Kayla's Blog

2012-01-11T20:25:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T11:30:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T01:23:00.000-08:00

2011-12-07T10:27:00.001-08:00

Catching up finally!

I am doing a Christmas gift, and it involves some photos that were on my camera or mom's phone, so I decided to go ahead, and fill in the blanks of the last few months on my blog. :)

Hope everyone is doing fantastic, and getting ready for the holidays! Mom and I actually got our tree up early this year, but it did take me two weeks to get it decorated. I was just so tired, I just couldn't do it. Ya know, school just wears me out as I do so much there, but I sure love it, so its worth it. Plus I have a lot of catching up to do at school since I have missed so much being sick. I am doing better now, and mom is really making sure I don't get sick anymore!

Instead of starting with the most current and working my way back like your suppose to, I will do it my way and start with where I left off through now. :)

I need to go back to my spring break. Mom and I had to be out of our place for a few days, so they could paint our kitchen cupboards. We decided to go to San Diego where it was warm.

Now back to May; Mother's Day Weekend. Grandma took mom and I to Palm Springs for the weekend. We had a marvelous time. I loved laying out around the pool and going swimming. I think we need to do this every year for Mother's Day. This may not be mom's kind of vacation, but it sure is mine! :) :)

Back to my birthday! My little birthday party over at my grandma's house. I got so many neat things, and mom even did a video of my enjoying my new jewelry box. I got some jewelry for my birthday, gift cards and the jewelry box. :)

In July for my birthday, I went with my great grandma Judy, my grandma Gwynne and mom for us all to get pedicures. I thoroughly enjoyed getting them, and this time I insisted I sit in my own chair and not on mom's lap.

Mom and I went on a road trip to San Juan Island in August. We pretty much drove straight there and back. We stayed at mom's friends house in Kingston, WA before catching the ferry the next day to Friday Harbor.

Once we left San Juan Island to head home, we went through Sisters, Klamath Falls, Oregon then over to Burney Falls, and on to Chico to stay a few days at my grandpa and Sue's house.

Sisters, Oregon

On our way to Klamath Falls. I don't remember the town this was called.

Burney Falls

While I was there, mom took me to Target for other things, but I convinced her I needed school stuff this year, so she got it for me. :)

We left Chico, mom then took Cubby and I to Fremont to go shopping. I got Cubby this outfit.

You can not go on a road trip and not stop in Morro Bay! My favorite place. I got to spend time with the Sea Otters, and met up with a friend whom we went to breakfast with. It was a nice 24 hours there. Not quite 24, but close enough.

I've been sick quite a bit this fall. One evening when mom listened to my lungs, I decided I wanted to hear them. It was pretty cool. I held it up to me.

I was well enough to dress up for Halloween and go to school. I wore my Pirates Costume that you have seen me in a few other times for Halloween. I just love how I look in it, and Cubby has a Pirate Costume too, so we were able to dress alike. :)

Oh, and I made cupcakes for our Halloween party at school. Yummy.

Mom and I went to my great grandpa Cliffs birthday party. He is 94 years old. This is my third cousin; Torey and I. I had so much fun that day in my great grandpa Cliffs chair, and watching the big screen TV. :)

Mom and I decided to skip Thanksgiving this year due to all the problems I have been having (respiratory), but I did make my great grandfather a special Pumpkin Pie that he could eat. I think its better than regular Pumpkin Pie, and it's healthier for you too. I love pumpkin!

Hmmmmm.. I thought I had more photos of me baking. I have been doing a lot of baking here at home and making lots of messes with it to. One day, grandma and I baked chocolate chip cookies and 4 days later, mom was still finding flour in places. LOL!

Drs... I have been good and not doing any of the actual cooking here at my house. I would mix everything, get it all ready for the oven, then grandma would come and pick it up to cook it at her house. :) I have such a wonderful grandma. Although, they were the ones eating it. :)

Grandpa and Sue came down to my house on their way to the USC football game and dropped off my new TV. Mom has been making a lot of changes in the house to help with my respiratory, so we got rid of the big old dust collector TV and got a flat screen. Thank you grandpa and Sue. I love my TV. :)

Mom and I played "go fish" and three games of Uno. I beat her at two games of Uno and the one game of "go fish".

Oh, and here are two Christmas photos mom took while we were doing the tree.

Happy Holidays! Until next time...

Love,

Kayla

Yosemite in June... Backtrack...

2011-10-06T21:03:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone...

I know its been a while, a long while and I see in my folder on mom's computer that I have ALOT of catching up to do. Or shall I say, "mom does". :) So, I decided to pick out a favorite to post first.

I had a week off from school between 9th grade and summer school. What was I going to do with a week off and gloomy, chilly, yucky weather? Well, mom decided we needed some sun, warmth and outdoor time, so what better place than Yosemite to do just that.

I have been to Yosemite many times over my years, but this time was different. This time we had some new experiences, ones that always seem impossible to do before. Mom was misinformed over the years, and this time, she got the right info as she once again, explored the opportunities. I don't quite remember now as to why she decided to take that extra step again, but she did and it sure was fun! :)

We arrived in Yosemite in the late afternoon, early evening, so we drove through the park

and then decided to hang out at Valley View for sunset. Just before we pulled into the parking lot, apparently a bear cub was in the area, but we missed it.

Sunset was not the best, so we left before it was over to go check in to our hotel and settle in for the night. I was so tired.

The next morning came fast, but we got up and out the door just before sunrise. We went to Tunnel View as that is a good spot for sunrise and one that mom can photograph from next to the car so I can stay in the car and sleep. Sunrise is just too early for me sometimes. :) But it was so windy and it wasn't looking very promising so we headed for the valley. Mom didn't really see anything much to photograph at sunrise, so we got about 3/4 around the loop in the valley before coming upon a Coyote crossing the road into this meadow. Above this meadow were Cathedral rocks, I believe with El Capitan behind us.

Mom remembered that around 8am up at Lower Yosemite Falls a rainbow appears, so we took the hike up to the falls. It was chilly, but a lovely morning. Lots of people were already out walking. We got up to almost the base of the falls and you could see that people were getting soaked standing in front of the falls on the bridge. Mom parked me in my stroller as Cubby and I were still asleep, while mom carefully took a few quick shots of the falls before getting too wet. She saw a dimned rainbow, but never did get a great view of it. You can barely see it on the left side in the foreground here in this photo.

There was so much water flowing everywhere in the park. Water where mom has never seen water flow before.

Cubby and I in the stroller with upper Yosemite Falls in the distance.

Mom found out we could hike to Mirror Lake. Maybe not around it, but at least to it. So we decided to just hike from Yosemite Lodge instead of packing everything up and driving to a closer parking lot. We were there to be outside anyway, so whats an extra couple of miles (9 mile hike).

Mom just changed me into something cooler. I decided to take a little nap.

Here I am at Mirror Lake. It was quite warm today.

After Mirror Lake, we drove up to Tunnel View as mom knew there should be a rainbow appearing at Bridleveil Falls, so we thought we would check it out. We waited and waited and waited, but no rainbow appeared.

We left Tunnel View, drove around some on the outer parts of the park to see what we see before heading back to the hotel, turning in early. We knew tomorrow we were hiking to Vernal Falls. Yep, that's right, Vernal Falls. Mom found out that its doable with a stroller, just crazy! We had a good nights rest. We slept in some, mom got a good breakfast at the restaurant to prepare for the long hike ahead of us today.

After breakfast we headed into the park, parked at Yosemite Lodge and walked over to the Visitors Center. Mom wanted some directions and to see what kind of a Jr Ranger program they had for me. :)

We had some issues catching a shuttle, but finally got a nice man that let us on who took us over to Happy Isles to catch the trail to Vernal Falls. Boy what a hike that was, but some awesome views and lots of nice people. Some of them thought we were crazy for making this hike, but most were very supportive encouraging mom on.

Mom pushed me up these very steep slopes, luckily all paved taking her time making lots of short stops enjoying the scenery around the trail. We were climbing high.

We made it to the bridge were you can see Vernal falls in the distance.

Well, mom decided the bridge for the first viewing area was not far enough. Even though mom knew we couldn't make it to the top of the falls, she decided to continue on to see just how far we could get with hopes of a better view.

We got about 1/2 - 3/4 of the way up the trail to the top of the falls. Mom and I stopped where we couldn't continue any longer for a nice break before we started the journey back down. Mom went on this large rock near the water to get a better photo of the falls.

We couldn't stay too long, so we started our hike back down. Here is a photo of the trail behind us when we were over 3/4 back to the bottom. This is one of the flatter sections.

Yay! We made it back to the sign. I was so excited to of done such a challenging hike for us. It was so much fun. Although, this sign is about a 1/8 up the trail from where you start, so we have a little ways left to go. Mom loves this photo of me.

We made it back to the shuttle pick-up spot, got on the next shuttle back to Yosemite Lodge to get the car.

Mom decided that we could make it up to Glacier Point in time for sunset, so off we went. On our way to Glacier Point we came across some snow (higher elevation). This road to Glacier Point is only open typically from Memorial Day to Labor Day due to snow. And it was cold.

A favorite place in the park of moms; Glacier Point.

I was enjoying the view as well. You can see Nevada Falls on the right.

Here is another waterfall, which is Vernal Falls. The star that mom did on the photo is about where we hiked to. Above Vernal Falls is Nevada Falls.

Here you can see both waterfalls.

Sunset was just okay. We got in late as it was an hour drive back to the hotel, so the next morning we slept in some before heading into the park.

Mom thought we would park at Swinging Bridge and walk over to the Visitors Center for the Ranger program since we had time, but one problem - the bridge was closed due to the water level rising. You can see how much water is in the meadow here behind me. I heard someone say that there hasn't been this much water in the valley for many years!

A little ways down from the Swinging Bridge is a boardwalk that you can typically cross the meadow with, but not today. As you can see, the water is over a good portion of the boardwalk.

So, we got back in the car and drove over to the lodge to park, then walk to the Visitors Center.

I went to the Ranger program where she spoke about some of the birds and Oak trees in the park. It was fun, but I was still really tired from our big two days of hiking.

The ranger asked me if I could find the two birds that blended in well with the oak tree trunk. I got it right. :)

I had to fill out my ranger program worksheet to get my badge.

I just got sworn in as a Jr Ranger. :)

Mom decided to take the shuttle over to Curry Village for lunch. We were a little short on time since we wanted to try for the rainbow again at Tunnel View.

