Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig (now with a link to pictures)

What's a vacation without a few snags? Our trip got off to a rocky start (see the post on "The Layover") and ended a little rocky as well -- we got to our car in long term parking only to discover a dead car battery! We also had a bit of a problem once we got to Chula Vista resort actually finding the family: driving instructions which included drive behind the water park and "go forward" would have been great in the daylight, but not so great at midnight. But once we all got up Saturday morning, we had a great time!

About 30 members of Rocky's family were there. 6 of the 7 children, most of the grandkids and 2 of the great-grandkids of Mike and Bonnie all hung out with little to no drama the entire time. The drama usually involved Grandma Bonnie, Aunt Tammy or Aunt Shelly looking for some of the younger girls who would wander off to go down waterslides alone.

Aunt Shelly was the great organizer and even managed to come up with menus for all of our meals which were eaten in one of the 3 condos we rented. Each condo was 3 bedrooms/baths with an almost fully stocked kitchen. Shelly made up room assignments and with all the bedrooms and pull out sofas and a couple of cots, I'm pretty sure no one had to sleep on the floor.
The waterpark was a blast! Shelly rented a cabana for the family for the main 2 days we were there and it was really nice to have a central location to head to when we needed a break or a snack (as we snuck in snacks!) I do still think it was a bit odd to have TVs in the cabana (the cabana next to ours had the Cartoon Network on), but I guess to each their own. Plus, I do realize if we had been there during football season, ours probably would have been on as well.

Maggie LOVED the park and even went down a few slides by herself. The first trip down, Rocky got "in trouble" as he went down with her, but it only took that one trip for her to want to go by herself. Aunt Shelly helped catch Maggie. Maggie told me "Aunt Shelly is a good catcher. And you are a good stepper." We also got "in trouble" for Maggie wearing her water shoes and Rocky wearing his sandles -- though he was allowed to hold them on the way down the slide. Because, yeah, that's safer.

Sunday afternoon, Rocky and I had some time to ourselves while Maggie napped and we enjoyed a few trips down the slides both indoor and outdoor until a storm blew through and they closed the outdoor park. Of course at that point the indoor park was teeming with people and we just don't have the patience to deal with the long lines for a 15 second ride and we headed back to the condo. After the storm passed, several people headed back to the park as there were no lines outside.

Maggie had a great time with her cousins and playing "Grandpa Mike games." It was nice to hang out with the family and just enjoy each others company. Maggie was very sad to leave Monday afternoon and told us "I just want to play with my cousins." It took very little to set her off at that point and she became upset that our rental car was red as she wanted a pink car as "pink is for girls". She traveled very well the trip home, slept on the flight to Denver and we read "Horton Hears a Who" a couple of times on the flight home to Billings. We didn't have any troubles with our flights home and arrived in Billings on time. We were all tired and Maggie really wanted to see Otis and our pink car. Once again, she was upset that our car is not pink -- even though it is Daddy's car.

We think Maggie has a bit of the traveling bug now, though it may be a while before we take another trip like that. Rocky brought along his good camera and is working on pictures today. I'll add a link to pictures once he's done.

And I did try a new wine on this trip. Saturday afternoon, Rocky and I went out to get some wine and some better beer. He found a local Wisconsin beer (which we all agreed tasted like Miller Lite with a different label), he also picked up a 12 pack of Leinenkugels. I picked up a bottle of Wollersheim Winery Blushing Rose. It was a sweet rose and nice to have with supper. I also purchased a bottle of Yellowtale Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio. I like the Yellowtale wines as they are predictable and affordable. I always know I will enjoy a bottle of Yellowtale.

US Traveler Maggie, part duex

Maggie keeps herself entertained at the O'Hare Airport

US Traveler Maggie

Maggie has always been a pretty good car traveler. This trip is her very first airline trip. We have talked it up for quite some time, so she was very very excited. We were worried she would get scared, but she was just an old pro. She was definite that she wanted to sit by me on the "airplane ride." With Slush in hand and her butterfly backpack stuffed with snacks, she was well prepared.

