School's out for Summer!

Caden's last day of school was Thursday, and he is officially a first grader. I know every single mom says it, but I can't believe my baby boy is so . . . big. And smart, and funny and sweet.

Here he is walking up the hill the last day of school

His friend Joey came over for a last day of school ice-cream celebration

The next day we drove to Santa Claus, Indiana to Holiday World with the Johnson family. We started at the water park, but the kids were freezing between rides so we quickly moved on to the rest of the park.

Caden, Marina and Finn waiting in line

Caden was a little nervous to try some of the rides, but once we convinced (bribed) him to go on, he loved them all. I used to love roller coasters and any other thrill ride, but I have to admit that I am becoming quite a wimp in my older age. I can honestly say that I "want" to ride these rides, but my body just doesn't cooperate . . . . my stomach churns, and my head hurts from all the rattling. Sometimes getting old really sucks!

After being called a wimp over and over, I agreed to ride Holiday World's version of the "Drop Zone". It was as bad as I remembered.

Here are Damon and Marina during a really cool show. It was about diving throughout the decades and one of the performers dived over 80 feet! I had to close my eyes for part of that because I so nervous for him. Seeing someone die at Holiday World just didn't seem like a good time to me :)

Look Mom - no hands! (on a baby ride!)

Marina loves to copy bub-bub.

This ride was a kiddie version of the "drop zone" Caden had two different looks of fear - one when he was shot up into the air. . . .

and one coming back down . . .

The kids fell asleep after about 5 minutes in the car

We took the interstate home and it was SO boring. Damon and I thought this cloud looked like an alligator. Yes, we were that bored.

Best Mother's Day Ever!

Damon, Caden and Marina gave me a Mother's Day I will never forget! Damon made pancakes and coffee, and Caden had written "I love you Mom" on our chalkboard. They had their gifts hidden behind the chalkboard, and Caden was so excited to give them to me. The first thing I got was a book that he had made for me at school. It is so special, and I can tell he worked very hard on it.

The cover - you can tell really he took his time and colored carefully.

A sample page. This really does look a lot like my "experimental" flower bed in the back of our house.

Check out Oprah's curly black hair


The rest of it read like this - each page had it's own illustration.

This is my mother
Her name is Chanda
She is 31 years old
She has black hair
She has blue eyes
My Mommy has two children
Mom likes to eat baked potatoes
For fun my mother likes to watch t.v.
When I was a baby, my mom took care of me
My mom helps me by making lunch for me
I love you.

It is definitely something I will keep and treasure always!!!!

My next gift was in a tiny bronze box with a bow. I opened it and inside were BEAUTIFUL diamond earrings. I have asked for princess cut diamond earrings for as long as I can remember, but have always just said "someday when we have more money" . . . I was thinking 25th wedding anniversary or some really big occasion like that, so I was completely shocked!



He went to Jared!




My kids make being a Mom SO worth it. People always comment on how well-behaved and sweet they are, and that is honestly the best compliment I could ever receive. Here I am with my "babies". Notice how I pulled my hair back to show off my new earrings!

The weather was beautiful and we spent the rest of the day shopping for flowers, vegetables and herbs for my garden. I got so many different and fun things year and I am really excited about it. I planted an entire "berry" garden, and Granny is giving me a few rows of her big garden where I will plant corn, onions, garlic, asparagus, carrots, peppers, tomatoes, zucchini and cucumber. It will be so fun to make all my food this summer and fall with almost completely home-grown veggies and fruit.

California Dreamin'

I had an awesome time during my mini-vacation to see Margie in California! I left early, early Thursday morning (Dad and I ate breakfast at the airport at 4:30 a.m.) and got to California around 9:00 a.m. (they are 3 hours behind us). I have never been afraid of flying before, but this time my anxiety was pretty high. All I can attribute this to is that I am a mommy now, and my kids need me therefore I should not put myself in situations where I might die. Before anyone says it, I know flying is safer than driving. Maybe it is the complete lack of control?

Anyway, after freshening up at Margie's apartment we headed to San Diego for the day. We stopped at a suburb (Del Mar maybe?) for lunch at a place called Georges,with rooftop seating overlooking the ocean. Those who know me, know how much I love food. And Georges did not disappoint.

I started with a Blood Orange Margarita. Yum!

We ordered Ceviche for our appetizer. I had never heard of this before, but I guess it is pretty popular in California. I could probably best describe it as a fresh salsa made with seafood. Margie had some in her fridge she had bought at the grocery made with Shrimp, and this one was made with Halibut. Another one we had in Laguna was made with Sea Bass. All were unbelievable! Definitely my new favorite appetizer, and I will be searching for a good recipe to make my own this summer.

Margie and I posing after lunch at Georges. This was our view while we ate. Breathtaking, huh?

After lunch, we did some shopping and then crossed this bridge to Coronado Island.

This is the famous, historic Hotel Del Coronado. It was built in 1887 and is one of America's largest wooden buildings. In 1958, Some Like It Hot was filmed at the Del, starring Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis.

This was an outside seating area at the Hotel Del. The ocean was right there, the couches were comfy and the fire pit took the edge off of the chilly breeze. Perfection!

Although the resort has hosted many visitors over the years, there is one guest—Kate Morgan—who some say has been here since 1892. Kate checked into the hotel broken-hearted and alone. Five days later, she was found dead on the beach, a gunshot wound to her head. Kate had apparently killed herself after a quarrel with her estranged husband. Since that time, resort guests, associates, and even paranormal researchers have attested that Kate’s former room is haunted by her spirit. Although we technically we weren't supposed to because we weren't registered guests of the hotel, we rode the elevator up to some of the floors and walked the halls. I definitely felt the history and got an eerie feeling thinking about the famous ghost


This picture was taken on a balcony at the hotel overlooking the gorgeous wooden lobby.

