New Additions to the Montoya Family

The Montoya's kitty Suzy-Q had her first (and they hope last) litter of 4 kittens on Sunday, May 16th. The last time I saw them a couple of days ago, one of them had their eyes open. The are getting fluffier and they squeak/meow when you pick them up.

There are 3 white kitties that look like they will be Siamese and there is 1 black kitty. I wish I could have them all because they are so cute...but we have our hands full with our two kitty boys.

This is the runt of the litter and the "black sheep" of the family. He was abused my his mother Suzy (sad) and now she seems to accept him again.

Updates on my Kitty Boys

Peeky is on the left and Pepe on the right.

Pepe the Poser

Pepe is a glamour kitty. From day one we have been able to take tons of cute pictures of Pepe, because he knows how to strike a pose.

The guys are sitting back like watching a movie. Pepe was sitting there like a human for so long I had to get a picture. He love Michael the most. I was the one who chose Pepe out of the litter of kittens the first day I saw him...and he now shuns me for Michael. The only time he wants me is when he's trying to get us to wake up in the morning, because he knows I am a lighter sleeper.

Once again, Pepe has chosen his daddy's lap over mine.

Sassy Peeky

Peeky does not like to have his picture taken. He gets impatient and moves. I tried for so long too get a decent "awake" picture of him until I finally gave up. Michael finally took a picture for me while I held Peeks hostage.

This is a rare close up of Peeky that is not a blurred image. As you can tell from the sassy look on his face his face, he is not happy about it!

Peeky is so sweet when he is sleeping. Michael is the one who chose Peeky and Peeky is now the mama's kitty-boy. Peeky cuddles with me and follows me around all day.

Road Trip

The idea of a road trip first started a few months ago and I was thinking of going to Cortez, CO. Michael had never been to Mesa Verde and I wanted him to see it. The plans got cancelled because Michael was supposed to be doing services calls out of state at the time I wanted to go. He ended up not having to go and we decided on a road trip at the last minute.

At that time, I no longer was feeling like just visiting the desert. I wanted the relaxation and humidity of the the beach. We decided on San Diego, CA. We left Friday afternoon and started driving. I've always wanted to do a road trip living on the edge! I usually have vacations planned out to a T and I wanted some uncertainty. We were going to drive the first day until we were tired and then just find a place to stay. I told Michael that I secretly wanted to stay in a small cheap motel where you pull up your car right to the door. It reminded me of playing at basketball tournaments in Wyoming were you have to go outside to get your ice buckets filled.

Michael was very rested and before we knew it, we were passing Las Vegas right when it got dark. We decided we could make it a couple hours after Vegas. A little bit after Vegas, we noticed the signs for Baker an hour away and we decided we would stop there. We stop for gas in Primm, NV and that was a mistake. It was dark and creepy. There was a creepy roller coaster lit up and a few casinos. It was all lights everywhere at Whiskey Pete's and cars filling the parking lot, but no people. It was like something out of a Dean Koontz book. We couldn't get out of there fast enough.

When we reach Baker, CA it was a lot smaller than we thought it would be. It was one road long off the interstate and had 3 motels. We passed the Wills Fargo Motel with it's pretty blue lights and decided to keep checking. We drove past the Bun Boy Motel and came to a third before returning to the Wills Fargo. I got my wish. It was cheap and it was old. The floor was all old tile and I didn't want to touch anything. The bed squeaked any time you moved and was hard a a rock. We didn't get much sleep in that place.

The next day we drove the rest of the way to San Diego. It was relaxing and fun as I expected it to be. We had a hotel right by the beach and could see the ocean from our balcony. We got to sit on the beach and watch a surfing competition while we sipped our tropical flavored slushies. We got to wear shorts and flip flops everywhere walking up and down the boardwalk.

We left after two nights around noon. Our map quest map and directions may have lead us to our hotel, but it did not lead us out. We got lost and ended up in some random place were we saw a AAA Travel Agency. Michael got a map and we found our way back to the interstate. It was a long drive back and we were planning to stop and sleep another night on the way back. Because of our first night adventure we decided to drive without stopping and definitely not stopping in Primm. We got home early Tuesday morning and we were so tired. Our backs and bodies hurt from the drive and we could barely look at each other.

After a wonderful nights sleep in our own beds, we were repaired. We spent the day recovering before going back to work the next day. We did spare a moment to visit Melissa and her brand new baby kittens.

The Wills Fargo Motel in Baker, CA

The Wills Fargo Motel in the morning light. (Not Wells.)

Michael sitting on a randomly placed chair in the closet area. On the night stand table there was a list of prices the motel would charge for missing furniture and appliances. What? There wasn't even a TV remote and you couldn't hear the TV over the air conditioner anyway.

