Thanksgiving Break Begins

Last Thursday Scott took his last final of his first term in med school. It's been a rough semester, but he PASSED! He has worked really hard and I am so proud of him. They are given a two week break after the first quarter, so we decided to make the best of it.

First, on Thursday we went to the Children's Museum of Phoenix. If you haven't been there yet it is a great museum for little kids. We bought a membership right after we moved here and have definitely gotten our money's worth out of it..and it's still good until next September!

Friday we went to IKEA and some other store and bought a desk for Scott to study on. At IKEA they were having a special event for their 4 year anniversary in Tempe, so Scott got free sheet sets and pillows because his birthday was on Saturday, plus we all got free breakfast. Wa-hoo!

Saturday I went to Super Saturday, then we drove out to Mesa to return our friend's truck we borrowed the day before. Of course, the desk was a deal. In this outlet they sell the desk for about $600, but in the 'real' store it is $1200. They were doing a special tent sale and we got the desk for $140! Sah-weet!

Sunday was, of course, church. We got a really good turn-out for ward choir practice, so that was exciting. I'm starting to feel the pressure as I look at the calendar and think about how close the Christmas program is!

Monday we had our friends, The Larsons, over for dinner and games. Scott and Nathan are in the podiatry program together. We had a good time. We haven't had anyone over for a long time, so it was nice to have a 'night of normalcy'. It sounds like we have a lot in common, and we played 'Settlers of Catan'.

Tuesday we hit the road, heading toward Oregon via San Francisco. We stopped along the way at the Disney Outlet store in Fullerton, CA. NOT worth the stop. The Disney outlet in SLC is mucho better. We rolled into San Fran around one a.m. Then we got up Wednesday morning and went to the California Academy of Sciences, located in Golden Gate Park. We were really lucky, because every third Wednesday of the month they have a FREE day sponsored by Wachovia. So, we were able to go to a museum that usually costs $25 per adult for nothin'. Awe. Some.

It is a pretty nice museum. It is brand-spankin' new. It only opened a couple of weeks ago. The line to get in was crazy! People started lining up to get in around 7:00 am, and it opens at 9:30. It is like several different museums rolled into one. There is a rainforest, planetarium, natual history museum, kids' play area, IMAX theatre, and aquarium, as well as a living roof and research labs. Pretty neat, but SO crowded because of the newness of it and it being a free day. I will upload some picutres later. I think the kids really enjoyed it, and Scott really liked some of the funky fish they had in the aquarium. We saw a 3-D movie about bugs, which the kids liked. It was funny to see emma trying to grab the butterflies during the show. Speaking of butterflies, inside the rainforest there are a bunch of them and Emma, Katelynn & I all had one sitting on us!

After we went to the museum we went to Fisherman's Wharf. But, by the time we got there the kiddos were asleep because they didn't have a nap and were pooped from playing at the museum. Scott was able to see it when he was there interviewing at a school in Oakland, and he was tired, so he stayed in the car with the kids while I wandered around the wharf. It was really chilly that night, so it may be a good thing we didn't drag the kids out into the cold. I wanted to show them the seals, but maybe another time. After I was done wandering and the kids were starting to wake up we bought some clam chowder, drove down Lombard Street a few times (the kids LOVED it), and called it a night.

Thursday morning we left San Francisco and headed up to Oregon. On the way out of town we drove on the Golden Gate Bridge. We figured we couldn't go to SF and not visit the famous, iconic bridge, plus it was the bridge without a toll northbound, so of course we had to take it! There was a lot of fog, so the pictures are not great, but oh well.

When we arrived in Oregon City Scott's bro David called us before we got to his parents' house, asking us to stop by their house and meet their new baby. The kids have been talking about meeting 'Baby Oakie' for months, so we stopped. They were SO excited! Katelynn kept talking about how she loves baby Oakley, and baby Oakley loves her. It was so cute. Then,we went to Scott's parents' where his favorite Mom-made meal, Stroganoff, was waiting.

After eating and visiting for a while it was time to put the kids in bed, then we went with Scott's brother David and sis-in-law Jaime to the midnight showing of Twilight. Scott's sis, Susan, had gotten there early and was saving us seats. Now, before you read the next line, make sure you are sitting down. I have NOT read Twilight yet. Scott didn't even know what it was. Ha ha! Everytime I tell anyone I haven't read it yet, they gasp and look as though they are going to pass out. That's why I told you to sit down. I was just watching out for your health. ;) It was an ok movie. I'm glad I saw the movie before reading the books, because Jaime and Susan said the books are much better and they couldn't help but compare the two the whole time. From seeing the movie I can tell there are a lot of scenes that could be potrayed a lot better in a book, because some things are hard to get across in a movie. Apparently a bunch of the scenes were filmed in this area (Oregon City), like at the community college in town and stuff. Actually, my s-i-l Susan tried out for the part of Valerie(? the bad vampire girl) and was called for call-backs & was going to be the understudy, but she was super sick the day she was supposed to go in to fill out paperwork and all that jazz. Too bad.

So, today we are just chillin' at Scott's parents' house. Scott went with his Dad and some brothers to a gun show, and later I'm going to run some pre-baby shower errands with Jaime. Should be fun. Well, now that I've bored you to death with a l o n g post, I'll sign off now. Have a great day!