A Day at the Lake

In an effort to get a tan, since I got no sun whatsoever in San Diego, we took the kids out to Lake Pleasant for a morning in the Starship. The Starship is our little pull toy thingy that the kids LOVE! Yes, they convinced me to take a ride, and let me tell you. My 40 year old body doesn't handle the bumps and turns as well as it used to. 'Nuff said. But, we had a blast. I don't know why we don't go out there more often!

And, if I think Lake Pleasant is fun, I can't imagine how much MORE fun we would have at Lake Powell....right Melynda?? wink, wink

Connor has mad skills when it comes to driving the boat.

Last one in is a rotten egg!!  (I guess that would be me.)

Caitlin gets very shy when I break out the camera.

The girls....and Connor too.  He was "driving" the Starship.

Pure joy. 

The kiddos.

San Diego

We just got back from a trip to San Diego.  It was not quite what we expected it to be and started out a little rough....

The Friday before we left, I went to go get my tires rotated and balanced, only to have them tell me and SHOW ME my BALD tires!  So, we had to buy 4 new ones.  NO BUENO!

Ok, so over that and onto getting ready to leave.  Sunday afternoon, I was driving my car when the AIR turned HOT and the "check engine light" started flashing, and the car started vibrating.  ARE YOU KIDDING ME???  Not driveable. We made arrangements to use Kort's truck (Kort, Amy & Emmi were going to SD with us anyway).  Hugh wasn't very upset about this as Kort's truck is his DREAM TRUCK.  Ok, that problem solved.

Then I got a phone call from a friend with bad news.  Not "someone is hurt or sick" bad news. Just bad news. I'll explain later, when I can.

Monday morning....time to leave. We got up early, and waited patiently for Hugh to come home from work.  He was hoping to be home about 7.  But a 3 alarm apartment fire kept him on the job and he didn't get home until about 9:30.  And, he still needed to pack!  But when he did finally get here, he smelled like FIRE and let me tell ya, that smell is sexier than Hugh's cologne.  Oh baby!!

Anyway, were finally off and ended up having a "cool" time in San Diego.  And by cool, I mean COLD!   San Diego was having some of the coolest July temps in years!  We only made it to the beach twice, because it was seriously uncomfortably cold!  And overcast.  Never saw the sun at the beach.  I guess we are going to have to plan another trip!!  Emmi loved it though.  Loved the water, the waves and the sand!  But our two favorites were Del Mar......

and Coronado

Because of the weather, we had to come up with some other things to do....like pick strawberries in Carlsbad!  (Also found some fabulous items at the Coach outlet while in Carlsbad.....good times.)

Visited Old Town San Diego for the first time and it's pretty cool there!  Went to the Mormon Batillion Visitors Center and it was very cool!  Great exhibit and tour!  And it's FREE!  Bonus! 

Had a few meals out.  Of course, a favorite was PF Changs.  We also love Sammy's and their messy sundaes!!  Yum!  But no pictures of those. Sorry.

What made the trip fun and memorable were the people we were with.  Our family. Doesn't get much better than that.  Next time, I'll try to take more pictures of the entire family, and not just Emmi.  :)

Happy Fourth of July!

From our family to yours....

Happy Fourth of July!

Let Freedom Ring!

Oooh, I Have a Story for Ya!

I feel like I've lost my oomph to blog!  I love my blog so much, but my new "occupation" has taken over my life - IN ALL AMAZING WAYS - and I've been slacking!  I've been searching my brain as to what to write about and NOTHING.  Because all I think or talk about any more is TomKat Studio, and I think that's becoming a little overkill for some (Sorry Amy, Wendy & my family).  What can I say?  I have the RADDEST job on the planet!!

But, just for fun...I have a story for ya.

The other morning, I headed off to the gym to get my pump on.  (That's right..I said that.)  I noticed that my neighbor around the corner had left his garage door open.  And there were no cars out front.  And hour and a half later, I drove back by and the door was STILL open.  His garage is very organized, and he has lots of tools and Man Gadgets hanging all over the place.  I felt it was my duty as the Nice Neighbor to see if anyone was home.  Here is how things went down:

I knocked on the door and waited for someone to answer.  The man (whom I have never actually met, but recognize as the occupant of the home) answers the door...slowly.

Me:  Hi.  I drove by and noticed that your garage is open.  I just wanted to let you know.
He opens the door and comes out.
Man:  Um...who are you?
Me:  I'm your neighbor.  I live around the corner. I'm married to the fireman who drives the red Dodge.(EVERYONE in our area know who the Fireman who drives the Red Dodge is.)
Man:  Oh.....(follows me out to the driveway).  Now who are you again?
Me:  I'm Toni. I live in the cul-de-sac.  I'm married to Hugh.
Man: Oh.  Well, thanks for telling me.  You are a good neighbor.  Give me a hug.
I was frozen with awkwardness.  What do I do?  He's got to be harmless, so I give in.  I swear, I thought the man was going to KISS me.  But he bring me in and hugs me...close and tight.  I mean, COME ON!  I manage to get loose.
ME:  Ok, well, I'm gonna go.  Have a nice day!
Man:  You know I'm separated now.
Me:  Uh..no...didn't know that.
Man:  Yea, it's been about six weeks.
Me:  Wow, that's new. Sorry to hear that.
Man:  Not me!  I'm free and single and lovin' it!
Me:  Well, good for you then. (Time to change the subject.  Just then I notice the newspapers in the driveway of his neighbor, which happens to be the house that belonged to the old man who killed himself several months ago.  Nice, huh?)  I see they are still delivering his newspapers?
Man:  Yea, we pick them up. You know he's dead.
Me:  Yep.  I remember when that happened. 
Man: Are you married?  I'm like Dude!  I've told you that TWICE already!!  What are you on??
Me:  Yep, married to my fireman. 
Man:  Are you happily married?
Me: Yep.  Have been for almost 18 years.
Man: Cuz I'd take ya.
Me:  I have three small kids...you want no part of this.  Nervous laugh.  Ok!  See ya!
Quick as lightening, I hope in my car and drive home.  I call Hugh and tell him - through laughter - what just happened.  Then Hugh informs me that another neighbor said this man has been CREEPING out the women in the neighborhood with his advances and inappropriate behavior.  Uh...Hugh??  Maybe you could have let me know that little tidbit of information?  Had I known I would have driven right by Creepy Man's house and not worried about his garage being open and his Man Gadgets being in plain view for anyone to see or steal!!

Anyway, that's my funny story of the week.  I drove by his house later that day and the door was STILL open.  Maybe he was waiting for another nice neighbor - preferably female - to drive by and let him know.  But it won't be me...that's for sure!  Creepy man.....