SPECIAL BULLETIN

Many of you that read this blog already know that my dad recently had heart trouble and was hospitalized on 7/16/2010.  The day after we returned from camping at Bass Lake, we got a call letting us know of my dad's condition.  After the shock wore off, I was grateful I hadn't unpacked our bags from visiting LA the previous week and from camping the days prior.  We hopped in the car and were able to see my dad in the hospital the next day.

To summarize, my parents were golfing in Fallbrook (North San Diego County) and my dad collapsed after the 9th hole.  What was amazingly fortunate about this is that it happened near the snack bar area where he was able to receive help.  Thanks to my mom, who started CPR, and to an unknown stranger who was a nurse, my dad received the care he needed until the ambulance arrived.  After what seemed like forever, we got news that he was alive.  After stabilizing a few days, he was able to have the angiogram and found there was severe blockage in his artery and had stints put in to open the blocked areas.  He is at home, taking a little break from work for now and my mom is able to be with him for a while too!  Thank God for his recovery and for my mom being such a strong woman!

Many of our friends and family have offered help, well wishes and prayers and they are all well received and appreciated.  This experience has reminded me to think heart-healthy and most importantly, continue to cherish my family and what is important in my life! 

The girls made him a short video since they were not able to see him while in critical care.

On our way home from the emergency trip, we stopped at Bravo Cheese Farm in Traver, CA.  This is half way between LA and Sacramento just yards off highway 99.  There are hundreds of antiques, a gift shop, soda fountain, burgers, cheese factory where you can watch how it is done, some animals the kids can feed, and my favorite...the 5 level tree house we all climbed through!  Check out the photo below.  This was a great stop after the massive amounts of driving the kids have put up with this summer!

Bass Lake July 2010

We were so lucky to have an opportunity to go to Bass Lake this year. My good friend Michelle allowed us to crash her annual family party. She has been coming here each summer since she was a child and her family would come long before she was even born, so we are truly honored that she included us to make a short visit. It is absolutely gorgeous there!!!

The girls helped me set up the tent...and we did a pretty good job! Andy was in Chico during this trip, so it was just us girls roughin' it for a few days!

Below you can see Mary in action.  Both of the girls spent hours in the lake swimming and jumping off this dock.

Michelle has 3 boys, one that is about to enter his Senior year in HS.  The two younger ones are great buddies for Mary and Kaycee.  Michelle's youngest is 9 days older than Mary!

Seattle, WA - Fourth of July 2010

Seattle, Seattle, Seattle...
Some of the questions we received were something like this:"What? You guys went to Seattle??? Are you crazy? Did it rain? You drove how many hours?" Well, I can answer those questions and many more! Yes, we are kind of crazy going to Seattle for 4th of July, still not knowing if we had jobs, driving in the car for 13 hours each way, escaping the 100+ degree temps of Sacramento and going to the 50 and 60 degree temps of rainy Seattle...but it was fun and totally worth it! As many of you know, Andy was in Chico for 4 weeks this summer finishing up some college classes to get another type of credential. We were under the impression us girls would go up to Chico (1.75 hours away) for the 4th and when we got there, Andy had a surprise up his sleeve. So off to Portland we went on Thursday the 2nd of July then we finished the drive the next morning. We had to stop at a thrift store to get a couple pairs of pants and a waterproof windbreaker for the girls since I didn't pack accordingly...stores don't have those items in stock in July - even in Seattle! The original Starbuck's is located just a block from the famous Pike's Place Market. It is a couple shops down from a sinfully delicious Russian bakery called "Piroshky, Piroshky". I will drive the 13 hours again to have a cup of original Starbuck's and indulge in some Piroshky Pasteries! If you ever go to Seattle, your nose will lead you to this tiny storefront bakery.

On one of the coolest days we found a place that would prepare and serve hot tea samples. We learned so much about Chinese culture when it comes to drinking tea! The girls made friends with Fang (pronounced Fong) who is in the photo above. She let them drink all kinds of tea and kept them away from the ones containing caffiene. There were hundreds of choices and she knew about them all. She also let the girls play her Chinese instrument (I don't know what it is called) that represented a large autoharp. We purchased a tea maker and a few of our favorite blends of tea. We are waiting for the cooler weather to arrive to have a tea party!

We asked a stranger to snap a family photo at the top of the hill of Pike's Place Market. You can see Andy wearing his "Seattle Seahawks" fan gear in this shot. People thought we were from the area and were confused to find out he is such a fan from California. Fang from the tea shop even asked him if was on the team!!!

We had some sun the day we visited the Space Needle. We were able to get a "City Pass" that allowed us to pay a flat rate to visit the Space Needle twice, the zoo, the aquarium, Pacific Science Center, The Music Ecperience Project and SciFi Museum and take a harbor cruise. We didn't have time for the zoo, but we got to go to all the other attractions. The science center was a fabulous educational experience for the kids. If you are in the area and have children with you, this is a must see & do!

