Back to the Beach

Saturday we went back to the beach.  It seemed a little chilly to be at the beach,  around 70 and kind of windy.   The sun was nice and warm though, and the cold water didn't slow Olivia down at all.  And now that we are home, and the high temp here today was about 15 degrees, it makes that day at the beach seem balmy.  I'd go back to this day anytime.

We all got nice little naps in the sun.

And did the traditional burial.

These next two pictures are entitled:

Game on-

 Hip Europeans vs.

Nerdy Americans.

Olivia was dying to get into the pool at Alisa's apartment.  Unfortunately it was FREEZING and by the time we got back, the sun was starting to go down.

Nothing stops this girl though.  She cannonballed right in.

And then the hip European performed a perfect dive.

And somewhere along the way, we had lunch at the Habit.  Picture In-n-Out Burger, only better.

Yep, I'd go back and do Saturday again.

Gray Friday. Then Blue. Then Orange.

When we got back from the beach Thanksgiving night, we had this fantastic idea that it would be a great time to run to Walmart to pick up a few things we forgot to bring with us.   The other thing we forgot was a little thing called Black Friday, which apparently now starts on Thanksgiving, and which we really didn't think about until we saw the  4 million people lined up outside the store to get in.  Black Friday California-style seems to involve mostly very short,  non-English speakers buying lots of cheap plastic crap made in China.  None of us, least of all Erwann, who really only has a vague idea of the idiocy of most Americans, were going to risk our lives in that crowd.  Some weirdo we met in the parking lot said that the Walmart down the road wasn't bad, because it was a 24 hour Walmart, so  you could get in there without waiting.  He knew this because his wife had to go buy diapers.  So, we jumped in the car and drove down the road, eleven miles down the road to be exact, only to be met with the very same scenario: crowds, crowd controllers, and lines waiting to get in.  So much for trusting men you meet in parking lots.  But it turned out to be well worth the drive, because while we were there, we saw this other guy who was dressed up as a bush, crouching down by the garden center and jumping out to scare passers by.  That was the funniest thing I've seen in a long time.

So that was our Black Friday experience.  Which led to us having a bit of a layabout in Alisa's living room on Friday morning.

See the big plant?  That's Jane.  My grandplant.  I named her.

 It was rainy outside, so we decided it would be a good day to hit up L.A. and Hollywood.

We found Audrey's place there.

And this guy.

Then we found Keanu on the walk of fame.

Hit the Chinese Theater.

And when the sun came out, we headed up to Griffith Observatory which is a very cool place, and where I could have spent all day.  It was CROWDED.  Alisa and Erwann had been there before and had the place to themselves, so my next trip, I'm going back on a non- Black Friday.

Dancin on the edge of the Hollywood sign. La La La.Whatever.

I think they look like movie stars.

This is how our L.A. day ended.  Not bad for a Black Friday that started out gray.

Full of Great, and Grateful

So, remember last year when everybody was making these adorable little buggers?

They were so cute, and I wanted one on our Thanksgiving table so bad.  But I ran out of time, and swore that in 2013, I would have one of those turkey veggie trays.

I didn't get one this year.

Instead I only got the BEST THANKSGIVING DAY OF MY LIFE. Ever.  And lost, probably forever, any tiny desire I  might have had to waste my time making a stupid turkey out of vegetables.  Or bake another pie. Or spend another Thanksgiving  cooking, cleaning and washing dishes while the men go off to watch some lame-o football game and fall asleep.

This Thanksgiving we left SLC at four in the morning in order to make it to southern California in time for an afternoon dinner and the beach. This is what four a.m looks like in our car.

And this is what Cedar City looks like at 7:30 in the morning.


We pulled into Alisa's around two, just about the time she was pulling out the turkey.  Her first Thanksgiving turkey.  I am so proud.

So we threw together an instant-everything Thanksgiving dinner, some of us gathered around her little table and some of us gathered on the living room floor around her coffee table in the living room.  We ate off paper plates and we forgot to pray.  It was awesome.

By three, we were fed, cleaned up, and headed out to this:

Really, how lucky are we, that in the year when our family has NO BUSINESS going on vacation, we have these two, living two miles from the beach, who shared their one bedroom, one bath apartment, and their Thanksgiving vacation with us?  For the price of gas and some road food, we had the best Thanksgiving of our lives.

And I have vowed to never again waste another Thanksgiving on the food.

I would much rather be digging my heels into this stuff:

with views like this:

Bird of Paradise. Right outside Alisa's apartment.

The only thing that would have made it better was if Mitch could have been there too.  Next year, we will plan ahead a little better.

