Day Trip

Decided to take a trip to Boron and see the Borax Mine! The original idea was to drive out there and then go see Randsburg as well, but it was so stinkin' cold and cloudy. Yikes! I can take 35 degrees when the sun is shining, but this was not walking around outside weather.

These boys love the road. Good thing too, because they have spent a LOT of time in that back seat.

We made it! It looks strange going up to this huge mining operation, but there is an awesome visitor center there and it is totally worth the trip. It's the biggest open pit mine in the United States.

The docent working there was awesome. She has lived there her whole life. Her Dad came to work the mine when it was still underground in the 50's. The Visitor Center explains all about the operation and what they mine there, where it all goes, and what people use it for. It was very interesting. The money that the Visitor Center makes goes to help people in the town. They support Little League teams and give scholarships to kids going to college, things like that.

This was my favorite thing, microscopes set up to look at different "borates".

This model kind of bugged Tom, not enough information about what it did. It had a name on it, but no details.

The next sign cleared it up a little, but not enough so he had to try to find someone that knew more about it. No such luck.

For some reason "boron gas filled golf clubs" were really strange to us, so much so, that we took a picture, but now can't remember why we thought it odd.






This was the highlight of the place though. They were dying to get out there and climb on this huge tire. Personally, I thought I might freeze to death just getting a picture of them on it, but they were having a blast.

 They were trying to get Dad to get inside it too. 

The pit! It's huge! The boys were using their new iPod Touches to take panorama pictures of the spot.








The next stop was the Twenty Mule Team Museum in town. There was a lot to look at there and the docent there was eager to share everything he knew about the place. He was a little annoying, but he was in such earnest to show us everything we had to encourage him. It was fun!

There was a video playing about how they drove the mules. Turning corners was hilarious! I wanted to buy the video.

Dan found a dry washer and a bunch of old mining equipment.








And they even had Prince Albert in a can!









There was an air museum next door with a more interesting stuff related to Edwards Air Base.









And on the way home the clouds really looked menacing against Big Bear. It was snowing a bit when we got home, but not enough to stick to the ground. We went to the Mexican place in town for dinner and it took us over an hour to get our food and it wasn't even busy. That place is crazy.

It was a great way to end the year!

Christmas

This is crazy, but I didn't really take many pictures at Christmas this year! I totally forgot about the tree! Grrr...but it was a great Christmas anyway.

We had a big family party at my brother's house because his oldest two kids were in town. We had a great time talking with them and seeing a bunch of other family members we hadn't seen in a while.

Christmas Eve Grandma Bonnie and Grandpa Bob came over and we cooked a huge prime rib on the rotisserie all day. It ended in the best Christmas feast ever! They got the boys a mini-bike and they haven't stopped riding it since. That little bike is getting some serious use!




















Christmas Day was nice. "Santa" brought some nice things including iPod Touches and new Leatherman tools. Happy kids, a boat load of food, and a peaceful day....just doesn't get any better.

A Great Day!

Today was one of those days that just went so well I have to share it! Yesterday we started painting the house. Yes, I said painting the house. The boys and I are starting with the trim and working our way around with primer, then again with paint. Then we'll start again and paint the walls. The boys and I scrape the old paint of the trim (some of it is pretty bad) for 45 minutes and then I go over it with primer. It takes a little more than an hour. This we will do every day, maybe even a little more on weekends. I've done some pretty big projects this way. It takes a long time, but does get done. It sure beats the heck out of waiting for a week   I can set aside to do it. It never gets done that way. It's what I did at our house in Anaheim. 

The day started with me getting a crap load of reading done. I do that every morning when I get up. I'm not much of a get up and go person. I like to sit around and drink my coffee for several hours first. I used to watch tv or play on the internet but last year I decided I'd get more done if I read my book in the morning. I fall asleep if I read anything too deep in the evening, so I have a lighter book for bedtime. Right now it's Harry Potter. The boys are insisting that I read them all. In the morning, I'm reading a book about Judge Taney and Lincoln. Love that book. It's great. It's fairly neutral, not idolizing Lincoln and not demonizing the Confederate States. 

Then I get my chores done. Shower, laundry, bed, pick up around the house. I have a couple of things I do each day like vacuum the living room or clean the bathroom. I didn't get those done today because I'm obsessing over a patchwork bag project right now. I think tomorrow I will have to do some catch up on the cleaning.

Then the boys finally get up. I made them breakfast and read our book. We finally finished "The Indian in the Cupboard" today. I try to pick a breakfast book that they probably wouldn't read on their own. I'm looking into what to read next. I'm thinking some poetry. I have the captive at this time, so I like to use it wisely.

