Rest of the Reunion!

Day 3-
Swimming at Tanner's Pool

Katie, Janelle and I got together in the morning and made headbands... it was so fun to be crafty with them!
Then in the afternoon we went to Kristy's Friends (The Tanner's) pool to swim. It was a fun afternoon with trampoline, waterslide, hot tub and more!

Day 4-
Newport Beach and Celebrating Debbie's Birthday

So we headed to Newport Beach for the day. It was a little cloudy but still a fun day. Unfortunately Chris had to study for a test so he couldn't join us.
That night we went to ShoGun with just the adults to celebrate Debbie's Birthday.


Day 5-
Disneyland

Of course the reunion would not have been complete without going to Disneyland. Chris had to take his last TEST of his first year of school (woohoo!) that morning so we met up with the rest of the family later that afternoon. We enjoyed the day at Disney even though it was pretty hot and crowded. We tried to stay for the fireworks, but the spots we sat in were completely blocked by the trees, whoops!


Day 6-
Back to the Beach!

We did one more quick beach day and this time Chris got to come. Of course we hit up the new CAFE RIO that is close to the beach! Another great day!


The reunion was lots of fun. It was great to be all together as a family and get to do so many fun things!

Disney and Dad's B-day

What better way to Celebrate a birthday than at the happiest place on earth. So for my dad's, ummm... "31st", Birthday we spent the day at Disneyland. It was fairly crowded since it was spring break time but we lucked out much of the day and got on a lot of the big rides. We even talked my dad into getting and wearing a birthday button!

About to watch Captain EO... yes its BACK! I just loved watching everyone try and reach out a grab the little furry creature with wings!

Me with Paydan and the Pops waiting for Matterhorn

Whole Crew (unfortunately Chris has a mandatory class that day).

It was a wonderful day, I loved being in one of my favorite places with some of my most favorite people!

Family Time at Disney!

On Friday I was able to enjoy my favorite place... Disneyland! Chris' parents, Katie and her kids and Kristy and Her boys were all able to go since they did not have school that day. Unfortunately Chris was busy at home STUDYING away and couldn't come. But it was a beautiful day with the sunshine out. We were worried at first that the park would be packed, but it wasn't too bad.

I most of all just enjoyed being with family. Disney is SOOO much more fun when you have little kids around. I loved being able to ride the rides with my nieces and nephews, take lots of pictures, hold baby Libby and chat with the girls! I feel so blessed to have such wonderful in-laws and too live so close to them so that we can do so much together.

I felt honored to be there for Libby's first trip to the Happiest Place on Earth at one month old. I am glad she was introduced to Disneyland by going on the best ride there is... Toy Story Mania! So cute in her hip yellow 3D glasses!

Left: Maddie with Minnie (say that ten times fast). Right top: Carter and his Baby Blues... he LOVES the camera and is ALWAYS willing to stop and pose. Right bottom: Tal and Coleman... what a good Grampy!

(I really enjoyed taking pictures during the day! I got to test out new camera tricks I have been learning!)

It was fun to go on some of the kiddie rides (like the bug's life ride above) since usually when Chris and I go alone we skip right over those.

The Happiest season of ALL in the Happiest Place on Earth

Thanks to our Season Passes we got to enjoy Disneyland at Christmas time! Chris and I had a great time spending the day at Disney and just enjoying. We got to try some new things, like talking with Crush the turtle, the Blue Sky Cellar (so excited for the new CARS land they will be building) and the Mali-boomer. Also we loved the lights and getting to see the tail end of the Christmas Parade.

WE LOVE DISNEY

update...

*We went to Disneyland the other Friday night with some couples from Chris's podiatry class. Since Disneyland has been doing all these new Halloween things it made the place PACKED. The signs outside were saying "Disneyland is VERY busy" and it was! But we still had fun and got to go on some rides and enjoy the new Halloween Fireworks.

