carnival next to it

Since our family members were the only ones

playing, Ana won the big prize: a gigantic

PENGUIN

Day Five

The viewpoint was better when the plants were smaller