They did their chores and studies. Tom working on Latin still. Today there was diagramming sentences. Looked interesting and I had to hear all about it while Jake and I did the dishes. Jake finished his Greek book and is waiting eagerly (and I'm not exaggerating here) for the next one to come in the mail.

I didn't some of my patchwork project while they finished up. I'm making awesome grocery bags out of the piles of scraps my Grandma gave me. It's turning out beautiful and I'll post pictures of them as they come out. 

Off to work on the house. That was fun. "Family Bonding" time!

When I came in from finishing the painting part, Tom was at the computer. There has been a resurgence of interest in Flight Simulator X and I'm getting weary of who's turn it is to play. I love this game though. Tom and Jake love flying all over the world. They look up places on the map and try to find things they fly over.

Jake was reading. He has been sucked into the 5th Harry Potter book and reads more during the day than Tom. He likes it quiet to read and that works out well when Tom is playing on the computer.

I worked on my project after lunch. We watched "How the States got their names". I love that show. I forgot that I promised pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and so had to whip those up at 4pm which led to that being dinner. But what they heck, right?! It has pumpkin and oatmeal in it and with a glass of milk makes it complete, in my opinion.

Dan's done working so we're off to watch Doomsday Preppers. We'll all retire to bed with our books around 9pm. Tom will be up after midnight still reading and Jake will fall asleep hiding under a blanket from Tom's book light.

Good times.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving weekend is almost over and I thought write down a few thoughts.

My brother!

Thanksgiving day was awesome! We spent it at my brother's house with his family and our Dad and Step-Mom. This is the second year we have done this. Growing up we always went to my Grandma's house or my Mom's sister's house, but we have found this to be increasingly difficult the past few years. I think part of it is that after my Grandma passed away everyone was pretty shook up about it and without her there to keep the peace, things just got ugly. Besides that with so many of us kids married and needing to spend time with our own families and in-laws, not to mention those of us who are divorced and need to ferry kids back and forth, it just got to be more of a hassle than a happy family event. So the family has splintered into smaller groups. I'm sure it happens in every family and has happened in this one before. You can only have so many generations in one house at one time maybe. My only regret is that I miss the happy times we had and wish that we could maybe pick another day to get together with whomever wants to be there and enjoy each others company, without having the "this isn't a real holiday" feeling. But, that is not to be, so onward and upward!

And his lovely wife!

Thanksgiving at my brother's house is the best! His wife is fun to be around and is a great cook (even though she thinks she isn't). She had her brother and his girlfriend there as well and they are great fun too. We played corn-hole, drank beer, and harassed each other children all day. Good times we had.

Since my Mom moved up to Fernley, she wasn't able to come, but the boys and I sent her a Thanksgiving box with some knit socks, a Christmas ornament, and some jellies. We all miss them at the holiday's but it's ok, because we talked to her on the phone and we will see her again soon. Thanks to Facebook and blogs, it's like we all live next door to each other!

Messing around before chow.

Black Friday! I get so tired of hearing about the deals on Black Friday. I swear it's a load of people buying things they don't really need just because they are on sale. I'm a downer though, I know. I've gotten up early and done the stand in line early thing with some friends a few years back. It was fun. Not because of the sales, but the fun of hanging out and shopping with friends. We could do that any day though and with a more relaxed atmosphere. On our way home on Thanksgiving we saw the lines of people and cars at the Outlet Stores in Cabazon. What a zoo! And what a way to spend your evening.

My SIL's brother and his girlfriend watching football.

On Friday, Dan and I thought we'd run in and get a couple things we needed at Wal-mart. That place was nuts. No one seemed to be there having a good time, shopping for deals. It seemed like they were desperate to get a good deal on a Furby toy, as if their life depended on it. Yuck. They didn't have any of the crafty things I needed, so I'll have to go into the city. And they didn't have the part Dan needed either, so we left empty handed. We stopped at Big 5 to see if they had any knives the boys wanted for Christmas. They didn't. So we went on to Home Depot to get some electrical stuff for the bug. I thought I'd get some Christmas lights to add to my LED collection, but I couldn't remember what kind I got last year. We did find something we "needed" though. I can't say though because it's a Christmas present for the boys. But I found some cube shelves on sale that would be a perfect fit for my new craft room. I got them. Now Dan doesn't have to build me something like I asked him last week. He's happy.

Getting out the bird.

