DISNEYLAND!!

Yesterday and today we went to Disneyland which is just twenty minutes north of where we are staying. Yesterday we went with Kev and Kels and today we all went. There is SO much to see and do, it is literally impossible to do it all in just one day, or even two for that matter. We went on a number of rides today that we even did twice since the line ups were quite short. The longest wait was about 10 minutes! There we literally lots of people in the park but obviously not in all the rides we experienced.

Just to try and name the, there was Indiana Jones, Thunder mountain railway, Pirates of the Caribbean, Matterhorn, Star Wars trek, Pooh's Adventure, It's a small world, Haunted House, Monorail, parkade escalators ;), etc (I cannot think of them all). We also were entertained in "Honey I Shrank the Audience", at the Golden Horseshoe with "Billy Hill and the Hillbillies", a number of street bands, and at the Tiki Tiki House. Everything is SO professionally done! It is truly a blessing to be here and to see it all. Here are are few pictures.





We are enjoying the condo at the Newport Cost Villas a lot. Here is a photo of the view of the Pacific Ocean from our villa balcony. We are being blessed with a peaceful and beautiful place to connect with family and to relax!

We're finally here!

This has taken us more than a few years to finally get ourselves back to California and visiting the land of sun and sea and Mickey Mouse! Tonight while Kev, Kels and Brent are down at the pool of our luxurious condo complex and the rest of us are - well - resting - I will make the first installment of our Over the Fence and south of the border one week visit to Newport Beach, CA.

We left LA (Lacombe Alberta) bright and early this morning before 7:00 a.m. Negotiationing our way around the Calgary Airport wasn't too difficult at all. The best (worst?) was yet to come! LA (Los Angeles) and negotiating our way from LAX to Newport Beach was going to be what I would have considered the worst task of the day! BUT with the help of Kels' GPS we (Peter and Kev) got us here with no problems at all! "Keep Left- Keep Left - Keep Left" for almost 50 miles (no km in honor of our being south of the 49th). The toughest negotiation of the day was getting 5 pieces of luggage plus our "carry on" into the trunk and back seat of the rental car!

We were here early but our suite was one of the few ready occupation! A quick call to Eric and Becky and a short time later we were all together. Eric, Becky, Brent and Kirstin had already been driving around and had found some beach time already. Their faces already showed some evidence of finding warm sunshine! They all were sporting a healthy glow to their skin - while the rest of us were still pale and looking very much like Canadians from the far north!

The condo complex here is absolutely beautiful! Maybe we're tired of white ground and now brown ground and bare trees and are longing once again for the green of life! Either way it is lush and green and every manner of plant is growing on the grounds here somewhere! There are fountains and flowerbeds and foliage and fish. Not just ordinary goldfish mind you. Large goldfish! The bigger the pond the bigger the fish! Flowers everywhere you go! Wonderful smelling flowers! And Palm Trees, Flowering trees and trees like I have never seen before! I wonder if it would take more than a week to just soak in the wonder of seeing so many shades of green and such a bright kalidescope of floral colors!

After hauling in all our luggage we went off to find some food. A quick break first at Lagauna Beach with a Starbucks in hand made us feel even more pasty white from long hours with low sunlight and the many snowstorms this past winter. There are so many sundrenched people here. And what do all those "Hollywood Wannabes" drive? Every possible assortment of foreign high end high powered sports vehicle imagined! A visual feast for the men in our crowd!

A number of vistas of the ocean on our drive in quest of grocery stores only wet our appetites for a walk along the pounding surf. Sounds like Becky already is planning on collecting and bagging treasures washed up to the beaches. Sounds like there are Tidal Pools also to be visited in the Coral Beach State Park a short 15 minute walk from our condo!

Kev and Kels made us a wonderful Taco Salad Supper. We are in a Mexican Food Paradise so Taco Salad isn't jut Taco Salad! There are lots of goodies to be added that are readily available in the grocery stores here. After supper all had a dusky stroll on pathways circling the villas. Even though the sun was well on its way to resting til morning, the aromas coming from the communal bar-b-ques and evening perfume from the flowers made for a very pleasant and invigerating walk before heading back.

That brings me to this point - writing a quick blog and letting the other member of this Over the Fence Adventure Blog add in some photos. Sweet dreams tonight for all we are praying and we'll look forward to what tomorrow's adventure will bring.

While sitting across from "someone" this morning at that "someone's" desk I heard "Hmm, I wonder if anyone has updated our blog yet?" After a brief pause I then heard "Humph, no!". Is that a hint or what to do another blog. So here is our corporate blog!

Seventy six hours from now we are so out of here and on a jet to California! Move over Mickey - Lorraine is on her way! We are going to enjoy one very full week with all the kids in Southern California. Swine flu you say? Wash your hands and wash them again! Take all the usual precautions during any flu season. Watching the news lately you'd think anyplace with a border touching Mexico had become enemy country. When is this news and when is it a newsmaker to divert our minds from the economy? Not that we can be careless - we will be careful and yes we are going!