(us waiting for the fireworks)

*We spent last Saturday in Chino Hills looking at some possible housing options. We really like that area and are going to continue to look there. I am ready to get our own place and get all our stuff out of storage.

*On Tuesday night we went to a BYU Ballroom Performance at a local high school with Braden and Talicia (a couple from school). IT was an entertaining show and was fun to get some "culture" in our lives. It made me wish Chris and I could dance like that together.

*Chris is still very busy with school but is doing well and I am soooo proud of him.

* I am excited because I have planned a last minute trip home for next weekend. I am so excited to see my family and be back in Seattle for a bit. I came up with the idea after I realized that on weekends before big Exams, Chris just locks himself in the spare room all day/night! So I thought I would check if flights were cheap the weekend before Chris's next big test and they were....CAN'T WAIT!

Happy Birthday to... CHRIS

I picked Chris up from class and we drove out to the ONLY close Pei Wei for lunch. He is the birthday boy with the yummy honey crispy chicken!

I took Chris back to classes (after he changed into his "business attire") and I had him quickly open his gifts in the car... so anti-climatic. Here is his new laptop case.

In order for Chris to apply his FREE birthday ticket to his Disneyland Pass I got Chris after work and we zipped over to the Happiest Place on Earth. It was closing in like an hour, so we decided to hope on Space Mountain since it was closed when we went on my b-day. We had to wait in the looong line but it was fun!

Here is Chris trying to impersonate a "ghost" to fit in with the new Halloween Space Mountain Ride. (Can you spot the matterhorn in the back?).

Waiting in Line...

I love Chris's face in this picture... it makes him look like he was really scared and I look "great" with my eyes closed... I wasn't scared but my eyes were watering like crazy from all the cold air being pumped out.


I want my wonderful Husband to know how much I love him and am so glad that he was born 27 years ago!

A GOLDEN BIRTHDAY

Ok, if you really know me, you know I am a kid at heart... I love children's books, I choose to watch Wizards of Waverly Place over like Grey's Anatomy (or some other adult show), I enjoy playing with kid's toys with my nieces and nephews, and I LOOOOVE Disneyland. So of course naturally, all I wanted to do for my birthday was go to Disneyland!

Also, we wanted to go because you get in FREE on your birthday... any if you buy a season's pass they will credit your FREE ticket to your price pass. So I am officially a Disney pass holder again! So I will probably be a frequent visitor of the Happiest Place on Earth.

So it was a VERY hot day...but because it was a school day and coupled with the heat it was not crowded... SCORE! We were able to hit all the major rides in California Adventures in under two hours. The longest we waited in line all day was like 10 minutes. The only bummer was the Haunted Mansion and Space Mountain were closed so they could get it ready for "Halloween".

Of course the first matter of business was to get my BIRTHDAY button! I have always wanted to wear one.. but never had the chance. It is so great, all the Disney Workers (cast members) said "Happy Birthday" to me throughout the day, it made me feel special.

So many people know about the Mission Tortilla Tour at California Adventures where they will give you a free tortilla... and if it is your birthday they many times will give you a whole bag of tortillas (which I got!). Well right across from the tortilla shop is the Boudin Sourdough Tour. Well, if I could only live off one food for the rest of my life it would be SOURDOUGH! So we had to check out the tour. Well as we walked in they gave us a small, tiny slice of bread. You sit and watch a movie on the history and process. I almost walked out... but I am so glad I didn't at the end of the tour there was a Cast Member handing out WHOLE loafs of Mickey-shaped bread. Chris and I BOTH got one. I was in heaven. So next time you are there check it out!

Here are some of the cute Halloween Decorations they have put up. Chris is enjoying the Candy Corn Cactus! So CUTE!
So Chris's highlight of the day was finally beating me at Toy Story Mania ride (which is our FAVORITE!). On both toy story and Buzz rides I always get a higher score... so finally he beat me. Yeah... you would think a good husband would let his wife win on her birthday... think again!!!

