Happy 94th Birthday Nana!

Today is my Nana's 94th birthday! I took her out to lunch and
shopping. She is an AMAZING woman! It is hard to believe she is 90 years older than Samantha. Her name is Bertha but she has always gone by Birdie. She has seen a lot in her 94 years and still lives an active lifestyle. She exercises everyday and always looks for the positive things in life. She doesn't let things get her down. She has been through a lot and seen a lot change in her 94 years. Just think about all the things we didn't have 94 years ago... Cars, TV, computers, cell phones, to name a few.
She was the youngest of 4 brothers, one of who passed away when he was only 18, from the flu. She married my Poppie in 1937 and they were married for 64 years. They had a long happy life together. ( He passed away 6 years ago when he was 93) Nana has 2 daughters of her own, 6 grandchildren, and 14 great-grandchildren. She loves to be with her "kids". She has many "famous" sayings of advice but she always says, "just live and be well". That sounds like good advice to me! Happy Birthday Nana! I love you!

Lots of things!

Hi Blog Friends!
I have been away for a week now and I have so many things to report! Here are some pics of Sammie's bday party and then her Disney celebration! The top photo is taken at CHA ( Craft and Hobby trade show) The girl in the middle ( if you don't know) is Teresa Collins who is a scrapbook designer and the girl on the left is Heather, a scrappy friend of mine.
CHA was a great show. There were a lot of make and takes and fun things to do. It was a lot of fun to see the new things coming out in the world of scrapbooking! It was fun hanging out with my peeps, Christine, Jennifer and Heather. We had a lot of laughs.

Christine and I went to the scrapbook expo on Saturday. We had fun walking around and shopping.. There is a lot of "old" product though and after seeing all the new exciting things at CHA, it isn't as enticing. I took a class which I enjoyed and then we went scrappin' at the OASIS afterwards which was good. It is a great place to scrap because it is so roomy and accomodating! Jennifer stopped by to say hello since she was in the area after working at the expo all day.

On a sad/bad note I got into a minor car accident the week before and had to deal with a rental car and then car repairs. It was 100% the other driver's fault so her insurance is paying for everything. My car was damaged badly in the front on the bumper but is now fixed and looks beautiful. The bad news to this whole thing is that my neck has been hurting and I finally realized it might be from the accident rather than I "slept funny" which is what I thought.. I went to the doctor today and she said I have a sprained neck as a result of the impact. It is really sore and should be better in a few weeks. Uggghhh.

On Sunday Brad and Sammie and I went with my Nana out to Temecula to Tom's farms. It was a beautiful day! We had fun. Sammie rode a pony and went to the petting zoo. We walked around there and had lunch. Brad and Sammie went on the train. I have been on it several times before and Nana didn't want to ride so I sent Sammie with Brad so they could have some time together. We had a great time.

Monday my friend Jennifer Bell came out with her daughter Julia and the girls played a bit and then we went to Hullabaloo's Clubhouse. They have open play time on Mondays and Tuesdays. It was a little crowded but the girls had fun. We went to lunch at Chili's afterwards.

Now for 7 random things about me that Jennifer W. tagged me to do:
1. I always print when I am writing. I like my handwriting but I prefer to print.
2. I learned to drive on a stick shift and can drive a stick if I need to. My first 2 cars were stick shift.
3. I am addicted to Webkinz world. I love to play on the website! I am addicted to the computer in general and love to read blogs, surf the net and play on tallyscrapper.
4. I was born in Detroit, Michigan and moved to CA when I was 12. I used to go to Ohio to an amusement park and when right before we moved, and it was going to be my last time there, I rode my favorite rollercoaster 19 times in a row. ( remember, I was only 12 at the time)
5. I name my cars. My first car was "Chuck"the champ , my 2nd car, "Fivel Fierowitz", "Pretzel the Prism", "Cami Camry", "Hi Ho Silver ( another Camry) ," and now "Sammie's car". Yes, I know this is a little over the edge but I have always done it.
6. My brother and I made up our own "language" when we were kids called "Be-Bop". We can still speak it very quickly. We even made up a Spanish version to throw people off if they started to catch on!
7. I am named after my dad's mom Ida. and My middle name is Rae after my mom's grandmother Rae.

There are many many more random things about me but there's a few to get you started.. Now I tag a few people to post on their blogs: Donna Larson, and Heather
I'll be back again soon!

Happy Birthday Sammie

Happy 4th Birthday my little Sam! I can't believe how fast time goes! You were a baby just four years ago and now a little girl! You are so independent and smart and you amaze me every day! I love your charm and personality! You are so observant and appreciative. You are strong willed but it will take you far in life! You have completely changed me as a person and I have never been the same since you arrived! I love you so much Sammie and I love being your mommy!

We had a fun day today! We went to Disneyland for Sammie's birthday. We started our day on the horse drawn street car as usual. We know several of the horses. They have 23 that they rotate on a regular basis! We know 7 of them now. ( Chief, Caleb, Brother, Orve, King, Bert, Ernie) Anyway.. that is one of Samantha's favorite things to do while we are there. She sits in the front and holds the excess reins and helps "drive". Today was special because while we were getting on the car, so was the quartet of singers and so they sang Happy Birthday to her. That was great!

For weeks now, Sammie has been talking about riding Splash Mountain. She is just a little short for the ride. (About 1 /2 inch.) I have been telling her to eat all the healthy foods she can and that's how she can grow. Well, she has been eating and eating and she keeps saying she wants to grow so she can ride Splash Mountain. Almost every day she asks me if she is tall enough. Well today she woke up and asked again. I said I wasn't sure but we'd see. She asked me again and again to go on Splash Mountain and so we walked over there. I told her that it was a safety issue if they told her no and not to get upset. She agreed. Well, today she got to ride Splash Mountain and wow, was she HAPPY! She absolutely LOVED the ride. The kid is FEARLESS! Now here is the sad part. We went on a few more rides and then went back again to ride it and a different ride attendant was at the front of the line. They measured her and said, I'm sorry, you are not tall enough. Well how do you explain to a 4 year old that an hour ago, you were tall enough and now you are not tall enough anymore??? I guess the first lady let her "squeak" by and this lady was the "tough" one. Well, Sammie burst into tears right there and cried and cried. She clenched the rope and wouldn't leave the line. I felt so bad for her. She said, "Why?" " Why can't I go on it?" I had to say, you are not tall enough, NOW. ( you just were but not now) Anyway.. I'm sure it was a judgement error from the first girl and Sammie finally got over it after a long meltdown, but it was tough. At least she got to ride it once! I told her to keep eating the healthy foods and hopefully next time she will grow that 1/2 inch we need.

We also celebrated her birthday at Disneyland in the Plaza Gardens. They have a special Disney birthday party. We met "Patrick Edward Cake" who is also known as Pat E. Cake. He came out and sang to all the birthday kids and they served small cakes and punch to all of us. Each person got to decorate their own cake and then Mickey and Minnie came to visit and take pictures.

We rode a few more rides and then headed for home. As soon as we got in the car and I was leaving the parking lot, I said to Sammie, "you were a good girl today, did you have fun?" and there was no answer. I turned around and she was out cold! I guess that's the sign of a wonderful birthday when you fall asleep instantly! She had a blast! We came home and she opened some gifts from Brad and I and then went to bed. I still can't believe she is 4 years old. Happy Birthday Samela!