Hi Amy!

Why didn't I think of this sooner?

2010-06-23T06:41:00.000-07:00

Here's a vidoe for you. Hope you like it!!
Hi, Amy!!

Dance, dance, dance

2010-06-13T22:51:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to post a few pics from the annual belly dance gala. Hope you like them. You can find the rest on facebook. Miss you!!!

Me with all my makeup on for the gala.

Myself and the ladies from my dance class.

All dresses up and ready to go!

Happy 25th Birthday!

2010-04-12T00:01:00.000-07:00

In honor of your birthday, I present an excerpt from the acclaimed literary classic Twilight: The Graphic Novel by Stephenie Meyer:

Happy Birthday Amy!!! You're both my heroine and my heroin!

Because it's too funny not to repeat:

Mummies in the OC

2010-04-11T21:07:00.000-07:00

Today Doug and I went to the Bower's Museum in Santa Ana (near Disneyland). It was recommended to us by my manager (her husband used to work there). It was Free First Sunday (even thought it was the second Sunday of the month; they were closed for Easter) and Doug and I were both off, so we decided this would be the perfect time to go!

It looked like something you would like - it focuses on Oceanic and Eastern art (and cultural artifacts). We got to see the special exhibit "Secrets of the Silk Road". It was really cool - they have mummies! Naturally preserved Caucasian mummies that were found in far Western China. The artifacts were awesome; unfortunately the curating left a little to be desired. . Doug was frustrated with the spelling (If I can tell things are misspelled you know it's pretty bad) and I was frustrated with the editing (fluffy sentences should be CUT. The explanations sounded like when you try to pad a paper). Still, it was a very cool exhibit. We weren't allowed to take photos inside the exhibit, but these are a few from around the museum's permanent collections:

A happy Coffin in the form of a Mythic Beast from Borneo, early 20th Cent. I like how he's smiling:

Canoe, Yani Culture, Orchid Island, Taiwan, 20th Cent:

This is a tiny little, like 3inch Chinese carving on the top post (neither Doug nor I can remember the technical name):

Another Chinese Sculpture - I love her movement:

A trio of happy, laughing Chinese Horses:

Seriously, look at these faces! I love them!

Oh no, Knott Again!

2010-04-09T22:48:00.000-07:00

Knott's Berry Farm was having a super sale on tickets so we went. We weren't even out of the parkinglot when I saw this:How gorgeous are his blond feathers? Doug is so good, he let me stalk the rooster and take pictures for a bit. I mean, why else do we drive 45 mins to Knotts if not to take pictures of poultry?

Knott's is all decorated for spring:

Snoopy's Shop! (It got cold!)

Hoppy Easter!

2010-04-04T21:21:00.000-07:00

I unexpecitedly had the day off, so Doug and I went to LA to spend the day with his mom (who was down for a mini-vaca), aunt & uncle, and grandma. It was a very nice day (except for the huge EARTHQUAKE that hit while I was talking to Mom on the phone. Seriously. A 7.2. That's like the earth tearing itself apart. It's so not natural!), and I'm glad Doug got to see his family - and that I got an excuse to buy and wear a new dress. I had opened my Easter Basket when I woke up (of course) and had a little candy then, but in the rush to leave I didn't really get into it until that night!

Poor little Bunny - he didn't have such a good Easter. I did!!

Huntington Beach

2010-03-28T21:24:00.000-07:00

The weather's been really warm the past few weeks so we figured it's time for the beach!!! We went to Huntington Beach - which as usual had something going on. It's always busy when we try to go and, of course, neither of us ever check the website. It was a Classic Car Show - which turned out to be really cool. There was a bunch of restored Woodies and Beetles and stuff - it's about as SoCal as you can get.

The water is still too cold to swim (but I always find the water here frigid) but it was gorgeous weather. Afterwards, we went eat at Mrs Knott's Fried Chicken- yum!

Wear Green!

2010-03-17T23:09:00.000-07:00

Happy St Pat's Day!

We both worked all day, and then Doug and I went to the Royal Falconer for a pint (of Guinness obviously) to celebrate. At work I had to settle a debate between my manager and her husband: she was convinced my last name was Scottish, he that it was Irish. I had to disappoint my manager - she was NOT happy that the hubby was right!

Cheers!

Merlin's in Riverside!

2010-03-14T23:53:00.000-07:00

Doug and I walked into WinCo (like Walmart) and this greeted me:

A whole display of Merlin's Bunnies. I almost screamed with joy.

I promptly bought a White Choc Bunny for Doug (because I think the Easter Bunny will send me one of my very own)!

Last Disneyland Trip (for now)

2010-03-07T22:18:00.000-08:00

Our Annual Passes expire on the 10th - so this will be our last trip on these passes. We've decided not to renew immediately - there's no discount and we're both working a lot the next few weeks, and then there's Easter, so why renew if we're not going to use it? We'll probably (hopefully) get passes again in a month or so.

Captain EO just reopened. You remember - we saw it at Epcot at least once. It's a 3-D movie with Michael Jackson. The brought it back asap (once the family and sponsors agreed).It was fun- nothing spectacular. The seats bounced to the music (like when you're in a stadium and people stomp their feet).

The tulips were amazing. All of the little statues around the Hub were very social and wanted to hold the HI AMY sign all by themselves!

I finally dragged Doug up through Tarzan's Treehouse! Hurrah! It's actually very cute.

2010-01-18T18:27:00.000-08:00

Two men of action sporting their Tallish socks. The unique knitted foot wear the boys have on.

A gift from AMY.

2010-01-18T18:24:00.000-08:00

2010-01-18T18:20:00.000-08:00

We are standing in front of Dunleith. The tour guide that took this picture talked so much the 30 min tour lasted 2 hrs. We have no way of checking his facts but he was very entertaining.

2010-01-18T18:17:00.000-08:00

WHO says it don't get cold in the deep south? Natchez Ms 7 Jan 2010

2010-01-18T18:13:00.000-08:00

The Civil War cemetery in Natchez.

2010-01-18T18:09:00.000-08:00

One of the many pre Civil War homes in Natchez.

They were untouched because Natchez gave up very early.

2010-01-18T18:06:00.000-08:00

This just speaks for itself

Natchez

2010-01-18T17:57:00.000-08:00

Sheila and I took a trip to Natchez, MS

2010-01-18T17:54:00.000-08:00

2010-01-18T17:51:00.000-08:00

Two of Amy's Aunts Cheryl and Su plus Uncle Ricky

Christmas 2009

2010-01-18T17:49:00.000-08:00

Next year we hope to have all the little children home!!!

2010-01-18T17:45:00.000-08:00

3 of the 5 mac pac kids made it home this Christmas Martin (with the facial hair), Emily, and Jonah

Birthday

2010-01-18T17:40:00.000-08:00

I was very happy on my 51st birthday

Behind the Apartment

2010-01-09T17:11:00.000-08:00

My shift was cut today - so Doug and I went to the Getty Museum in LA (it's free on Saturday's after 5). To kill a little time we wondered around the park a few blocks from our apartment before we left - how pretty is this view? It's Downtown Riverside behind him in the distance, snuggled up against Mt. Rubidoux.

