Our Himalayan Kittens

Our kittens are about six weeks old now and are alot of fun! They are very social, smart and are litter box trained already yet are still nursing as well as eating food a couple times a day. They will also make people GREAT companions!
Our kitty blog is roguecoastcattery.blogspot.com

Spending Easter in the Snow

Don't get me wrong. We really didn't spend all of Easter in the snow. Annalie and I first attended an Easter breakfast at church followed by an excellent service that ended with 3 people getting baptized. There were a couple of really good testimonies that I believe encouraged many people there! Also the plan of salvation was preached very simply and clearly. It snowed during church so Jason and Laurie watched the snow at home through the window. Jason greatly enjoyed it.

We had to rush home quickly afterword since Laurie was to be at work at 1:00pm. I got home just in time to clean up Jason as well as his bedroom. Next I had some oatmeal for my Easter dinner---Yum!

I know it's April but I also knew that for some reason the snow level was quite low on Sunday. Global warming never ceases to amaze me! Anyway I invited Uncle Marv to take a ride with us up Hunter Creek to see some of this white stuff. We stopped when the snow got about 8-10 inches which was near the Elko Campgound cutoff. I helped Annalie build a little snowman plus a little snow angel. Jason seemed to enjoy himself until his hands got cold. I'm not sure if the kids even own any gloves as we live in the "Banana Belt" of Oregon. Anyway it was a fun little diversion. When we decided to head for home it started snowing very hard so we got to enjoy that as well during the trip back.


If you look really closely you can see a snowball headed Annalie's way. I can't remember if it hit it's target or not!

Trip to Ocean World Crescent City CA

Last Thursday we took a break from our usual routine and set out to explore another attraction that is relatively close to home. I was working in Crescent City for the afternoon so Laurie and the kids drove down so we could all take in Ocean World after work.
Because it's still the off season plus we were the last tour of the day we had a tour guide all to ourselves. I never did catch his name but he seems to love his job. He is also the trainer for the seal and sea lion exhibit. Our first stop was a hands on area where kids could handle some small tide pool animals.
Not only were you encouraged to touch them but also taste and smell. Those two senses are pretty high on Jason's list as you can see!
There was also a very nice display of large tanks containing sharks,rays,sea bass,herring,and some sturgeon which you see here.
Next was a trip to the shark petting area where you could carefully pet two leopard sharks. Again I think Jason enjoyed the feel of their rough skin.
Next it was time to get swallowed by a great white shark and live to tell about it.
Lastly Jason and Annalie posed on what appears to be a wild ocean ride on a jet ski. Thanks to some nice exhibits and a friendly tour guide are time there was entertaining for both kids and adults!

Having Fun at the Beach Feb 27

Laurie's parents were in town over the weekend which gave us an excuse to hit the beach. I should mention that it was a very nice day as well. Although I enjoy going I will say that my interests are very narrow when I'm there. All I want to do is "pick rocks" On this day I was rewarded for my efforts with a couple of agates, some pretty jasper, and one small piece of petrified wood.
Guess I like taking pictures too so I took a couple of 2 of my favorite people. Annalie is always game for a picture but her brother sometimes can be more of a challenge. On this day though I was successful!
I especially enjoy taking Jason here because it's one of the few places it seems where I can let go of him and he's relatively safe. I say that because he doesn't seem that interested in the waves. He really just loves the driftwood rocks and sand. His expression here says what he can't yet say himself. It is a joy to see him enjoying something. We must go more often!!

Christmas at Disneyland!

It's hard to know which pictures to include but I just tried to pick a few of my favorites that shows how this place is transformed at Christmas time.
There were quite a few places set up throughout the park that were specifically for picture taking. This was one of my favorites.
The Christmas parade is very popular and was fun to watch. It really was quite entertaining plus we got to sit down for awhile!!
This picture probably doesn't do it justice but Cinderella's castle is spectacular this time of year especially after dark.
We often split up to cover more ground and this particular day Laurie and Annalie took a ride around the park on this old truck that was also decorated for the occasion.

Although we did encounter some rain and cool evening temperatures, Christmas time is a picturesque time to visit Disneyland. Seems like everywhere one looked there was always something worthy of a digital picture. These Santa pictures were all taken by professional photographers that roam around the park.

Character Study

One of the many fun things at Disneyland is being able to see and interact with the Disney characters. We never seemed to have trouble finding them and here are just a few of the many different ones we encountered.
This is the newest addition to the Disney princess collection. Her name is "Tiana" from the movie "The Princess and the Frog".
No trip to Disneyland is complete without a shot of Mickey Mouse and we found him at his house in Toontown.
Somehow Laurie discovered that if we showed up at the Hollywood backlot area in California Adventure we could get our picture taken and receive a free copy. We did this several times to get as many pictures as we could.
We also found these bears at dusk in California Adventure. We got a tip from a cast member who told us when they would be arriving. They are Kenai and Koda from the movie "Brother Bear". The amazing thing was that we were the 1st ones in line to see them. Almost immediately after that it began to rain and they were gone just like that! When it comes to seeing Disney characters sometimes it's just a matter of timing! I should say that we ate at some restaurants where part of the price included character visits but all the pictures you see here were just being at the right place at the right time.
Oh!! I almost forgot Woody and his pal Jessie from "Toy Story"

Annalie's Birthday Wish!

During 2009 Disneyland offered anyone a free day in the park on their birthday.
Since we had purchased our tickets well in advance and would be there on Dec 12th (Annalie's birthday) she had the option of receiving a $60 gift certificate instead that she could use for whatever. She opted for a major makeover at the Bippity Boppity Boutique beauty salon. Their specialty is transforming young girls into princesses. Since I'm really not keen on all the details I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. It's obvious though that this was a big deal to a five year old girl. And boy did she get the looks!! A number of people in the park asked if they could take her picture. We even had a flight attendant ask the same thing on our way home. Again we were impressed about how Disney continues to strive to "WoW" their guests in everything they do.