Mud & Snow

I came across a few pictures of Matt & I playing in the hills. The one in the mud was up Post canyon, Hood River area. We had gone up to visit Thad, and got a little crazy in the mud. I got high centered in a stump that I couldn't see as I was trying to stay on the road. That one took about 45 minutes to get out of, with about 40' of chain and two hi-lift jacks.

The snow pick is some Saturday afternoon with nothing better to do than to go push snow with the front bumper of the truck. If I remember right, we passed three other rigs that couldn't go any further and were trying to back down the road and one got stuck.

The other is the fun coast trip Matt & I had many many moons ago. We have a whole series of pics from that trip. if only I can find them.



Jeremy

Skipping Phase Three until further notice

There are a lot of current events that we want to start sharing with you, but first we thought we should tell you why we skipped phase 3 of last years trip.

Phase three was supposed to be last summer in Nebraska, but nothing materialized. We have pictures of branding, kids on quads, rattle snakes, horseback riding, bathroom remolding. Where are the pictures? Here somewhere. Why haven't we posted? Some say we are procrastinators. Some say too lazy. I say, I might tell you later after a nap.

Jeremy

Road Trip Phase Two

Long time between post, but Jami was supposed to write up phase two.
So after leaving Cedaredge, we headed to Denver to see Jamis cousin Laura and meet the rest of the family from Osh Kosh to go to Elitch Gardens Six Flaggs.
We got a decent night sleep even after getting in so late at Laura's place, and all of us were ready to go when it came time to get up and get ready for the theme park. We met up with the Osh Kosh crew around 9ish and were off to the park. I was just as excited as the kids I think, and could hardly wait to hit the big rides with them as well. I was thinking the biggest rides would scare them off, but I was wrong. One ride, the TOWER of DOOM, which looms 200ft into the air and free falls you to the ground, was begging all of us to try it. Jorryn runs up to the measuring stick to check and see if the kids meet the height requirements and when he checked himself and realized he was tall enough, he starts yelling for all the crowd to hear, "I am TALL enough! I can RIDE IT! I CAN RIDE IT!" All this shouting and jumping in the air at the same time. This ride as we found out later would end up to be his favorite for the whole day. Jami found a new boyfriend at the park, I wasn't too jealous though, so I took the picture of them so she can remember him after the day was over.
We did some water rides, and then the kids went to the water park towards the end of the day and got soaked. We stayed there until it closed at 6, then a cool wind started up and those who were wet, (kids), got pretty cold. Ana had some extra clothes, but Jorryn needed a shirt, so he and I went to the gift shops to look for a cool one from the park. Finally found one after about 15 minutes that wasn't too high a price and one I thought he would wear on a regular basis. Mission accomplished! Until we went outside. Apparently the cool wind was binging in more than just a mild change in temperature, but also some thunder showers. We put up with a few rain drops, then some thunder claps, then came the heavy downpour. Soaked us to the bone. So much for the new dry shirt I just bought him 10 minutes earlier! We found some shelter, then ran to another ride and stood in line amidst the intermittent rain. Just when we were next to board, they decided that there was too much lightening and all the rides in the park were closed. CLOSED! ugh. What an abrupt end to a pretty fun day.
We found the rest of the crew and all went back to the hotel where the grandparents were staying and the kids ended up playing in the pool. Lots of fun.
Laura was also having her shower in the master bathroom replaced and I ended up pushing a wall back for her, opening up the shower another foot or so and then dropping the ceiling a few inches so they can have plumbing run above the shower for an over the head shower head. I was glad to help, and the payment was a pretty awesome dinner that filled me beyond capacity.

Enjoy the few pics, next phase is in OshKosh.

Road Trip Phase One

Howdy all! (anyone out there?)

We decided to hit the road the end of July and go on a three week road trip visiting family and friends along the way. Maybe even do some sight seeing. There has to be something along the side of the road to see besides hitch hikers and road kill.

First stop is Cedaredge, Colorado visiting mom, Steve, Nana, and my sis Carolyn. We, (Jeremy, Jami, sis Jenny, and the kids, Ana and Jorryn) left home Sunday night at 12:20 A.M. I guess technically that would be Monday morning. Jami and I took turns driving with really nothing eventful to speak of the whole 23 hours straight through. The worst part of the trip was some traffic in Salt Lake City. That wasn't even that bad, we just kept looking in vehicles trying to profile the non-Mormons. You know, looking for the long haired type, not wearing collared shirts and drinking coffee and soda.