We decided though to walk back to the lodge from Curry Village since it was nice out.

We made it up to Tunnel View for the rainbow. Apparently we left about 15 minutes too early the other day. This was really cool and intense. The color red started to form at the bottom of the waterfall and worked its way up the falls over time while the other colors formed following it. This was a 20 minute process. Mom made a semi time lapse video of it with her photos. Take a look at it (link below). It's quite cool and don't forget to turn your volume up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvYZJvh6WnI

We had to leave after the rainbow. Mom went to check out this other point for a photo opp before we left the area. On our way out of the park, just outside of Wanowa, we encountered a bear on the left side of the road, then another bear a little bit later on the right side. Of course, mom stopped and took photos. :)

http://www.creativefreedomphotography.com/p676809076

We drove as long as we could tolerate it. We stayed the night somewhere south of Fresno before arriving home the next day. . It was a great couple of days at Yosemite.

Here is the link to all of mom's photos from this trip... :)

http://www.creativefreedomphotography.com/f1067153943

Have a great weekend everyone! I will be in touch again soon.. :)

Love,

Kayla

It's My Birthday.....

2011-07-01T20:05:00.000-07:00

July 1st is here again, which means I am a year older.. Yay! 15 years old... Mom doesn't know where the time went, but I am excited.

Unfortunately, I have been sick this week, but slowly getting better. Mom is still concern, but she did let me go to school today since I didn't have a fever during the night. Yay! Once I woke up and got over my coughing, I enjoyed my day at school. Mom was so relieved when she saw me having a good time at school in my photos that my teacher took of me. She wasn't sure if I should go. I am glad she sent me. :)

I was glad to get home to relax and watch my tv programs. After a nap, mom sang Happy Birthday to me while I smiled big. I am saving my gifts to open over the weekend when mom and I go to Grandmas. Tonight, mom gave me a pedicure. She painted my toes red adding white stars to one toe and blue flower to the other since its 4th of July weekend. Mom said I can go get a pedicure when I am all better.

Yesterday, I had a big, long day. I went to the doctor to see Dr. Niazi. It was so nice to see her as it had been a long time. Mom and I ran some errands before heading home. I was so tired. Last night, mom helped me bake cupcakes for my party at school today. I enjoyed it the best I could. She really didn't want me missing today. Grandma wants me to make some for her when I am feeling all better and in the mood to bake. :) I can't wait. Maybe I will do that with Grandma when mom is gone on her trip later this month. :)

I took a nap after baking cupcakes and woke up in a good mood:

Happy 4th of July weekend!

Love,

Kayla

Miracle League Baseball Day

2011-06-26T20:05:00.000-07:00

(these were all taken with my little camera)

I had my baseball clinic / game today at Buena High School through Miracle League of Ventura County. Even though it was a gorgeous day out, it was just a tad too warm for me as it made me a little lethargic. I perked up once I got to my second clinic station as I wasn't wanting to go anywhere today. I had two high school baseball players helping me play.

Here are the photos from today:

Mom is almost ready to post on my blog the last couple of months. Keep your eyes open for that announcement.

Mom has posted several photos on her blog: www.creativefreedomphotography.blogspot.com. She has been trying to post one photo a couple times a week.

Hope everyone is doing good!

I graduated from 9th grade and just finished my first week of summer school. I am in summer school this year - YAY! :) I love my school and teacher. It was a great year at Oxnard High School. :) And a great year for mom too as it was an easy year for her with my new school and teacher.

Happy Summer..

Love Kayla

Valentine 3-day Weekend... Super busy....

2011-02-22T16:10:00.000-08:00

To start my long weekend, mom and I went out whale watching for the day. We were just going to go out on the morning trip, but it was too nice of a day to skip the afternoon trip, plus we had a friend going then too. It was so nice, that I was able to sit outside for the morning trip, and most of the afternoon trip... I've only been able to do that on trips out of Newport Beach. :)

We encountered two northbound Gray Whales right off the bat. They are one of the "early birds" heading back to their feeding grounds in the Bering Sea off of Alaska from Baja. Did you know that the Pacific Gray Whales have the longest migration than any other animal? They do of approximately 12,000 - 16,000 miles, which they do every year from Alaska to Baja. They go to Baja to have their babies in the safe, warm waters (lagoons).

After getting some good looks of the Gray Whales, we headed out towards Anacapa Island in search of more whales, and any other wildlife. We found my friends; the Common Dolphins. I got to get some good looks of them, and I heard a few squeaks (them talking).

We went to the east end of Anacapa Island to view Arch Rock, and go down the backside to see all the birds and California Sea Lions.

The afternoon trip was a little more difficult to find whales... We came upon a small, spread out group of scouting Common Dolphins heading east down the east end of Santa Cruz Island. That was a beautiful site to see with Santa Cruz in the background all green.

Captain Dave got word that there might be whales further west off of Santa Cruz Island, so we headed in that direction. I got to get good looks of Scorpion Harbor (Scorpion Ranch). Mom plans to bring me here this year - I can't wait!

Passing along some sea arches along the edges of the island...

All along Santa Cruz Island are blow holes like this one. This is actually a small one, but very cool.

The tide was pretty low near Potato Harbor where I saw these colorful Sea Stars bunched together hanging out. It's not the best photo, but I still wanted to share it.

This is Potato Harbor. You can hike here from Scorpion Ranch, which I will do when mom brings me out here... Well, I will cruise the hike in my hiking stroller, while mom does the actual hiking. :)

And still no whales... Captain Dave was making the announcement how just some trips, no matter how hard we try, we just don't see any whales.

As Dave was preparing to turn around...... "A BLOW"! And then another one and another. There were three VERY SHY Gray Whales slowly heading east along Santa Cruz Island nearer Chinese Harbor. Once they realized we were there, they became even more shy and started doing what is called "snorkeling".

We ended up seeing two other whales in the area, and another one that was breaching just outside the harbor. It was a gorgeous evening on our way back.

-----

Sunday, the day before Valentine's and my party at school, I had so much to do to get ready for my school party. I had to go shopping for cupcakes that I was making, cards for all my friends, and still had to do my homework, plus a few other things. I really enjoyed it!

And of course, I had to stick my hand in one when mom wasn't looking... She had to remove the frosting, and re-do it.

Hope you all had a lovely Valentine's Day!

Mom went out whale watching on Valentine's and she saw Transient Orca CA-199 and a small group of Pacific White Sided Dolphins..

Here are links to some of mom's photos:

Gray Whales : http://www.creativefreedomphotography.com/f953252668

Dolphins: http://www.creativefreedomphotography.com/f1004849134

Sea Lions: http://www.creativefreedomphotography.com/f747320141

Santa Cruz Island: http://www.creativefreedomphotography.com/f758194903

And her blog that she has posted a photo or two every week: http://www.creativefreedomphotography.blogspot.com/

Minimum Days & Disneyland....

2011-01-30T15:47:00.000-08:00

Last week I had minimum days and no school on Friday... I played Yahtzee one afternoon with mom since I didn't want to go outside on a walk, I just wanted to stay in with mom. I did beat mom fairly. She didn't let me have any extra turns like Grandma does, but I didn't need them for this game.

It's been three years since I have been to Disneyland (previous Disneyland trip), so I am way over due. Mom picked me up after school and off we went. We made a stop in Thousand Oaks to have Windy cut my hair. I needed to look nice for Mickey Mouse, plus I was over due for a cut as well.

I love getting my hair done, that it made me sleepy.

Grandma got there just as we were leaving. Grandma met mom and I there to follow us down to Disneyland. Well the plan didn't work. Grandma got separated from mom and we went a different way, but we arrived within ten minutes of one another.

We checked in to our hotel; Howard Johnson and then we went for a walk. We headed down to Downtown Disney, but I wasn't crazy about that idea, so we turned around and went to dinner by the hotel. I really was tired and didn't want to be out, but... Back to the hotel and off to bed. YAY! Finally I am buddled up in my blanket and going to sleep.

The next morning I was so anxious to get to Disneyland, but Grandma and mom just had to stop for breakfast on our way there. We walked from the hotel.

Off to Disneyland, FINALLY.

I'm getting my autograph book...

Our first stop was Cruella De Vil. She asked so many questions and talked a lot.

Then I saw Pluto just a few feet away from Cruella. I wasn't too thrilled about either one. I was just focused on getting to Mickey.

Mom took me on Snow White, and then I saw Woody and his girlfriend from Toy Story. That was pretty cool as I don't remember ever meeting them before. I did like the movie.

Next, we all went on Pirates of the Caribean, but I was still quite focused on getting to Mickey. We were going to go to Pooh land, but that area was closed, so no Pooh, Tiger or Eeyore, so then we went on the Jungle ride. There was some new things on that ride, which were pretty cool.

On our way to Toon Town (to see Mickey), we crossed paths with Mickey and Donald. Yay! They both made a quick stop to say hello to me :). They were on their way to the Melissa and Joey show being filmed in the park, but I was so excited that Mickey stopped and said hello.

We decided to go to It's a Small World since Mickey was going to be busy for a while. After that, we went to Toon town. Yay, as that means I will see Mickey soon. I ran into Goofy (mom almost typed Pluto).. Goofy didn't like mom. She insulted him by calling him Pluto. Goofy is pointing his name that he wrote in my book to mom, letting her know he was NOT Pluto, but Goofy. I thought it was a good idea to avoid Goofy the rest of the day.

Now we were off to Mickey's house, but I got stopped by Minnie when she was leaving her house. She wanted to say hello and all, but I ignored her. I just wanted to get to Mickey's house to see him.

Now we were at Mickey's house. YAY! We went through his cool house and waited in the theater room to see him. I was first through the door to see him. (Remember that I was first to see him)... I couldn't take my eyes off of him. He is soooo COOL!

That perked me up, so now I was ready for Disneyland. Mom then took me over to Minnie's house to see her. Alright, fine, if I must. I got to see Minnie, but I really didn't bother much with it, and I did let her sign my book. I did enjoy looking in her house afterwards.

My eyes are shut...

We then went on It's a Small World since I was more lively. I really like It's a Small World when I am in the mood for it. It was great!

Mom liked the Moose... There were several cool animal shaped plants.