(Doug was super excited about the Getty, my amazement with the mountains, and the HI AMY obsession)

Christmas, One Last Time!

2010-01-03T23:17:00.000-08:00

Christmas has been so weird this year anyway, I figured we should go whole hog and live it up. Christmas isn't over until the Epiphany anyway, right? So we went to Disneyland for one last day of Christmas joy.

I love how festive Main Street is:

It's a Small World Holiday

Esmeralda is like my own personal Mother at Disneyland - she's always telling me to finish what I start, not to be discouraged, that things will work our. It's funny. My fortune today was:

You are indeed a most fortunate person. While you think your life has
been hard and you have struggled with poverty, you have been fitting yourself
for the great change that will come when five rainbows have spanned the
heavens. Not only yourself, but four of your relatives will be benefitted
by your good fortune. It will not only be in money but also in social
position and influence. You will also meet one who will love you, but will
be prevented for a time from marriage. Be patient. In time the
obstacle will be removed, the union will take place and happiness will be yours
for a time. This happiness will continue as long as you are true to your
marriage vows, and are kind to those around you. Your lucky stone is
onyx.
One of your lucky numbers is 14.

So....it's not exact, but she's a busy woman. It's not too bad.

Minnie! in Christmas gear! I was thrilled!

I really wanted to get a picture with her - she's so tiny.

Happy New Years!

2010-01-01T13:13:00.000-08:00

Another quiet day at home - woke up, had coffee and opened my awesome LaTran gift - a book The Complete National Parks!

We then watched the Rose Parade. We had talked briefly about going see it - but you have to get there almost the night before to get a spot.

I cooked cabbage and blackeyes! Doug placated me and had a few bites of each.

Schulz Museum

2009-12-30T23:06:00.000-08:00

After a lovely late Christmas with Doug's family we spent the night at Kevin's. We then had the entire next day to do as we please - I didn't have to work until 9am the next morning. So, being in Santa Rosa, we went to the Schultz Museum!!!
I was thrilled to death - it was awesome! They have a ton of original strips on display. Woodstock wanted to say HI and Snoopy offered a cookie.

As Doug noted, this ended up being a very Peanuts Christmas - our tree, the tv special I played over and over, the music, Knott's and, of course, the Museum. This display was right after you walked in the museum. I was too excited on the way in and missed it - I about screamed when I saw it on the way out.

Next door to the museum is the Redwood Empire Ice Arena, or Snoopy's Home Ice. We didn't skate - it was packed. This was really neat for me to see - I read all about the construction in the bio Schultz and Peanuts by David Michaelis. (The rink is empty because they were about to resurface it).

Next door at Snoopy's Gallery and Giftshop I did some shopping (suprise). This is cool, the barber pole behind me is the same barber pole that used to hang infront of Schultz's father's shop.

Railroad Square

2009-12-29T22:57:00.000-08:00

We drove up to NorCal to have a belated Christmas with Doug's family. His sister and her boyfriend came in from NYC. His brother lives by his parents, so he and his girlfriend both came over. It was very nice. But, before all of that happened, Doug and I had the day to wonder about. We went to Santa Rosa and ended up at the Railroad Square. They have a little visitor center/railroad museum (it was very neat) and a statue of Charlie Brown & Snoopy!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T20:48:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!! We had a very quiet day here. Here are all the gifts around the tree - the most of the gifts from us to the MacPac - but the ones to the far left in the photo are for Doug and I! I cooked a boneless leg of lamb, roasted veggies, rosemary potatoes, and warmed up little prebaked rolls. It was a good meal.

After supper (and cleaning up a little) we went see The Princess and the Frog, the new Disney animated movie set in New Orleans. It was much better than expected - we both enjoyed it.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed BeetleBug

2009-12-21T21:24:00.000-08:00

Saw this in the parking lot of Trader Joes. I thought it was funny. I love that it's complete with the red nose.

Festival of Lights

2009-12-19T22:17:00.000-08:00

Riverside has a huge Festival of Lights every year. This year was the 17th Annual. There's lights, shopping, ice skating, and, of course, Santa!

The huge tree inside the Mission Inn- you can't see it, but it goes all the way up to the cathedral ceiling - like the 3rd story.

Right outside the main entrance to the Mission Inn are two bronze Spanish cannons from the 1700s. That's all good and well - but they decided to decorate them with creepy elves. Doug and I have decided they are the little-known, much-feared Artillery Elves!
Seriously, who decorates cannons for Christmas?

You can see the lights!

Another view of the Mission Inn:

I got you a little Ornament - it looked like something you'd like. It'll be waiting in Lafayette for you!

What's this? Oh yes, HI AMY!

Mice! Cows! Cannons! Shiny!

2009-12-18T23:44:00.000-08:00

We met Christmas Mickey! I had just told Doug I wanted to meet Christmas Mickey this visit - and when we came out of Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln there Mickey was!!! We slipped in line right before they cut it off - there was a few families behind us.

We then went back to Toontown to check out the decorations. Mickey decorated his house very nicely for the holidays - it's way more decorated than my apartment.

Doug saw Clarabelle Cow outside Goofy's house - complete in her Holiday Outfit! Neither of us have ever seen her out and about before - I was so excited. I must have looked pretty excited - the cast member working the line said we could be the last to meet her! The little kids behind me were upset - I was thrilled. (and she held the sign! I love when the characters hold the sign!)

Courage - the Luckiest Turkey on Earth at the Happiest Place on Earth. Courage is the pardoned Thanksgiving turkey from the White House. He gets to live out the rest of his life at Big Thunder Ranch. He's really big, much taller than I expected.

We rode the Sailing Ship Columbia, a recreation of the first American ship to circumnavigate the globe. It's fun - below decks is set up as a 'historical museum' to see what life would be like on the ship in 1787 (you see the bunks and the mess and the Capt's quarters ect). They fire the canon! Boom!

Later in the night we saw the lighting of the castle - they have a big ceremony/light show a few times a night. So Shiny!!

Knott's Merry Farm

2009-12-13T22:24:00.000-08:00

We had the day off - so after stopping for coffee (and then eating lunch) we were in Knott's Merry Farm!!! It's decorated really cute - it's a completely different feel than Disneyland. This is Santa's Sleigh - he was on break at the moment, so we snuck in for a photo. Please notice both Gertrude the Cow and Gus the Horse have Santa hats on back there!
Waiting for the Christmas Show to begin. The climax of the show is the lighting of the tree!

A snapshot from the show. I find the costumed Peanut characters petrifying. Snoopy is ok - it's the kids (Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus, ect) are scary.
This is random - and I still don't know why it was there, but the Official US Bobsled! It was right after the gate when you walk in.

