San Clemente Wrap Up

Well, I would have to say this vacation was a success. Not that I didn't think it would be good. Carrie, the boys and I came down last Saturday, Nov. 22. Carrie flew first class while I hung in coach with the boys. Lucky!!!

Sunday, we hung out with family and had a great time catching up. We then went out with Brent (Carrie's brother) and Sarah (Carrie's cousin) for drinks at The Fisherman's restaurant. I of course started with 2 oyster shooters- FRESH! and Delicious!! And also had a couple of Jack and Cokes. Carrie had a few Margaritas and we had a good night. It was a lot of fun hanging out. Carrie had a hard time walking home, but between the three of us, we were able to help.

Monday we went to Disneyland. You know you are a grown up when you take your kids on more little kid rides and you go on less cool, fun, adult rides. Eric actually went on Space Mountain and Splash Mountain though, so I can't complain too much. The kids were just beat!!!

Tuesday was a chill day. We just hung out around the house. We were pretty tired from D-Land. We did go down to the park down the street and played for a while, then went for a walk along the pier.

Wednesday, both of Carrie's parents worked, so we hung out for a while, and went to the park again. Carrie and I went back to The Fisherman's for dinner and had the crab feast. Holy #$@!, we ate sooooooo much food. And Thanks to Bob, the General Manager of The Fisherman's for taking care of the $145.00 bill. We had to go get cash for the tip, as we were not expecting our friend Bob to take such good care of us. We came back to the house and were both in a food coma.

Thursday of course was Thanksgiving. We had more relatives visiting (Scott's brother Kent and his wife Sho) and Brent came for dinner. Carrie made her awesome Turkey and Lois made the rest of the traditional food. It was awesome and I was in another food coma for the second day in a row.

Friday we went to the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Animal Park. Pretty cool place! It really was like an African safari. There were lots of elephants, zebras, giraffes, rhinos, etc. Fun and tired us all out. We went to Ramano's Macaroni Grill for dinner, which put me into food coma #3 for the week. My stomach hates me. It was Lois's b-day so I kept pretending the singers were going to come sing to her. They never did, because they went on break when the server brought over the cake. Lucky Lois. We leave tomorrow morning. I'll let you know how the plane ride goes. I'll be sitting in 1st class on the way back home.

Will Real Donald Hopkins Please Stand Up?

So,

I get a MSN Chat message from my Uncle in Fairbanks, Alaska asking if I was in Anchorage on 10/08/08. The Anchorage Police Department is looking for me, he says. I used to live with him approximately 15 years ago. He received a notice of two vehicle citations totalling $110. Since I was nowhere near Anchorage for a couple of years, I was perplexed. "Could it be that the person that bought my car over 10 years ago never changed the title from my name?" Man this sucks!!! So I called the number my Uncle gave me and talked to a lady. I explained who I was and what I was inquiring about, and she told me the citations were for a 1989 Green GMC pickup. As I told her I had never owned a GMC of any sort, she put me on hold and looked up the DMV records. She came back on the phone and informed me that the title had been transferred out of my name the day after the citations were issued. Super!!!! She then told me I could get a sworn affidavit from the buyer indicating I had sold the truck to him prior to the citations being issued, get it notarized and send it in. "Well, I have not lived in Alaska for over 11 years" I told her. "How do I go about doing that, when I have never actually owned this vehicle?" She told me she had never come across this before and that I would have to contact the DMV and see if they could straighten this out. Then get back with them. Frustrated and getting ready to call the DMV, I asked he one last favor, "Can you tell me if the truck is registered under Donald J. Hopkins? I have a few relatives living up there that have the same name as me, we just have different middle names." She looked it up and told me it was registered under Donald L. Hopkins. I told her thank you for her time, as I hung up and feel much better. This could be my cousin or my other uncle. The uncle I was chatting with told me he talked to my cousin and he or his dad never owned a Green GMC pickup. Weird, I guess it will remain a mystery along with why my uncle that does not share my name received this notice at his house. There are apparently too many Donald Hopkins in this world. This is not the first time I have been approached and asked if I was a different Donald Hopkins.

