Soooo NOT prepared...

This might be a post that is a little bit more boring...no pictures to follow but totally blog worthy! I wanted to remember this so I don't make this mistake when something worse happens here in wonderful San Diego!

What do you do when the power in goes out? I mean BLACK OUT from southern OC to parts in Mexico. Well you don't want to do what I did...lock yourself out of the house during the HOTTEST day of the summer in SD. Haha a laughing matter now but not to funny then. It was such a crazy day but I had wished I was more prepared because it would have been much easier. Now I have a goal to make a 72 hour kit for Dave and I, and get a spare key!

The power went our around 3:30 and I was in the middle of a phone call when my cell phone shut off and the lights went out. I called Dave with little reception and he was out in Vista at one of the salons and said the power went out there also. Sheesh, that is 30 mins away and I had no Internet, no cell phone, or TV and no idea if it was just our area or a bigger area. At that point it knew it was pretty big for how far away he was. I saw my neighbors coming outside and walked out my front door on to my porch to talk to one of them. Well dumb idea...because at that point I went to go open my door to go back inside and guess what...LOCKED. Nice...real nice! I was lucky I had my phone on me...right, well cell phones didn't have a lot of service cause I guess the lines were all backed up from everyone making calls. I had no way of getting a hold of Dave to let him know I was locked out and to SAVE me because the Internet didn't work either. GREAT... I ended up sitting outside in the hottest day of the year for 1 & 1/2 hrs until I received a text message from Dave that he was coming home. Hallelujah! Then he proceeds to tell me that its going to take him longer to get home because since the power was out all the traffic lights were out and it was CHAOS! What normally would have taken 30 mins took him 1hr 30mins to get home. If you count that I was out there for almost 3 hours haha just sitting on the chair waiting with a dead cell phone! On any other day Dave would have been at his office 15 mins away, I probably could have called him on a cell phone that had service and maybe waited 20 mins outside. I WILL now have a spare key for my house outside!

When I got in the house I was kind of scrambling to find the flashlights candles, and the lantern because it was getting dark and still had no power. At this time it was 6ish. For dinner we had a delicious meal of PB & J. Our stove is also electric so that was a no go on cooking anything! I keep thinking what if...the power does not come on for a few days? I was seriously SO not prepared. We also have no land line and never really thought about getting one cause why do we need one? Well my cell phone was all ready dead. Dave's had a lil charge but thank heavens the laptops had a full battery charge because we plugged our phones in there and sucked the battery dry to charge our cell phones. I didn't realize how much I need electricity for everything we do. Dave and I had no idea what to do that night haha. We ended up camping in the bedroom and watched a movie on the other laptop that had a charge hoping for the power to come on. It did eventually come on at 3:30 that next morning luckily, but I really am going to be prepared and get my emergency kit together ASAP. We learned our lesson real quick. We did end up having to throw away some food in the fridge but not as bad as I thought. The freezer stayed cold so nothing was ruined in there. Luckily!

Sidenote: The stake president asked our stake a couple weeks to make sure we have 72 hour kits by October. So weird that the black out happened cause now I think everyone is not taking that lightly. I was asked to make a reminder poster about the 72 hour kits. This helped me also learn what needs to be in the kits and get a lil more motivated to get going on them. Now I got called to be apart of the Emergency preparedness committee...so funny how things work out. :)

Summer at the Lakes

We had so much fun this summer and it is still continuing! I think we have been somewhere just about every month and the time has flown by. We have been so spoiled traveling around this summer! These last couple lake vacations we were in Bear Lake, UT and Big Bear, CA.

On Labor Day weekend my side of the family did a spontaneous vacation to Big Bear. It ended up just us, my parents, and the Gueck family going but it was such a great weekend. This was my first time there and it was fun to escape to mountains in the middle of crazy southern CA. We rented a cabin right on the lake with a dock and a great view! It was definitely a BUSY BUSY time to go there because of the holiday the lake was so packed! A lil downer because there was no way to wakeboard or ski safely but the lake was really cold to. My dad bought new sea-doos right before we came, so we had a blast on those, hitting the waves and just cruising. We brought the jet boat with us and had so much fun on that also, so we made up for not having the other stuff to do. Ended up being a great time and so glad to spend that time with my family. LOVE THEM!

