It's been a while ... here is a short update ...

Here is an update on our adventures. 

Annie made a comment that we were on vacation, I told her that I wanted it to end.  I am tired and so are the kids and I believe Shane is too.  We cannot believe how difficult it is to get housing.  We will look in a few other areas, but if we do not find something soon then I fear we will have failed.  I do not like to fail at anything, but I have to think of the kids.  I hope that we find something soon, the kids love it here and Marissa even said that she was having fun.


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Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was spent in Fremont in an extended stay hotel; where we had a kitchenette.  After serving for a few photo ops that I needed (for a present I am cooking up for my mother - these photos will not be included here), we walked along a few beaches.  The night before we went to the Safeway and bought roasted turkey, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, and gravy.  We also got dinner rolls and cranberry dressing.  Not too bad for a makeshift dinner; it was pretty tasty and we had fun when we got back from our drive.

We traveled up the cost so I could take pictures that I will not be showing until after Christmas.  Too bad Mom.  Mwahahahaha ...

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Global Winter Wonderland

So while we were driving around, looking at neighborhoods and housing, I saw a billboard that advertised a Global Winter Wonderland.  What????  So I googled it.  LOL!  Click here it see their site.  It was pretty cool.  It was a challenge to get in.  We did not have cash on us (a whole different story) and all I had was the parking fee, which would not have been an issue because we had our credit cards.  Well when we got there the systems were down.  All of the computers were dead.  LOL!  Cameron was crushed.  It was his surprise that I had been building on all day.  Ack!  I just spent $10 for parking and there was nothing that they were willing to do.  Really?

So we went over to the Hilton (next door) to see if they had tickets (they did not.  They were supposed to have tickets and were told that they would have tickets, but apparently the systems at wonderland were down for a while). So we used the business center machines in the Hilton.  They were so unbelievable slow that something had to be wrong.  I do not believe that I have any sense of entitlement or that I need a certain level of service.  I have been in the service industry, I know what it is like.  But I do want a solid and relatively fast Internet connection.  I did not have the time for this, so I went to the front desk (of a hotel I was not staying in) and told them that something was wrong that the connection was way to slow.  I was told that someone would be out to help me. 

The lovely Caitlin came over to help me out.  After a short conversation we decided to get the tickets from her computer at the front desk.  After about 30 minutes of crazy we were on our way.  Cameron was delighted and I was relieved.  Marissa and Annie were just as excited; because it was cool.  Shane (believe it) did not complain at all.  Not about the hundreds of people hustling and bustling and pushing or stopping in the middle of the way to take a picture.  Not one single complaint.  Shane was also at the mall earlier and never complained once there, well he said it was hot but that was it.  I know, it was insane.  Almost as if he was a pod person.  For those who do not know Shane, he hates crowds and avoids them at all costs.  So for him to go to these two places (on Black Friday no less) was a miracle.

Here are some of the pictures I captured on my camera that is on my phone.  (My regular Camera does not take night pictures very well.)

While still very cool, I did not know that the dinosaurs celebrated the holidays.

Besides showing how most major cultures celebrate the holidays.  There were signs that told us about each "lantern."   No, I did not take pictures of them although there were equally cool in the 4 languages they were displayed in.

Look kids, Big Ben and Parliament ...

Most of the "lanterns" changed color or rotated or did both.

It was pretty cool to see.

These two are made from cups, saucers, spoons, etc ...

This was the first year they held this in the United States, so it was really cool that we were in the right place at the right time.  We managed to go on opening night.  There were also food vendors and there was a small amusement area that we did not take part in, but I was not going to push it.

I will write more later, but this is all for now.  Still looking for a home and we have an interview for an apartment on Friday.  Keep your fingers crossed.

Love all -

Jennifer

Happy Thanksgiving

I have known for a long time that it never mattered where you were, as long as you were with the ones you love then nothing else mattered.

I had to be reminded of that recently when I got really sad that we still did not have a house yet and here it is Thanksgiving.  I had envisioned a move that went way more smoothly than this one.