Check out the Small World Tower in Chris's Glasses!
(I love the happy feeling I get after this ride... cheesy I know... but go world unity!)

Chris was very upset that I blocked his face in the Splash Mountain picture...especially since his pose was "so funny"... I guess he was pretending to yawn. By the way... we got SOAKED!

But after hitting all the major rides we were ready to go. We strolled through Downtown Disney. We didn't want to drive home in rush hour traffic so we decided to head for the beach for dinner. We ate at BJ's (our traditional stop) at Huntington Beach and also made sure to stop by Jack's.

It was a great day... at wonderful way to celebrate my "golden" birthday (24 years old on the 24th). I appreciate all the birthday love I got too!

The Happiest Place on Earth

So thanks to my sister-in-law Katie, I was able to end my Disneyland withdrawls.

Katie is a veteran Mystery Shopper and will occasionally get mystery shops at Disneyland. She had an extra ticket so she invited me to tag along with her and the kids. It was BLAZIN" hot but in a way that was good because it made the lines short. The longest we waited all day was 15 minutes! In between our "shopping" we got to ride the Monorail, Small World, Buzz Lightyear, Matterhorn, teacups, Alice in Wonderland, Pirates, and Jungle Cruise. She even had a mystery shop at the Blue Bayou Restaurant so we got to have a yummy dinner there, watching the "Pirates" ride by.

THANKS KATIE for inviting me on such a fun day!

Katie and Sawyer on Buzz

Shoot those "z's" Maddie

Carter trying to protect the universe

Carter and I spinning away on the teacups (I was glad I had a buddy to ride the teacups since Chris won't)

The Kids after dinner at Blue Bayou

Sawyer!

Carter spinning away... Look how strong he is!

I can never grow too old for the "Happiest Place On Earth"

Yesterday Chris and I were able to go to Disneyland with some of the family (Katie and Chris and their kids and Kristy and Brady). We bought season passes last time we came so it was nice that we can go often.

We had such a fun time just all being together and watching the kids get excited! I figure when you are "overwhelmed" with adult life (finding jobs, etc.) then why not escape and go to a place where you can act like a kid!

Here are some pictures:

Here are Maddie and Carter waiting in line for the Jungle Cruise!

Here they are again waiting as we got FREE Fries, Thanks to Katie being a mystery shopper!

SAWYER!!

Us enjoying the River Boat

Kristy and Brady (Sorry I didn't get a good picture of Brady!)

Here is Brady totally enjoying the water in the fun brother bear section of California Adventures!
Here is Sawyer with In-and-Out stickers all over his face.. I was trying to keep him entertained in the car, but I think I was more just entertaining myself!

ps. Kristy and Katie, I don't remember if I have your email addresses to send you these pictures, so feel free to just copy them off the blog.

our Fun California Trip!

So here is an update of our trip last weekend to California!

The highlights were

1. Seeing "Wicked" which was fabulous! I recommend that everyone go see it, even if you are not that into musicals I think you would enjoy "Wicked".
2. Going toDisneyland! I always love the place, I can never grow too old for it. And it is always especially fun when you can go with little kids!
   
3. Seeing family. We got to spend alot of fun times with Chris's family, and we even got to meet up with my family for a little bit while we were at Disneyland.
   

Here Is a picture of us inside the Pantages Theater in Hollywood, which is a beautiful theater by the way.


We had to take a picture outside by the Wicked sign, it was so busy outside though Chris just took a quick one of just me.



Here are some Disneyland pictures... (the one with Carter, my nephew and myself, we are trying to me monkeys inside the caged car on the Casey Jr. Train... that is my disclaimer for the ugly face! Also Chris wants to put a disclaimer on the one with him and Maddie and Carter on the tram into Disneyland...)










Here is one last cute one of our niece Maddie, we were in Urban Outfitters and Chris was looking for something to exchange so I kept Maddie busy by making her "dress up".