The Hultgrens - The USA Journey

December 2010....

2011-01-22T00:59:00.000-08:00

Well, it’s now January and this will be the last official blog from our American experience. What a ride it’s been….. but let’s just recap the happenings on the last month leaving in the good old United States of America.

The month itself started pretty much as per usual, except for the fact that Belinda was not feeling Christmas AT ALL!!! In case you didn’t know I LOVE Christmas, it’s my chance to go nuts and make the house look amazing (especially since coming to the US and bring able to buy some beautiful things) anyway the Christmas spirit I think was being squashed by the packing and the thought of having to pack it all back up was winning.

I eventually made myself go and bring in the storage boxes and looked at them for an hour of so – NOTHING…so I called Bruce and he laughed at me, then I called Paula and she understood – more packing!!!! Eventually I pulled out a few things and we got a small Christmas tree, it was all pretty sad looking compared to what it usually looks like but it was enough to satisfy my husband who was worried about the kids not feeling like Christmas.

Our December started with the boys both making the Semi Finals of basketball and they both came out with the win. Jamieson’s team finally played to their potential and killed them, Jamieson played like a champ – that’s my boy!!!

The boys headed back to school with Jamieson starting in a new grade in a new track. He knew a lot of the kids and the teacher a little so it wasn’t a hard transition to get back into school. I did a little packing and spent some time at the office helping Beth put orders together and get them out to the new Borders stores, by the end of the week Bruce and I were stuffed (Bruce had been in San Fran in meetings all day) and we were ready for the week to end so after dinner we all went around to Beth & Doug’s for a drink!!

Championship game in basketball on Saturday, the boys were very excited. We came out of the day with no win’s but it was a great experience for both the boys and the big one too coaching in both games. Jamieson’s team let the magnitude of the day get to them and they just plain choked, Conner’s team had chances to win and didn’t get there in the end…they were bummed because they knew they could’ve had it. We finished the day with pizza (as always) and then a quiet night at home.

Sunday was a quiet day trying to get Conner to study for his finals that were coming up, he’s gets that he has to do it and that it pays off in the end but in the moment he hates it and needs that push. Later in the day we did a pop in around the corner at the Cendro’s while Conner had a study break, then Bruce went off to say Good bye to his friend Greg at the local UPS store.

Tuesday Bruce and I spent most of the day together, he had some Borders stores to see so I went along for the ride and got some Christmas presents in Vacaville which was a bonus, Vacaville is always the place to shop. We got home and Conner did some studying before we headed off to watch Franklin basketball games. I have to say, the teams are different to what we saw last year, it’s early but they have a lot of work to do to get their teams to where they want them. Wednesday morning started early, I dropped Bruce off at the airport for his flight to LA and then went home to get some more packing done. Conner’s finals started so he was a little tense, Jamieson was just being Jamieson, really enjoying being on A track which was a big relief to Bruce and I and enjoying life and they were both coming to the realization that they were leaving their friends. Bruce had a productive day in LA and I was back at the airport with the kids sleeping in the back around 10.30pm – long day for all. Friday was both the boys official last day of school in America…. Conner took it in his stride, it sounds like everyone said good bye but not much of a fuss. Jamieson’s grade had a Christmas feast and I took hot chocolate and candy canes in for everyone, then headed to the office to say goodbye to the ladies…. It was busy which made it a lot better, a quick goodbye and little cries then off home for me. Bruce picked up Conner at the same time, filled out some paperwork and it was goodbye to Toby Johnson middle school (that experience was a mixed one – they have some great things and they also have some systems that are just terrible) when I say that, things like the kids don’t have lockers and are required to walk around all day with their bags and text books etc, on rainy days there is nowhere inside for the kids to go they just have to have an umbrella and try to find some cover if they can… - like I said, not good enough for us. Stone Lake Elementary was so fantastic and we are going to miss everyone from the kids to the staff and even the janitorial staff that helped me when running my PTO events every year….everyone was great!!!!

Friday afternoon Bruce and I jumped into the car in the rain, dropped the boys of with friends (Conner at David’s and Jamieson at Kevin’s) and headed off for a belated Anniversary night out in San Francisco (well we won’t be able to say anything cool like that anymore) It still sounds funny even after so long…we got slowed down a little in the Friday night traffic, but we weren’t in a hurry so we just chatted and waited, mainly through Berkley & at the Bay Bridge entrance with hundreds of other cars. The Golden Gate is beautiful especially when they used to light it up before 9/11 I’m sure, but the Bay Bridge is just impressive!!! We arrived at the Hilton in the city and checked in around 8.00pm then rugged up in our coats and umbrella and headed out to check out the city and shops (Christmas decorations yeay!!) It was nice to walk around even if it was raining, San Fran is a lot like New York which was a little weird, spending time without the boys feels strange but it was long overdue having an adult conversation without kids thinking they can be involved. We got some nice pics and we did little shopping then when the shops closed, (earlier than I expected being Christmas) then we ended up at a little diner that Bruce loves and I had some sweet potato fries & a burger, but it was all about the fries (YUM) and Bruce had a really nice (once he got the right one) omelet. The Hilton was beautiful and we enjoyed being walking distance from everything around us, we walked around in the daylight the next morning then checked out, jumped into the car and drove around looking at places that Karen (Cendro a San Fran local) gave us to check out which was great, we drove through local places and got to see the not tourist places, we even had what she called the best Mexican in San Fran for lunch, which seems to be a consensus because the line was huge and the lunch was very yummy so we got to experience a real local secret YUM!!! Who would’ve thought the Hultgren’s and Mexican food? We drove up to Twin Peaks (apparently 360c view of San Fran but as you can imagine when it’s raining you don’t get to see too much, we took a picture (while laughing a lot) of the cloud cover and sent it to Karen with the comment – Pretty!!! It got laughs on both ends of the phone. It would be beautiful on a nice day though….. We headed home, made a couple of stops at Borders stores on the way home and landed at the homestead around 5.00pm.

Sunday rolled around All Star Game Day, all three boys were very excited again, Bruce was coaching in both games and the t-shirts had all three names so it was a good Hultgren day!! The boys didn’t win but they had some fun and we went over to the Dennis’ for dinner after which was a nice way to finish the weekend and start the boys holidays.

Second last week before we leave was upon us (also Christmas week) Our DII (Work girls) lunch was cancelled due to schedules so I spent the day packing and trying to get the kids to pack. I was left wondering where is the line between teaching the kids to do it themselves and having to watch and help with repack and complain etc and just bloody doing it yourself because it would take less than half the time LITERALLY!!! It took us the better part of the day for them to pack up just their rooms can anyone else feel the frustration as I’m writing and remembering this! Tuesday was a little of the same for me, packing etc the boys catching up with their friends, Christian (Conner’s basketball friend) came over for a sleepover and Jamieson headed over to Cam’s place for the night. So it was still four of us at Franklin Basketball just a different four. Franklin still looked frustrating as were some of the old freshman mum’s that I knew from last year’s team. New coach, new kids, different look and lots of boy ego’s – good luck. They won but they weren’t the best games to watch…it was nice to go and say good bye to everyone, Bruce liked being able to say goodbye to the other coaches and his freshman boys from last year….it looks like when he takes the boys on their basketball trip in a couple of years there will be some games against Franklin which will be a full circle moment for us all, especially Conner who did camp with some of them. Wednesday night we were lucky enough to be taken out to dinner by Jamieson grade 1&3 teacher Mrs Sack (who we love!!- she is just an awesome teacher) we went to Texas roadhouse for steaks, it was a nice salad that I had and I think the boys enjoyed their steaks so it was a nice dinner and another sad goodbye….she is an original and more importantly she got Jamieson and loved his energy!!! (that’s how she put it – her nickname for him was ‘Tigger’)

Thursday we had our PocketAngels lunch which was fun, we all just sat around chatted and had some yummy Mexican for lunch it was a nice last meal for all the main Pocket Angels people….Friday arrived before we knew it, Bruce went out for some meetings and I went over to Paula’s in the morning then over to visit Karen in the afternoon, the boys were all playing while they could. We had some dinner then went out to look at Christmas lights, which is always fun and ended the night at the Cendros for drinks. It wasn’t too late a night for us…pretty much all of the presents were done so it was just a matter of putting everything together around the piddly little Christmas tree and heading off to bed – EXHAUSTED…long week!!

Merry Christmas – Jamieson woke up around 7.00am then Conner kind of got woken up around 7.45am, presents didn’t take too long this year, what with us leaving the country and all but it was a nice quiet morning in our PJ’s watching NBA basketball on TV, playing with presents etc…. Let’s see, Conner got a couple of Kobe Bryant frames for his wall, Jamieson got a surf fishing rod, they both got collector’s edition Monopoly which they played constantly for the next two days, Jamieson got a metal detector, they got clothes – der and that’s all I can think of right now, you know there was a lot more just what that is I have no recollection. We had ham for breakfast and lunch (pretty laid back) and all showered and got dressed mid afternoon. We headed over to Paula’s after the Lakers game finished and had a nice leftovers dinner and one last Christmas together with Paula, Steve and the boys. It was the perfect quiet Christmas and Bruce thought it was a great way to spend the day.

December 26th – big emotional day!! Paula picked me up early and we went out to grab some post Christmas bargains, the problem is that the stores aren’t bringing in anywhere near as much stock as they used to so there’s not always a lot left. They have a lot of their sales before Christmas too…. We grabbed a few things but nothing to write home about. We had open house in the afternoon which only saw us get a few visitors, Cam and his family came over then David and his family came over to say goodbye…so that wasn’t a good start. We headed over to the Cendro’s for our goodbye party around 5.00pm and everyone had arrived by 5.30 – 30+ people was awesome but it was a nice night which meant all the kids (mostly boys) could play out in the street, big dinner bought by everyone which was very yummy….especially considering I didn’t have to make anything yeay for me!! The group shot turned out fabulous accept for Ruthy’s head being behind Julian and little Carlos’ head just made it, it was the best of the five we took and Karen did the whole photoshop elements to make us look better and I think in black & white it’s going to be awesome…..apparently it’s coming to be put on our wall on a United flight with Carlos or Kristie soon.

Then around 9.00pm everyone started leaving at that was it for me, a lot of them we were still going to see but the Charles’ were the first to go and that set me off…. Look at pics from later in the night and you can see I have to icky puffy eyes etc – not pretty. Carlos and I had drinks and ate Mac n Cheese together; Karen and Mike enjoyed seeing Belinda have a few drinks we got home around midnight and fell into bed literally…it was a really fun night just not ready to say goodbye to my American family.

The next morning was hard to get going but up we got up, I started to pack at 9.00am, Bruce made me stop and took me out for lunch then back to it for the rest of the day. The boys went over to Cam’s and ended up sleeping over so after Bruce finished work we both got stuck into it and finished up falling into bed around 1.00am can anyone say TIRED!!! Tuesday was moving out day – Bruce went out late morning and picked up the truck he got most of the boxes in the truck before the guys turned up and they did 3 loads before the garage and house was empty of all the stuff we are sending home as well as lot s of boxes of spinners. The boys stayed at Kevin’s on the Tuesday night while Bruce & I stayed at Paula’s.

Wednesday 29th December 2010 – Bruce & I spent Wednesday(Justin’s birthday) at the house, Paula & I cleaned, Bruce was in and out, then I was officially out of there Wednesday afternoon (Bruce still had his office to do). Wednesday night we had nice pizza for Justin’s birthday and Robert & Andrea came to the party which was fun. It was a great last night…. Exhausted we were all in bed by 10.30pm. The kids were tired too but still a little tired so they slept, although if they didn’t I don’t think I would’ve known.

Thursday 30th December – our last day!

We had some breakfast Bruce ran errands and tried to tie up any loose ends all day poor guy , I had lunch with Paula and Karen and then a few of them came over to the house to say goodbye. I finished packing all the stuff away around 4.00 once everyone had changed for the airport. We all jumped into the cars and off we went around 5.30… Paula and I in her car and all the boys (Carlos included) in our car. Traffic wasn’t too bad and we arrived at the airport around 7.30-8.00pm. Checked in and started the waiting game, Carlos and Kristie were confident we would get on the plane but weren’t sure on the business class. Kristie had been flying so Carlos went to meet her through security and we sat outside with Paula and had some dinner – you can imagine the butterflies and nausea…. Around 9.00pm we said goodbye to Paula and made our way (with all our 7 pieces of on board luggage) through security. Carlos and Kristie were waiting for us at the gate and we waited and waited. We were the last ones called but no business class for us…at least we were on the plane and Carlos had a lot of people he knew working so we would be looked on the make sure all was well. Another good bye although not for long, they will head down our way so we know we will see them and soon….

And we’re off…. We got on the plane and realized one we were sitting behind a lady with two young kids, mmmmm and two there were spare rows at the back of the plane so we grabbed three of those. Jamieson got the back one (4 seats) for after he’d thrown up and then could sleep – which is exactly what he did. Although we did have the flight attendant worried about him being sick, we were very matter of fact about it and once we were off and he was asleep she came down and said ‘you were right’. ‘Yep’

Conner wasn’t happy with his two seat row and started complaining so he got the 4 seat row with Bruce and I scrunched into the 2 seat row, I was so exhausted it didn’t matter and we took off and I was OUT! I woke up 3-4 hours later to find Conner asleep laying down and poor Bruce sitting up with the blanket over his head to keep it dark and apparently warm although I don’t think he ever got real sleep. I woke up and dozed so all in all I got about 6-7 hours which I think was the same as Conner. Bruce not so lucky, we played musical seats so Bruce could get some sleep on the big row but he said it didn’t work. Jamieson woke up a few times but not for long and he eventually woke up at breakfast time. As usual I ate to stop the sickly feeling, Bruce and Conner did – Jamieson refused to eat airplane food. All in all for the back of the plane that had a lot of little kids on it did really well, the only ones we heard from at all were the family that I mentioned before and most of that was this women didn’t know how to whisper while she was talking to her kids walking up the aisle….

We landed in Sydney (“WOOO” - which is what we always do when we land in Aust – it’s from some TV ad we saw in the US right after we moved there, made us laugh everytime we saw it and now it’s a tradition we do) as always we had to go through another security check which I will never understand, we just got off an international flight and were still in a secure area, but hey that’s what we have to do. We got into the lounge and found a vending machine and TWISTIES – so it was 8.30am and I was having twisties for breakfast and I didn’t care.

We got business class on the flight from Sydney which was nice to have the room and the individual screens although Jamieson was still white turning grey and didn’t like the flight at all, I think that fact that he hadn’t eaten for 16 hours had a bit to do with it, but like clockwork before we got off the plane (yes, we made it the whole flight) he threw up after we landed, we cleaned up and walked off the plane towards customs. We had landed early so we were ahead of schedule, but the time we got our bags and put them on four trolley’s yes, that’s how much luggage we had. We made our way through the last check, sniffer dog, very cute and walked through the doors to find mum and dad not there yet. I changed into my jeans (arh) and mum and dad arrived we walked all the trolleys to the cars and piled them all in and mum and dad drove back to Ocean Grove and we headed to Eltham to see Maureen.

***********************************************************

So that was our USA adventure. I guess I have a pretty good diary from our time here and it’s been at times hard getting it out on time but in the end it’s always here and it’s a testament to what we did while we were there.

Thanks for taking the journey with us, I hope it’s been as fun for you guys reading it as it has been for us living it. What a once in a lifetime experience we’ve had, we’ve made wonderful friends we call family and seen some gorgeous parts of the world. If you get the chance, try to make it to that part of the planet; and to those who fitted us in on their visits we’re glad you got to experience our little part of the world for just a little while, we appreciated you coming.

It’s now January 2011 and the Hultgren’s are back in Australia ready for what comes next….

Signing off -

Belinda, Bruce Conner & Jamieson

xxxx

A note from Bruce:
I want to write a HUGE Thank You to my gorgeous wife for all the words, the thousands and thousands of words she’s put together during the past 4 years and 8 months. It is an amazing diary of what we experienced and I’m sure once we read it back, laugh about a lot and remember – the effort will have been more than worth it.

It takes a special lady to do what she just did and for that – the 3 boys in the family will be forever grateful. I Love You Belinda – more than you know.

Your Husband & Best Friend

December 2010 Pics.....

2011-01-22T00:58:00.000-08:00

USA Family

Christmas 2010

Belated Anniversary in San Fransisco

November 2010....

2010-12-16T15:34:00.000-08:00

Second last post before our journey ends….

We spent the first couple of days of the month dealing with Conner’s English teacher AGAIN! Well, trying to. I find it very frustrating when your child is trying to catch up from being away doing a leadership function and his teacher doesn’t respond to his clarification request so his homework doesn’t get done and she doesn’t accept anything late. As a responsible parent, we email and ask for assistance in understanding what happened (BCC it to the principle) and come to find that she deals with it by – calling our son the front of the class to her desk and (to this day we have no idea exactly what she said all he’s told us is “I shouldn’t be getting these emails from your parents”) and then made him stand there and read her email response the me!!! NOT HAPPY JAN WAS AN UNDERSTAMENT!!! This woman is a HUGE reason why I hate this school system. So the end of the day comes and all we get from Conner is “PLEASE JUST LET IT GO, it will make it worse”. So we have, for now but the district will be getting a formal complaint as soon as his grades are in.

Ok, enough about that….although it was a very stressful couple of days, my new couch arrived on Thursday, YEAY that put us all in a good mood. The boys did well at basketball on the weekend, Conner is playing really well and Jamieson is just killing it. It’s always fun seeing your son get the rebound and go coast to coast for the layup (he’s finally figured out the layup is an easy way to get easy points)- actually it never gets old and coach Bruce is loving it too.

Bruce headed off to LA for the week to start his Borders stores visits – so that was on the internet every night trying to find a hotel with a nice bed. The boys and I did the usual, school, playing, packing (which got old real fast). Jamieson had a field trip on Wednesday (which Bruce was supposed to go to but I had to go to instead – thanks honey) it was fun we went to the planetarium and learnt all about the stars and planets and why Pluto isn’t a planet anymore. Then I stopped and did a little shopping on the way home. (Parents drive themselves to the field trips here, they don’t go on the bus) Thursday I dropped Paula at the airport for her trip to Minnesota, her stepdad Pat found different cancer and had to go and have surgery so Paula was going to take care of her mum, we crossed everything and she got on the plane. Friday night Andrea and I went down to Stockton for a Christmas specials party with the lady from our foot spa party so we got some beauty bargains – it was nice just to spend time with Andrea and have a laugh – and bonus was we were invited to their place for Thanksgiving so no cooking a turkey for me!! Bruce got home safely from a very successful and tiring LA trip, lots of stores in not many days. I think he can safely say he’s see all of LA & San Diego. Of course, basketball again on Saturday Kevin came over on Sunday and the kids played all day and I spoke to mum (Happy Birthday) caught up on the home happenings. It’s still weird hearing about what everyone’s doing in emails or phone calls.

