The Corpse Flower

Joshua heard on the news that the world's stinkiest flower was soon to bloom at the Fullerton Arboretum. Well, who could resist seeing such a sight! Off we went to see this huge floral wonder, only it hadn't quite bloomed yet. But here it is anyway ... that thing is a giant!
Well, we talked my mom and Jim into going back with us once we knew the flower had opened.
Voila! If you really want to know what it smelled like, go find a full dumpster, open the lid, stick your head in, and breathe deeply. Isn't God creative?

San Francisco

We went to San Francisco primarily to visit our friend Evan perform in the musical "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee." at the Post Street Theater. It is a pretty amazing city. The parking garage has marble floors in the fire escape staircase. We parked in Union Square area by where the theater was and took the city by foot.

We wanted to take the cable car trolley, but on Memorial Day Weekend the lines were way too long to start at the beginning. We trotted uphill to the next stop of the trolley to get on there, but the trolley didn't stop. So we kept going up. But the trolleys never stopped unless they were going back the way we came. Eventually we made it to the top of the first hill and did some sight seeing. The old cathedral was a fun thing to see, but since it was Sunday, mass was underway. "Oh yeah, this is still a working church." We used the public bathrooms near the nursery and went on our way.

Lombard wasn't too far away so we walked over there. It wasn't a straight line that we walked, it was more like a sine wave. Erin was glad to have her puffer with her. The roads we took weren't tourist routes; it was just us and the locals walking their dogs. So many people have dogs in the city!
Once we left Lombard street (pictured above) we headed down the hill (finally) to Fisherman's Warf for lunch by the barking sea lions. Boy was that place crowded. We heard from my sister the day before that the Ferry Building was a sight to see, so we walked around the bay to see it. When we got there it wasn't much to look at, but it definitely was a scent to smell. One of the vendors inside had every kind of cheese imaginable. Some people should just stop imagining things. Stinky.
Outside the Ferry Building was a great view of the Bay Bridge. It's shaped like a boomerang. So just wait there it will come back. Also in the park was a giant bow and arrow. I could make up a reason for it to be there but it would be even more dumb than the monument itself. The sign next to it only said. "Do not stand on grass." Weird.
When night came the show curtains went up and we enjoyed one of the funniest nights of theater we've ever had. I highly recommend it if the show ever comes to your town. I especially like when they "use the word in a sentence, please." Downright hilarious. (for the title of the show see the beginning of post) 

Weekend Northward

Last weekend Erin and I drove to visit friends and family in San Jose and San Francisco. The drive is great when you start it at 12 o'clock midnight like we did. Unfortunately my sister and her husband had made previous plans to see family in Redding, California. So we only had five hours to spend with them.
We Arrived at 6:30am after our midnight drive up the middle of the state. After the Muellers had a chance to clear the sleep from their eyes we went to Flamers for a big breakfast. I had a bite from everybody's plate, it was delicious.
Since we don't get a chance to see our nephew William very often, we have to spoil him every chance we get. William loves toy trains. He especially loves playing with his Brillo Thomas Trains. We got him a toy that was updated from my childhood and some Sandals that he didn't like to wear because of the "thing between the toes". The Big Loader, but now it looks like the Thomas trains. William had a hard time realizing that he shouldn't touch the Big Loader because it does all the work itself.

Once the five hours were up we had to give our hugs goodbye. Erin and I were allowed to use my sister's place for the rest of the weekend.
After visiting with my sister, Erin and I drove to the neighboring city of Morgan Hill to visit a High School friend of Erins. Michelle and Raleigh moved there two years ago a week before Erin and I became engaged. They have two beautiful children Natalie and Matthew. Matthew had just been born 10 weeks ago and we were very excited to be able to meet him. Natalie, now just two, has a wonderful taste in clothing, in Terry Gilliam's world. She had on all pink with rain boots, fairy wings, sunhat, and a magic wand dancing on the deck in the cool afternoon breeze.

I'm sorry that we don't have any pictures to show you of them. They were all quite cute. Raleigh barbaqued a juicy marinated tri-tip, and Michelle prepared perfectly seasoned potatoes for dinner. It was fun for Erin to catch up on all the school friends she had lost touch with, and myself to get to know the Nielsen's.

Translator

My coworker, Keith, turned me onto a clever little website. Babblefish.com

It's a free translator. English to Spanish, or French to English, etc. Check it out.

