The Hultgrens - The USA Journey: November 2009

October....

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....

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....

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.