Another week started with Bruce and I going out for lunch figuring out the week ahead, Bruce was travelling again, this week 4 states, Washington then down to Arizona. Up to Vegas then across to Utah. Bruce headed off to Seattle on Tuesday, I got to speak to Elise on skype which was a nice surprise seeing that smiling face and getting all the gossip. Wednesday back to the airport to get Paula from her trip – Pat was doing really well so she came home early. Thursday night was a tough one, my first official we are going home cry. Jamieson had a Family Share night at school so all the kids and their parents were there. That was also the day we had no heating – which is never fun when it’s COLD outside. Jamieson officially finished B Track with a half day on Friday and said good bye to all his friends. He got lots of emails so he was happy about that. School was out for everyone for Thanksgiving, this year 3 days earlier than usual because of the budget situation the teachers are taking extra days off during the year to try and help other teachers have their jobs ( I don’t get why any Govt would let this happen to their Education system - which is a big reason why we are leaving too) and the sad thing is our friend Bindy (Jamieson’s principle) said it’s looking like there’s more next year.

Bruce on the other hand was in travelers hell!! A storm was arriving in Utah and his flight was cancelled so he kept the car and started on the 80 freeway home trying to stay in front of the storm. Let’s just say it was a little stressful, the mountains near here had been closed the night before so I was panicing, he was driving in a storm so he was panicing…..lots of updating phone calls and slow driving till 2am (Phew!!)

We had early basketball games which was a good and bad thing up early but home early too. We are not used to those early starts usually we get the 10am games or later. Jamieson went over to play at Cam’s (team mate) and Conner’s friend Paul came over so we lost one and gained one, then Sunday Conner stayed at Paul’s and then Monday Paul stayed at ours again, then I said that was enough, they thought it was pretty funny though. Otherwise it was a pretty casual week for the boys, Bruce and I were trying to make sure all the orders he got on his trips were being filled etc, I did some packing and came to the realization that I was not doing it all this time on my own and stopped.

Thursday rolled around and we headed over to Andrea and Roberts in the afternoon for some turkey!!! It was a fun night, Roberts kids were there (even though they are grownups) Andrea’s friend from work and her family came as aswell and after dinner Paula, Steve and Steve’s mum came over for dessert. The kids played with the dogs and other kids we watched some football I got to spend some time with my friend and we were stuffed and home at a reasonable hour – It was a good last Thanksgiving. We had a sport free weekend so we made the most of it and did nothing – so we finished the month with a lot less stress than we started – thank goodness!

The countdown is on.....

November Pics.....

2010-12-16T15:32:00.000-08:00

Jamieson's Class

October 2010.....

2010-12-16T15:26:00.001-08:00

Hey all, well as per usual lately I am behind, but I have to say I’ve got kind of a good excuse. My head is more about coming home and packing more so than writing about what feels like pretty boring happenings in the Hultgren world.

Our month started with Millie dropping off the 6 batches of brownie mix for me to make up for their Halloween party and we had a nice visit as well. Bruce headed off to Utah so it was a pretty quiet weekend. The kids played at the park while the weather is still nice and I cleaned the house and did the usual household things. Bruce came home on Monday and the rest of the week was pretty much business as usual, accept for me baking etc and getting ready for Bruce’s birthday party. The end of the week rolled around with Kevin sleeping over on the Friday night, we had the school pancake breakfast fun run on Saturday morning our last one. Bruce and I got up and walked to fun run circuit then met the boys at school for some pancakes. Jamieson won the kids race – YEAY!!! Then back to the house to get ready for our 30 or so party goers, while Bruce went to a coaches meeting for the new basketball season.

The party was a fun night; the weather was nice enough for sit outside. The kids (14 boys) running around the house playing basketball in the lounge room and the adults inside and out eating and drinking and having a good time chilling out with good conversation. We all had a good time and Bruce had a really nice birthday party (even if it was late) and I got some good pics with our friends.

The weekend finished with Bruce and I going out for a little while and Conner studying for finals at the end of the week. It was a pretty usual week, Conner finished a school term and basketball started on the weekend, last one for our time here. It was a good start to the basketball season, the boys played well, Jamieson’s team has a lot of work to do, Conner’s team kicked some basketball butt!! Dominant (as the kids would say) Sunday rolled around and with it came the rain!!! And I’m not kidding, it was raining hard all day, which made it a very non eventful day which was nice.

Millie and I went out and ordered new couches, very excited. I’d done some research and came to the realization that the same couch at home is over twice as much so couch shopping we went. Tuesday we swapped cars with the Riveras (their big car is broken and they don’t all fit in the little one so we swapped and had their Yaris which was fun zipping around in. Bruce was on the road for some of the week checking in on the Borders stores in the area. I caught up with Andrea for lunch which was fun. She isn’t working for Paula anymore and got another job with the City of Elk Grove so she’s just across the road but we hadn’t been able to catch up yet, it was nice to get some Keorner gossip. Conner headed back to school with new subjects and seems to be enjoying his new electives, not his crappy English teacher but we all have teachers that suck as some stage. Basketball games took over the day then Kevin and Jamieson had a sleepover, which is always weird when there is one less kid in the house, then Sunday again the rains came and came and stayed!!!

The last week of October was a busy one, David, Rebecca and Mariah came over on Sunday night to carve pumpkins. They had never done it before and the kids were born here, I suppose it’s just not something anyone ever showed them, so they had a great time, it was gross but they all had huge smiles on their faces and loved the finished product.

The rest of week was just as busy we got our car back, it was weird getting back into a bigger car from the little zippy one and Paula’s 40th birthday week started. She had a foot spa party at the house, it only ended up being 3 of us but it was Paula, Andrea and I so it was lots of fun. The rest of the week was, baking for Halloween and birthday parties, Bruce did a lot of fishing with Jamieson which they loved. Paula came over at the end of the week to help decorate her cake and spend some time with her bud too. The cake turned out really cool, (pics are on facebook) we made it a graveyard, oreo’s for the gravel, green colored coconut for the grass, cookies for the gravestones and pretzels for the fence line, we were both really happy with, then there were the skull stenciled brownies (which made 7 batches for the week) and I was all baked out.

Saturday night, Bruce and I went to Paula’s party at the house, it was some of her family and friends; just a little gathering of the inner circle so that was fun. We drank, ate and played the WII dance party…. I think you need to be drinking to play that game because trying to keep up with the pictures on the screen was just too funny, in the end I think we all just started waving our arms around….lots of fun and her cake looked really cool.

Finally Halloween arrived, I took the 6 batches of brownies over to Millies’ and helped her finish off decorating her garage for the party…Bruce and the boys dropped in for a little while then they went off to friends places to do their trick or treating. I stayed at Millies’ for a while, ( I know how to make cotton candy now) then headed off to the Cendros to catch up with Bruce and Jamieson. The boys had already done their trick or treating so we sat around watching them go through their HUGE pile of candy. Now, what would Halloween be without some drama, although Karen was happy that it wasn’t at her place this year. Conner calls us and tells us that he’s going to be late because some high school kids belted his friend in the head and stole his candy and candy bag and he had to wait for the police to arrive so he could give a statement. WHAT THE????Apparently, it wasn’t their only call about the same thing? As if Conner needed another excuse to want to come home. So it was an eventful Halloween.

October Pics....

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Heres some of all those boys I was talking about....

Bruce and Alfie

The BIG boys - from left - Alfie, Bruce, Carlos, Monte, Greg, Steve & Mike in the front.

The girls (missing Kristie who was home with a migraine)

Ruth,Belinda,Paula,Kristin,Conny & Karen.

The Hultgrens & Charles'

Bruce and Cooper (who was born the day before we arrived in the US)

The Hultgrens & Cendros

Mike taking his wagon and going home - too funny!

The Hultgrens & Reeds

The Hultgrens & Lewis'

The Hultgrens & Daneluk-Swinfords

Our last Stone Lake Elementary Fun Run Pancake breakfast

David, Rebecca and Mariah all came over and carved pumkins with us

for the 1st time EVER!!!

Paula's 40th

Cool cake!!

September 2010....

2010-10-25T09:17:00.000-07:00

OK, yes I’m behind again. Just when I thought I was up to date the month goes and it’s time to do this again. OK, September started out HOT to say the least. Jamieson is off school and I am having Rebecca (David’s sister, who is off school too) so we spend a couple of hours most days of the week at the pool, the kids swimming and me getting some reading done & catching some sun which is never a bad thing for me until I’m 50 and all wrinkly. It was nice to see them playing, it took a couple of days but by the third day at the pool Rebecca was asking how to do handstands etc and they were playing along great.

Thursday, Carlos picked up Bruce for me (thank you) and they headed off to London. Carlos had a trip and Bruce was heading over to do some trade shows. They had the plane ride and a day or so to hang out together which they both really loved. Great buds and Bruce is going to miss him very much. While the big boys were gone the rest of us hung out together for a catch up which is was lots of fun – cuppas at the dining table and kids running everywhere – good times! (Apparently while the boys were at the supermarket in London and having beers at the pub) We finished the week with a quiet weekend, no basketball this weekend (Long weekend for Labor Day)so I did some cleaning up around the house and bought myself a new vase with some birthday money from my sisters (thanks Raels & Trudy) the boys chilled out around the house and hung out at the park while the warm weather continued.

We continued the next week while Bruce was away with Becca coming over for a couple of days. On Thursday Jamieson and I went over to Ikea to grab some shelving for the office, then shopped around for a while had some lunch which was nice and then headed home for after school kids. We finished the week counting stock for the business which is never fun…Jamieson wasn’t a fan either when he got roped in. Saturday, it felt like I spent all afternoon at the basketball gym, 1.00 & 3.00 games good thing I’m used to it….
Sunday I went out shopping for Rhys’ Big 18th birthday present and found some possibilities – it’s been so long and he’s grown that I decided to wait for Bruce to help make the decisions especially size wise – the kids have grown way up while we haven’t been there!! We finished the day/ week at Paula’s for some dinner and a catch up.

Monday 13th September – mark it down in the books! Jamieson went back to school and there were no children in the house since end of June….. I couldn’t decide whether to go out for the morning or stay at home and do NOTHING!! Bruce arrived home the next day, very tired but very happy to be home. It’s been so long since he traveled on a regular basis that 12 days is toooo long for all of us. (Better get used to that now that we are coming home) I went over to Kristies for a cuppa while Bruce went to sleep off the jetlag. They had visitors from home family friends over from Sydney. (Emma & Joy) They wanted to do some shopping and Kristie had to head off to work at lunch time so I took them around in the afternoon. We started the day shopping very local so Kristie could get home then headed into Sacramento to the Mall. They ended up with a few things but had to get back by 3.30 to leave so they missed the traffic to San Fran to get to the airport for their flight. I dropped them off after a quick Walmart shopping experience on the way home!! Everyone has to have a Walmart shopping experience.

We finished the week catching up with Tom, Mary-Lou and kids Prevost, which was a fun night, last minute but a fun night, the kids all played and the adults sat around catching up with the Tri tip was bbqing…. Honey (the dog) arrived on Saturday for her stay while Caroline was away so the boys were very excited (all three of them) We had basketball finals in the afternoon and the boys won which was a nice change after a not very successful season. Bruce and I went out of Sunday and got Rhys’ birthday present and had some lunch, it was a nice quiet way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

The next week started with doing an Angels stock take for the official financial change over to Paula (DII) who will be taking over Angels day to day when we leave. Counting stock take just sucks and there’s no nice way to put it. Millie decided to have a Halloween party so there’s some major organizing to be done (although Millie likes to do most stuff herself so my help will be minimal)Rhys’ birthday present went off with Kristie on her flight down to Sydney. Conner had a leadership conference with all the schools in the area which he loved and said he had a great time (probably not hard considering his best friend David , who goes to another school was also there so they hung out all day) Thursday Jamieson’s Young American Poets Journal that he was selected for arrived – he walked around with it for the next 2 days showing anyone who came by and telling everyone else about it. We finished the week with some yard work around the house, house work, visits to Millie and spent Saturday afternoon sweating at Kenyon’s football game – 100F and these kids are running around and standing on the sidelines in full pads and helmets – one kid even spewed on the field….. Sunday was Conner’s All Star game for basketball he was excited, maybe a little nervous but they didn’t stand a chance. All the kids on the other team were at least 2 inches taller than every one of them & all heading up the next age group…let’s just say it wasn’t pretty and leave it at that.

The month finished with Jamieson heading off to the doctors about his feet, he has been having problems with pain etc – he has bone splints in his feet from growing and we are trying inner soles, if they don’t work it’s a cast for him – time will tell I’ll keep you all posted. Bruce’s birthday arrived and we did presents in the morning then in the afternoon he got on a plane for Salt Lake City, Utah. That made it an easy birthday for me, no special dinner to prepare!!!

So that was our September, nothing too exciting just the usual kids, home, work a little travel (for Bruce) and a birthday finish out the month. I didn’t mention the Grand Final because honestly – who cares……

Hope you all a had a great month and the warm weather is coming – still hot summer weather here – in the 30’s most days so we are just used to it now I suppose. Bruce is wishing for the cooler days to come – I like the warm….. just for a little while longer anyway.

Love and Kissed to you all
The countdown is on for us to come home…..

August 2010....

2010-09-20T15:10:00.000-07:00

I can’t believe August has come and gone with not a whole lot of unusual activity. The highlight for me was the Jamieson headed back to school after our trip away which made the house a little quieter, but after the busy July that we had it was nice to not have too much to worry about. Bruce jumped on a plane later in the week 12 hours after he was asked to attend a district managers meeting for the Borders stores in the Las Vegas area, so off he went and was back the next afternoon so it was a quick but very worthwhile trip. We finished the week with the usual Friday night practice and then after basketball on Saturday we went over to Robert and Andrea’s for dinner also with Darcy (who used to work at the office) and her family so it was a really good catch up and the four boys had a ball running around the house with their dogs.

The next week Conner spent a couple of days at school for Leadership ( he is in the Leadership elective this year and they had to head over to school to get trained and ready for Open Day when the new Year 7’s arrive and they give them tours etc..) It was fun and he really enjoyed it, he came home in a good mood with no grunting – go figure!

Wednesday Bruce headed down to LA for more Borders meetings which went really well and got home Friday night – as you can imagine tired!! Although I did find him a gem of a hotel to stay in while he was there….

I suppose it was that time again, my birthday came and went without too much fuss which was fun. I got very spoilt by the boys, Conner and Jamieson had a star named after me which was a great surprise (and all their idea) and Bruce bought me a rose gold Guess watch – very pretty!!! I also got some breast cancer pink kitchenaid mixing bowls, it sounds boring but they are fabulous and added to my kitchenaid pink & white

collection. I went out shopping in the morning while the boys cleaned the house (which is a new birthday & Mothers day present tradition) and we had open house for the afternoon which was fun and it turned out that everyone unintentionally spread out quite well. Millie & Lexie arrived with more presents and a birthday cake. (Millie has decided that because we are leaving she is going to give me presents for birthday’ and Christmas for the next couple of years before we leave) I think in the end she was up to 5 presents because she would go shopping and see just something else, I am very lucky to have such a generous friend who spoils me because she can.) Paula arrived and stayed for a little while, then Beth & Doug arrived, Paula left and then Andrea and Robert arrived with the dogs for the kids to play with, Beth and Doug’s kids rocked over when they heard I had baked and around 6ish they all left. The bummer was the Rivera clan couldn’t make it as they were at baseball…. Sorry mum no photos, Bruce forgets and you know I’m not reminding him to take photos of me.

Bruce and I were supposed to go out for dinner (yes that is a little sarcastic) he didn’t arrange for someone to come and sit with the kids so we stayed at home and had some pasta for dinner. (He still owes me that dinner too in case you were wondering) I did what I was supposed to do when dealing with guys, no hints, no around about asking, it was very direct and straight in the eye – what’s a girl got to do. Should I have a complex right about now?? We actually had a laugh about it over the weekend when we were discussing his birthday plans….

Overall it was a really nice day and I didn’t feel that much older at all – I’m sure that’s coming next year.

Conner headed back to school on the Monday and I forgot to mention that Jamieson went off track for a month – can’t catch a break with these kids and school holidays, so we still had kids at home. It turned into a quiet week for us, our internet modem and phone modems decided to die so we were without either for most of the week, Bruce got it back working on Friday. It wasn’t too bad for me because I just stole the internet from someone in the area, but the phone not ringing did make it quiet. We had a busy weekend, the Riveras came over for dinner on Saturday night which was as always lots of fun….the kids all running around and us just sitting there catching up over some good food and drinks. Sunday we headed over to Paula’s to see her mum and stepdad that were in town from Iowa, which was really nice. Her mum has Alzheimer's so you’re never sure how she’s going to be when you see her. The meds are still doing the trick most of the time and she remembers us so that is great. It was probably the last time we will see them before we go so we had a nice visit with them.

The new week began with Carlos being away so I went over for a cuppa with Kristie on Monday night, which turned into a really late one – opps. When you get to see your friend who is always busy we have to take the time and catch up properly.

We got a call on Tuesday from school – Conner had hurt his ankle, we both freaked a little and Bruce went to pick him up, he came hopping in the door with a huge grin on his face – “hi mum, I knocked it on the ball cart” so he hobbled around for a couple of days but was in a really good mood and seemed to be enjoying school as well. Gotta love that! Wednesday we went over to the Cendros for some dinner (before summer ends visits was what Karen said when she called) which was fun, it was a stinking hot day and the kids swam and we watched with our feet in the water, the weather cooled down later in the evening so a swim wasn’t necessary. The week ended with three games of basketball on Saturday then Bruce headed off to watch Franklin High play football and Kevin had a sleep over. Sunday was cleaning the house and starting to put together the angels for our new account – ‘Send Out Cards.’ They put in a big order and Conner wanted to do them ALL!!! Considering he really didn’t get a lot done over the weekend I went into panic mode and started pushing him and got my hands a little dirty doing them as well.

We spend the next week getting the angels order together for delivery on Wednesday and Bruce organized for trip to London on Thursday. I also had a visitor for the week, David (Conner’s friend) his little sister came and spent the days with us while she was off track like Jamieson. We went to the pool a couple of days and it was nice to watch them go from barely talking the first day to playing a little the next day, to hanging out for most of the day and by Thursday at the pool he was teaching her summersaults and handstands etc…. Carlos came and took Bruce to the airport on Thursday so that made my day a lot easier – no trip to San Fran for me.

So like I said, August was the usual, nothing too adventurous.

I hope all is well at home and you are waiting patiently for the sun to come out.

July Summer 2010....