It's hard to say who is ready for this more. Work weary Eric and Becky? Winter worn Brent and Kirstin? Holiday anxious Kevin? Can't wait to get to Disneyland again Kelsey? Or Peter and Lorraine who are basically all of the above!

Watch for new posts coming of our days in the warmth and "there had better be" sun!

Weekend Pics

GEOCACHE #1



GEOCACHE #2



GEOCACHE #3



GROUP PIC



GROUP FEET!



FRIENDLY DEXTER!



GETTING THE PLANE TO RUN - SATURDAY



FIREPIT CONVERSATIONS



RUNNING THE PLANE (MINUS WINGS) - SUNDAY

Easter Weekend 2009

He is risen!

We've been blessed with three wonderful church services during this Easter celebration season. Palm Sunday with 133 baptisms, Good Friday with a rejoicing in the "goodness" of Christ's redeeming power at the cross also testified in the personal lives of some of the church leadership, and yesterday's illustrations of guarantees in our lives because of God's guarantee in the resurrection.

He is risen, indeed!

We also were blessed with family time on the weekend. Friday morning after church we went to Calgary to spend the day with our children. We hiked up on Nose Hill in search of geocaches. We found three out of the four - not bad! And two were still buried in snow. The third was deep in some trees! It is more beautiful up there than I ever imagined. All those years living in Calgary, then visiting we never went up there! Not all the way to the top anyway! We will have to make more treks to this preserved small oasis of remaining prairie in the middle of a chaotic mass of rushing humankind! We actually could leave behind the noise and enjoy the peaceful quietness while looking west towards the still snow blanketed mountains! I loved it, even with the steady upward climb to reach the solitude!

After making our way back down to the truck we went over to Eric and Becky's so I could meet the new kittens. Dexter was more than happy to make my acquaintance, but shy little Piper only came upstairs long enough to peer at me with his large hesitant eyes. That's OK - I'm patient! And well Keira puppy had stories to tell and couldn't get enough scratches or petting, which is not that unusual. We'll just have to visit them more this summer.

We all went out for supper and then over to Starbucks for coffee and visiting and discussing California. It is going to come so quickly, and I'm afraid go by just as fast! I think all the plans are in place that can be for now. I just need to find a pair of fuzzy ugly brown socks and hopefully not need to pull them out while down there! Kev came back with us and all the way home he and Peter watched the north sky for flashes of lightening that kept reoccurring over our destination! But we were too tired to listen to the thunder long once our heads hit the pillow!

Saturday back home in Lacombe it was time for some of the kids to come see us. Brent and Kirstin arrived in the morning and after visiting and tea the three guys came over to the office while Kirstin and I took the longer on foot. Us girls did a bit of shopping since we knew they would be a while going over a drawing. Once back home we sat outside in the sun and watched Kev get his RC plane up and running. Unless he opened it up, it sounded no louder than a lawn mower so we weren't concerned at all for a noise problem in our backyard and neighbor complaints. We had our unique Easter dinner and spent the early evening playing Settlers of Catan. I think I was getting the hang of it by the time most of the others were close to the final push to win! I need more practice time! Then it was time for Brent and Kirstin to head to her family's place and Kev, Kels and Peter and I sat around the freshly brought out fire pit and spent some time talking money things. The decision had been to go to the first service the next morning so we didn't make it too late.

Sunday afternoon and evening was quiet with Kev watching Flyboys - a good WW I movie - and doing not much of anything. Brent and Kirstin picked up Kev to take him back to Calgary late evening and it was soon time to think about starting the new work week again! And that brings me to now. A quiet "Easter Monday" in town with schools closed and major offices following suit. Being a small office, the "employees" haven't pushed for an "in lieu of day" for yesterday. But the door is still locked and the answering machine is serving it's purpose.

Stay tuned for pictures to follow. Need to do a few other things yet today first!

GOTTA HAVE SOME FUN!!

Like was said before, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade!! With this new cast on my right hand, and being red, why not make a statement as well. I wanted to have red this time to show appreciation for the Calgary Stampeders football club! Since Lorraine is a decorative tole painter, what a perfect match to have her paint on the logo for our favorite sports team! My cast makes a great conversation starter now!

Sweeter yet again!

The lemonade just got sweeter! The visit to the specialist was good. The bone chip has rotated but NO SURGERY! Hallelujah! Best news of all!

April 15 the cast comes off, the RED cast this time! What other color would a Stamps fan choose? AND the thumb and finger now meet so writing will once again be possible! Off came the cardboard modifications to the mouse and the recycled supports have been set aside!

We are much happier campers around here now! Both of us!