Let It Snow!!

I am pretty sure we got about 12 inches of snow at our house in the last 24 hours. Shawn cleared the driveway and paths in the back yard with his new snow plow. It took him about 90 minutes but I can’t even imagine how long it would have taken with a shovel.

When he finished, he had to do the driveway again because we had gotten another inch and then since his truck was in the road, he plowed out in front of the neighbor’s house.

We made the trek out to Target because Heidi had to get a gift for a birthday party that afternoon. There was no one on the roads or in the store.

Since I wasn’t in a hurry to just go back home, we wandered around the empty store for over an hour.

A few hours before the birthday party started, the mom called to let us know it was canceled due to the weather. None of us were surprised but I sure felt bad for the birthday girl!

We spent awhile watching our neighbors plow out their driveways and the stupid boyfriend of the girl across the street get his car more and more stuck in the snow bank.

By 3:30 we were all going crazy being stuck in the house. I could not take any more iCarly or Spongebob! I had been throwing out ideas to get out of the house but Shawn shot them all down, telling me the roads were too bad.

Shawn took our sister in law to work and came home to tell us the roads were okay so he would take us out to Ridgedale. I guess I wore him down! We all piled in the truck and made sure the 4-wheel drive was on.

It took us about 40 minutes to get there only to find out that they closed early. Heidi was very upset because she was going to get to go to Build A Bear to get some new outfits. As we were heading back home she fell asleep for a couple minutes and woke up happy.

On the way out we only saw one car that looked like it had been going too fast and ended up in the snow bank. We didn’t see any accidents but there were a lot of abandoned cars. We had taken 100 to 394 on the way out.

On the way back, we took 169 to 649 and saw a 7 car pileup, a number of stuck cars, and spinouts. We stopped for pizza and on the way up Bass Lake Road we could see that cars were not moving. Someone threw on their reverse lights ahead so we decided to go around by Best Buy. When we got through we saw someone exiting to Hwy 100 had gotten stuck in the snow bank and a plow was stuck on the other side of the exit ramp. No one was going anywhere any time soon yet some idiot pull right up to the back of the snowplow and then got out of his car.

Shawn and the kids are upset the snow didn’t come on a school day so they could have had a snow day! We haven’t had snow like this in a long time and I sure hope we get a few more storms like this before winter is over!

Here is what Shawn looked like after plowing again in the evening.  I guess his beard is good for something!
 
 

Greystone Mansion And The Hollywood Sign

We only had two full days in the Los Angeles area and we were determined to have make the most of it.  I wanted to eat good food and Shannon wanted to see as many sights as we could fit in.  The first day was dedicated to Disney and authentic Mexican food.  The second day was Rodeo Drive, the Greystone Mansion, Hollywood, and the Hollywood sign.

Greystone Mansion is owned by the City of Beverly Hills and is used to film movies such as the Spiderman movies and X-Men.  Heidi is looking totally rock star on the patio!

The landscaping is just amazing.  I have dreams of living in a place like this, with full time gardening staff and house keepers.  I would spend all my free time cooking in the commercial grade kitchen and someone else would do the dishes.  Some day.  Just have to win the lottery first...

Ah...  Love the turtles!  We were not able to enter the house because they were setting up for a party on one side and remodeling on the other.  I wanted to see where Dr. Xavier had his school but that was not in the cards for this visit.

After driving around Hollywood a bit and checking out the Walk of Fame, we headed up to where our GPS said the Hollywood sign would be.  We drove up and up and up and up this crazy narrow, windy street, white knuckled all the way until we finally got to the top.

We were expecting a parking lot where we would be able to walk up and get some good photos, like on TV but that's not how it works.  The road ended in a neighborhood.  The houses had gates at the end of the driveway to keep people out.  We were not supposed to be there and the only way to get a good view of the sign was to trespass on someones property.

Shannon jumped out of the car and took a few shots from the street. This is as close as you can get.

I felt just awful. One of the property owners was trying to leave his house and could not get out due to all the cars from people trying to see the sign.  Another had to call the police to shoo people out of his yard.  I could not believe that people were squeezing through a space between the gate and a hill and then climbing the hill which was clearly this guys back yard.

I am sure the problem is compounded by GPS sending people up this road, to this neighborhood.

We were there for about 3 minutes before heading back down the hill.  That was the most terrifying drive of my life, I never used the gas and I doubt that I ever took my foot off the break.  There was on street parking but the street was only as wide as two cars.  Many times, only one direction of traffic could move forward at a time.  At one point, I was head to head with a cop, probably the cop called to chase the tourists away, and I had to back up the hill about 50 feet before he could pass.

By the time we got to the bottom of the hill, I was just ready to go back to the hotel and decompress for a bit.

It was in the low 60's most of the time we were there but this afternoon it turned cold and started to rain.  The Vikings were playing the Cowboys that evening so Shawn was in the hotel room watching so we joined him for a bit. The game was so hard to watch, we ended up going for a swim in the hot tub instead.