We had lunch, and then mom thought to ask if there was a Tinker Bell Character at this Tinker Bell store stand, abd sure enough, the guy said right behind me is her and her fairies. It was a neat setting.

I ran into Mary Poppins and a friend of hers. I don't remember his name. She said her Penguins were recuperating from being out all day yesterday. That would of been so cool to meet them.

I got a really nice Mickey Mouse ring, that I just had to go show Mickey it, so off to his house we went. Well, I got in line in the theater and was the last one in the room, which meant all the other kids were in front of me to see Mickey Mouse before me. I watched them. Hmmmmm... I didn't like this at all. Went into Pout Mode and developed an attitude. It was finally my turn and I just couldn't look at Mickey. I did show him my ring, but I was upset at him. I didn't like the idea of sharing Mickey, so mom got me out of there. I decided to keep the "good" time earlier with him in my mind than this encounter.

There was a new Character Day at the Ranch, so we went and checked it out before it ended. Lots of Characters, but a lot of them were turning in for the night including the dwarfs from Snow White. That would of been so cool to of met them and to have them sign my book. Next time. I did get to see Donald Duck, Daisy and Pinnochio. I have never met Pinnochio before, so that was really cool. He was busy coloring with lots of kids, but he stepped away to visit with me for a minute.

Since we have never been on the train that circles the park, we decided to try it. It was pretty cool. After tomorrow land going to the main entrance, it goes through the Grand Canyon and the Age of the Dinosaurs. We got back off where we got on at in the jungle land area. I am not sure what that is called.

It got dark and all the lights came on. I loved it.

Mom took me to the hat store to find me a hat like my other one I wear sometimes. I got a neat one with a small Mickey on the front of it. Its really small of him, but so cool.

We took our time going down Main St heading towards the exit. I was really tired by then and ready to head back. Mom and grandma got me a sweatshirt with Mickey on the back of it. I needed a new white sweatshirt, so it's white with Mickey on it.

We walked through the exit and back to the hotel. Mom stopped at Mimi's to get a salad to take back to the hotel with us. Mimi's was just down the street from the hotel towards Disneyland.

Once I got back to the hotel, I put my PJ's on and off to bed I went. I slept great that night and slept late on Saturday. Grandma got up early and left for work back at home. Mom was getting antsy waiting for me to wake up that finally at 10:30am when I kind of woke up, she didn't let me go back to sleep, so I got up.

We took a nice long walk over to Downtown Disney to go to Cubby's store. I got Cubby a Pirate's outfit.

We walked back to the hotel to head home. It was a good trip, and am glad to be home. Now I have to write about my Disneyland trip for my school homework that is due on Monday.

Love,

Kayla

2010 Christmas Vacation...

2011-01-26T11:39:00.000-08:00

NOTE: photos are with my camera and mom's. most of me are with mine... :)

Before I start my Christmas vacation, I want to share two Christmas photos with you from early December.. Mom was thinking of getting rid of my Christmas Buddies as she thought maybe I was getting to old for them... Well, I think I changed her mind.. I wasn't into decorating this year like I typically am, but I did enjoy getting my buddies out..

Now on to my vacation.. :)

Sunday, Dec 19th..

Mom got the car packed up without getting too wet, and I was so glad we were finally leaving.

It was in the afternoon, Sunday the week before Christmas and we told my grandpa that we would be there on Monday. By the time we left for Chico, it had been raining for 2 1/2 days straight, practically non stop and still pouring down rain. The roads were a mess and water everywhere. Since the weather was pretty non inviting, we decided to just drive and not worry about stopping anywhere for a long break as we had first planned.

About an hour north of Bakersfield, it stopped raining, and was a beautiful drive to a city near Stockton were we stopped for the night.

Monday (Dec 20) morning we were up early and out by 7am. Mom had this idea of taking a photo at the Capital Building with people walking in/out with umbrellas if it was raining. It wasn't raining, so we decided to start driving north towards Chico. We were passing Sacramento International Airport when mom saw a Kite and large Red Hawk over in a field in some trees just after the airport and a frontage road. We worked our way over there and spent some time in that area. We drove along the road; The Garden Hwy looking for different birds, which we saw quite a few. It rained lightly a few times, but nothing significant. After a couple of hours, we decided to get on the road to Grandpa's. Not much further down the road, in a field near a business district, we saw a flock of Snow Geese. So, mom had to stop and take a few photos. We didn't stay too long since we already told grandpa we would be at his house by a certain time.

Kite's

It was a lovely drive to Chico, especially when we got closer. Saw lots of Hawks, more than we ever thought existed in such areas.

Grandpa and Sue; his girlfriend were happy to see us. We hung out, I watched tv and we all had dinner.

The next morning (Dec 21), mom and I got up early and headed to Gray Lodge Wildlife Refuge. Mom was on a mission to photograph Snow Geese when the whole flock takes off from there at sunrise to the fields were they eat during the day. Mom didn't have much luck in the refuges with them. We never did see them in the refuges, just in the fields in the surrounding areas. So she did what she could with getting photos.

We saw these Snow Geese on our way to Gray Lodge Wildlife Refuge.

Gray Lodge Wildlife Refuge

Afterwards,we met grandpa and Sue for breakfast, then we all ran errands. We went to Costco and I loved looking at the tv's with grandpa. I kept focusing on the really big ones. Afterwards, we went to Target, and then that was it for mom and I. Mom didn't want me out in public too much, and with stores being hot, and outside being really cold, she didn't want me to be exposed to that either. Mom and I went back to the hotel and met up with them later for dinner.

The restaurant we went to for breakfast is in the background...

Next day (Dec 22), mom and I picked up Grandpa to go run some errands and take a drive. Grandpa wanted to show us Paradise; where he first moved to before him and Sue moved to Chico. We stopped at "Little Grand Canyon" to take a few photos that Grandpa wanted. It wasn't the best time of day to do so, but mom still did. We saw a very light rainbow over the canyon. Grandpa also showed us a bridge that went over the river down in the canyon.

You can click on photo to see larger view....

We dropped Grandpa off at the house while mom and I went back to the hotel for my treatments and rest. Then we decided to head back to Gray Lodge Wildlife Refuge for late afternoon early evening lighting. It was gorgeous out. Mom should of stayed at the refuge for sunset, but we saw it driving back to Chico, plus we needed to get back for dinner.

You can click on photo to see larger view...

The next morning (Dec 23), mom and I slept in some, or shall I say "I did". We went for a drive early afternoon, just mom and I while we waited for Grandpa and Sue to run errands and what not. We drove up to Paradise, but a different way. We kind of got lost, but it was a lovely drive.

Mom was wanting to go north, past Redding to photograph a waterfall that I would be able to go to as well, but it was too far for this trip, so Sue said she found a waterfall on the side of the road down in Oroville. It sounded somewhat familiar to mom since mom read through her book on waterfalls in California for this area and remembered this one was quite a hike to get to, and I wouldn't be able to go, but we still picked up Grandpa and went to check it out. The waterfall part that was on the side of the road was the information center in town, but the water fall was 22 miles from there up in the mountains, at the end of a windy road. We still went and checked it out. Sure enough, it was the waterfall mom thought it was, but it was a trail that bikes could go on and looked pretty good for me too. We didn't have time to hike to the waterfall, plus mom wouldn't want to take me until someone she knew hiked it first, but we walked it a little ways, and I got to go in my hiking stroller. Grandpa pushed me. He wasn't sure about it as it was his first time seeing it, etc, but he couldn't believe how alert I was. I was looking everywhere, turning my head and eyes wide open. He must of forgot how I LOVE trees with soft lighting. We walked about 30 minutes before having to head back to Chico. I got upset 1/2 way back to the car as I wasn't ready to leave yet. I sure am aware of my surrounding areas and what I want and don't want.. :)

We went back to Chico, dropped off Grandpa. Then mom took me to the hotel for treatments and a nap. Before heading over to grandpa's for dinner, mom took photos of the lighted tree in town with the water fountain.

After dinner we went to go see Christmas lights in neighborhoods. I loved the lights, but was hard to see from inside grandpa's truck driving by. By the way, I love to go in Grandpa's truck.

The next day was Christmas Eve... Mom read about this hiking trail that was actually a fire road to a small cascade in Smartville. Mom really wanted to find somewhere that we could hike since I really enjoyed it yesterday. Well, we looked for it and looked for it and looked for it, but never could find the last road that you were suppose to turn onto and then park at the trailhead. Mom was so disappointed and felt bad wasting all that time, and I was stuck in the car when we could of been out walking somewhere. So, we went back to Chico and went to this park that Grandpa took us to for a walk. It was a great park with lots of trails (road like trails) that would of been perfect to spend a few hours there instead of driving all the way to Smartville. So, we went for a short walk before dinner.

After dinner, mom thought it would be neat to take me back to this neighborhood to see the Christmas lights, but by walking, not by car. We did, but I wasn't in the mood for it after about 10 minutes, so we dropped off Grandpa and Sue before mom and I went to the hotel for the night.

A side note: A week before we left for Chico, a friend of mom's took us to see Christmas lights in Oxnard that was known for them. We walked up and down streets looking at the lights. I loved it.

Back to our trip...

The next day was Christmas... :):) We got up and went over to Grandpa's for the day. Opened gifts, had breakfast, I watched some TV and then we had a big dinner with Sue's kids. It was nice.

I am looking at my new activity book I got in my stocking from Santa..

I love helping in the kitchen...

Mom and I went back to the hotel to get ready to leave the following day to head back home. We met Grandpa and Sue for breakfast before we left. It was nice out, so mom decided to head over to Sacramento Wildlife Refuge to check it out. Mom is getting hooked on birds, I think.

Two Bald Eagles on the way to the refuge

White Snow Geese we saw on the way to Sacramento Wildlife Refuge

So many different types of birds at Sacramento Wildlife Refuge..

The refuge is in Willows, so we left the refuge, and headed towards Sacramento thinking we would stay there for the night.

Mom took me to Cubby's store, which I love. Even though I was tired, I still enjoyed going and getting Cubby a winter outfit and a backpack.

I am waiting to give the cashier person my member card, gift card to pay for it, and Cubby's passport.

Cubby getting her passport stamped...

Finally a new store we have not been to before...

I am carrying Cubby's bag...

The next morning, we left pretty early to get home early, or at least we had hope to get home early. What should of been a six hour drive, it turned into a 12 1/2 hour drive home. No accidents that we were aware of, just a ton of cars on the road. There was finally a break in the traffic part way over the Grapevine. We were so glad to be home.

