Holiday Circle Journal

Angie started a Holiday Circle Journal swap over on the Shack. We all pick a theme & send it off to 6 others. Here is the start of my journal.

It's been a long time since I posted a card

And I still haven't. LOL. These tags are for Sherri's 3rd Annual Chirstmas tag swap. First time I made it in tho. I forgot how much fun swaps are! I guess the things I've done lately have been too stressful. I've done "classes" for my Saturday Stampin' Sistahs and I stress so much to make them cool & impressive.

Now, I'll admit: I did not want to do candy canes. It was one of the only ones left and I took it but had NO ideas on what I was going to do. I only had 2 candy cane stamps! Well, I started looking thru my stash & found this paper. It all fell together after that. I LOVE this tag. I hope everyone else in the swap feels the same!

SeaWorld -- Day 10 (final day of CA fun)

The night before, Scott & I washed all the clothes from the ocean trip. Didn't want blucky smelling ocean water in my clothes packed in w/clean clothes in the suitcases. I was not looking forward to SeaWorld. I had been there when I was a kid & didn't enjoy it much. It was hot & my parents didn't believe in overpaying for sodas so I remember being thirsty the whole time.

The drive to SW is BEAUTIFUL. The morning fog was out & it was just nice. We got there shortly before they opened. As soon as we got in, we headed straight for the new ride "Journey to Atlantis". The line was not long but, they warned us the whole time we would get wet. It was still cool out & I was worried I was going to freeze all day long. The ride was ok. Not very long & we really didn't get that wet. Which was good because I discovered that one of pairs of denim shorts are too big & when they get WET, they tend to want to fall off. Not a pretty picture!

After that, we did the Arctic Expedition thing & then walked around the penguin place. They had penguin OUTSIDE??? What's up w/that??? I thought penguins had to be kept cold. I guess some of them don't. Probably the ones that were in that surfing movie???

The Shamu show started in about 20 minutes so we headed for his stadium. We decided to sit in the "soak zone" 'cause it was HOT & how bad could it be. A little spray never hurt anyone. Famous last words! I didn't realize the whales were trained to flap their tales & splash you, just for the sake of splashing!!! Soak Zone was right. I was soaked clear thru to my Undies. My purse was soaked. Luckily, I had my handy-dandy waterproof camera so all was good! It was a really good show & a cool story.

After that, we went to look at the dolphin observation thing. Cool. Then we did the dolphin show (no splash zone there, although, I could have used a cooling off. There was very little splashing at the show, we could have stood that) the shark encounter (Scott's favorite), the manatee rescue and then the otter show. By that time, I was sick of amusement parks, partial sick to my stomach & SICK TO DEATH of amusement park food!!! We had brought some water & snacks & decided to leave kinda early & go do dinner somewhere nice.

We were all soaked & tired & hungry & crabby. We decided it would be best to drive back to the hotel, shower & then eat. Of course, La Jolla has only fancy-pants restaurants, as Taco Bell and a Jack in the Box. So, we drove almost all the way back to SeaWorld to eat. By the time we got all that done, it was after regular dinner time. So much for an early dinner.

Back to the hotel, packed our stuff & got ready for an early start back to Anaheim & the airport. All of our clothes from SeaWorld were ICKY!! So much for not having wet, blucky, smelly clothes in our suit cases. I finally just embraced the fact that I'd have to wash EVERYTHING when we got back home.

La Jolla Beach, Day 9

Today was a more relaxing day. We got up & ate breakfast then took the kids down to the beach by the hotel. It was still early & still cool so we didn't plan on getting wet. The kids were as enthralled by the waves as we were. Becca found several pieces of sea glass. I think that made the whole trip a success as far as she was concerned. Of course, while we're wading in the surf, a GIANT wave comes & soaks the kids & I. Oh well, I was planning on washing the clothes before we leave.

We go back to our room & change. Then we drive out to dh's home office. He has to try to exchange his computer for a working one. The kids & I want to meet his assistant and his boss. The building is at the top of this canyon like area. For some reason, I left my camera in the car when we went up there. There were some gorgeous views from up there. We only got to meet Mercedes, dh's contact on the "inside" (dh is a remote examiner. He works from home, the office is in San Diego. Mercedes mails him everything he needs & takes care of anything that needs to be done in office for dh) but his boss was out of the office. At least I can now put a face w/Mercedes name. The only other Mercedes I'd ever heard of was the actress Mercedes Ruehl and I always pictured here when dh spoke of his Mercedes.

Anyway, we left dh's office (w/his new computer) and went to lunch. Then, we loaded up the car & drove down to the beach. Parking is a joke! There is no where to park. You just drive in circles praying that someone will leave. Like the mall at Christmas. Finally, someone left & we got a spot.