Candlelight Processional

2009-12-06T21:14:00.000-08:00

I had to work this morning, but when I got home Doug noted that it was the Candlelight Processional at Disneyland tonight and we had just enough time to get there. It's the same thing Jonah sings at at WDW. We drove up and parked without problem - and got a great spot! We had to wait for a little over an hour - but I don't think that's bad, some people camp out all day.
It was AWESOME! Jon Voight was the celebratory host.

This is right after it finished - all of those seats you see cost $275 a piece! Seriously, I can go ahead and stand for an hour.

It's A Small World...

2009-11-29T23:00:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas! It's officially the Christmas Season so I can throw myself with abandon into the Merriest Place on Earth! We went see the reindeer back in Santa's Roundup: The entire time we were taking this picture the band and singer in the background keep singing Hank Williams Jambalaya (On The Bayou). I don't know why - it's not a Christmas song and this is in Frontierland. Weird.

And we rode Haunted Mansion Holiday - where Jack took over the Haunted Mansion (And Christmas!)

It's A Small World is all done up for the Holidays - the entire facade is covered with lights. The ride itself is very similar to the one in Orlando; however, it's almost in it's own little land. The outside is so impressive! I squealed with delight every time I caught a glimpse of the shininess:

It's a Candy Cane stripped A. With Goofy! (in front of Disney's California Adventure): (you know, the A is like Amy)

Gobble Gobble

2009-11-26T20:32:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving!! We got up early, watched the Macy's Parade. After an afternoon of cooking (and watching football), we sat down for dinner:
I made Cherry Jello for Doug - it's a family tradition for him,
And, of course, the Pumpkin Pie & homemade whipped cream. (and coffee)
Hope you had a great Thanksgiving! Thinking of you!

Christmas Comes Early

2009-11-16T22:43:00.000-08:00

Christmas started on Nov 13th at Disneyland!! I know I have a huge issue with Christmas before Thanksgiving....but Doug and I didn't know how many days we'd have off together (with me having a JOB and all!) so we went. I'd never seen any Disney park decorated for the holidays - it was awesome!!!

I met Holiday Pluto:
and Doug and I took advantage of the photo-area:

It was a really fun day - we rode It's A Small World Holiday and Haunted Mansion Holiday and saw the "Believe in...Holiday Magic" fireworks. When we walked into New Orleans Square Louisiana Christmas Day started playing - I almost cried. Doug thought (thinks) I'm crazy.

Knott's Berry Farm

2009-11-14T23:54:00.000-08:00

Doug and I finally got to go to Knott's Berry Farm. They're having a huge sale on tickets - for less than a regular one day ticket you got a ticket good through Dec 31. So we got them and will probably go back in a few weeks or so.

They have an awesome Ghost Town area. It's like being in any old Western Movie you can think of! So much fun!! Of course I took a picture with the Cigar Indian:

And we later went ride the Ghost Rider, their huge wooden coaster:

(I love the face of the dude to the right)

It actually goes outside the park proper and into/over the parking lot (as seen when walking up to the park):

We sat in the second to last row. They had two big guys in the seat behind us who were not impressed by the wooden coaster - it didn't go upside down or anything. By the end of the ride I heard one of them say "It was like Mike Tyson punching you in the ribs! It hurts" HAHAHA! That's what you get for underestimating the wooden coaster!

Leaving Laffy

2009-11-09T21:00:00.000-08:00

I saw Dad briefly this morning on his way to work - I saw him maybe an hour this entire trip. Doubles suck; however, HI AMY! pictures are fun!

And with Mom:

Always a classic:

I didn't fly out until almost 4pm, so we had plenty of time for lunch. Of course I wanted Judice Inn (We talked about Southside Bakery, but when it comes down to it I just want Judice Inn)

It was a very fast, weird, surreal trip. It was good to get back to California.

Who Dat? Dat's Martin! (and the winning Saints)

2009-11-08T17:53:00.000-08:00

The next morning we woke up and went pick up Martin to have an early lunch before we hit the road.We went to a local place Ms. Hesterly had heard of - Broad Street Bakery. It was really good - huge portions. Mom and I each had a quiche (one veggie and one regular and we split) and Martin got a sandwhich. Of course they didn't have Martin's first choice - restaurants seemingly never do for that poor boy.

After lunch we dropped Martin back off at his dorm and got a few quick photos (because how often do I see him?):

Later that evening: THE SAINTS WON!!! They are 8-0 for the first time in their history!!! I mean it's the Saints, it's too early to get too excited but still. How exciting!

Soft Shell Crab & Soccer

2009-11-07T20:46:00.000-08:00

Saturday Dad had to work, so the rest of us went eat lunch together: They had soft shell crab! (which was weirdly fishy, but still! a poboy! and soft shell crab! I don't get those things out west). Martin was, of course, thrilled we went to Olde Tyme (why yes he is wearing an Olde Tyme Shirt and he does have his eyes closed. God Bless Him). It was funny - both him and Emily were groaning about the lunch rush and how they don't miss it (I believe Emily but Martin...I think he's sucked into the world of the restaurants. Trust me, it gets under your skin, and as much as you hate it you love it).

We then all went different ways: Emily drove back up to S'port, Jonah stayed home because he had bells/choir rehearsal on Sunday, and Mom, Martin, and I were off to Jackson. We drove up with Martin and back the next day with the Hesterly's.

It was Martin's last game! He played very well:After we all went eat at Five Guys which was
awesome huge burgers. They have a few out here in Cali - I'm pumped!!

Pizza Like No Other

2009-11-06T21:06:00.000-08:00

Dad had to work but the rest of us still had to eat. After Martin yelled Olde Tyme (and the rest of us ignored him) we settled on Deano's Pizza! (Yum!) Not really realizing it was a Friday night, we drive over and had to wait: The wait was only 20 or so minutes, so not too bad.

We ordered the cheesebread (with jalps) and then a giant pizza to split with: “Tee Rex”/Cajun Executioner/Hawaii Five-O/Blackened Shrimp. It was all good!

As usual Deano's was freezing inside - it was cold outside too!

Thinking of You

2009-11-04T10:08:00.001-08:00

Domo-nation

2009-11-02T22:02:00.000-08:00

So this isn't technically a HI AMY! sign - but it looked like you:

Love you! Domo says 'Rawr!'

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T17:43:00.001-07:00

We carved pumpkins this morning!Doug's is on the left (it's the Hatbox Ghost from the Haunted Mansion) and mine is to the right.Spooky!
Doug and I dressed up (with our pumpkins!) before going out for drinks: (the pumpkins didn't come out for drinks)
Happy Halloween! Thinking of you!

Pumpkins scream in the dead of night

2009-10-26T22:42:00.000-07:00

Although Halloween isn't until Saturday this was our last chance to go see all the festivities at Disneyland. We went to the petting zoo (I got to pet a goat and a sheep! and assure a little girl that the goat wouldn't "bite my fingers off". Apparently I look comfortable around the livestock, there were many employees around, she specifically asked me). There's a lady carving pumpkins in the petting zoo :
Inside the petting zoo corral there's a little house that's all decorated in turn of the century Halloween Decorations - I love them! And I made some poker playing friends:

We then went wait for Jack & Sally (who were LATE! but very talkative. They said they were going to see about making a special Halloween stop in Azerbaijan):

After a coffee break we went over to Disney's California Adventure to see Candy Corn Acres. Goofy was there!