We took a much needed break, and had lunch at Anderson's in Santa Nella. Lots of people had the same idea.

Tuesday, Dec 28th, we had Christmas over at Grandma's house with grandma, great grandpa, great grandma, and aunt Patricia. I slept through most of it on Grandma's lap, but woke up shortly after. Mom and I decided to go whale watching for the afternoon. It was beautiful out on the water.

I love going on the boat....

It was nice to be home the next couple of days...

It was New Year's Eve.... Mom and I decided to join a friend whale watching that afternoon. We had a great encounter with Transient Orcas after seeing some dolphins and a Gray Whale.. We couldn't of asked to end the year any better.

I am looking out the window as the dolphins go by.. I love dolphins..

You can see the post of this trip on mom's blog . There is also a link there to her website for the rest of the photos.

Monday was school, and I made sure mom got me up in time to not miss my bus. I was so excited to be going back to school.

I hope you all had a nice Holiday Season..

Love,

Kayla

Mom has done some photo postings on her blog.... Check them out when you get a chance... :)

Merry Christmas

2010-12-25T09:24:00.001-08:00

:):):) Lots of Updates.... :):):)

2010-10-12T17:53:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone....

I have been so busy, especially now since I am in High School. I love H.S., more so than any other school years mom says. Typically, it takes me a good two weeks to adjust to my school schedule, but not this year, I adjusted on the first day.

I am posting about my recent weekend getaway to Sequoia National Park, but will be mentioning a few other things I did over my summer vacation.
Mom picked me up early from school on Friday. I wasn't too keen about it, but I forgave her about two hours after. We had a smooth trip up to Sequoia N.P. Since it was so late, and I was tired, we got our hotel and hung out for the evening.

The next morning, we were out the door by 6am in search of bears and possibly sunrise. Just after Crystal Cave turnoff in Sequoia N.P. we came across a mom and her cub. Unfortunately, it was not light enough yet for mom to get a good picture, but she managed a couple and will keep them for souvenir.

We continued down the road to Crescent Meadow to do a hike there.

It was a typical area to see bears. It was a beautiful, 40 degree morning. I don't know what mom was thinking, but it was quite crisp out, but off we went on our hike.

About 3/4 of the hike, we figured we were not going to see a bear, but all of a sudden, a bear came out of the ferns and jumped up on a log.

The bear crossed the trail and headed off into the ferns. You couldn't see the bear, but you could see the ferns moving, and since it looked like it was still close to the trail, we waited for the bear to reappear.

When the bear finally appeared, he/she started walking down the trail in front of us. We slowly followed, making sure we kept our distance and didn't startle the bear. He/she could of cared less we were there. After a few hundred yards, the bear finally drifted off into the forest, and we continued down the trail back to the parking lot.

We continued into the park and went to the Visitors Center to pick up my Jr Ranger booklet to complete. Yep, mom made me do some work on this trip.

Later, we went on another trail through the Big Trees.

The photo above of the fall colors, mom took that on the Crescent Meadow hike of some ferns that were different colors.

We continued on in the park and came across this bear near the side of the road eating the sugar out of the pine cones. He/she didn't seem to be skittish of people, but he/she did not like the noise from a motorcycle. Below is a photo of this bear up a tree trunk. He/she went up it when the motorcycles went by. These bears are brown in color, but they are a Black Bear, the smallest species of bears and are the least aggressive of them.

This squirrel was very cute as you can see. He/she is eating a Sequoia Cone in which it represents the park.

We went on another hike through some more trees.

I am next to the bottom of a tree trunk, a tree that has fallen over. It was soooo big.

Just a fun picture of me... :)

Mom was hoping to see some fall color in Sequoia N.P., but we didn't really see any at all. Maybe just a few leaves here and there. This photo was taken a few years ago on my first trip to Sequoia and Kings Canyon N.P. This trip we only went to Sequoia because of the shortness of our trip.

Here I am finishing up my Junior Ranger booklet so I can become a Jr. Ranger of Sequoia National Park. It was fun to do, both mom and I learned quite a bit. :)

I am ready to go into the Visitors Center to turn in my Jr Ranger booklet. I hope I did good. :)

YAY! I passed. This is Ranger Christina who I had to interview as part of my assignment and she swore me in. Ranger Christina was very nice.

You can see my Jr Ranger badge on my sweater. :):)

You can see more of mom's photos of our trip to Sequoia N.P. on her website

------------------------------------

In July, mom took me to go see Grandpa Henry and Sue in Chico. It was so hot there, so I was able to have Mint n Chip ice cream, which I loved! It was sooo good. I got some gifts for graduation and my birthday.

Over the summer, mom and I went to the zoo. Here are a few pictures that mom took. I always like to go to the zoo so I can be outside for a long time.

You can see more of mom's zoo photos on her website

-----------------------------------

I wasn't able to go to San Juan Island this year, but mom went and here are two photos that she took while she was there. I had to go to summer school, which I refuse to miss, so I stayed with grandma.

You can see more of mom's photos of her trips to San Juan Island on her website (landscapes) and for Orcas, Whales, Dolphins, Porpoises up there

----------------------------------------

A couple of times over the summer, and even last spring, I was able to go whale watching with mom on Island Packers out of Ventura. I love going on the boat.

This Humpback breached right outside my window very close to the boat. Mom couldn't zoom in any more to get its whole body in the frame. It was very cool. That day, there were so many Humpbacks that wanted to come over and say "Hello", so we were about 45 minutes late getting back in because they wouldn't let us leave them. They surrounded the boat.

Here is the largest animal, living thing on earth; a Blue Whale. They can grow to be 100 feet long, a small car (like a volkswagon bug) can park in its mouth, a toddler can swim down one of their arteries, they are the loudest animals in the world, their tongue weighs about four tons and can hold an Elephant, and their heart is as big as a middle sized car - just some fun facts.

Elephant Seals and California Sea Lions along the shoreline of San Miguel Island, Channel Islands National Park.

More of mom's photos can be seen here

---------------------------------------------------------

Stay tuned..

Have a GREAT rest of the week everyone!

Love,

Kayla

2010-06-09T20:24:00.000-07:00

Kayla's 8th Grade Graduation

Where has time gone??

Kayla coming down the "red carpet" with her aide and teacher while the graduation theme is playing

Kayla being greeted by other county school district employees as she goes up to receive her certification

Kayla receiving her certification from principal Susan

Kayla and nurse Susan

Kayla and her grandma

Kayla and her teacher, Emily

Kayla and vision specialist Eric

Congratulations Kayla!!

Kayla has really enjoyed preparing for her graduation day - baking, decorations, practicing.

Happy Holidays!!

2009-12-24T23:39:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving...

2009-11-23T11:35:00.000-08:00

Summer Road Trip Part 2.....

2009-11-22T12:52:00.000-08:00

I know... it's been much longer than just a week or so when I promised to have another post of our trip up, but I have been so busy and time got away from me, well actually mom. :):)

So we left off after being on the island for two days... San Juan Island, WA..... A beautiful area! Map above, Friday Harbor is the little town that we took the Ferry into and that is the island we stayed on. :)

We had some rain which mom took me out for a rain walk. It was fun in my new stroller as it kept me dry. Mom didn't stay dry, but it was a light rain (until we headed back). The rest of the day, we hung out in our cabin watching dvd's and cartoons on my portable tv that I brought. Our cabin is in a remote setting and quite rustic. We love it. No phone, no tv (except for mine :)), and mom's cell phone barely works.

The next day, mom took me on an aerial tour. Yep, up in a small plane. I got my own seat, own headset, got to listen to the pilot, mom and our friend talk. It was beautiful. We saw Orcas, lots of islands in WA and Canada, Vancouver and Victoria, BC. Just beautiful and I loved it! We went right by our cabin. The photo ID's our cabin! :)

That evening, Captain Spencer called and said, "Superpod coming down the westside of the island and will be right out of Snug Harbor by 7pm. Want to go?". Off we went! :):) It was beautiful!

My aunt Patricia came out to the island with her friend to go whale watching. She was late, but we picked them up and made a dash for Snug Harbor.

No resident Orcas were around, but there was a report of Transient Orcas north of us in Canadian waters. So off we went. :):) Captain Spencer let me ride in his seat and guess what, "I am ready for Captains School!". I loved sitting there. I sat nice and tall and looked all around to make sure no one was going to hit us and vice versa. :)

After we returned, we went to the San Juan County Fair. It was a small fair, but fun! Actually, my kind of fair. :):) Then Aunt Patricia and her friend took the "red-eye" ferry back to the mainland.

The next morning we went out again with Captain Spencer in which we didn't see any Orcas, but we did see Harbor Porpoise, Bald Eagle and lots of Harbor Seals. Saw some kind of deer, Turkey Vulchers and Capt. Spencer made a Kelp Doll for the other kids that were with us. He gave us a lesson on kelp!

We spent quite a bit of time with the Orcas from shore and from boat. We did some hiking, which was really fun in my new stroller. I got to go places that I could never go to in my wheelchair. We hung out at the cabin, toured Roche Harbor and other popular sites on the island, and of course, I had mom give me a daily drive on the island. She thought I was crazy for wanting to spend more time in the car after the long trip to the island. Nop! I loved it!

We had some more rain.....

Friday morning we went out one last time with Captain Spencer to

say good-bye. We had a great Orca trip, but unfortunately on the way back, the boat was injured, so we had to take our time getting back in. Saturday was our last day there, so we took a trip out with Captain Jim Maya. It was fabulous! We saw all 3 pods come together forming a superpod on the west side of the island. The 3 pods had a brief, but amazing ceremony when they met up. Amazing animals!

Captain Spencer Domico with Island Dream Wildlife Cruises and Captain Jim Maya with Mayas Westside Charters are both excellent Whale Watch Wildlife Cruise Companies to go out on the water with. They both are out of Snug Harbor, and will make your trip very memorable!

That evening after we said our goodbye, took one last hike down to the lighthouse at Lime Kiln and then we headed out on the ferry to Anacortes (mainland). Sunset was beautiful.

We drove through all the traffic up through Seattle to Federal Way where we stayed the night.

The rest of our journey home is coming soon...:):)

On a different note... I love my new school and teacher. I have so many new friends and am doing great. The only thing I don't care for is that I live just 2 blocks from my school which means I have a VERY SHORT bus ride - what is up with that???? Next year when I go to High School, I hope my bus ride will be longer than just 5 minutes!