Saturday was spent playing video games, working on the bug, and organizing the craft room. We watched "The Big Lebowski" because we saw a bumper sticker that said "The Dude Abides" and so we had to introduce the boys to that. Hilarious.

Today, I didn't sleep well and I think I might be coming down with something. Dan is going to continue work on the bug. And the boys and I plan to start working on the scraping and painting the trim on the house. We are going to spend an hour or so doing that every day until it's done. I have to go to the grocery store.  I'm worried there will be nothing left or that the price of milk went up again. Planning menus is the bane of my existence.

Jake, Dan, and Me!

Oh! One more thing. Dan says the best part about Thanksgiving for him is that he gets to have a holiday of eating with family and then a day off to recover AND THEN a weekend. It's nice after all the years and years of working holiday weekends!

My Dad "at the well".

Tom playing games on my phone.

My lovely Step-Mom.

Chow Time!

No, I don't need you to cut my food, Mom!

Carson and his Mommy

Tom, Carson, and Grandpa Bob 

Throwing the baby down!

A game of corn-hole.

Good times with the baby cousin.

Studying Biblical Greek

That's right! Biblical Greek. Jake decided that would be something fun to do a couple months ago. I personally think it was in response to his brother learning Latin. Tom decided to learn that after reading the Percy Jackson books. He's a fan of anything Roman now, so Latin it was. He's been using Lively Latin. That's been awesome for all of us because he shares everything he learns. We're constantly reminded of everything Latin all day, every day.

Back to Greek. Greek is hard! It's a whole different alphabet. I'm reminded how hard it must be for kids to learn to read in their own language and at least they had the help of others who know the language speaking it to them. He started with lessons on YouTube. There were lots, but he wanted more of a classic lesson book, so I found "Greek-n-Stuff". Very cool. Here's the funnier part. I showed it to Jake to see if that's what he wanted and he was thrilled it was "biblical". "Maybe I could translate the bible for myself some day!" My kids are strange.

So he's added it to his list of things to do each day. He really does it every day, unless we are leaving early to go somewhere. I have to clarify though. Some people may think that he "studies" like you might do in school and that isn't what's happening here. He's made a plan to do two pages of the workbook every day. Sometimes he does one because he's excited about going to play the new video game at Grandma's house. He does what the book suggests and goes through the flashcards every day with the pages he does. It takes him about five to ten minutes a day. He's interested and loves it. He's internally motivated. And he is learning it. If I need to know what a Greek letter is, I just ask him and he can answer immediately. And he points out words in English that he knows come from Greek. He loves to wow us with that.

Today, I was making chocolate chip cookies for breakfast because he asked me to...yes...and he came in and told me that he was nearly done with the workbook and may need the next one pretty soon. Forethought. I looked it up and asked if he wanted the copybook that went with it or anything else. Just the workbook, please. We looked at a sample page and the list of skills taught. "Cool. Conjugating verbs. Perfect!" He's excited about verbs people.

I also have to add that I didn't ask them what language program they wanted to learn this year. I didn't suggest that they take any classes. The requests to learn a new language came between trips to Disneyland and the latest video game obsession. Tom also is requesting more "Life of Fred" books, especially if they explain magnetism. 

Yes, Disneyland Again!

When we decided to get Disneyland annual passes, we looked at the cost of the pass and budgeted for gas and at least one trip per month. That actually gave us a couple trips in some months because of black out days for our passes. So we're starting to wind down. We got the passes for Christmas last year and our first trip was in January, so we only have a couple more trips ahead. Tom is a little sad. It's not going to be fun the last time we go and will probably end up being a VERY long day. Jake is easier going. He enjoys going and loves all the fun, but is perfectly fine with doing something else and looking forward to the next time he may or may not get to go. Polar opposites those two are, on just about everything.

So why do I like Disneyland so much? I really couldn't say. I grumble and complain and say I wouldn't go if they boys didn't want to, but then I'm there and it's fun and there are the memories, and I'm teared up at the fireworks show. It's strange. The down side parts are the cost (we could spend that money on doing things we've never done before), the crowds (not just he amount of people but the quality, blach!), and the sheer overwhelming-ness of it all. The drive down, the drive back, the bustling about all day, and then there is the recovery day after. But then there is the up side parts! Spending the day with my boys. The drive there and back is filled with singing, talking, and laughing. Riding rides I remember as a kid, getting churros, telling stories about going there when I was little and when I worked there. The conversations we have in line are probably pretty bizarre to those around us, they pretty much cover just about everything; the physics of the ride, the capacity, when it was created, what used to be there, the theme, crowd control, funny stories of when we worked there, books we're reading, movies we've watch, people in line, plans for the rest of the day, etc. I wish I could record them all! All the while I'm thinking how many people get to run wild through Disneyland so many times with their 10 and 12 year old boys? I'm not dragging them and they're not dragging me. We are having a blast together and there is no where else we'd rather be. The only thing that would make it better is if Dad could come with us. Poor guy has to work! But we always try to bring him home some candy and tell him all the stories.

