Nikki's 18th Birthday Party at Maggiano's 9-27-08

Nikki had a party with all of her friends in San Jose at a place called Maggiano's. She said it was fabulous. She had a lot of fun celebrating her 18th Birthday in San Jose.

It's Been A While so I Thought I's Update

Well it has been a long while since I blogged about the family. So here goes....

Kevin is in Idaho on a Hunting trip. He is set to come back tomorrow and so far nothing. He said he's seen them but nothing close enough for him to shoot with his bow & arrow. So it sounds like dirty laundry will be the only thing he is bringing back for me again.

As for me, I have been working on Christmas presents and I am very close to having them all made. Now for some shopping for the kids and Christmas will be done. YEAH!!!

Nikki is having the time of her life in college. She has become quite the little party animal. She has met many new friends and just totally enjoys hanging out with all of them all the time. This will change a little bit once she gets a job, but for now she is carefree.

Carly is loving being in high school. She has embraced this change with open arms and I couldn't ask for more from her. She is starting to be quite responsible. WOW!! She recently got into choir and is just loving it. Although today she woke up and barely has a voice. Good for me not for choir though. haha

So there is our update in a nut shell. Talk to all of you soon.

Nikki's First Day of College 8-25-08

Nikki's First Day of College 8-25-08

I don't want to say that Nikki is all grown up and living on her own and doesn't need her mommy anymore...but I was starting to believe it until this morning as she was on her way to her very 1st class she called mommy (I think to make me feel needed) to ask me to look up what classroom her class was in. I felt very fortunate that she does still need me. Since she appears to be all grown up she definitely doesn't need me much so I will take anything that I can possibly get.

Carly's First Day of High School 8-25-08

Carly's First Day of High School 8-25-08

Well today was the day that my baby went off to high school. Carly was very excited to go to high school, she got up really early and was ready for school by the time that I had gotten up to get ready. She couldn't wait. I on the other hand thought it would be a little easier to send her off since she was driving me nuts this summer with "I'm bored" but didn't want to leave the house. Unfortunately I felt as if I was in a little funk today. Not only is my baby off to high school but my oldest is now a freshman in college. College?? I can't be old enough to have a child in college already. Carly and I watched home videos Saturday night until the wee hours of Sunday morning and it only seems like it was yesterday that we were bringing them home from the hospital. It definitely does not seem like 18 years. I always knew that they would leave the house and I have really tried to be good and not cry since Nikki left the house but it is hard to see them off and now my baby is on her way to being self sufficient like her older sister. Wow were has the time gone. 4 years to graduation is not that far away. SAD!!!!!!

Moving Day 8-8-08 and 8-9-08

Moving Day 8-8-08 and 8-9-08

Well, Moving day came quicker than I thought. I guess I was trying to prolong Nikki moving out as long as I could but the day is finally here. We all headed down on Friday the 8th to do the walk thru and to move in the stuff that would fit in the cars that we had taken. That went very well. We went to the grocery store and then went to our favorite hangout spot for dinner (Dave and Busters). We all slept on the floors with blankets that night. Early Saturday morning, Kevin and Gil drove up with the trailer. We unpacked it in record time. We had an awesome system going. After parking the truck and trailer, we all got to work on putting everything away. By 1 o'clockish we had everything done. It was so nice. The kids love it. I havent actually talked to Nikki about her feelings about being there without US but I am sure that she is going to do fine.

College Apartment signing 8-1-08

College Apartment signing 8-1-08

Just one day after arrving home from Mexico, we headed to San Jose to sign the papers on the new Apartment. Robert and Nikki are very excited. I think that I am but I think that I have mixed feelings about letting go and letting Nikki do things on her own. It is definitely different. Anyway, Carly went with us so we took her on a tour of the campus. She thinks it is too big to walk. Whatever.

Mexico Cruise July 26 to July 31, 2008

Mexico Cruise July 26 to July 31, 2008

So we are back from our Mexico Cruise. It wasn't what we had expected therefore we just had an o.k. time. The boat itself was very nice but just not nearly enough to do for us busy "on the go" people. Cabo San Lucas we got off the boat andKevin ended up not feeling well and went back to the ship, while Stefano and I went parasailing, Nikki and Robert walked into town and to the beach. They met up with us after our excursion and said they were ready to go back to the ship...too many little kids asking them to buy things. Parasailing was awesome. It was so cool and it didnt even feel like you were up that high. The views were amazing. Once we got back onto the boat we all took a little rest (most of the day). Ensenada wasn't bad. We headed for Papas and Beer and it wasn't at all what we had thought so we ended up just walking around town and shopping. We all ended up getting henna tattoos, so that we could tell everyone that they were real. That didn't work so well... no one believed us. We are very glad to be back in California on dry ground.

Rhino Ride 7-13-08

Today Kevin and I took his new Rhino UTV up to the Sly Park area and drove around for part of the day. The area that we went in was kind of boring. But some of it was really neat. He was just trying to put some hours on the engine before he leaves for Colorado hunting.