Mom and I just moved into another apartment unit in the same complex. We have been waiting for an apartment like this one to come available since we moved here last April. We love it and can now call this home! :):) We have been busy this last week unpacking and settling in. I now have a lovely backyard to put my swing up in and to layout. Cubby loves it too. :)

Mom is almost done with football season. It's been a great season for her and the older kids are graduating, moving onto College after this season. She is going to miss them. They are great kids and two wonderful families she takes photos for. Luckily, most of this season, I have been able to stay home with grandma. Yea!

Halloween....

Me at school on Halloween....

Hope you all are doing good and had a great Thanksgiving!! :):)

Until next time...

Love,

Kayla

My Summer Road Trip Part 1...

2009-09-12T21:59:00.000-07:00

This summer sure went by fast, and I am already back in school... Yea!, but I had a great summer vacation with mom.

On August 4th, mom and I finally left the house late that afternoon early evening and headed

to our first overnight destination of Salinas, Ca. I was impatient and couldn't wait to get on

the road that day. I think mom couldn't wait either.

Of course, just a few miles down the road my feeding pump needed to be reset, and then a

few miles further down the road, I needed new batteries in my elmo toy. :):) I sure put mom through the ringer that evening for taking so long that day to get on the road, although it wasn't her fault as she was waiting for pharmacy delivery.

We drove highway 101 north. It was a beautiful, clear early evening that we

could see all 4 islands out of 5 that make up Channel Islands National Park. Mom pulled off at a few viewpoints to take some photos.

San Miguel Island with part of Santa Rosa Island

We drove on San Marcos Pass (Hwy 154) through the mountains passing by the damaged hills from the recent fires. That was definitely a sight to see.

We finally arrived in Salinas, California after dark, but had a beautiful sunset drive with

the full moon rising through the colors.

The next morning, we got a bit of a late start, but that's okay as we were on vacation, but we did have quite a drive that day to get to our next destination point of Fort Bragg, CA.

I was still excited to be on the road again, and it was a lovely day. It just wasn't enough the evening before. So once again, we drove north on Hwy 101 and a few other freeways/high

ways. We then took Pacific Coast Hwy 1 starting at Bodega Bay, a quaint little town, but a beautiful area. The coast was gorgeous with beautiful weather, but crowded. We started the winedy road north along the coastal cliffs.

I was still active and thoroughly enjoying the drive. :):)

We made a few stops along the way checking out the scenery and wildlife. Full of birds, seals,

whales. Yep, we saw at least 11 Blue Whales, 1 Humpback just north of Jenner / south of Fort

Bragg, Ca. Of course, we stayed with the whales for a good hour which made the rest of the drive to Fort Bragg in the beautiful lighting of evening. Since we spent so much time with the whales and wanted to make it to Fort Bragg for a relaxing evening and sunset, which it didn't turn out to

be too relaxing, but was a beautiful sunset. We didn't make as many stops as we were planning to along the coast route to Fort Bragg, Ca.

Goat Rock State Park - Harbor Seals, Pelicans, Western Gulls

Mendocino seem to be a nice little town. We did go through it to get gas, but all but one very expensive gas station were permanently closed. Most of that area along the coast was that way, I guess due to the economy.

We took a quick detour out to Point Arena Lighthouse. It was a beautiful view.

Point Arena Lighthouse

Once we arrived in Fort Bragg, we had just enough time to drive through part of Fort Bragg to find a sunset location. It was neat little town. Mom found a beach that had a nice, wide, semi - smooth trail for me to go down to the beach in my wheelchair so I could easily play my toy while she took photos of the sunset. A perfect warm evening, although I was a tad tired.

Fort Bragg Sunset

So after the sunset, back to the hotel in Fort Bragg to check in and go to sleep. :):) Mom let me watch some cartoons before heading off to bed. I do have to admit, even though I am 13 years old, I still missed my cartoons and teenage programs.

Another semi late morning, mom decided to have a good breakfast at the cafe next to the hotel. I slept while mom had breakfast. I can sleep while I eat my breakfast. :) Life is great! :)

We headed out on the road again and we decided to stop at Mackerricher State Park to walk along the boardwalk out to a few different points on the north end of Fort Bragg, CA.

Mackerricher State Park

It was a beautiful morning. The Harbor Seals that were suppose to be out there weren't. Saw some playful squirrels, birds, kayakers, divers and just some beautiful scenery.

On the road again, driving north on Hwy 1 along the coast to our next destination spot of Crescent City, Ca. And what a drive it was. I think mom and I had enough of the windey road and couldn't wait for "real" road. :) The drive though was still beautiful and we came along

some coastal fog which made the scenery mysterious.

I was still busy playing, listening to Hannah Montana and some other disney music while enjoying my trip with mom. I think I am doing better than mom is with the long days of driving. And people say that long driving trips are not tolerated well by teenagers. :)

We started heading inland through the mountain pass that was very windey. It was so pretty though through the forest, tall trees. The sun was shining again, and it was quite warm. It was so nice to be back on a freeway and driving in a straighter direction. :) Since it was so sunny, mom didn't stop at any of the tree parks to photograph the large redwood trees. Need fog for good photos..

Picky, picky! :)

That evening we arrived in Crescent City, CA. It was foggy, but semi warm. Nice enough that mom and I could go pick up some food to go and walk out to the end of the harbor road to watch the sunset. It was a beautiful evening, which I thoroughly enjoyed. :)

Battery Point Lighthouse, Crescent City Sunset

Next morning we got up and left quite early. Mom wanted to get a good start on the road since she was hoping for fog to photograph the groves. She got her wish. I slept in my hiking stroller while she photographed. :):) I am not yet a coffee drinker, so I prefer to sleep. :)

Stout Memorial Grove

Off to Portland, Oregon.

Are we in Southern Cali??? The traffic was so bad from Portland to Seattle all the way. Crazy! It was a beautiful day in Seattle, WA. However, both mom and I were beat and just couldn't wait to get to our hotel in Everett. I found out there was "shopping" close to our hotel (guess what, the mall was right behind our hotel, but mom said, no, I will take you to Target instead since we need a few things". I was so excited. I loved shopping at Target and mom strolled me around the

whole store. :):)

The next morning we were off to Anacortes, WA to catch the ferry over to the island. We arrived at the ferry port about 10 minutes before the ferry was due to leave and guess what, they let us

on then even with special parking we needed. We were expecting a two hour layover to take the next one.

The ferry is soooo MUCH FUN!!! I loved it. So did Cubby. :):)

An hour later we arrived in Friday Harbor, San Juan Island, WA. :):)

Not the best photo of us entering into Friday Harbor, San Juan Island, WA but mom will have a better one on her website when she gets all the photos up. I will let you know. :):)

We couldn't wait to get there. Especially me since I had never been and mom loves the place. We did our grocery shopping and tried to check into our cabin early, but it wasn't ready. We got word that the whales were down at South Beach so we headed down there. No surprise :) We saw a couple of Orcas in the distance from south beach, but looked like they were traveling off the coast at American Camp, so off we went. Mom went in through the South Beach side and parked. I got to try out my hiking stroller for the first time. :) It was so much fun hiking on the trails with mom in my stroller. We hiked quite a way out to the water. We saw two whales pass by and that was about it. Not much. I think we missed most of them. It was kind of confusing as there were so many boats out on the water. Come to find out they were fishing boats.

So a few hours had gone by so it was time for us to go check in to our cabin (photo of our cabin in next post). YEA! :)

When we got there, Mom said, "that's it, very little car time the rest of this week". She had enough driving/being in the car, but NOT me. :)

This is me out at the point at our cabin waiting for the whales to come by or Harbor Seals, Stellar Sea Lions, Racoons, River Otters or???....

Saw some whales off the point at the cabin. They were a way off shore, but it was a beautiful evening.

The next morning came early and there weren't any whales off the point at our cabin, but a lovely deer just outside our backdoor.

We had a boat trip out with Jim Maya out of Snug Harbor at 10am, so we headed on up especially since there were no whales out in front of our cabin. They weren't there because

some of them headed north towards the Fraser River during the night and others were heading south along the west side of the island by off Hannah Heights. Mom, of course stopped and took

some photos. They were so close to shore.The whales weren't there because some of them headed north towards the Fraser River during the night and others were heading south along the west side of the island by off Hannah Heights. Mom, of course stopped and took some photos. They were so close to shore.

Since we had a boat trip out with Capt. Jim that meant car ride... :)

Our boat trip was great. We went and saw K-Pod. They were in and out of the fog, sometimes very thick fog.

We had a nice encounter with them; two of them came really, really close to the boat. That was so cool.

After we went out in the boat, we drove back to the cabin for a few hours. Later on, the whales were headed back in towards the west side of the island, but still quite far off from shore at the cabin so we headed up to Lime Kiln Point. That was a nice walk down to the lighthouse. When we got there, alot of whales had already gone by, some were right there, and others were on their way. Nothing too close to shore, about 1/2 mile off of shore or at least in the area we were watching.

This is me at Lime Kiln Point entertaining everyone. :)

Some of the whales turned around and started heading back down the west side of the island (south) as we were heading back to the parking lot to the car. As we started driving back to the cabin, the whales were there at Hannah Heights, so we got out and hiked down the steep hill to the bottom near the water along with everyone else. It was fun and I actually went down in my wheelchair and not my hiking stroller.

Me at Hannah Heights

Spyhop at Hannah Heights

It was a beautiful evening at Hannah Heights. Lots and lots of whales came by. Most quite a ways off-shore, but had a small group of 3 that surprised everyone surfacing really close to shore. People were sitting just above the water right where they were surfacing. We spent a couple of hours there with the whales and talking to people (lots of tourist). It was fun.

This brings you to the end of our 7th day on our road trip. I will continue this in a couple of days so I don't overwhelm you with too much text and photos at once. We did so much, saw a lot of beautiful things, so hang tight and the journey will continue....

Until next time, take care and have a great week... Oh and mom is photographing the same boys from last year playing football in Tehachapi/Bakersfield areas, so that is where I will be on Friday evenings. YUCK - football... Cubby and I really need to venture out ourselves to find something more "girly" than football. :)

Love

Kayla

...........Kayla 8th Grade & Sunset............

