Santa, Part II...
OK... We never did make it back to the mall to get pictures of the kids with Santa.
Sactown...and back......in 48-hours (maybe, a little more). We left Seattle at on Christmas Eve morning. We arrived in Sacramento at noon. We loaded up the rental and zipped up to El Dorado Hills to celebrate with Lisa's family. It was fun and LOUD. The kids had a blast with Jake and Kylie, and the grandkids - Adrienna, Matias, and Adam Jr. (Avangaline was there too). That gave Lisa and I a little time to socialize. Lisa was very happy that she could spend time with AJ and Adam.
We left El Dorado Hills at around 5 or so and headed to check in to our hotel. We settled into our hotel room at around 6:30 - exhausted. We planned to meet up with Tony and Jennifer but we just couldn't get out. The kids were starting to get cranky too. In hindsight, we probably would have been better off getting the kids out again. Neither of them slept very well and they kept Lisa an I up all night too. Oh...and we were pretty disappointed that our mini-suite didn't have separate rooms so we could relax in one while the kids slept in the other...
On Christmas, we spent the day with my family. We headed over to Jay's house at 10. I was pleasantly surprised that Bob, Fredine, and Maylin (sp?) were able to make the trip down from Yreka. Aly and Mitch immediately opened their presents and started playing away. The kids had a great time with grandma, auntie Lisa, and auntie Paula. Mitch even went hunting for grandma. When he found her he said "Hi. C'mon, let's play." They also enjoyed the Pez candy that they got - a lot of it... At home, 4 M&Ms is about the most candy they get. There was no way we would be able to get all the presents home without buying several more pieces of luggage. Luckily, Paula offered to ship the presents to us. The kids can't wait...
We headed into Davis in the early afternoon to see Michele, Andy, Nick, and Jessica. The kids opened presents and played for awhile and we socialized. We hung out for as long as we could before we had to head out to Dixon. We tried to reach Tony again but he was in Rancho Cordova. We tenatively set something up for the evening - but we both had busy schedules.
We went to Butch and Melody's house in Dixon for Christmas dinner. There was a good turnout and an appropriate ratio of meat, starches, and vegetables - 3 meats, 3 starches, and 2 vegetables...come to think of it, that's one veggie too many... There was quite a spread of snacks too. Butch pulled out his fancy wine opener which does a nice job of pushing the corks down into the bottles of wine... In the late afternoon, Bob and I got on the phone with our Dad. I also got Becky's phone number but I was unable to reach her. I need to call her this week for sure. Treve and I exchange emails from time-to-time - it's the letter writing of this era...
We headed back to Sacramento around 6 and stopped at Dave and Christie's house. We had a couple of drinks and caught up while the kids watched a move. Then, we headed back to the hotel to pack. It was great to visit with so many friends and family. I wish we could have connected with Tony and Jennifer and family. I should have gave him more notice that we were coming down.
We got up at 5 on Tuesday morning, showered, loaded the car, ate breakfast and headed to the airport at 7:15. We arrived at the airport at 7:30. Now...I once traveled the day after Christmas to a customer site in Alabama several years ago. I don't remember it being any different than any other travel day... Tuesday was a madhouse at Sacramento Airport. The baggage check-in line was longer than I've ever seen - both inside and outside. I dropped Lisa and the kids off to stand in line while I returned the rental. When I returned, they moved about halfway up in the line... Luckily, they opened 2 more check-in stations and we were done with that phase by 8:20 or so. Onto the next phase: Security checkpoint. The line went from the checkpoint, across the walkway and back, and down to the first floor to baggage claim. We were quite surprised that the line moved very quickly (even with the "more important people" who jumped ahead in line, cut in halfway, and some who even bypassed the line on the first floor by running up the wrong way on the escalator). We made it to the terminal by 9:00 or a little after - time enough to enjoy a bloody mary (no thanks to the waitress who ignored us for 10+ minutes).
