Autumn Leaves

We have two maple trees in our front yard and when you rake the neighbours trees as well you end up with an excellent jumping pile. I always know when it's time to create the family calendar because Kerry starts to ask about leaf pictures. Callie just likes to jump in them but Carter was eager to help rake as well. Of course once the pile was ready it was my job to keep it together while Carter spent close to an hour jumping. He'd get up good speed coming down the slight slope and enjoyed finding new techniques. No fear.

Callie is a bit more cautious, always going feet first. She actually enjoyed rolling around in them more than jumping.

My favourite part of raking leaves is getting them into the compost pile. With a couple of turns and a mild winter it should be black gold by spring time.  Everything is all cleaned up and ticket away. Another growing season and a few hardscaping projects complete. Looking forward to next year. Hopefully adding a pond, replacing a portion of the fence and expanding the vegetable garden.

Halloween

Every year at Halloween the costume box seems to come up earlier and earlier. We still have every costume for both kids including the baby duck that both Callie and Carter wore for their first halloween. Callie would have been just three months cold and Carter only 8 weeks. Carter hasn't quite clued into any sort of gender role so Callie is able to convince him to wear all of the costumes he fits into at least once. He really pulled the witch costume off nicely.

I was hoping to spend more time on the pumpkin this hear and improve on the shading technique, however Callie had some odd ideas in her head about who got which pumpkin and Carter and I only got one pumpkin. We went with Agent P (Perry the Platypus) from Phineas and Ferb. Just a basic trace and cut. (Any pattern I do is going to be traced. I'm not that creative.) I also did a skull and cross bones for Callie which she took to the pumpkin carving contest at school. Not sure what the teachers are expecting. It's not like any of the grade two kids are carving their own pumpkin.

With such a wide array of costumes available including a couple that Kerry picked up at a garage sale up the street it was tough to figure out what the kids were going to be. I was certain that Carter was going to be Spiderman but in the end he chose the horse costume from last year. I think he felt a bit more secure plus the horse costume was much warmer. Callie didn't waiver. She was planning to go as a Pirate from the beginning. It turned out to be a very simple costume. The dress was something Gub and Gampoo picked up in Vegas and the accessories were pieces we had picked up for the Pirate Party on our Disney Cruise last year.

Pumpkin Patch

We took our annual trip to the Aldor Acres pumpkin patch in early October. Hitting the pumpkin patch at the right time is a tricky thing. It's no fun when it's cold, rainy, wet and muddy but as I discovered this year it's not quite the same when it's 22 degrees and sunny. We were able to go in shorts and a t-shirt. This year dust was the problem and all the trees were still green. I think the perfect weather is a sunny day, around 15 degrees with the leaves just starting to change.

Callie's favourite part is definitely the animals. Depending on how she does in high school biology, I can definitely see her being a veterinarian. She's happiest when it's just her and the animals. This year we got to go in the pen with some bigger rabbits rather than just the bunnies. There were also plenty of baby goats and piglets. They don't seem to have the turkey's anymore. I suspect Callie's turkey incident of '08 was not an isolated one. (She got bit on the hand.) Those things can be very mean.

Carter is not quite as thrilled with the farm animals. It's not the creatures that scare him. It's the smells. He's always had a very sensitive sense of smell. The barn also has the scary singing pig which doesn't help matters. Despite the dust the pumpkin patch itself was perfect. Lot's of big bright orange pumpkins. You pay by the width so we encourage the kids to pick out tall and skinny as they measure smaller and are cheaper. (We get our big pumpkin form Superstore for $2.99)

San Diego

Before you assume that this trip was all fun I should mention there was a definite work component involved. I'm off to write my book report for work right after this blog entry. This report is purely the non-work portion of my trip. The mapping technology that I use is owned by GE and they had their annual conference in San Diego this year. I had asked a while ago and it didn't look like I'd be able to go as there was co-worker who had a better case but he ended up being sent to Serbia on the same week and I was next in line.