2010-09-07T12:22:00.000-07:00

It’s July which means Summer holidays!! The month started with Bruce doing an LA trip to talk to Borders managers, he jumped in the car made the drive (which doesn’t seem that long anymore) and had a couple of meetings with store managers at their managers meetings. I managed to find him a really nice hotel so he was at least getting a good night sleep. Apparently it’s all about the bed when you travel (so that’s something I’ve learned which is always a good thing – and a tip for everyone, always check customer reviews!!!) He made his way home after getting lots of orders and the next week jumped on a plane & went to Hawaii for a couple of days. Again got him a great hotel- he was inspired by the view and wrote a few Aloha angels for the managers to choose for sale in store, so job done. The boys and I just hung out at the house and I got things tied up so we could go on our vacation to VEGAS BABY!!But not before celebrating 4th July at the Cendros, we got dressed and went to watch the kids parade which was cool all the little kids with their USA stuff on and bikes decorated following the very loud fire engine. We went home and headed back over there for dinner and drinks with friends...always a great way to celebrate a holiday. The boys and I went over to Millie's so the boys could ride on Lexie's new go car thingy...very fun and they had a blast. Boys and cars DER!!

A couple of days making sure everything was done and everyone had everything they needed. Sunday morning, we set the alarm, woke the kids and we started to drive to Vegas. (Patty was playing (NBA Preseason tournament) at 4.00pm, and the boys had a choice between a show or the game, der they wanted to see Patty (which I did too) so we had to wake up with the birds to get there) It was a easy drive, freeway all the way, traffic going back to LA through the check point was HUGE, so Bruce decided we weren’t coming back this way (as always life is never dull! A different way home – of course!!!)

Straight to the stadium ,UNLV, which is just down the rd from the strip, so we did a quick drive by and the boys eyes were popping out of their heads, which is the reason we were here – check another thing off the list. We bought our Aussie flag and cheered and waved it (Conner thought it was not really that cool, but hey we had to get Patty’s attention somehow) there was another Australian family there so, Bruce being Bruce chatted with them. The game was great and Patty played great!! He came over to the edge of the court for a quick wave before he had to go in which made the boys day, not so uncool now hey Conner!!!! We filed out to the lobby and Bruce snuck inside to see if he could get a quick ‘Hello’ if Patty came out – which he did, Patty offered to get us tickets to the next game….you can imagine the boys smiles!! PRICELESS!!!!

We checked in at the resort and had a look around, as always it was gorgeous….Bruce and I headed out to the local supermarket for food while the boys chilled out at the apartment. We came home with supplies had some dinner and decided to chill out before hitting the strip tomorrow. The only bad thing about the apartment is that our room was right at the front next to the outside light – not good!!

We had a relaxing morning by the pool, the boys swam, I read, Bruce slept!! Then came down for a little while, we had some lunch and caught the resort shuttle into the strip. The drop & pick up point is at Caesars Palace which is perfect, pretty much in the middle. We decided to look around there first, what we didn’t realize was that it would take all afternoon….it’s HUGE!!! I’m not even sure how much we didn’t see. The pool –OMG!!! Although it was fabulous I don’t think it would be such a great experience relaxing with thousands of other people – which means I’m old but I don’t care – the boys thought it was cool. All I could say, which made Bruce laugh, ‘We’re gonna need a bigger boat’ – (apparently I come out with some funnys every now and then) I’m still trying figure out the movie I got it from…see pic! It was a long afternoon, we got back to the resort and had a late dinner, bbq’d before chilling out by the pool.

Tuesday – We were on the first shuttle deciding to try and get out before it gets too hot. We started to moring with a HUGE coincidence…we were at the Bellagio looking around the atrium talking about how beautiful it would be to stay here, then how gorgeous it would be to have breakfast looking into it at the restaurant over the other side. Bruce wanted to see what was over there so I was walking around when he yelled out to me to come back and see who was here. Yes, we went to Vegas to see our next door neighbors from Triumph court, Highton. It was the weirdest thing ever….they were on a family holiday for Blakes 21st and were leaving the next day to go home – TOO WEIRD!!!
Bruce heard from Patty that tickets were organized…YEAY!!!!

We made our way around the rest of the hotels, the boys saw the hotels & attractions they wanted to see, we stopped in New York, New York for some lunch and continued through the early afternoon until we were all dead on our feet and they were hurting too. I think we got to see everything we wanted to see though which was great, and I think the kids were pretty much done. We headed back to the apartment, had an early dinner and went over to UNLV for the Portland game. It was a great game and Patty played really well again, as always. The boys were more enthusiastic with the flag waving and cheering which was fun, now they knew Patty could see and hear them….the biggest fun was after the game when they interviewed Patty for NBA TV…Bruce told the boys to do a walk by with the flag – which they did and everyone around us were all in hysterics including the boys, they thought it was really funny. If you look back on the interview you can see Patty holding back a smile – again PRICELESS!!!! We waited to see if Patty would come out after he got changed but the bus had to go and he was running behind because of the interview so the boys were disappointed not to see him but it was a great time anyway – especially when they saw themselves on the computer later. Patty replied to Bruce’s Thank You text with a big LOL – tell the boys that was great!!!

We got back to the resort caught the last shuttle into the strip – checked out the Bellagio Fountain show, saw the Volcano erupt but missed the Pirate show (which is good it’s a little racier than it used to be) then caught the last shuttle back to the resort and had the pleasure of having to listen to this IDIOT poser at the back of the bus name dropping and being a no it all & rude to the driver the whole way back to the resort. We just told the boys that that’s someone you don’t want to be and left it at that. I think he scared them a little – loud and obnoxious will do that when you’re a kid. It just pissed me off!!!!

We spent our last day at the pool(s) – the boys wanted to go to the big pool, so we chilled out in the water all the boys ended up in a volleyball game with a bunch over older guys which they loved and these guys were really good to them. There ended being about 8 of each age group so it was a good mix. We had some dinner on the way to Hoover Dam – which was good but we didn’t realize you couldn’t get out of the car at night so that was a bit of a bummer, but we’ve seen it and drive over it…which as of the end of Sept you can’t do anymore. Another tick off the to do list. On the way back we drove through old Vegas and saw a glimpse of the Freemont street light show then ended up at the biggest souvenir shop in the world and grabbed a few things to take home and did one last drive down the strip…..

The next morning the boys got in the car and went to the ‘The Pawn Shop’ which is a TV show here while I finished packing and cleaning everything up for check out. We had one last swim had some lunch then headed for the road. Another way – remember..this time we headed in the opposite direction being guided by the GPS which didn’t fill me with confidence. Off into the desert we drove……..after a few hours and realizing that the GPS was taking us all the way North the Reno/Carson City – when we really needed to go South I stopped short of throwing the GPS out the window, although Bruce found it amusing that I was yelling at a machine I got the map out….after going through some gorgeous mountains and scenery and a road that was worse than any roller coaster (which we had to stop on because we were all feeling really sick) Bruce’s dad came out in him and I had to scream to not accelerate over the large bumps – no air under the car!) He thought it was great, the rest of us not so much.

We ended up accidentally at Yosemite National Park – check another thing off the list. It was gorgeous and we made a couple of stops…..it was well worth the extra time. We got home a few hours behind schedule with the boys sleeping in the backseat and the GPS telling us to go East when we needed to go West to get onto the freeway – me yelling at the machine again and Bruce laughing. Arh home!!!!!

No rest for the wicked, back to work the next day, Bruce had some catching up to do and I had some presentations to put together, it was a very quiet weekend, catching up with friends and getting Jamieson ready to start back to school.

On Monday Jamieson started school and we went to meet his teacher Mrs Mehas, she was really cool and apart from him being seated next to the really annoying kid I think he’s going to have a great year. That night we headed to back to school night – which was the usual. The great thing is that Mrs Mehas said that they are being taught a lot of responsibility in regards to their work, so it’s time to step back a little bit, any problems let her know but ultimately it’s time they made their own decisions, did their own work, took resposibilites for their decisions etc…it’s going to be a great year.

After the session was over we chatted with Mrs Mehas about our trip to Canada then headed out and ran into the principle, vice principle and a couple of other teachers, one whom is at another school because of the pink slip situation she found a job at the school the Rivera kids go so that’s good. Ms Travernia was also the basketball team coach so we know her well, we were all chatting about the new year, when Jamieson’s teacher from last year stopped for a chat and a catch up, Conner’s grade 5-6 teacher gave us a quick hug and hello…. It really is a great school and I think we will be missed (I hope anyway) We spent the rest of the week getting ready for our trip to Canada and the possibility that we might not be coming home – what to pack, what to leave!!! Paula and Karen said it would be fine – then said that it had to be because they didn’t want to pack up my house without me. (So cute)

Basketball started up again, training on Tuesday night, Bruce took both teams because Jamieson’s coach was away. Then training again on Friday night before a great dinner with Robert and Andrea on Friday night – it turned into a very late night, chatting and laughing and we did pay for it over the next couple of days, but it was worth it. Basketball starting on Saturday which was nice for the boys to get back into it again, although with it being summer and the high schools closed the courts were not the best to say the least…..Jamieson’s was a large court converted into two courts and they didn’t even mark a sideline!!!! Not happy Jan!

Early Sunday morning we packed up the car and started our way north then south then north again, although the direction changes were a long way in between. We made it nearly half way the first which was great. Dead beat we stopped to sleep at around 10 pm in a place called Dillon for the night. Nice hotel, good breakfast – hit the road again…sorry no photo’s being stressed isn’t conducive to wanting the take pictures.

We hit the Canadian border around lunchtime, didn’t make us get out of the car or even take our I-94’s out of the passports so off we went, made our way to Lethbridge to find the US Embassy’s bank, had some lunch then started heading north to the hotel in Calgary. Mid/late afternoon we drove through Calgary and found the Embassy, then found the hotel and checked in – arh!!! We had some dinner and an early night – TIRED!!!

We got up the next morning – Happy Birthday Jamieson, had a couple of presents to open then got ready for the rest of the day. Bruce and I both woke up very calm (not sure if that is ever good or bad) we leave early park the car and go to the coffee shop next door. We get to the embassy and things seem really great until the very nice lady there asks us if we are paying the rest of the visa fees upstairs and do we have the cash because they don't accept credit cards!! ARH!!!!!!! As of two weeks ago the fees went up from $150 per person to $390 per person! WHAT!!! Yes that's what I said very loudly!! right before the tears started to well up. They were actually really great and helpful, we just had to find a bank (but they have no Chase in Calgary) we walked around trying to find an imaginary chase which apparently was on Google, but couldn't. Bruce finally called Chase and said HELP, apparently you can go into any bank and do a cash advance, Phew! and bigger Phew for the deposit that went in yesterday!!!!!!!!!

One and a half hours later we walk back up to the embassy, ten minutes before they break for lunch or something (we had to be there before 11.30am to go up straight away) We walked in and the place was pretty much empty, good or bad sign, does this mean they go through the app with a fine tooth comb??? We paid the extra money and waited for a little while - probably about 30 mins then Bruce had a REAL interview - he asked about everything!!! the job, why we are still here, when we are leaving, his qualifications you name it he covered it.....(I suppose you could say he was very good at his job, eye contract all the time etc) in the end he said he didn't see a problem, we got the green stamps - the trip back in April dilemma wasn't on his system so hopefully that doesn't come up in the last over night checks and our passports will be ready at 3.00pm
We walked out of there exhausted..... at 12.45pm. So that was our morning, it's tiring just thinking about it again.

We went to the mall to have a look around and decompress, we went out to the local Costco to check it out and had a Canadian Costco lunch for Jamieson’s birthday. The boys went for a swim and then out to the movies and back to the hotel for a pasta dinner. It wasn’t the best birthday in the world but it was definitely something he can say no one else will ever do for their birthday – it’s an original 11th birthday story.

We spent the next morning at the hotel room, stressing, working, reading, homework. Then at 2.45 we jumped into the car and went downtown. Bruce walked down the street from the Embassy empty handed and I was just about to freak out again when the smart-arse pulled them out - you can imagine what I said next!! Lucky there were kids in the car, although I didn't speak to him for about 30 mins as we headed up to Banff.

Yes, we went to Banff (absolutely gorgeous part of the world) put it on your bucket list its worth the trip. Another tick off the list, the Rockies are an amazing site to see. We walked around Banff and bought some souvenirs, stayed for dinner at the Spahetti factory there, our waitress was from Quebec so her accent was cool and she was chatting so you know we loved that. It was like to usited nations they had waiters and waitresses from everywhere there was even a girl from Brisbane but she was in another section. We walked around some more, I got a henna tattoo (Another tick off the list – it’s the closest I’m ever gonna get to a tattoo so it was fun and the girl was nice) saw the most gorgeous hotel that looked like a palace – see pics and then before it got dark we drove down the mountain back to Calgary, Bruce didn’t want to have elk or any other animals jumping in front of the car....I'm glad we made the effort and took the drive. The only other bummer we saw on the way back was the Winter Olympic stadiums, they were awesome looking from the freeway I couldn’t even imagine how cool it would’ve been see them up close.

Thursday morning, we jumped into the car and headed home, go through the border (weird, the border guy didn't know you had to leave the country to get a new visa) so no one at homeland security really knows everything, I thought at least at the borders they would be NOPE! We took one large Phew and drove and drove and drove - 14 hours – ( it didn’t seem like that long with Bruce and I sharing the driving and relaxing while we weren’t driving. We slept in a really nice Marriott in Burley, Idaho (comfy big beds and yummy breakfast, mmmm) then arrived home to a HUGE Welcome Sign on the garage door from the Cendro's. See pics – do we have the best friends or what!!! We may not have a lot of them but boy did we pick good ones!!!

So you could say – we had a very interesting summer and we wouldn’t be lying AT ALL!!!!

Well, as of yesterday summer is officially over here – although by looking outside you wouldn’t know it. But as you read ours was a doosey!!! Lots of things checked off the list not it’s time to make another list – ‘what to bring home, what to buy and what to leave list!!’

July Summer Pics.....

2010-09-07T12:20:00.001-07:00

4th July.....

Yummy, pretty.....

LETS SEE HOW MUCH HE'S GROWN THIS MONTH....

DRIVING LEXI'S GO CART....(SEE VIDEOS)

VEGAS HERE WE COME.....

How typical is this.....yes I married him!

GO PATTY!!!

the boys learning to gamble...they did get into trouble for being so close.

typical.....

that's chocolate

I love my camera....

THE ROLLER COASTER RD...

JAMIESON NOT SO MUCH....

YOSEMITE national park

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAMIESON

BANFF, BRITISH COLUMBIA (THE ROCKIES BABY)

the boys playing chess while we are waiting for our table

the Rockies

yes, this is a hotel

last phew and we're back on home soil...

The best thing to come home to....

July Videos.....

2010-09-07T12:20:00.000-07:00

The boys driving....

A sample of the Bellagio fountains - something you have to see...love the song to.

My boys making their mother laugh in Banff.

June 2010...

2010-08-17T13:42:00.000-07:00

We started June with a lot of manual labor. Paula had told us the week before that we were moving offices as of the 1st July so that’s what we did for the first few days of the week. Bruce came in and helped Anthony move all the BIG stuff, while I co ordinated where everything would go and moved some of the smaller stuff. So as you can imagine there was crap everywhere the only good thing was that we moved to smaller offices across the hall so the trip was nice and easy.

Friday rolled around and it was Ice Cream Social night again, Conner and I headed over early to set up and that’s where I was for the rest of the night. I started popping popcorn at 5.15 and stopped at 8.20pm. It was a great event and everyone had a really good time. I even won a yoga basket that Bruce put tickets in for me so yeay for me!!

Bruce’s Franklin freshman team (now Franklin JV team pretty much) had a tournament at Sac State so Bruce went off in the morning for the game and I joined him for the afternoon one. Bruce and Monte went out on Sunday for their Final and really enjoyed spending time with them again, I think the boys loved having them there too. We ended the weekend with a great dinner at the Riveras as always, the kids played and the adults chilled out and caught up. It’s had to get Carlos and Kristie together and at home with all the kids sport and their jobs it’s really hard to find the time to see them so when we do it’s a great day.

Conner spent the next week at Franklin basketball camp which he loved, it helped that Bruce freshman boys were there so he hung out with then a little and apparently played really great. Millie decided she couldn’t wait and gave the boys their birthday present early, a WII so you can imagine how excited they were…. Jamieson had a minimum day at school and we finished the week with a field trip to Coloma, which is very much like going to Sovereign Hill, Ballarat although it’s an actual town so it’s more things to see than things to do. That was also the week I overextended and threw my back out, the boys went over to Beth’s (Beth is our new production manager for Angels) place for a BBQ while I stayed home for a while and stretched my back out. I stretched it out and made it over after dinner, it was nice to meet some new people although a lot of faces I knew from school.

The next week Brad arrived from San Fran on Conner’s birthday. He arrived amongst the semi chaos. Bruce and I were in the midst of getting a big number of Angels orders out to new borders stores, so he was great and helped out with that. I was cooking and baking for Conner’s birthday bbq on the Friday night. He helped us with the packaging, we did some shopping, we went to the park after Conner’s birthday dinner to kick the footy around which the boys (all 4 of them loved)

Conner’s birthday was usual, he had a quiet day at home playing with his new stuff, he didn’t want to go for a drive with Bruce. We had his favorite Spaghetti for dinner and he picked out a cake. Then we went to the park to get some fresh air and run off some of the dinner and CAKE!!!

Thursday night Jamieson had his Gold Dust or Bust performance at school, which he did really great but hated every minute of. He has now decided that he doesn’t like having his photo taken, which is not going to work for me – you can imagine how that conversation goes.
Friday night, we had all the usuals over for dinner, playing etc. Riveras, Cendro’s, Daneluks’, Reed’s, Andrea & Robert, the Charles’ couldn’t make it. It was lots of fun and apparently Brad thinks I’m funny after a couple or three drinks. The night as usual ended with some dancing in the lounge room and the kids outside with glow sticks!! On Saturday Brad and I went out and finished his shopping for home, then went out to dinner which was nice. I think he has a good time, it was great to spend some time with him and there will be fun times ahead with brad when we get home.

Sunday – Happy fathers Day to Bruce. He dropped Brad off at the airport so he could fly to Vegas and then went off to watch Karate Kid at the movies. They enjoyed the movie then spent the rest of the day relaxing!!

Monday I walked to the bowling alley with Jamieson’s class on their end of year excursion so that took up the whole morning, but it was fun and I think our group had a good fun time; we were the only ones cheering so that’s always a good thing. Bruce spent the next couple of days in Utah in meetings. The boys and I just chilled at home, well, the boys more than me. I went off to work on and off as per usual. We went shopping on the weekend and found a gorgeous watch for me (which I will get on my birthday) I rounded out the month with a cool experience. Millie got 3 tickets to a re screening of Twilight- Eclipse so we got to see the movie before the midnight showing!!! It’s kind of amazing the age range of people who are fans….you name it, that demographic was there.

We ended the month with Bruce heading to LA for some meetings……

June pics.....