Our other lake trip we went to was Bear Lake in Utah. This was also a first time for me there and this was another great trip! We went with Dave's family and met up with some of his extended family that had a lake house. So beautiful and so fun to meet that part of the family. We were on the water all day every day and soaked up some serious sun there. Luckily no one got burned... to bad but just about everyone got in to the water to test out their skills. Both Dave and I tried wake surfing for the first time. Of course Dave did better than I did but it was worth a try and sometime I would like to do in the future again! When we were not on the boat we played bean bags, sun bathed, watched movies,played games and ate, and ate, and ate! Dave's Aunt Cathy is such a good cook and fed us so much. I was told that you can NOT leave Bear Lake without trying their famous raspberry shakes. Oh boy, they were so good, it ended up being breakfast for us on the way out but we couldn't miss out! :)

A Big THANK YOU to Cathy, J.R and family for inviting us out there with them for such a great weekend!

Oh and something amazing happened! Both lake trips I some how did not get ONE mosquito bite! I am one happy person :).....maybe I'm not as sweet anymore. Haha really though so thrilled! I usually get eaten alive.

Reimchiissel Family Vacation!

I was counting down the days until this vacation! We had such an amazing time with my family. Thank you so much to my awesome parents and also my sister Amy for planning this trip and making memories! We first flew in to Idaho Falls then went to Amy's house in Pocatello. That next day we all loaded up and drove about 2 hours to island park to start the party/vacation!

Things we did:

-went to a rodeo in Montana

-drove up to Yellowstone 3o mins away

-saw Old Faithful, tons of wild life, paint pots, lots of

different falls & hiked

- drove the 4 wheelers around & explored

-rented wave runners & a tube & were lake bums for a day :)

-went on a moose hunt and found some near the cabin

-celebrated Bailey's 4th bday

-cooked amazing food

-had fires at night and the guys in the hot tub late nights

-went to a high school musical local play

-went to local restaurant and ate bison burgers

-guys & kids went fishing (Bailey was the only successful one)

There is a little bit of a picture overload below but there were so many good ones.

Yellowstone & Island Park

This was the cabin that we stayed in. It was a perfect fit for us and was in such a beautiful place! It had a great big yard for the kids to play in, plenty of space to drive the 4-wheelers, hot tub, fire pit, and rocks to throw. :)

Some falls on the way up to Yellowstone

Local rodeo in Montana. The kids had a blast and especially Connor. He absolutely loves horses and was just in heaven with it right in front of him.

Famous Yellowstone entrance sign of course we had to get a photo :)

I know its tiny but there is a bison in the middle. The scenery was so beautiful!

Many times while driving around the park the wild life were just eating and walking around the sides of the roads. So amazing to see them up close! This picture is not zoomed either!

This was a spot at the Paint pots. It was amazing to see such clear beautiful water! It was boiling like crazy and certain spots really did look like paint. A lot of small geysers were around them also.

My sister Ashly made these cute capes for the kids to wear. They were adorable! The little boys at reversible batman and superman ones. Then the girls had reversible princess crown and flower capes. Of course the kids loved them!

Dave had a little too much sun so this was his problem solved haha...a little to late cause he was already burned at this point! The guys were soaking themselves in aloe vera the next couple of days. I think it was worth it cause the wave runners were so fun! The dock was just around the corner from the cabin so we all were there on and off all day.

All the kids were so much more brave then I thought they would be on the wave runners and 4-wheelers. So many good memories! I ended up getting pretty good air on the tube with both Dave & Brandon driving. Lets just say I ended up with a few good bruises the next day! :)

lil Lacie Bree :)

Cannot wait for the next family vacation/reunion! SOOO much fun and a huge thank you to Mom & Dad and Amy for the planning!! You are AMAZING!

