Melanee's Birthday

Halloween SVU

It's so cool when groups dress up coordinated...... LOVE IT!!!!  Scooby Dooby Doo Where are you?  hahahaaaaa

Happy Birthday Melanee

Today is Melanee's 21st birthday.  To celebrate Chico Unified School District canceled school.  Woo Hoo.  I didn't have to work today!  But I wasn't in Virginia to celebrate with Melanee.  I texted William this morning and told him to give Melanee her gift before her game.  He texted back and said that the game was canceled.  ANd he said that he was going to buy her and ice cream cake.  I'm pretty sure I told him to take pictures....but he didn't.  I'm so disappointed!  He also forgot to give her the gift!  WHAT!?!?!!!  Hope she had a good day!  The one time I tried to talk to her today she was doing a reading assignment.  I had a great time seeing her a few days ago.  It made me miss her more, though.  I love her so much.  I am glad she is my daughter.  Happy Birthday Fishy!

this flight is taking FOREVER

This flight is taking F O R EVER….I am NOT watching “Cars 2”.  Why can’t they show a good, grown up movie….there are ONLY two kids on this 140 passenger plane, and they show Cars 2…why????  And it’s the movie for ALL east bound flights!  I didn’t even give it a chance, so don’t tell me it was a good movie.  I am sure, though, that it is better, HAS TO BE BETTER, than “ZooKeeper”. 

Ok, how come everyone always laughs at me when the flight attendant or instruction video voice announces for everyone to take out the safety instructions card, and I actually take it out???  The whole row laughed at me and commented that they were expecting me to know what to do if an emergency did arise.  And on this flight the lady next to me laughed and made a comment, too (didn’t hear what it was, airplanes are noisy).  Last flight, the one from Roanoke to Dulles, I was sitting next to a pilot who was flying as a passenger and he laughed out loud when I picked it up.  Some of those instructions are dumb though, like be sure to jump feet first when exiting on the blow up slide on a water landing…..what other way is there to exit.  And they told us to leave all our belongings behind if we crash landed….have they ever watched the show “Lost”???  Some of the people’s belongings really came in handy on that deserted island. 

The other thing I really don’t get is the paying extra for FIVE MORE INCHES of leg room.  NOT WORTH it!  Five Inches, you can not even feel that!  How much money is the airlines losing by even offering that….they could put in a whole row or tw of seats….that’s hundreds of dollars each flight.  FIVE INCHES, that’s less than a half of a foot.  NOT EVEN NOTICABLE.  And I know, I’ve now sat in the Economy and the Five Inches section and I’m here to tell you…..save your money….unless you want your Sprite sooner, the stewardess start serving the drinks from the front on back. 

And window seats are very exciting….but NOT in the dark….at night all you see is blackness and a few city lights.  Day time flights are much more fun.

I just listened to about an hour of Michel Jackson tunes….kinda fun, brought back memories.  But after a while I couldn’t take it any more….kinda gave me a headache…and the ear phones from the plane smelled bad….ewwww. 

One of the tv shows they showed on this flight was “The Middle”, I thought, “oh good, I remember watching this with Melanee once and it’s really funny.”  I started watching and GUESS WHAT?  The episode being shown was THE SAME EPISODE I WATCHED WITH MELANEE….what kind of luck is that….and speaking of luck….I wont listen to channel 13 on the music thing here because the Sharks have a game tonight and I really want them to win!  (I have to do my part to help them have good luck, not bad.) 

No one on this flight can sit still.  There had been a line at the bathroom the entire flight.  People keep getting up and stretching, standing in the aisles, loitering…..I am not doing it, but I hope I don’t get a blood clot or anything from all this sitting in the same position for hours on end. 

My cell phone wouldn’t accept calls this whole entire trip.  When People call me their call goes straight to voice mail….but voice mails never appear and no “missed call” alert appears anywhere either.  We called Verizon and William stayed on the line for what seemed like an eternity, but pretty much the solution was to go back to California and see if it works then.  I even switched phones with Melanee and William and every phone I put my number on had the same problem.  So it’s not the phone, but I’m sure I’ve missed important calls these past 3 days without my phone.  I did figure something from this whole ordeal…..my dad NEEDS to learn to text!!!!  Plain and simple, that’s all there is to it!!!!!  It didn’t take Scott long to catch on….it should be easy for my dad also! 

