Crue Stone 'Where the Wild Things Are"

"And he sailed back over a year and in and out of weeks and through a day and into the night of his very own room where he found his supper waiting for him and it was still hot" 

Memento Vita Photographyby Leah Steiger

#childrensphotography #familyphotographer
#wherethewildthingsare #mementovitaphotography

A California Thanksgiving

The Thanksgiving holiday traditionally revolves around a huge feast with family and friends, wherever you are. But if you're spending the holiday in San Diego County, you can add some new traditions to the day, by celebrating Thanksgiving with a San Diego twist.

 

 

 

The Kids in Their Natural Habitat!

Reef, Crue , Coast and Belle at the San Diego Zoo.

Coast Oak at Swim Lessons

Coast did great at swim

A post shared by Z. Smith (@zwriter1) on Nov 21, 2017 at 12:08pm PST

Jeff and Monica Noonan founded Noonan Family Swim School, Inc. in January of 2004. With their combined backgrounds in aquatics, teaching, human resources and management, establishing a swim school whose founding principles were rooted in an excellent curriculum, teaching to the individual needs of each child and treating every client as part of the Noonan Family was their way of giving back to the community.

Visitor - Elegant Egret

They are big, elegant and plentiful, but how do you tell if that large white bird at the edge of the lake or feeding in a field is a great egret or one of its smaller cousins? Bird watchers in San Diego can commonly find three kinds of egrets hanging around local lakes, bays, marshes and open fields. Their stark white color, graceful flight and large size make them standouts in the natural world they inhabit. Oma enjoyed her visit with this large and graceful bird. 

Happy Birthday Crue Stone

Happy Birthday Crue Stone - One today!

Opa and the Birthday 🎉 Boy-Crue Stone

#Prince Crue Stone

Someone found the chocolate cake! happy birthday Crue Stone!

Birthday present time.

The party has not begun until someone is wearing a bag on their head!

👅 smash cake Crue Stone 🎉

Valley View Casino - Madhouse

We went to Valley View Casino last night. It was beyond packed. You could not eat at the buffet at all unless you had a Silver Card. That produced a plethora of pissed off Red Card Patrons. The slot machines were 90 percent in use – which meant that your favorite machine was probably not available. Further, and regrettably, more people produced the inevitable more smoke. 

Since the buddy we accompanied to the casino was the proud owner of the coveted Silver Card, we were issued a pager for the buffet. After a two-hour fifteen minute wait, it alerted us that it was our turn to eat.

I was a bit disappointed. I am not sure if I was just a bit too hungry at 7:30 pm or the Valley View Casino Chefs were just overwhelmed . . . . the food was substandard. My tiny lobster tail appear a tad undercook and therefore presented as “slimy.” My salad was accompanied by a funny sour taste. The chocolate pudding had a slight hard film on the top - yucky.

Bottom line, I had an awesome time with my husband and friends. We played and laughed and enjoyed each other. However, I did learn some pros and cons.

Pros:

The fact that my favorite slot machines were in use forced me to try and appreciate new ones.

Paul and I spent $40 on our buffet ($20 each) and only lost $15 gambling and boy did we gamble. So it was a relatively affordable date night.

Cons:

We were told by staff that it is always a madhouse at Valley View at the end of the month, as patrons try to redeem their complimentary food and gift coupons before they expire. When you couple that with a holiday (Halloween) . . . . that madhouse morphs into an insane asylum.

My final note on Valley View – This casino is cutting way back on their “freebies.” Last night my friend’s wife lost her Silver Card privileges. Paul and I have not received a “free” buffet in months. We have been told that it is all based on your spending over the last six-month period. However, that does not make much sense to us since our play has been consistent over the years.

Another bottom line coming here: In the last few years, our casino group would visit Valley View at least once a month, some months twice. However, we decided last night that it is time to explore other casino options . . . as our loyalty to Valley View is becoming increasingly unrewarding.

My suggestion was Harrah’s Rincon . . . . Viejas was also discussed. The new month should bring a new Casino adventure.