The journey here was fantastic, very little fighting and hardly any screaming, well there was the tarantula incident.  We have seen so many cool things, but I need a home.  The kids need a home.  We all need a home.  I never thought this part was going to be hard.  The size of our family prohibits most places from renting to us, and some hotels.

I do not want this to be a complaint blog.  I want this to be a window, if you will, into our family dynamic and our journey into the unknown.  And so far, it has been a crazy journey.  One that we are all ready to end.  Today we plan on driving around for a little while and finding a beach.  On this beach we will run and play and laugh.  Then we plan on coming back to the hotel and having our Thanksgiving dinner.

Since we found a place that is an Extended Stay Hotel, we have a little kitchenette (pictures to come) and a large refrigerator.  So I can reheat the roasted turkey, the mashed potatoes and the mac-n-cheese that we bough from the grocery store.  I can dish out the cranberry sauce and the pumpkin pie, including the whipped topping, and we will have our own little turkey dinner.  We will have a Thanksgiving and we will be together and right now that is all that matters. 

Cameron and Annie really helped put things back into perspective.  They both said that it did not matter where we were or where we lived or did not live, all that matters is that we are together.  Marissa has a sixth sense of when I really need a hug.  I have probably the most amazing kids.  And I am not just saying that, I think that they are really amazing.  People tell me they are all of the time.  Linda (horseback riding) told me that my kids were a breath of fresh air.  She sees a lot of spoiled kids who fight all of the time and it was nice to have kids that laughed and joked with each other.  Kids that were excited and enjoyed their rides as opposed to kids that were not behaved.

I know that my kids are awesome, but it is nice to know that other people think that too.

This Thanksgiving I really am thankful to have what I have.  Sometimes we just say the words and we forget what it really feels like to be thankful for what we have in our lives.  I truly am thankful that I remember what it feels like to be thankful for what I have and for who I have in my life.  I have great kids and a pretty great husband that knows me better than anyone else (yes, probably even better than my mother who knows a lot about me too).

I realized that I talk very little about Shane on here.  Shane is my rock. 

Shane is even going places that are crowded and loud.  I know, it is crazy.  I think he may even go to Disneyland after we get a place and get settled in.  Shane can look at me and know what I am feeling sometimes.  He knows when I lose my strength and my resolve, even for the slightest of seconds.  He is there when I need him to comfort me and he is there when I need to yell at him (although he I do not think he is listening during those times). 

Shane has been more patient with me and my camera than the kids have been.  He has stopped rolling his eyes and usually sends one of the kids to collect me when I stop to take a picture of something I like.  They do not say anything to me, they just grab a part of my clothing and pull.  LOL!  They just sigh and shake their heads and lead me back. 

I think we are going to end up farther from the bay than he would like, but that is life and I am tired of being on the road, so are the kids.  But for now, we have a place and each other and we will not have to go to a diner for Thanksgiving dinner.

Well, I think that may be all for a few days.  The kids are planning their segments and I think Annie is almost ready so you should be hearing from them in the next few days as well.  I will have pictures of the beaches and things we do and see over this holiday weekend definitely by Monday.  With any luck we will have a house/apartment soon.  I have a few more leads that make work out.  Keep your fingers crossed. 

With love,

Jennifer

Oh, and remember to always Say Cheese ...

Looking for housing and worn out ...

Sorry I have not blogged in a while, we have been looking for housing and it is wearing me out.  The girls are planning on putting their thoughts on here in the next few days and we are still doing minor sightseeing.

We went horseback riding, something Annie has been dying to do since we got near Texas.  We all enjoyed it and had a lot of fun.  It is surprisingly hard to take a picture while on a horse.  No matter how much pleading I did, the horse just would not stand still.  We all had pretty good horses and we rode along the beach for an hour.

Annie learned what she would need to do if she wanted to learn to ride and work at a stable.  I think that will be her first job.

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We pretty much look for houses and walk through them during the first half of the day, but then the rest of the time is for the kids.  I really cannot wait to get settled.  It seems like it is going impossibly slow, but I know it is not.