He's waving HI!! (so is Doug)

Then, finally, the fireworks. A special guests flies over the castle about half way through the video (I thought you'd enjoy that)

Huntington Beach

2009-10-25T21:57:00.000-07:00

Before the harsh, harsh Southern California winter hits, we went to the beach one last time:

Doug's Birthday!!!

2009-10-12T23:01:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Douglas!! We went to Disneyland for the day (he made his Birthday Button into a special combo HI AMY!/Birthday Button!):

We then went eat supper at Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner - it's AWESOME and there's a huge chicken in the front! It was a good day.

2009-10-05T17:54:00.000-07:00

JONAH BOY SAYS HI AMY .

2009-10-05T17:51:00.000-07:00

EMILY'S DORM ROOM AND A BIG HI AMY

2009-10-05T17:49:00.000-07:00

MARTIN'S DORM ROOM

2009-10-05T17:47:00.000-07:00

Martin Yes he is s soph at Millsaps. Fresh off the pitch. Not much else changed however.

2009-10-05T17:43:00.000-07:00

51 on 9-9-9 Lots of love AR

2009-10-05T17:38:00.000-07:00

Emily's 09-10 dorm room Hello Amy !!

2009-10-05T17:34:00.000-07:00

Hi AMY from Jonah, DAD, Emily and MOM

NL West Champions!

2009-10-03T23:57:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of the season Doug and I bought a little mini-season pack of tickets. It was twelve games - and it just happened that the last one was the deciding game of the NL West (against the Rockies)! Super exciting! (even if Manny was on the team)

Mickey's Trick-or-Treat Party!

2009-10-02T22:12:00.000-07:00

Doug loves Halloween. Looooves it. Like I love Christmas! We don't have big plans for Halloween, so we went to Mickey's Trick-or-Treat party. We got a big discount with our Annual Passes, so this was a great excuse to dress up in costume and get some candy and meet some characters that usually aren't out in the parks. We dressed up as a Film Noir couple - no specific name, just the idea.

We got to meet Jack Sparrow (who was exactly like the movie). He was really really fun to talk to - he asked what was the port in Azerbaijan is. When I said Baku he just looked kinda confused and noted that it was a little far from the Caribbean for him get to easily.He then proceeded to take the HI AMY! sign and say he was going to give it to you. I must have had some look in my eye, because he quickly gave it back. Still, he may be on his way - keep an eye out for him.

After watching the special little Halloween Parade we went to meet Lady Tremain and the Stepsisters (Anastasia & Drizella):They were super super excited to meet Doug and were flirting with him - and not so excited to meet me. Lady Tremain was somewhat miffed you didn't bother to make the trip to see her and expected her to pose for a picture.

A super fun evening. Happy Halloween!

Going to the Zoo, Zoo, Zoo

2009-09-27T23:20:00.000-07:00

It's the last full day of Monica's trip. :( We spent our second day in San Diego at the World Famous San Diego Zoo. I'm still amazed how huge the zoo is!

We saw the Elephants:

And a friendly turtle statue:

And camels! I love them! They're funny:

And Monica was a giraffe:

And I was an orangutan: Doug put the sign in my mouth, it wasn't my idea. And I couldn't reach it to pull it out.

After this we drove home exhausted. It's been an AWESOME trip and everyone is dead tired. Another successful vacation!

Old Town - SD Pt 2

2009-09-26T23:16:00.000-07:00

After Cabrillo we drove over to Old Town San Diego (kinda like Acadian Village) to "learn about life in the Mexican and early American periods of 1821 to 1872." It's kinda cheesy but really really fun! There was supposed to be a tour at 6pm, but of course that tour was canceled that day. So we just wondered about and did a self guided tour.

This little guy was in the main visitor center - I have no idea:

Hanging Laundry (and Mon's feet): Crates of Pandas, Incense, and HI AMY! (seriously, who ships pandas like that?):
Pretty backdrop by the restaurant where we ate. The food's good and cheap - Monica and I split a plate and were still stuffed:
Dia de los Muertos: She looks so happy! I love this imagery.

Finally, we went check into the hotel. There, in the lobby, was one of the greatest things I've ever seen (rivaling the Cozy Dogs).

May I present Sir Waffelot:
(it's way better if you hum Baby Got Back and fill in the words with breakfast items)(And why yes he does have a pat of butter for his nose. and that 'pat of butter' is a piece of Styrofoam with the bottom corner chipped off)

2009 Cabrillo Festival - SD Pt 1

2009-09-26T22:01:00.000-07:00

Doug, Monica, and I went down to San Diego for the weekend. After our day at Disneyland yesterday, we took the morning easy and didn't get to Cabrillo National Monument until almost noon. After a quick lunch and looking at the little museum, we went up to the Old Point Loma Lighthouse:
We were there on the weekend of the 2009 Cabrillo Festival so there were reenactors!!! This guy was pumped about the whole HI AMY! project.He quite excitedly told us he was in the Peace Corps (of course, that made so much sense). He said he was stationed in Northern Africa. He wanted to know what unit you were in - but none of us knew what that meant so we ignored the question. He was SO EXCITED about this whole thing, yelled at the other reenactors for us to get a HI AMY! picture:The woman with us was really sweet. She said this was her first reenactor gig and was all nervous.

The Peace Corps dude was so excited he almost took off after Miss Cabrillo (the Festival Queen) to get a HI AMY! picture with her. Mon and I talked him out of it - I can't imagine many things would be more petrifying than him running down the hill, yelling, and flailing his sword about.

It was really fun - but we had to leave. Old Town San Diego was calling!

Characters Galore!

2009-09-25T23:43:00.000-07:00

It's officially Halloween Time at the Disneyland Resorts!!! This was our long day here - Doug got off work so he could accompany us. We arrived at 8:45am - right on time to walk in a few minutes past the 9am opening. Hurrah!
Monica had to meet Mickey Mouse so that was one of our first stops-(why yes I do have my Ears on. They're Haunted Mansion themed)

With the start of Halloween there was a TON of characters out-several of whom you usually don't see! How fun!!

Meeko from Pocahontas
(poor Meeko was just standing there with everyone ignoring him. He would wave at people and the crowds just kept on walking. I felt he needed some love)
Gideon from Pinocchio

The Penguins from Mary Poppins! (they're all waving HI)

Monica wanted to meet Minnie too - we didn't have time earlier in the day, so we went back to her house in Toontown!We saw the new Halloween fireworks and the Fantasmic! show - we got a few more rides in and then dragged ourselves out of the park at a quarter pass midnight. Long, but great, day.

