National Tie One On Day...

National Tie One on Day is tomorrow. I was sick over the weekend so I think I will have to celebrate next week, not tomorrow. I don't want to give any germs away. But I can't pass up a chance to wear an apron!

Tie an apron on and deliver a homemade good to a neighbor in need of cheer...

Fall vacation day 5

We checked out of the hotel, spent most of the day with Great Grandma at her house, and then took a flight out of Long Beach. The airport there was under some construction so we had a long walk to our plane. I take that over flying out of busy Los Angeles though. We flew over the supper hour so we didn't eat. We planned to take the Lambs out when we got home. Lamb 2 and 3 fell asleep in the car on the short ride from the airport. Lamb 1 was tired but not asleep. So we just went home and went to bed. Here are some final vacation photos from Great Grandma's house.

Great Grandma was thrilled that Lamb 1 practiced piano at her house and that her piano was played by someone

Great Aunt Shelly brought some toys she got at a garage sale over for the Lambs to play with while they visited. It was an Arctic set-boats and animals. They went all over the backyard with the toys.

We try to always take a photo of the Lambs by Grandma's orange tree. My have they grown-we started with one Lamb sitting in the car seat for a photo-now there are 3 and they all stand for a photo.

Great Grandma, 3 Lambs, Ram, Grandpa
4 Generations

Fall vacation day 4-Disneyland day

It was a strange time of year to go to Disneyland. It was decorated for Halloween...

and they were beginning decorating for Christmas. It's a Small World, Storybook Land boats, and a few of our other favorite rides were closed so they could decorate them for Christmas. When we rode the train they used the prerecorded message, "Over here on your right is It's a Small World, you won't want to miss this classic ride!"
I have been to Disneyland twice, both times were in October. It seemed plenty crowded to me for the "off season". We went on a Thursday so there were no fireworks, no special Halloween activities, and very few rides had offers of Fastpasses-the ones did we either weren't interested in those rides or there wasn't that long of a line.

As far as Ewe is concerned, we have gone both times to Disneyland mostly just to go to Critter Country and get photos with Pooh. After we got in the park that was our first stop. We were pleased that this time we were able to wait in one line to see both Tigger and Pooh. Last time we went to Disneyland you saw either Tigger or Pooh, but not both at once. We got there at a good time and only had to wait for a few families ahead of us before we saw Tigger. A few more families after us got to see Tigger and Pooh and then they took a break. After their break Eeyore came with Pooh. By then the line was very long and we didn't stay to see Pooh again and see Eeyore. The Lambs warned me that Aunt Hannah would be upset that we didn't stay to see Eeyore.

I talked about visiting Pooh first thing in the park with the Lambs for several days before our trip. Everyone cooperated really well because a trip to the Lego store at the end of the day was promised if they took photos with Pooh. Of course they were told it was all for Mama, but Lamb 2 and 3 both hugged Pooh on their own.

Family photo in Critter Country-near the line for Pooh
Then we rode the Pooh ride.

Next we rode the train around the park and the Lambs hadn't done anything they wanted to do yet-Critter Country was for Ewe. So we decided to ride Autopia next. Grandpa rode with Lamb 1, Ram rode with Lamb 3, and Ewe rode with Lamb 2. It was too loud for me to get Grandpa or Ram's attention so only Lamb 2 had his photo taken. None of the Lambs could reach the pedal so they took the steering wheel and the adult with they pushed the pedal. The Lambs liked this ride, it had a long line but not too terrible. They liked getting a driver's license and "driving" themselves.
Then we rode the monorail around the park.

Then we headed over to Fantasyland. Grandma rode the teacups with Ram and the Lambs.

Ram and Lamb 2 and 3 rode Dumbo. It was hot while we waited in the line for Dumbo-I can't imagine being there in the summer.

Ewe and Lamb 1 rode Dumbo.

Everyone but Grandpa rode Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. We had read Wind in the Willows earlier this year. Ewe wanted to ride Peter Pan because the last time we were at Disneyland it was closed for repairs. That line was really long-over an hour. So we did not ride Peter Pan. Mr. Toad's Wild Ride the line was not too long and everyone liked it.

