Beach continued...

Camping at Crab Flats

My dad, brother, Clint, baby and I all went camping while we were in CA. I learned that riding a quad is MUCH more comfortable then riding over ruts and rough roads in a truck! Enjoy the pics and take special notice that I can now rest a soda can on top of my stomach! Look Mom, no hands!

Camping continued...

So Cal Gluttany

One of the reasons I have liked living in Kansas so much is because people live in a very middle class way of life. There is none of the "Keeping up with the Jones'". I like that people can drive a Ford and fit in with out any problems. Yes, Manhattan has it's GIANT houses and people do drive nice cars, but they are like a BMW or maybe a Porsche.
Well while being back in O.C. I have noticed a big difference in the way of living. This became clear when 2 Bentleys, not one, came driving down a this road we were on while on our way to Malibu from Agora Hills (Simi-Valley area). It's not a completely uncommon thing to see a car that is worth more then a house, a nice house in Manhattan for that matter, but there was two of them! What struck me most was that one of the drivers thought that because he/she was driving a Bentley that they could just cut into the line of traffic waiting to turn right onto PCH, a road that goes along the coast. This person even honked the horn at the people that were actually trying to let the Bentley in, but the driver was too stuck up or moronic to realize the fact. That Bentley turned the same way we did and angrily sped down PCH, driving crazily and cutting off more vehicles on it's way down the road. What a jerk. I guess having lots of money doesn't make you a happy person.

Clint and I had actually seen a Bentley on our drive out to CA. I think it was in Colorado or Utah. He was really hoping that this guy would stop at the same gas stations so that Clint could strike up a conversations that would go something like this: "Hey, nice car, what kind of gas mileage do you get? Oh great, mine gets like 28. So how does it feel to know that the price difference between your car and mine could feed an African village for 4 years?"

I had told Clint that he should ask the other Bentley driver that we saw on our way to Malibu the same questions. After all she had her window down, and it would have been VERY easy and I would have loved to see her facial expression!

The other two pictures I have on the blog are for a house in the neighboring area of where my parents live. It has been recently built, I think about the same time that Clint and I moved to Manhattan. Here is what the listing says: "One of Orange County's Landmark Estate Properties located in Coto de Caza's Los Ranchos Estates. This 9.5 acre Tuscan influenced property has everything the equestrian, athlete or entertainer could want! From the moment you pass the guard house you will enter this private hill-top compound with lakes, pastures, stables, tennis court, pool, staff quarters, guest casita, pool house & outdoor kitchen! Main house features a great room, 2 commercial kitchens, theater, billiards room, subterranean wine cellar with tasting area, library, 2000 sqft master suite with his & hers baths, recreation room, exercise room & music conservatory." Price: 12,9000,000. Yep that's right, almost 13 MILLION dollars! Who has that money in his economy!
Did you catch the part that mentioned the 2 thousand sq ft BEDROOM! You could fit two of the houses that I live in, into just the bedroom! What the heck is a music conservatory! Is that a fancy word for a "giant wasted space" that you can listen to your I pod in? And who needs 2 COMMERCIAL kitchens? I can understand having a pool house, and I guess I'm use to the ideas of a guest house and staff quarters, but I still think it's ridiculous. Well except for the pool house, I think that would be cool because it would keep the water and mess from pool parties out of your house.

So after witnessing such extremes, I am a little worried about moving back some day. Clint and I REALLY want to live next to our families, and we could buy a nice modest home for way too much money, but it's putting up with these extremes that makes me worried. I didn't even mention the education system. More like the lack of. I found out yesterday that the state has stopped paying for bus services and libraries. LIBRARIES? How can you call yourself a school with out a library!? I guess I went to a small private school that didn't have a library because it was new, and that is probably why I struggle with finding good books at a library because I didn't get that foundation growing up! What are we teaching our kids if people drive around in cars that usually cost AT LEAST 200K and live in 13 Million dollar estates, but we can't provide libraries at the schools they go to. Pay your taxes people!!! This isn't even taking in account that the classroom teacher has to teach EVERYTHING. On top of teaching Math, Reading, Science, Social Studies, teachers here also have to teach P.E., music (if they know how) and Art. Now they have to take control in the libraries and computer labs WHEN those rooms are open. My brother-in-law is in High School and his library is LOCKED 3 out of the 5 days of school! Not that I think teachers should be lazy, but I have liked teaching in KS because we have highly qualified teachers for Music, Art and P.E. oh and our library is open not only to our students but to the COMMUNITY as is our computer lab! The community pays for it, why not allow everyone to use it?