The first ride from Billings went very smoothly. You never would have guessed it was Maggie's first airplane ride. She watched her movies some, but really really liked unbuckling her seatbelt and watching the clouds. She also spent some time "reading" the safety guide and pointed out the water and letters on the guide.

We had plenty of colors, movies, books to keep her entertained, but the 5 hour + layover in Chicago pressed the limits. Maggie did so good! We walked around O'Hara. She LOVED the people movers and the "skeleton dinosaur." She fought off sleep as long as she possibly could. She fell asleep soon after take off to Madison, watching "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer."

The Layover

We are stuck in Chicago. Our flight from Billings was delayed for 2 hours due to a crew delay -- they arrived in Billings late yesterday and weren't allowed to fly until 2 hours past our original departure time. We arrived in Chicago in time to try to stand by on 2 other flights, but here we are about 3 1/2 hours later, hanging out at another gate. Rocky spent the $7 to get on to wireless. We have run down the batteries on Maggie's player and have run them almost down on Rocky's mp3 player. Mine is left and we need something for the flight to Madison and the drive to the Wisconsin Dells. The flight should be short and the drive about an hour long. So, it's just a matter of getting on the flight. We are confirmed, but checked in too early this morning to get seat assignments. I am patiently (impatiently) waiting for the gate agent so we can get our seat assignments as I do not want to inadvertently end up playing that fun seat assignment waiting game (which I used to do A LOT when I worked for United).

We are on our way to the Dailey Family Reunion. About 30 members of Rocky's family will be there. His sister Shelly is the organizer and got a couple of 3 bedroom condos for the crew. The site has a water park so we should have plenty of fun through the weekend. Rocky was volunteered to bring his good camera and take lots of pictures, so when the weekend is over, we will upload and share lots.

My first Wine Blog post

So, I wanted to blog about a new wine tonight: Notro Torrontes 2007 an Argentina white. According to the label, it offers an intensely perfumes nose of exotic tropical fruit, with light floral notes. It is light, lively and crisp on the palate. Excellent on its own, it also pairs well with salads, light fish dishes or spicy Thai, Vietnamese or Chinese cuisine. I know I enjoyed it, however, after 1.5 glasses (and emptying the bottle) I switched over to Tilia Malbec, an Argentinean red and can no longer remember the exact taste of the Argentinean white.

When I picked up the Tilia Malbec 2008, I thought it was a picnic wine by the same lable, but it turned out to be red. I guess I should have read the lable (because in capital letters it states RED WINE). I like this wine, but think I should have started with it as it would have paired well with the steak Rocky purchased for dinner.

Interestingly, the Tilia is a screwtop and the Notro is a rubber cork top. I don't really notice a difference between the two and the screwtop is much more convenient!

Both wines were purchased at City Vineyard for $9.95 each. I love getting a nice wine for under $10. (If I didn't, I wouldn't drink Barefoot Wine!)

Change in plans

Yesterday, after spending the morning running errands, our last stop was my new favorite wine store (City Vineyard). As we drove home, I started thinking that I need to start blogging about my favorite wines, if only to help me remember which ones I like and which ones I don't. I was just finishing up with a load of laundry when my cell phone rang. Which surprised me because no one but Rocky (and work) ever call me on my cell phone and Rocky was home and obviously, the office is closed on Saturdays. But it was my manager. Carey Jo called to let me know my friend and co-worker Michelle's son had been killed in a car accident. Michael was 22 and was on his way back to Dillon Montana where he was going to get ready for University of Montana Western's football season.

Suddenly, the priorities for my day changed. Things that had seemed so important just minutes earlier, no longer were. I didn't know what to do then and I still don't. This is the 2nd senseless death of a child I knew in less than 2 weeks. 2 weeks ago, one of Maggie's preschool classmates was killed in a motorcycle/car accident. We haven't really talked to Maggie about it as he wasn't in her classroom and I'm not sure she's aware of what happened. We will talk about it if/when she asks though.

It's senseless and tragic. No parent should have to go through this. I know that I've stopped worrying about quality time with Maggie and have started enjoying the quantity time with her -- you know, that time spent watching TV or just being in the same room.

If you pray, please pray for comfort and strength for these two families who are saying goodbye much too soon to their boys.