2009-08-28T21:35:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone...

I can't believe it's been so long since my last post.. Well, I have been very busy without much time to be posting. I had a great summer with mom - I will update you all very soon.. Mom is still working on the photos to go with my blog post.. :) I will try to hurry her up...

I started 8th grade this last Wednesday. I am going to a new school - yes, just around the corner from where I live, which means a 5 minute bus ride if even that. What was mom thinking???? She knows I love my bus rides, and now she is even talking about walking me to school on some days and home. I don't think so!

I just have a couple of photos to share. This is the outfit my grandma got me for my first day of school. The photo of the pants is what they look like on the back.

My new friends in my class and I love to dress up dolls, so I asked mom if Cubby could come to school with me today so I could share her with my new friends. It was so much fun. I dressed up Cubby as Hannah Montana, who I really like. She is soooo COOL.. Cubby even has a wig. Grandma says that I can't get a Hannah Montana wig, only Cubby..

Tonight, grandma, mom and I went for a late walk. It was so warm and nice out. I really enjoyed it. I took a couple of photos of the sunset over at the marina. We like to walk along the marina that is down the street from where we live.

I hope everyone is doing good and has a great weekend...

Love,
Kayla

Continue my 13th Birthday fun.... :)

2009-07-13T22:04:00.001-07:00

My special day... :)

Kayla so tired after swimming... Great grandpa, great grandma and grandma..

Kayla wanting a taste of her icecream cake... :)

Cubby ready for bed...

Waiting to go to town...

I always tell mom that my birthday isn't just on July 1st, but that it is daily for the whole month of July.. :):):)

Here are photos of me in the car heading up to my great grandparents in Tehachapi, across the street from where mom, and I used to live. I had such a good time visiting old friends, family, swimming as it was really hot and meeting the people that moved into my old house. That was hard, but they are soooo NICE and am so glad that I was able to sell my house to people that really like it and appreciate it... Makes mom feel good even though she really misses it...

Miracle League and my recent weekend events coming later this week......

Thank you all for your kind comments and emails.. Love getting them! :)

Hope you all have a wonderful week! I have a lot of appointments and minor surgery (teeth cleaning)... Oh and mom is taking me out Whale Watching on Island Packers this Sunday if I have recovered enough with her friends that are coming up from Newport Beach...

Until next time....

Love,
Kayla

Oh NO, I am a TEENAGER... :)

2009-07-02T00:03:00.000-07:00

Well, July 1st is my birthday which I see it is after midnight, so technically it is now July 2nd...

First of all, I want to say, "Hello" and "that I hope everyone is doing great and enjoying their summer". I am thoroughly enjoying my summer with grandma here and attending summer school... Unfortunately, I only have one week left of summer school and then I am out until the end of August. BTW... I start 8th grade in the fall.........

I had an AWESOME day for my 13th Birthday and it is only the beginning... Yesterday (6/30) after I got home from school, mom and I took a nice long walk to the grocery store. I had to by my party stuff, cake ingredients/mixes/decorations for baking a cake at school and a few other goodies, plus some wine for grandma which mom almost forgot completely.

For school, I had to take all the ingredients for baking my cake, frosting, pan, etc. I baked a cake at school for all my friends to enjoy a cake party with me, plus my teacher; Dwain made it into a lesson. :)

I came home very active and happy. Grandma, Mom and I went for a walk and then they took me swimming.

I loved it. After that, I had a small birthday party with chocolate cupcakes and chocolate frosting, moose ice cream and a few presents. I loved it!! Excuse the way I am dressed, but I just got out of the pool and shower and am in my lounge clothes.

I am showing grandma and mom that I can hold Cubby and play my toy at the same time!

I was allowed to open up one gift from everyone, but not all gifts. I had to save some for my party. Grandma got me a cool pair of Bermuda Shorts. I am checking them out. I got a couple of CD's; one of the soundtrack from Hannah Montana movie. I loved that movie! I can't wait for it to come out on DVD.

Mom was gone for a week for her yearly vacation break... I stayed with grandma and went to summer school! Had a lot of fun!!

And here is a photo of what to expect for the next posting... The Mirale League baseball day.. It was soooo much FUN!! Coming soon.... :):):)

2009-06-09T20:55:00.000-07:00

Hi!

A few weeks ago, mom took me to her work where she volunteers at one day after I got out of school. I had a short day, the weather was beautiful, so off we went down to the Ventura Harbor to the Channel Islands National Park Visitor Center. I got to meet some of the people mom knows there, works with.....

In this photo, the building in the background is mom's work; the Channel Islands National Park Visitors Center. It's a lovely building and has been redone inside that was completed over a year ago. It's really cool...

I went through the door and into the bookstore part of the center. In here you can learn sooooo MUCH about the animals, history, hiking & camping on the islands and see a lot of marine life in the sea tank. Oh, and as you will see in the photo below, there is a full size Elephant Seal statue. It's HUGE! There is also a replica of the Pygmy Mammoth that was discovered on Santa Rosa Island in 1994.

Here is a Sea Star that is in the sea tank. It's a beautiful tank with lots of Sea Stars (Blue Knobby Starfish & Bat Starfish), Surf Perch, Lobsters, Sea Cucumbers, Horn Shark, Garibaldi Fish, and others. On some days when they feed the marine life, there are live Mussels.

They have lots of books including one of moms' favorites' Islands of the Blue Dolphins, souvenirs, and so much more. Carolyn is always bringing in new items.

From the bookstore, you can go out the door to the breezeway area. This is a really cool part as there are models of each island; Santa Barbara, Anacapa, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa and San Miguel. You can see where you can go on each of the islands and the names of the different points, beaches. There are panels above each island that has a lot of information about each one.

During this time of year on Anacapa Island, the baby Gull chicks are running around everywhere with their moms being very protective of them. Mom went out to Anacapa Island a week in a half ago. Some of the chicks had just hatched to where others were already about 3 weeks old. Here are some of the photos:

At the other end of the breezeway is the auditorium where they show a movie about the islands in the National Park. It is only 20 minutes long and makes for a nice break from standing/walking, and you get to learn a lot and see what the islands look like. :) Sea Lectures are held once a month here in the evening, free and open to the public. Each month is a different topic.

Next part of the visitors' center is taking the elevator or stairs up to the Observatory Deck where on clear days you can see the islands. The views are spectacular. Unfortunately, the day I went, the fire in Santa Barbara was still quite active and made the view of the islands quite hazy, but I did capture some nice views of Ventura. Below is me up on the Observatory deck. Oh, I have my blinky sandals...

When I face the ocean, off on my slight right is this scene. I did zoom in order to get a closer look and miss the Visitors Center. :)

A little more to my right and made the camera view wider, you can see part of the top of the Visitors Center.

Then to the back of me are the park ranger boats.

Then to my back-left is the harbor and harbor village. It is a lot of fun to walk through the harbor village and Andria's is a great place to eat. Grandpa, grandma and mom love to eat here. I like to come because that means I get to be outside for quite a long time and go for a nice walk. :)

On my left is the village, parking lots, and part of the coastline.

And then my front-left is more parking and the coast line. You can barely see Anacapa Island in the far distance.

I will have to go back on a clearer day and get some photos of facing forward and of the islands.

The next photo is Island Packers; who is the concessionaire for the National Park. They offer a variety of trips out of Ventura & Oxnard harbors. Trips to the islands for day use and camping, whale watching, North shore wildlife cruises, harbor cruises, a few specialty cruises. They are just a block down from the Visitors Center in the Ventura Harbor. Everyone is really nice. Mom has thoroughly enjoyed her days out in the channel with them, and they have enjoyed her photos. They are open year around. Island Packers (805)642-1393.

Walking along the harbor.....

This lovely memorial is on the other end of the harbor next to Andria's.

Hope you all enjoyed my little tour of a great place to visit. If you haven't been, I highly recommend spending an afternoon or even a full day there. The Harbor Cove Cafe next to the Visitors Center is a great place for breakfast and lunch.

----------------

Thursday is my last day of 7th grade. Then on Monday, I start summer school for 4 weeks. Yeah! Grandma is coming up on Friday, and we are going to go get pedicures. I really need one for summer. Mom is leaving on Sunday for San Juan Island for a week, so grandma is staying with me.

Next post is about my day shopping with Cubby Bear, seeing the movie Hannah Montana over memorial weekend and well who knows what else I will end up doing by then... :)
Until next time........

Kayla

Hmmmm.... I've got to get you all up to speed on my life.... :)

2009-05-29T20:47:00.000-07:00

I know. I know. I know...... It's a HUGE post, but lots of fun stuff to report with a lot of photos! I've got to get you all up to speed on my life. Don't you all like photos??? :)

Whale Day was the last you heard of me, which was way back in March... It seems like yesterday the way time is flying by..... Can you believe I am almost done with 7th grade??? Less than a month away and then I am off to 8th grade. Mom got the run down today of how 8th grade graduation works in my end of the world... Even though it's still a year away, it will be here sooner than you think... YEA!!

Happy Belated St. Patricks Day!

Off to my grandparents to spend my spring break with them up in Bear Valley Springs, Tehachapi, California. I had a great time with them and my great aunt... Mom had training, so while grandma was at work, grandpa and my great aunt took care of me... I gave them a run for their money... I was a handful, but lots of fun. My great aunt got to experience my moods, personality, activeness, smartness and everything else that is me. I don't have the photos from that week as they are still in my grandma's camera, but here are some that mom took on our way up there with my camera. We stopped at a really nice Walmart to see about some material for my new bag that grandma still needs to make me, a couple of really in-style hats to cover my baldness from my accident and a few other things. Mom and I spent the night at my great grandparent's house before going out to my grandparents house.

Easter came and went... I went to my grandpa's parent's house for Easter brunch, Easter egg hunt, and the confetti party of it... It was fun, although I slept the first half, but once the party began, it was so much fun!

One day, mom decided to take me to Santa Barbara where she volunteered on Monday's doing the Gray Whale Count. It was a gorgeous day, and we checked out the trails along the cliffs of the coastline to the point of where she worked. Unfortunately, we didn't see any whales during our short visit.

As May approached, mom, and I headed to the LA Zoo one day. We hadn't been in quite a while and mom's passes were about to expire, so off we went...