So I guess, be thankful for the wonderful things that we have in our lives and the better education we got as kids, because kids now are getting screwed. Hopefully we can fix it before my son will be heading off to CA's public education system. If we haven't fixed it, then our kids won't be going to public schools!

Clint says that none of this matters because the mountain biking here is just too good.

Kiss and Make Up

So after talking to my dad last night, I thought I would give a piece offering to all those who live in KS. I don't want to say that my hormones are making me mean or anything, but I think I am a little more verbal with my thoughts. :) So I apologize to any of you whom I may of offended. So as my piece offering, I am posting a hilarious video of Clint giving the cat a bath. This is the second bath the cat has gotten since we have had him. I'm a little afraid of bathing cats after having one cat bite completely through my thumb nail a while back. Anyways, when Wes is put into the tub, he immediately hisses, and puffs his hair. So look at his tail. I tried to get a good shot of it. What the video doesn't show is the cat jumping out of the tub dripping wet with water and soap, and running through the house with Clint and I chasing him. Then when we finally caught him, Clint almost lost him because he slipped out of his hands. We laughed the entire time. The nice thing about Wes is that generally he is a VERY tolerant cat and he doesn't hold grudges! Enjoy the video.

52% of you were right!

That's right, we're having a boy! The ultrasound tech was very nice and bubbly. We told her that we wanted her to write down the sex of the baby so that we could go home and be surprised. After doing all the measurements I asked if she would write it down, and Clint said, kind of sounding bummed, "Oh, I think I already know." He thought we were having a girl and we both though the tech had said something about "she won't turn" or something to like that. So we were both surprised when she said boy. I was surprised because I could tell from Clint's voice that he really wanted a boy and he sounded slightly bummed.

I'm happy and so is he. Aside from dressing a girl up in cute dresses and pretty bows, I wanted a girl to prove that it was possible for Clint's lineage to bear a girl. Clint's dad had all boys and his dad's dad had all boys, so I'm a little worried. Clint isn't worried and he was sure that we would get pregnant, so hopefully he will be right about having a girl! :)

Enjoy the pics!

Electricity, who'd have thought you'd miss it so much!

So in normal circumstances, this is how a "normal" electrical circuit would work. I don't think that Kansas has the word "normal" in their vocabulary. Our electricity went out on Monday night during the storm. We later found out that it was due to blown transformers and one broken electrical pole. So 29 hours later, our power was restored.

Here is the thing about power outages in Kansas. Winter power outage due to the ice storm, Clint and I had to vacate our house with our pets and take refuge at our Grandma's house because our house went down to 34 degrees. Not very enjoyable.

Power outage during the summer: Power goes out, and you suffer in heat and humidity! The night of power outage, we were o.k. with keeping the windows open and slept fairly comfortably. Last night when we got home our house was 78 degrees. I know that some people keep their air conditioning at 78 degrees, but I think it's WAY too hot. We suffered through the night and at about 1:20 our lights came on. YEAH! Part of me wants to blame the lazy people who don't trim their trees and keep their property nice. The other part of me wants to blame the power companies because they don't upkeep their lines. Guess their both at fault!

So now I get to brag about California. We would occasionally have "rolling black-outs" due to idiot de-regulating the power companies. But when the power goes out there, it's not usually a big deal. You may have to put some extra layers on or an extra blanket or open the house and wear less clothes maybe sweat a little. Either way, not a big deal.

So at this point of our lives, Clint, Grandma and I are very ready to go back! To move closer to the ocean, sit in hours of traffic while going to work, have wonderful views of smog while trying to find the mountains and attempt to keep up with the Joanses! But at least if we have a power outage we won't melt or freeze!