This beach was different that the one in LA. The waves hit a little furthter out. You could stand in the shallow water & not be knocked over. Plus the sand was much finer! There were no shells of any sort. And, there was a lot more vegitation. I gotta tell you, seaweed CREEPS ME OUT!!! I hated it touching me. BLUCK!!! But, we had tons o'fun!! Nick litterally ROLLED in the sand. Becca kept wanting to go out further & further to get hit by the waves. It was a perfect day!!

Here is a Suzi eye view of what it's like to get hit by the waves.

La Jolla, CA (still day 8)

We drove down to San Diego after the Wild Animal Park. Scott had stayed in this hotel before but it had been remodled since then. It was an old hotel and they really tried to make it nice. It was just too small for 4 people! But, since we're only staying for 2 days & 3 nights and most of the days we will be gone. The big, Big, BIG plus is that the hotel is only 1 block from the OCEAN.

After dinner, Scott & I walked down to the beach. Ah, the beach. At dusk (we missed the sunset). Beautiful!!!!!! I could live there. I think I need a summer home in La Jolla! We just sat on a rock & watched the waves. There were little kids swimming in the surf. I don't know how, it was COLD!!!!!! And we were dry. I love this place!!!

On the way home, we walked past an apartment for rent. It was one of 4 in a "house" so it couldn't be that big. Rent was $2900 a month. Sure, I can afford that!!!

San Diego Wild Animal Park, Day 8

We got up on Sunday, ate our breakfast (spilled syrup on yet ANOTHER shirt!) and headed for the Wild Animal Park. This place is AWESOME!! It so much better than a zoo. You do miss some of the animals (no monkeys, no bears, no reptiles) but it's just so cool.

We started out w/the birds. Not my favorite of "animal" but, that's where the park kinda starts. Becca was terrified of the ducks!!! One came towards her & she freaked. She would not get anywhere near them for the rest of the day!!!

They started something new since last year. They have this tram ride called Journey Into Africa. It takes you thru the back part of the park & you can see all the animals in their semi-natural surroundings. Way cool. Becca was so impressed that she saw 2 or the 8 White Rhino's that are in captivity. According to our guide, there might only be 5 or 6 in the wild, if that. They are on the edge of extintion & we got to see the only 2 in the Americas!!

After the tram ride, we headed for lunch. During lunch, a duck came out of the trees & Becca freaked out again. It's just a duck girl, GET OVER IT!!!

After lunch, we hit the Elephant show. It was cool to see the elephants doing things & learning about them. Did you know the female elephant is the leader?? The leader of the group had just recently abdicated to a younger elephant. Was interesting to learn how the torch was passed. Very civilized. Unlike male led groups.

We then headed for the giraffe feeding area. When Scott & I came last year, we thought it was so cool that you could feed the giraffes & looked forward to bringing the kids so they could actually feed them. The kids were not at all interested in getting that close to a giraffe. What's wrong with these kids??? So, we looked at the giraffes & moved on.

Scott wanted to see the cheetahs but, being as it was soooo hot, they were no where to be seen (other than the one we saw on the Africa journey). We were all tired and oh so hot. We headed out & on to the next hotel.

LegoLand Day 7

We left Anaheim after breakfast today. Everything was packed & we were ready to go as soon as we ate. Since we were only spending one night in the Carsbad area hotel, I had packed only enough clothes for me & the kids for the one night in a small bag. Of course, while at breakfast, I spilled syrup down the front of me. I had put a spare shirt in the outside of my BIG bag & was easily able to grab it. Then, it was off to Legoland.

We arrived early & got a decent parking place. Of course, no one told us there was special parking for Volvos. They got priority parking. How funny was that?? While we are waiting, we notice all these banners for Lego Star Wars. Come to find out, this was Star Wars weekend. Explains all the kids (and adults) dressed in costumes! We also noticed that the majority of the kids were much YOUNGER than ours. Uhoh.

We finally are allowed in and start making the rounds. I'm sure this is a terrific place if you have a 5yo but, it's fairly lame for a 10 & 12yo! Nick would not admit it since he chose this destination but even HE was bored. Later on, we started running into Star Wars charachters wandering around the park & that was fun for him.

After lunch (where I ended up wearing a giant glob of ketchup) we found "Mini Land". This is where they built tiny cityscapes with legos. So WAY COOL!!! Scott, Becca & I decided that this portion of the park was worth what we paid to get in. It was amazing the detail & the number of bricks used!

After we left Legoland, we headed for a new hotel in Carlsbad. It was nice, lots of cool spa like products in the bathroom. Nice comforter too. The only problem was the room was too small and only had one tv. It was only one night, we survived.