The conference started early Monday so I had to fly in on Sunday. I took the earliest flight so that I'd have a bit of time to go sight seeing. Last time I was here I went to the zoo and the aquarium. I only had time for one this time and the zoo is first class. Highlights included the sky tram,  the pandas, the elephants and of course the monkey on the hippo. The San Diego Zoo has some great exhibits and I like when they mix up the animals. (When I say great, I mean if you can get over the fact that they are caged animals. Many are in the name of conservation but I don't think they all are.)

I only found out that I'd be able to go about a week in advance so by the time I tried to get a room at the main hotel it was already booked for some of the nights. My amazing travel agent, Kerry, managed to get me into the hotel across the street. It's a turn of the century mansion with a lot of history. It was also close. So close that I was technically closer to the conference area than much of the main hotel was. The place was called the Glorietta Bay Inn and with few rooms and friendly staff it had a great ambience.

The main hotel had a lot of history as well. It was called the Hotel Del Coronado and it was built in 1888. It seems that many great hotels of that era never made it past the 60's and 70's so it's in a class of it's own. I'm fairly certain that many areas of Disneyland were modelled after this hotel. The shops on main street, the layout of the Disneyland Hotel and even the fonts on the signs all looked like they were inspired by the Del. The hotel itself was where the 'Wizard of Oz' was written and it was the backdrop for Maralyn Monroe's movie 'Some Like It Hot'.

The beach was definitely the highlight of the area. The sand was like talcum powder and I saw several sand sculptures get created while I was there, including a near full size Audi for a convention of top sellers that was taking place at the same time as our convention. On the Tuesday night we had dinner on the beach and I started every morning with a walk in the sand. (And a bunch of work stuff happened. Let's not forget the work stuff.)

Happy Birthday Carter

Technically I was in San Diego for Carter's birthday but more on that in a future blog. Carter has lot's of friends at preschool that we hear about all the time but because Kerry tends to drop the kids off later and pick them up earlier than most parents she doesn't get to meet many of them and at Carter's age you're really inviting the parents. As such we had mainly a friends and family evening with pizza, burgers and cake. This was our first store bought cake for a kids party which may be an ongoing theme for Carter. It's so soon into the school year we haven't settled enough to put a lot of time into homemade cakes.

After Callie's marathon of gifts and parties including her real birthday in Disneyland, Carter was very excited that this day was going to be about him. Callie helped with much of the planning and made sure that the traditional 'present opening chair' was in it's usual spot. When it came time to open gifts he seemed surprised that all the presents were for him. He seems to have very low expectations so I get the sense we've got to make more effort to even up the amount of attention we're paying to each kids party.

Lego was a constant them for presents which suits me fine. Once they are opened, built once and destroyed they go into the general lego collection and don't take up much room. Once we start to give away the little kid toys we should finally be able to reclaim our home. The weather, food, friends and family were all great. (Except for that minor food poisoning incident with the beef from Costco. We got a phone call the very next day from Costco indicating a bad batch and it seems more than one of our guests were impacted. Our apologies.)

The Death of Summer

Summer comes to a very abrupt end in our household. Not only does Callie have to go back to school, Carter goes back to daycare and Kerry goes back to work. We did a good job of going out with a bang though. My mom came down and we managed to go to the aquarium and the zoo and had a thoroughly enjoyable final weekend. For the first day of school I took the day off so that I could help Callie with the change. She was excited to go back but very apprehensive as well and I knew it was going to be a tough morning.

We had a few things prepped to help. Barb had ordered her new backpack from the Disney store in Edmonton. (The store in Vancouver had sold out.) It was surprisingly cheap. Lesson learned to buy school supplies before the last week of school. I had also planned a trip to Ricky's for breakfast. We did this when she started kindergarten and she still remembered. Things went well until Callie discovered that we weren't going to breakfast till after school. (School was only from 10:00a to 11:00a) It took about 30 minutes of convincing but I finally managed to get her there on time.