Couger-Crane-Gopher

2009-09-24T20:29:00.000-07:00

Doug had to work today - and Mon and I needed a slow day after Disneyland (and in preparation for Disneyland ALL DAY tomorrow, woo hoo!) - so we hung around Riverside. We drove downtown, looked around the Mission Inn for a little bit, and then went into the ambitiously named Riverside Metropolitan Museum. Where we found this wonderfully confused/goofy looking cougar:I think he's hysterical. It's like he just smelt something bad

They're having an exhibit named Reading the Walls: Japanese-American Families during WWII. It's a neat little exhibit. There's a place to make a paper crane - two middle school girls have made it their project to make a crane for every person placed in an interment camp. To which...shrugs. It was quite amusing for Mon and I to attempt:
You're supposed to put them where the HI AMY! sign is but I obvously kept mine (and Monica wore hers in her hair). Mine is the one with the L to the right and Monica's with the M to the left.

We went to Doug's Museum (Western Center in Hemet) for Monica to see. We watched the movies, looked at the fossils, made some clay models of fossils. Also at the museum - friendly golphers!

Monica's Birthday!

2009-09-23T23:21:00.000-07:00

It was Monica's birthday so that could only mean one thing - DISNEYLAND!!!!!!! It was her first time going to a Disney Park - we were both super pumped!!!

(see, Sulley's waving HI to you!)

Although Halloween Time doesnt officially start until Friday (the 25th) they had some of the decorations up. The Haunted Mansion is being taken over by Jack Skellington and Sally and the rest of The Nightmare Before Christmas cast. Neither Doug nor I have seen the Holiday Overlay - I'm really excited for Friday!

History! Hollywood! Los Angeles!

2009-09-22T16:08:00.000-07:00

Monica and I got up early and drove into LA. Our first stop was El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument, a little historic district about the founding of LA. There we met Felipe De Neve (1728-84)

Spanish Governor of the Californias 1775-82
In 1781, on the orders of King Carlos III of Spain, Phelipe De Neve
selected a site near the river Porciuncula and laid out the town of El Pueblo de
La Reina de Los Angeles, one of two Spanish puebloes he founded in Alta California.

Next stop: Hollywood! (that makes the city what it is today)

We went to a taping of The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. We saw kinda a lame show - there was no good guests, but c'est la vie! It was neat to see in person!!

Citrus!

2009-09-21T18:50:00.000-07:00

Nothing big happened today, we kinda took it easy. We did go visit California Citrus State Historical Park. It's still a young park (established in 1993) that has a lot of great plans but still needs time to grow into itself. The idea is that it'll eventually resemble a complete citrus-production community circa 1880-1935 complete with an operating packing shed, laborers' camp, grower's home etc. The Visitor Center is a replicated citrus packinghouse:
Entrance - an old fashioned fruit stand:
I then successfully without a map found the Mother Tree (officially The Parent Washington Navel Orange Tree). This is the tree that most of the navel oranges we eat come from. They're all grafted from this one tree (it's seedless, so you can't just plant the seeds).
Parent Washington Navel Orange Tree, located on Magnolia at Arlington Avenue, Riverside, ca. 1902. View shows fenced tree, one of two received from Brazil via Washington, D.C. and sent to Riverside in 1873 or 1875. It was transplanted from Luther and Eliza Tibbets homestead, its original Riverside home, to its current location in 1902. Riverside is the birthplace of the navel orange (and a lot of the citrus farming out here) so this is way cool!

Joshua Tree National Park

2009-09-20T21:32:00.000-07:00

Doug stayed home to rest (he has a busy busy week coming up) so it was just Monica and I at Joshua Tree National Park. It was awesome!! For someone from a wet climate who hates the dry and the brown and everything I apparently love the desert. Or, at least, love Joshua Tree NP (and all the National Park Service) (Monica Too!!). It's a huge park, so lots of driving about.

Versa (Vers for short) says HI too!

A personal message from one of the Joshua Tree's himself (who would like it to be pointed out he is NOT a actual tree but a member of the yucca family)

At the Cholla Garden: Monica loves cacti and always wanted one to pet when she was little. This was a dream come true. However, we did have to have a serous talk with the Park Ranger about these jumping cholla are very prickly and dangerous and should NOT be petted. At all. Ever. No matter how soft and fuzzy they look.

We did manage to carefully convince one to say HI AMY! (well we propped rocks infront of him so we wouldn't have to touch it, OW)

At the Oasis of Mara - it's just like the movies! There's this little cluster of palm trees that rise above the desert. There are only 158 desert fan palm oases in North America. Five are located in Joshua Tree National Park.

Plastic Baskets & Hot Dogs - a typical LA day (part 2)

2009-09-19T23:10:00.000-07:00

After lunch at the Farmers Market we walked back to La Brea Tar Pits and past the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). There was a large outdoor art installation that we stopped to check out.
It was awesome!

It's Choi Jeong-Hwa’s HappyHappy and it consists of "floor-to-ceiling strands of thousands of household containers procured from local 99¢ stores. . .Choi is considered the father of Korean pop art, and his enduring interest in popular materials and consumer culture is evident when you move through the rows and rows of plastic containers, many of which are manufactured in Asia and found in many Korean homes." (A little more info)It's all part of the exhibit "Your Bright Future: 12 Contemporary Artists from Korea" that closed the next day so we were really lucky to walk into it (literally).

After playing around with the exhibit for a while we drove down (the traffic! the parking! it's bad) to the beach; any trip to LA and Southern California isn't complete without seeing a beach. We of course went to Monica's namesake beach - Santa Monica!
After that it was off to the Getty. I love the Getty and haven't had a chance to go since I moved out. We saw the special exhibit on French Bronze statues and then saw Irving Penn: Small Trades, a photography exhibit. I think you'd really enjoy it - he takes photographs of people just in their everyday work uniform. They have one section where he compares/contrasts the photographs of different nations but same job (Paris, London, NYC). It's interesting to see the attitude shift between the countries.

After the Getty we drove to downtown to eat at world-famous Pinks' Hot dogs! (specifically chili cheese dogs)
Yum!

Mammoths & Monkey Bread - a typical LA day (pt 1)

2009-09-19T23:01:00.000-07:00

It was Monica's first full day here so we started things out with a bang! and delved right into LA's history.

At the La Brea Tar Pits and Page Museum:
(why yes that IS a dying momma mammoth in the tar pits while the daddy and baby look serenely on)

The giant ground sloth says HI AMY!!

(we then had to wrestle the sign away before he ate it)

After a morning walking around the tar pits we walked over to the Farmer's Market for lunch (it's only a few blocks away).

This was in one of the display cases of a bakery at the Market - the monkey's made me think of you:

Dodger Dogs for All!!

2009-09-18T19:00:00.000-07:00

Monica flew in today for her Birthday Trip Vacation. Hurrah! We got the trip off immediately, going directly to Dodger Stadium from the airport. We got there in plenty of time and went into the stadium as soon as possible because we were in the All You Can Eat Pavilion!
All the Dodger Dogs, Peanuts, Popcorn, Coke, Bottled Water, and Nachos we could fit into our bellies! It was exciting and delicious!