We got to mom's a little after midnight and still had to setup the tent that we were going to be sleeping in. Luckily I had some practice a few weeks before when I set it up for me and the kids on a camp out in the backyard. I think it only took about 30 minutes and we were setup and about ready to crawl into bed. It felt good sleeping on an air mattress instead of a moving vehicle I tell you. That is until about 5 am when I woke up laying on the ground because the mattress had a leak in it. ARRRGGG... Tried to fix it later and was semi-successful.

Next morning we had a big breakfast with the whole crew, minus Nana who we visited later that day. Steve showed us all the cool cars, trucks ad tractors he had around the place. Got to go on some rides and got some pics of a tractor or two. The Farmall in the picture runs, just needs a little timing adjustment.

Carolyn came over with her family, her husband Brian and his boys, and the twins. We had fun visiting and seeing them all for the first time. (Not Carolyn of course!) Then we went to see Nana at the care center.

We hadn't seen her for so long and it was great to be able to give her a big hug and visit in person rather than on the phone. After a visit awhile that afternoon we headed back to the house, had dinner at Carolyn's and tried to get the air mattresses patched for a good nights sleep. We were only successful with one air mattress, not two, and to top it off we had a thunder storm that night. We stayed dry for most of the night. We got a few puddles started shortly after we got up and moving around.

Headed back into see Nana for lunch and had a nice time with her for a few hours chatting with everyone and getting caught up with all the news we could think of and then snapping a bunch of pictures to remember it all by. Ana and Jorryn got to play a few songs on the piano for her and even drew a small crowd. They did great and I think I caught a tear from my moms eye. We headed back to Nanas room to say goodbye and after some tears and hugs we said goodbye for now and headed out.

Next Stop, Denver.

We tried to get on the road for the next phase of the trip by 3pm, but I think it was more like 4pm. ANYWAY, we loaded everything up in a rush and after some more tearful goodbyes we headed down the road. Got some good sight seeing in and even saw a black bear on the side of the road with her two cubs. Jami was pretty quick on the draw with the camera, but I ended up having to turn around and go back to get the better shot.

When we were nearing the interstate almost an hour and a half later, I heard a funny noise like there was a rock stuck in the tread of the tire. Upon further inspection I found that a large chunk of tread had detached itself and found freedom somewhere along the road behind us, leaving nothing much behind for us to continue on. As I reached for the trailer door, in my minds eye I saw the spare tire laying on the ground back at moms waiting to be reloaded into the trailer. I don't know why I even opened the trailer to check, just to slap myself in the face again with the realization that it really wasn't there. STINK! Well, Carolyn and mom to the rescue and a few hours later after they brought the tire to us we were on the road again.

Once again, we arrived at our next stop just after midnight. No tent to set up this time though. Jamis cousin Laura had spare rooms for us to sleep in, and no leaky air mattresses to deal with.

Hope this post was semi coherent as I am super tired. Jami might interject some facts after reading. Phase two on the trip is next time...enjoy the pics.

Spring

HI again! Just wanting to share our springtime fun with our friends and family. Ana's getting ready to show her goat Lila for the first time at fair this July. She'll be in 4 classes, but her goal is to get through the pack goat classes obstacles without to much of a fight. Jorryn, Ana, and I were in a local parade and went on a hike with the 4 H club Ana belongs to. Surprisingly, Jer didn't think the hike sounded that exciting.

Besides goats we've been having fun with calves. Our neighbor Lorell lets me help him take care of his animals, and we had been anxiously waiting for the cows to calve. The first cow had twin bulls and two weeks later the second cow had a heifer. Unfortunately (or fortunately for me) the second cow had already taken to the twins and was even nursing them, so she rejected her own calf. I now have a huge baby to pamper.

John and Neysi came to visit with their new baby boy, Jayden! I can't tell who he looks like more. It's still hard to believe that Bub is a dad!

Jer really wanted to go camping Memorial Day weekend. I was not up for it so he compromised and put the tent up in the yard. We haven't had this tent out for many moons, and I just couldn't believe my eyes when I saw him reading the directions! I got a picture for proof!

We have a lot planned for the summer. Stay tuned for updates.

April Fools

It is April 1st and the Feb post just got officially posted. I'm not sure who the jokes on but it's kinda funny. I'm on a roll.....there's two posts in one day. It must have something to do with April Fools Day.

My parents came to visit in March and we went to the coast and stayed for a few days. It was a much needed reunion! I hadn't seen my dad in over a year. Longest time ever and I hope that I'll never go that long w/out seeing him or my mom again. I did get to see my mom in Aug. '09 but that was still too long.

We've been cleaning up the trees around the property. Hopefully, we will be able to spiff this place up this spring and have a bunch of BBQs, and even camp outs with family and friends.