Carter was much easier. At least for Carter. Much tougher on Kerry of course. He took his new cars lunch kit that he got from Kerry's friend Melissa and had no problems at drop off time. He has a friend named Taven and as soon as they saw each other it was like they hadn't been apart for the last two months. He only had a half day as we picked him up for breakfast too. When I went to pick him up he turned to his friends and said "My Daddy is taking me to breakfast!" and then ran to get his coat. Nice that the simple things seem to go so far.

Disneyland Day 7 - Happy Birthday Callie!

Our last day at Disneyland happened to be Callie's 7th Birthday. We started the day very early since it was our Magic Morning day. This is available to limited people including those with a 5 day park hopper pass and means you get to go the park at 7:00a. The only areas open are Fantasy Land and Toon Town but it's a good opportunity to hit rides like Dumbo that usually have very big lines. This morning it was Carter's turn to be difficult so I hung back while he slowly woke up and everyone else headed out. The plan was to meet at 8:00a so we could get into California Adventure and Fast Pass Radiator Springs Racers again.

The Fast Pass line was longer than we expected and with 8:30a reservations at Goofy's kitchen it was going to be tough to do both. I stayed in line while the others went off to breakfast. I managed to get there by 9:15a and have my breakfast Sunday. I stuck to the breakfast items and passed up the breakfast hot dog. Not sure why they even have hot dogs and pizza at 8:00a. This was a special breakfast for Callie since Kerry ordered her a cake and the waiters came by and sung her Happy Birthday.

We finished off the morning in California Adventure with another Arial ride. We also took the opportunity to Fast Pass World of Color. It's open to everyone but they set aside the best viewing spots for Fast Pass holders. Afterwards we headed back to the pool where Carter could try out his new swimming ring. The day before Callie had loaned her ring to him as he was stuck on the stairs of the pool. He loved it and was able to do lengths of the pool with ease. We had a quick dinner and had Callie's fourth or fifth cake. This one came with the room.

For our last evening at the park we headed straight to Radiator Springs Racers. The same guy checked Carter's height again. I think he was busy because he seemed to give in a bit faster this time. We then headed over to Disneyland for a few last rides. I did Star Tours with Barb and Reg and Autovia with Carter and Reg. Carter seemed disappointed that the cars weren't very fast. We finished off a great trip with World of Color. A water and light show that was amazing. Carter didn't seem to like the fire and the fact that you get a bit wet. He was upset for a while but fell asleep before it was over. We headed back to the hotel for a good nights sleep before our three day journey home.

Disneyland Day 6 - Canoes at Last!

Today we decided not to try to hit any particular schedule. The plan was simply to let the kids sleep and leave when everyone was ready. Of course Callie got mad that we didn't wake her up. (You just can't win.) We also worked out a entry pass trick since Ron's pass was only good for two days. Barb stayed home for the day and Kerry used her pass allowing Ron to use Kerry's since her name can be a boys. In the end I don't think Reg went all day early so Ronnie could have just used his. The day started with the standard Pooh Bear ride and goodies at the store there. After that it was off to the Canoes. Finally!!! I've been three previous times and always missed them. It was the hottest day of the year so a bit of splash wasn't bad.

A quick trip to Tarzan's Tree house for Callie and I and then the train to tomorrow land where we caught Alice in Wonderland at Carter's request. Once our kids like a ride once they seem to prefer hitting it over and over. Four rides was all we had in us so we headed out and stopped by City Hall so that we could get Callie's Birthday button. She wanted it for when she came in the next day. The hot day had apparently gotten to Carter as he threw up his popcorn in front of City Hall. Not a pretty site.

We got back to the hotel for our usual dip in the pool and attended the nacho party that the hotel has  every Monday. Nachos, soft pretzels and other assorted goodies all included with our room. The afternoon session at the park turned out to be a short one. Train to Pirates, Pooh Bear and consideration of the Jungle Cruise. The 30 minute wait was too long for us so we headed back to trick the kids into going to sleep early since we wanted to be at the park for 7:00a the next day. The kid tricking was so that Kerry could head back to the park with Ron. It worked out well and she managed to get in some of the bigger rides she'd missed. A slow day but tomorrow will be a long one with a 7:00a start and a plan to hit the World of Colour at California Adventure.