Yes, a swim in the hot tub.  The pool was outside, it was about 55 degrees and raining.  Even us Minnesota girls, who were thawing out from a frigid winter, were not able to handle the unheated pool but the hot tub sure felt nice!  And Heidi thought she was in there illegally so every time a staff member came outside, she hid along the side of the hot tub.  It was a blast!

The next day we had plans to check out the ocean before we had to head home.  But that's another post for another day...

Tourists Take Rodeo Drive

Our second and last full day in the LA area we spent the day driving around, trying to fit in as many sights as possible.  Our GPS, Sally, proudly told us we had arrived at Rodeo Drive, except she pronounced it like we were are a cattle wrangling show, which made me laugh.

We were obvious tourists in our hoodies, jeans, pushing a stroller but that just made it even more fun!  Tourists Take Rodeo (cattle wrangling) Drive!!

Wandering up and down the Drive, we passed a commercial being shot, the Rolex store, and Tiffany's where we ducked in to check it out.

The day before, at Disney, Shannon picked up a huge pink gem ring for a friend of hers.  She had the great idea to ask Tiffany's for a small bag to deliver it in.  Not only did they give her a bag but they also had a small ring box.  Very classy!

While Shannon talked to the ladies about the bag, Heidi and I looked around the store.  Heidi touched every display case in the place and I got a lot of dirty looks which just made me laugh.  I just know they get people like us in there every day, looking around because they are in town on vacation but not at all intending to buy anything.

When we left, the doorman all but shoved us out the door, pushing our stroller and carrying our tiny, empty shopping bag.  Marking this as one of the many highlights of our trip.

Another stop on our Tourists Take Rodeo (cattle wrangling) Drive trip was the Coach store.

A few days before our trip, Shannon is asking what kind of bag I am going to use when we go out exploring.  I had this white canvas bag that would hold anything, I planned to bring that. 

She, on the other hand, had picked up a bag from Marshall's.  She said I would probably tease her for it but it was similar to one she saw at the Coach store.

As we passed the Coach store on Rodeo Drive, she spotted it right inside the door.  And, as she had predicted, Shawn did tease her for her sparkly pink stripper bag.

Seeing it sitting there, she just had to take a picture to prove to him that this was a classy bag.  Not a stripper bag.

Do you see it?  It's that pink, shimmery, stripper bag in the center. 

Well, it turns out that Coach does not want people photographing their merchandise!  As Shannon snapped the picture, a sales girl quickly approached her to scold her for taking the picture. 

Shannon quickly turned on her heal and high tailed it out the door.  We all briskly hiked away from the store before our cameras were confiscated!

I am already looking forward to our next Tourists Take Rodeo (cattle wrangling) Drive trip!

Another Hard Decision in the Daisy Saga

The Daisy Saga has simply been one hard decision after another. From deciding if we needed a biopsy to the amputation to chemo.


As I wrote a few weeks ago, her last chemo treatment did not go well.

We celebrated Thanksgiving at our house, and when we noticed she was not greeting people at the door, we were concerned. We had also noticed that she didn’t care that I had been cooking for three days, she just slept on the couch the entire time.

She spent 18 days of the 21 day cycle sleeping on the couch.

I woke up on Saturday to a dog who was starving. Though she had been eating her normal meals since her last treatment, she wasn’t eating much more. On Saturday morning, she was ravenous. I gave her a pile of treats, her normal breakfast, and left over pancakes and she still seemed hungry! She spent the rest of the day wandering around the house, checking on things.

Honestly, this was the most active I have seen her since before her biopsy.

I spoke with the Oncologist. I spent many, many hours thinking about this. I talked with Shawn at great length.

I decided to stop her chemo.

This was not an easy decision but it all boils down to this. I have no idea how much longer Daisy will be with us. A few weeks? A few years? No one can tell me.

However long that will be, I want her to be the Daisy I know she can be. I do not want her to be sick or sleeping or just laying there. I want her to greet me at the door, spend time out in the yard with the snow, begging for my dinner.

I have made this decision based on her quality of life. I still feel good about saying that we have done everything we could to make her better even though we are not proceeding with the last three treatments. I know, in my heart, this is the right thing to do and that is what has always mattered.

What A Day in Disneyland

I love vacations! I love to explore Minneapolis and Minnesota but I really love to explore the rest of the country.  The only thing that would make it better would be having my dogs with me.  But dogs as big as mine wouldn't travel well on an airplane so they stay home with our wonderful family and I know they are well taken care of.

And then I see things like this and miss them all over again!  And this trip was before we found out that Daisy was sick.

Half way through the day, Heidi wanted ice cream so we started to head back towards the main street where we had seen an ice cream parlor.  We start to realize the park is very quiet, no rides are running.  The week leading up to our trip, California had experienced some really bad rain and mud slides.  Things were still unstable and some mud had slid and knocked out the power to Disneyland!  That's when all the suits came out.  Usually all of the staff are in costume and blend into the atmosphere but when the power goes out people in black suits are everywhere!

We came across this group dancing and sat to watch for a bit.  Before it was over, power was resorted to all of the park with exception of the big mountain.

After eight fun filled hours at Disneyland, we were all exhausted.  The batteries on our cameras were dead and our feet, as well as our dollars, were spent.  We decided to end the day with the Winnie the Pooh ride and then attempt to locate our rental car.  What color was it again?