Sadly, the pictures of Graycy were the first ones that we had put on here and they will also be the last. She went to be with the Creator on March 31st and our hearts are broken that she won't be here to love on. It's one of the heartaches in life that as a parent I wish I could keep my children from. I'm encouraged to share with them that the anguish they feel for the loss of their beloved pet is so minor compared to the heartache God has for us when we separate ourselves from Him. Thank you, God of all creation for giving me the peace that passes all understanding in Knowing that this is not all you have for us and even our cherished pets.

Over due

It's been put off and put off, excuse after excuse, but it's finally happening. A Post! I had to look and it's been since Oct. Yikes. We have had 2 birthdays and 2 major holidays that should have been on here. Ana turned 9. Jer turned 38. Enough said. He's still trying to decide what he wants for his birthday. I knew exactly what I wanted for mine and everyone went way over board! I am having a really hard time getting older. I don't feel older, except for when I try to workout and pull a muscle when I think I'm taking it easy. Or look in the mirror and wonder were that old lady came from.

I'm so excited about the gifts that I have received this year, that I just couldn't wait to show them to everyone who looks on here. Three years ago I went on a trip with my friend Monica where we stayed in a cabin in the Sierras and went horseback riding everyday for a week. Monica had a Morgan gelding named Yankee in training that she brought for me to ride. I think she must have known I'd love him. Jer had spoiled me that year too with a Nikon D80 camera and I was taking pictures of everything. I got a rather good shot of Yankee that I had blown up and hoped to have framed. But like most things it hadn't been done yet till now. Alan made me a beautiful frame and now it is finally on my wall where every time I look at it I think of how much I'm loved by my family, friends and God who gives me the desires of my heart. It's amazing how much just a picture of a horse can swell up so much emotion in me. Jer also made the spice rack that I'm still in awe over. The picture on the blog just doesn't do it justice.

I'm feeling like it's too late to say anything about the holidays but I've got lots of pictures for you to look at and see how fun the birthdays and holidays were.

Jamis early birthday present

Jami has been wanting me to build her a spice rack, and we had some decorative tile that needed to be used up. I decided to try and incorporate them into something we could take with us if we built a house or moved so they got used in the spice rack. Here is a pic.


Happy birthday babe!

Our Long Absence

So I have been told that our online blogging journal of our summer stinks. I would tend to agree. But given the busy summer we have had...I fail to report. I (jeremy) mainly keep up the blog, that is when I get around to it, and that means if I come home from a hard days work and don't feel like...okay thats not the excuse. The real truth is this. I do have long days, but still stay up late. Lets put it this way. You ever see a guy in a long conversation on the phone and after an hour or so he hangs up and when you ask what he talked about you get this, "Nothing." Thats what this blog has been this summer.

We have been snapping a few photos here and there, had funny things happen around the house. Well, like just the other day when Jorryn, oh...look at the time. Its 1am! I need some sleep.

Catch up with you all again real soon. I promise. No really...I promise. (define soon?!@?!)

Jeremy

Newport & Silver Creek Falls

When we moved from Reno, a lot of friends gave us 2 years max before we moved back. That was 5 years ago and we are more rooted than ever. You might think we would take advantage of living so close to the coast, and head over at least once an month, right? Wrong! Life seems to get in the way of life. Our friends Chris and Monica came up with their boys and broke us out of the mundane rut that we'd made for ourselves and got us back into fun mode.



Newport was on the list of things to do, and after a little late start in the day we headed over. By the time we got there everyone was pretty hungry so our first stop was the Rogue Brewery. A couple of complimentary beer samplers and some good food was a good start to the afternoon. We walked the shops up and down the street, popping in and out of the cool nic-nac stores. We watched a guy tossing little fish to the seaguls. The kids did well with all the walking we did.
We found the sea lions all basking in the sun on floating docks so we stopped to watch and listen to their banter. Jorryn's crock mysteriously got torn from his foot and tossed down to the sea lions just as we were leaving to go see a "show". He screamed bloody murder so that pretty much every one in Newport knew something was askew. Jer and Chris were off buying the tickets and Jami was trying not to laugh and to calm down her frantic son who wouldn't leave w/out his shoe. They just happen to be his favorite pair. Dad came to the rescue! Jer went and found a fisherman who lent him his fishing pole so that he could make the catch of the day. Chris caught most of the drama on video so we can relive the momentous event. Click here to see it. It is truly priceless, especially to one little boy. I just thought of a quote for this, "Who throws their shoe, honestly?"
We soon headed off to find some tide pools so all us kids could explore. It is amazing how being chased by waves can be so exhilarating. Jami had the forethought to think it would be very cool on the beach so she brought jackets but didn't realize there would be soaking wet kids at the end of the day who'd need a change of clothes. She must not come to the beach much! Since we had naked kids wrapped in jackets we weren't able to go in and sit at a restaurant to enjoy our much anticipated clam chowder. We took it to go and drove home. All in all it was a great day!
The next day we headed for Silver Creek Falls. Definitely one of the best sights to see in Oregon, but maybe not the greatest idea when toting small kids. Chris got a good work out carrying Brice most of the way, but I'm sure he was relieved that he worked off all the clam chowder from the night before. We only made 2 of the 10 falls but we were ready to hike back to the car. When we got home we decided that we needed a fire pit and Jer and Chris went down to the creek to get some rocks. I'm not sure what happened but Chris ended up with the shovel and the big job of digging our fire pit. He was expecting to find some soft dirt since Jami had told him how the trees fall down here with a light wind (if you've lived in Reno you know what I"m talking about). Our part of Oregon has been unusually dry this summer so the ground was hard. We love our fire pit and think Chris is awesome! After some s'mores we headed off to bed.