Disneyland Day 5 - Just Tall Enough

Of all the days in Disneyland today was not the day for a kid meltdown. Today was supposed to be California Adventure day and Callie was very tired in the morning resulting in a rough start to the day. We didn't get out the door till about 9:00a and headed straight to the Fast Pass line for the Radiator Springs Racers. It's a new ride and the Fast Pass for the entire day maxes out at about 9:30a. You can try waiting in line but it can be as long as two to three hours. We got there just in time and after a slight mix up where Kerry didn't have Callie's pass with her we managed to get our tickets.

Our first ride of the day was Mater's Junk Yard Jamboree. It's like the tea cups except you are in a trailer at the back of a tractor. I ended up with some pretty crazy pictures because it swings you around in tail whip fashion. After that Ronnie, Barb, Reg and I headed to Grizzly river rapids. This has always been my favourite ride and we were lucky enough to get extra Fast Passes to it and California Screaming. They handed these out when we Fast Passed Radiator Springs because you can't have more than one Fast Pass at a time and since our time was 7:30p at night we wouldn't have been able to get any others.

The kids had gone to the Brother Bear climbing area while we were at Grizzly Rapids. We met up and headed to the new Arial ride. The kids went with Kerry and Barb and Reg went together leaving Ronnie and I together in a sea shell car on the Arial ride. The girl checking our ride car as we left gave us a smile and I'm fairly certain she thought we were a good looking couple. Not a good way for Uncle Ronnie to find a girl friend.

When we left the Arial ride we came across Phineas and Ferb doing some street dancing. Kerry, Callie, Carter and I stopped to watch while the others went off to get in a few rides on their own. (Much easier without kids.) Kerry and Callie did Jumping Jelly Fish and a few rides and Carter and I went in search of fish and chips. Unfortunately it seems they replaced the place we usually go to with part of Cars  Land so I was out of luck. I wandered a bit while Carter fell asleep and then we all headed back to the hotel.

When we got back to the hotel we headed to the pool. After about 30 minutes I started to head back to our room when I noticed that the small kid that had been sitting on the edge of the pool wasn't there anymore. He wasn't very big and when I walked by I noticed he was in the water. For a second I though he had a buoyancy vest on and was playing but I suddenly realized it was just a swim shirt and his head wasn't coming out of the water anymore. His mother was at the other end of the pool with her back turned so I grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out, handing him to Kerry who passed him on to his mom. He was still young enough that he had the baby swim reflex so he hadn't breathed in any water. She seemed very grateful so I don't think she knew he had fallen in the water. Amazing how quickly bad things can happen near a pool.

After my afternoon nap we headed to the Rain Forest cafe for dinner. Uncle Ronnie was generous enough to pay as he had a few birthday's to cover. The atmosphere is great and the kids really enjoy it there. We even ordered a chocolate volcano and told the waiter it was for Callie's birthday. They deliver it by shouting out "Volcano" and sang her happy birthday. I do have a picture but I figured the drinking lesson that Carter was getting from Barb would be a better shot. (Just kidding Barb.) After dinner we were off to Radiator Springs Racers.

Our pass was for 7:30 to 8:30 but when we go there the ride was broken. They recommended we come back later and told us they would honor our Fast Pass. We checked back at 8:30p and it was mostly working though there were a few more break downs while we were in line. Our next hurdle was Carter's height. The limit is 40" and he's technically only about 39 3/4" so we knew it was going to be close. We managed to sneak past the first height check but got caught by the second. The first guy measuring tried his hardest to get him to stand straight and Carter gave it his best.

He raised is arm, breathed in deeply and tried to be as tall as possible. The first guy failed him but we asked for a second check and the next guy had a better technique of gently holding his head. I think he passed by the thickness of a piece of hair. We were warned that there would be a third check but I managed to distract the attendant enough that she never checked. The ride according to Carter was "Terrrrrific" and "Super super fun!". It really is an amazing ride and well worth the wait. We finished off the evening in Bugs Land and headed home for 10:30p.

- Finished off with bugs land
- Back home for 10:30

Disneyland Day 4 - Uncle Ronnie!