2010-08-17T13:41:00.000-07:00

May

2010-08-02T11:09:00.001-07:00

May turned up and Jamieson went back to school, yeay! We love him but a month off is enough to turn any parent around the twist! I went to the mall for the morning with Millie and Lexie and we ended the day at the Cendros for drinks and the kids swam. My laptop finally told me it was done and needed to go to the doctor’s so laptop free for a couple of days or few maybe, I baked lots of goodies, headed into the office to work there. Conner’s school had spring fair on and Bruce went over to help which he enjoyed and was looking forward to, he was supposed to be doing fairy floss stand. Sadly, the teenage girls took over the stand and he didn’t get to fairy floss – big bummer!!

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY – especially when you get your, I’ve been wanting one for soooo long and now that we know I can bring it home and use it – Kleenaid breast cancer pink Mixer!! Sooo pretty…

We went to Arco Arena later in the afternoon to watch Jeremy play in the All Star game for his basketball league. He played great, and we had a good time the boys were a little jealous playing on an NBA arena.

The next week Bruce went on a road trip to Phoenix, San Diego and LA for a few days. I got my laptop back and wow its fast, I had to play with a few things and load a few programs back on but it was just like a new one. COOL!! The boys had the usual basketball practice, school Conner had the regional track meet, he made the long jump (and did not too bad, his needs longer legs) and at the end of the week Conner had a furlough day for school. I cleaned Bruce’s office, which took way too long because he never puts anything away – crap everywhere.

The month progressed Conner had Track awards night, Bruce went so as not to cramp his style too much (he volunteered on track meet day so the coaches knew him), I was busy putting together angels orders, I had Volunteer tea at school and got a lovely vase of flowers for being a event chairperson, which was really nice and not at all embarrassing having to walk up there and get it, at least Paula was with me as my co chair.

We finished the month with the boys basketball team making it to the Semi finals but getting blown out of the water by the eventual winners (who have been together as a team for years) so that made the boys feel better and the pizza too I would imagine. Then we also got unexpected visit from Pete, yeay for us! He surprised the boys in the morning; we didn’t tell them he was coming so that was a lot of fun for everyone.

Conner had finals then the school year was done, which he did really well on and his grades picked up where they needed to he worked really hard and his results were really good. We did some shopping and lots of catching up and after a couple of days we put him back on a plane to LA. It was a great visit and exciting to see a familiar face from home.

Memorial day long weekend rounded out the month, Friday night we had drinks & swimming with the Cendro’s, Saturday Bruce went to Montes’ (Franklin freshman co coach) for the LA game and to say Happy Birthday. Sunday we spent the day with some new people we met at their garage sale (Sue was born in Adelaide but has been in the US for 20+ years) It was a fun day, we met some of their friends, it was hot so the kids spent most of the day in the pool and we bbq’d for dinner. Monday we ended up at Paula’s for a bbq so it was a jammed packed social weekend for us to finish a busy month.

May Pics

2010-08-02T11:09:00.000-07:00

April

2010-08-02T11:04:00.001-07:00

APRIL

Well, April was an interesting month filled with a lot of the usual and some of the unusual – you’ll see what I mean….never a dull moment with us as always is an understatement.

The month started and Conner went back to school just in time for Jamieson to go off for the month. Bruce and Jamieson pretty much jumped on the place the next night and took off to home to see everyone. We realized it had been nearly 18 months since everyone had seen him and Bruce was feeling the big guilt.

Of course the next morning I got up and realized that the interior light was left on so the battery was flat – good thing Conner had one more day off school. PHEW!! Happy Good Friday to us!!! I still find it a little weird that for such a religious country Good Friday isn’t as big a deal here as it is at home, what with all the meat eating going on! We had a quiet Easter weekend, Conner and I went out for lunch and we spoke to Bruce, Jamieson and the rest of the family on Skype in the afternoon.

The next week was pretty much normal, Conner at school, he had a track meet which was our first track experience. It was fun, just like at home so it wasn’t too different an experience. I spent the week in and out at work and the usual Justin and Jeremy over every day after school. Nothing too exciting sorry! Jamieson had a basketball game on Saturday afternoon which they lost but they did a great job, the other team was HUGE and they were rattled at the start but kept it close in the end and only lost by a couple so it was a great team effort.

Tuesday rolled around and off to the airport I drove…. I was sitting in a gas station waiting for Bruce to call and tell me they were through customs…waiting, waiting….ring ring
Hi Honey, we are in stage 2 customs, the advice I got from the homeland security call center was wrong and I can’t come in because the visa is expired!! PANIC!!!
2 hours later I picked them up with Bruce having to go and pay for their new temporary visa in San Fran in one week. I think we should be thanking our lucky stars on that one.
The nice customs people believed that he was given the wrong advice and they were allowed in.

We continued through the month with a little bit of work for me, Conner had Track training and track meets , basketball on Saturdays which the team was doing really well. We ended the month with Alexie’s (Millie’s daughter) birthday party day (Long day). I got to go into the limo with all the girls. We got picked up at 11.00am but had to pick up around 15 kids….oh boy did that take a lot longer than we thought. 2 hours later we made our way to the bowling alley/ lazer tag place for the actual party. Bruce and the boys met us there at around 2.30pm and the party began. They got to do all the things even though they were soooo late so everyone had a blast it was just Millie and I that were exhausted.

The next week Bruce headed off to pay for the visas a did some appointments while he was in San Fran and our month officially ended with a school furlough day – California lost 22,000 teaching jobs so the teachers union approved 3 furlough days to try and get some more teachers jobs back. Don’t you love a place where the Govt doesn’t care that they are cutting 22,000 teachers jobs, they haven’t approved a budget yet, they put their state workers on Furlough every Friday with more days to come and the politicians take their usual time off because they can!!!!! Conner’s middle school class is already at 41 let’s see what happens after the cuts are in place. SCARY huh??? Those cracks for some kids to fall through are getting wider and wider.

April Pics

2010-08-02T11:04:00.000-07:00

March 2010

2010-08-02T10:59:00.000-07:00

OK so late wouldn’t even begin to say how late these are so I’m just going to get down to it.

March, thank goodness for my calendars….

We went out to an ice hockey game with the Cendro’s for Kevin’s birthday which was a lot of fun and a really fast hard hitting (not kidding) game. Another thing to tick of the To Do list…

We started the month with Conner doing his finals, it did fine, not as well as I’d like but it was great in some areas good in others. On a sad note Millie lost her little Pomeranian ‘Chewy’ so she was devastated, so that is never fun watching your friend loose one of her babies. We spent the next few days getting Conner ready for his conference, he was really excited and it was a big jump forward for him and us as parents. Our boy is growing up and going to conferences…..

We did some spring cleaning on the weekend, me inside, Bruce outside. On Thursday morning Bruce and Conner headed off for San Jose, Bruce was going to see some stores on the way back and it was a good father son chance. They emailed me a pic from the place, met a few people and Bruce left so he can start his fun. We received emails and updates with pictures everyday which was fun to see.

While that was going on I had movie nights (Thursday & Friday) so that kept me busy as usual, we got a good turn out and seemed to see the same part of the movie both nights. We got approx 170 people through so that is always a successful event for the PTO. While we were doing that Bruce was I San Antonio for a function with the Soldiers Angels people, doing his usual thing and Jamieson well, he was doing his usual thing, hanging out..

On Sunday we all got into the car early and drove down to San Jose. Conner and his class put together a little show so we could see some of what they have learned and we chatted with a couple of the coordinators’ then headed to the San Jose Flea Market for a look around. Conner was happy and tired; I think it was a successful few day s for him, he was really sad to leave.

The boys had basketball tryouts, we are starting in a new league so that was something new for everyone. We have decided to put Jamieson in Conner’s team and see how he goes with the bigger kids. Out new visa application was submitted, Bruce and I started putting presentations together, him the words me the making it look better!! Conner joined the school track team and they trained every afternoon except for Fridays. Jamieson had an Open house at school so we got to see all his work which is always fun. We ended the month with Conner doing on spring break for a week, Jamieson had a concert at school the boys started their new basketball and did really well. So again another pretty busy month, my work is slowing down at work but picking up with Angels so that should keep me out of a little trouble.

March Pics

2010-08-02T10:58:00.000-07:00

February

2010-03-25T09:09:00.000-07:00

Hey all, it’s me again, look at me go this one will be out even before March finishes which is something that hasn’t happened for a while so YEAY me!

February is a short month so this should be a short blog right?

Bruce and I spent the first week of the month organizing his trip to London for a trade show and official Angels launch through the UK, Franklin games, training etc, we also had an angels shipment coming in so of course things weren’t going on schedule. I dropped Bruce off at San Francisco airport early and raced home to do the after school run with the boys. It was a busy day and I still can’t believe I can say that I went to San Francisco for the day – too weird!!!

Hey everyone – Bruce here.

Yes – it’s official – you can now find the Angels across the UK – the launch went really well and now the fun begins of coordinating shipments, transfers and all the other fun stuff associated with this. Best part is – not only is the Pound better than the US dollar – but it gives us an excuse to go and visit the UK and Europe on business – now that’s cool!

It’s hard to believe that my little Angels can now be found on 3 continents (is the UK a continent? Dunno – sounds good though – you get what I’m saying!)

Bruce had a busy few days in freezing cold London (OMG – Birmingham England – can you spell FREEZING!!!!! I thought my eyes were bleeding at one stage from the cold as we walked to the car) and it was business as usual for the boys and I, did some running around town on Saturday and the usual cleaning around the house, the boys had a sleepover with Kevin and on Sunday we went over to the Cendro’s for Superbowl and I won the pool for the last quarter (so I ended up $20 up). It was a nice afternoon the kids all playing and Karen and I just chatted and caught up. While Bruce was away I organized more orders to go off to the UK, Conner had a Science project due, (Considering Science is his worst subject his semester he had to use it in case his final was less than it should be) so I was on his back about that (much to his disgust) then Thursday after school the boys and I jumped into the car and drove down to Modesto airport (Bruce got short flight to Modesto from San Francisco so I didn’t have to drive in the traffic to San Fran – everything you read about San Fran traffic is as bad and choked up as you can imagine) Bruce had a great trip but came home with a cold and more exhausted than he has been in a long time. I’m not sure if it’s getting older, not as used to it as he used to be or the bad weather over there. Maybe a little bit of everything!!!

A quiet weekend was in order and that’s what we had, Conner did some project work and finally finished it. I also started coordinating with the teachers about our visa renewal trip (to London) and while I had the time I went over and visited Kristie (she was actually home and not busy so I had to take it while I could) the boys had Monday off again, another holiday but we just chilled out at home. Sunday was another sleep catch up day for Bruce and the boys did the usual back and forth from our to Cendro’s and back and forth….sometimes it makes you a little dizzy. I did Paula hair color in the morning, went over to have birthday cake and a cuppa with Millie for her birthday and finished the week with Bruce opening the hair salon again and putting that blonde back in that I lost upon having children…. He does a good job I have to say, it must be his teacher!!!

We had Franklin boys presentation night on Monday night, which was something different for us, all the sports programs get together and each child has to bring a dessert then they break off into their separate sports and do their presentations there. It was nice for them, they got to stand up in front of everyone and their GPA was also acknowledged…. As the week continued on with the usual, coordinating angel orders, Conner had his computer final, and emailing back and forth with Chanea about catching up, they were in San Francisco as a part of their honeymoon.

Thursday afternoon came around I went out on some Borders calls with Bruce which was something different, we made it back to do the school thing, I had to run to school and do the flyers for Movie night, then off to pick up Conner the afternoon turned into a bit of a zoo there for a couple of hours, then after we finally got in touch with Chanea, we jumped into the car and hit the freeway for dinner in San Fran with Chanea & Matt. It didn’t take as long as it should’ve thank goodness for the transit lane or it would’ve taken 3 hours instead of 2 hours to get there. It was great to see some familiar faces, hear the accent, see some wedding pics (By the way family you are all really slack, the only pics I’ve seen from the wedding are from matt’s phone) anyway we found an Italian restaurant, the boys did the usual, Nea and I caught up and Matt & Bruce chatted away. It was a great dinner and I’m glad we made the effort to go, drove along the San Fran waterfront all the way to the Bay bridge so that was a nice different change of scenery…the boys slept on the way home and we drove into the driveway around 12.00ish so it wasn’t too late a night.

Our month/ week ended with Bruce heading off to see our friend Tom’s son William’s team play their last basketball game (Bruce took a couple of sessions with them and has given Tom session plans), to his great surprise he came home and was really impressed with their progress, they smacked them so he was chuffed!!!!

We woke up to the news of the earthquake in Brazil and like everyone else was on news watch about the Tsunami that was heading for coastlines of various countries. We communicated with Nea & Matt in Hawaii to make sure they had a plan then we just waited. All was good and mid afternoon Nea & Matt were enjoying lunch and we all took a big breath.

So as you can see, life is pretty much normal with a sprinkle of action….wonder what March will bring?

Hope all is well and you are all revving up for the footy season to begin….

Love, kisses to all

xxxx

February Pics....

2010-03-25T09:07:00.002-07:00

January 2010...

2010-03-25T09:00:00.001-07:00

OK OK, it’s beyond late but hey at least it’s getting done. The sad thing is that I’m not working like I was so I should have the time to get it done, but it seems like there’s always something else to do.

January – let’s see, overall it was a quiet month as far as doing lots of fantastic exciting things is. We started the year as per usual taking down the Christmas tree (and fitting it back into the containers that it came out of only weeks before) although this year I really didn’t buy a lot of new things so it was a little easier and there was some room left in the new container I bought last year. I also started the New Year in not such good health, just the usual fluey thing, but it hit hard and I was out for around a week, (it had been going around over here so everyone was just trying to stay away from it) The boys headed back to school (yeay) Once I was over that blah, Bruce went out on the road to visit all the Borders stores, I went out and found this absolutely fabulous handbag (with rose gold hardware – which is part of the reason I love it sooo much). I also wrote blogs and tried to catch up on stuff and I got sucked back into the Reichman Family birthday book (update from the one we put together 5 years ago) which is good because it’s made me reconnect with family.

Bruce continued with his Franklin basketball freshman team, training every night which was good some nights and bad other nights, family dinners not so much. The boys started back at school cruising along again and getting back into the swing of things. Conner was put into Advanced computer tech which he was excited about and Franklin conference games started (two a week – Wednesday & Friday’s) Bruce and the boys went over to watch the Varsity boys play @ Elk Grove High and found a group of Aussie kids from Sydney over on a school trip which is arranged with the two schools every year. Conner finished the week at the movies with his friend Paul and then Paul spent the weekend pretty much at our place, then CJ at his place the next night – it was a long weekend (Martin Luther King) Bruce and Jamieson went over to Kenyon’s place for a play date and Bruce caught up with Monte (Kenyon’s dad and Franklin freshman head coach) we spent Monday relaxing around the house, yes, that means for me cleaning up the house.

The next week, was much the same because of the Franklin basketball schedule, would be taking over our lives for a while. We stayed for the Varsity game on Wednesday night then Bruce went over to Davis High School on Friday night for their game, Conner had organized a sleep over at the friends place so I stayed to do all that, which in the end didn’t work out for a variety of reasons, so that turned into a hectic night. Saturday was a good day for all of us, it was Julian’s (family friends) birthday party and we all went over to a training place for the afternoon. It was a great afternoon, I caught up with Ruth, Bruce and Greg chatted and all the boys got an awesome workout, running, basketball, football etc, they had a blast and it was a really great facility. We finished the weekend as per usual, cleaned the house, I got stuck into some Angels work that I had to do and Millie dropped in for a quick catch up.

I spent the next week, writing blogs for work and doing angels stuff, the boys started going to basketball training with Bruce so I had some quiet time with myself…aarrhh!!! Another as usual week, angels orders were coming in so that kept me busier at home while I organized those, which is great because work pretty much slowed to a halt and it was time to stop going in to do nothing….which was getting really frustrating and boring. I officially committed to come in on Friday mornings (Andrea’s day off) and if or when they needed me, things are definitely changing.

We finished up the month with the usual Franklin Basketball on Wednesday and Friday, Paula, Steve and the boys came over for dinner which was fun as always, Millie dropped over for a quick visit and of course I had to clean the house for our company. I was a little bored so I baked cupcakes, Monte and Kenyon came over for a visit and Paula was over hanging out with Conner so I was completely overrun with testosterone……. hence the kitchen baking.

So that was our month, – although there is a little scandal that I will let you all in on. When we got back to school we had a new principal, and there was a lot of rumors going around as to why!! After a little prodding and talking the right people I found out that yes, as the rumors were saying there was an ‘affair’ with a teacher!!! SCANDAL!!! He’s gone, she’s still here, there was some other stuff trying to get other teachers fired but that is still all speculation…so that’s the big drama here. Juicy huh.

Well all, January blog is done, I hope everyone is well.

Love and kisses to you all

January pics

2010-03-25T09:00:00.000-07:00

Julians Birthday Party

December 2009

2010-01-10T12:43:00.003-08:00

Look at me, this blog isn’t that late at all! Well, it’s December the end of another year, where did that one go, seriously I think that was one of the quickest that I can remember. Are we just too busy or is it like this for everyone?

OK, it’s December so that means the cold has set in and that would also mean that the rain is here too. (BLAH!!) I suppose that’s the trade off I have to live through for having the sun for 8 months of the year, hhmmm, not sure if its worth it, can you tell I hate the cold?

OK I’m getting on with it, our December started like all good Christmas people, December 1, put up the Christmas tree!!! Yeay, I love Christmas decorating, it’s the one time I can be girly in a house full of boys and too bad to them. Conner continued with his flour baby, who he named Holly, very festive. She sat on the couch and watched while Bruce put up the tree and then had to go off to basketball practice (yes, this will be every night until middle of Feb, not sure how I feel about that) anyway, I wrapped the lights and let the boys go with the decorations while I put the other stuff around the house. I did a very traditional color this year. Against the grain of who I am as I am using ‘Red’, for those who don’t know me as well as others, red and I are not a happy thing, I don’t like it and don’t wear, decorate or anything else with it. I have this really gorgeous tree skirt that I can’t use, still not sure how I bought it, it is gorgeous though. So last year I decided to go for it and after Christmas went out and bought up on Red and white decorations; I thought maybe if I put it with one of my favorite colors it would soften the internal blow. Anyway, the tree ended up looking GORGEOUS, and the house came up looking really beautiful, I bought some battery operated lights for my outside wreath, I bought red bows and hung them on the bottom of the wreath (see very traditional, those English ancestors somewhere way back, would be proud) I wound garland around my large clock and made it look like another wreath with another red bow, I put garland around the door ways with bows, and of course my very gorgeous tree skirt.

Bruce loved it, which he never really cares too much, he always likes the house, but he really like the colors which was nice. It was a good couple of days I had to go and get a couple more things and then the Christmas decorating was done. Paula was very funny, she kept laughing at me saying, “well I thought your head would be exploding with all the red”, who knows why I liked it so much. Just to set the record straight, red is still only allowed for Christmas!! Yes, she laughed at that too and so did Bruce. Sometimes it’s not so fun when people know you well.