Jami left for Reno the next day to see her Mom, sister, nephews, and niece on a last minute whim sos-to-speak. Jer took the Robbs geocaching on their last day here in Lebanon.

July Madness

Did I say busy? Jami signed the kids up for t-ball and baseball, which play four nights a week. Jorryn plays Mondays and Wednesdays, Ana plays Tuesdays and Thursdays. Not only that, but we have church softball on Mondays as well. Jami is taking tennis lessons on Tuesday mornings, and Ana has piano Tuesday afternoons. We have had a lot of BBQ's or dinners to go to on Fridays, and the last 2-3 weekends have been helping other families with moving or projects. Jami has a horse show this weekend, and I have planned a camping trip with some friends as well.
Work has been busy too. I have been keeping up pretty well and now July is a bit crazy. I am double booked for two of the weeks and have to hire a guy to get me through the month. Its a good problem to have.
This year has been flying by for me, and I am not sure if that is good or bad. Ana is growing...she grew an inch in 37 days, Jorryn isn't far behind her.
The kids baseball is pretty entertaining. The pics we get are great. Boredom sets in pretty quick and we end up catching them laying on the ground, looking up at the sky, dancing, picking their nose, flipping us the bird. Not on purpose...but there is something funny about the innocence. We love em!

Jami has been moving the goat pen around a lot. It consists of cattle panels that we tie together and move it around the property. She was getting the fence put together on a spot close to the road when she heard a tiny kitty mew from the blackberry bushes. Of course she has to go check it out. Apparently there was a kitty abandoned
on our road, and the biggest animal lover around happened to find it. We are guessing he is around 10 weeks old, and kitty box trained already. Nice to have that taken care of. This will make two cats that have adopted us, and I think the word is out because Jami says she sees other strange cats in the area. I need to put up a sign that says "no vacancy".



Its a little late and I think I need to wrap up the post. Jami can fill in where I let out any good details.

Enjoy the pics...

Been crazy busy as usual

So yes, over a month and no new posts...we are BAD. Life has been extremely busy with work and then baseball and softball games four nights a week. The weekends seem to fly by like they are your lunch hour. I think we should always have a three day weekend. Going to start next week. Wait, that is planned for me...

Anyways, got some pictures rounded up and a post in the making, so stay tuned if you are interested.

Busy Von Rudens

I was kidnapped for a day...

No really.

Jami home schools the kids through a state program called Connections Academy. Its considered a charter school. The end of year picnic was held at the Champoeg state park and I was NOT allowed to work, but needed to accompany the wife and kiddos to the event. There was some teacher meet and greet stuff starting at 11am, but the games and fun didn't start until 1pm, and ended at 2:30pm. So that's when we decided to get there. This really meant that we were going to get there at about 1:30pm, which was pretty close to the time we pulled up in the parking area.
There were a ton'o'kids everywhere and the first thing we had to do was hit the face painting table. There is a back story behind that, something about not getting the faces painted at Disneyland...anyway, moving on. Even though Jami teaches the kids at home, they are each assigned a teacher that they need to send papers to during the year to check progress. We located both Ana and Jorryns teachers while standing in line and were able to visit with both of them and get a few pictures taken.
We also got cup cakes in line, someone was moving from table to table with a flat of chocolate and vanilla mini cakes of yum. So while eating the little sugar high cakes the kids were able to think of what they wanted on their faces. Jorryn wanted to get a tiger painted on his face, and Ana wanted a butterfly.
The face paint line took about a half an hour which put us about 2pm. I guess when we were told the event went until 2:30pm, that meant cleaned up and gone by 2:30, because they were rolling up the game tables, the animal balloon guy was done and out of balloons, the prize table where you turn in your tickets for prizes was the only one still up. SOOOOOO.....we visited with Ana's teacher a little bit more and packed it in. To sum up, we drove an hour to get our kids faces painted and take a few pictures. Gripping time. I am glad I took a day off for that. Of course we could have gotten there on time and it would have been better, so I can't be totally justified in blame shifting our semi exciting time.