Killing Summer, Killing Pumpkins, Killing Youth

Hey! I finally found my missing camera cord, and re-downloaded the software to get my pictures downloaded. So now I can post the twelve pictures I have taken in the past two months.

This is how we  spent the last day of summer this year.  Somehow, my mind is STILL in summer.  Thanksgiving is upon us, but I am still in campfire mode.

Last toasted marshmallow of the season.

This was the first leaf we saw that was starting to turn a little red.  That's a little fallish right there.

And then it was Halloween. Duncan has been dying for me to post this picture on here.  This is what he dressed up as to go Trick or Treating.  He was very proud of this costume.  He has been wearing the suit to church ever since.  I really love this kid.

See, I told ya we celebrated Halloween in style.

Not sure what was going on here, except that I think they were overtaken by the giddiness that is pumpkin guts.

Yep and then this is how we treat people when they get old. You don't even get real birthday candles on your cake.  You have to settle for short, fat, stumpy old ones.

Hey, there ain't no golden living going on around here.

Junk Food Junkies

Oh my.  Can you say comfort eating? This is embarrassing, but our little familly of six  may or may not have devoured THREE PANS of homemade brownies this weekend, plus a package of gingerbread Oreos and a package of gingerbread Twix.  There is something just not right with that picture.  Oh, well I did forget that some of the brownies were shared with neighbors, but still.  We have GOT to eat better around here.  Or maybe just less.   And I am the worst of the lot.  And I haven't been running in two weeks.  Terrible. Just plain slothful really, every last one of us.

Having said that, now let me just say that when it comes to brownies, Audrey is an absolute artist. She makes the best brownies, way better than mine ever were.   I don't know what her secret touch is, but the girl is a master. They are irresistible. You can eat and eat, and nobody around here really knows what the word moderation means, so they disappear pretty quick.  I think that Audrey  must have inherited her baking talents  from her Grandpa Dee, who makes, hands down, the best cookies ever.  I make a passable cookie, and a passable brownie, but nothing like what those two can put out. I used to be pretty good at pies, but who has time to make pie anymore?  I am passing my baking torch on.  I believe it is Audrey's turn to be the head baker around here, at least until I retire.  Maybe then I will take it up again.

My dad will be proud to know that his other grand daughter Alisa has also gone into the cookie baking mode.  She sent me a picture of the cookie dough she had whipped up all on her own, inspired by a package of homemade cookies she had received in the mail from Grandpa.  Apparently, they ate all those and needed more.  Sometimes Oreos just don't cut it, I guess.

Funyons Are Awesome

Yeah, so suddenly it's November and  I realize I've been absent for a while.  Not just from the blog, but from lots of things I used to do, like sleeping.  See, I had this little emergency come up that was called Breaking Bad Is On Netflix,  and dealing with that has taken up most of my spare time and energy.  It's been rough.  I think I even missed Halloween.   I have no pictures of anybody on Halloween, but I swear we all dressed up and all those who wanted to went trick or treating.  Which is to say that my 18 year old, 6 foot tall son went trick or treating. There was no deterring him. Fortunately, most of our neighbors know him, and all of them were good sports about having a  very tall person with a  five o'clock shadow and a nylon stocking on his head begging for candy at their door.   Come to think of it, I may have a picture of THAT somewhere.

And  I remember our mailbox getting knocked over on Halloween and me thinking that was good,  because:  A) at least the little hoodlums spared our pumpkins, and B) we would finally be forced to build that brick mailbox that I want so much, but no,  Dan just stuck another pole in the ground and reattached the ugly thing.  He wouldn't even call the cops, even though messing with people's mailboxes is a federal offense I think.  So then I went back to Breaking Bad and completely forgot to snap a picture of Olivia in her Snow White costume.  She will most likely be wearing it till she is 18 though, so I'm sure I'll have another chance at that shot. She just might be holding an Easter basket instead of a trick or treat bag.

So that was Halloween.  Then it was Dan's birthday, and he celebrated by working at a football game, and I celebrated by running a 5k with Audrey.  We are blocking out that day as well though, because I refuse to admit that I am married to someone as old as he is. Ugh.

Will got his learner's permit.  He has not cracked, crashed or broken anything yet, and Dan has not ruptured any blood vessels yet.  Another WIN.

Throw in voting day ( I didn't do that either) and Veteran's Day (I have not yet unpacked my flag), and we are pretty much caught up to the present day.  I am in the final season of Breaking Bad, so my blog/life hiatus may be nearing its end, unless I decide to re-watch the entire series to catch everything I missed the first time through, in which case I may check out permanently.