March 31, 2009 by samantha.

With my parents here, I have been running around having fun. They finally arrived Sunday evening, after a couple of failed attempts. To welcome my parents to California, we took them to Casa Guadalajara. It was one of my grandfather’s favorite Mexican restaurants. The food is always good and the live Mariachi band never disappoints.

The plans for Monday were very simple: visit the Wild Animal Park and get back to Redlands as quickly as possible. We wanted to get to the park early so that we could feed the Lorikeets. You have to make it to the park early, before the birds are full, to get the best experience. I have had at least fifteen birds on me at one time, all trying to get to the food. My dad had never feed the Lorikeets before and really enjoyed the experience. The highlight of the trip to the park was seeing the baby cheetah and elephant. They were absolutely adorable.

The cheetah was rejected by his mother and was staying in the nursery.

The elephant was trying hard to follow his mother and not get in trouble.

He was still unsure of what his trunk was for and it kept getting in his way.

The weather was great for walking around the park and just taking in the sights. I have always said that once you have visited the Wild Animal Park all zoos pale in comparison. Other zoos have tried to copy the Wild Animal Park, but they do not even come close.

The goal of getting back to Redlands was successful. Today we did some errands, a little shopping, and caught up. It was a lot of fun. The only disappointment of the day was Chili’s. I have not been there in a while and I was eager to go back. The menu was not the same. My usual favorites were gone or overpriced. As a matter of fact, Chili’s raised the prices on most things on the menu. We were so disappointed, that we left and went someplace else for dinner. Chili’s used to be a safe bet. Oh well!

Posted in Babies!, California, Travels, Family, Rants | No Comments »

January 12, 2009 by samantha.

I am pleased to announce that Gabriel Stone was born last night at 9:30ish. He is 7.5 lbs and about 19 inches long. He is very handsome and perfect in every way. Mom is doing great and is thrilled to no longer be pregnant. Dad is already proud of his little boy! Isabella, the older sister, is not interested in her baby brother and has more important things to worry about. I will post a picture once I get permission. Welcome to the world Gabriel!

Posted in Friends, Babies! | 1 Comment »

April 19, 2008 by samantha.

Early Thursday morning, 1:11 am to be exact, Emerson Nicole was born. She weighed 8.9 lbs and was 21 inches long. Kristi and baby are doing well. Emerson is absolutely beautiful. As with Baby Erielle, I will post pictures as soon as I can.

Having all these babies has been so much fun. My big question is who is going to be next??? One of my girlfriends from college is pregnant, but she lives in Ohio. I need some local babies! I have some people I am keeping my fingers crossed for. And I do have one candidate taking a pregnancy test next week. Babies make life so exciting!!!

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April 13, 2008 by samantha.

First and foremost, I want to welcome Miss Erielle into the world! She was born April 12 at 6:12 am. She weighs 6.5 lbs and is 17.5 inches long and she is beautiful. I would even say that she is perfect! Mom and Erielle are doing well. As for Dad, I think he is still trying to recover. On the day that Erielle was born, her big brother’s birthday party was planned. Mom did a fantastic job of trying to make things easy for Dad, but he was sleep deprived. I, along with some friends and family, stepped in and did our best. Big Brother, Ethan, had a wonderful 3rd Birthday party. And I learned that I am never throwing a birthday party for a three-year old. It is exhausting!

That was the highlight of my weekend. I did see Leatherheads on Friday. It was mediocre at best. I would wait till it comes out on video or TV. Like I always say, I my expectations when it comes to movies is pretty low. As long as I can forget about the world for two hours, I am happy. I looked at my watch a few times during the movie. Hopefully, the next movie will be better!

Since I started on an extremely happy note, am going to end on not so happy one. It is hot here. It is about 92. Yucky!!! I should tough it out, but I am a wimp. I turned the AC on and I am happily sitting in my cool house. I know I have declared my love for the AC before, but I could not live without it. If people can marry a goat, can I marry my AC?

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