Next on the agenda was home...but I had better plans. As soon as the Excedrin, (free plug), kicked in to reduce my headache to a manageable level, we were going to have a blast mini golfing at the fun center a little more north on the freeway. Its been awhile since we took the kids to something like that. I made sure to video each hole to catch the inevitable hole in one that always happens, and wouldn't you know that the time I didn't video it, Ana got the hole in one. ARRGGGG!!! So I made sure to video Jorryn take the next shot at it low and behold, back to back singles! They both got a hole in one on the same hole. I did get his. All we had with us was the camera video, which isn't the best quality, but still...
After the game, we went inside, played a few video games then ended up heading to Fuddruckers for a good burger dinner. The kids had their standby favorites, Ana with a standard cheeseburger, and Jorryn with his chicken bites, Jami had a bacon avocado, and I of course had to have my bleu cheese and onion. Mine was fabulous, and Jami paid me a compliment and told me I make better burgers at home.
So thats it... our day in a nutshell. I felt kidnapped, by my kids. It was great. I wish they would kidnap me more, but maybe next time on their nickel. Heh heh...



As a bonus, Jami found a mole that the dogs killed out in the dog pen. A bonus because they are tearing up our fields like crazy right now. Pesky critters!

More about LA trip

You would think that Disneyland was the highlight of our trip since it's all that's been posted so far. It was a good time but John's wedding and California Adventure were even better. Friday was spent with suit fittings and set up for the wedding/reception. I can imagine that when a guy gets his measurements done out of state and sent to the tux rental in another state the chances of getting it correct are slim. Jer and John's suits were wrong. It being the day before the wedding didn't give the tailor much time to fix them but they did and all was well. We got to the marina to set up for the wedding and it shouldn't be a surprise that at first it was a little chaotic. Neysi had everything planned out and organized well and as soon as everyone got there it didn't take too long to get it done. We weren't sure if the ceremony would be inside or out since there was 50% chance of rain. Therefore, we rehearsed for both. The wedding wasn't until 3pm on Saturday so we got to sleep in, sort of, I had planned on braiding Ana's hair so that it circled her head. I've done it twice and it was amazing but takes me about 2-3 hours. She just wasn't up to it that morning so I was lucky to get two braids across the top of her head. We wanted to be able to help set up the chairs, but it was done and only had to get ourselves ready. Jorryn's suit was too big so thanks to Grandma and Aunt Jeanne they were able to alter it that morning! Neysi was doing some last minute touch up to Ana's dress so I wasn't able to get them dressed for the wedding until about 15 minutes before 3pm. I was sweating it, but had nothing to worry about. Neysi and some of the bridesmaids weren't ready either and we couldn't start the wedding without the bride. After the beautiful ceremony that was done in Spanish and English we had a blast at the reception. I love to dance and haven't in a long time so I was having a hard time not dragging Jer on to the dance floor. I finally got Jorryn to dance with me and then Ana. Pretty soon all four of us were crowding a corner of the dance floor. Jorryn wasn't to keen on the loud music so he was ready to go back to the hotel long before the rest of us.
We were planning on a day at the California Adventure park and then a 7 hr drive to Sacramento on Sunday so getting a good night sleep was important. Jer was in slow motion on Sunday morning and so we didn't get going quite as early as we should have. (Geez, I wonder why? 4 stressful but fun days and all on about 15 hrs of sleep) We said our goodbyes to family and got stuck in traffic. We decided that we were going to enjoy whatever time we had and not feel rushed. Made sure the windows were all rolled up and the kids and I had a fantastic day. Jer had a mountain of a headache. He was a trooper all day but I know he didn't have as much fun as he could have. We enjoyed the California Park more than Disneyland which was a surprise but I think it's because we didn't have any expectations for it and everything was new. It was 6:30pm when we started the drive to Sacramento and got stuck in traffic because of an accident. Once we got threw traffic it was smooth sailing all down I-5. So we thought. When Jer had gotten his nap and dose of Excedrin to numb his headache he took over and I dozed off. When I woke up he said , "Can you check the GPS and see where we are?" I can't even tell you what went threw my mind but I was worried. Technology is a amazing. We figured out that Jer had missed an exit to stay on I-5 and stayed on another highway that was taking us to San Fransisco. We were exhausted and it was already 1am or else I think we just might have gone on to Fishermen's Wharf. It was a bit of a detour but we got back on track and to my friend Monica's house at 3am. I was very happy that Jer and the kids got to see her and her home but next time we'll have to plan it better. Jer and the kids left for Oregon around noon on Monday and I got to stay for a much needed visit. I flew into a very rainy oregon and wasn't even irritated. We had men's bible study and Awana's to get ready for that night. It was a great vacation and life seemed to fall right back into it's business here at home.