DH

The return of Jay and Silent Bob

My next blog is ode to Amber,
It's Sunday family hang out day. Don and Eric are off doing the recycling, while Jake and I are hanging out at home watching some tube and folding laundry. Yippee! Party never stops. Here are some more updated photos as well. Hope your happy Amber!

Catch Up Time

Sorry, It's been a while since I put anything here. Let's see.....The 15th of August was Eric's B-day. Carrie's parents were here for an extended weekend. We had a lot of fun. Saturday night we went to the Cornelius Pass Roadhouse for dinner before I had to go to work. It is somewhat of a tradition when they come to town. Sunday we threw a Pirate Party for E's B-day. We had over 20 kids or so running around. I made burgers and hotdogs. It turned out really well!

Sunday they all went to the Zoo for the afternoon.

Monday afternoon, I took Eric and Scott (Carrie's Dad) to see Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Eric realy liked it, I really like Star Wars, but I think I dozed off about 3 times. I was incredibly tired from Saturday. I only had 4 hrs sleep since I work nights. Then later that night Carrie's folks took the kids to Chuck E. Cheese and Carrie and I went out to dinner at PF Chang's.

The rest of the week was catch up on rest and sleep and trying to get back into the grind.

Yesterday I hung out with the boys at home. Today we did the same, but we went outside for a bit and picked some apples and plums. After naps, we went to the park. A funny thing happened there; I was taking pictures with our digital camera as the kids went down the slides. Each time Eric would come down the slide, I would reach out and give him a shock because the slides were made of plastic (or polyeurothane if you want to be specific). After I took several pictures, my camera stopped working. I think it had to do with the static electricity. I was hoping I wasn't going to have to buy a new camera, and when I got home, it was working again (thank god) I'll put some pictures on later tonight, but as for right now, the kids are in bed, Carrie is at bowling, and I am going to chill and watch the Comedy Roast of William SHatner on Netflix.

Don

The Busy Week

Carrie and the boys went to Neil and Leanne's house for the opening ceremony of the Olympics. THey are going to the airshow in Hillsboro with the Nyburg's tomorrow. Grandma and Grandpa McLellan come in on Friday. Eric's birthday party is on Sunday. Good loA lot going on!!!

Busy Weekend, Moo at the Zoo, and Oaks Park

Saturday we went to the Oregon Zoo with Eric's preschool friends and everyone had a great time. Today we went to Oaks Park and rode on some kiddy rides. Eric went on the mini rollercoaster with his "girlfriend" Charlotte 6-8 times. They had a blast. Jacob loved the rollercoaster too. We ended the trip with a packed lunch and ice cream. Neither of the boys took naps today and Jacob was wrecked by the end of the night after going grocery shopping.

Today was the last day of my 10 day vacation. Carrie took yesterday and today off as well. We had a great time. Back to the grind tomorrow!

Monday=Jacob's Day

Jacob rocking on the toy guitar!

Today I am just hanging out with Jacob. We went for a walk around the property and looked at all the fruit and flowers that are growing.

Apples

Grapes
Jake had fun playing with the toys in the water table. Eric went to school today with Carrie. He is having a Beach day learning about the Oregon Coast and playing in the water. They are just pretending they are at the beach of course. I updated the 4th of July post with a couple of pictures. Apparently Carrie didn't take very many.

Roses

Jacob Really like the cherries. One to two more days and we will have a lot of ripe ones. He kept asking me for "one more cherry, please?" I finally cut him off after about 10 of them.

Cherries

Don

July 4th, Carrie and Boys Zoo Day, Don Slept and Worked

Well, I personally had a pretty lame 4th of July. I slept all day and had to come to work last night. I had to watch the facility and make sure all of the trailer refers stayed running that had product on them. It was nice being at work by myself, as I was able to get alot of work done without distractions.

Carrie and the boys met up with some friends at the zoo. They had a great day. Hope you all had a great Independence Day and are able to spend some time with your families.


Oh, I guess the good part about working last night was that I get another day later this month as compensation for working. I am using it in conjunction with 3 vacation days, and since I work four tens, this will stretch out to 10 days in a row off. YAY!! I need it.

