In with the new - out with the old!

I have had my mattress for about 13 years now. It wasn't the best of mattresses when I did buy it new. After so many back aches I finally decided to bite the bullet and get a new one. Since I can't justify the expense of the mattress I really wanted I decided to go with the advice I was given and get one at Costco.

Mom and I drove the truck out to Oxnard and we got it together. Mom was most impressive not only lifting it in to the truck but also getting it all tied down correctly - go MOM! (McKay was working and dad was sick so they were not available to help). My home teachers came over and helped me move it up to my room. Oh how nice it is to have a new mattress! I can recommend the pillow top from Costco. :)

Well, since Michelle & Lynette and their families were coming the next week I kept the mattress on the side of the house. Michelle and I figured it would make a great bed for the younger kids when everyone was here. Tonight everyone came home from the beach and swimming. After watching movies it was time to get ready for bed and the mattress was moved in to the house. Soon after, dad and mom came over to see Lynette and her family. When I came to the house this picture is what I saw! Yes, that is my parents jumping on the mattress! The kids had so much fun watching and laughing with them! Needless to say we made them do it a few more times so we could get a picture. :) Thanks for being good sports mom and dad! Oh, yes, they did start something - the old mattress became the main attraction for the rest of the night.

Birthday weekend trip - Day 5

The plan this morning was to get up and attend Sacrament Meeting in the area and head home. Mom had planned the "July Birthdays" party for tonight about 6:30 pm. Since I am one of those birthdays, I needed to be there on time.

Well, thanks to the dark room at the hotel we didn't wake up on time. It was great to sleep in though! We left Oakland around noon and put the pedal to the metal. :) It was a very hot day and Corrine made great time! We managed to make it home before all of the festivities were underway! Corrine drove this entire weekend. However, by the time we got to Gorman she was burnt out and had a really bad headache so I took us through the home stretch.

I was once the only July birthday in the family. Zack joined me in 1996 when Michelle married him and two years ago we got Mac & Bryn to join us! Also, Garrett married Leanne and now I have a sister-in-law who shares my birthday! July now has the most family birthdays! Rachel made this wonderful baseball cake in honor of all of us! Are you impressed or what!

Thanks to Mom, Michelle and Rachel T for all of the yummy dinner and dessert - even homemade ice cream! It was a great ending to a wonderful birthday weekend!

Birthday weekend trip - Day 4

We decided to spent some more time in San Francisco today. We really wanted to see the Point Bonita Lighthouse and we found out it was opened to the public on Saturday so we headed back! The Golden Gate Bridge looked so beautiful today. Ty was so excited about the bridge - he couldn't stop talking about it. Corrine decided to stop at the view point and park so we could spend some time there. We walked out on the bridge so Ty could say he walked on it. We walked far enough for him to be able to say there was only water under him and the bridge. :)

We successfully made it to the lighthouse today! It was a lot of fun! There were a lot of people there and we waited in line to walk across the suspended bridge - just a little scary for me.

Corrine found another lighthouse to visit on our way back over the bridge - Fort Hood. It is no longer active because of where it sits under the GG Bridge. We were able to tour the fort as well. Very fascinating.

Last but not least we took a ride on the rocket boat. Ty really wanted to give it a try. It goes about 55 mph on the water and circles around on the bay. We got VERY wet, but we got off laughing so it was a good time! Ty was sitting on the edge and he was completely soaked!

By this time it was about 6:30 pm. We decided to stay another night in Oakland and not try to push ourselves to get home. We still needed dinner and knew it would be late before we got on the road. I called the hotel and they had a room they could give us at the same rate so the decision was made! We are just having too much fun to go home!

Birthday weekend trip - Day 3

Today we headed to San Francisco. We had breakfast at an IHOP by Pier 39 and then we decided to walk over to the pier. We were able to see all of the seals that live there; take lots of pictures; see Alcatraz from a distance and enjoyed the entertainment.
Corrine and I had decided to include some lighthouse hunting on this trip. Todd has never been to one and they had Friday free so they stayed the night and spent Friday with us as well. We crossed the Golden Gate Bridge (Ty thought we were driving through the clouds/sky) and went to find the Point Bonita Lighthouse. We parked the car and started down the path (a 1 mile walk). Todd stayed in the car because Hallie was sleeping. When we got to the bottom we were rather discouraged to see it was closed! Because of its location we were not even able to see it from a distance like some lighthouses. This hill was in the wall and the passage way was locked! We were all so very disappointed!