Family photo time again

After this we had reservations at the Blue Bayou for lunch. Grandpa and Grandma wanted some real food by this point in the day-not corn dogs or junk food. Our reservations were for almost 3pm. There wasn't much that Lamb 1 considered worth the time waiting in line that we had done yet. All the Lambs had stayed up too late the night before. All the Lambs had not listened and didn't eat much breakfast so they were starving. We had reservations so we were seated pretty quickly. Then the meltdowns began. None of the Lambs were happy with the menu, especially Lamb 3 just wanted cheese pizza which is not on the menu! The waitress was so patient with us as we figured out what to order them. The food didn't take too long. We ate a delicious meal. Ewe had Monte Cristo, Ram had a steak, Lamb 3 had pasta with chicken (he didn't eat any chicken, but most of the pasta with sauce), Lamb 2 had macaroni and cheese, and Lamb 1 had salmon and pasta. They all ate well. After eating and several bathroom breaks during lunch, the boys were whole new children, ready to do more, not just go back to the hotel and crash. 

Lamb 3 loves carousels and requested we go back to Fantasyland and ride that. There was almost no line when we went back so that request was easy. 

 Then we wandered around the park looking for a couple more rides without too long of a line. We got in line for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. When Lamb 1 figured out that it was a roller coaster there was no way he was going on that, even if it was a little roller coaster. Grandma took him out of line and he was happy to wait for us. Lamb 2 and 3 loved it! Grandpa survived the ride-it had been years since he rode a roller coaster.

At this point we let each Lamb pick one ride to ride a second time. Lamb 2 and 3 chose the roller coaster again. Lamb 1 chose to go back and ride Mr. Toad's Wild Ride again.

Lamb 3 was exactly the right height to ride the roller coaster, 1/2 inch less and he wouldn't have been allowed to ride.

Ewe chose to go back and ride the Pooh ride again. We walked all over the park to let the Lambs ride their rides a second time and Ewe ride the Pooh ride again. The Pooh ride was one of Lamb 3's favorites too. Grandpa and Grandma waited for us and didn't even try to do all that walking around the park.
Ewe took advantage of the Lambs ages-she knows she will probably never get the Lambs to ride the Pooh ride again so willingly.

Then we stopped and got pineapple ice cream from the Dole place. We were told by our church members that we had to do that!

Then we planned to go along Main Street and do some things, but by that time at night Abraham Lincoln was closed and everyone was pretty worn out. Lamb 2 was very disappointed about not seeing Lincoln. We decided to not stay for the parade as we would have had to wait about a half an hour.

Then when we left the park we had to walk way down the end of Downtown Disney to get to the Lego store. We let each Lamb build a minifigure for their prize for taking photos with Pooh and Tigger. This took quite a long time to let the Lambs chose. Lamb 1 built Abraham Lincoln, Lamb 2 and 3 just built people with accessories. By then the parade was done and we needed to take the shuttle back to the parking lot before they closed for the night.

After the big lunch at Blue Bayou we went back to the hotel and the Lambs ate leftovers from some of our meals out earlier that week. We all slept well that night. Grandma had her pedometer on and said we walked 8 miles-but we walked some without her so I wouldn't be surprised if we walked 9 or 10 miles.

Fall vacation day 3-Beach day!

Ram, Ewe, Lamb 2 and 3 (the ones of our family that were not afraid to go in the water)