Our Captian...

Many moons ago we found out that we were a candidate family for a program some local felines call the Adopt a Family Program. We found this out by one of the members showing up at our doorstep with the look that I am sure was part of the class training. If you ever have seen Shrek 2, picture the cat with the big eyes. The pleading eyes, the ones that say, "Can you help a poor needy helpless cat? I am hungry, cold and need a place to live. If I play on your sympathy, can I stay and mooch off you forever?" The wife and kids fell for him immediately. Of course, there had been much talk previous to this as to us getting a cat, but me being the mean daddy I am had always said no. I was the big meanie and for a few weeks we just gave him goats milk out the front door and secretly I was hoping he would just go away.
After a few weeks I finally broke under the strain or the pleading family members and we bought a bag of cat food and let him in the house.
To my surprise, he seemed very comfortable. and he hopped right up on the couch and curled up like that was his spot. I tell you I was a little indignant! Come to find out, Jami had been letting him in the house while I was at work then vacuuming the couch before I got home as if nothing had happened. SNEAKY...
He has a little crook in his ear, like it had been damaged in some cat fight early on, or he was born with it. I think since he is a guy cat, he would want me to convey it was from a nasty life and death fight where he almost lost his ear, so we will go with that. So since his ear was crooked...the kids came up with Captain Crook. His new name.
Ever since we let him in the house he has been a part of the family. He is great with the kids. He lets them pick him up and carry him at uncomfortable angles, leg up here, paw around his head...no complaining. He plays with them. He had started to just come hang out in the rooms where we were just to be with us, his adopted family. At nights he would come in and wake us up when it was time to let him outside to use the bathroom. Pretty cool. Until one night when I didn't wake up and he decided he couldn't wait and he peed on me. Not cool. I woke up then...and chased him to the front door. No more in the house overnight. Did I mention he peed on me?
So the new routine was out at night when we went to bed, and he would be there in the morning waiting at the door when we woke up.
He was very happy to have us home after our trip to L.A. Very personable, talkative, playful. Happy as can be. We let him out on Thursday night and he went missing. No greeting Friday morning, and that's when we suspected the worst. We figured an owl, or a cougar got him. There has been a cougar seen in the area, so we thought he was dinner for some other animal. The other possibility was he was hit on the road.
Oh, look at the time. I have to finish the story later on another post! Let you know what we found down by the creek.
So Jer needed a nap and I'm taking over. I'm going to try and make what's become a long story, shorter. We took a walk along the road and then into the woods to see if we could find any trace of what might have happened to Captain. The good thing is we didn't find any sign of Captain but discovered the remains of a beaver and raccoon. Basically it was the head and tail of both. We are pretty sure that it is a mountain lion and will have someone out from the Dept of Agriculture to verify. I'm a little freaked out and my long walks will now be on the road instead of threw the woods. Bit of a bummer but I'd rather find out this way than with a fight for my life or someone else in my family. I'm sure that would be very unlikely but...why take risk it.
I woke up this morning and as usual went to the door to let Captain in, feeling very sad that he wouldn't be there. I waited for a minute or two and then went to get ready for church. Jorryn got up awhile later and started yelling,"Captains here." We didn't believe him and thought it was a cruel joke. It wasn't! There he was looking very pitiful with wounds to show he'd had a tough couple of days. If only he could talk! We are all super happy to have him home again.

More Bight Side from the trip...

Arriving at California Adventure an hour late.
The bright side is we get to spend more time in line observing how well the no spanking laws are working out in the parent/child relationships here in sunny California

Having your son drop his trousers and “moon” everyone as he stands in front of the urinal next to you in the guys bathroom.
The bright side is I can live vicariously through my sons innocence.

Forgetting my headache medicine in the Yukon and not realizing it until AFTER we were in the park.
The bright side is that I increased my pain tolerance in case I am ever caught and tortured for information after being inflicted with a head injury while at the same time reducing my dependence on pain relievers.

Getting a sunburn on the top of my head after being in the park all day long.
The bright side is that if I lose a bet and have to shave my head in the next week I will have a cool lizard like pattern to detract from the fact that I am now BALD.