After the game (which the Dodgers lost to the Giants (4-8, ouch), we got to go onto the field for fireworks!! I knew there was going to be fireworks, but we got to GO ON THE FIELD! It was way cool!
We're pointing to the fireworks, which started suddenly. We're both (obviously) thrilled.

After the game we grabbed a 'Dodger Ambassador' to take our picture-
After explaining who Amy is, he gave us the little card you see in the picture, of AJ Ellis, a player no one has heard of to send to you. It's the thought that counts?

The Golden Arches

2009-09-16T19:18:00.000-07:00

Oh no! It's the Hamburglar!!! He can take the burger but I have the HI AMY! sign!

Officer Big Mac is so excited to say HI AMY! he blows his whistle (and that's what startles Hamburgler into running!)
Ronald Mcdonald is excited! He's always excited!

My first post!

2009-09-14T19:05:00.001-07:00

So, this is my first post here. I'm super excited that Laura asked my to contribute to this blog so GO HER!!

Now, lets get started.

Good morning, Amy! My sign is in PINK!!

Me, with my usual :-)

Clay, from "our" CC's says HI. He thinks this blog is totally awesome!

Hayley, Katie and Monica say HI!!

Deano's pizza turtle (at least I think he is lol) say's HI! I think he's super cute.

Our waitress at Deano's took a picture with your awesome HI AMY! sign

Finally, this is what is waiting for you when you get back :-)

Miss you and love you!

Mbongo & Tankins

2009-09-12T21:24:00.000-07:00

We went to the San Diego Zoo today! The weather was gorgeous and we hadn't been to the zoo since July 4th!

Mbongo says HI
The sculpture was donated to the San Diego Zoo by Rachel Wegeforth. Mbongo was one of two male mountain gorillas captured in the Belgian Congo in 1930 by Osa and Martin Johnson. He and fellow gorilla, Ngagi, were donated to the San Diego Zoo in 1931 by Ellen and Robert Scripps(yes that's the same Scripps. She apparently donated EVERYTHING to Southern California. Seriously. You see/hear her name everywhere). Mbongo grew to be 618 pounds. The bust of Mbongo was modeled from life shortly before he died in March of 1942. The statue is right near the front of the gate; however, it only gives the sculpture details, nothing about the gorilla himself- it's ashamed it doesn't give more info, I had to look online to find out any details about him.

After visiting Mbongo and Ngagi, we took the Skyfari to the back of the park.
In the lower left of the picture you can see the seats of the Wegeforth Bowl, the amphitheater where they hold the sea lion show. The tall tower(200-foot California Tower) and shorter dome are both the top of the Museum of Man, "the city’s only museum devoted to anthropology. With its Spanish colonial and mission style architecture, the landmark building was originally constructed for the 1915–16 Panama-California Exposition. Today, a key focus of the museum is to create and display dynamic and educational anthropological exhibits about people and places throughout the Americas and around the world." Sounds like something you'd enjoy!

When you get off of Skyfari in the back of the park there's an exhibit of Tankins!
You can see him ontop of the rocks - king of the mountain! I love them!!

Labor Day (with Cows!)

2009-09-07T22:39:00.001-07:00

Today was great - it was a perfect way to finish our impromptu Labor Day Weekend Festivities. We went to Disneyland to celebrate - next week is a big convention and neither of us are interested in fighting the crowds.

We did something we've never done before - the Billy Hill and the Hillbillies at the Golden Horseshoe Saloon. It was corny jokes and good bluegrass music..and some Elvis!

For Labor Day (and the start of NFL [and more importantly college football][CAJUNS & LSU WON!]) Chick-fil-a gave away a free chicken sandwich to anyone wearing a sports shirt (Pro/College/anysport). Hence my Saints shirt (Doug wore his Raiders hat). We stopped on the way into Disneyland...and then left a little early to stop on the way back home.

Get it! The Cow is all dressed for a big football game! It's part of their webpage promotion http://chickenwave.com! I'm under bluuth.

Dino Mountain...ROAR!!!

2009-09-06T23:11:00.000-07:00

So we belated realized that we had the game yesterday, Wild Animal Park (the sister/companion park to the San Diego Zoo) today and Disneyland tomorrow - for an unplanned Labor Day weekend it ended up being quite the little holiday!

A friendly rhino greeted us near the entrance:

We had to go to Wild Animal Park this weekend to see

which closes tomorrow. Its been up all summer - we just never got around to it.

It's fun! You walk a little path that has 13 animatronic dinos, they move and roar and it's quite cheesy and wonderful. They give you a little Passport to

Join the Stamp-ede! Look for special stamping stations during your trek
through Dino Mountain and collect images of all the dinosaurs.

and you best believe we did (well I did mostly, although Doug did stamp one station)! And have pictures to prove it!

Outside the actual entrance is this little guy:

The very first dinosaur you meet is Styracosaurus (a cousin of the Triceratops). For whatever reason, Triceratops and Stegosaurus always reminds me you.

After many many other dinosaurs (including the wonderfully named Troodon and Wuerhosaurus and the mighty Tyrannosaurus [who had her babies with her! awwww]), we came upon Pachycephalosaurus, Doug's favorite:

And this was just too perfect to pass up:

Love you!

The Loss of the HI AMY! Sign

2009-09-05T22:52:00.000-07:00

We had tickets to tonight's game - I think this may have been our only Saturday game! It was fairly full but the fans seemed more into playing with damn beachballs than watching the game. Anyway....Dodgers won!!

As usual we parked in the free street parking (they charge $15 for parking! That's more than our seats!) It just means we have a little walk to get to the game and back...but it's not like the 15 min walk is doing me any harm.

We were there a few minutes early so we went to poke around the TeamStore. The backside of the store lead directly out into the stands and this view...

Doug and I were really confused - if you can get in by walking through the giftshop then why get tickets!? However, a security guard asked us for our tickets, we explained we had tickets for the opposite side of the field and just wanted some pictures. The guard was super nice.....unlike the lady who checked my bag when we were going into the stadium (in the correct gate). She told me I had to throw away the HI AMY! sign even though it had 'another name on it'. I don't know what name it was supposed to have on it. Mind you another guard just saw us take pictures with it, we've brought it to every game since June. I was LIVID. (weird for me to get worked up, I know). However, the game started soon and NO MANNY. That healed all wounds.

And obviously I can make another sign in 5 minutes. It was just the principle.

Mickey Monsters!

2009-09-02T17:13:00.000-07:00

In all the stores at Disneyland I've been seeing these little plush animals and they remind me of you. I dont know quite why - they just look like something you'd like!

Mickey Monsters are here to visit the Theme Parks. They try to blend in by disguising themselves as Mickey. Keep an eye open for them. They could be right in front of you!

They all have little stories too! From top to bottom:

Ogg likes to visit the parks. He loves to go on rides. Ogg also likes to eat hot dogs and ice cream – together! But after he goes on the rides – not before.”

