Operation Move Pants to CA- Phase 1

As promised we will be launching our campaign to convince Pants' parents to move closer to us. Pana (Pants' Nana) is more than welcome to move west as well.

Phase 1- Evidence on why they should chose CA over MN




A Typical January Day in Minnesota.
On this same day we went to about our day in 70 degree weather and watched the palm trees gently sway in the breeze.




Dear Pana- The ball as they say is in your court.

The Rest of our Vacation

By Saturday Morning both M and the Boy had left for MN. M had to get back to work and the Boy had traveled to MN to see his Nana and Papa.
Pants was nice enough to harass the Boy extra on his last day with her so she would be sure he would miss her. After about the 50th time she asked him "you in car?" I am pretty sure he was ready to head to the airport! Of course when we called him the next day and handed the phone to Pants she had to ask him if he was "in car?" He admitted that he missed her already.

The Dad, Elle and I took Pants to the Living Desert on Saturday and to Sea World on Sunday before their flight. Fortunately there were no lions at the zoo (Lions are Pants' least favorite animal). Uncle Nate and Pants made it through the rest of the weekend with neither of them getting in trouble. Although they were a bit like two peas in a pod. We visited the "pony" exhibit at Sea World multiple times. As in every time Pants said "ponies" to Uncle Nate we made a beeline for the Clydesdale exhibit.

Leaving them at the airport was pretty sad for the Dad and I. We have decided to launch "Operation Convince Pants' Parents to Move to CA".










Pants and her camera with a side of follow the leader

Sea World Adventures

Christmas Day

Sorry this post is so late. We did celebrate the Holidays on time. But I haven't had a chance to update the blog again since then. We had so much fun over the holidays this year.
On Christmas Eve we went to Chinese food with Pants, Elle and M. Nothing says Christmas Eve like a Chinese Buffet followed by a couple of games of Bowling.
Bowling with a 2 1/2 year old is the funnest experience in the world. We got high fives for strikes and gutter balls.
After convincing the kids to go to bed Santa was able to swing by the house for a quick visit. The kids were kind enough to sleep until after 7 am even.

The Family visits Disneyland

After months of plotting and planning we finally made it to Disneyland! Pants has been watching Mickey's Clubhouse in preparation of our big visit. The Boy has been checking the rides on line to come up with his list of "have to go on that ride" rides. The parents charged up our camera batteries and prepared for an afternoon of chasing the kids through the park. At the end of the day we were all happily exhausted and enjoyed every minute of our visit. I will say the the Holiday Parade was worth the 30 minutes spent saving our front row seats.













The One and Only Santa Claus Miss Pants and her assistants (her parents) Goofy





The Boy (isn't he a cutie pie?)

Santa flew in to Palm Springs

The Boy who is all of 10 and slightly jaded when it comes to the whole Santa thing chose to stay home and missed out on Santa's arrival at the air museum in Palm Springs. Apparently the appeal of having some peace and quiet was greater than the appeal of standing in line to see the fat man in the red suit.
Fortunately Pants was willing to amuse us and we were able to use her as our excuse to go and see Santa. At the air museum one of Santa's Elves flies Santa in so he can visit with the kids (and give the reindeer a bit of a rest).

The Family went to the Aquarium of the Pacific

Uncle N (the Dad) has been promising Miss Pants that he will take her to the big fishes when she came out here on vacation. Of course she has been calling to remind him and give him a list of her demands. We were to pick her up at the airport with a brown pony and a cake. We compromised a bit and found a brown pony stuffed animal and a cupcake.
We made a quick stop at Seaport Village to allow Miss Pants to run off some of her excess energy. There were lots of choruses of "Steevie chase me" "Nate you run now". I am pretty sure we achieved our goal of wearing out the kids because Pants napped on the way back to our house and the Dad asked me to drive because he was too tired!
Our first adventure was a trip to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. We had a few minor problems with birds. The lorakets were a little too eager to drink the nectar we tried to feed them and the pigeons were very interested in our picnic lunch.

Shout out to my NS/CS friends

It has been a crazy year for us all this year. Lots of highs and lows. Beej brought us all to tears with her tribute and fund raiser for Lisa. Firebird lead us in a covert operation to cheer up startsmart.
Over the course of the year we have shared many laughs and good times. 2009 is on our horizon along with the much anticipated trip to Las Vegas. I fear that city will never be the same after we are through with it.
Happy holidays to each of you wonderful ladies.