Bruce had a basketball tournament from Thursday so that left the boys and I with some time at home without the car, we did some cleaning, I went over to Paula’s house and helped her clean out her closet, scanned some pics and the angel cards high res for the website and we went to watch the Franklin boys play on the Friday night, they did really well and will have good season. I chatted with some of the parents and they all seemed really nice, a couple of weird ones, but hey that’s going to happen. Unfortunately our wedding anniversary came and went – that’s life right! We did have an anniversary dinner at Logan’s on the way home from basketball so I suppose that’s something.

Sunday was a quiet day, Bruce chilled and did a little work in bed all day, it was nice for him to relax, he’s usually going 7 days so taking a day to just chill and not do a whole lot was nice. I did some Angels work so I guess it was a working day for me.

We hit the middle of the month and things were getting a little frustrating on the Christmas shopping front, Bruce was on the road, then at basketball practice and Jamieson was home, so there wasn’t a lot of time for me to head out to get it done and I was starting to panic a little. Jamieson and I met Mille and Lexie on the Tuesday and saw new moon, which he loved and thought was awesome, although in typical 10 year old fashion, had no patience for all the credits and previews at the start.

The end of the week was coming around again and Bruce had another 3 day basketball tournament. Jamieson and I went to see the Nutcracker Ballet with his class which was a great experience. I think it will be the only time that I will get to see the ballet, that’s one thing Bruce will not budge on, NO BALLET!!! It was a good day and Jamieson and I had a great experience together, it’s something we will remember and now we’ve been to the ballet and seen the Nutcracker – so two more things to tick off the list. The ballet was beautiful, the costumes were fabulous and the sets were amazing, what a great experience. We finished the day talking to home, Pete called and also spoke to mum and dad so it was a great day all round.

The weekend turned out to be full and busy, Bruce had been on the road putting angels in stores for the Christmas shoppers and basketball training and tournament at nights, Jamieson has a sleepover at Kevin’s on Friday night so it was a quiet one. We went over to Franklin to watch the boys in their championship game for the tournament, they won and played really well, so everyone was happy. We went home and the boys headed over to the Cendro’s while I got ready for Karen’s birthday party. It was over at our local pool, gambling night, it was lots of fun. We arrived and had some dinner, Mexican of course - this is California.

We were given $5,000 in chips each to play with….I spent most of the night with Paula at the Roulette wheel while Bruce was at the 21 table winning up big. It was a lot of fun watching Karen go from table to table betting up a storm and having a great time and when Paula and I get together there is always lots of laughs so it was a great night. We stayed and helped clean up before heading back to Karen’s for a night cap (for them not me) the boys had all had a fun night at Karen’s so a good time was had by all.

Sunday was a busy one for me, relaxing for the boys. We cleaned the house and after lunch they headed over to Karen’s to watch some football and play. I did some Christmas baking and took the opportunity to wrap some presents in the lounge room which was a nice change from the closet where I can lock myself in so I don’t get surprised. They were gone for a lot of the afternoon which was nice, it’s not very often that the house is empty especially with Jamison being on holidays so I had a lovely afternoon even if I was busy, and with all the wrapping done I was feeling a lot better about being ready for Christmas which you know was freaking me out a little.

We hit the middle of the month and a big week for Conner he was getting ready for finals and I have to say I was proud of him, I had to keep on him a little about his studying but overall I think he did a good job. (His results agreed – A’s and B’s for second semester – Go Conner!!. We had basketball at Franklin on Tuesday, we went and watched the freshman game then went out to pizza with the Reed’s (Monte is our friend that is the coach of the freshman team, who we met through Jnr NBA when he ran it for a couple of years and he asked Bruce to coach Franklin with him) after dinner Bruce dropped Conner and I at home so he could study and Bruce and Jamieson went back for the Varsity game. Conner was not impressed!!! Wednesday and Thursday Conner had his finals and Friday was Conner’s last day to end another semester I had Christmas movie night at school.

It was a fun night, we didn’t get as many as we were hoping so doing it again we will have to think about but we got a great surprise when Kristin and Alfie and the boys walked in. HUGE YEAY!! Bruce was at basketball practice, DER, so I called and told him that Alfie was there and to get his butt over right after practice, no chatting. Kristin helped us at the concession stand the big and little boys all sat and watched the movies… then helped us clean up before saying goodbye again Boooo!!! It was so great to see them and the boys they have grown so much especially little Cooper who is not so little anymore and talking up a storm. (Cooper is my gauge for our time in the States, he was born the day before we landed so seeing him all grown up reminds me of how long we’ve been here) It was great to have the three families together again, like old times and watching all the boys running and playing (after the movie finished) was really cool, I let me run a muck longer than I usually do before telling them to tame it down a little.

I got a HUGE surprise on Thursday (I think it was) Millie came over to give me my Christmas/ Birthday present because she couldn’t wait till the next week to give it to me. She bought me a ‘Coach’ bag (which is very generous and way too much and we did have a little argument about it) but that’s who she is, she spoils the ones she loves and she knows if I could afford to spend that much, then I would) I’m not sure if you get coach bags at home but here they are one of THE bags to have.

Saturday turned out to be quite busy in the end, Paula called early and we headed out to get some hair stuff, then over to the supermarket to get some Christmas baking stuff, then back to the house to do Paula’s hair so its pretty for Christmas, Bruce went out somewhere in there and the kids were running around the house in the chaos. Sunday I did the groceries and some more Christmas shopping, it was a busy day out and about.

Bruce had a basketball game on Tuesday and Honey (the dog we sometimes babysit) arrived earlier in the day for her visit with us, she was with us until the new year so we were all really excited. Wednesday I dropped into work for a very short while and then headed out to finish up my Christmas shopping. Millie and Lexie came over for our Christmas catch up and the kids to exchange presents. Christmas Eve was I spent the morning wrapping presents while Bruce took the boys for a surprise to see Avatar at the movies. I finished all the wrapping and the baking and had a little time to sit and have a quiet cuppa – the silence, love it!

We jumped into the car and went and looked at some Christmas lights to calm the boys a bit. Very funny story – the boys asked Bruce is there was something they could take to make them go to sleep because they were too excited? So while we were out, Bruce stopped at the chemist and said to the boys, ‘You’ve got a cough and need some medicine right?’, Conner goes Yes, Jamieson (God love him) ‘No I don’t what are you talking about? Conner whacks him and says ‘Yes, you do and we need some medicine to help us’. It was very funny and I laughed.

We got home from our outing and called home to say merry Christmas, it sounded like a lot of fun was being had by all. The boys headed off to bed around 11.00pm and Bruce and I were up until around 12.30, we spent most of the time waiting for the kids to fall asleep. All the wrapping was done so it was just putting the things together and then waiting for the snoring to start.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

The boys were up around 7.00am, Jamieson first, then Conner. Jamieson came in and jumped into bed with us until Conner woke up, then let the unwrapping begin…. The boys ripped through presents then I went through mine, I think everyone did well, especially me this year. Bruce bought some Bose headphones for each of us, and then we all got movies and lollies, I got my cake stand I wanted and Bruce got some sunglasses and movies and books. The kids got the usual and then some, Jamieson, Rip stick, movies, clothes, helmet, spy stuff etc, Conner got a computer picture arty thing, movies, clothes, basketball cards etc. I got the three boys the racing set for the playstation, so let the racing begin! We all got money which is always a good thing and we finished wrapping around 9.00ish. ****Side Note – Poor Bruce went to check the video camera and realized he thought it has only used 8 mins on the tape when it only had 8 mins left, OOPPSS!! He was not a happy camper at all!! Nothing you can do about it now, but he was still really bummed. The boys played with their presents and Bruce and I got our traditional Christmas breakfast organized. (My mother will be proud, something I am continuing. Ham, boiled eggs, toast, Juice, Hot chocolate (we added that) and the boys always sit there and say it’s the best breakfast, its always a fun meal for us) We finished up breakfast and the boys went off to get dressed, Kevin came over and Bruce and I organized to cook the turkey.

We pottered around getting ready, the kids playing looking at our new stuff, putting stuff together, the kids played on their new playstation dance mat thing, we had music playing and the place was a quiet buzz, lots of singing and dancing and cooking and watching….Kevin went home for lunch and home called to say Merry Christmas. David came over for a quick visit before we had out lunch. ***Another tradition kept, David asked Conner why there was so much candy everywhere, he said ‘It’s something my mum does’ I told them it’s another tradition I kept from my mum. The boys like that I chose to keep that one, and David couldn’t believe it, he loved it.

We sat down to our yummy lunch around 2.30pm, (God Bless America – LIVE NBA games all day on the TV – especially with the Lakers playing – although we lost this year – it’s still pretty cool!) we chilled for a little while, the boys did the dishes whole I made Apple crumble for dessert. It was very yummy, Kevin came back over around 4.00pm and played till he had to go home for his Christmas dinner around 5.00. Paula, Steve and the kids arrived at around 6.30pm and we all hung out around the kitchen having leftovers for dinner, then we did presents and not long after that the Rivera’s arrived. We had a great night, the kids were running around playing board games etc and the adults had Christmas drinks in the lounge room while the basketball was on in the background. Paula and Steve left around 10.00, they were tired and had not been home for two days and Carlos, Kristie and the kids left around 11.30, we were all tired from a great day and hit the sack with a bang!

Boxing day – (Although they don’t call it that here) late morning Paula and I went out to do a little shopping with our Christmas money, we had some lunch after we’d pretty much finished in the stores we wanted to check out. The stores ordered right this year, there wasn’t really a lot of Christmas stuff left at all, I know some of the stores had pre Christmas sales, but compared to other years there wasn’t really much left at all, so it was a good thing I wasn’t looking for anything. We grabbed a couple of things mostly for the boys one thing I think for each of us. Bruce headed out to basketball training (yes on boxing day) and Jamieson ended up spending the night over at Kevin’s for a sleepover.

We finished the week with a very quiet Sunday, just enjoying our presents and watching sports on the TV. Franklin had another tournament, so that was three days over the other side of town for us again. They played really well and made it to the Championship game, Wednesday came around and so did my head thingy. I went into work but for not long, Paula seemed to have the same thing, I went home but decided to load up on the drugs and head out to the game. The boys didn’t play well at all and lost on the buzzer to the host team. It was disappointing but they didn’t play well and really shouldn’t have won anyway.

New Years Eve, well I’m not sure what went on because I spent the day in bed sleeping and taking some drugs, I had a head/ sinus cold thing. Bruce and the boys went over to the Cendro’s to celebrate, Paula apparently turned up and dropped the boys off to play then went home looking like crap, which is how I would’ve looked if I had’ve gone too.

So I hope everyone, well I know everyone had a better new year than me.

That’s it for another year of Hultgren blogs…Hopefully I’ll be a little more on time this year, but who knows, as long as it gets out there eventually.

Happy New Year everyone and may 2010 be even better than 2009.

December Pics...

2010-01-10T12:43:00.001-08:00

Nutcracker Ballet

Christmas 2009

Jamieson's turn to put up the angel with Bruce help...

Conner's flour baby - Holly watching us put up the tree

Granma sent Aussie christmas presents....

Thank you Santa...

Yeay, let the racing begin!

The 'girls' in thier pink - Merry Christmas

Conner on the dancing mat

Christmas Lunch - YUM!

Bruce being Bruce

November....

2010-01-10T12:42:00.000-08:00

I can’t believe I did it again, well yes I can - we had Christmas and getting ready for Christmas and life so DER, that’s why you haven’t read about our November yet.

It pretty much started where it left off Bruce and I still working on the new Billy Bounce package for sale and distribution and throw in a lot of angels making and stickering etc and you’ve got yourself the first couple of days. Movie Night was at the end of the week so there was prep for that. It was a successful event again as always it’s always a fun night especially on the Friday people are done for the week and ready for some family time. Saturday was something I have been looking forward to for a while and ever since Bruce had postponed their Australia trip, the boys went over to the Cendro’s for the night and Bruce and I headed to Kristin and Alfie’s 40^th birthday party. (In case the names aren’t familiar, Kristin and Alfie are the first friends we made when we arrived here, check back on old blogs and you will see them everywhere and then they went and moved across town on us - :( and now we only get to see them every few months)

The party was lots of fun and we all sat around and caught up and talked with them, their family (Kristin sister is a really cool chick) and their friends, it was a great night and we had a lot of fun, it’s always sad when we say good bye because we don’t know when we will see them again.

The next week rolled on and the angels continued as well as work and the boys had a day off school for Veterans Day (remembrance Day at home) which is nice for us because we get to celebrate (wrong word) this day and the boys get to hear the stories from not only Australian perspective but American as well and realize how important it is. Somewhere during this week I decided (no idea why) that we would put on a Christmas Movie Night, so I got permission from the PTO and coordinated with the school to see if we could get the date we wanted, that ended up with a yes, so I took it as a sign and we started organizing the Christmas Movie Night.

Bruce spent that weekend at tryouts for the Franklin High school freshman team. (Hey everyone – Bruce here – yep – I dipped my toe in the coaching waters up here and am helping a dear friend with the freshman team – freshman are the year 9 kids year 1 of high school. You forget they’re only 14 when some of them are build like men – then they talk and you just laugh at some of the things they say. Some of them are very mature and it’s a little scary – because they’re so smart at such a young age. We’ve chosen a group of outstanding young men and now we have a chance to mold them and teach them about life and the game.) the boys and I stayed home and cleaned up the house, I downloaded some Christmas songs onto the Ipod and organized a few presents online. On Sunday I picked Paula up from her place and we headed into Sacramento to do some shopping. Bruce (her cat she’s had for years) was sick and she’s been up with him for the last couple of days, a big decision ahead. We ended up at Macy’s where we always go together and get some great bargains which made buying her birthday present easy, she tried stuff on and decided if she wanted it and then I pretended to hold it and when we got to the register I paid and she was happy and mad all at once. That’s always a fun way to shop.

We headed home for her to check on Bruce (the cat) and make sure he was ok and I called mum for her birthday…Happy Birthday mum!

Our next week turned into a kind of busy one more so than usual, I have been having a little more time although it doesn’t feel like it somehow, work has slowed to practically a holt and I’m only in the office for a couple of hours a couple of days a week, but I do have Paula’s boys every afternoon so that makes me feel like I am busy I think, having 4 boys sometimes 5 running around the house from 3.00pm everyday can make your life feel a little chaotic, just ask Bruce who is trying to work. (Thank goodness for those Bose noise cancelling headphones.)

I designed the movie night flyers and distributed them to the B track teachers before they go off track….Justin and Jeremy were with us from lunchtime on the Wednesday because Paula had a meeting. On Thursday my friend Millie and her daughter Lexie had tickets to see a prescreening of New Moon at 9.00pm and her husband was going to drive them (she doesn’t drive in the dark) but he was away on Business so we told her we would do it. We left around 5.30 as we were going to get stuck in work traffic going across the other side of town, it was nice to chat and Lexie was soo excited, Millie not so much about the crowds the huge lines and the inevitable screaming. We arrived not too much later than they wanted and turned around and went home. Bruce went out (god love him) and got them at 11.00pm and was back not long after 12.00pm, that was our good deed for the day done and they loved the movie. Now I was deciding when to go – do I wait a week for it to die down or do I sit in a movie theater full of screaming girls (YUK!) Saturday was a good day – Bruce had a Franklin basketball practice game in the morning the boys and I cleaned the house and then they headed over to Kevins’ for his movie night fundraiser, and Bruce and I headed out on our date. We were going to see Blind side but there was too many people there (not an enjoyable experience for me) so we just went out for dinner instead at a nice little place called Mimi’s café – yummy food and good company (thanks honey! I was thinking the same thing! J). I spent the next day catching up on blogs in my pj’s, woo hoo.

Jamieson went off track as of Wednesday so he is on holidays until January 4, don’t worry we have some plans so he wasn’t too bored. School was out as of Wednesday for the Thanksgiving holiday so we had a few days of the boys being at home and I think Conner really enjoyed the break. As per usual they went back and forth from our place to the Cendro’s place, we spent Thanksgiving with the Cendro’s and Karen and Mike made a beautiful Thanksgiving dinner for us all, it was a nice relaxing day. The next day was Black Friday, the HUGE shopping day over here, stores open at 5am and bargains everywhere, it’s like Boxing Day at home. I headed out around 7.00am and did a little Christmas shopping, all the big bargains were gone (the stores open at 4am or 5am typically on this day) but I managed to grab a few things at very good prices, so my Christmas shopping was getting there, not nearly as much as I would like to have had but hey what you gunna do.

Bruce went off to basketball both days on the weekend and I laid low, stuffy head and headache, so I did some cleaning and chilled out, very quiet weekend for me. Conner went off to the movies on Sunday afternoon to see New Moon, so of course then the inevitable questions started from Jamieson – ‘When are we going mum?’.

To end the month Conner had a great project for school – Flour baby. They wrapped a bag of flour in pantyhose and dressed it in baby clothes and had to take it with them wherever they went of just over a week, he didn’t seem to mind which was a little unexpected.

Well, as always I hope everyone is well and looking forward to the sun and we head into the cold and colder!!!

November Pics....

2010-01-10T12:37:00.000-08:00

Kristin and Alfie's 40 th Birthday

October....

2009-11-22T14:34:00.000-08:00

It’s October time, it’s all a little weird sitting here trying to remember so far back. You should now I’m sitting here on a Sunday morning at the end(ish) of November in my flannel PJ’s with Twilight dvd on in the background (yes, I’m one of those that got sucked into the madness) It’s kind of fun going through the pictures again, hopefully I will get into the zone and get some of the November blog done and maybe even out on time. We can only hope.

OK, October started with a pretty much usual weekend, David came over for dinner with us to end the week, which is always fun and Conner misses not having him at school. School had the fun run pancake breakfast on Saturday morning so Paula and I went out for the walk and met all the boys at school for some breakfast. Jamieson officially won the kids fun run (yeay for Jamieson) Conner beat him but we told him you had to be in Elementary school so Jamieson won! We had some pancakes, went home and cleaned the house, chatted with mum on the phone and the boys did their usual back and forth from Karen’s house to our house all day. Bruce spent most of Sunday filming for the new Billy Bounce program and in the afternoon the boys and I went the Jeremy’s birthday party at the trampoline place. They spend all afternoon bouncing and playing which is always fun to watch.

The next week turned into a pretty normal one, the boys with their school, Bruce as always was busy with Angels and my week was taken up with the Billy Bounce programs, normal work, I did some birthday shopping for Bruce and Jamieson to take home on their trip, then we spent (Bruce and I) spring or fall cleaning the house and garage and yard. It was a productive day for me; you know being the neat freak that I am. (That’s another bonus of visitors coming; the house gets a really good clean)

The start of the week was quiet and prepping for the end, Conner had finals to study for the Pete and Fleur were arriving on the weekend yeay!! Work was work, Bruce was busy and getting Conner to study was like pulling teeth. Bruce is now a coach of the Franklin High school freshman team, so I guess we are now Wildcat fans!! And I’m a bit of a basketball widow for the next few months; it’ll be fun getting back into it again. Thursday night David came over and studied with Conner and before you knew it the weekend was here.

