Baby Carter

Sunday, I left Jamie to work on the house and I went to Terra's baby shower. She's due on the 21st of November and I can't believe how fast the time has gone. It seems like we just found out a few months ago. She's definitely ready for the baby to come. It's a boy and his name is Carter Michael Carrillo. Mike and Terra have already decorated the baby's room with a sports theme and with all the gifts they've received Carter will have a pretty good wardrobe to pick from.

The party was just for the ladies and it consisted mostly of Terra's family and friends but we represented ourside. Here is Nana Nancy, Aunt Chris, and my Mom =>

Mike was out golfing with the boys during the party so we could play fun baby games and ooh and aah over all the cute, little gifts. I have to say though, women can be brutal when it comes to games and prizes even at a cute little baby shower, lol.

Fun things to do at Philadelphia airport

On my recent trip to England, I had several hours (each way) to spend at Philadelphia airport. I have to say that it is certainly a nice airport and far superior to Chicago O’Hare (my usual connection). Plus none of my flights were delayed, which is inevitable when flying via Chicago. I have now decided to never fly via Chicago again.

Below are a couple of things that I found on my exploration of PHI:

Residents of Philadelphia like to collect Smurfs

By far the best Smurf was the "Chief Smurf"

Along with Political cartoons and Bacon, Denmark's other most famous export is Lego. Apparently Philadelphians (???) like to make giant Lego models. I don’t think that Philadelphians are known for their bell castings as this lego one has a big crack in it. An interesting fact, the original "Liberty Bell" was actually made in White Chapel (London).

The Wombles have Invaded

A Picture of the wombles, they lived on Wimbledon Common (London),

I am not sure if they played tennis.

On a recent trip to San Diego, I was surprised to see that the Wombles had moved to California before I did. The Wombles were a popular Kids TV series in the UK back in the 70s. Although I was born in 80s, I have a vague recollection of them. Anyway, some how they managed to get a street named after them in San Diego. This is the Wikipedia definition: The Wombles are pointy-nosed, furry creatures that live in burrows, where they help the environment by collecting and recycling rubbish in useful and ingenious ways.

A street named Womble!

Santa Ana - Cemetery Tour

Jamie arrived back home on Friday night, a bit exhausted but glad he made the trip to England. He made it back just in time for the cemetery tour held every year in October. It was on Saturday and it's put on by the Santa Ana Historical Society. This year the topic was Place Names in Orange County. It is done in conjuction with the Orange County High School of the Arts - Thespian Club. Each year the students participate and act out skits. The tour is really worth it and it's great to see the little skits, it's definietly more entertaining than reading a handout or listening to a lecture. Plus the origin of street names and places is always interesting.

Here's a picture of one of the skits. This one was about Prentice Park (a.k.a. the Santa Ana zoo). Apparently, Judge Prentice loved monkeys and had quite a collection of them at his home. He granted the city the property as well as a $100,000 for animals and upkeep. There was a catch of course. The zoo had to have at least 50 monkeys on the property at any time. The city agreed and that is how the zoo got it's start. Recently, the monkey population went under 50 monkeys and a decendent of Judge Prentice quickly pointed out the need to acquire more monkeys (of course any other primate does not count, it must be monkeys) Luckily there was a birth of twins that year and the zoo was again keeping it's promise!

The tour is held at the Fairhaven Cemetery in Santa Ana. It's about two hours and you do walk all over the cemetery. It helps the historical society and educates us on Orange County history. I also enjoy it because it is the start of the Holiday Season; i.e. Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. We haven't decorated the front yard yet with Halloween decorations but I think that is a must for next weekend. Luckily, we did learn from last year and have started stocking up on Candy as we have an army of trick-or treaters in our neighborhood :)

Granddad

Last Sunday, October 4th, Jamie's Granddad past away. He had been battling lung cancer. He was an amazing man and we are all going to miss him greatly. I've decided to post some pictures of him, not only as a memorial but for us to always remember the good times and many memories.

In August of 2006 Jamie, his brother Mark, Myself and Granddad did the 3 peaks in the Yorkshire Dales.

This was at our rehearsal dinner.

At our Wedding in 2005 with my Grandpa.

"To live in the hearts we leave behind is not to die."

-Thomas Campbell

Groovy Retirement

Saturday night we went to my Aunt Michelle's retirement party. She is retiring from the school district and had one psychedelic party. The party was held at my Aunt Milissa's house and was a 60s themed party. Michelle loves music from the 60s. They had a live band, great food, and lots of black light bulbs and headbands.

Michelle had a great time and danced the night away.

Here she is with my Dad.

Here we are...Not looking very 60s.
My cousin Valerie looking very cute as always.

And my Mom and Dad.

It was a fun night and the band was pretty impressive. Much better than the band who played at our concert in the park...I think we may have to suggest them to our neighborhood for next year!