TJ had to be back home by 6:00 pm so after our attempt to see the lighthouse we said our goodbye to Todd and his family. This was particularly difficult because this was goodbye to Todd for at least 6 months because of his deployment.

After Todd's family left we decided to continue our lighthouse adventure. We drove to the East Brothers Lighthouse. Let's just say it was quite the adventure. This lighthouse is not a Bed & Breakfast so we were not able to get any closer, but Corrine showed her driving skills and her sense of adventure in getting us there! Ask Ty for more details. :)

We tried to see the lighthouse on Treasure Island, but we found out it was not accessible to the public. Treasure Island is a former Navy Base. We drove around the island a bit and took some pictures of the Bay! What a wonderful view!

After Treasure Island we headed back to Pier 39 for dinner. We at the sourdough place - Ty enjoyed his pizza, Corrine her chili in a bowl and I had a yummy chicken salad sandwich! We found the yummy crepes for dessert! What a fun day!

Birthday weekend trip - Day 2

Corrine and I have wanted to meet Todd in Oakland and see a game. With him deploying to the Middle East we decided to combine my birthday with a baseball trip w/his family! I wasn't going to complain! :) Todd and Chelsea met up with us today. Ty kept his coming a secret. He was so excited to show TJ and Jared he came too. We met up at In N Out Burger and enjoyed lunch together.

Todd & Chelsea wanted to go to the temple together and so Corrine and I told them we would watch the kids so they could go. Corrine hasn't been to the Oakland Temple for quite some time and so we all drove there together so we could walk around the temple and see the Visitor's Center. A few minutes after Todd & Chelsea left they walked back in. The temple was closed! Well, they tried at least!

Corrine and I were not planning to take any pictures but when the opportunity presented itself, we took it. The VC had Arnold Frieberg's pictures on display so we went and looked at them. Also we went through the special "Family" presentation as well. After the VC we walked around the temple including going up on the top of the temple. We were so excited when Lynette Williams with two of her children came and met us there! What a great birthday treat!



My birthday party was held at the Coliseum - home of the Oakland Athletics. Ironically, they played the Anaheim Angels. We bought the 'bleacher seats' and enjoyed the game and the party.

Ty's favorite player is Matt Holliday. He happens to play left field for the A's (right where we were sitting). After a few innings of Ty yelling to get his attention he turned around and threw one of the balls up to Ty. Wow! Talk about a special treat! He was so excited! The adults were all just as excited as he was!

Oakland lost the game - there were not very many people there but we certainly had a great time! Thanks to the Barlows and the Williams and Corrine for a fun birthday party!

Birthday weekend trip - Day 1

Corrine and I left for my birthday weekend trip. We worked in the morning and left Camarillo about 2:30 pm. We drove out the 126 and met Michelle and her family in Gorman at McDonald's. Corrine and I decided to take Ty along with us for this little get away. He was excited to go with us.

We drove up the 5 freeway and I can describe the drive in one way - BORING! Wow! I haven't driven this way in quite some time because we usually go up the 99 and stop in Turlock. Since we were heading to Oakland we took the 5. Corrine drove her car which was a birthday treat for me since I usually do the driving on our vacations. On our way up we witnessed an accident on the southbound side of the interstate. In fact, I called 911 to let the highway patrol know about it. Later I received a follow up phone call from the office making the report. We were happy to hear the person driving the car who went off the road and rolled the car was okay and she walked away from the accident.

We arrived in the Oakland area about 9:00 pm and we were hungry. We found an Outback Steakhouse and decided to stop. Corrine decided this would be my birthday dinner. It tasted very good. Our hotel was the Courtyard Marriott by the Oakland Airport. It is a nice one. We were all pretty tired, but Ty didn't want to go to sleep until midnight so he could be the first to wish me a happy birthday. :)

Happy Birthday Mac!

Are you kidding me!? Do I have the cutest nieces and nephews ever! Today is Mac's 2nd birthday. McKay called and invited Corrine and I to come over and celebrate with cake and ice cream. They ordered pizza for dinner. When we arrived they were just finishing dinner. They put a table up in the greenbelt at the side of their house and had a great little area for eating and playing. It was such a great idea. Rachel wowed us all with the cute cake she and the girls made. Mac is really in to Lightening McQueen from the movie Cars. He got this cute bike that says "out of my way I am lightening mcqueen". His smile is enough to just steal my heart!