We took turns sitting in this over sized chair. It made us feel like we were Alice in Wonderland!

The author Frank Baum visited the Hotel Del frequently in the early 20th century, and was inspired to write his "Oz" books there. He designed these crown shaped chandeliers for the magnificent ballroom at the Hotel. The picture doesn't even come close to capturing how beautiful and interesting these were.

The Hotel Del Coronado at night

The next morning we headed to L.A. I know it is shallow, but I love reading about celebrities and seeing what they wear, where they shop etc. I was so excited to visit L.A. to see the many places I have seen in magazines and heard in song lyrics.


We didn't have that much time, so we just drove down Sunset blvd. I was ok with this, because I had heard it was a little dirty and we saw tons of crazy people (like this guy) walking around.

We had already eaten by the time we found The Ivy Restaurant on Robertson Blvd, but we had to stop and eat again just to say we had been there. For those of you who aren't celebrity crazy like me, The Ivy is the restaurant where celebrities go when they want to be photographed by the paparazzi. For example, if a celebrity couple were rumoured to be breaking up and they wanted to squash such rumours, they would go to the Ivy to be photographed together. We didn't see anyone famous while were there, but it was still a very fun experience! And as a side note - I know I sound like a crazy loon, but I would never approach or a bother a celebrity if I did see one. I would definitely respect their privacy! But to see one of my favorites, Reese or Jennifer and Ben, would have been just too cool!!!!

It really was a quaint and cute little place. We ate outside on the patio, but we went inside to check it out and use the restroom. It had an old, French feel to it. I can't really rave about the food because we were SO stuffed from just having eaten lunch at a fabulous Italian restaurant. However, the artichoke appetizer we ordered was interesting and light (which we needed!) and I had a glass of champagne with crushed strawberries.

The famous Chateau Marmont Hotel, where John Belushi died of a drug overdose in 1982.

We drove through the streets of Beverly Hills and ogled the massive mansions. When I saw this sign, I couldn't help but to think of the Weezer song by the same name.

"Where I come from isn't all that great

My automobile is a piece of crap

My fashion sense is a little whack

And my friends are just as screwy as me

Beverly Hills

That's where I want to be

Livin' in Beverly Hills

Beverly Hills

Rollin' like a celebrity

Livin' in Beverly Hills"

After driving down Sunset, we headed the Santa Monica Pier. This is just one of the beautiful ocean shots I got that evening.

Some of the fun entertainment on the pier.

Margie is scared of heights, but I convince her to go on the Ferris Wheel with me. You can tell from her face in this picture that she is nervous, but she ended up liking it. It was very relaxing and we had a beautiful view of the ocean and the beach from WAY up there.

A shot of the pier from the Ferris Wheel

Can you name the movie this is from? One of my favorites from my youth!

On our way home from Santa Monica, we stopped at In and Out Burger. I have heard about In and Out a lot and have always wanted to go. Again, I was not disappointed. In fact, I thought these burgers were so beautiful, I just had to capture them on film. I think that might have embarrassed Margie a little bit, she chuckled a little and said she saw me snapping the shot while she was coming out of the bathroom, but I just couldn't help it!

On Saturday we drove to Palm Springs and spent the night with Margie's Aunt Alice and Uncle Joe. They have a beautiful house and were wonderful hosts. We were joined by Alice and Joe's daughter Jennifer and her wife Dee who were some of the nicest and most fun people I have ever met. We enjoyed a fabulous meal of Lemon Spaghetti and Shrimp prepared by Margie and an wonderful Pinot Noir that I am going to try and find here in Indiana. They have a minature grand piano that played disks filled with various songs. The words to the songs were displayed on a screen and a microphone was provided for some karaoke fun. We sang along to classic Elton John and Barry Manilow. It was a great time!

Emjoying dinner in their beautiful dining room. Good people, good food, good wine - who could ask for more?

They lived on a beautiful golf course so we took a tour on the golf cart between dinner and dessert.


Me and Aunt Alice.

"His name was Rico . . . he wore a diamond . . . "

On Sunday morning we went to a street fair that Margie and Aunt Alice love. They knew all the best booths, and I got a really fun watch and a Tiffany knock-off necklace that I LOVE. After leaving the street fair, we said goodbye to Aunt Alice, Uncle Joe, Jennifer and Dee and headed to Laguna Beach.

Laguna Beach was absolutely gorgeous! It was the only place in California that fit my image of what I thought California would be like. The people were beautiful, the shops cool and artsy and the houses modern and HUGE. The weather was beautiful, and there were tons of people out shopping, walking their dogs and playing volleyball on the beach.

.
It is hard to tell, but there are a gazillion birds on this rock.

Here are some beautiful scenery shots from Laguna.

We ended the night in Laguna at a wonderful restaurant overlooking the ocean. We ordered Ceviche (of course), a chicken salad and fish and chips to share. Another fabulous meal, but the best part was the time spent with Margie. We had some really great conversations and a lot of laughs.

Yes, I wore the pink sweater almost every day! It was the only one I brought, and California was a lot chillier than I thought it would be. Good thing it went with almost all of my outfits!

I was sad to leave, but happy to get back to my family in Indiana. The kids were SO happy to see me at the airport, and kept hugging me and telling me they missed me all evening. The weather at home was perfect, everything was greener and my tulips I have been waiting on finally came up! It was great to sleep in my own comfy bed, with my hubby, the windows open and the ceiling fan on. Yes, I would have to say life is really, really good right now!