Saving the most anticipated ride for last only to find out that the line is so long that we have to leave the park before we can ride it.
The bright side is that we will never know what we missed out on. Yeah. That’s it. Grrrr….

Leaving the park at 6:30 pm for a 7 hour drive on virtually no sleep and a headache the size of southern California.
The bright side is that you are so distracted by the pain traffic doesn’t bother you nearly as much and also keeps you from falling asleep at the wheel.

Missing the exit and turning the 7 hour drive into an 8 hour drive by taking a 65 mile detour.
The bright side is that now I know that there is a $4.00 toll at the George Miller Jr. Memorial Bridge. Good to know.

Arriving back home and having a few good days rest and recoup.
The bright side is I have a few good days rest and recoup. SWEET!

Disney Day 1

Okay, I am a little bummed. I remember viewing the pictures on my computer, and yet, I can't find them. I do have the ones from my sisters camera. I will have to update the album later. Moving on to the post. **UPDATE** Found the pics...linked to the album. All is well.

Day one was HIGHLY anticipated by our kids, and yes, us parents too. We were told that if we parked in the Downtown Disney lot and get a validation, there wouldn't be a parking fee, so we pulled up, rolled down the window, grabbed a ticket and off to the perfect start to the day. After loading up the backpacks with disinfectant wipes, snacks and water, we locked up the Yukon and headed to the park entrance. We were able to meet a friend there and get the tickets we needed to get into both parks. We did Disneyland the first day and California Adventure a few days later.

Let me give you Jami's and my perspective on what was expected. We have been talking about going to Disneyland for a few years now, and since the kids have almost seen every Disney movie made, they love to watch them, pretend to be the characters, Ana loves the princesses we figured that once we got there it was going to be a wonderland of bliss. The Disney castle, the characters, the atmosphere of DISNEY all around! YEAH! The HYPE! That bubble was burst pretty quick...read on.

We started slow, you know the tea cups and then moved it up to the Matterhorn pretty much right away. Once the kids got a taste of the real rides, it was all over. I think the adrenaline rush gene was passed on to my kids, and my daughter has it BAD. Every time we tried to do a slower ride or take some good photo opportunities, it was immediately followed up with, "Are we going to go on a big ride now?" What a thrill junkie! Thunder Mountain and Space Mountain were big hits. Jorryn of course really liked the Star Wars simulation ride. While we were in line for the Nemo Sub, they were doing Jedi training close to us at the mini outdoor theater. My sons eyes were glued to the spot. Storm troopers, Jedi, even Darth Vader. It looked cool, and we wished we had known the schedule and got some better seats rather than standing in a slowly moving line.

The day went pretty quick, faster than we thought but we were getting worn out too. Lots of walking, lots of waiting. We did have the fast pass to go hold our place in line while we went to go do other things. It was great. After inserting your fast pass ticket, it gives you one in return telling you when to come back. So a 45 or more minute line takes us less than 10 minutes usually. Pretty cool. There was lots of time to people watch while we did wait in line. Many strange people go there.

Pirates of the Caribbean was CLOSED...ugh, that was one Jami and I were looking forward to. The Autopia was fun for the kids. Gave them the sense that they were driving. While we were in line waiting, we saw a teenager in one of the cars driving...and...wait for it...yes...she was texting. COME ON! I wish we had the camera out for that one.



