The rest of the story. . . . .

Ahoy Mateys!!! We wanted to take a cruise on the "Discovery" but we never made it back to the dock at any cruise times. We went to the house of the future and half of it was not open due to gliches in the electronics. That's not too positive a feature for the "house of the future". We did get to see a robot in action that "everyone across America could have in their home", that is if you are Bill Gates and you really want a robot to wash your dishes.

This is a fountain that is right at the beginning of Disney Downtown. I don't know the software that is on my computer so I couldn't flip it. Just turn your head a bit and you'll get the idea. It was amazing how quickly it got dark there especially because it wasn't that late. We left Disneyland about 6 so we could be with family.

This is a picture about an hour later from Uncle Lloyd's backyard. You can see the sun starting to set there. He has a fire pit in the corner that you might just be able to pick out. The fence has a gate that opens to a pathway for walkers. The area has been designated by the city as a "park" and will not be buildt on. It's really very nice.

This is the next day. (1/17/09) The whole time we were there the sun was shining and there was a slight breeze. It was nice because there was no smog to bother Jack, Mark's dad. The above picture is the view of the valley from the cemetary, Rose Hills, in LA. It was a beautiful day. Most of Mark's family on his Dad's side is buried there. There are also a few from his mother's side.

The most important part of it all was that we got to visit with family. His Aunt and cousins from Utah came and his cousin Arline was already there because she lives close by. (Arline would keep an eye out for Uncle Lloyd and was able to help watch over him when he got really ill.) Most especially Mark got to be with his dad. His dad, John, gave a wonderful talk at the funeral but it was very hard on him. I was glad they got a few moments alone the day before to walk and talk, and as you can see they were able to visit on the day of the funeral as well. He is a great example to us and we love him a lot.

Funerals and Disneyland 2

So if you have to go to rent a car it might as well be a good one!

We were supposed to get a Ford Fusion or some other mid sized car but the agent speaking to us had us go out the door and wait for him to come and finalize the transaction. Right outside the door was a brand new Mustang convertable. What a gimmick they have. As we are standing there, having left our home at 3 am and dieing to get to our destination, the agent comes out and says, "So, I could let you have that car if you wanted to upgrade. It will only cost you 5 dollars." Who in thier right mind would turn that down? So Mark got the dream car. It was a good thing too. You don't want something gutless for California traffic!

First stop was Disneyland. 9:30 am on a January morning, even though it was Friday, it was a pretty good idea. There weren't that many people there. There were still some lines for admission but it was MUCH better than in August. Mark got a great picture of the Matterhorn as we walked into the park. We got to see the new walk through of Sleeping Beauty's castle. Just an animated retelling of the tale. No view of basketball courts or anything.

We did take the opportunity to share an ice cold sweetie with the white rabbit. He's been standing there a long time!!!

This is a great picture because Mark is trying to make sure we are in the photo while I am squeezing him from behind. Now he has the double chin!!

Over all it was a lot of fun. We missed out on going somewhere for our anniversary in 2008 because we waited not knowing that the resort we were planning on going to was being remodeled. This was some fun time to get away by ourselves.

Josh took care of things at home. The dog and cat are still alive and he even had the house clean when we got back. Thanks Josh!

A Wierd Family Tradition

Off to your right you will notice Sleeping Beauty's castle.

It is one of the first things you see as you come down main street Disneyland USA. We had a grand time there this summer with our family. This year they are actually opening the castle to walk through tours. An interesting idea. What do they have in there anyway?

Below you will see a very different picture of Disneyland. It is a picture from 1957. Before I was even born. I remember however my first trip there. Dad was stationed on one of the Navel bases. We went for a day to the park. I wouldn't get off of the Carosel. I loved it. I hate crowds and it was crowded back in 1966 too. My sister ran around everywhere with my dad. Oh Well at least one of us was fun.

You can actually see the old sky tram. That was fun also. On the right is a picture from 2006. It is the front entrance. When Mark and I went to Disneyland for part of our Honeymoon there was no Disney California and splash mountain or indie. It was still a lot of fun.

Now our family has sort of this twisted view of funerals in connection with Disneyland.
Mark has so much family that lives in California that whenever someone dies we go to Disneyland either before or after the funeral. Family members even help buy tickets to the park. We have been thinking that we better leave enough money in our will to provide a way for the family to get to Disneyland when we die.

Ah memories!!!

Christmas video

Every year Mark records our Christmas and makes a video of it to share with family members. I thought it might be fun to share a couple of clips from them. This first one is why I like Christmas so much. It's fun surprising people.

This other video is of Megan and shows what a quick wit she is.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!!!!!

How do you celebrate the ending of the old year and the coming of the new? I'm sure everyone has their traditions. Laura has told me that her Mum goes and greets the new year as the sun rises. She takes pictures as the sun is just coming up. I have seen some of her lovely pictures of the sun as it is just beginning to come up over the sea and it is really beautiful. What a fun way to document the coming of a new year and all the hope that instills!

We, however, are not so original. Not wanting to take their lives in their own hands Danielle and Megan opted to stay home instead of traveling at least an hour and a half to the young adult dance. (Personally I am grateful for that decision.) So we decided to have our own party!!!

At about 5 pm we started out with cheese sticks, poppers, quiche and of course beef stick and cheese, followed by cream puffs. After all if you are going to start a diet and excercise regime the next day you better get all the bad stuff out of the way the night before.

The night was filled with games of Plext, catch phrase and a viewing of the latest Mummy movie. Still it wasn't time for the new year to show up. So we decided on a competition to see who would be the champion of Dr. Mario 64. It was a heated battle with close calls and suicides but in the end Danielle won the title.

At the stroke of midnight it was a mad rush up the stairs to pull out our crackers. Josh was upstairs with his friends so we shared the tradition with them. They weren't as excited as we were about pulling the ends and making them pop to see what exciting prize was inside. We found pens and keychains, tape measures and crowns. Then we all shared sparkling cider. Not too exciting for some but just right for us. Oh! Of course there were fireworks!!

Bein close to the reservation we could hear several explosions during the evening as different devices were lit off. It wasn't until the actual new year came in that several neighborhoods around us had fireworks go off. Not as impressive as the fourth of July, but still kind of cool.

Of course after the cider we ran back down and started our Dr. Mario competition again. Josh and his friends finished thier movie. Everything wound down about 1 am. Josh had to go to work early and clean up needed to be done. Even though it didn't seem all that late it must have been too late for Molly. She kept falling asleep on Marks lap during Dr Mario and snoring so loudly we couldn't concentrate on the game!!!

Family and friends, sharing our love, that's what it's all about. I hope the new year brings love and happiness and greater appreciation for each other.