Our family plus Great Grandma and Grandma

Our family plus Great Grandma and Grandpa

Ewe, Lamb 2 and 3 

Ewe, Lamb 3, Grandpa

Ewe, Lamb 3

On past visits to Great Grandma's house, we spent one day going to visit Great Great Uncle Del and stopped by the beach for a few minutes on the way home from his house. The Lambs have never been excited to go to the beach and Lamb 2 was the only one that went in the water before.
This visit Great Great Uncle Del had other plans for the day that we wanted to visit. You know those people in their nineties have busy social schedules! Great Grandma still wanted to go to the beach. Grandpa expected the Lambs to not want to stay at the beach very long. I didn't even dress the Lambs in swim clothes as it was a little cool.
The first thing we noticed when we got there was the beach was full of shells. This meant there was something for Lamb 1 to do because he didn't want to go in the water. Except for posing for a few pictures he spent over an hour looking for shells with Grandma helping him. When we have been to this beach before there weren't very many shells. Lamb 2 and 3 couldn't get enough of the water. They spent over an hour in the water with the exception of posing for a few pictures. Ewe watched Lamb 3 that he didn't go out too deep, Ram watched Lamb 2 and also took some pictures. When Lamb 3 started chasing the birds was when Ewe was ready to be done. It was cool when we got there but being out in the sun warmed us up quickly.
Great Grandma was so happy they let her borrow the beach wheelchair and she was able to go right down to the beach with us and put her feet in the water too. When we returned the wheelchair Grandma remarked how much fun the Lambs had collecting shells. The man that worked there questioned if she was joking or wanted him to write a ticket. He then told us that as of January 1, the beach that we went to is protected and there is no collecting allowed. He told us there was a sign when we first came in the beach. We had not seen the sign. There were no other signs along the beach. I'll let you figure out if we took our shells or left them. The man did say that they are trying to figure out how to enforce the new rule. But that does make sense why we so easily found shells this time as compared to other years. The man said it just doesn't make sense for every single tourist to take a bag of shells home. So before we go back to CA we need to do some more research of where we can go that we are allowed to collect shells, for Lamb 1's sake.

After washing off the Lambs feet and cleaning them up as best as we could we went to lunch at a nice restaurant near the beach. Most of us had ribs, Lamb 3 had the fanciest grilled cheese sandwich I've ever seen and ate every single bite, and I think Lamb 2 had macaroni and cheese and ate all of it. I should have stopped with the ribs, but I chose to share a piece of lemon meringue pie with Ram. I didn't eat any supper after that big lunch.

Then we went to Target and Great Grandma bought the Lambs some Lego minifigures. She wanted to get them a treat.

After we took Great Grandma home then we rested in our room for a little while. Then Aunt Lois (one of Grandma's sisters) and Cousin Joe came to visit us. We walked over to the bar of a nearby hotel and had a nice visit. We ordered a couple of orders of sweet potato fries and also had drinks. The Lambs sat at this cute little table and entertained themselves pretty well by playing Lego minifigures and even played some card games by themselves. The adults sat near them and visited. It's hard for me to believe that Cousin Joe is now at the adult table, that is what happens after almost 11 years of marriage, the relatives grow up, even the ones you don't see often.

Ram, Lambs, Aunt Lois

Sorry for the poor quality photo from Ram's phone
Cousin Joe, Ram, Lambs

We ended up being up way too late before our Disneyland day, but it was nice to see Aunt Lois and Cousin Joe.

Fall vacation day one and two

Day 1: We flew from ID to Los Angeles by way of Portland. Grandma sat by Lamb 1, Ram sat by Lamb 3, Ewe sat by Lamb 2, and Grandpa got to sit by himself. Grandpa was recovering from being sick with a cold. Ewe was surprised that Lamb 2 was the most work for an adult-he is close to reading, but not quite so he can't read to himself like Lamb 1. He thinks he is too old to just play quietly by himself like Lamb 3. So he chose to do his math (needed help reading the problems) and wanted to be read to for the whole plane trip. Ewe was pretty tired by the time we got there!
We got settled into our hotel and went out to eat at a fish restaurant and tried to get to bed early after a day of traveling.
Day 2: Ram's dad was allergic to something at the hotel and Lamb 1 and Ram were too. Ram's dad worked it out to move to the hotel next door. So we packed up our stuff and moved hotel rooms. This one was much better than the first one. The first hotel had a lot of families going to Disneyland, the second one had more business travelers. There was such a difference, especially at breakfast-we could sit and enjoy breakfast without tons of people and children also at breakfast. We were so glad we moved for the rest of the week.
Because of the move we got a late start, but we finally got over to Great Grandma's house. The boys enjoyed picking oranges off her tree and eating them. They enjoyed playing in her backyard. It was cool when we were there, but we put on sweaters and were glad it wasn't as hot as some of our other visits.
We took Grandma to the mall to do some shopping. Then we all ate at Cheesecake Factory. We were there for an early supper and the service was very slow. Perhaps it would be better to go at normal supper time when they have more help? The meal was delicious though. Lamb 1 had Thai lettuce wraps and ate the whole thing by himself.
It was nice to finally see Great Grandma and spend the day with her.