We boarded the plane about 20-minutes late but we made that up in the air. Both the flight down to Sacramento and the flight back were pretty bumpy. Neither Lisa nor I like flying much but I've flown several times a year for the past 20 or so years. Lisa was very nervous. Luckily, I sat with the kids so she could relax and talk with the wierdos that she sat next to....
Santa 2On the flight back, I wondered aloud whether Santa stopped by our house while we were away - "he only stops at the houses of the nice boys and girls." The kids started wondering aloud too. When we arrived home, we woke the kids from their short car nap and started exciting them with more Santa talk. We opened the door and there were several presents under the tree!! (On Sunday, as I loaded up the kids, Lisa placed them there so the kids would be surprised when we returned). The kids played for the rest of the day and were in bed early. Then, Lisa and I watch "Mr. and Mrs. Smith". We retired at 9:30 or so... It was a whirlwind 3 days...but worth it. Pics coming soon...
Santa....part 1
So, after dinner last night, we rush out the door and head over to the SuperMall in Auburn to get pictures of the kids with Santa. We arrive at around 6pm. Immediately, Mitch gets a little clingy. We're there 15-minutes and he wants to be held. Another 10-minutes and he complains that he's tired. Another 10-minutes, he's whiney. At this point, we've moved about 20 feet and still have 40+ feet to go. We haven't even seen Santa yet - just his arm... Another 10-minutes and he's crying...We're outta there!
By the time we reach the mall parking lot, he's having a full-fledged fit. We quickly strap the kids in the van and head out. The noise of Mitch crying is starting to annoy Aly. Within 5 minutes, she's crying. It was a fun ride home.
I think we're going to set out again this afternoon to try again...
Lunch....ugh...I mentioned dinner above. What I didn't mention is that Lisa made my favorite - spaghetti - and I didn't eat any (which could explain why she may have been slightly annoyed with me). You see, I went to a local barbeque place called Pecos Pit. They don't have much of a menu but they do have the best pulled pork in Seattle. I decided to get the pork...hot...with a spike. This translates to a pulled pork sandwich with VERY hot sauce and a hot link. That translates to heartburn and an upset stomach which translates to no dinner... Lesson Learned: stick to the mild unless I've got some Tums and Pepto Bismol handy...
I did eat some of the spaghetti later and it was delicious!!
Too...Busy...
So...I planned to update the blog more often...but I haven't been successful. Here's a quick update:
Christmas TreeWe finally got out a couple of weeks ago and bought a tree. The kids were thrilled. We put the tree up in the living room (so it can be seen from the street through the large front window). Aly and Mitch enjoyed putting the decorations on... Lisa and I are just glad we got that checked off our list...
Christmas PlansWe also made our Christmas travel plans. We're flying into Sacramento at noon on Christmas Eve and immediately heading up to El Dorado Hills to celebrate with Lisa's family. We'll head back down Sunday evening and, hopefully, catch up with Tony, Jennifer, and Nanny. On Christmas morning, we'll head over to my family's to spend the morning. Then, we'll head to Dixon to celebrate Christmas with my family. Afterward, we'll head back to Sacramento and catch up with Christie and Dave. We're flying back on Tuesday morning.
The StormLast Thursday and Friday, we had a severe storm in the Northwest. The storm brought heavy rains and winds up to 100mph. Over a million people were left without power in Washington and Oregon (one local power company reported that half of their main feeders were down) - including us. The power started flickering early Thursday evening and went out sometime after 11:00pm. The power was restored for us around 7:30 Friday evening. Today (Wednesday, 12/20), there are still many people without power...
Being from Northern California and having lived in new developments for much of the past 10 years (underground feeders), we're not used to extended power outages like this (second one in the past month or so). Furthermore, we're not used to not being able to drive to the local grocery store or restaurant to pick up items as we need them. Our local Safeway still doesn't have the frozen foods section up as they are on 50% power. Luckily, we have a gas fireplace to keep the family room warm... But we do not enjoy these....
WorkVery busy...'nuff said... Looks to get even busier through the end of next year (and beyond...)....
