Hawaii Day 2

Day 2:

Day 2 started out early as well. Sadie woke up at 5:30 a.m. and entertained herself with all her fun stuff in her backpack until about six when Jim and I got out of bed. We got dressed and went down to the pool area to get our breakfast and take it to the beach. The hotel gave us two little coolers to fill up with breakfast stuff (cereal, muffins, pastries, coffee, and such) and then we walked over to the beach and ate. After breakfast and a leisurely stroll along the beach, we took off for a trip along the coast. We stopped to check out a blow hole and then made our way to The Sea life Park where we got to check out the sea life, feed some sea turtles, and watch a sea lion show and a dolphin show. Then we headed further up the coast to The Polynesian Cultural Center where we got to see a pageant, learn how to hula, got tattoos, took a canoe ride, and enjoy a wonderful luau. I would recommend this place to anyone going to Oahu. We learned so much about the different cultures and everyone was so friendly and excited to be there. We all enjoyed ourselves very much. After the luau we decided not to stay for the big evening show because we were all so tired so we made our way back to Waikiki and went to bed.

Hawaii Day 1

We took a quick family trip to Hawaii a few weeks ago and I am finally getting around to blogging it. This picture was taken from our hotel room in Waikiki. For more pictures visit our new picassa gallery.

Day 1:

Our trip started out early with a 6 a.m. flight (we had to leave the house at 4:30 a.m.). I was sure that Sadie would sleep as soon as we got on the plane but I guess she was excited about our trip because she didn’t. That was okay though because she had plenty of activities in her backpack to keep her busy so the first flight from Salt Lake City to San Francisco was quick. We had a two hour layover in San Francisco so we ate breakfast there and waited for our final flight. The flight to Hawaii was smooth as well. We lucked out with the movie; it was Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Sadie and I had seen it in the theater and Sadie was excited to watch it on the plane. So after eating a meal on the plane (something else that Sadie was excited about) and watching the movie we only had about another hour to entertain ourselves. Sadie did finally sleep for the last 15 or 20 minutes of the flight.

We landed in beautiful Honolulu at 11:30 a.m. (3:30 p.m. Utah time), collected our bags, and proceeded to pick up our rental car. We had to stand in line at Hertz for 30 minutes and then wait another 20 minutes for our car. But like Jim said, we were on vacation and didn’t have anywhere to be. It was a quick 20 minute drive to the hotel (Resortquest Waikiki Beach) where we got checked in with no problems. Sadie received a bag with a coloring book, crayons, cards, beach ball, bucket, and shovel from the hotel and a card that got her into pretty much everything for free. It was really nice. The hotel was great: clean, comfortable, and right across the street to the beach. The only complaint I would have is the parking. They don’t have self-park, only valet and it costs $20 per night for that (not including tips).

The first item of business when we got to our room was a nap. We all slept for about an hour and then went to Tikki’s grill and bar for dinner. After that we walked along the beach and put our feet in the wonderful, warm water. We walked up and down the beach for a while watching the sun set and then we went back up to our room and called it a day (we were all in bed by 7:30 p.m.).

New Job

I'm sorry that I have neglected the blog but I do have a job now. I work as a paraprofessional at an elementary school. Basically I am a teacher's assistant - I work with a wonderful special education teacher. I tutor reading and math to kids individually and in groups from kindergarten to third grade. It's a very rewarding and fun job and I was suprised how much I love it. It can be challenging at times but that keeps it from being boring. The school I work in (North Star Elementary) has a large hispanic population so I have had opportunity to show off my knowledge (or lack thereof) of spanish. Another great thing about this job is that I have holidays and summers off to be with Sadie and I get every other Friday off so the schedule is a perfect fit. I feel as if I am making a difference and I look forward to going to work and trying to make learning fun.

New Photo Gallery

Check out our new photo gallery at http://picasaweb.google.com/genoa73.
More blogs to follow shortly.

Thirsty

This morning Sadie was excited to show me the stash of CapriSun juice
drinks she and Amy picked up at Costco. "Wow, that's a lot of juice
for a little girl," I remarked as she pointed out the refridgerator
shelf and drawer brimming with silvery pouches. "Think you can drink it
all?"

"Think you can drink all that?" she quickly fired back, pointing to the
case of Heineken they picked up for me.

Touché.

Ginger update

As you all know, we adopted a dog back in January named Ginger. I thought I would let everyone know how everything is going with her. Ginger is, by nature, a good dog but like all dogs, without the proper discipline and training, she was becoming a bit hard to manage at times. When we first got Ginger the plan was for Jim to be the discipline person for her, after all Jim knew a lot more about dogs than I did. I grew up with cats, I never really had a dog. But after a while we realized that Jim was gone most of the time with his work and I was the one dealing with Ginger. So a few weeks ago Ginger and I started a dog obedience course at Petsmart and it has made all the difference. We both have learned so much and Ginger now listens to me. She is a very well behaved dog, this class is more for me to learn how to train her and deal with her. We really love having her around -she really fits with our family. Sadie just adores her, they love to play together and Sadie loves to train her with treats. We can't imagine life without her now! Adopting her was one of the best decisions we have ever made.

Gateway fun

A couple of weeks ago Sadie and I accompanied Jim downtown on the train on a Sunday afternoon. We all had lunch at the Gateway and then Jim had to go to work for a few hours while Sadie and I played at the fountains for a while. Kate and Ian came down after a bit and joined us for some water fun and then snow cones. We did some window shopping after that and then took the train back home. For more pictures visit our gallery.