Saturday morning was a little more cleaning, some baking and the boys had a very late garage sale (which kept them out of the house so I was happy) We went to the airport and picked up Pete and Fleur who were happy to see us but really happy to be warm after coming in from New York. We spent the weekend, catching up with them, finding out what’s going on at home, we did some shopping on Saturday afternoon and then home for Pete’s homemade dinner I promised him. They crashed and burned pretty early and we were up and out of the house to the outlets the next morning. We got lots of bargains and it was a good day out. Jamieson got some new runners and Bruce got a new sweater. Outlet malls aren’t what they used to be. Pete and Fleur rented a car and left around lunchtime Monday morning for LA, they dropped into work on the way home to say goodbye and off they went.

Ian and Jan arrived on Wednesday afternoon, we had some dinner and a big catch up which was great. Usually when we catch up with Jan & Ian it’s for an hour if we can find the time on our quick trips back home, so to have this big block was fantastic. We did some shopping with them before they left the next day and girls got girl time (clothes shopping) and boys got boy time (best buy shopping) then they left to go and find the tree that you drive through on the Oregon coast. (I can’t think of it’s name right now, sorry) Millie and Kristie came over for a cuppa which was fun then Paula came over later and we got rid of her skunk mark. We finished out the month with an easy cruisy week, Halloween is coming and Paula’s birthday as well so that’s always a fun way to bring the month to an end. Early in the week we decided that Bruce and Jamieson’s trip would be postponed until later in November.

We went over to Paula’s for a birthday dinner on Friday night. She requested her new favorite for her cake. I make brownies into a kind of peppermint slice. Steve had arranged for their friend to make authentic Mexican for dinner. It was very yummy and we had a great meal, the Cendro’s and Riveras’ were there and she blew out her cake/ slice and went sent the kids outside to run off all the sugar.

Saturday/ Halloween we had to arrange costumes, Jamieson got help from Kevin (thank goodness) and Conner ended up wearing Bruce’s clothes and was Tom Hanks from the movie ‘Big’. I baked a Halloween cake for dessert and we headed over there around 5.00pm. The big boys were watching football and Karen and I started making chicken and dumplings for dinner. We sent the boys out to trick or treat (they really wanted to go by themselves please, please, please??)

They headed out and that’s when the wackiness started…Mike started the fire and then all of a sudden the whole chimney was on fire. We called the fire dept and all left the house after Mike pulled to burning logs into the trashcan. To their credit, the fire trucks, all five of them, turned up only two stayed, thank goodness. Once Karen got over the shock her and I sat across the road and laughed while the fire dept lit up the house with flood lights and started blowing all the smoke out of the house. Kevin was little upset so I sent the boys back out to trick or treat some more. We got back into the house and kept on going with dinner, Paula and clan arrived around 8.00pm and we sat down to dinner around 8.30pm. We all sat around chatting and the kids ran around the house hyped up on sugar, they came crashing down and we left them for a sleepover and headed home around 11.00pm.

So we ended up with the pretty eventful end of the month. It’s cooling down here and heating up at home, enjoy the sun. We had a long hot one, so we are kind of looking forward to the cooler weather, for a little while at least. We’ll see how long it is before I’m sick of being cold. I hope you enjoyed the blog and see you back here again for the next installment.

October Pics....

2009-11-22T12:50:00.001-08:00

Pete - being very proud of his pumpkin caving skills

Everyone with their pumpkins

THe boys in thier costumes/ Ralph the dog in his too too ready for trick or treating Never a dull moment at the Cendro's Karen and I sitting across the road waiting to be allowed to go back into the house So we just laughed and game out candy on the street

Fire trucks and Lights - it was all happeing

Paula's Birthday Dinner

September....

2009-11-22T12:49:00.000-08:00

OK, it’s late again, but better late than never. (That’s what I’m telling myself to make me feel better anyway.) September started out as usual busy, busy, busy what else is there. I spent a lot of the week reformatting the new Billy Bounce program booklets, we heard from Elise about her adventures in Miami and then Orlando (lots of fun to be had) The week ended with Conner going to his first Middle school dance, Bruce did security and they both had lots of fun. It was a good experience for both of them and most importantly Conner had a great time!! We had a quiet weekend, I worked through the booklets, we cleaned the house, garage and Bruce’s office, so a usual weekend I suppose. We got a surprise call from Elise telling us that her and Ally were coming to stay for a few days (YEAY for us) they needed some “like home” time. Work and school was the same and Elise and Ally flew into San Fran then caught a train down to us the next day. It was nice having some girls in the house. They slept a lot; I think it was a combination of being away for 3 months and all the travelling. We chatted and there was lots of laughing and dancing around the house, Elise just being Elise is always so much fun. We did some shopping for them to take home, we spent a morning trying to cull Elise’s bags (which is never easy, but always funny – sorry sweetie). Every time I saw here she had another bag, but considering she left one with me that made three!! MMM, interesting dilemma for the plane ride home, which always was something to laugh about. I think my favorite was one of the last nights with us the three of us girls just hung out in my room on the bed, coloring in books, talking, laughing and more laughing…. Millie came by later in the week and we colored the skunk mark and at work we reorganized the office and feng shui’d Paula’s office. On the weekend, the boys had basketball, Kevin stayed for a sleepover, so the house was nearly full. We were supposed to go over to the Rivera’s for a catch up but Kristie was sick so it turned into a quiet night at home. Jamieson went back to school the next Tuesday and both the boys are officially back at school since the end of June…so we did lunch to celebrate! Arhh!! Bruce dropped the girls off at the train station for the last leg of their adventure – LA!!! Tuesday night, the boys went over to dream extreme for an end of season basketball night and had a blast on the trampolines, came home sweaty and gross which means they had a BLAST!!! Bruce bought Trevor home with him and Kristie picked him up and we had a catch up which was nice, I hadn’t seen her for a while. Thursday was a big day for us – (the first time we were leaving the boys to go on a trip since we’ve been here) Bruce and I were spending the weekend in LA doing the Emmy’s Gifting Suite. We left the house and Jen and the boys at around 5.00pm which was about on schedule. We didn’t have a deadline so we get there when we get there. The drive to LA seems pretty easy after you do it a few times; we put music on and hit the road. We made good time and arrived in Burbank around 10.30, the roads were clear coming through and Burbank is on the north side of the city so it’s not far once you get through the grape vine. We checked in and then found Lynn (one of the organizers and a really cool chick, who loves us) We sat and caught up with her for a while then around midnight fell into bed in prep for a big and tiring couple of days. We were up and ready to go as per usual and things got started around 11.00am. It was a busy day, I thought most of the guests would come on Saturday, but Friday was the day, we probably saw a big percentage of them. It was a little hectic at times but we met some really nice people who happen to make TV and movies, some new, some old. Let me go through a few just to give you a taste. Williams Shatner, was just there for the free stuff, not really interested at all and didn’t really care AT ALL which was a little disappointing. Lots of soap opera people some I knew others I didn’t – most of them were nice and seemed interested, but they are actors so who knows. Bruce had a laugh with one of the soapy guys about how they don’t know how to smile and then they both did the ‘concerned look’ and cut, it was quite funny, they were both laughing. Eric Estrada (From the old show CHIPS) was cool and his wife was great, they were really nice people and we really enjoyed talking to them. Ian Ziering (Steve Sanders 90210) was nice and I got a pic for old times sake, it was fun. We met Mary Anne from ‘Gilligans Island’ who was a blast, I think she’d had a little something cause her and her friend were having a great time. Carlton from ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel Air show’ was cool, he hung out a chatted with us for a while, really nice guy, he is in a new comedy with Sherry Shepard that is really funny, so look out for that! Tyler from ‘Everybody hates Chris- a chris rock show, he was a great kid and his family was really lovely. Scott Baio and his wife stayed and chatted for a while, he is looking at maybe moving to Australia so he had a lot of questions, he’s done a lot of homework and was very well researched into the politics, health system etc it was a really interesting conversation. Saturday night we went out for dinner to a really nice Italian restaurant on Ventura Blvd, it was sooo yummy I had given up on Italian food over here unless I cooked it but this gave me hope again that some people here actually know how to cook it (the way we have it anyway) it was a really yummy meal and it was nice to have a adult meal and adult conversation with Bruce. We headed back to the hotel and I hung out with Lynn for a while (she was security for the tables while Steve went home to Orange County to grab some stuff). Saturday was a quieter day, one of the other vendors moved to come next to us, her name was Sima and she was nothing less than hysterical – no political correctness there. It made for a fabulously fun day, because you know we love the people like that. Let’s see who did we meet – Bridgette (Girls next door –playboy show) who was just blah, not rude but not overly friendly either, definitely nothing like she is on TV which is always disappointing) I got my pic taken with Michael (new Melrose Place – he was really nice and down to earth guy who even seemed a little overwhelmed by the whole thing. We met Ernest Borgnine who was a character, a few of the kids from the teen choice that we’d met last time and did remember us which was great, they are using their angels and loving them. John Sally came again and had a big Thank You for Bruce. He gave an angel to someone and they loved it so he was very appreciative – which Bruce loved of course. Jennifer (Wizards of Waverley place) asked where Conner and Jamieson were, which was really cool) there were lots of others but I have no idea what there names are or the shows they are on – I suppose you have to watch a lot of TV to know everyone, oh well! I did leave the best till last – we met Danielle towards the end of the day on Saturday and she was hands down the coolest person we met the whole weekend. She spend at least 15 minutes just talking with us about Angels and her career, she clearly loves what she does and is really excited about what she’s doing. She has a movie coming out hopefully soon, and she was telling us about her auditions that she’s had and which ones she really wants, just an awesome chick all round (jeans and t’shirt girl) we were packing up the car and she was heading out to hers and gave as a huge wave as she was leaving. When I get her name and her work I will let you all know, she’s one actress we will support. Jamieson called to tell us about his game, he got a huge block at the end of the game which he LOVED telling us about…I think he thinks that’s his new thing. It’s so great to hear it in his voice when he tells you about it. Conner’s team did as per usual butt kicking, he seems fairly blaze about it now. We packed up the car and sat around for a little while with Lynn and Nancy (Borgnine, the organizers) then hit the road about 7.30pm. We stopped for some dinner and had a good quick trip home arriving around 1.00am. We spend Sunday doing NOTHING!! The boys had a blast of a weekend, the spent Saturday night at the Cendro’s and all came bounding into the house late Sunday morning…didn’t miss a beat. We have great friends!!! The next week was kind of quiet, well work is quiet anyway, Bruce spend the first half of the week preparing for his Phoenix trip and left on Thursday. Bruce has signed a West Coast distributor for the Angels based in PHX – they have their own mini trade show twice a year and fly accounts in – so Bruce went to work the booth and meet all the staff etc at the company. The boys and I headed over to school in the afternoon for the football game (Kevin made the team) Friday was pretty normal, the boys went off to school with their CATS tops on, Bruce was doing well in Phoenix. Kevin and David came over to watch a bit of the AFL Grand Final with us, it started so late here that they really didn’t get to watch much before they had to leave. We had it up on the big screen; Jamieson lasted until just after half time and put himself to bed, I was in and out of the room, couldn’t stand it! Conner was glued to the screen, screaming when they got a goal, so I knew what was going on from the other room. We watched the last quarter (excruciating) but they pulled it out and Conner and I were jumping and the room, I have no idea what the neighbors thought we were doing at 12.30am in the morning. We watched the ceremony and lap of honor and then when the coverage moved over to ONE TV we were done. Not happy campers to be missing all that! Saturday was fairly quiet because we’d all had a late night, I organized Bruce’s birthday presents for the next week, we cleaned the house and his office and chilled out. Bruce spent Saturday night on the road driving the 14 hour trip home from Phoenix; he stopped for a rest and arrived home early on Sunday morning. The last week of September as always was taken up by Bruce’s birthday; or prepping for it anyway. I think he had a nice birthday, I made him breakfast and we had lunch together as well. We didn’t do presents until the afternoon (his request) he loved them all especially the kettle (ha ha). I cooked lasagna and Paula and tribe came over for a birthday dinner and cake, Chocolate with Vanilla/peppermint frosting, his new favorite. All in all it was a pretty busy month, although it seems to come in waves, we are either crazy or just chillin’ I suppose that’s a good mix to have. September was a great month overall, we got to spend time with Elise and Ally, met a few famous people, went on a weekend away, the boys kicked ass in basketball, they seem to be settling into school ok. My schedule is changing again which was to be expected with the down turn in the development area, it’s time to change it up. Angels are going fantastic…. And hopefully Billy Bounce will start spreading around the country once this new format programs are out. I hope all is well at home – Happy Birthday’s to Al (a big one), Tracey and Rhys I know you guys had good ones, but just wanted to put it out there anyway.

September Pics....

2009-11-22T12:28:00.001-08:00

Mary Anne - Gilligans Island (her and her friend were having a ball)

Bruce and Eric Estrada (he was funny)

Belinda and Ian (90210)

This one is for all the old One Tree Hill fans (Elise) he was shy, his girlfriend was awesome.

New Melrose Place guy (I had no idea until the show started and I saw him)

Dukes of Hazzard baby - he was chatting with us about his time doing a movie in Broken Hill years ago and all the drinking DER!!!

Carlton - The Cosby Show ( really nice guy)

Bruce and Ernest Borgnine

Bruce and Tyler (Everyboday hates Chris) Nice but shy boy, great family.

Belinda and Michael (new Melrose Place)

She was really sweet - The new Pocahontas Movie

NFL Player

Bruce and Bridgette (blah! not very friendly)

Jen ROCKS!!!

Belinda, Danielle, Bruce (She just ROCKS!! as you can see)

Belinda and Simma - vendor next to us - cool chick

Summer 2009

2009-09-13T08:39:00.001-07:00

WOW – I’m think you could say I officially dropped the ball so to make myself feel better I’m calling this the Summer blog. Let’s see how good the memory is?

Our June started and the craziness continued with sport and school and work, just the usual for everyone but this time of year is always the craziest for us with the boys played different sports.

Friday night we had the Ice Cream Social fundraiser for school – so the boys were running around, Bruce came for a little while then went home to get some work done in the quiet, and I was on popcorn duty for the duration, it’s fun, I get to see everyone who is there, people come to chat, the only bummer is that I don’t get to walk around and see what happens, but after you do a lap it’s all the same, so I don’t mind.

What a week in baseball - We played three games last week (they call it the TOC- Tournament of Champions) The Cardinals had a mixed season so going into the TOC we were hopeful. Tuesday's game was fantastic, they played really well and beat the Dodgers - it was a really tough fought game by both teams. Thursday we played the Nationals who we had gone 1-1 throughout the season so it was bound to be a good game, and it was! We ended having to go another inning (7th) which is the same as overtime. We were up 4-2 going into the end of the 6th and they got a big hit and made the two runs.... in the 7th inning we up and down 1-2-3 side out!!! As Jamieson was the last up and bat he started the 7th innings on second base (rules to help teams get a run) we has two out and a runner on first and second (Jamieson) Wesley came up and hit what would've been a triple if it had of mattered....Jamieson hit the plate and we were in the Championship game!!!!

Saturday morning rolls around - we got the field and all the parents were ???..ting themselves. Cardinals v Orioles (a team we hadn't beaten or come close to all season)

It was such a gorgeous day, we put our chairs behind the plate and got ready to go. (there was a little group of 4 mums - Me, team mom, Karen - scorekeeper, Karen coaches wife, Jessica players mum, who all sat behind the plate all season, so Karen could score, and we talked to the umpire and coaches during the game) and generally just had some fun, the new electronic scoreboards were working and we played ball....Our pitchers were on...they got a couple of runs in the second inning.. and in the third we evened up the score!!!

The end of the 5th inning we were up 6-5 and the count was 2 out, full count and the umpire called Nate's pitch a ball... they made a run before we got that last out and we were going into the 7th inning!! I was nearly sick by this stage!!!!

7th Inning - Cardinals needed two runs to win! Anthony came up to the plate (BIG hitter when he hits??) smashed it and got to first (not a fast runner) Kevin came up and got walked to first..... Time for BIG Jamieson to take the field!!! His mother had to walk and pace at the back!! Hadn't had a hit so far that day!

He wound up and hit it (High- which made everyone nervous) the fielder got a glove to it but dropped it and he was on first.

Brendan came to the plate and wacked it for another single - Anthony was home - by this time there was about 3 of us mothers standing at the back pacing.

Sebby came up to the plate and struck out - 1 out! Out came Wesley - top of the order, here we go.....

he was having a great go and then there was a fumble by the catcher and Kevin stole home - CARDINALS WIN!!!!!!!

Parents were jumping and screaming as loud as the kids (especially our coach) Karen (Kevin's mum) was crying, we were all hugging and the boys were sooo happy.

I'm actually not sure who was more happy the parents or the boys!!! They just all wanted to make sure we were going to Pizza after.....

We went to pizza (DER - whatever the boys wanted) then a couple of families headed back to Cendro's (Kevin’s place), who live around the corner from us.

We chilled out in the sun and boys played and swam and we talked and drank and everyone else left around 7.00pm, we stayed and had a catch up with Karen and Mike and got home around 11.30 - Jamieson continued the celebration with a sleepover at Kevin’s with Jake too.

What a day - the house was a mess, my face was burnt to a crisp but boy were we all in a great mood! And that was our Saturday - you can't beat that!!!

Sunday was a little reality check we just spent the day cleaning and tidying the house, but the good vibes were still all around which was nice.

Bruce and I started off the week with some fun – Tuesday night the boys went over to Paula’s and we drove across town and had a dance lesson. It was fun doing something just the two of us, but we thought it was a class with other people and it was just us so that was a little weird, way too much attention. It was fun though; we went out for dinner before picking the boys up. It was a good night for us. We actually got to discuss things without kids asking questions – we must tell our kids too much, they think if we are having a conversation they should know too. Not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. Conner had some deadlines this week for his Australian project, I helped him (just a little with suggestions) on his Australia pamphlet, which he got an A+ on and his teacher is using it next year as the example, yeay for Conner.

We had baseball breakup on Friday night so I was baking for that, Elise was on her way over and there was a little drama to deal with because Ross was stuck in Denver, so Bruce was on the phone with her and Tracey, but it all got sorted and we put a plan in place. Bruce spent Friday morning on and off the phone with Elise at LAX making sure she got to her next plane, but stupid Continental were nasty and she was tired so we organized for her to come here instead of getting her on her original New York flight (yeay we got Elise for the weekend) We went over to the coaches house and had BBQ, the kids swam, the parents chatted and it was lots of fun. Bruce took off to get Elise and when they got back we played the Cardinals season DVD and did coaches parents etc. The boys went back out to play and the usuals sat in the kitchen and chatted with Elise. It was funny, they were telling us just to keep talking, apparently the two of us talking together was fascinating to them, I forget that people still think that. Maybe it was more that her accent was thicker than mine but they just kept laughing as we caught up. It wasn’t an overly late night we all had to be back at the ballpark for presentations the next morning at 8.30am.