I guess I've gone on long enough about this, so here are the pictures from our day!

On the tram again! My sons cannot just look at the camera and smile. Really, it's physically impossible for them.

Ahh the traditional picture in front of the big Disneyland Christmas tree! They were blind from the sun. It was 85 degrees out! So much for the Christmas feeling.

 Hey! Wait just a cotton-pickin' minute! This tree is FAKE! What happened!? This prompted a half hour "In my day.." diatribe, which again made me feel old. I can't wait to do this to my Grandchildren!

This is Tom trying to figure out what the crests mean on the Matterhorn while stuffing a pretzel in his face. I'm proud of this picture because it's natural. This is what Tom looks like pretty much all the time. There is not a moment that goes by that he isn't trying to figure something out. On a side note, the figuring things out gets crazier in the evenings just before bed. It's as if he has to finish every thought through before going to sleep. Poor Jake has to hear them all even though he is trying to go to sleep. While we were waiting, Tom noticed a couple things on the cars that he didn't know about. He asked me about it, but I didn't know either. I've never worked on that ride. I thought he forgot about it, but as we got into the car he stopped the ride operator and quizzed him about it for the few seconds before the ride started. He got his stinkin' answers! :))

Splash Mountain. The plan was to go on this and then the Haunted Mansion, Pirates, etc., but it was broken when we got there so we went on Haunted Mansion first. Waiting for that, I got quizzed about why "splash was down" and what could have gone wrong, how long would it take, who would they call, and if it would be closed for the rest of the day. You could tell Tom was worried that the plan would be altered. I understand though, at least this time. This is his favorite ride. So we waited around for a minute or two to see if is reopened. He wanted to ask the ride operator about it, but I told him he wouldn't give him any more information besides "Soon." or "Later." and "Technical difficulties that will be resolved shortly" I know this drill. Thank the maker, it opened up and they went running off. This is a ride that I do not go on. I hate getting splashed wet and then walking around cold for hours afterward. The pretty of the ride is not worth the misery, in my opinion. So I wait for them at the exit. 

Notice the white sky? The boys did too. This is something that always bugged me in the OC. They sky is such a pale blue that it almost always comes out white in pictures. Must be something to do with the moisture in the air? Don't know. But it makes for some ugly pictures.

We stopped for some dinner at the Mexican place, per Jake's request. My boys LOVE Mexican food. The bummer is that they've never been partial to kids meals (seriously, kids meals should be smaller versions of what is actually served at that restaurant, but don't get me started) and they've outgrown sharing an adult meal. The cost of feeding these buggers has gone up tremendously!

And then it was evening and the lights came on! That's my favorite. I love Christmas at Disneyland at night! I swear that just seeing Main Street, the Castle, and Small World is worth the price of admission at Christmas time. Luckily, Tom and Jake still like the kids rides so we went straight to Small World when the lights came on. 

Here are the highlights...

And the GRAND FINALE! The family behind us in line at Space Mountain laughed when I told the boys we had to see the fireworks from in front of the castle or I was going to cry and not be consoled. They would have to drive home because I would be crying so hard I would not be able to drive. As if I were exaggerating! Every time I try to see the fireworks close up, it's way too crowded. I cannot sit there holding my spot for three hours. Actually, I just refuse. But the park attendance was so light, I just knew we'd get a good spot this time and we did. Here's my view...and I'm not zooming.

I didn't bother taking pictures of the fireworks since they never look good that way, but it was impressive even if I have seen it a million times from my spot light. It's pretty much the same show we did back then, but with more on the castle, no tink, and Christmas music. But, I'll admit, I loved it. The best part was watching Tom and Jake look back at me with the "Did you see that?!" face. Totally worth being sardined.

I planned on leaving at 8pm, but the fireworks were at 7:45 and then the park closed, so we were stuck in the mass exodus. Kinda fun swimming through that. And we got a cinnamon pretzel for the road because my friend was working at the Wetzel Pretzel stand. Then we got to listen to people fight, push, and scream at each other getting on the tram. :))

It was another great day at Disneyland. I'm going to miss it. Passes went up $100 per person this year, so it's not going to happen for a long time. But there are other adventures to be had!