Finally, a Town that Does Free Wi-fi

Let me just say that Denver has it over my hometown when it comes to easy, free, good quality wi-fi. There is a goddess.

And speaking of the goddess, that would be me right now, having secured a fine place for the boy to play plus some milk and cookies for he and his heavily armed pirates.

We are waiting for our flight back to the Eastern time zone and feeling excited to be heading home. California was nice but it would seem that New Jersey is home.

Yummy!

Today is my last day in California and while JT and his cousins played pirates, I trolled my mom's cookbooks for some tasty additions to my cooking repertoire. Some of these are tried-and-true favorites that I had forgotten about; others are new recipes. Those of you lucky enough to be invited to my kitchen can look forward to eating plenty of tasty food come the fall:

- stuffed chicken breasts (a big fave from childhood; KO and I considered this fancy food and I cooked it for my sister at UCLA on her 18th birthday)
- burgundy stew (I always think of Aunty Val when I eat this)
- pot tamale (a recipe from my great grandma)
- Texas straw hats (another childhood favorite; I also remember this from when we'd go camping)
- colonial chicken chowder (Mom says that the leftovers are to die for)
- split pea soup (my favorite b-day supper when I was 8 years old......should have known then that I was a weird child)
- tortilla soup (easy and so yummy)
- zucchini soup (yet another favorite from my youth)
- Amy's toffee bars (coming soon to the Christmas cookie tray)
- cinnamon sugar butter cookies (a recipe courtesy of Mom who got it from KO and KO doesn't mess around when it comes to baked goods)

Invitations are forthcoming (though y'all know that you are welcome to invite yourselves AND request your favorites).

Road Trip

We set off in my sister's mini-van on Wednesday. The boys sat 3-abreast in the back row, ready for some DVD viewing. KO drove and Mom road shotgun. I sat in the second row ----a comfy seat and close to the boy action, so that I could distribute snacks, fix headphones, and issue threats. The boys watched "Leave it to Beaver" while the grown-ups chatted and listened to KO's music. Everyone was happy.

My sister is a good driver and she knows her way around LA. But she is heavily dependent on her quick reflexes and quality brakes, which she applies with great force as needed. The result of this driving technique is that my mother holds tight to her seat and applies the imaginary brake with her right foot. This is fun to watch for a while, though it can lead to tension, as when my sister told my mother that she would be demoted to the middle row if she stomped a hole in the floorboard. I kept quiet and watched the show.

The ride south was good and, except for the boys asking every 45 minutes if we were almost there, was also fairly uneventful. Heading home was another matter. Within seconds of departure, Spencer announced that we should have flown home. He then explained that he "could not take anymore." With another 4 hours to drive, this seemed ominous. He whinged and moaned for 30 minutes before we moved him up to the second row, with advice that he fall asleep. Then JT announced that he had to pee. NOW. So KO pulled over to a Wendy's in Valencia and while JT and Cole went inside to pee, Spencer hurled in the parking lot. Not good.

Aunty Stacy obtained a Coke for the hurling party and then made a strategic error by also giving JT a Coke. We got back on the road and KO turned off the DVD player so that Spence would sleep. And then, perhaps to appease the children and perhaps to see if I would lose my cool, she turned on the Kidzbop CD. Spence slept and, in an effort to escape the music, I also went to my happy place.

45 minutes later, JT woke me with another request to pee. Those of you who know JT know that he loves public bathrooms and has made a virtual hobby of peeing all over America. On our flight out here from Philadelphia to Denver he made 4 trips to the bathroom, once announcing (loudly) that he didn't flush. After living 6 years with my son, I have become immune and mostly just let him go whenever (and wherever) he pleases.

KO said that if we stopped Spence would awaken. But Mama had a solution: JT could pee in an empty water bottle. All over America, frat boys do this on a daily basis so I figured that JT could just learn this particular skill a little early.

But alas, Mr. Prep School was horrified at this idea and pledged to "hold it." Naturally, after all the chatter and back and forth, Spence woke up. So we stopped to pee. Again. This time, I didn't get anyone a Coke.

10 minutes later, we were back on the road with a new soundtrack: Disney folk songs. By now, we were on Highway 99 ---- a little more than halfway home ----but we were pressed for time. KO had a 2 pm appointment to have a cracked window in her bedroom replaced. So all parties were informed that there would be no more stopping and KO applied her KYV strategy (Know Your Vehicle), weaving in and out of lanes, speeding us homeward.

We made it with 2 minutes to spare. But I'm willing to bet that JT will not be invited on another H'dinger road trip very soon.

PS: The photo is of Spencer, in a position that he claimed would make his tummy feel better.