Trial Run

Doug & Katherine and their 2 kids invited Dave and I to do a little one night stay trial run sort of camping trip. We did it in San Clemente at their camp grounds right after the fourth of July. It was a nice camp ground near the beach and the weather was pretty good. The only thing was, is that it was a hike down to get to the beach not so convenient. Dave kept teasing saying this was not "real" camping. I don't mind roughing it but I can only rough it and get dirty for so long! I like to have a bathroom....no digging holes in the ground for a toilet. That is not fun nor a vacation so why do it! One night was plenty for me. :)

Dave on the other hand LOVES to do that stuff. He has been wanting to do "real" camping at Lake Mead for awhile which is why we did this. Hence the Trial Run title of this camping trip. We will see how it goes with no potty....just the dirt, sand and the lake. EEK!

Of course you can't camp without hot dogs & S'mores. They brought Reese's to go in the middle of the s'mores instead of Hershey bars and it was so good!

Doug had the idea to bring croissant rolls and wrap them around our hot dogs and cook them. Sounded yummy and good! That definitely entertained us for awhile trying to figure out how to cook it just right. Ended up being to hard to cook the hot dog and the croissant without one being done/burned before the other.

So we just ended up cooking them separately and I would definitely add that to bring on a camping food list. I think they were pretty fun and different. We (by that I mean I haha) finally figured out after many burned to the crisp and half doughy rolls found a good way to cook them so all sides get cooked. Braid it around the roaster stick like a figure 8 and put it over the coals until it is a delicious golden brown! YUM!

Independence Day 2011

4th of July

One of my favorite holidays! So much to be thankful for living in this free country!

The Crew walking down to the park loaded with chairs & snacks

Not the best picture...but these are DELICIOUS! They are cheesecake cupcakes. I got a new cookbook called "Our Best Bites" and I am attempting to cook now. :)

(Thanks Amy for the cookbook!)

A lil festive dessert for the occasion.

Our friends Mike & Estee

I didn't realize until after how cordinated Dave and I are with our outfits & chairs. Pretty funny because this was of course not planned. :) (My shirt is blue and white striped if you can't tell)

This year has been the 4th year I have spent 4th of July at the Nelsons house. So crazy how time passes. They do the same fun tradition every year. Family and friends come over for swimming and a yummy BBQ then we all walk down the road to Peralta park for the community party. They have a band there and food, then when it gets dark the firework show begins! Always amazing fireworks!

Tourist In My Own Home

We had some good friends of ours the New family come and visit us these last couple weeks from Utah. We had a great time visiting all the fun things that San Diego has to offer. I love living here more and more every day. So much to do and see and its absolutely PERFECT weather all the time! There are still so many things to do on my list but we knocked out a few while they were here.

SEAPORT VILLAGE

This was a cute restaurant that was right on the water and we got a window seat. Such a great view and atmosphere...the food on the other hand was average.

Coronado Island

I only got pics from my phone in the car but it is so pictureque! Such a cute lil town.

San Diego Zoo

I wish I had taken more pictures of the animals! Seriously amazing all the animals they have there. Be prepared to do a ton of walking because it is HUGE there. So many things to do and see. My all time favorite were the Koala bears! I wish I could have one for a pet...cutest things I have ever seen!

Lil Audrey and I

Its hard to see but there are the lil Koala bears I feel in love with. So cuddly looking! It was interesting how they all nested in a small section of branches in the trees. It looked so uncomfortable.

Estee was holding freeze dried elephant poo in this picture :)

If you look at this picture closely this camels hump it is lopsided and just hanging there...sooo weird to me. I found out though that the hump is just all fat. I don't know if its just this particular camel but this might be a known thing...its news to me.

Legoland

These next couple pictures are of mini land. All of it build out of legos. They had tons of cities and also famous landmarks. The detail in it is amazing! Just a few of my home town.

Can't get enough of this kid. Greyson has the cutest smile!

Amber and the kids on a ride