Universal Studios Hollywood

Day 2 in LA was spent at Universal Studios Hollywood. None of us had ever been before so we were super excited, we got up at 7:00 so we could be there when they opened at 9:00. We decided to spend the extra money to buy the "front of the line" passes and I am so glad we did. It totally made the whole experience so much better, we rode every ride we wanted and went to the front of the line for every one. Awesome!! It was probably the hottest day of our vacation too, thank goodness they had chill zones with cold mist blowing to help cool us down. We took the studio tour first thing and it was pretty darn cool, we saw the Psycho house, Jaws set and Whooville. One of my favorite things in the park was this street in "Brooklyn" that had people up in windows talking to the crowd as they walked by. That's also where we saw the cop that told Rachel "don't make me go Deniro on you", he was so funny, he walked and chatted with us for quite a while. Mid day we went to the Waterworld show which is an action show re-creating scenes from the movie, it was really good. We also went to a giant candy store where Cameron loaded up on big licorice and peanut butter cups. It was a pretty fun day all in all and a perfect 2nd day of our vacation.

KISS and Motley Crue 2012

Jim thought he had died and gone to heaven when he heard rumors that KISS and Motley Crue were going to tour together. He got so excited he joined the KISS army. I know, you probably are surprised he wasn't already a member from way back, huh? We ended up going with Jeff and Cody Schoening and we flew Mike in from college so he could come too. Rachel decided she didn't want to go so Jim invited a friend from work to come along. The show was pretty good, I think Motley Crue was better than KISS. Paul Stanley had vocal cord surgery so he didn't really sing as much as usually and his voice was pretty rough. This was the fifth time Jim and I had seen KISS and probably the 9th time Jim had seen Motley Crue. It was a great night and an exhausting one for us all, Jeff got a flat tire on the way home and Mike had a flight in the morning at 9:00 to head back to school.

He's a college boy!

Last weekend Mike headed off to WSU for his freshman year of college. It was a bittersweet weekend for me, I'm happy and excited for him but at the same time I am definitely going to miss him terribly. He is basically the last kid actually living in the house, Cameron only comes twice a month on the weekend, so once Mike left Jim and I officially became "empty nesters". Leading up to the actual weekend it seemed like it was along way off but the next thing I knew it was August 11th and we were in the car driving to Pullman. We checked him into the dorms, with the help of his dad and Mandy, then headed off to explore the campus and have some dinner with Kelsi and her parents. We spent the night in Lewiston, Idaho and then met up with Mike and Kelsi for breakfast and some shopping. I know, I know, just drop him and go! Nope, I needed to have one last morning with my boy before leaving him to his new world. I walked him up to his room, hugged him tight, teared up a little and said goodbye. Then he asked for money, LOL, and walked to the car with me to get some. Some things never change. I am very proud of Mike for making the big leap to a college that is 6 hours away, all the way across the state, far away from his family. I'm sure he's going to be fine bit I'm also sure I'll be calling often.

A few more wax museum pictures

For some reason Blogger wouldn't let me put anymore pictures in the previous post so here are a few more favorites. The visit to the tar pits was quick but interesting- it was SO hot that day.The boys couldn't resist rolling down the huge hill at the tar pits museum, looks like they are still kids after all. Oh and just for fun- Cameron spent alot of the trip asleep in the car, as the picture below proves. Enjoy!

California Vacation 2012 Day 1

As the kids get older and spread out into their own little worlds it becomes harder and harder to get everyone together. For this reason we decided to do a big family vacation to California this summer to enjoy the last little bit of time we have with them as "kids". Rachel is off living her life in Bremerton-working and going to school for nursing, Morgan is living in Seattle- working this summer and then continuing at UW for her sophomore year, Mike is leaving the nest to start his Freshman year in Pullman at WSU, and Cameron is starting his Junior year of high school. It's so cliche to say that time flies but seriously, it does, before you know it they are living their own dreams.

We planned our vacation with every fun thing we could think of in Los Angeles. We started in downtown LA at Pinks Hot Dog Stand, then headed to the Hollywood Walk of Fame where we just missed Slash getting his star. We went to the wax museum because, honestly, Jim loves the wax museum!Then to finish out that day we went to the La Brea Tar pits- something I've always heard of but never actually seen.