I took this photo of the Koalas with my camera. This is what we saw every time we went by them. They are a favorite of mine and mom's (mostly mom's), but they just slept the whole time. Usually Baz is awake in the late afternoon, but not on the day we were there. They must have had a late night slumber party. What do you think???? :)

Here are a few of mom's photos:

Isn't he cute??? I just love his expression... :):)

My next creation ... Well, I helped mom with it.. She was going out all day on the boat, and she decided to make this whale fruit salad for the crew. They all loved it and I had so much fun helping mom make it. :):) I love to bake and be in the kitchen these days...

I think this is enough for now. I was going to include my outing to the Channel Islands National Park Visitors Center where my mom works, but I will make that a separate post and do it in about a week.

I have been doing great; healthy, busy swimming, enjoying life, school, you name it - I'm enjoying life! :)

Have a wonderful weekend. Hope you all are doing good... Don't forget to say "Hello". :):):)

Love,
Kayla

"A Whale of a Day"

2009-03-19T20:37:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone.....

Okay...... So I haven't been updating as often as I should be, but that is not my fault... Blame mom... I kept telling her I needed to update my blog, but she has been so busy, there just isn't enough time in one day to do everything that needs to be done.... So, I apologize for not staying in touch more often, but I have been doing GREAT and keeping busy myself.

Saturday, March 07 was "A Whale of a Day" at Rancho Palos Verde. Mom and I left the house at 7am; 2 hours later than mom wanted to, but it was still a nice hour to leave.... Mom decided to drive down Pacific Coast Hwy 1 in hopes of seeing some whales and just have a beautiful morning drive down. :) No matter what way we went, it was fine with me because I was just so excited to finally get out and go on a road trip.. :):)

We made our way through Oxnard and onto PCH 1.. A straight away, a few turns and then the open coast line around the last turn and there they were...... 8 separate Grey Whale blows on their northern migration back up to Alaska. Mom pulled over, of course, and we tracked them for about 30 minutes. Lots of blows, a couple of pairs and a few tail flukes.. All in all, it was a beautiful morning and there ended up being 12 Grey Whales - older kids and adults. The mother and calves have not started their migration north yet, but should in April.

Copyright 2009 Michele Wassell

After 30 minutes mom finally decided to get back on the road and told me to keep an eye out for more whales.. I made sure, I covered all options for seeing them including looking out the left window towards the mountains a lot. :) Mom kept telling me to look towards the ocean, and I did for a few, but always turned back to the mountains. I told mom that I was making sure, I didn't miss seeing one ANYWHERE.. :)

We saw a couple more blows, but nothing exciting. Grey Whales are a little shy and do a lot of "snorkeling" behavior due to their being predators out there after them. Although these are the adults and older kids, they can still be hunted by their predators; Orcas, especially if they are weak.

Arriving in Rancho Palos Verde at the Interpretive Center on the point (farthest points off of California Coastline), the weather was beautiful and perfect. It was a small "A Whale of a Day", but very much catered to children. Lots of crafts to make, which I made a plate, got my hair and face painted, received a passport to get 7 stamps in it (like a treasure hunt), story time on the patio, band, whale watching from the point with the counters and took a nice nap on my blanket on the grass.. It was great. In addition, during lunch time sitting at the picnic table along the cliffs, we saw a couple of gray whales within a 1/2 mile off shore. I played Elmo for them. I think that's why they came in so close, so they could enjoy it more. :)

Copyright 2009 Michele Wassell

Copyright 2009 Michele Wassell

You can see my passport around my neck in the photo above. I had to collect 7 stamps to complete it. I had 7 clues to go find the stations where the stamps were at. At one station, I had to learn about the different kind of owls and large birds. They were beautiful..

Copyright 2009 Michele Wassell

Copyright 2009 Michele Wassell

Another station was the main Interpretive Center. Lots of info on marine life and Chumash Indians. I really enjoyed the different lighting effect and the large wall images and statues.

Copyright 2009 Michele Wassell

Copyright 2009 Michele Wassell

During my nap, this handsome little guy kept coming over to check on me and told mom how cute I was. His words, "She is soooo adorable". "She is soooo cute".

Mom and I stayed until sunset before making the journey back home via the freeway. Good ole 405 and 101...

Point Vicente Lighthouse

C.2009 Michele Wassell

I was going to post my St Patty's Day photo that mom took of me before I left for school, but my images are still in the camera, so I will do that this weekend...

Have a fabulous weekend... Thank you all for your previous comments....

Love, Kayla

2009-02-17T21:57:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Weekend.....

It was a 4-day weekend for me.... I wasn't crazy about having 4 days out of school, but enjoyed most of the weekend with mom.

I hope everyone is doing good and had a nice Valentine's Day. I have been so busy with school, bowling - getting ready for my tournament in May, swimming and running errands with mom.

Saturday we ran some errands. While running errands we ran into some friends that we haven't seen in quite some time, so that was really nice. It was a great day as I got to go shopping for some new glasses as my current glasses; the frame broke last week at school. :(. At the last minute, mom decided to let me get my hair done, so we went to see if Vanessa; my hairstylist had any openings. Sure enough, she had just enough time to do my hair. I thoroughly enjoyed getting my hair washed and trimmed. Mom had me get the A-Line style cut. I love it!

I shut my eyes when mom took the photo of Vanessa and I. Opps....
Sunday, we hung out at home and took a quick walk to the store. Mom was concerned taking me for a walk due to the weather, but I did just fine. :) Mom's can be a little overprotective at times. Especially, mine. She needs to chill. :)

Monday, we ran a couple of errands later in the day. I enjoyed our outings all weekend. It rained a lot, but not as much as the forecast stated.

Tonight mom did her exercises, and I did mine. Mom kept telling me, "we are almost done, keep going" and I did. My exercise was doing two hands playing on my toy. The last time she told me to keep going, I took a deep breath and started up again. Mom was so proud of me and pleased that I listened to her and did it.

Hope everyone has a great week and enjoys the slight increase in warm weather that is coming our way, I hope.

Love,
Kayla

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-12T11:51:00.000-08:00

Minnie Mouse on the loose with Kayla.....

2009-01-18T11:07:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone!

Last Sunday, January 11, 2009 I went to Disneyland with grandpa, grandma, mom and Cubby. We all had such a good time. We drove down Saturday evening and stayed the night.

Thank goodness downtown Disney had a Build - a - Bear store as I needed to take Cubby shopping for her Disneyland outfit. She got sketcher tennies, pink jeans, Disneyland shirt and mickey ears hat.

Grandpa kept an eye on Cubby and made sure she kept her Mickey ears on and that they were staying on correctly. Grandpa is good at that! :)

I had to get a good nights' sleep in order to be ready for Disneyland.

Our day at Disneyland:

While I was in line waiting to see Pooh, Eeyore came over and visited me. :)

"Mickey, where are you???"

"Mickey, where are you???"

I was still a tad tired in the morning, but once the excitement of the rides began, I definitely woke up. I really enjoyed going on Pirates of the Caribean; although I did get wet. I loved Winnie the Pooh ride and Jungle Cruise. I liked the idea of being able to stay in my chair on some of the rides. :)

I like to go through Minnie and Mickey's houses.

"Mickey, are you here??"

Mickey Mouse is my favorite character and am always wide awake to see him.

After wards, I was so excited that I got to see Mickey.

I kept getting in line to see Minnie, but never got to the front in time before her break, so I kept missing her till we were heading out. Grandpa saw Minnie and we headed over to see her. As soon as it was my turn, Minnie came up, grabbed the back of my chair and took me for a stroll. Minnie took me over to see Mickey. :) And then she brought me back to her area. It was so much fun. Then when Mickey was on his way in for his break, he came over and saw me again since I was still with Minnie.

Heading out... It is so much fun being out after dark with so many lights on everywhere... Disneyland is the place to be! :)

Hope everyone is doing great and has a wonderful week! :)

Til next time...

Love,
Kayla

P.S. Mom just posted this evening a blog on her site about Gray Whales in the Santa Barbara Channel. Check it out. Good night everyone.. :)

I know it's 2009, but....

2009-01-08T21:12:00.000-08:00

Okay... So it's 2009, but I still have to finish up 2008. Lots to report. So let's go back to where I left off... Well actually even further back to the week before Christmas.... and all through the night... :)

Here is a photo of me while mom and I decorated our new white tree.

I love musical cards....

I think mom likes the white tree better than the typical green tree. It really is pretty.

The angel topper holds a special meaning.... Mom got her for my first Christmas to put on top of the tree. She believes that as long as the angel is watching over me during the holiday season, I will always be healthy on Christmas day. Sure enough, 12 years later, I have always been with my family on Christmas day and never in the hospital.

Over Thanksgiving my grandpa and grandma went to my Aunt Tricia's house in Seattle. During their stay, they traveled to this little touristy town where there was snow and got me this special ornament. Every year mom used to go shopping for a new ornament, but the last couple of years, we haven't been doing that. She said we will definitely start up again next year, which will probably be a trip to Solvang. Yeah! Road trip!

The next photo is the cookies I made for my doctors... Here you will see the cute little boxes mom found at Michael's to put the cookies in. :) They all enjoyed them. Unfortunately, we just made cookies for my main doctors that I see on a regular basis. Next year I will have to start earlier and include the others that I see in the county. Mom & I will have our work cut out for us next year.. Yeah - lots of baking... :)

Oh and I did the stamps on the paper towels to line the boxes with..

This is the point I am all caught up. I wrote the post I posted on Christmas day where I mentioned we were waiting for the snow to arrive and I took a photo of grandma's backyard... Well, I should of waited another 10-20 minutes because after I posted to my blog, the fog really rolled in.

Remember in my previous post, the photo I took about 10 minutes before I took of this one, you could see all the way across the valley floor and the mountains...

Then the hail, ice, snow came and the high winds. We heard from a friend that the winds got up to 50-60mph. It was really windy. As Christmas day continued on, the weather got worse and mom told Grandpa and Grandma that we were going to stay home while they went over to my grandpa's sisters house for Christmas dinner. I was NOT going to go out in the cold and harsh wind.

I stayed at grandpa and grandma's house with mom where it was warm and toasty. I watched Dr. Seus; my new movie that I got for Christmas. Well, that didn't last long because the electricity went out 10 minutes after they left. Mom was able to get grandma's laptop so I could finish watching my movie, but then after that, that was it. No more tv. No more battery. Mom and I hung out and stayed warm in front of the fire place. Mom got out the candles and emergency light.