Another airline topic…..the new thing now is CARRYON LUGGAGE.  I totally get it, NO ONE wants to check their bag….it takes to long to pick it up on those carousels.  And people want the stuff that is in the bag, like their Snickers bar or their warm socks.  Or people don’t want their stuff handled roughly…I get it.  But now a days the rules are one carry on bag and one purse/backpack/computer bag ….so basically 2 bags.  There is NOT enough room for all that stuff on the plane.  Makes me wonder, why do they allow it, but by allowing it, they KNOW it wont fit….so what happens is that the last 5-10 people on the plane have NO WHERE to put their carry on bags.  All the overheads are full, and they really are toooooo big for under the seats.  So the airline makes those last few people have to check their bag.  Which makes people like me have to check in my snacks, my camera, Melanee’s year book that I was planning on reading, and it makes my going home time longer cuz I have to wait for them to unload the bags!   

When I sat in Row 7, I could see right into first class and for breakfast the guy who ordered yogurt and cereal got the exact same kind of cereal and the exact same kind of yogurt that we serve at school for breakfast!  Must be good stuff….or cheap!

SVU Trip Part 4 (ate grits!)

So, I am just about home....I am at the Dulles Airport right now...waiting for my flight.  I found an electrical outlet, so I am charging my phone, camera, and laptop.  Another guy is doing the same with the other available plug. 

I woke up this morning without an alarm.  I was the only one up in the house, but it's an old house with VERY squeaky floors, so I tried to be very quiet, but it was very difficult.  I brushed my teeth (with no toothpaste), washed my face, got dressed, made my bed, packed up and tried to sneak out.  The people's 6 grandkids asleep on the floor stirred a little with me opening the creaky door...hope they fell back asleep.  I walked over to the school to meet William for breakfast.  I told him to get Melanee to come, too, but we were pretty much done by the time she got there.  I really like cafeteria food.  (maybe that's because I never get to eat it).  I tried a sample of most of the choices.  One of them was GRITS....what are grits???  And, how do people LIKE them?  Not Impressed! (and what are grits?  yeah, what is in them?  what are they made of?)

After breakfast, William took me over to meet his soccer coach, but he wasn't in his office.  In the office right next to the one we were looking at was Matt, just sitting there, looking very lonely, so I talked to him.  It was the first time I talked to him this trip.  I don't REALLY think he was avoiding me, but he did walk past me twice yesterday with his head down.  It was a nice conversation, but I don't really think he likes me and I don't think I like him all that much.  BUT in talking to Melanee, she says she doesn't really have that much of a problem with Matt.  She thinks he's not a very good coach, but she is more mad at the Assistant Coaches for Messing Up THIS SEASON.  Now I feel bad for the last letter I wrote to the Athletic Director.  I wrote some bad things about Matt. 

We went back to find Melanee eating a waffle with ice cream on top of it. WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF THAT.  I didn't even make a waffle.  Hey, I want to go back.  I want to have a waffle!!!  A waffle with ice cream on top! 

I said good bye to William.  He was so excited for me to come....but he seemed kind of down today, maybe he was still tired from the bomb scare.  I didn't really blog about that much, but it was a big deal.  It made the Washington Post, the ABC National News, and AOL.  I guess someone called the school and said they had planted bombs around the SVU campus.  The school went on lock down and evacuated all the on campus dorms.  The students all had to go to the SAC (the big horse stall building).  They didn't let them leave until after 3:00 a.m.  LONG night.  And some of the kids were truly frightened.   I don't know what ever happened, but no bombs went off.  William thinks they arrested some people.

Maybe he was sad because I was leaving!  Maybe he is just un emotional???  I really enjoy being around him.  He is fun.  I am going to miss him the next few months and while he is on his mission and when he goes back to school and when he gets a job and gets married....and......hey, my kids need to stop growing up so fast. 

I have also missed Bradley and Andrew (and Scott) while I've been gone.  I am missing Andrew's football game today, that makes me sad!  And I bet no one gave them snacks at snack recess! 

