Wow, that was the easiest plane ride ever. The girls did great watching the little DVD and snoozing. After our 6 hour trip to Hawaii, a mere 2 hour jaunt down to LA is nothing. This was also the first time I didn’t lug a giant car seat onto the plane and that made a world of difference.

Leina was on fire the day of our trip. She was Ms. Chatty Kathy Social Butterfly and had everyone around her cracking up. She informed every person who made eye contact with her that she was going to visit her grandparents and going to Disney land. This cause quite a few chuckles and smiles but my favorite was the poor business man she cornered on the plane while we were waiting for everyone to board. After informing him about her trip to Disney Land, she asked if he was going too. If so, she told him to look for her so she could show him where her favorite Peter Pan ride was. Poor guy, he tried his best to bury his head into his iPhone but she was persistant. Eventually, he moved to another seat. Guess he didn’t want to chat with a 4 year old about Disneyland for two hours.

The girls are running around her like wild things. They love discovering all the strange stuff my parents have like harmonicas and old plastic easter eggs. Sleeping isn’t so hot. Last night Leina woke me at 1am, 2:30am, and the sister got up at 6:30am. Ugh. I have forgotten how horrible it is to deal with fragmented sleep. I’m optimistic that they will settle into their new beds nicely in the next few days and I can get some sleep!

Oh yes, Kevin found the charger. It was on my craft table mixed in with my bead box. Now, this discovery gives rise to two questions.

1. How did the camera charger get upstairs in my bead box?
2. What was Kevin doing looking in my beads in the first place?

Kevin appears to be surviving nicely. He has hung out with our buds Kat & Josh eating ribs, slept in, played on the computer, and has lined up several other dinners over the next few days. Even worse, he has the whole week off from work. So he gets to loll about doing whatever he wants without a poopy diaper in sight for the next 5 days. He can barely control the giddy.

We are heading to Disneyland tomorrow. It will be Kulia’s first trip and I’m so excited. DisneyLand with a child is truely magical. I’ll try and post a few picks when I get a chance. Hopefully, my sleep deprived kids will make it all day long!

I can’t find our camera battery charger.

And it is driving me C-R-A-Z-Y.

I just used it. Right before we went to the zoo a few days ago. It is always by the kitchen sink plug sitting in its own little charger bowl just waiting for use. But when I went to pack it, it was gone. Vanished. Kevin and I torn apart the house last night looking for it. Nothing. Nada. Zilch.

Arrrrgh. Nothing makes me more frustrated than items being misplaced. I have a place for everything. A box, a drawer, or a room. Important stuff, like chargers, are kept up high were little hands can’t reach them. Kevin has learned not to mess with my bizarre organizational tendencies. When he needs something, he asks me and I find it. This is how it works. Chargers are not suppose to move. So not acceptable.

I’m going to have Kevin order a new one but I know once he does, we’ll find the old one in some odd place. But I gotta tell you, this missing charger is keeeling me dude.

Aside from the wayward charger, we are packed and ready to go. Yippee!

Just a short post today. I’m attempting to pack everything I need for myself, Leina and Kulia for two weeks into two suitcases. Wanna come help? Yeah, I didn’t think so. In two days we are heading to LA to visit the grandparents. Yippee! The girls are so excited they can hardly sleep. Leina in particular. Kulia is still stuck on the fact that daddy isn’t coming with us.

As much as I love visiting family, I dread taking my kids to the airport. All those people and lines and business. Do you have any idea how hard it is to get through the metal detector with two toddlers? Just taking off and putting back on their shoes takes 10 minutes are a good day. (My girls are very particular about how their socks go on. Sigh.) Then we have to unload all our carry-ons, fold down the stroller, and gather it all back. Bleck.

As for packing, my mother insists it is “cold” in LA. I have to take her assessment with a grain of salt. Today, our high was 50 degrees and we are all in short sleeves. For this reason alone, I have packed the following types of clothing:

Shorts and t-shirt with sandals.
Pants and long sleeves.
Vests.
Windbreakers.
Heavy coats.
Tights.
Sunglasses and sun hat.
Light night gowns.
Footed PJ’s.

So if our plane gets re-directed to Hawaii, we’ll be ok. (Please oh please oh please send us to Hawaii.) On the other hand, if we land in Wisconsin, we’d be just fine. This breath-taking range of clothing items means a very full suitcase so my original plan of packing Christmas presents has to be scuttled. Looks like I’ll have to brave the post office like the rest of the population. Drat.

My five minute rest is over. I now have to figure how many socks, undies, and hair clips we need over the next two weeks. At the rate my girls lose hair clips, I’m thinking 2 dozen per child ought to work. Socks? That’s a whole other ball park.

The weather has taken a serious turn. The wind has stripped the trees of all their beautiful fall leaves and it appears that winter is on the horizon. Leaving the YMCA this morning, I had a moment or two when I was sure the wind was going to pick up Kulia and whisk her away to Oz. She may have been under the same impression because she practically climbed up my leg and into my arms.

So what do you do on a cold and stormy Oregon Monday? Well, lets see. Some of us like to work on art projects.

Others prefer to hone their musical abilities.

But I think the smartest move is to curl up with a quilt and take a nap under the grey and gloomy skies.

Poor Josh. Every time he leaves town, we make plans to have Kat over for some fun. He was heading out of town this weekend so we decided on a Buster’s run for ribs and then some card games or crafting while he was gone. When he heard the plans he was, justifiably enough, a little grumbly about missing out on the fun. Even better, Kat was going to bring down Melo puppy so she could be worshiped and adored by my children as a princess puppy should be. So imagine my alarm to learn that Melo has pulled a muscle/strained a joint/pinched a nerve or done something that required lots of rest and no activity for a week. When I told Leina that Melo couldn’t come visit this weekend she was sad. When I told her Melo was hurt and had to go to the vet, she began crying.

Yes, crying.

This girl loves Melo almost as much as Kat does and for those of you who know Kat, you will realize how much love this is. To calm Leina down, I told her she could send Melo a special message to help her feel better.

Melo, this one is for you puppy. Get well soon. (Toward the end, Leina actually starts tearing up again thinking about Melo being sick. Ah, my sweet sensitive girl!)

With my girls, you never know what the day will bring. Some days, they rise from bed grumpy and obstinate. Other days, they are sunshine and happiness. Today, I would have to categorize them as barely controlled balls of energy.

Each morning, Leina wakes at 7am and runs into our room to roust Kevin who heads downstairs to start breakfast. I usually lie in bed another 20-30 minutes gathering my strength and giving Kevin some quality time with his girls. So when I do lumber down the stair around 7:30am, I never know what will greet me. This morning, however, as I lay in bed fortifying myself, I could hear the distinct sounds of pounding feet, shrieks, and giggles coming from below.

This is what I found.

And they haven’t stopped since. I’m thinking they are liking the extra hour of sleep in the morning. Either that or they have begun sneaking sips from my coffee cup when I am not looking. Wouldn’t you love to have this much energy before 8am? I know I would.

(As you can see from the clip, Kevin has recovered from his horrible day. Baby kisses can erase just about all forms of heartache thankfully!)