Mama and Boy

JT and I have been all over this summer, but I haven't had any pictures of us together where I look halfway decent. My sister is the most photogenic person alive but I always look like some dreadful hag. This picture was taken at Disney's California Adventure and it's not half-bad.

Plus, we had a great time at the park.......Tower of Terror notwithstanding, of course.

Adrenaline Rush

After getting their roller coaster legs on the D-land rides, the boys hit California Adventure ready to feel a new kind of rush. The California Screamin' roller coaster was just the ticket. The ride begins with a 65 mph start up a steep hill, so you definitely feel the effects of gravity before several steep drops and then the ultimate fun....being spun upside down. JT and Spencer were game to go from the moment they saw the ride. Cole took some persuading and Grandma wasn't sure. So Grandma held the bags for the first ride.

The moment they got off the coaster, the boys were ready to ride again. And Grandma wasn't going to be left out this time. So we set off again, with Kristin and me idly wondering how we would explain it to our dad if the ride gave our 63 year old mother a heart attack......Spencer, with a more practical concern, took care that Grandma took off her glasses before we launched.

We took our third and final spin in the evening, as the coaster was lit up by lights. The boys thought it was terrific and afterward, they kept shouting, "that was awesome." It was a terrific end to a great trip.

Disneyland with the Cousins

My sister and I are hardly perfect, but damn if we didn't make some beautiful children. They are just the right age for Disneyland ---- old enough to walk around the park and yet still young enough to allow their imaginations to run wild. They had fun riding Thunder Mountain with one another and running through the treehouse. And this trip brought us a whole lot of happy boy laughter, something I can never hear enough of.

Underwire Blowout

At California Adventure on Thursday, my family persuaded me to go on the Tower of Terror ride. Basically, the idea here is that you are in a ghostly hotel on a broken elevator, which heads up and then ---- and this is the allegedly "fun" part ---- rushes down some 12 stories. It does this a few times, so that you get to really appreciate the feeling of your stomach flying out through your mouth. When the elevator gets to the top of the hotel, the doors open and you see the whole park. They do this to ensure that you know just how high you are before you fall. On the first ride, we sat in the back and I stomped my foot so hard when we dropped that some nice man sitting next to me may never walk the same again. We went on the ride early in the morning and when I got off I secretly swore that I would never go again.

But as the afternoon unfolded, the boys wanted to go again. My rotten sister and mother would not say no and so there I was, riding it again. I could have said no, of course, but this would require that I admit my cowardice in front of my mouthy 6 year old son. So I boarded the elevator knowing full well that I would not enjoy the trip. This time, we got to sit on the front row, allowing us perfect view of the park below us. I sat in the corner (hoping this would afford me some safety). I made my mother sit front and center, reasoning that she has already lived a full life. JT screamed with happiness while sitting next to me. I just prayed it would end quickly.

We survived the ride........but I blew out an underwire in my bra. I realize that some readers are under the impression that the underwire was under strain prior to the Tower of Terror, but you'll never convince me.

Satisfying That In-N-Out Urge

We headed south today and will visit the big mouse himself tomorrow. On our way to Anaheim we stopped and had supper at In-N-Out Burger. My memories of having the In-N-Out urge are mostly associated with my college days and a marked lack of sobriety.

But things have changed since Mama graduated from UCLA just a few years back. Namely, I have a 6 year old. So this In-N-Out urge was satisfied with total sobriety while JT and his cousins acted like 6 and 8 year old boys act.

It was a different kind of fun than my college days, though no less satisfying.

Cousin!

I have some friends who are cousins and they greet one another that way....by yelling Cousin! This description would be better if I could reproduce their Jersey twang in writing, but I will leave that to your imagination.

I like the way that those cousins look after one another and with that idea in mind, I've got some photos of JT and his cousins here. Yesterday, because the temps had finally gone below 100 degrees, JT and Spencer went to the park to play a little baseball, 6 year old style. And this morning JT and Cole went to another park to play for a while before hitting the cool pool.

The boys are having a great time with one another and the fun continues tomorrow when we head down to So Cal for some cousin time at Disneyland.

A Movie and Some Stars

On Saturday night, Kristin and Marty's friends D and J invited a group of friends over to watch movies outside under the stars. JT and I got to tag along and enjoy the California-style fun.

It was a perfect evening for sitting outside. JT was excited to share the cupcakes his Grandma had made and Grandpa made popcorn. M brought an enormous apple pie. And while the kids lay on blankets, the grown ups sat in the deck chairs. As twilight settled in, we all watched Nanny McPhee.

From my chair, I could see my son happily lying about with the other kids and I also could watch the moon sink into the horizon as the big dipper and other stars filled the sky.