As we approached the ride we saw Winnie the Pooh signing autographs.  The line was short but we opted to take the ride and then see him at the end.

After the ride, we waited in line for about 5 minutes.  We were the next to meet Pooh when Pooh's assistant told us he was going to take a break and would be back in a few.  We were bummed but decided to wait it out.  It was the last thing we were going to do and we figured he wouldn't be to long...

About three minutes later, Pooh returned and he brought Eeyore with him!!  What a wonderful way to end the day!!  Heidi and I both LOVE Eeyore and were so excited to get to meet him! 

We had two cameras, both with dead batteries, but sometimes with digital cameras, if you wait a bit you can squeeze a few more shots out before it goes completely dead and we were able to get a few shots of Heidi with her two favorite characters.  That totally made our trip and we knew it was time to go home.

Amazingly, we found our car with not trouble at all and headed out to meet Shawn for dinner.  For the first time in her life, Heidi not only fell asleep in the car but she never woke up for dinner.  We carried her from the car to the restaurant to the car to the hotel before she finally woke up for a few minutes, just long enough to have her princess hair taken down.

Crazy hair!!

And in honor of her favorite part of the day, she adopted these super cute Pooh and Eeyore balls.

Disneyland is the most magical place in the world and we are already looking forward to returning!

The Magic Kingdom

We spent the entire day at Disneyland and saw everything we wanted but I know we could have spent another day there easy.  Then there is the entrance to the park where all the restaurants and shops are located.  There is no charge for that area and you could spend at least an afternoon out there.  And, of course, there is California Adventure where the rides target an older crowd.

The best part of Disneyland is that all of the rides are family friendly, there was nothing that was to scary or to crazy for a four year old.  And the cars are generally big enough for an adult or two and a child or two so the family can ride together!

Every year we go to the circus where Shawn and Heidi pose for a picture by an elephant.  We found this beautiful elephant in a candy shop and emulated the pose.  I wish I could have this elephant in my living room!

This was Heidi's favorite elephant!

The Dumbo ride was the first ride of the day.  She wanted to go again until we explained how many other rides were in the park. 

We wanted her to stand by the door of this little house but she was worried that someone actually live there and would come out if she went up to the door.

When we finally convinced her no one was home, she reluctantly walked up to the door and ran away as soon as the picture was taken!

My favorite ride was the Buzz Lightyear ride but that was a tough decision because I also loved Who Framed Roger Rabbit!

Buzz won out in the end because Heidi and I imagined how my nephew Willy would be reacting if he were in this ride.  The excitement we imagined from him made us so excited! 

I went to Disney World for a Marching Band trip when I was about 14.  I have some memories of that trip but mostly just how annoying the It's A Small World Ride was.  I was torn about taking Heidi on the ride in fear the song would be stuck in my head for weeks.  But the ride was closed for repair so I was totally off the hook!

These topiary trees were outside the ride, so beautiful!  I want these in my front yard!  And a gardener too...

Our favorite area of the park was Toontown.  That is where Roger Rabbit lives in the movie but also where you will find Minnie Mouse's house in the park.

Heidi took the time to check her email on Minnie's computer.

The Chip and Dale house was pretty cool too.  Who hasn't want to live in a tree house?

Shannon was so kind to take Heidi on the roller coaster.  Even though all of the rides are family friendly, I still was not able to get on the roller coaster and I was so happy Shannon loves them as much as Heidi!

A Princess Visits Disneyland

Heidi, Shannon, and I all agreed that the most important stop while we are in Los Angeles was Disneyland so the planning started weeks before we even arrived in California. 

We got up early, which was actually sleeping in a bit due to the two hour time difference, and headed out to Anaheim to be at the park as soon as it opened.

We arrived at Disneyland with only one little detour when the GPS got us to the grounds but not to the actual gate.  That's just fine, the grounds are amazing!

Even purchasing your tickets at Disney is an adventure.  The lady in the window was so nice and asked us if we had ever been to Disneyland before.  We explained that while Shannon and I had both been to Disney World, this was Heidi's first time.  She gave us all First Time Visitor buttons and told us that if it was our birthday we would have gotten Birthday buttons too.  We saw people with Birthday buttons being wished happy birthday all over the park, that would have been cool!

Shannon, being the fantastic and thoughtful aunt that she is, scheduled a Princess Makeover for Heidi just after the park opened. This way, Heidi would be beautiful the entire day and we wouldn't have to worry about what time it was and which side of the park we were on when the appointment rolled around.

At the Bibbity-Bobbity-Boutique Heidi had the full Princess makeover which included hair, makeup, and nails.

She was able to pick from a number of different hair styles.  She picked the Cinderella.

Her nail polish was scented like berries and it really did smell!

And her make up was pretty good quality.  Oh, and how could I forget, check out that bling the pointer finger of her right hand!

Anything used on her was put in a pink bag and sent home with us - make up, hair brush, comb, nail polish...

and a princess sash!

They did a great job making all of the girls look like princesses for the day.

And she did a great job acting like a princess for the day!