Eating oranges from Great Grandma's tree in her back yard

Ram and 3 Lambs in front of Great Grandma's house

Away in a Manger

Our church is doing the CPH Christmas program, Away in a Manger, this year. Our former church did this program in 2008. Out of all the Christmas programs we did when we lived in MN, this one is my favorite. I was thrilled that this was the one picked by our church this year. The director of the program asked me about the program-if we wanted to do all the suggested hymns or substitute a few more well known ones for the less known ones. I decided to watch the video I made when we did the program in 2008 to see how we did it then to answer her question.
The Lambs were surprised to see me watching a Christmas movie. Lamb 1 complained right away that it was too sad to watch because that was our former church. I didn't even tell him that it was sad for me to watch too because a few of those members who participated in the program have now joined the Church Triumphant.
Lamb 3 was Baby Jesus in the program, Lamb 1 and 2 were shepherds. They were all very good for the program in this recording, I know they weren't so good for all the Christmas programs. Lamb 2 looks so little in this recording. In the recording, Lamb 1 was about the age of Lamb 3.
We bought our camcorder when Lamb 1 was born and we really haven't used it very much. I have no recordings of Lamb 2 or 3 as babies around the house or beginning walking or anything like that. But we did record all 3 of the Lambs baptisms and each year we recorded the Christmas program. We don't watch those Christmas programs often, but since we have moved away those memories are priceless to me. When the Lambs watch those recordings it will jog their memory to keep those memories of our former church in their minds. Thank you Jesus, for helping us to make those recordings, to have the equipment work, and for having Costco help us get them on DVDs to easily watch.

My turkey cookie cutter frustration

Last week I made cut out cookies for our church bazaar last Saturday. I made about a dozen and a half turkey shaped ones and then my cookie cutter broke. After the cookie cutter broke I made bears and flowers and leaves. Saturday I was at the bazaar helping most of the day. Sunday I rested. Monday I began my search for a cookie cutter went shopping.

I knew Walmart had Christmas things in the place of all the fall/Halloween decorations when I was there on October 31, so I didn't even try there. I tried Target, Hobby Lobby, Jo-Ann Fabrics, Michaels, Zurchers (a party store), Fred Meyer (like Meijers for my Midwest friends), and Craft Warehouse. A few of those stores had sets with about a dozen cookie cutters that included turkeys. None had just one turkey cookie cutter. I must say the salespeople were very helpful trying to assist me. One suggested some stores in the mall but I really didn't want to fight traffic to go there. I don't even want to think of going to 3 towns and spending 6 hours shopping on Monday! Thankfully I did some other shopping while I was hunting for the cookie cutter.

I tried now even though the bazaar is done, thinking if I went before Thanksgiving I would find one. Oh how foolish an idea that was! Ewe, Halloween is over so they have Christmas in every available space in the stores now. Ewe, forget any fall or Thanksgiving decorations until next August or maybe you would have better luck in July. Ewe, don't forget that the stores are crowded now with people buying Christmas decorations.

Craft Warehouse finally had a cart with a set of 4 fall cookie cutters with a sign that it was $3.37. I didn't want acorn or leaf or pumpkin because I already have some of those or wouldn't ever use them. But after no success at any other store I decided to get them.

When I got up to the register it rang up as $4.99. I questioned and it took a long time to look it up, they discovered that the sign I saw was for the week of Halloween when it was on sale. The price was now $4.99 but they would give me the sale because I questioned it. The cashier kept saying that I said the price was $3.97 and I kept correcting her that the sign said $3.37 as she talked to other salespeople to try to figure out my sale.

Guess what the price on the receipt was when I got home...

$3.97

Good thing my cookies sold so well at the bazaar...

Oh how I wish we still lived in rural MN at times like this. I know exactly which local (20 miles away) drugstore to go to that would have had turkey cookie cutters and they probably would have been on clearance. This shopping in the city is not for me. I also know that next week I will probably see several turkey cookie cutters at stores that I did not try on Monday.

I now have a new turkey cookie cutter. I just hope that the preschool sells cookies at next year's bazaar...