Ballet recital #2

On June 6th Sadie had her 2nd ballet recital (she is the second one from the left). She did a great job - she really improved quite a bit from last year. She is a lot more focused now. As soon as Jim gets a minute from his busy schedule he will put up the video like he did last year. In the meantime there are some pictures in our gallery.

Day at the farm

A few weeks ago Sadie and I took a trip to the farm at Thanksgiving Point. I had signed Sadie up for a class for 4-5 year olds about baby animals. Sadie got to hold and pet a variety of baby animals, listen to a couple of stories, make some fun crafts, and take a ride on a pony. My parents (who live just down the street from Thanksgiving Point) came along as well. Sadie and I have been learning sign language (from the show Signing Time) and we had just learned about farm animals so she had a good time teaching the other children how to sign cow, horse, pig, and goat. We had a good time and Sadie learned a lot. For more pictures visit our gallery.

Vegas, baby, Vegas

Last weekend Jim, Sadie, and I went to Las Vegas for a quick getaway. On Friday morning we dropped Ginger off at the kennel and had a nice, uneventful drive to Vegas. We checked into the Excaliber hotel and after getting settled we went to fantasy faire and played some games. Sadie won a stuffed unicorn, dragon, and bear, as well as a little barbie doll and some candy. We ate dinner at the Italian restaurant at the hotel and then walked around the strip for a bit before turning in for the night. The next day we ate breakfast at the buffet and then walked down the strip and checked out M&M World where we bought....you guessed it, M&Ms. Our next stop was the fountains at the Bellagio. Sadie was excited because one of the songs was "Time to say Goodbye" which I have on a CD and Sadie recognized it. After the fountains we stopped in Caesar's Palace and checked out the shops. Sadie enjoyed the FAO Schwartz store where she and I played on the big piano keyboard. On our way out we ran into Cleopatra and Sadie wanted a picture with her. We headed back to the hotel to clean up for dinner. We went to the Tournament of Kings dinner where we got to see knights jousting and Merlin doing magic. We also ate a good chicken dinner with our hands. Sadie got to wear her princess dress and she loved the show. We were on the front row so she got waves from everyone in the show. We even got her picture taken with the prince when it was all over. After the show we walked around outside for a bit and then went back to the room to go to bed. The next morning we grabbed some bagels and headed home to pick up Ginger who had a good time with the other dogs in the kennel. It was a fun little vacation and we all came back rested. For more pictures visit our gallery.

Graduation Day!

After six years of hard work and homework I finally graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Literature! Jim came down for the big convocation ceremony and then my parents joined him for the separate ceremony where they actually hand the diplomas. I was a part of the first "unofficial" graduates of the new University. Utah Valley State College will become Utah Valley University next year. Our diplomas say UVSC on them but next year we will recieve new ones that say UVU on them. That night we got together with some of my family and celebrated at Buca De Beppo. I'm still not sure what my next step is going to be. I'm taking the summer off (by off I mean that I will be taking Sadie to swimming lessons and ballet, taking the dog to obedience training, redecorating my bathroom and the office, and taking care of the house and yard). This fall I will decide whether or not to continue my education in grad school or not. Right now I am just enjoying this accomplishment! For pictures visit our gallery.

Easter 2007

It's Easter once again and this year was a bit different from previous Easters. I had a small get together with part of my family (mom & dad, Cindy, Matt & his new girl Emily) on Saturday and put together a little brunch. We had pancakes with fresh strawberries and blueberries, cinnimon rolls, ham, and a spinach quiche that I made. Jim had to go into work so he missed out. Sadie had a lot of fun being the only kid. Everyone would hide the eggs for her and she would go find them, then she would hide the eggs and make the grown ups find them. Sunday morning the Easter bunny left a bunch of surprises in her Easter basket and she got to find a few eggs filled with candy outside as well. Later on Sunday, Sadie and I went over to my niece Alicia's house for lunch. We really appreciated the invitation especially because Jim had to go into work on Sunday as well. For more pictures visit our gallery.

Birthday!

On March 10th we (along with Bruce, Kate, Ian, Sol, and Jacquee) went bowling to celebrate my birthday. First off we had a good time playing games in the arcade. Everyone gave Sadie the tickets they had won and she ended up with 261 tickets! She traded them in for some candy, lip gloss, and a sparkly baton. After that we bowled two games and ate pizza and bread sticks. It was a fun birthday. For more pictures visit our gallery.

Show and Tell

I have dropped the ball a bit on the blog this semester but I promise I will catch up again. Last month we took Ginger to Sadie's daycare for show and tell. The kids loved it and so did Ginger. They all got to pet and hug her and she loved the attention. Sadie was pretty proud to show her off. For more pictures visit our gallery.

New addition to the family

After much discussion and careful consideration we have decided to expand our family. We are proud to announce the arrival of our new addition: a 7 month old named Ginger. Ginger came to us courtesy of Jim's parents and has adapted quite well into the family, even the cats are getting used to her. She is a well behaved dog and even listens and obeys commands from Sadie. For more pictures of Ginger visit our gallery.

Mangelson Christmas Party

On December 9th the Mangelson family got together for Christmas. This is the first year that everyone will not be getting together on Christmas day so we had a party early on. The party was held at the clubhouse at my parents new community. We had plenty of tables and chairs, a kitchen, a living area with a fireplace, and a theatre room complete with a dozen recliners. There was a pool table and a ping pong table as well so we had a nice set up. Matt brewed us all some fresh root beer and we all had a good time eating, opening presents, and watching Ice Age, The Meltdown. For more pictures visit our gallery.