On the road.

Well we left last night and made it to Barstow. We're now on the 40 and nearing the end of California. Will post more later.

Disneyland - Happy 8th Month

8 Months old today. What better way to celebrate than to head to Disneyland!


Thanks have to go out to Aunty J-J! aka Jamiellin. Without her and her super silver pass, we never would have made it here. With her great kindness and generosity, we were able to go in for a few hours, get some pics with the characters and buy some souvenirs, since we'll soon be considered tourists!

Since we went in to get pics of Summer with some Characters we were super happy upon first walking in and seeing Tigger and the gang! Just as we were getting to the front of the line it was time for them to go, but Tigger stuck around to get this great picture! I think it's better that they were disbanding, since this picture was taken in the sun and turned out better than it would have under the awning where they were standing.


So, we then headed to Space Mountain to get a Fast Pass...but, alas, it was shut down for the day. :-(

But speaking of mountains, here we got a nice photo in front of The Matterhorn.


So, as we were walking away, I played with Summer and took a few pics, and had Aunty J-J take a few. Here are two that I think turned out pretty swell. First is me taking a self photo, and I happened to catch the sun kind of in a neat way:


And Jamiellin caught me tickling Summer and just goofing around and caught this fun shot!


So, we continued to head on over to Toontown, but stopped again and again for pictures. This is just another one of the family that I really liked. Summer would make good food for this "Finding Nemo" shark. Good thing he is a Vegetarian, like Mommy!


When we finally got to Toontown we went into Mickey's House (the yellow house in the pic).


Going into Mickey's house is a way to always get a photo-op with the head Mouse, himself! So, you head into the house, which basically acts as a long line to see Mickey. While in there, we took many pictures, including this one of the girls.


Finally, at the end of the tour, we get to see Mickey, on set. He's dressed up and ready to play a role as the sorcerer. He took time out of his busy schedule to see us and many others. The park also takes some pictures. We liked one of theirs and purchased it, but this is a picture we took ourselves. It was awesome how Summer walked right up to Mickey with no fear and played with his nose and hung out.


After visiting with Mickey, we were all hungry and headed to the food court, but, hey, there was GOOFY! So, we ran over there and got another character group photo.


Whew, finally, time to eat. Summer ate while Jamiellin and I waited in line to get the big person food. When we got to the table, Summer was grumpy and tired. I walked her and got her to drink a bit more formula, before she passed out. Quite the busy morning. After eating we headed out to do some shopping and go home for the day. Well, Summer woke up while shopping and on the way out a parade began. It was the "Parade of Dreams" and included "Finding Nemo", "Pinochio" and many others, including "The Lion King" as seen here.


What a great day! And we owe it all to Aunty J-J! Thank you! From me, Jessica and especially Summer! These pictures (and the 170 or so others we took) will be great fun to see when Summer gets older and can go to the park again! I think it is fitting to end this post as they ended the parade...with the #1 Mouse, himself!

100th Post - The Move

Wow, 100 Posts, already?! You betcha! Like all good TV shows, the 100th episode (post in our case) has to be really special. So, what can be more special, crazy, whatever, than Summer MOVING!

Yep, it's official. Summer and, of course, the whole family is moving to Colorado Springs. We've sold the Condo and will be moving in less than one week!

We're moving for Summer, first and foremost. Secondly, we're moving for me. For my sanity. I loved Santa Barbara, and I love Southern California, in general, but I have a real problem with the traffic and the pace of life (i.e. the way many people act). We've both met many great friends, and we plan on remaining friends after we move, however, we need this for Summer to have a big home, a yard, and a Mommy that can stay home from work more. There is no way to afford that type of life in California.

So, here is where we're going! This is a view of the beautiful Pike's Peak!


After driving around and seeing the neighborhood, we figured we could handle living here. So, we looked at many homes for sale. There was always a little bit something wrong with them. Brass fixtures, small rooms, small lot size, funky lay-out, etc... Then we looked at some new-homes. After figuring out we like John Laing homes the best, and wanted a bit more of a roomy lot size, we went to a community with larger lots, with John Laing homes. When we walked into the models and saw this kitchen:


This family room:


Which had this media niche built in:


We were in love! Check out the rest of the main floor floorplan.


So, we got our name on a list, made a purchase, and started the ball rolling. It's all been going so fast. This last week I went to Colorado Springs again to talk about design issues, check out an apartment to live in, and see the lot and the building progress. Well, they are a bit behind, already, go figure. But the hole was there when I visited.


This hole is where our home will be built. I received a call this week, and I've been told the footers are in, and the foundation will be put in this coming week. So, when we get there, the basement walls should be up! Yep, being a western/midwest home we will have a basement. We will also have a full upstairs. 5 Bedrooms in total, after we complete the basement ourselves (The 5th bedroom will actually be a theater for us). To see the rest of the house, I guess you'll just have to come visit! ;-)

To show approximately what our place is going to look like, I took this photo of a neighboring home:


This is about the right color. It has the same siding and elevation, i.e. the porch is like ours, and it has the garage on the right side. Our main door will be a different color, I think we chose red? Also, this house isn't finished, as there is no landscaping and the stone hasn't been installed on the front.

So, there you have it! We are moving! How's THAT for an exciting 100th post?!

Teefers

OK, still up on VDay...wanted to post a few pics we took last night. As you can imagine we have TONS of pics we can post, since it has been two weeks...but, it'll take a bit to get to all of them. For now, here are a few pics which show off Summer's teeth.

She has been teething and has gotten in 6, YES SIX, teeth within the last few weeks. I have a post earlier about them coming in, if you want to figure out the time, but Sunday night and Monday day, her 6th tooth finally broke through. Two on the bottom and 4 on the top!

Now, make sure to click on the pics to see the teeth more clearly. I got her playing on the changing table, making her laugh and giggle. When she smiles you can SO SEE her teeth, it's awesome! Here you can see two of her top teeth.


Here you can see her bottom teeth and a bit of two on the top.


This last pic is a touch blurry, but you can still see her teeth. She is trying to stand up, using the toy, as always.


OK, I have to get back to bed and sleep a couple more hours before work. G'nite.

Happy Valentines Day!

Good morning, Summer. I just put you back down after your night-time snack. You're coughing and not feeling so hot. :-( Daddy is starting to feel the same way...throat a bit sore and everything. It sounds like you got yourself back to sleep, so I should do the same, but I had to wish you a Happy Day! :-D

Just wanted to let you know, that for your very first Valentine's Day, mommy and daddy "adopted" you a Billy Goat! With that, your name will go on a plaque as one of many supporting parents and you'll have another new stuffed animal...to ignore.

I say ignore, because you tend to want to play with our mail, our books, our remote controls for the TV (although we try to trick you with a non-functioning remote...that doesn't seem to work, you always go for the real one) and our cell phones. Ever since you can crawl you get around and like to get into things and see what is happening, or what you can touch and feel.

I now see why it's good to put in those power outlet blockers. Your fingers aren't going to fit in there, but if you drool on them and/or are poking something into them...yep, time to start baby-proofing a little bit.

OK, it's been a while since I posted, Sum, so I'll just put up one quick little pic. This is the pic that a few people will receive from you for Valentine's Day.