Melanee and I drove to Roanoke.  The sun was shining, the drive was all highway, and it was fun to talk.  I've said this before, but the Fall colors in Virginia are spectacular.  All along the highway were beautiful trees. 

We got there fairly quickly, no problem, and said good bye, because Melanee had to get back for class.  I got checked in very easily and just sat in a chair blogging, Facebooking, Twittering, and stuff like that.  Time flew.  I got on the plane, it was completely full.  The plane was long and skinny.  The seats were small.  I was super happy to get a window seat.  I looked out it the whole time and loved every second of the flight.  It went by very fast.  When we started going down, I was surprised that we were at Dulles already. 

I know that Dulles is a huge airport and that there are trams and terminals and walkways and gates all over the place....but I also knew I had a 4 hour time frame to find my next gate.  I got off at gate C28 and needed to find gate D1.  Well, I walked up into the hall and right directly diagonal across the hall from C28 was D1...about 10 steps.  HOW LUCKY IS THAT!

More trip pictures

I'm at the airport, using it's free wi fi and had a few more pictures in my camera from my adventures today.

this was my room....that bed was SO comfortable!

this was the house I stayed at, or basically just slept at...very, very adorable.

this is Main Hall from the back.  The little matching red building in the front is the cafeteria. 

this is the SAC, weight room, coaches offices, and Gym, but it used to be horse stables.  And Main Hall used to be a Hotel.

us at breakfast in the cafeteria

photos dont capture it, especially those taken while riding in a car, but the fall colors are awesome.  Melanee said a week ago they were even bolder and brighter and more vivid...now the leaves have half fallen off already.

just arrived at the airport, fiddling with the zipper after giving Melanee her candy!

at Roanoke Airport, it was really cool.

love this girl and this photo....edited myself out of it!

the inside of the airport, very sleek and clean and modern and quiet.

took this to show my dad the airport, see it down there?

a lake near Roanoke

this one is out of order but I wanted to show Scott the geese flying by the airport, pretty daring of them, huh? 

made it to Dulles from Roanoke in 50 minutes!  I even got a window seat and sat in the VERY back of the plane, right near the engine and the wing.

Some Game Photos

this one was funny because as the starting lines ups were announced, SCU faced towards the fans, and WAU faced the other way! 

after Melanee's goal!

yeah WAU played the player more than the ball!

who put that flag there, this would have been a good picture!

post game happiness!

the fans rushed onto the field

the team acknowledging the fans!

some photos from the trip

I took 85 pictures yesterday, but Blogger wouldn't let me load them all at once, so I uploaded them 5 at a time and here are the best. 

on the way to the school from the airport, we pulled over and called for directions.

This is part of one of the colleges that Melanee and William have played against this season.

we were driving past the main hall for the first time...it was dark and my camera was on the wrong setting, but pretty artistic picture, huh?  (lol, not really!)

the church and institute building

The "Lofts" where Melanee lived Freshman year (HEY, I didn't get a picture of where she lives this year!!!  oops, Melanee, send me one if you read this!)

lobby of Main Hall

more of the lobby of Main Hall, William lives up those stairs!

the back of the Knight statue, and beautiful hills in the background.

This was the hill below the main hall, I think it would be fun to slide down it on a cafeteria tray.

Main Hall, one of those rooms on the third floor is William's.

The building where most of the classrooms are located.

William, not wanting a picture taken, in the cafeteria.

the rest of the cafeteria

In the Institute Building, there is a wall with big plaques.  On the plaques are names of the students who have earned their Institute Graduation Diplomas or honors.  Melanee's name is on that wall.  (So is Dax's, but with a different "Guymon" in between! Alphabetically, Guymon is right below Farnsworth.)

Melanee in front of the library.

application for graduation...it's really happening!

the inside of the library

this building was really cool, but that exterior is not really pillars, it's just painted on, haha!  I think it was the dance building.

The inside of the book store. 

mail boxes

if my camera or photography skills were better...this is the view from campus looking out toward the Blue Ridge Mountains....in Fall it's BEAUTIFUL.