Hard Rock Hotel- San Diego

My friend Shelley decided to celebrate her 40th BIG! Party at the Hard Rock Hotel, in the Gaslamp district of San Diego. So, Chris and I followed suit, as we very much needed a fun night out on the town. We got a room at the hotel for the night, so there wouldn't be any need to drive anywhere. And, thanks to a friend of a friend (thank you!), we were upgraded from a King Studio (all we could afford) to a King Suite, which was, I must say-- SWEET!! Even the TV had our name on it when we checked in! We got all gussied up, had cocktails, went to a fancy dinner, and then danced the night away. It was great. Happy Birthday my good friend!

Float

"Float" is the outdoor bar, on the 4th floor of the Hard Rock Hotel, by the pool area. There is also a big open space up there for weddings, parties, etc... Angie & Michael, Shelley & Jeff, and Chris & I, all gathered for a couple of cocktails at Float, to celebrate Shelley's 40th Birthday. She is the youngest of us high school gal-pals to turn 40 this year! Thank you Shelley for organizing such a wonderful night for us all to get together to celebrate YOU and long-lasting

friendships!

Dinner at Nobu

This is a high-end sushi restaura

nt, which is apparently fairly well known, nationally (ya, Chris and I don't get out much to "high-end" places)! It was right there in the lobby area of the Hard Rock hotel building, so we didn't have to go far. I think there may have been about 12 of us there for dinner, to celebrate Shelley's 40th. It was a lot of fun.

Dancing at 207

"207" is the name of the club within the perimeter of the Hard Rock Hotel building. So, after cocktails, and dinner (including a little sake), we were able to stumble across the lobby and dance it all off!

Captain America & General Grievous

Halloween night-- ready for trick-or-treating! We went to my mom's neighborhood again. (Slow drivers and sidewalks tend to appeal to us!)

It was a quick trip around a couple blocks, and an early night, since it was a school night. But, the boys got some good loot (which we are still rationing out for good behavior) and had a great time!

Carving Pumpkins

We carved some pumpkins and "decorated" some pumpkins with fancy/goofy pumpking faces! We got the Mr. Pumpkin-Head decorations from Grammie and Grampy back East, and the boys had such a blast c

reating faces!

Oma's Pumpkin Patch

I'm not able to help out in the boys' classrooms on a regular basis-- but I try to be available to chaperone fieldtrips. I got to go with Tustin's kindergarten class to Oma's Pumpkin Patch (one of the two biggies in SD). We had so much fun together! Sledding down a cotton seed hill; playing games; a hay ride; etc. If you look back to this time frame in 2009, you'll see similar pics of when I went with Keegan's kinder class!!

Oma's

Bates Nut Farm

(Or as we've called it for 25 years... Nates Butt Farm!)
I took the boys and Chammy to the big Pumpkin Patch in San Diego County in mid-October. We went with some friends of mine, and their friends, and everyones' kids. But, I don't like posting pictures of people without asking... and I forgot to ask, and it's already November, so... no big deal. You get pics of Keeagn and Tustin!! I'm trying to catch up on some over-due posting!

Pumpkin Patch Fun

Tustin's Bippies... Where have they gone?

Tustin has slept with taggie blankets (aka "bippie" or "bippies" since "blanket" was a little tough at first) since birth just about (okay, since the time when it was PC "ok" to put something in the crib with him). Initially one. He loved it SO much, figured we should get a back up in case it got "misplaced." Well, he found the back up, and has HAD to sleep with two bippies every night ever since. He's got a car bippie; a bippie at Nana's house; a bippie at Nonny's house, etc... you get the idea... the kid loves his bippies.

Two nights ago-- the bippies got left in the wash. He never even asked for them! The next night, he asked about them, but I said "Oh I think they are in the wash, we'll see if we can find them tomorrow," and he went to bed with minimal ho-humming. Tonight... he said "Mom, it's been almost THREE days, and I can't find my bippies anywhere!" He looked truly sad about the whole situation.

My eyes lit up, as I thought VERY quickly.... "Tustin! They seemed to have mysteriously disappeared the exact same night that Christopher Popinkins started visiting us this year." He's the elf that moves about the house at night, to get different perches for the morning, when the kids go look for him. He reports back to Santa, you know, about everything he sees and hears! I said, "I bet it's a test! I bet he's reporting back to Santa about what a big boy you're becoming!!" He got the biggest smile, and his eyes lit up, and he seemed pretty excited about this idea! We'll see how long it lasts!

Dos puntos for Mama!!

Guess Who Turned 7 ???

Yep, my little Keegs. Oh, guess he's not SO little anymore! :-(
We had a fun party with his friends and family at the park. It was a BeyBlade party;

the boys brought some BeyBlades from home so all their friends could join in on the top battling. They got to do some rock climbing AND rock painting, both of which, they thought were pretty cool! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY LITTLE MAN!!

Play Ball!

The kids and adults got involved in a little game of baseball. Just look at the determination on their faces! SWING batah batah!! And, before the cake, we had a little edible craft activity: Making our own Edible BeyBlades!

Cake & Presents

Of course, we had the coolest cake ever-- thanks to Rhonda- My Cake Lady!! She has never failed to delight with her fantastic edible creations! Keegan received a lot of BeyBlade gifts, precisely his concept behind the "BeyBlade Party Theme." They hav

e fun for hours playing with those darn tops. And, Chammy lucked out with a little gift of her own-- and entire cooler full of ice to crunch on! Golden Retriever Heaven.