Halloween ’09
Because today is Friday the 13th, I think I am justified in posting some Halloween pictures even though it is long since passed… We were able to celebrate the holiday in both Orange and San Diego counties. Hannah was able to squeeze in one last field trip to the pumpkin patch before the move, and also had a costume parade with her new class. We went to the church trunk or treat and did some trick or treating around our neighborhood, which turned out to be a great way to meet a lot of our new neighbors.
Emma had plans for being Hermione from Harry Potter since she fell in love with the series over the summer. She came up with the costume all on her own- even making herself a wand from a stick with some real wizardish personality. We never did end up getting her the Hogwarts robe because I was too distracted with the move to make one, and too cheap to shell out $30+ for a store bought one. Lucky for me Emma looked perfect with her semi-frizzy hair, time turner, plaid skirt, v-neck sweater and suede boots.
Hunter had wanted to be a man eating shark- literally. But we weren’t able to track down a shark for him to be eating, so he came up with this costume on the fly- a pirate king. (We’re all fans of the song from Pirates of Penzance.) The shirt he is wearing has little skulls and cross bones on it, and with the regal robe, he looked great!
Sabrina was set on being Belle from Beauty and the Beast until she got the adorable candy corn skirt from Aunt Korby a few days before Halloween. She loved the skirt and decided to be a Candy Corn Princess instead, and was adorable. Sabrina is destined to open a Bath & Body shop one day because she loves all scented things. Most specifically: candles, lotions, and chap sticks (aka lipsticks). She has a beloved candy corn candle and once she got the skirt, she wore the skirt and carried the candle everywhere!
Hannah is now a huge fan of fairies. She loves the Tinkerbell movie and books that we have and her favorite fairy, other than Tinker Bell, is Silvermist the water fairy. So Hannah was Silvermist for our trick or treating nights. At school she wore a more school friendly costume that she got from her Aunt Jeanette which was from another of her favorite movies, Barbie’s Princess and the Pauper. She was lovely in both costumes!
Read MoreHoliday Help
Go visit this blog for a great opportunity to help a family this holiday season… And you may even win a beautiful quilt for your generosity!
Read MoreOur Favorite Hotel
I’m still trying to get to my Halloween pictures, but in the mean time I thought I would do a quick review of our favorite place to stay when we travel – The Holiday Inn Express! We first discovered it through our AAA (another company I highly endorse) book when we drove across the country for our move to North Carolina. Back in those days (was it really only 7 years ago?) there wasn’t the availability of information like there is now with Blackberries and i phones. So we became members of AAA and loaded up on travel books and maps.
The first time we stayed in a Holiday Inn Express we were very impressed. It was kept very clean, had a nice large rain-down-on-you type shower head, cleansers and lotions that have a slight cinnamonish smell, beds and pillows that are comfortable, and a great little free breakfast bar with things from cereal with yogurt or fresh fruit to eggs with bacon. The best part is that the cost of staying there is the same as their inferior competition. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not magical, but we love how it is consistently predictable in cleanliness and comfort for a family wanting an affordable place to stay on the road.
On this move down to San Diego we had one night in between loading our stuff on the truck and unloading it at the new house. We stayed in the HIExpress in San Clemente and it was beautiful, having just been remodeled, and was just as impressive as the others we have stayed in through our travels. After another successful stay with them I thought I would give them my official thumbs up and seal of approval. Next time you’re looking for a great place to stay I suggest checking to see if there is a Holiday Inn Express nearby and if there is, go there!
PS. We are loving our new home and have just the office and garage left to unpack. We miss our friends and family, but have found everyone at church and at school to be super friendly. It has made the transition so much easier!
Read MoreSeatKarma
SeatKarma is a cool new website that happens to be the brilliant idea of one of my close relatives. They were recently featured in an article on Technology News and here’s a little bit of the write up:
• Elevator pitch: A Kayak-like service for tickets to live events.
• The idea: SeatKarma searches various ticket broker sites such as RazorGator and StubHub to help users find the best seats for the best price for sports, concerts and plays. Users can also see pictures of the view from various seats at professional sports stadiums nationwide as well as NCAA football venues. The site also boasts 3-D renderings of seating at some theaters. Once consumers find the tickets they want, the site redirects them to a broker site to purchase from directly. The company takes a commission of an average 7 to 12 percent from the broker and says it gives 10 percent of its monthly revenue to charity.
• The brains: Founders Chris Nicolaysen and Ohad Nezer met while getting their MBAs at Texas A&M. The pair founded the company in 2007. The site went live in March.
• Users: The site doesn’t require registration, but Nezer says it averages 10,000 unique visitors a month.
Check them out the next time you need great tickets!
I’m So Done
Well, I couldn’t throw away the pile of papers I’ve acquired in this home search without documenting it. To read about the process I’ve used in the search click to read “Still Looking.” We numbered on a paper map and drove by at least 50 houses. (I’m not going to count, because I am so done with spending time on this.) And then there were the dozens we made appointments to see the inside of too, but weren’t quite right. Now that we have just what we were looking for, I feel like all of the time was worth it. And I feel very blessed that the Lord has always taken care of us so well. It definitely has not been easy, but I feel like He knew where we will be happy and led us to it. I can’t help but think of my s-i-l Holly and her current situation too. I respect her so much for following a prompting to go to an unknown city and start from scratch. I’m sure it has been difficult, but I know that things will work out for her there too. Hang in there Holly, I’m praying for you!
We Found A Place!
After a long search we found our new home! It should be a wonderful place for our family, especially because now Hunter and Emma will both have their own rooms and it is the same rent that we are paying now! Also, there are some great extra perks like an upstairs laundry room (by all the bedrooms) and a beautiful kitchen. Maybe I’ll actually want to try cooking again. Here are a couple of pictures: one of the back yard, and one of the kitchen. Tomorrow we will try to set things up with the movers and can move in as soon as October 22nd. A little crazy, so we’ll see how it all plays out.
Back Yard
Kitchen
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