Ralf doesn’t talk very much. He leaves all the talking to his best friend Cheeky Bubbles. That gives Ralf more time to eat. If you like to eat, Ralf will be your best friend too.

Keeti likes to dress up. She is always trying to fit in. Sometimes it works – sometimes not. If you play dress up with Keeti she will love you forever. Her sash says, “I’m beautiful.”

Murff likes hot chocolate. If you give Murff hot chocolate he will be your best friend – at least until the mug is empty. Then he will throw a fit. Don’t forget to add marshmallows. Murff loves them.

Eeku loves ninja movies. He also loves to have his picture taken. When he sees a fun family having their photo taken, he uses his stealth to find his way into the picture.

Cheeky Bubbles loves to ride rides. The faster the better! Most of all he likes to ride with his best friend Ralf, because everything is always better with your best friend.

Buy me some peanuts...

2009-09-01T23:25:00.000-07:00

Went to the Dbacks vs Dodgers game - Dodgers won!!
The bases were loaded, but Manny was batting so I took the opportunity to take a picture:
and took a video of one of my favorite parts of the game:

You can do it Dumbo!

2009-08-30T23:41:00.000-07:00

Off for another wonderful day at Disneyland. Doug was somewhat irritated with me - We had ran by a Disney store before the park so I could grab a few things. I called Mom from the store and we ended up talking for like an hour. Anyway, when we (finally) got to Disneyland, we stopped by the visit with My Cigar Store Indian:

We didn't ride Dumbo, but I did get a picture in a little prop Dumbo they have standing:

and we stopped to watch the fireworks while I drank my coffee - Dumbo is supposed to fly (like Tinkerbell) in front of the castle but I guess he was tired tonight - he never showed up.

End of Summer at Disneyland

2009-08-23T14:31:00.000-07:00

Tonight was the last night of Disneyland Summer Nightastic promotion (with the Electrical Parade and Summer fireworks and so on and so forth). When we exited after riding Rodger Rabbit we walked into these two!
When I said it was for my sister in the Peace Corps they both flashed peace signs (get it, get it!!).
In Toontown at Goofy's House (he crashed his car into his mailbox! silly dog):

Sleeping Beauty Castle misses you (and it doesnt even know you!):

We kinda went specifically because I wanted to see the Electrical Parade again...so for your viewing pleasure:

(Do have the videos 2-4, but I didn't know if anyone cared to watch that much of it)

Laura's Disney Birthday (Observed)

2009-08-17T11:32:00.000-07:00

Disney is doing a 'Free on your Birthday!' promotion this year. Hurrah! However, our annual passes are blocked on my birthday, so while I coulda gotten in free Doug woulda had to pay. We did end up going on my birthday so I could use my free day to upgrade my annual pass - to a Deluxe! I can go 315 days a year! wahoo!!!!

Anyway, on my actual birthday we didn't go into the park - I didn't get any further than the ticket gate. We went back to Disney for my observed birthday Monday - got a birthday pin and everything!

One of the first things (and only things we got to ride - the crowds were HUGE) was one of my favorites, the Haunted Mansion!

Do you remember how much I cried the first time Mom and Dad made me ride it? I love it now. The one here in Cali looks like an old plantation (and it's in New Orleans Square). And it turns 40 this year!

So I think I may be official old today -

2009-08-14T21:13:00.000-07:00

Happy 26th birthday to me!!! I had a great day - it really was wonderful. The night before, Doug surprised me with a dozen roses when he came home from work. We woke up bright and early on the 14th - for much like our family doesn't do relaxing vacations I don't do relaxing birthdays - and drove to Anaheim for Disneyland! (See next post). That didn't take long, so we drove into LA to eat at the Farmers Market!

It's REALLY fun!!! The Farmers Market is celebrating it's 75th Anniversary this year - it's connected to the Grove which is a huge impressive outdoor mall. There's only a few stalls that sell groceries still - and those are more speciality produce. It's kinda like if the French Market and Fanueil Hall had a baby - most of the stalls are old deli's, coffee shops, PIE shops (i had a chocolate cream that tasted like Big Nenan's) and, funny enough, an award winning gumbo place!

We ate the deli you can see in the right side of this picture - so good!:

After the farmers market we braved rush hour traffic (I have the worse timing with the traffic, i still don't think about it) to get to the Getty for their evening hours. Unfortunately, I apparently can't read because they are NOT open on Friday evenings! We had planned to do Getty and then supper at the Ragin' Cajun Cafe in Hermosa Beach....but with no Getty our plans were dashed. So we went to Anaheim, did some shopping at a Disney Outlet store, and then supper at Fire and Ice

It's brand new in a brand new shopping center a block from Disneyland. (You remember when we went in Boston). The patio had just opened up early in the evening - happy birthday to me!!!

We saw this as we were walking out - Disney is EVERYWHERE!

Laura Lane (not Lois Lane)

2009-08-04T16:29:00.000-07:00

It made me smile - thinking of you!

Hermosa Beach

2009-08-02T23:17:00.001-07:00

Another Southern California day at the beach. This time, Marie came out to play. I think she enjoyed herself - she was smiling the entire time.

The water is COLD - very very very cold.

After much convincing by Doug I did go in and play around for a while (still not a huge beach person, I do like swimming)

2009-07-25T06:01:00.000-07:00

Sheila and I just returned from Azerbaijan. Amy looked great and is doing wonderful. We hope to post some pictures soon. David

A Blue Day

2009-07-21T23:27:00.000-07:00

We had a busy, very LA day today. First we went to Venice Beach to enjoy the sun, sand, and surf.

I found this funny....you have to be standing on the beach to read it and at that point it seems a little silly to welcome you to the beach. Behind me you can see the super expensive beachfront houses. A lot of them along Venice Beach are in that very modernistic style.

After the beach we drove to Dodger Stadium to see them play the Reds. We hit traffic on the way and it ended up taking twice a long as it should...but we got there.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince must have bought a ton of advertising - every game they have a whole commercial on the big screen and the graphics on all the billboards. I may have more pictures of that than the actual baseball game.

It was a great day, with the blue ocean and Dodgers!

1:10pm, Dodgers vs Astros

2009-07-19T23:09:00.000-07:00

This was the HOTTEST baseball game I've ever been too. I swear that the Labor Day soccer tournaments in Houston with Rage were much cooler than this. It's baseball, so there's no clock, no way of knowing how long you have to sit in the sun....just sitting there with the glossy painted wooden bleachers searing your legs.

After three innings I couldn't take it and went down below the bleachers for a little shade - it's completely comfortable in the shade, just miserable in the sun with no breeze.

Of course, by the eighth inning it was cooling off and kinda comfortable - hurrah baseball!

Greetings from Hemet!

2009-07-14T22:53:00.000-07:00

I went with Doug to work at the Western Center today. There was a newish exhibit I hadn't seen yet - ART meets SCIENCE. It's all about Keva blocks, which are like Lincoln Logs for grownups. Doug built some of the models for the exhibit - it's super neat to see them!