Mom took this picture with grandma's camera through the living room window looking outside getting the reflection of the fireplace... Warm and toasty...

Mom was so thankful that I was healthy and not needing treatments. Both my treatment machines would not work since they require electricity. Mom needs to look into this issue. Not a good thing if I need a treatment.

Grandpa and grandma finally arrived back home. Yathzee... Yeah! Electricity was still out, but grandma, mom and I played a game of yathzee bundled up on the couch. Grandpa went to sleep since he was full! Guess what? I creamed grandma and mom at yathzee and I was the only one that got a yathzee. It was fun! :)

It was sooo cold going to bed. Mom was very proud of me of how I handled the electricity going out and adjusted to what we could do and couldn't do. The electricity stayed out for 14 hours (came on at 5:45a.m.).

It was a beautiful Friday morning; the day after Christmas. Snow covered the ground and it was chilly out. Mom was excited. She got up, got me situated with Grandma and then she headed out to photograph the area. Mom loves winter and really misses the weather. I love the sunshine all year around so I can spend a lot of time outside. :)

A couple of mom's photos from her outing... When mom is done editing her photos and has them up on her website, I will post a link to the gallery.. :)

Later when mom returned, I helped mom pack up her stuff. She was leaving that evening to go back home in Ventura while I stayed here at grandpa and grandma's house for a couple of days.

Grandma still getting used to her new camera. This is her first time using it....

Here I am helping grandma take down her Christmas tree and the Christmas gang.

Mom really needed a break from my responsibilities and plus she had to work. I had a lot of fun with grandpa and grandma. We did art work with the art supplies I got for Christmas, went to town and I made grandma a pottery platter to lay her spoons on when cooking, and grandma gave me a pedicure. I held very still for it. (Dr. Goldie, I can get a pedicure during my test and that will keep me still :) )

Grandma took me home a couple of days later. Mom wasn't home yet, but she arrived a few minutes after grandma and I. Mom had to work at the Channel Islands National Park Visitors Center. She just started volunteering there and enjoys it.

I spent the rest of my vacation with mom. We went on walks, took down the Christmas decorations, swimming and hung out taking it easy. :)

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Years.
---------------

Now... for the news of the year.... I am going to DISNEYLAND this Sunday with grandpa, grandma and mom... Did you know that when I was a baby, I had hundreds of seizures a day; everyday and the first day I did not have one seizure was the first time I went to Disneyland. I was a year and a couple months old. Mom came home and told Dr. Goldie that I needed to live there. I love Disneyland! Mickey, here I come!! :):):)

Love Kayla

2008-12-31T23:20:00.000-08:00

Since I didn't have access to a computer to send everyone a Christmas greeting, its coming now with your New Year's greeting... I figured it was better late than never.. :) At least I made it in time for New Year's. :)
Anyway....

Moving on to the point....

May 2009 be a happy, healthy New Year for all of you!

Best wishes from Michele, Kayla, Cubby and our 2 fish; Cali and no name yet for the blue one.

I will have a new post from Christmas Day and up till yesterday about my stay with Grandpa and Grandma, but in the meantime, check out Mom's post from yesterday titled: Gray Whales turning out to be ORCAS. She will have a post out in the next week on Anacapa Island, Winter in Tehachapi, Common Dolphins, and on Gorillas. Within a few weeks, she should have I.D.'s on the Transient Orcas she saw this last week and some information about each of them.

Merry Christmas.....

2008-12-25T09:55:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone..... Merry Christmas! Sorry for not posting sooner, but mom's computer is down right now, and I have so much to post! I forgot to bring my camera to grandma's so I will have to post the photos from the last couple of weeks when mom gets her computer back and I get home. Right now I am using grandma's camera and computer. :)

I have been very busy over the weeks making my Christmas gifts for friends and family, baking cookies and bread for my doctors, and trying to stay healthy with all these weather changes and winds. (photos and post coming soon.... )

Right now I am at my grandma's in Bear Valley Springs (Tehachapi) waiting for the snow to come. There is a lot of snow across the valley and in the shade as they have received up to 14" over the last week in a half, but most of it was gone when mom and I arrived Tuesday evening. But it sure is cold (high: 33 not including the wind chill) and windy here. A photo from outside my grandma and grandpa's backyard. You can see some of my grandma's garden boxes.

My grandpa and grandma's snowman direction sign in their front yard that I just love. :)

We opened presents last night (Christmas eve) because I always sleep in late (not a morning person) and grandma, grandpa and mom get antsy waiting. They are so impatient! So since I am a night owl, we opened them last night. I was a bit tired though because I baked a lot yesterday during the day.

I was a bit tired though from baking a lot yesterday during the day. I made Reindeer cookies and helped make an apple pie. Baking just wears me out!

I am rolling the cookie dough into balls before flattening them as I am doing below. :)

Now I am putting on the nose (red m&m's)

the final touch.....

A little bit about the beginning of the week... Grandma came down to my house in Ventura on Monday after she dropped off my great grandpa and grandma at my great aunt's. Grandma, mom and I went to the mall as I still needed to do my Christmas shopping and I can't shop for mom with mom... I got a few things for mom, but didn't have any kind of a reaction till I found mom the perfect rain boats! Crazy look! I loved them and cracked up laughing when grandma showed me them. The pure color one was so boring, but I loved the crazy look. This is what I ended up getting mom. :) If you didn't know that I like crazy colors, well I DO!

On the way home from the mall, mom drove up some streets that had a lot of Christmas lights. I love looking at Christmas lights. We saw some beautiful ones.

Tuesday mom had to work, so grandma and I went for a cold walk to vons and then packed up the car to get ready to go to her house when mom got home from work. Mom is volunteering down at Channel Islands National Park Visitor Center once a week.
So anyway, grandma, mom and I headed up to grandpa and grandma's house... I rode in my car seat in my old car; the Saturn with grandma. Yeah!! I loved it. I really miss that car. I gave the car to grandma when I got my new van. I used to control the radio with my foot in that car!! :):) Drove mom nuts at time.

Back to today.... We are heading over to my grandpa's sisters house for dinner.

I hope EVERYONE has a MERRY CHRISTMAS and a WONDERFUL day today!! Best wishes to you!

Love,

Kayla

Thanksgiving Week.....

2008-11-30T09:50:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone.

I sure hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving and great weekend!!

I have had a very full and busy Thanksgiving vacation, but so much fun.

Monday and Tuesday I had two really good days at school... We did a lot of baking and cooking since we had a school Thanksgiving lunch.

Wednesday... I got to go swimming and do my laps... :)

Thursday Mom and I decided to go to the LA Zoo for the afternoon. It was so much fun. Santa's Reindeer just arrived, so I got to see them. Never seen actual Reindeer before.

But our first stop was at the Harbor Seal tank. :)

We got to see the baby Koala come down with its mom from the warm heated area where they sleep to eat some eucalyptus. We spent probably a good 45 minutes watching them. The baby is sooo cute.
After that we went to the Gorillas. The Silverback; Kelly was so funny making lots of expressions. The baby; Glenda was cuddled up with her mom; Rapunzel sound asleep. So adorable.

We moved on to the lions who were sound asleep, the giraffes were busy eating, and the Chimpanzees all had there back to the audience. Did you know that Chimpanzees and Gorillas do not like to be looked at? They don't. They don't like to be "starred" at, so they will turn their backs to you when they have had enough. We then headed up to the Tigers, Hippos, and Sun Bear. Nothing too exciting was going on with them, so we headed down to the Orangutans; another favorite. We love the male one. He is so adorable. However, getting a good photo of any of the Orangutans is quite difficult due to the fencing and a very glared window.

After a little while with the Orangutans we headed back over to the Gorillas and Koalas on our way out. Nothing too exciting going on with them. Just a few more expressions from Kelly (Silverback) and a few sleeping Koalas.

Mom and I had a great Thanksgiving day together! We couldn't of asked for a better day.

Friday mom saw that the other outfit I wanted from JCP was 70% off, so we got up and walked down to the mall. It was crazy! Thank goodness the weather was nice, and we lived close (a little over a mile) from the mall that we could walk. The parking lots and streets were unreal. The people in the stores were a little overwhelming for me, and I was still tired from the day before, but thoroughly enjoyed shopping. Mom got me a few things at great prices. We only went to JCP and then to Target to pick up a spice that we needed in order to make mom's special pumpkin pie later.

Grandpa and Grandma arrived at the house just as we left the mall, so grandma walked towards us to meet. :) I was very tired and cranky on the walk home since by then the wind had really picked up. Didn't do much the rest of the day. Lots of resting, cartoons, and of course, I helped mom make the pumpkin pie. :) I had to show grandma how well I am at baking these days. :) She was very proud of me. I loved tasting the pumpkin. I had quite a bit. It was sooo good. Grandpa was over at a friends house watching a football game.

Saturday morning came and bowling was scheduled after all today. YEA! I have to practice for my Special Olympics Tournament next May. Therefore, grandpa headed off to the USC-Notre Dame game with his buddies (BTW..., I am wearing my red today to cheer on USC) and grandma, mom, and I headed off for bowling. Grandma bowled with me and skunked me and my new friend; Thomas. Thomas is an older gentleman and blind. Such a character though. He was fun to bowl with. Our scores were really close, but he did beat me. I will beat him next time! :) I was still tired from shopping yesterday. :)

Two hours after bowling, we headed to Costco and then home. We finally got home and I was so tired. Mom cooked grandma and her dinner and I napped. Later after dinner, I was awake and ready for some action, so grandma, mom and I all sat on the couch, used the angel box and played yahtzee bundled up in blankets. It was chilly. I wasn't too sure about sitting in between grandma and mom. I loved it. Don't get me wrong, but I have never done that before, so it was different. Grandma and mom weren't doing too hot in yahtzee and never did get a yahtzee, but I sure did. Two times in a row! I skunked grandma and mom!! Mom had a hard time taking photos of me playing, but this is what she got. Oh and I loved holding the pen, so I wrote in all the scores after each play.

I am sleeping in late today since I have school tomorrow, but when I get up, mom is going to take me swimming to do my laps and later we will go for a nice walk if the weather holds. Grandpa and grandma already left this morning quite early.

Hope you all have a wonderful week! :)

Love,
Kayla

2008-11-26T22:14:00.001-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving...

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving blessed with family and friends..

Love, Kayla