Don

Zoo Day

Today the boys and I went to the Oregon Zoo while mom was working.  It was a beautiful day and perfect.  The zoo train was only running every hour so we had to skip it this time or we would have had to wait forever.  I picked up Mickey D's on the way home as a treat for the boys.  They were great today.  Now it is nap time.  Oh and some nice person decided they would park extremely crooked next to the driver's side of my car at the zoo.  The parking spots are small enough as it is.  I wrote him/her a nice little note to show my appreciation.  Believe it or not, I kept with the family theme of the zoo and did not use one swear word.  I just let him/her know how inconsiderate they were.  I get some points today for not telling them what I really thought.  Happy trails, happy summer!

Don

Crazy Cat & Eric's Pre-School Graduation

Today I hung out with the boys as usual. I then took the cat back to the vet. She got fixed on Monday and tore out her stitches Monday night. The Vet put in staples this time. We then went to Eric's Pre-School Graduation. Yep, he will be a kindergartner next year. Time flies!!! We got home and I noticed the cat has escaped her cone that was supposed to keep her from lcking her incision. Yeah, she ate her staples too. She had to go back to the Vet one more time, this time the Doc used Super Glue. Silly kitty. Here are some pics of Eric's Graduation. It was really cute. Notice Eric's Rock Star pose!









Don

Kids Day at Oaks Park

On Saturday, Carrie took the kids to Oaks Park with our friends the Jacksons. Charlotte is Eric's girlfriend. She is a real cutie. Amy is a little younger than Jacob, but they don't seem to interact with one another. Oaks Park is pretty much like going to the carnival. You can buy tickets or ride the rides all day for one price. They have a Lewis and Clark ride that Carrie says is pretty ghetto, but the rest of the rides were fun for the kids. Here are a couple of pictures.

Don

A Day Outdoors

Today, I hung out with the boys and we played Legos for awhile, then we played outside for a few hours. We had a great time. Here are a couple of pictures. Hope you enjoy them! I almost forgot, the overalls that Jacob is wearing are the same pair that I wore when I was his age. Pretty cool, huh?

Don

Great Recital, Sicko In The Building

Carrie and Eric's recital was great!!! It was funny seeing Carrie with suspenders and a mustache. Eric did great in the Mickey Mouse Club March. Carrie has been sick for the last three days. She is feeling better, but I had to take tonight off due to no sleep from watching the boys this afternoon. Have a great holiday!

Don

Cruise Date Set!!!!

Well, I took the plunge and booked our cruise on the Carnival Spirit!!!! Carrie and I will be going with my sister brother-in-law, and some of her friends. Jan. 7th. I am realy looking forward to it, I need a vacation baaaaaad!

I am currently waiting for the family to get home. I have to start dinner soon so we can eat, put the kids to bed and then I'll go to work.



Here are a couple of pictures from our last cruise. This was our Honeymoon. I never wanted to get off the boat!

Don

Tuesday Afternoon and Evening

Tonight the boys and I are going to pick up Subway on the way to Eric's dress rehearsal. We'll scarf it down real quick then Jacob and I will drop off Eric for an hour or so. After we get home, we'll probably just chill until it's the kids' bed time. Carrie and I will probably watch 'How I Met Your Mother' (That is the funniest show on TV) then watch 'Big Bang Theory' (another funny show).

Then I have to stay up all night to get back on my nightshift sleep schedule. I am wondering how long it will take to find a replacement for my night shift gig.

Thought we needed more pictures on this thing so here are a couple more.......

Jacob used the potty and Carrie/Eric's Recital

Yesterday, when we got back from Eric's dance class, we got home after dinner and came in the house. Jacob told me he had to go #2, so I decided to put him on the potty. After many attempts, he actually went #1!!! This is a huge step, since Carrie and I are really looking forward to not have to change diapers anymore.

Carrie and Eric have a dance recital on Thursday. In seperate dances, Eric is performing a Mickey Mouse Club themed dance and Carrie is a Farmer in a scene from Oklahoma!

Not too much new with me. I will hopefully be moving to dayshift soon. One of the other Supervisors vacated their position, so I have been asked to move to days. I am pretty tired of not having a social life on the weekends and everytime friends want to get together with the family, Carrie has to take the kids on her own. I know she will be happy for me to have a normal sleeping pattern. I get really grumpy when I don't get the right type of sleep.

Don