We then went into the main room where we saw one of Doug's favorites, a friendly Harlan's Giant Ground Sloth:

This is Xena, one of the museum's big attractions:

Xena wasn't wooly, but she was a mammoth - about 12 feet high and 10,000 pounds
- and she wasn't even fully grown. How do paleontologists know she was a
juvenile? By her recently fused bones. Paleontologists recovered her
skull, tusks, three leg bones, and 20 ribs - making her one of the most complete
mammoth skeletons found here.

We went see the midnight permier of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince at midnight - super exciting!!!!!!!!!!!!

Manhattan Beach

2009-07-13T21:43:00.000-07:00

After months of Doug trying to get me out to the beach he finally succeeded - and I LOVED it! I had never considered that you could go to the beach and not be hot and uncomfortable and burn your feet in the sand!! It was wonderful!!

Manhattan Beach is (arguably) the birthplace of Beach Volleyball. They were setting up the 2009 AVP CROCS SLAM BUD LIGHT MANHATTAN BEACH OPEN (that just rolls off the tongue) behind me - apparently it's a big tournament?

The Piers are a big thing at the Beaches here - this one has a little aquarium at the end and provides a little shade.

Legen...dary

2009-07-09T15:12:00.000-07:00

I know the quality sucks but I was jazzed to hear this:

How Awesome is that!!!!! Seriously, just watching the DVD this morning and boom this pops out. I nearly screamed.

In other news, my complete series HP softcover set DID come in this morning. I did scream for that.

Happy Independence Day!

2009-07-04T23:33:00.000-07:00

Happy Fourth of July! For the Fourth we headed down to San Diego (I think that's as far from Boston as you can get and still be in the USA!).

I made friends with the hippo:

and saw a friendly lion:

Doug met a large ground sloth (who looks like he's about to enjoy a bite from the HI AMY sign, num num num):

After the zoo (and a Monte Cristo sandwich from Bennigans) we went camp on Harbor Island for the Big Bay Boom Firework show. The view of the city was pretty - it was fun to camp out and enjoy the COOL weather(what a novel ideal - cool in July)!

Boom!!!! Happy Fourth of July!!

Dodger vs Rockies

2009-06-29T13:32:00.000-07:00

Doug and I have mini season passes (12 games) for the Dodgers! The tickets are so cheap compared to Fenway (it was quite a suprise). I missed two of the games because of the cruise.

I was super happy to be back at a baseball game!
Finally, after over 4 hours and 13 innings, Dodgers won! (at that point i was happy to have anyone win).

Monsters, Elephants, & Owls

2009-06-22T22:19:00.000-07:00

This was our last trip to Disneyland before the big, 2 month summer block out (when our Annual Passes are no good)

We went to Disney's California Adventure first and rode Monster Inc, looking for Boo!

Later in the afternoon when it got warm, Doug and I stopped at Gibson Girl, an old fashion ice cream parlor on Main Street. Penny the Elephant says "HI!"
(If I look a bit worried it's because either Penny or other tourists were about to run me over...I'll let you decide which)

The Owl says . . .

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

2009-06-15T20:59:00.000-07:00

Doug and I went to Disneyland as this is one of the last times we'll be able to go before Summer starts (our AP'S dont allow us to go for most of the summer).

The house from UP landed in the center of the plaza between Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure. UP is a really cute little movie.

Right before lunch we saw Mary Poppins and Bert! It was great!!!!

At Snow White's Scary Adventure: "Once upon a time, there was HI AMY!!"

Oooooh, good story!

That night we camped out a little bit and got pretty awesome seats to Disney's Electrical Parade. This is the Pinocchio part of the parade

Marie's Vacation

2009-06-10T20:36:00.000-07:00

I realized, upon looking back on the posts, it appears that Marie didn't enjoy the same restful vacation the rest of us did. Neverfear, she had a wonderful time!!

Marie at Grand Cayman.

Marie and Mom enjoy the view of the blue blue water.

Marie especially enjoyed the pampering service:

She greatly enjoyed the balcony and spent many a pleasant afternoons experiencing the sunshine and sea breeze.

Perhaps most of all, Marie loved meeting all kinds of new friends:

She got to ride a stingray and an elephant:

and they all say "HI AMY!!!"

Lafayette Landmarks

2009-06-08T20:31:00.000-07:00

The Monday after we got back was busy. Emily started ULL, Jonah started teaching VBS, I flew back to Cali. Before that, we all went eat lunch at Olde Tyme!
The two employees:

Enjoying a good sandwich:
(I know the "Y" got cut off, but it really does say "AMY")

Before my plane, we had just enough time to run to CC's!

The Aftermath

2009-06-07T20:23:00.000-07:00

It was pretty much business as usual when we got home:

laundry laundry laundry.

All of your treasures:

At the End (Last Day Pt 3)

2009-06-06T20:12:00.000-07:00

The afternoon of last day at sea there was a On Deck for the Cure, Susan G Komen one mile walk. We all participated (and got you a shirt!)

Freddy says "Hi!!"

At supper, the servers sang "Leaving on a Jet Plane"

Our backwaiter Steve (cher!! he was super sweet) and our server Virgel.

Martin saw this painting on one of the first days of the cruise - this was his idea.

As always, a little goodbye towel.

Sodoku Challenge (Last Day Pt 2)

2009-06-06T19:55:00.000-07:00

Mid-morning the ship held a Soduku Challenge. Emily showed up for one previously, but arrived 15 minutes late and therefore didn't win the prize (almost though! she was super close condsidering she was behind everyone). This time we made sure to show up early. Both Emily and Jonah participated. Martin and I got kinda bored watching them (it's suprisingly not an intertaining sport) so this resulted:

Emily and Jonah later said they had no idea we were taking pictures.

Martin helpfully points out where we are in the Gulf.

Later in the afternoon there was a reception for all the people who had cruised with Carnival previously. There was hors d'oeuvres and drinks!

Marcelo, one of the cruise directors, was sad you couldn't make it.
Off to our last supper on the ship (sniff sniff)

Towel Folding Class (Last Day Pt 1)

2009-06-06T19:49:00.000-07:00

The last day was perhaps our busiest. Early that morning Mom, Emily, and I participated in the Towel Folding Class. It was fun! It was kinda hard! Dad was on hand to take some pictures.

After the class we went get coffee and wondered a little bit.

Both Emily and I had worn our Freddy shirts in hope of getting a picture with him - it was our last chance!! Sadly, this is the closest we got. We waved at us though! Us personally! Not just the crowd!

Yet Another Fun Day at Sea

2009-06-05T19:28:00.000-07:00

Kinda a quiet day - we took it easy after our two busy days. This was supposed to be Cozumel but that got canceled in the swine flu scare. It was another Elegant Evening where you dress up for supper.

The dining staff danced to Flo Rida's Low as seen in the background - classy. It was super fun.

Because we were all dressed up, we took some formal pictures.

After supper we just went watch a movie on deck - nothing big.