Today was a very special day. Our first full day at Disneyland and a special character was arriving later in the day. We started with a great breakfast at the hotel. A buffet of pancakes, bacon, fresh waffles and other assorted goodies all included with our room. We were there by 7:00a since the park opens at 8:00a and we wanted to get there as soon as it opened. The worst kept secret of Disneyland is that it's not busy in the mornings and the summer was no exception. We could walk on rides for the first two hours.

The plan was for Carter and I to head to Splash Mountain while everyone else headed to the Matterhorn. Carter just makes the height restriction of 40" and made a good attempt. He insisted that we go on 1) The Pooh Bear Ride, 2) Pirates and then 3) Splash Mountain. We made the first two but when it was time for Splash he indicated that "Baby Duck doesn't want to go on Splash mountain because he doesn't like water." How can you argue with a duck?

It turned out the Matterhorn was closed but opened up around 9:00a so we hit a few random rides like the Tea Cups and Alice and Wonderland while we waited. Barb, Reg and I than went over to Splash Mountain while the kids checked out Toon Town. We finished and found them just in time because they were in the line up to get pictures with Minnie but didn't have a camera. Disneyland will take your picture for you and give you a code to check it online later. Of course they take your money pretty good too so it's best if you have your own camera.

After that Callie and Kerry went to check out Tinkerbell. (Too bad our special guest hadn't arrived.) Carter and I went over to Pirate Island for a little hike. I watched enviously at the canoes that paddled by. They are the one ride I haven't done yet and I'm determined to go this time. We then headed back to the hotel to find Uncle Ronnie! He had just arrived by shuttle. After a quick dip in the pool we got ready to back to the park again.

When we headed back to the park our timing wasn't very good as we ended up at the tail end of the parade which made for very slow going. The first ride we hit was Pirates and it had a short line up. Carter was having none of it though so he and I went to the exit to wait and buy a sword. (Another good parenting tip. Buy them stuff when they scream.) After some talking I discovered that he felt we had to go on Pooh Bear first and then Pirates. So after a quick Pooh Bear ride we were back on Pirates.

A few more quick rides and then every but Ronnie and I went back to the hotel. Kerry was smart enough to use everyone's passes to fast pass a few rides for us. They didn't start till 11:00p so we headed to Space Mountain to stand in line. We got to the very front of the line outside when they announced it was shut down and they didn't know when it would be back on. Turned out to be just a 20 minute delay so we got lucky. We hit the Matterhorn before finishing off with Splash Mountain and Indiana Jones. Home for midnight after a very long day.

Disneyland Day 3 - Pooh and Poo

Our final day on the road today. We were out the door by 7:00a and unfortunately we had a Callie melt down as soon as we got in the car. We drove her to Starbucks with no seat belt hoping she would start to calm down on her own. Our excellent parenting trick this time was to point out the cops in the parking lot and tell her they would take her away if she didn't put her seat belt on and calm down. It worked. The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful though traffic was horrendous.

Kerry had been dreading this part of the drive for months but with my excellent navigating I dropped us right off on the door step of our hotel. (Kerry's driving was pretty good too.) We've stayed at this hotel in the past because they take dogs. Technically they only take one dog but our dogs all look alike so it's just a matter of walking them individually and no one can tell. The hardest part is keeping them quiet as we get in the door. Captain is the oldest but he's got the most piercing bark I've ever heard.

We unpacked the car and took out a bottle of wine. Kerry and I seem to be out of town for most of our anniversaries and this one was no exception. (Our second anniversary was spent driving to Vegas through Death Valley) That wasn't an omen however and after 10 years we're still going. Kerry is an amazing wife and even better mother. A toast to another 10+. Our anniversary dinner consisted of pizza and wine since we had to get ready for an evening in Disneyland.

Callie was raring to go on some rides though Carter was a bit more apprehensive. We decided to do Buzz Light Year first since Carter likes Toy Story. Unfortunately it's about shooting bad guys and he wasn't too impressed. He had his hands over his eyes the whole time. The next ride choice wasn't much better with 'Pirates of the Carribean'. Callie never made it on and Carter peeked out periodically. I think he ended up liking it though.

