"CALIFORNIA DREAMING" - Days 1 & 2

Well, no... it wasn't a dream... we actually got to go to California again this year. We've been saving up for several months and now the time had come!!!

-THURSDAY, September 25th, 2008-

Jaren and Oliver at the hotel

Today after the kids got home from school, we finished packing and loaded up the van to drive to Minneapolis. Since our plane was leaving early the next morning, we decided to get a hotel, spend the night... we figured it would be easier for the kids.

We got to the hotel and the guy working behind the front desk was watching baseball and didn't appear all that interested in helping us. Anyways, we asked for a crib for Jaren and he said, "I think they are gone, but I'll check on it for you." Since no crib showed up, we figured that they were all gone for the night. Jaren was not a happy camper that night. He fussed and cryed most of the night and into the morning. At around 3:30 am we got a call from the front desk because someone called and complained. (YEAH... um... we just let him cry... we do NOTHING to try to calm our baby... yup... we actually pinch him so that he cries all the time and we don't get any sleep either... yeeeeaaaahhhhh...). Anyways... MAGICALLY... a crib appears outside of our door! Needless to say I suppose the front desk guy was too involved with his baseball game to stop and actually do his job. Ed opened the door to walk with him, and a worker asked if she could do anything. We just said no, but thanks for the crib. He was out like a light after he had the crib! Come on people... TWO CRIBS for over seven floors of rooms!!! So... we debated whether or not to go on... Finally, we decided that it would be so disappointing to the kids if we didn't go and I wasn't going to fly without Ed... soooooo... we tried to get a little more sleep and decided to go in the morning.

-FRIDAY, September 26, 2008-

MY 30th BIRTHDAY!!!

We got up and ready to get on the shuttle to the airport and soon experienced one of the most embarrassing / hysterical episodes in my life. We went through the lines smoothly... UNTIL... we got to Security. We all loaded up the bins with shoes, backpacks, my purse and other personal affects and proceeded to walk slowly through the line. I'm bringing up the rear of our family when all of the sudden I hear the guy behind the x-ray machine say,

"OH! We got a good one here!" I looked back as another older man went over to view the screen.

Ed said to me in a joking manner, "Oh... did you pack something you weren't supposed to?!?!"

I said, "It's not MY bag they are looking at! It's your computer bag!"

Ed's demeanor changed almost immediately as he gasped, "My knife!"

I exclaimed, almost in disbelief, "Your KNIFE?!?"

"I forgot to take it out of my bag! I use it to open my crystal light packages at work."

"Why not use scissors?" I asked. "What about all of the other times you've flown for work?!"

Ed said, "I forgot to take it out this time!"

I'm thinking, "Oh great... they think we are terrorists now! A man, a woman and their three kids... the perfect cover...". I'm laughing now, I just couldn't help it! I couldn't believe what was happening to us at that moment! Ed told them it was a pocket knife that was inside the bag. The second man had it in his hand and Ed was trying to explain to him how to open it without cutting his fingers off. The guy FINALLY opened it and confiscated it. They took EVERYTHING out of Ed's bag, which was all of Jaren's stuff: Diapers, wipes, bottles, formula, medicine, etc. The guy was like, "You should have declared this..." I totally forgot about their medications in the backpack... but I said that I would on our way back. They found the boys' nebulizer and asked fairly sternly, "What is THIS?" We explained that both boys have asthma and that it was for their breathing treatments. They donned rubber gloves and used cotton pads to check for gunpowder. GUNPOWDER??? What the crap!?! As they are checking every nook and cranny of our belongings, they wanted to check all of ED or MY nooks and crannies! It seemed liked FOREVER because Ed didn't say anything. I finally said, "I'M NOT DOING IT! I know it's my birthday and all, but..." Ed said he would do it. Soooooo, after we held up the line, we finally got to put our shoes back on and proceeded to our gate. WHAT A MORNING!!!

We board the plane and pray that Jaren will be a good traveler, and much to our surprise, he was! Oliver and Eden were great as well! Jaren liked to look at and sometimes touch the other passengers, which thankfully, they thought was cute! We traveled FRONTIER airlines and it was great! We had lots of leg room and they had TV's on the back of each seat. We paid $5.99 so the kids could watch it during the trip. They LOVED it! I think they watched Spongebob the whole time! Even Jaren liked it!

Jaren peeking over the chair in front of him.

We got to LAX and Jared picked us up, yadda, yadda, yadda, and drove us back to their house to rest a bit before we went bowling for my birthday!!!

~BOWLING~

Since it was my birthday, Jared and Emily got a sitter for the kids and took us bowling! We took the two littlest with us and had a fun night!

No this is NOT an ad for Crocs, the ultimately comfy slipper/sandal... I thought it was funny that you had to give one of your shoes to the lady behind the desk as collateral for the bowling shoes. I'm easily amused...

Little Addison (5 months old)

Ed and Jaren pointing down the lanes. ( I LOVED the light fixtures they had there!)

Jared and Emily

My 30 year old self and my 30 year old hubsy, Edward.

I fell asleep in the car and on our way home, they stopped and got a chocolate cream pie for my birthday to eat at a later time! :o)

It was fun to celebrate with family that we rarely get to see! Thanks, guys!!! We love you!