In the morning we could see a sliver of light all around the "seal" of the door.

No comment needed...

I was afraid to shut the shower door when I showed in the brown tile dungeon.

San Diego

Our second day of travel got off to a good start but we took a wrong no-turn. Our map quest instrustions on how and when to catch the two I-215 exits by San Bernadino were not very clear. We got the first one right but we didn't know we would have to exit again to catch the second one. We ended up on highway 91 headed to Los Angeles. We eventually met back up with I-15 but we that took us right into a lot of traffic. We took a scenic route and I saw this really cool cactus on the side of the road that I need to find a name for. As soon as we checked in to our motel by the beach, we had to take a walk and enjoy. We walked along the water's edge dodging piles of seaweed and getting our feet wet. This was exactly the kind of relaxation I was looking for at the beach.

Michael and I compromised on a local restaraunt for dinner our first night in San Diego. The Green Flash had the fresh seafood for me and the steak for Michael. You can also see the very popular old fashion bikes that people ride up and down the boardwalk.

Me (Amber) stopped for a photo op on the walk to the pier.

Michael at the end of the pier on Mission Beach. It is the fishing area of the pier and there are fish guts all over the edge of the railing. Yuck!

Olympic 100 M Dash

Sleepover Parties with Josh and Vince

How Cute!
Michael getting ready for a sleepover party with Josh and Vincent. He knows the boys are coming over and he has to beat some more levels to get more "guys". He knows that the boys always love to have more "guys" and "levels" to play.

Josh and Vince, most likely playing Mario Party or Super Smash.

They stop to say cheese!

When we have a sleepover with the boys, they camp out in our living room. After we play games all night we get the sleeping bags ready and try to lull them to sleep with a movie (this is usually WAY past their bedtime). We move our zebra ottoman and they sleep between the couch and entertainment center with Josh closest to the entertainment center.

In our old apartment, there was not as much space for them to sprawl. On one of the sleep overs, I woke up in the middle of the night to the Black Eyed Peas jamming on full blast. We used to hook up our TV to our stereo for "stereo sound" and for some reason we had to crank the volume up on the stereo to make it normal sounding on the TV. When we switched it back to music we had to turn the volume way down or it would be painfully loud.

In his sleep, Josh had inadvertently kicked the stereo power button. It scared the crap out of me that night until I found out what it was. Josh barely flinched. He slept through the whole thing. I turned the volume way down and tried to move the stereo a little, but he kicked it on again about 15 minutes later. At least it wasn't as loud. I ended up having to turn the stereo as far a I possibly could so Josh couldn't reach the front with his foot at all. Even though the music never got kicked on again, I didn't sleep very well for the rest of the night because I was waiting for the music.

Josh is usually the first to fall asleep.

Vince is always the last to nod off.

We end our nights with movies and Josh is asleep in the first 5 minutes. Vince is a fighter. He can be soooo tired (just like his eyes look in the picture) and we will stay awake the whole time. First it take him about 10 minutes to set his bed up just right. Then he gets in and out of his bag trying to rearrange. We I get him to finally lay down and relax he watches the movie.

He would stay awake to watch the whole movie if I let him. One time we were watching the movie and I fell asleep for a little while on the couch. I woke up and Vince is sitting up in his bag watching the movie. Once Josh is asleep and I start falling asleep, I will turn the movie off and Vince will finally sleep...only to be awakened early by Josh playing games.

The Journey of the Mustard Yellow Chair

After the move this past November into our new apartment, we have re-acquired the mustard yellow chair and ottoman from Melissa and Ronnie. This was our first "couch". Michael and I were first given this chair for our first apartment from my parents because we were couchless. For the first month of our marriage we sat squished together on this couch to watch movies before we were able to find our dream couch (our "bad cow couch" is another story all together).

This chair first entered our family after my dad fell in love at the neighbor's yard sale. It was then abandoned in "The Cave" for a better Lazy Boy recliner. It then entered the newly wed Vaineo household and when we didn't have space after our "bad cow couch" came along, it was sent to exile in the Montoya basement.

When we got our newest apartment, I had an idea that the spare bedroom would be our computer room. Michael could play his computer games and I could sit in a stylish chaise sipping Diet Mountain Dew and reading books. This would be wonderful time for ourselves, yet we would still be together. Well...I don't own a stylish chaise and the budget was low after moving. Melissa volunteered the mustard yellow chair and ottoman. Maybe the chair has finally found a permanent home...the kitty boys seem to love it.

Busted! Peeky spooning Pepe on their new favorite mustard chair. This chair is sort of a brushed corduroy and it gathers black fur like a lint brush.

The boys have out grown their shared kitty bed, but they insist that they both still fit together.