We finished up with the Pooh Bear Ride. This was my nemesis last time because it's really not that exciting but the kids love it. Callie didn't have a great time in line because a bird poo'd on her. As parents we of course decided to use this as lesson for being good. (The bird must have known she wasn't very good in the car.) We finished up with Haunted mansion for some reason. We think it's because it was available and Callie was hell bent on going on three rides. Both kids covered their eyes the whole time. After Pooh Bear we took the kids back to the room and Kerry and I headed back to finish off our anniversary. Our first stop was the Churro stand. We'd been craving one for months. I think the last time we were there they made them fresh but these were similar to what you get in Costco so they were a bit disappointing. We finished up the evening on Indian Jones and Big Thunder mountain. A great first day.

Disneyland Day 2 - Napa Ain't Cheap

Day one was a bit rough and day two didn't run much smoother. We were on the road by 7:00a and you could tell the kids were excited because they were getting a bit wild. Wild enough that we had to stick Kerry in between them for a few hours while I drove. I don't normally drive since I like to navigate and nap and Kerry likes to drive. A perfect combination. The driving itself was great as it's on a major highway but it was a bit stressful trying to make sure I didn't lose Reg. He's great  following but I still had to be careful with every lane change.

Our plan for day two was to leave early and hit Napa valley on the way down. Since we've discovered the Oliver wineries I've always wanted to check out the Napa valley for comparison. I'd hoped to get there before lunch but due to some navigation issues and traffic we didn't arrive until around 1:30p and we were all pretty tired. The kids of course had turned into angels and were enjoying hanging out in the trees at the Andretti winery. (That's Mario Andretti)

We quickly discovered that Napa doesn't offer the free tastings that they do in the Okanagan. $10.00 per person for four wines was the cheapest we found and that adds up pretty fast. You're almost better off just buying two or three bottles and hoping you get lucky with some good ones. We were able to split the tasting between a couple people and they were generous portions. We managed to hit three wineries including Robert Mondavi and another up on the hill. Robert Mondavi had the nicest tasting room and sales shop.

I was amazed how similar the climate was to Oliver. I can see why someone entered the Oliver valley and decided it would be a good place to grow wine. After our short wine tour we headed to Lodi for hotel number two. This one was formally a Holiday Inn so Callie was much happier. Another quick dip in the pool and off to bed early. Tomorrow is Disneyland!

Disneyland Day 1 - Medford or Bust

Day one of our 10 day holiday to Disneyland started early. We had planned to leave at 4:00a as we find it's easier with the kids and we came pretty close leaving at 4:30a. The border was a breeze and we were through by 5:00a. We're traveling with Kerry's parents, their three dogs, our dog, our kids and Uncle Ronnie is meeting us there. Since we're taking two cars Reg bought a pair of short range radios. They worked great to start but somewhere in Oregon we had to stop so Carter could go pee and Barb decided it was time to hit Starbucks. We pulled into a gas station and Kerry decided to get gas at the same time. Reg followed us but there wasn't room to park so he headed back out to the freeway. It didn't take long for them to be out of range and without a good 'reconnect' plan we quickly lost them. We wandered a bit but then made the decision do get back on the road and hope to find them at hotel.

It wasn't a great time to be separated because when we stopped for lunch Carter and I stayed in the car with the A/C running. When Kerry came out she saw a lot of fluid coming out the bottom of the car and we weren't sure if it was condensation or coolant. We nervously stopped every 15 minutes for the remainder of the trip. We finally made it the hotel where Callie's impression of the hotel was "I DO NOT like this place!". It had a roof and a pool. All you need when  you're just staying the night. It also had a lot of colorful residents who appeared to live there including the couple in their 50's who set up a George Forman grill outside their room and included some solar lights in Budweiser cans for ambience. They had a bit of a party out of the back of their muscle car.  We had a quick dip in the pool, some KFC for dinner and tried to get a good nights sleep so we could leave early the next day.