We found the world fastest carousel at the pier...not sur ethat is a fact, but you really had to hang on! Kaycee's favorite thing is the carousel and you can see the joy on her face in this photo above.

In case you didn't get to see any fireworks this 4th of July, you can check out a short video clip below!

Disney World Florida June 2010

Well, where could I possibly begin with this AMAZING experience? We felt a bit weird going on this scale of a trip with us having our lay offs, but we figured that we better go since it was already paid for. Good thing we did because it was a trip of a lifetime...and come to find out we got our jobs back (Thank God!) We were so impressed with the quality and service of each and every aspect of our trip. We couldn't have asked for a better family vacation. We spent 3.5 days visiting EPCOT, which was the kids' favorite location. They had a fabulous variety of cultural experiences, science, educational adventures and some mild rides suited for our little ones. We took one day to visit Disney's Hollywood Studios which was my least favorite (but I am not into movies)...which was the same day I got barfed on twice by little Kaycee. The poor thing had heat exhaustion and was dehydrated and thankfully bounced back fine. We visited Magic Kingdom 2 days which is always fabulous. Magic Kingdom is similar to our Disneyland in CA, but there are some distinct differences. Finally, we spent 1 day at Disney's Animal Kingdom which we all really enjoyed and probably could have spent more time at. I am so grateful it all worked out and I REALLY advise you to go if you have not been yet! Above is a family photo we took at the entrance of Animal Kingdom. Behind us is the center focal point of the park, The Tree of Life, which is amazing! The trunk has hundreds of carvings of the planets animals.

We were so lucky to have the opportunity to meet up with some old friends! Our former neighbors in Lancaster, CA now live a short drive from WDW and they came to meet us. The girls are all very close in age...it is a shame we are not neighbors still. We hope to make the trip to FL again to see them!

Here is a photo of Andy and myself at EPCOT. It has been a while since we had a close up of just us...so we took one ourselves!

This photo above shows off the day the girls got to experience "Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique". Thanks to YaYa and PaPa, these two got to experience getting made up like princesses. Who would ever think these 2 parents would have such girly girls? They absolutely cherished this experience and they are still talking about it. They had their hair done, tiaras, make up, nails painted...oh and don't forget the gobs of body glitter! And to think I played with Hot Wheels...

Here they are again, super excited to show off their princess make-overs.

Run Rocklin

Goooooooo Andy!!!!So I made this sign and was signed up to volunteer for the kids portion of the run...until the announcer changed the start/finish line on me without notice! Oh well! We got there in time and ran it anyway.

Sisterly love

Whoo Hoo!!! Blue Ribbons to the finishers!

So I turned Kaycee's adult T-shirt into a unitard! It was so funny to see her play the role and be ready to race! I am sure she will not appreciate this photo when she is, say...about 14???

Easter 2010

This Easter we were able to head on down to Los Angeles to be with friends and family. Not only were we able to celebrate Easter, but it was Gabby's (my niece) 2nd birthday! The kids were so excited, waaaaay too tired and amped up on cake and candy, but they sure had a good time!So...it was IMPOSSIBLE to get all 4 of the girls to look at the camera at the same time!

Here is the gang! Good times with family and friends!

April 2010

We had the pleasure of attending a friend's wedding the day before Easter. It was such a treat to have all the adults in the family together to enjoy the event and each other's company. The wedding was held at "Shutters" in Santa Monica and it was beautiful! The old "Guad Squad".

Sisters are awesome!

Moms are awesome too!

Just the two of us!

Green Party

Mr. H read the letter left behing from leprechaun John on where to find the pot o'gold in our backyard.Dan led the expedition.

Mary found the pot o'gold!

The kids seemed to enjoy the green dinner, which included pesto pasta, asparagus, kiwi and jalepeno bread!

Sledding 2010

The snowball maker is a lot of fun! Here is Kaycee with her prized snowball that she proceeded to hit her mother with! Here is Mary tasting a snowball after being advised about dirty snow...ewwwww!

Here are the girls getting a push from a stranger helping the kids at the top. The adults all spread out to help the kids climb up and launch off!

The portable picnic table worked out great! Thanks to YaYa and PaPa for that christmas gift...I am sure it will get pleanty of use! There is Mary being a ham (as usual).

Here is our sledding group for the day! Believe it or not, the other family (whom I have known since I was in 3rd grade) was visiting Reno from SoCal and we happened to arrange the sledding for the day. What a special opportunity to share some time with friends. Make sure you scroll down to see the video attached!!!

Check out the air Kaycee gets and the face plant by Mary at the end...a show only possible by the Carter girls.