Happy Birthday AJ!
Twenty-??
Another Meeting Day....
All day meetings again... Good info though...
What I'm Reading: For One More Day by Mitch Albom
What I'm Listening to: Lessons in Mastery by Anthony Robbins
Meeting Day...
Spent all day yesterday in a meeting. Started at 8 and ended after 5. The team went out for an hour and 1/2 afterwards. Looks like more of the same today...except for the afterwards as many attendees are flying home this evening...
Realized that i haven't been taking a lot of pictures of the kids lately... I'll try to take more and post 'em more often... I'll probably have to pay for some storage too as the place I post the pics to is purging old ones as I add new ones.....
Pics from the Swim Party...
Labels: Pool Pics
Man! A lot has been going on...
OK.... So, it's been awhile since I blogged. Well...here's the Cliff's Notes version:
I had a meeting with a customer in Fremont a few weeks ago. I took advantage of the opportunity and did some visiting while I was down... I flew into Sacramento on Wednesday and stayed with the Landrums. I woke early Thursday and worked in Fremont Thursday and Friday. I was back up in Sacto on Friday. On Saturday, we went fishing (aka bait-drowning) in the afternoon. Saturday evening, Tony, Jennifer, and I met up with Dave and Tammy at Osaka Sushi. Dave is the "Norm" of Osaka...we never had to order anything. The gourmet sushi just kept coming. I hadn't been that full in a long time... Afterwards, we had drinks and a "perception debate" at Bistro 33 downtown.
Sunday, I spent the day visiting my family (I was supposed to be there Saturday...). It was good to see the family again. I wish Lisa and the kids could have come down.
After visiting, I made my way back - just in time for some excellent prime rib. HUGE THANKS to Tony and Jennifer for their hospitality!!
I headed back to Washington on Monday, 11/20. I was feeling a little under the weather so I headed to the airport early and kicked back for my 3:00 flight. By the time I got home at 7:00-ish (traffic was a nightmare), I was feverish and feeling like cr**. I had a pretty bad cold through the weekend. Lisa and the kids were sick as well. Luckily, we felt OK on Thanksgiving. We cooked a turkey, mashed potatoes, rice, gravy, and a veggie. We had pumpkin pie for dessert.
We had snow over the weekend and the temperature dipped into the low 20's. Monday was clear but it snowed Monday night and Tuesday morning. I had an 8:10am flight scheduled for Tuesday (back to Fremont for a customer meeting). I woke up at 4, showered, and hit the road at 4:30am. Unfortunately, the inch or two of snow was sitting on ice. I was back home by 5:10 - I didn't get more than 1/2-mile from the house. Unable to get through to a taxi company for a ride to the airport, I called and changed my resevervation to a 1:40pm flight. I tried another time to drive in the snow/ice. Once again, I didn't make if far. This time, I couldn't get two blocks away. I tried calling taxi and shuttle companies but none had available vehicles. at 9:45, I left again. I still couldn't get around the block. I drove back home, put the tire chains on the truck, and headed out again. This time, I made it to the highway which was clear.
Highway 18 was clear and very dry...however, the bulk of the drive to the airport was along I-5 which was still very slushy. There were hundreds of cars along the shoulders. I got to the airport at 11:30. The flight took off on time. I had a connection through Reno. The connecting flight was delayed for a couple of hours. I finally made it to San Jose at 6:30 and was at the hotel by 7:30.
We had all day customer meetings on Wednesday and Thursday. Friday was internal meetings and performance planning. I flew home on Saturday (after a short diversion through Portland because of the fog in Seattle). What a trip...
On Saturday evening, we went to a local YMCA for a birthday party for one of the kids' friends. Everyone was a little disappointed in the "party coordinator's" lack of coordination and involvement. However, the party was topped off by some indoor swimming which thrilled all of the kids.
Today was family/football day... This week looks to be another busy work week - day-long meetings at least through Wednesday evening. At least the meetings are in Seattle....