Saturday was tipped to be a little busy, it was more that all the stuff we had to do was at the same time. Presentations went well, the morning was nice and warm and there were cameras everywhere, the coaches called up each boy individually so they all got their little piece of attention. Jamieson just loved it, as you can imagine. Bruce had basketball tryouts to deal with in the middle of all of that stuff. We dropped him off at the stadium, we had some lunch, then Jamieson, Elise and I went back over to the ballpark to watch the All Star game, back to pick Bruce up and Elise and I went out and about and did a little bit of shopping. Sunday was kind of quiet one, there were a couple of things that Elise wanted to take to camp and then later in the afternoon we drove into Sacramento train station and put her on the train to Fresno. Bye Elise have fun!!

Yet another busy week was upon us, we had angels orders to get out, which even though the boys complain, once we get into it and they forget what they are doing we all have some fun. Tuesday was Conner’s birthday so we were up with the presents before school which he loved, anything Lakers is always safe. The boys went off to school and I had the morning to myself, I whipped up a cake for Conner and tidied up the house. Conner wanted Fish and Chips for dinner so off we went; it wasn’t the same as home but it’ll do when we have complete withdrawals. I think overall Conner had a nice birthday, turning 13 something to remember (with his No 13 basketball cake) Earlier in the day my new swish bang camera arrived so that was pretty exciting and intimidating! No more blurry basketball pictures. Wednesday at school Jamieson and his grade tie dyed t shirts which turned out really cool and he loves his. Friday came around and Conner had a field trip to the bowling alley, they had a great time and I had a lunch with Ed and Sharon (from their Eureka office, I talk to her on the phone all the time and she was in Sacramento visiting her daughter so we organized an actual meeting, face to voice and all that) We went to Lemongrass a really yummy Thai restaurant, who knew I’d love it, just make sure I stay away from the hot stuff, and the raw stuff BLAH!!!

The weekend was nice and quiet, no sport phew. Jamieson slept at Kevin’s then Kevin slept at our place. Sunday was Fathers day so Bruce had a nice day, he got some vouchers for Best Buy (which he asked for, no surprises here) and chilled for the day, we had a yummy Bruce’s favorite dinner and I think enjoyed the day. I left early and had to be at the ballpark at 8.30am for snack bar duty. Kristie was supposed to do it for Trevor’s team but they were in New York at the tournament so I helped them out. It was nice to do the first slot, it’s not that busy first thing in the morning.

We finished out the month with a more relaxing week, kind of. (Last week of school before the end of the school year) The hot weather continued, it was nice, just have to get used to it. We went over to Paula’s for dinner and spa, it was nice, the kids were in the pool and the adults were in the spa, although they eventually made their way in, it was fun even if there were 8 of us in the spa. I went to school and did an Australian talk for Jamieson’s class. Wednesday Jamieson had his Patriotic performance, which he had a speaking part (he volunteered to do one) and he did really great. There was the father of one of his class mates there (Army – we had done some donations (inc some angels) last year and sent them to him and his battalion) he presented the school with a flag and the great thing Bruce was talking to him at the end and he had his Angel that we had sent over still with him. He takes it everywhere and so do they all, that made Bruce’s night. Jamieson had a field trip to King skate – awful stinky place. The NBA draft was on, so we sat through the whole bloody thing and poor Patrick Mills didn’t get called up until the end – stupid NBA teams, I was pissed off! We finished out the week and the school year with Conner’s Graduation ceremony on Friday morning. OMG, we walked up to school (Paula came too) and laughed (quietly) some kids were in suits as well as parents, all dressed up like you would not believe. God Bless America….no one does anything by halves. The ceremony was nice, some of the kids played songs and sang, other made speeches and each one was introduced (much to Conner’s disgust) and received their certificate. It was nice that they made a big deal but it was still funny. The weather was really starting to heat up, Bruce and the boys went off to basketball practice on Saturday with their new teams, Jamieson slept over at Kevin’s and on Sunday it was 106F so we just stayed inside and tried not to melt; although I did get all my washing dried pretty quickly.

July

It was a quiet week with the boys at home; I worked my usual times, although my hours are reducing with the lack of work around. There was nothing overly exciting happening. On Friday it did my baking for 4of July party at Karen’s. On Saturday (4^th July) Jamieson and I walked down the street to meet the fire truck (Karen organized one every year and they have a parade that does 2 blocks and the kids walk behind it) Jamieson went off with all the others and I took pictures, chatted with Karen and met some of her family that were here for the weekend. We headed over there later in the afternoon and Jessica Gunning (baseball) and her kids were there so we caught up with them before they headed out to their next stop for the day. It was a nice day, we met Mikes best friend and his girlfriend and hit it off with them. They came over on Sunday to talk some work opportunities too. Fireworks were fun as always, the boys got to have their piro time and it was all done and we walked home around 11.00pm. Another fun 4^th July!

Tuesday we organized for Kristin (Charles – who used to live here) to bring her boys over and we all went to the pool, with Paula and her boys too. That was a fun afternoon all the boys have grown but you especially notice little Cooper who is not so little anymore, and talking… it freaks me out a little, he will always be the baby who was born the day before we landed here. I went to work the next morning and found an email from Andrea that Eric (her friend and then Bruce’s friend) had died (from his cancer) the day before. Bruce was out of whack for a little bit as you can imagine. It threw me too, poor Laura, his wife - they are so young.

The boys had friends over during the week for sleepovers, the boys had basketball practice again, so I took the opportunity to clean the house while it was empty and enjoy the quiet. Sunday morning Bruce and I decided to book our trip back home, not sure how that came about but the computer was out and the flights got booked, I think his guilt over the boys not being home for so long was really getting to him, me too.

Conner was over the moon so it makes it all worth while. We had Paula, Steve and the boys coming over for dinner so I had some cooking to do, in the end Jennifer White and her sister popped in for a visit and stayed which was great. We had a nice night the kids were outside playing and the adults were at the dining room table talking.

Here we are in the middle of another month, in the middle of another year already, literally where is the time going? The week started off on not a good note at work, Paula let Jonathan go on Monday, so I was glad I was out of the office for that. I organized to meet the Rivera’s at the pool on Wednesday which was fun. The kids all played and swam and we even got into the pool and caught up with Kristie, it had been a while since we’d seen each other, she’d been flying and with the kids on holidays she’s more busy than usual. I took “Twilight” to the pool, the girls at work were all reading and raving about them all, Karen had given me a copy weeks ago and it had gone to Paula and come back so I thought I’d see what the fuss was about. I got through a couple of chapters and loved it (which considering I’m not a reader is a good thing) I finished it in 2 sittings, which is actually the only way I can read otherwise it puts me to sleep. I have to love it or forget about it.

Anyway, it started as Bruce puts it; he became a Twilight widower for a couple of days. The boys had picture day on Saturday and then Conner’s team had a little get together after it for afternoon tea and for the boys to hang out. It was a quiet night, I wasn’t feeling so great, a little headache. Sunday was quiet in the morning and then we went to Paula’s for swimming and dinner in the afternoon, it was really hot 100f+ again, so the we all got in the pool, it was lots of fun swimming and catching up. Paula wanted to talk about the book and Bruce and Steve rolled their eyes and laughed.

Jamieson was back at school so that settled things down a little, we had back to school night on Tuesday, so I went and the boys all went to basketball practice. Work was slow again everyone was on holidays and Andrea went down to LA last minute to be with Laura so it was just me at the office, I went into the office for a couple of hours in the morning but not much was happening so it allowed me some time to get ready for our trip home and to get all the stuff I needed to take with us too. I also managed to read New Moon over another couple of days as well. We were gong to be gone for Jamieson’s birthday, which he was a little bummed about but he seemed ok, he got to go out to dinner with Dad and have a movie night (that was the plan anyway)

The weekend rolled around and I was all packed and ready to go, lots of clothes and putting them on to go the airport was weird. It’s been so hot here for so long, I can’t remember the last time the temperature was below 95F. We took Jamieson off to basketball for his game and watched the first quarter before we jumped into the car and headed to San Francisco Airport.

OK, here is a run down on our trip home, considering I was where you were and everyone kind of knew I’m going to keep it kind of short, plus it’s all a bit of a blur. Conner and I got on the plane. I had waited all week but promised myself that I would wait for the two plane rides to read the last two twilight books. Considering I don’t really sleep on planes I had Eclipse finished by the time we left Auckland airport. Conner had slept fairly well on the plane, I took the window seat so we can lean up against to wall and hopefully get some sleep, which we both kind of did. I got a couple of hours, Conner got a few. We landed in Melbourne and went pretty much through customs, yeay and mum was waiting outside the doors for us and it was COLD!!!! Apparently Belinda and her tan looked like a freak too.

We went to Maureen’s for lunch and had a catch up with her and Ali which is always lots of fun. We drove down the highway and stopped off to see Trace at work, like we always do, then we went to Montpellier to surprise Alex, Max and Trudy after school. I grabbed mum’s car, they went with Trudy and I went to visit Liz before heading back down to Mum’s. Everyone was there by the time I got there and we had fish n chips for dinner YUM!!!

I was in bed at 7.30pm exhausted but then woke up at 4.30am (bugger). We had a quiet morning, we spoke to Jamieson for his birthday (the first one we weren’t all together for) Raels came and picked up Conner for the day and mum and I went into to Geelong, I picked up the hire car. I dropped into the Lolly shop, some shopping then off to Liz’s place for a cuppa and then later back to Raels for dinner and sleepover.

Bruce here – I’ve been told I need to interject some news about Jamieson’s birthday and what we did while these guys were away. (Ha! Belinda thinks I can actually remember this stuff!!! I’m flat out remembering last week!) So – in a nutshell – we just kinda hung out a bit – watched TV and rented a few movies – his Birthday was pretty cool – he wanted to go and pick out his own bike – so after school and homework – we cruised on over to Wally’s world (Wal Mart) and picked out his very cool new wheels! Then we went over to Macca’s for drive through because he wanted to get home and watch a DVD – so we did that – cuddled on the coach while the movie was playing – and then he went to bed – happy as Larry and very proud to now be a 10 year old.

He was a little bummed that his Mum and Brother weren’t here – but when we decided to do the Birthday cake when mum got back – he was happy! The week flew by and before I knew it – I was heading back to SF airport to pick them up!

We were up and out of the house when Raels took Oscar to school and headed up to Melbourne. We dropped into Kristy’s so Conner could see her and meet baby Hudson before dropping Conner in the city to meet Maureen for the Aquarium, Rialto and lunch then Pete picked him up for a boys afternoon of fun. I spent the day with Kristy and Hudson which was so great, I missed her and have not enjoyed the fact that I wasn’t there when he was born etc. We had dinner in Williamstown with Pete, Fleur, Guy, Lisa Ebony and Lara which is always a great time, then headed back down to Ocean Grove.

Thursday morning Conner and Mum went and played mini golf and I went to caught up with Kate and Rachel. I took him into Geelong and dropped him of at Ross’ office for another boys afternoon of fun. I went out shopping with Trudy in town then back to pick the kids up from school, I got Conner from Ross’ and we played at Trudy’s, over to Tracey’s and had a cuppa and saw Dylan as well, then off to drop Conner off to Livingston’s at Ashley’s basketball practice, had a quick catch up with Ros and Pete then off to the Bells for a sleepover.

I met Conner, Ashley and Ros at Belmont High for Conner’s day at school then back to the Bell’s to get ready for the day and off into town for some shopping, a cuppa with Liz at her work, quick catch up with Ros at the Laundromat and Shari too, which was really cool. I met Jill for a coffee at Waurn Ponds, drove by the house to check things out then over to the Griffins for a sleepover.

I was at Grovedale football oval at 10.00am to meet Conner, they happened to be playing Joey’s so Rhys and Cameron were playing so I got to see all the Lynch’s too which was cool. I spent time with Ros (which I love to do) and saw Hayley (gorgeous girl) then Conner and I dropped into the Lolly shop for bring home lollies and off to Trudy’s for Conner to head off to the football. I met Tracey at Newtown to watch Dylan play which was good, I miss local footy and netball its fun and you don’t get that family sport here. We met at Trudy’s after the football and got ready to go out to the basketball to watch the Supercats play. It was a good game although I was chatting a lot so I didn’t kind of see it. Nic and Griff and I watched from the bar for a while, then I caught up with Jill and her girls which was great, they all look so great, Nic and I sat in the crowd for a bit and watched the game talking about old times (wow that was a long time ago) then after the game I caught up with Mark, Trev, Bin and gorgeous baby (sooo cute guys) and the best was definitely last… Jamie Medved is always good for my ego, it was great catch up with him, to meet his wife and see him so happy. It was not a late night but I got back to mum’s around 11.30pm, by this time I was very tired!!!!

Sunday was here and it was 24 hours before leaving, I should’ve tried to meet up with Sophie, but my body just wasn’t co operating so she is on the top of the list for next time. We packed up the car and headed into the Bells for lunch and so Conner and Nick could spend some time together. We went to Tracey’s for a Lynch catch up which I always love (you guys are some of my favorite people) then later in the afternoon we went back to Trudy’s for a family dinner and sleepover.

Then before you know it, it was Monday morning and I was driving the car back and heading to the airport, we said our goodbyes and headed behind the doors….it was a long flight considering I was tired already, I read the last Twilight book which was done before the trip was finished but what a great book. It was nice when the sun came up and we were nearly home so our family was all together.

August

Ok, August ended up being a blur for me….I guess once you read it will become a little clearer. We arrived home on the Monday morning and Bruce was there to meet us with the big “I missed you” smile. YEAY, it’s was good to be home with all of us together. We got home and went over to Paula’s to get Jamieson (he went after school) had a quick catch up with Paula and headed home. I stayed awake for as long as I could and so did Conner. We were in bed at a reasonable time and 14 hours later I woke up. Bruce was impressed, I suppose not sleeping properly, two plane flights, busy schedule will do that to you…. At least I just slept sometimes when I eventually stop I get sick and my body just says no – although technically I hadn’t stopped just yet.

Conner and I both slept till lunchtime and chilled in the afternoon. I unpacked and started washing etc….. Bruce and I had a parent teacher conference with Jamieson’s teacher Mrs. McDougall which was good; she is a fun teacher that doesn’t put up with any crap so she is exactly what Jamieson needs. That night was a quiet one, the boys went off to basketball practice and I had some quiet time, another long night of sleep then into work for a couple of hours on Wednesday afternoon.

Thursday morning, we packed the car and headed South to LA for the ‘Teen Choice Awards’ gifting suite function. We were all excited and the ride down didn’t seem to take too long, the boys did really well and we made it to Studio City in really great time. We checked in and met the organizers who were really cool people. (I made a new friend Lynn – one of the organizers she is lots of fun and we hit to off straight away) I also met Nancy Borgnine who Bruce had organized this through. We chilled out and went and had some dinner, came back and the boys went to the room and watched some TV and we hung out with Lynn and Steve (her husband).

Friday was a long day…. Bruce and I were up and getting ready early, the boys went for a swim before we checked out and went to the stand to get started. It was a long day but it was kind of fun, most of the guests were actors from the Disney Channel so the boys got to have photo’s with a lot of them which they loved, they are the future of this what looks like a real world of it’s own. There was also some movie actors (the new shaggy – who was really a cool guy and even did a shaggy for us. Most of the younger ones were there with their parents or at least mothers, most of them were really nice. The boys were in and out of the stand checking out what else was going on, we finished up around 6.00pm and packed up the stand, the boys went for a swim before we left. Bruce got to meet ex NBA champion - John Sally which was a highlight for him so that made him really happy. We said our goodbyes to Nancy and Lynn after some pictures and jumped into the car to head out of the city to get some dinner then onto the freeway home. It was a fun day and it gave us a look into what is definitely a different world (Tween Hollywood- interesting dynamics) We headed down the road and had some dinner then up I5 to home – tick that experience off the list even though we never had it on the list to begin with. Pretty cool!!! Managed to arrive home in one piece at about 2am – it was a looong day!

We woke up Saturday and had a quiet morning; the boys had basketball in the afternoon so we were out of the house and at the stadium from 5.00 till around 8.00pm which will be the case for the next 8 weeks. Jamieson’s team lost on the buzzer which was a bummer but when you have 5 of the 10 kids in the team that literally have NO IDEA what to do then it makes it hard to win games. Conner’s team was well, very impressive as expected. I bought the new camera and got some great action shots. We finished the week with a Sunday around the house, cleaning and unpacking and washing etc…

The second week of August was me trying to get back into a normal routine, which wasn’t easy do at all. Things at work had changed, the downturn had finally really hit us the work was put on hold, so my new hours were minimal, which made Bruce happy because he had lots of stuff that I could help him, at least it was keeping me busy. Billy Bounce is being upgraded so I will be putting the booklets together, layout etc (which Bruce hates to do, but I love) so it worked out well for that. Conner had another Orientation at Toby Johnson which he went to and enjoyed, we got some of his school stuff ready, usually basketball on Saturday, so most things were heading back into the usual pattern.

OK, yes it was my birthday on the Saturday. Blah!!! I woke up and opened my pressies….the boys made me fantastic cards with pop ups and telling me I’m the best mum ever!! So there!!! I got the Twilight DVD and Stephanie Meyers other book ‘The Host’ and I am getting an IPhone…Wooo Hooo!!!! I had a nice relaxing day, the boys went out to Kevin’s and Bruce and I went out for lunch which was really nice. Yummy food and good conversation with your husband, life is good. I went out and did a little shopping, Bruce made up the lasagna for dinner after basketball and later in the afternoon we headed out.

We got back from basketball and of course Bruce had invited over the party people without me knowing, Paula, Steve and the boys, Cendro’s and the Rivera’s arrived later after Kristie got home from her London trip. It was a fun night, the kids played outside, the adults sat in the lounge room, we had photo’s cake and what would a Hultgren gathering be without dancing in the lounge room. It was lots of fun and it was a great birthday; with the exception of actually feeling older for the first time in a long time. Not sure why but this year was the year I actually started feeling older.

Enough about that, Sunday we had a busy afternoon planned, Conner had open day at school and we had to go and pick Elise up, but they were kind of at the same time. We headed to school early and got Conner’s schedule and met his teachers and the saw his classrooms which was nice for all three of us, it was warm and there were people everywhere, 800 kids for year 7 alone this year (1500 if you include year 8 as well).

We dropped Conner off at home and headed to pick up Elise. The bonus was that she’s called and was getting dropped off in Elk Grove – SCORE!!! There she was waiting for us as we rounded the street and TWO bags; she’d accumulated another large bag while she was at camp. We got her home and she had a shower and started feeling human again. It was a quiet night of catching up and Elise was in bed at a reasonable hour.