Angel Game

My dad has season tickets to the Angels, and occasionally has extras. We went to the game last night where the Angels beat the Minnesota Twins. Coincidentally, my boss also has season tickets. We had a nice chat with him and on the way back to our seats, we ran into another of my coworkers! She was there on a field trip and had extra hats for us! Don't we look like official fans?
The seats had a great view of the field.
Dad and Carol enjoying the game.

Kids!

Remember the boy in my class who sneezed on his test? Well, we have been studying parts of the body. We were reviewing the parts of the digestive system, and I called on this boy to tell me where food goes after it leaves the stomach. He thinks for a while and manages to get out "test...". Silly me, I encourage him thinking he's trying to say intestines. Nope. "TESTICLES!" he cries out with pride. Luckily, only one other boy knew what those were, and we were able to move on without discussing the reproductive system. I am so ready for a vacation.

Reward #2

Just as I thought one reward was enough, I came home to find my new Little House on the Prairie Season 3 DVD's had arrived. Just in time too, we're almost done with season 2. The extra bonus we got is the two hour special, Journey in the Spring. It's the one where Laura blames her grandpa for her horse's injury, and she has to swallow her pride and travel to appologize to him.

I'm sure Erin is as excited as I am about these shows, she just does a better job hiding the fact. I have no problem sharing the moral lessons learned with friends. In fact, I've decided that we won't have television in our house, our children are growing up on Little House.

Rewards

Here's an interesting note on rewards. When people are greatfull for something they'll typically reward you for it, be it a simple "thank you" or an extravagant trip to the Bahamas. In a little comparison, this week both Erin and I were rewarded with Starbucks gift cards. A welcome treat since we excluded them from our budget two years ago. Erin received her's as a teacher appreciation week gift. But since the budget is tight not everyone gets one, nope. There was a drawing, and she won hers in the second chance drawing. I received mine because I returned someones keys that they forgot. A little ten minute drive out of my way; it wasn't so bad. Erin's reward $5; Joshua's reward $10. It just goes to show you that people appreciate 10 minutes of pampered service over a years worth of training their children.

Disclaimer: I wouldn't seriously think of drawing that conclusion. Really.

We Belong in the Zoo!

Last weekend, Joshua's sister Pattie and her husband Jim were in San Diego. We decided to take the opportunity for another weekend getaway (I think we've been on an every other week schedule...). So onto Priceline we went and got a great room in Old Town (our favorite spot!) for a mere $45 a night! At that price, we took two nights. Friday night we drove down, settled in, and walked a block up the street to a Mexican restaurant for dinner. Joshua had the greatest margarita he's ever had! Saturday, we got up bright and early and went for a walk. I guess everyone sleeps in around there, because it was quiet. After a couple cups of coffee, we headed to the San Diego Zoo. Joshua had never been. Here we are having a lovely lunch at the Treehouse Cafe. My favorite part of the zoo is the giant panda enclosure. We got to see the mama bear resting in the sun while the baby was snoozing way up in the branches!
After Joshua used the flash on the camera, this bear got angry! Just kidding ... it was actually a big old yawn.
 

Vacation in Simi Valley

A couple of weeks ago Erin and I decided that we hadn't gone anywhere fun in awhile. We just sat at home on the weekends studying and working on our projects. We wanted to go to Solvang at first but with last minute planning there were no rooms available. So we decided to go to Simi Valley and visit the Reagan Presidential Library. Reagan was the president for the majority of my youth, so when I think of what a president should be I usually compare it to him. The Library is on top of a hill in a beautiful valley that is quickly becoming cluttered with high-priced homes. Our highlight was walking through Reagan's personal Air Force One aircraft. They had it standing on stilts in a gigantic room also filled with his presidential helicopter, limousine, and motorcade.
For our hotel we used hotwire for the first time. I will never use them again. Their three star was way worse than a priceline 2 and a half star. The room had a strange musty smell and the bed wasn't very comfortable. Erin started tossing and turning at around 2am and started bugging me so that I would feel the misery also. I brought out my trusty Little House on the Praire DVD's and we watched an episode on my laptop. She was able to sleep soundly afterward.
 

Spelling Test

Today during our weekly spelling test, one of my students sneezed, then raised his hand. I thought he needed me to repeat the word. "Mrs. Hardwick, there is something all over my spelling test!" He was shocked and embarassed when I reminded him to cover his mouth the next time he sneezed.

Where's the stairs?

