Saving the Seals

One of the kids favorite places to go near here is the Pacific Marine Mammal Centre. This place really is great...right now they are rehabilitating three elephant seals, eight sea lions and three harbor seal pups. If it's not busy the staff usually will take the children behind the fences and talk to them about the animals and what they do to help them. This week while I was chatting with one of the volunteers she invited the kids and I to come to the releasing of three seals that were fully recovered and ready to re-enter the ocean. What a great opportunity, as this is generally not open to the public. I assured her we would be there! So Sunday morning we left at 7:30 to go to the beach and be part of reuniting the seals with the ocean! It turned out to be an extremely joyous and emotional experience as we watched these little ones scamper across the sand and swim off...we watched them for quite awhile swimming, jumping and just playing! And the three of them stayed together the whole time. This was probably one of the most exciting things we have experienced since being on the road, and we are so thankful to the centre for inviting us!

We've been in Newport Beach now for one week, and we've slipped into a somewhat familiar pattern...eat, sleep and beach! I'm sure the novelty will where off at some point, but every time we head out to go somewhere the kids all ask "can't we just go to the beach instead?". Can't blame them...

This time around things are a little different for us. Last time we were here in Newport Dunes we were with our travelling partners the Goodman-Caines. This time we are on our own. The kids have already met some people, both new and familiar faces, so they are off playing...but I definitely get to see more of them now. And they are eager to go out...I always have company whether it's the grocery store or a walk. I'm really enjoying that! It's also nice to be close to Bill's work. He's always up and gone early and home early in the day so we have lots of time to enjoy with him. We have started going for walks every evening as a family... it's good exercise and a great time for us all to goof around and laugh!

We arrived in California two months earlier this year so the weather is also different...the Santa Ana winds means temperatures of 90 degrees....most often we are over 100 degrees...we are definitely soaking up the sun! No complaints here!!

On The Way...

We're four hours from our new home...sure we could have made it in a crazy three days but honestly, I finally just had to call a pit stop. We've been boondocking it since we left... At this point...day three of our forty hour trek across the country (again!)...we are in need of a few things...showers top the list right now! So we are in Vegas staying at the rv park we were going to visit on our previous trip out here but never made it. Funny that they assigned us a site and it was on "California Rd". After showers for everyone we went out for real food...well...not road food anyways and then back to relax before bed. Being so close to California means we can finally get a good nights sleep and leave a little later in the day.
It's been a fairly quiet ride out here. Unlike any of our other long hauls, we've had no rain, no winds, just really nice weather to drive in. I slept though a lot of the mountain driving so my nerves are still intact too! And for once Maddy's ears are not bothering her...yeah! We had some incredible scenery going through Colorado and Utah...enough to keep the drive interesting for everyone. And the weather right now...at 11pm...is HOT! Long day so I'm off to tuck in my kiddos while Bill either wins or loses my fortune at the casino!

Hangin With Family and Friends

Our last two weeks in Ontario were spent visiting with friends and family as much as possible! Good times!

Anticipation

Anticipation is building as we prepare to leave our familiar stomping ground of years gone by. The RV is finished with the scheduled maintenance, the wallet is now a bit lighter but the piece of mind is worth it as our journey across the continent for a second time is about to begin. Not sure what route we will take, but I am sure Lisa will have us on a new path, yet to be travelled so that we see new places and things. We are not planning stops or stayovers, the kids want to try and go long and far during the beginning. A case of Red Bull in the fridge and we are ready to roll! This time of year is also a tough one with the two year anniversary of Mom's passing. I am also anxious "to get out of Dodge" before September 25th arrives. Mom continues to enjoy the view from the front windshield so I would rather have her with us on the warm sunny shores of California before the snow flies.

Happy 13th Ali!

It's hard to believe that Ali is turning 13 today. We are so proud of our "man-child"! As many of you know Ali is our wild and wacky one. He's quick to joke, laugh and doesn't mind making a fool of himself for a laugh! He loves adventure...if there is a snake or lizard he will find it. If there is something to climb he'll climb it. And if there's water around...he's in it! If he can build it or blow it up he's happy! But there is so much more to our Ali. If you are lucky enough to be friends with Ali then you are rewarded with someone who is extremely loyal and protective. He is always there when you need him and he will always have your back. If you are family you are even luckier because you get to witness his free spirit and generous heart. He is passionate about what he believes in and will always give you an honest opinion. His energy is endless, his joy for life evident in everything he does. And thirteen years ago today he gave me the greatest gift imaginable....motherhood.

It's been a couple weeks since I've been able to even get on the computer. It all started on the Monday when Maddy went to get her braces. She sure looks cute in them! The novelty for her however lasted about six hours...after that it was seven days of torture! Poor thing didn't eat for a week and was extremely uncomfortable...and asked everyday to go back and get them off...by day eight she was back to eating most things. Unfortunately she caught a cold this same week... I'm sure you can imagine what happens when a nasty cold gets into a 500 sq. ft. house with five people in it...yup...everyone was sick. Thankfully for the most part it was quick to pass...I'm the only one left with it and at least I can tolerate it. Just when we thought things were on an upward swing, poor Maddy got a bacterial infection that required antibiotics...which would have been okay except on day six of a seven day treatment she broke out into hives. So she's allergic to the antibiotic and is covered with hives and swelling...itchy and painful. Man I wish I could erase these two weeks for her...