We started wrapping up the day with a little shopping for souvenirs. The kids were done. Ana and Jorryn both had turns getting carried on the way out to the parking lot. The normal price for parking was 7.50 an hour or a $36 maximum all day. I was thinking that we had no worries since I could just get a validation, but come to find out we have to eat at a sit down restaurant or have gone to the movie theater in downtown Disney. Ordering a $8.99 appetizer to go wouldn't work, you actually have to SIT and eat. Ridiculous. Especially since we were VERY tired at this point, we had been at the park for almost 11 hours and were not about to wait the 45 minutes on the waiting list to order an appetizer. On to try the movie theater. I came up to the ticket booth, asked how much for a ticket.
"Which movie sir?"
"Don't care, how much for a ticket?"
"It's eleven dollars. Which movie would you like to see?"
"None. It's cheaper for me to buy a movie ticket and get it validated than pay for parking, so just one ticket please and a validation."
She looked around nervously, like she was being watched my Mickey Mouse himself, and in a low whisper said, "I'll validate it for you, no need to buy a ticket."
Relief! Joy filled my heart. I thanked her and off to the Yukon we went. As we got close to the truck I hit clicker to unlock the doors and pop the rear hatch, then walked around to the drivers side door. Remember way back up at the top of the post where I said I rolled down the window when we entered the parking lot? Yeah, I never rolled it back up. We left our nice SLR Nikon camera in there, Jami's purse, all the stuff we didn't want to leave in the hotel, laptop, GPS, ipod, etc. You get the picture. You know that joy that filled my heart minutes earlier? GONE. I couldn't believe I left the truck open all day in L.A. at the Disneyland parking lot. Who does that? ME. I do. Lame. So we started doing inventory to see what was left if anything, and you know what? Everything was there. No one messed with a thing. THANK GOD. Relief once again, and joy all back.
We packed up and went to the ticket booth, gave him my validated ticket and instead of seeing a $0.00 total for the parking for the day, we saw $30.00. I thought there was a mistake. The ticket was validated and I had experienced joy. Now this guy was telling me I owed him $30! He then kindly explained that the validation was good for the first 5 hours and after that the clock starts over. Joy gone. My emotions were now at the best roller coaster ride at the park. Gimme a break. I had the urge to drive right through that striped wooden arm holding us ransom like some evil parking lot thug. Then he tells me that if we had parked just across the street at the other parking facility it would be $12 maximum for the whole day! Isn't that like pouring lemon juice on a paper cut? Let me answer that....~YES IT IS~! But, seeing the motion sickness look on my face from the ups and downs I had been going through the last 20 minutes I think he decided to have pity on this poor wretch of a soul and said, "Next time just park over there. Have a nice night." The wooden thug raised up and out of the way to the open road ahead. FREEDOM! Joy back again.

Got back to the hotel after a stop for some real food, got the kids down and started looking at the pictures from the day. I will have to look harder, cause I am sure they are here somewhere. We had John's wedding that kept us busy for the next few days, but I think this post has rambled on long enough. More to come later.

Off to a good sleep in my own comfy bed! Night all!

Blog post comin...

Updates comin! I gotta get the pics sorted out...I left Jami in Sacramento with a good friend of hers and we got in late last night. Spent the day SLEEPING IN and doing some run around in town. Got back home and after cleaning the Yukon stopped for dinner and some goofin around with the kids. Time to sit down and get the pics organized with a blog post.

See ya soon!

Jeremy

Always Look on the Bright Side of Life

The Bright side of the hotel


When you drive 16 hours and they put you on the 3rd floor with a long walk from the parking area.
The bright side is you can get great exercise and have a great view of the busy street corner and can observe the variety of cars, trucks and do a well documented study of emergency vehicles at all hours of the night.

A room with with the shower head at just over 5' tall.
The bright side is that my kids can adjust the nozzle by themselves without help.

The shower drain that drains slow enough that I am standing in a puddle by the time I exit the shower.
The bright side is that its like having a foot bath every day!

Having strangers that are resident guests on the first floor ask to to bring them the newspaper in the morning so they don't have to change out of their day wear pajamas.
The bright side is that they are no longer strangers and you get paid in a banana every day if you like.

Having sugar ants invade your vehicle while siting in the parking lot overnight.
The bright side is that they clean up all the crumbs from the trip minimizing vacuuming.



More Bright Side later. I need to go soak my feet and get ready for the wedding...


Oh...if the weather report is right, and it starts to be windy and rainy at the outdoor wedding...well
The bright side is that is that its like having a nature spritzer too cool us off from the hot day.

A Vacation from our Vacation

So another busy day has gone by and no real time to even organize pictures let alone tell of our time at the park. Rushing something to post it wont do any justice to the trip, so a good post may not come until we get back.

We did have a good trip down here. It started by getting ready on Tuesday for the trip. Oil change, trip to the store for final supplies, laundry, getting the house sitter lined out with all the chores, prepping the cd's and audiobooks to the mp3 player, food...clothes packed...next thing I know, Jami is in bed and I am still up and its almost time to get up and go. So I just showered, brewed a pot of coffee, and by the time I was done with that Jami was getting up ready to get going. This was about 3:30am. We ended up leaving the house close to 5:30. We got to town and I realized that I had forgotten the adapter to play the mp3 player on the radio, so at 6am when we were leaving Wal-mart and really on the road. I drove for about an hour and a half then Jami took over cause the coffee wasn't doing the trick for me anymore. No sleep was catching up with me.
Jami did great as usual and I got some sleep in the back seat with the kids. The trip was pretty uneventful, nothing to report really other than we were extremely ready to hit the hay when we got to the hotel. 16 hours down.

There is more, but for the life of me I cant think of what it is right now...again the lack of sleep is killing the thoughts...

So the wedding is tomorrow, and I can see a big day planned again. We are going to hit California Adventure on Sunday if all goes well, and more good stories should be in the ready when the time comes. Night all. Von Rudens are TIRED.

Jeremy