Erin and I treated ourselves to a wonderful weekend away (we'll blog about it later). We stayed at the Marriott Courtyard hotel in Old Town, San Diego. If I didn't have a wife that got sick in elevators and other moving objects, I would have never noticed a trend in modern day construction: missing staircases. The only option you're given now is to take the elevator. Forget about better health or alternative options if the elevator is full or out of order. There were two fire escapes on either end of the building, neither of which led to the lobby of the hotel. The staircase on the south side sent you to the alleyway, and on the north side you ended up in the kitchen or the outdoor employee smoking area. However, I can't complain too much about our stay for only $45 per night at a regularly $200 room; I was quite pleased with our accomodations being within walking distance of my favorite part of San Diego.

Easter

This year we had Easter services outdoors at the OC fairgrounds. I got to be a part of the opening dance. We had five drummers playing the rhythm for us. It was awesome!
Joshua was a part of the drama. It was a creative version of the prodigal son. Joshua moved scenery and interacted with the prodigal daughter as a drug dealer.
Joshua's parents came out for a visit during Easter week. After service, we went to my aunt's house for a family gathering. Here I am with my sister and my two moms enjoying an appetizer! 

To my wife

Hon,

I love you
You are my beautiful woman
You out-beautify even the prettiest flowers
You make my heart warm when I think of you
Your smile to me is like sunshine to the day
Your loving touch calms me
Your voice is a delight to my ears
You are my wife, and
I love you.

The Hus

Mom's Birthday

Every spring we take a trip to the LA Arboretum. This year's trip was in honor of my mom's birthday. Here we are posing in front of the Fantasy Island house.
Mom and Jim found a shady spot under the beautiful wisteria.
Gary was right at home in the bamboo jungle! This has always been my favorite part of the park.
After running around all day seeing all there was to see, we took a quick break while Mom and Jim shopped for souvenirs. We finished the celebration with a stop at a local coffee house.

Family Portrait

Our Hardwick family portrait pictures have come in. Over the Christmas holiday we had a friend take the picture at the Gig Harbor Yacht Club. I don't get to see my family too often and it amazes me how fast those kids grow up. Look at little William sitting up so tall.
 

The Answer to Life

Of course the answer to life is Jesus, but I thought it would be funny to note a discovery I made today. If you're familiar with the story "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" you may remember a part where some characters built a very large ultimate computer to answer one question: "What is the answer to life, the universe and everything?" After several generations past the computer finally came up with the answer: 42. I told my coworker Keith to Google the question and it will give you the answer. (as if Google was the ultimate computer) In our very next unrelated conversation we were on the topic of gas prices and the price per barrel being over $70. We wanted to know how many gallons were in a barrel. So we googled that and the answer was surprisingly 42. Just a funny coincidence. So when somebody asks you what the answer to life, the universe and everything is, you may answer: Jesus!

For more information on the hitchhiker's 42, check out the answer.

New Wedding Ring

I know this is a little late but I just downloaded the picture from the camera. In December I lost my wedding ring while playing with my nephew Maveric in the snow. So for Valentines day this year Erin suprised me with a new wedding ring. My previous ring was a simple white gold ring, but I wanted something else but couldn't find it at the time. She found what I was wanting at my friend Michael Cortez' jewelry store. A titanium ring with a gold band around the middle. To surprise me further she had it hiding in the beak of the swan vase that I gave her on our very first Valentines Day together. She is so wonderful to me, I felt so naked without my ring. Since then the vase has been broken, so I can't loose my ring ever again. 

Coughing attack

What a week. I got this horrible cough over the weekend that has stuck with me all week. In the mornings I wake up with terrible cough attacks, and achy bones all over. But now I don't have to share this pleasure alone, yesterday Erin came down with the same thing. She thanked me with a swift punch to the gut, then I coughed at her. This all comes at a pretty busy time for us. Easter is coming up and we're in rehearsals for our church's Easter program, I've been working late on a project at work, and am studying for my next Certification Exam. I miss my wife, the only times I get to see her is when we go to sleep. I want a vacation. Erin has been looking at these treehouse bed and breakfast places up in Oregon. Just like Swiss Family Robinson. Something remote and relaxing sounds great right now. Who am I kidding, it always sounds great.

Ashford, Washington

Takilma, Oregon

Singin' in the Rain

Today was an exciting day at school: Field trip day! The kids have been counting down to this very day. Charlotte Diamond in concert. We had a grand time singing tunes in three languages and even learning the sign language for some. We laughed, we danced, we had a blast! On our way out to the bus was when the fun came to an end. I have never seen rain come down so hard before. The wind was howling, the rain was pelting us, there were even a few minutes of hail! And all the while, three teachers and two parent helpers were trying to herd 60 students to our bus! We made it back safe and sound and soaked to the bone. What a day. I need a bubble bath and a nap.