Conner started Middle school with not a lot of fuss at all, Bruce dropped him off at school in all the traffic (OMG) the middle school and high school start at the same time and there is traffic everywhere. (the High School has about 4,000 kids – from years 9-12 only – so you are looking at over 5500 kids – the 1500 kids at Middle School are connected on the next campus - entering and leaving – everyday at the same time – on roads that simply weren’t meant for this kind of traffic – so we had to find shortcuts and fast! It took us 2 days and we’ve now got this down to a fine art – woo hoo!) I went to work in the morning then took Elise out for some shopping in the afternoon, Tuesday we went down to the Galt Market with Kristie which was fun and a little frustrating, we took Jamieson who wanted to buy everything, Mum can I have, Mum can I have??? Grrrrr!!!! We did Elise’s hair while the boys were at basketball practice, Wednesday night Paula came over and we did her hair, Thursday we went shopping with Millie in Sacramento and out to lunch at an Irish Pub which was nice and finished off the week with Hot Summer nights concert in the park which was fun and a nice casual night out with friends. Saturday we cleaned the house and went over to the Cendro’s for a catch up and swim, then off to basketball, Sunday was a quiet day watching movies and chillin out, getting Elise ready for her trip to the East coast and helping her pack.

Bruce dropped Elise off at the airport on Tuesday and Bruce headed out to see some clients while Jamieson and I stayed at home for the day, I got lots of the Billy Bounce booklets done which was great, then on Wednesday Jamieson came to the office while Bruce had some meetings, nothing else exciting to take up the end of the week, worked a little at the office and then on booklets for Bruce. Conner is really enjoying school which makes life easier for us. They have a great tool called school loop here, it’s communication between home and school, you can login and see all your kids homework as well as their grades, what’s due when etc, it’s fantastic and the kids know that the parents are keeping track so it keeps them honest as well, fantastic tool and it should be copied everywhere.

Friday hit and along with it came a throat thing for me, I spent the next few days fighting it which is my own fault, I would lay down and rest and then when I though I was feeling better I would get up and start doing stuff, so of course then an hour or so later I would be in a pile on the bed again, typical, you would think I would learn, NOT!!!!

And here we are its September already, where has this year gone, really someone please tell me?? I hope all is well and with the Footy finals on that the CATS WIN!!!! Ha ha.

I should be saying that it’s cooling down here so if you call going from 100F+ to the 90F’s then it’s cooling down here, it’s actually nice and I get out into the back yard with a book or my IPod more now that it’s not so HOT!!!

Fall/ Autumn is nearly upon us, the leaves are starting to fall from some of the trees and I wonder what the change in seasons will bring. Lots of challenges ahead for everyone, what would life be without them…. BORING I suppose!

I gave Conner some advice a couple of weeks ago (when he was going through some homesickness, new school, new friends, teenager thing etc), and I think it holds true for everyone. BE BRAVE with your life, (like Dad – we know dad is a different kind of brave, but give it a go) have a big life not a normal one, that is part of the reason we bought you’re here, to show you have so many options. I think that was a good mother/ son moment for us. I also think it applies to everyone, (as someone who has packed up her old life and moved it to somewhere new, for life experience and family experience) our kids can literally do anything and do it anywhere in the world, what a great and scary proposition for them! We/I got a little of that growing up, but now that’s what we should all tell our kids…. Find your vehicle and take it wherever you want it to go!

The great thing is that we also showed him a great example, look at Elise, she got on a plane by herself and had an amazing life experience, how brave she was to do that and look what she got out of it, she is not the same person that left Australia in June - Bruce and I have noticed that just in the short time we had her here.

Listen to me being all philosophical it must be time to say goodbye….. Check back in soon. It was great to see all those gorgeous faces when we came home….you all need to start saving and come and visit, we won’t be here forever.

Happy Birthday Alex and Paul….xxxxx

Hey everyone – Bruce again – Jamieson and I were meant to be down there for this past week and actually getting back onto the plane tomorrow (our time) – but circumstances had us stay here and the upside for Jamieson is that he will now get to miss a week of school – probably late October or early November is the plan.

I was lucky enough to be down there in April (I think it was April! Maybe May?) so this trip for me will be somewhat of an attempt at a vacation. Yeah right – I know – but I’m going to try!!!

There will be some coffee shops with my name all over them – just watching the world go by, I will be a taxi for JR and will be arranging some catch ups – OK – so it sounds exactly like Belinda and Conner – but I’m going to TRY and rest in among all the JR things to be accomplished!

I also have to squeeze a one day trip up to Sydney for some business reasons – but again – that’s just a day.

Well – that’s about it – looking forward to seeing you all again in just over a month!

For us here that means the NFL will be in full swing (starts tomorrow – woo hoo!) the College Football will be well and truly underway – college basketball will be upon us and then the NBA starts – and to think – I used to really dislike October, November and the following months because there was NOTHING on TV!

I guess this period makes up for all the time I don’t watch it throughout the year!

June pics......

2009-09-01T17:45:00.000-07:00

July pics.....

2009-09-01T17:38:00.001-07:00

4th JULY!!!

Hultgrens, Daneluk's & Charles'

August pics....

2009-09-01T16:29:00.001-07:00

TEEN CHOICE AWARDS GIFTING FUNCTION

Bruce, JOHN SALLY, Conner & Jamieson

Belinda and Emalyn (Army Wives)

Bruce & Carlton (Fresh Prince)

Boys - First day of school

Hot August Nights - concert with the party people.

May 2009....

2009-06-28T18:34:00.000-07:00

Ok, yes it’s getting later again….. It’s bloody hot outside (which is really an understatement) it’s our second day of 104f(40c). I’m sitting on the bed in front of the fan writing, we are lucky because the house is a cool house, Bruce put the block out on the skylight so we should be good for the summer. (I’m thinking of Elise this weekend, it must be so hot down at the camp, I’m sure they are all just swimming in the lake all day and she is having a ball.

Ok, May, it seems like it was soooo long ago, so let’s see how the memory is. We started the month coming to the end of our off track time, the boys did the usual nothing. Our weekend was kind of quiet, we cleaned the house as usual, the kids played, we did some angels and generally plodded around doing odd jobs.

The boys started back at school and our schedules went back to kind of normal. Jamieson had a game against Giants (very good team) on Tuesday and they lost, not a good night to be a Cardinal. Karen bought some chips, salsa &guacamole for Sancta Daimio….so at least we had nice munchies and it was a nice night too, which helps a lot.

Conner had basketball on Wednesday as usual, I spent Thursday night baking for our team (baseball) BBQ @ the Dunne’s on Friday night after training. Bruce got his IPhone so he was a happy camper. Friday night was fun, it was a warm day, the kids went to training but were back at the house (across the street) around 7.00pm. We all ate, the kids swam and the adults chilled out and got to know each other, which was really great for everyone I think. We got home about 11.30pm which wasn’t too bad considering a couple of the boys had to be at a school track meet at 8.00am in the morning.

We had an afternoon baseball game blending into a basketball game. Cardinals played so well and it was a great game to watch. Bruce and Conner went off to basketball and Jamieson and I came over to the stadium when his game was finished. Baseball was fantastic the boys did so well and it was a nice sunny afternoon, Paula and her boys and the Rivera’s came to watch so we had a great time. We made it to Conner’s game before it started and so we got to watch the procession (as I call it), yes they are that good. It’s fun to watch them play.

We finished the weekend with Mother’s Day, we spent most of the day getting Bruce ready for his trip home. I got some great presents and the boys made me some breakfast. Bruce left for the airport late in the afternoon and we just really relaxed for the rest of the day. He called later to let me know he was on ok and then off to bed for me. Whoosh for Bruce!!! (Notes from Bruce’s trip are at the end)

Our week while Bruce was away was fairly normal (nothing stops) I cleaned his office (OMG…you have no idea), so now you could see the floor. Jamieson had a baseball game v Nationals, always a close game we made a good come back. Bruce was being very productive on his trip and not really sleeping which wasn’t a good thing. Basketball practice on Wednesday night, chatted with Bruce on webcam @ the Griff’s house which was really nice, this time of year the time difference is a real pain in the butt. Friday night another baseball game v Twins, another good game, the boys are up and down, you just don’t know what you are going to get.

Saturday morning rolled around, no baseball game but Jamieson and I were off to the ball park for snack bar duty, it was nice and easy the time went really quickly and then we sat and watched Trevor play is game while I caught up with Carlos and Kristie. Conner was on the phone, where are you, you said you’d be home??? Later in the afternoon we went over to Paula’s to check everything was ok before everyone arrived for Jeremy’s communion party. They arrived not long after and around 7.00ish Conner and I took off to his basketball game. They had a rocky start but hit their straps and off they went. Then back to Paula’s for the rest of the night, it wasn’t a late night, we caught up with her mum and step dad the boys all played and it was a fun night. Sunday was a really hot day so we spent the afternoon at Paula’s by the pool and swimming! Bruce was still away and we were just organizing getting him home.

Tuesday morning came around and I picked up the car and drove through San Francisco traffic (Grrrrr) to the airport. By the time I got there Bruce he was waiting out the front, which was good for me because I always get lost in the car park there. We made our way home, stopped for some lunch (Mexican) and a quick look at the Nike store, then home by the time the boys got back from school. Bruce hadn’t hit the wall yet so that was a good thing. Jamieson had a baseball game, so that kept Bruce from falling asleep, a great game against the Yankees, they played really well. We got Bruce home and he went to bed not too early so that was good for him.

Thursday Conner had a field trip to Headlands (San Francisco) so he was out of the house with all his field trip stuff to be at school early, I walked him up to school and we coordinated him getting home, we were going to be at baseball so we need to make sure we were on the same page. I did some baking for our team BBQ at the Cendro’s the next night in the afternoon and then we took off for Jamieson’s to his game. It sounds like that’s all we were doing this month, at times that what it felt like. Friday night the boys had a practice kind of game, and we all met back at Karen and Mike’s place. The kids ran around the house, Karen, Jessica and I downloaded pictures for the team DVD and all the adults chatted in the kitchen. It was a real relaxing night; I think everyone had a great time especially after more margaritas were consumed.

Our weekend was fairly usual, we cleaned the house and hung out then went over to the Rivera’s for dinner, which is always fun. As always, there were kids everywhere, 8 adults and more kids…lots of food and fun!! Sunday I sat in bed and wrote the blog, and pictures then in the afternoon we went over to Paula’s for dinner and the kids hung out and swam. Monday was Memorial Day so I had the day off work, it gave me a chance to tie up some loose ends and get ready for the busy end of the month week ahead.

Tuesday was our low day before the out of control started. Wednesday, Jamieson had a baseball game and Conner and Bruce had basketball practice, so I was a taxi driver, baseball then basketball then back to baseball then over to basketball for pick ups. I spend Thursday after work baking for Paula and Steve’s wedding reception party on Saturday night. Jamieson had baseball practice on Thursday night so Bruce and he went off to practice.

Before we knew it Friday was upon us, work, kids…. The kids had a minimum day so they went over to Paula’s for a swim and play and I went over there to help out with the food while the kids played. Later in the afternoon we started putting the lights around the back yard…. By the time we were done it was dark and we were EXHAUSTED but the back yard looked gorgeous and they loved it, so it was worth it. We were all exhausted by the time we got home and fell into bed, the out of control wasn’t over just yet.

Saturday started quietly, I put the finishing touches on the food, luckily Jamieson didn’t have a baseball game so that made the day a lot easier. Bruce spent a lot of the day putting the music for the party and putting the video together as well. Around lunch time I went over to Paula’s to help put the finishing touches on the backyard and help with the rest of the food she was putting together. I went home and showered etc to get ready for the party, Conner got ready for basketball and Bruce was trying to burn the movie but the DVD wasn’t co operating!! Grrr…poor thing, he did such a great job.

I ran over to Paula’s and dropped off the music and food then came back, grabbed the family and we headed over to basketball. Jamieson and I stayed until half time and left, thank goodness, the referee’s were giving me the ?????, they were so bad, apparently the boys came back in the second half and kicked butt, yeay boys!!!

Jamieson and I arrived at Paula’s around 8.45pm and started to party a little, there was less people there than who had RSVP’s which was a good thing, although that meant we had lots of food. It was nice to see her family and see friends I knew and meet some of their friends that I hadn’t met. Bruce and Conner arrived around 9.45pm, the kids were in and out of the spa and a small group of us ended up in the kitchen sitting around the bench. We got home around midnight, it was a fun night and a great way to end another month!!!

Short and sweet this month everyone, I hope all is well. We are finishing up another month, hopefully I will be able to sit down and get it to you sooner rather than later.

Stay warm and we will try to stay cool…

Bruce’s Trip Notes:

Hey everyone – well – what a blur!!!

The plan was to get down there and achieve several things which thankfully happened.

I spent the first couple of days in and around Melbourne visiting Funeral Homes and getting feedback from them about the best processes, and design feedback etc. I discovered the new Eastern Link and WOW – how cool is it?

I caught up with a couple of friends in Melbourne in the rush – hard to believe that it was almost a year to the day since I’d been down there – crazy.

I met with the National Sales Agent for the Angels for the first time – and spent about 4 hours catching up, planning and making sure things are in place for when the “big boy” retailers say yes to stocking the Angels – we have about a 90 day window to be ready – so that will start as soon as I get back to the US.

Following the first couple of days I headed down to Geelong later on the 3^rd day following a fantastic catch up, have a laugh and stop for breath dinner with the Cheatley’s in Williamstown – Aussie Pizza – YUMMM!!!!! As always – hard to say goodbye to them – but with each day we are here it is one closer to coming home – which will eventually happen – so that will come soon enough.

Caught up with the Griffins and then hit Geelong for meeting after meeting after meeting – my head was spinning from the first 3 days – let alone all of this extra stuff! And without proper nights sleep happening – it was always going to be a quiet trip back up over the Pacific after 5 ½ days on the ground in Oz.

Friday afternoon I caught up with the Hultgren’s which was short but very cool to see them all – amazing to see these kids really growing up into fantastic young adults – I am very proud of them. Following dinner at the Hultgren’s on Friday night, the Bells invited me to a fundraiser at Sacred Heart college – which was fantastic – but the end of the night it was a bit of a blur because I hit the wall – literally – I knew it was a good one (wall hit) because unless I was very precise – I was slurring my words – you know you are tired then!!!

Got home and kinda slept again – then the big Moving day was here – I met Mark Griffin and Pete Williams (and for a short while – Brad Lynch) at storage and there were 2 factors we had to deal with – the actual amount of stuff (a lot of CRAP) we have in storage – and the weather threatening! Griff pulled up with a trailer and after a quick decision – I jumped in the car and headed for a rental place – finally found a van that was simply going to have to do – after 3 trips and about 7 hours – we closed the door on the contents new home in Torquay and next time I’m down I will be buying these boys a beer for all their help.

Following the move I hit the Bells again and after a quick shower – headed to the “legends” game at the Supercats – I purposely didn’t pack my sneakers in the car because I know I would have gotten the bug to play a little and enjoy the moment – I was right – the boys wanted me to play and I wanted to – but without my gear – I could simply sit on the bench and chat with them and watch. It was fun and the boys pulled out a win which was fantastic.

Then time for the main game – on all previous Past Players nights I usually missed out on the conversations and catch ups because I was helping coach on the bench – and although I was invited into a box behind the bench – I hung out with the fella’s up top and had a really good time – just chatting and talking about the game and all the experiences we were getting here in the USA.

It was priceless to see some peoples expression when you walk up behind them and just give them a hug – then they realize who it is and smile – it’s a great feeling – again – just awesome to see some friendly and welcoming faces.

The night ended pretty quick – I was tired and people were leaving so I took off back to the Bell’s and had a cuppa and just chatted – really looking forward to the next morning where…. NOTHING was planned!!!

Ah! Breathe……

Went down to watch Rhys play footy for a bit – then we went and got a pie for lunch – yumm!!! This was on the “to do” list – and I happily ticked it off.

Made my way from the Bells after a short but sad goodbye, I went over to catch up with the other half of the family tree and visited with the Korostin clan at Trudy’s in Newtown. Amazing to see the little nieces and nephews running around, growing up and just being kids. Doesn’t seem that long ago that my boys were like that. Got some really good pics and hugs from the kids and just enjoyed the moment.

Got a call from Phil Hodgson – so I whipped over to his place for a quick coffee with he and Ronis and sat around the kitchen table yapping. Had no idea that Ronis had breast cancer last year so I was floored to say the least when I heard that news. I wish I would have been there to support my friends when they were going through that period of their lives. Fely pretty hopeless actually. On the upside we are going to develop a special Angel and present it to the Jane McGrath Foundation to see if they want to include it in support packs for families. I’ll keep you posted on that one. From there!!! I finally ended up at the Griff’s again for a late dinner and the YMCA kids dropped over with their families – that was awesome to see them.

Monday was a last catchup with the Griff’s – business stuff and playing with the kids over breakfast – that was fun! Then headed back up the highway for a couple of meetings then over to Eltham to do a special guest coaching appearance for James McGrath at my old club – we had a blast and I hit them with many of my “special” drills – kids had a blast, so did the parents and coaches – the kids went out the next week and scored over 50 points – success!!!!

Headed to Mum’s for dinner then packed and got ready for the flight home the next day.

It’s always a very bizarre feeling when you land and leave from your home airport – and you’re it! Especially once you check in and then you ponder going through the security doors right away – usually you stop for a coffee or the like and then say your goodbye’s – so I cruised through the doors and hit the lounge. We got delayed for about 90 mins for some reason – so I sat in the lounge and video chatted with Belinda for a long time – Conner was there and made me laugh out loud several times – impersonating King Julien from Madagascar 2 – if you haven’t seen it – rent it – it is a classic – and now a staple “quote” format around our home – and once Jamieson and Conner get started – it is hilarious.

Anyway – that was my trip – I came, I saw, I didn’t sleep, I succeeded and I left – “Mission Accomplished!”

And you know what? The main reason for the trip was to bring back some of our new Angel Display Spinners so I could trial them in the USA – it was almost cheap enough to fly down and bring them back by hand as it was to ship them!!! Customs had a party with me when I landed back in SF – but that’s OK – I helped them open them and told them what they were for – they cleared me soon enough and I was on my way. I think I gave them something to do – they were all twiddling their thumbs – which is never good. You always want to come in when it’s busy – otherwise you are a sitting duck.

Well – that’s it folks! A blur overall – but lot’s happened, lot’s achieved and more experiences to put in to the memory banks.

Arriba!

May pictures...

2009-06-28T17:34:00.000-07:00

Hey Dad, from us while your away!!

Conner's last game - Bruce & Iman (Super coaches)

Friday night - lights set up (arh pretty)

Do we look as tired as we were??

Paula and Belinda

The kids having fun!!

Got to get a pretty picture when I can.

The girls (L: Karen Cendro, Kristie Rivera, Paula Daneluk, ME)

Carlos & Belinda

Bruce being Bruce Playing the speaker!!!