Our first attempt at getting a house was a fail.  We filled out all of the paperwork only to find out that it was rented in the time we took to view the property and fill out the paperwork.  We asked, and it takes two days to process the paperwork, so they knew it was going to rent before we asked for the keys to view it.  So, we will not be working with them any longer and it is now the first question I ask.  I am not waisting my time and it ticked me off that they felt they can waste my time, and they never even apologized.  Monterey Bay Property Management, you will not get any more of my time. 

We did talk with another company, Mangold Property Management, the receptionist was more worried about her perfume (which was applied way to heavily, because we could still smell it when we left) and whatever was going on in the back of the office to be bothered with helping a prospective client.  HELLO ... This is the age of social media ... I will out your ass on my blog if you provide less than tolerable service.  Do not think for one minute that I am going to tolerate piss poor customer service.  You may not be here to serve me, but you have a client that trusted you with their property and in order to manage that in any way you have to be willing to take the time with everyone that passes through your office doorway, even when you think you have something better to do.  So get over yourself and do the job you are being paid to do.

Sorry.   I really hate wasting my time and I really need to have a home base and be settled.  I did not realize how important that really was to me. 

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We have done a lot since my last blog so I am just going to throw a bunch of pictures on here and comment on a few of them.

Here we were at the Monterey Farmers Market.  They hold this one every Tuesday, year round.

A man named George brings his personal birda down to show off and for kids to see.  He is not all that friendly with adults, but he was cool with the kids.  We asked him if he was with a zoo and that was when he told us that they were her personal birds.  He has some pretty awesome birds.

Protesters ... I think I blinded them with my flash ...  Oops.

We spent a lot of time at the farmers market, but it is difficult to enjoy things when you are trying to capture them.  So I put the camera away after a while.  That, and there were a lot of people and Shane does not like losing me in a crowd.  Neither do the kids, it really irritates them.

We visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium and became members. 

 It was cheaper to do that than it would have been to visit more than one time. 

Since we are living here, we thought it would be a good investment.

All of us went once and then we dropped the kids off while we went house hunting. 

I believe we will be going again this week sometime if we have time.

It is really relaxing to just watch the fish.  My favorite part are the jellyfish.  They are amazing.

Here you can see what it is like when a wave crashes. 

It is pretty cool and Cameron really liked this part.

It is really hard to take pictures of the fish in the tanks.  I am learning though.

Annie got to feed an Abalone.  They eat kelp.  It was crazy.  It sucked it right from her hand.

Here Annie and Cameron watched the tide from a different point of view.

Oh look ... A giant shell ... what shall we do with that?

Irritate our children ...

We went horseback riding along the beach one day.  Annie requested that we go horseback riding.  She loves horses and it took a lot of convincing Shane (not really) to go riding along the beach.

I think he was as excited as Annie was.

One person not excited was Cameron.  He had to wear a helmet and he did not think that it was cool.  I do not think he liked my choice of helmet.  After he got on the horse, his charm took over and he talked the ears off the female guide, Linda, and one other girl who was there with her boyfriend. 

Annie is only doing that to make me crazy ...

Our other guide, Butch, took this picture.  He was pretty cool too.

Here is one of the pictures I tried to take while on the horse.  Not very good, but you can see Cameron on a horse all by himself and without a guide line.  He rode most of it without help.  There were a few times where he needed a little help, but not many. 

Also, if you are ever in Monterey and want to ride horses, give Monterey Bay Equestrian Center a call.  Butch and Linda were awesome and great guides and the horses are pretty nice too.

Then yesterday, it was hard but we went to the beach closest to the house we looked at.  Pacific Grove is to Monterey what West Des Moines is to Des Moines.  Close but not too close.

Had to get a picture of this sign to torment my mother. 

We looked for sea shells until Shane told us to stop. 

This beach is federally protected and we cannot take any shells or sea life from this beach.

I love Cameron's excitement ... I have no idea what he is pointing at.

or what he is looking at ...

It was a hard day

Annie was rethinking the shorts after a while.  The water is really cold.

I will leave you with one of my favorite shots of the day.  I am shooting through the water. 

It was cool to see an actual starfish in the ocean and not in a tank.