On Our Way Home 7-8-08

We arrived at Gatwick Airport to go through about 5 different checkpoints (we have 1 checkpoint they have a ton of them). The flight was 10 hours and very long but again with the help of Tylenol PM I was able sleep most of the way and the flight wasn't that bad. We just arrived through customs in houston. We are safe and sound. Very tired. Sorry I did not contact you all while I was gone but my phone did not end up working while we were there. So I was disconnected from life as I know it. I made it though. We had a fabulous time seeing all the sights. I am not sure what was my favorite yet. I need to look over pictures and remember all that we went to. It was all pretty amazing. Met lots of new people on the trip. Well I will arrive in Sacramento around 8 pm tonight (Sac time). Sorry again for not staying in contact.

London, England (Day 2) 7-7-08

London, England (Day 2) 7-7-08

We ate breakfast and then headed for a 2 hour bus tour. Our tour guide Heather was hilarious. She was an awesome guide. We stopped at St. Paul's Cathedral (where Princess Diana was married). We snuck inside to get a peak. It was so beautiful. Then we stopped near Westminster Abbey (The place where Princess Diana was laid to rest). We also got to see Big Ben and the Parliment Buildings from that stop as well. We also saw the largest Ferris Wheel in the world called "The Eye". Unfortunately we did not have time to ride it. We also went past the Tower Bridge (which is commonly confused by people that it is the London Bridge). It was so amazing. After the bus tour we dropped off the part of the group that wasn't going to Windsor Castle. Then the rest of us headed out to the castle. It was amazing. By far the best castle that we have seen on this trip. Also the only castle that is still inhabited as well. The Queen had just left the castle shortly before we arrived. Bummer. We shopped around Windsor and had lunch and then we toured the castle. It puts versailles to shame. After the tour we headed back for dinner and then headed to the huge soccer store it was so cheap. we bought another suitcase because I had used a luggage scale and I was way overweight. After that we headed back to the hotel to pack (some of the group went and saw Wicked) and get some sleep for our 4 am wake up call to get to the airport.

London, England 7-6-08

London, England 7-6-08

We too the Eurostar train. It is so cool. It goes about 180 mph (240 km ph). We are all tired since we got about 4 to 5 hours of sleep last night. We arrived in london to catch a bus to our hotel. Our bus never showed up so we lugged our luggage to the tube (metro or subway). That was an experience. Once we got to the hotel the rooms weren't ready so we had to lugged everything upstairs to a holding closet room. Then we headed for the city on a walking tour. We walked past Big Ben, The Parliment and Trafalgar and Leichester Squares. We ended our tour in Convenant Garden. It used to be a market. After our tour we had a little free time before dinner. We had a snack (hamburgers and the most amazing mashed potatoes), we were a little homesick for American food. Then we walked around some more. After dinner Seth took us on an adventure to a fabulous 6 story soccer store that is cheap. But by the time that we got there it was closed. So we headed for the hotel. Most of us went to bed early.

Paris, France (Day 2) 7-5-08

Paris, France (Day 2) 7-5-08

So our day started early again. Breakfast was ok. It actually had yogurt this time. I was pretty happy about that. After breakfast we headed for the bus. We took a 2 hour bus tour of the city. We had the tour guide from hell. She thought she was so funny and really no one could understand her. So everybody was asleep for most of it. After that we were dropped off for about 45 minutes to get lunch. We again had hamburgers and fries. Chelsea had escargo. After that we got back onto the bus to head to Versailles. Again we had the same tour guide. Versailles was gorgeous and the gardens were amazing. After versailles we headed back to the city center and were dropped off by the opera house. We had 45 minutes free time. We pretty much sat there and looked at everyones pictures on their cameras. After that we headed to an early dinner. We had dinner crepes. They were pretty good but not completely filling. We also had crepes for dessert. Those were amazing. I am so learning how to make crepes. By far the best authentic meal we have had in Europe. After dinner we headed to the Eiffel Tower via the metro again. We got into line to go to the top and the police arrived and cornered off an area. We found out that someone had left a duffel bag unattended. They must get this a lot because it was taken care(blown up we heard the explosion) of within about 45 minutes but our group was impatient so we decided to go on our river cruise first. That was cool and really nice to sit down for an hour. We met people from Atlanta, GA. Thet were very nice and somehow they new we were from northern california. After the cruise we headed back to the Eiffel Tower. It stays light late so it still was not lit up. We took one sideways type elevator (similar to the Cograil) to the first level and then we stood in line forever to catch the second elevator. But the views were amazing. I could see how it could be romantic up there. The lights came on as we were on it. It was so cool. After we got to the bottom we met up with the group. About 6 of us laid on the grass nearby and stared at it in ahhhh. It was amazing with lights. Every hour for ten minutes the have blinking lights so we laid there in amazement and watched that. It was so cool. After all of that we headed for the metro and to our hotel. Bed late up early, AGAIN.