Thursday, October 30, 2008

And The Fun Continues

Okay, now more about Disneyland. Our friends decided to take a spontaneous trip to Disneyland and meet us! It was so much fun having them there. We started the Day with a Character Breakfast that of course had to start at the brink of dawn (7:30 am)... Good news is that we had a private party with the characters because no one else at the resort wanted to get up that early! ... Here's me and the Boys and the Bear and Bell and the Bear ...

I love this picture of Squisher looking at Chip (or is it Dale, I always get them confused)


And of course a Bear Hug... although Robyn may take him out with that knife if the Bear makes any wrong moves.....
And then the Hair Styling begins....




Of course another grand entrance with a group picture

Can you tell it is fall? The Mickey pumpkin was one of my favorites, do you think one would fit in my front yard? At first we wanted to ride Indiana Jones, but it's opening was delayed, but this nice lady greeted us. Honestly, I am not sure why my mom took this picture of the fake snake (notice the tag at the end of the snake?). Either way, we ventured to the Jungle Cruise.

Ax was excited and had no idea what was in store for him....More fake animals, I didn't want to post all of the fake animals and it makes me laugh to think that my mom took roughly twenty pictures of the fake animals......


The next stop... Senior Pictures :)... Mitch was first, notice the hands???

Little Man thought he would try too... although the hat was a bit too big....and Squisher just wanted to eat his goldfish.

California Adventure was next on the schedule, just in time for the parade and HUGE candy corns. I have never wanted to eat candy corn so much in all my life, especially after seeing one the size of my head!


I think the only thing going through Little Man's head is Hmmmm, how can I get one of those candy corns....

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE


And anytime we were at California Adventure, the Cars Parade was a MUST.... Junie this first picture is for you.....

Ax was such a good boy the whole time, he even started to smile at the parade....

After seeing this picture, it made me think that Little Man needs a haircut... However, a month has gone by since we went to Disneyland and sadly I report no haircut has been scheduled. Katie are you available next week for a trim for Little Man? Next is a picture of Tata and the very TALL man...Unfortunately the vacation had to come to an end, so as a wrap-up we took some final pictures with Mickey and Minnie before going back home. It was so much fun and we look forward to coming back soon!

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

The Happiest Place on Earth

Our next vacation was to Disneyland for five luxurious days. Little Man had no idea what was in store for him, but he knew he wanted a big bagel. I have no idea where he got that idea, but none-the-less we were off to the Happiest Place on Earth......

Of course finding transportation to the hotel was an issue because there was four adults and three kids and lots of luggage... so the hotel sent us a limo. Did I mention how much I love vacations? Anyway, Little Man was in rare form on the way to the hotel because he could see himself in the mirror and he was so glad that he found a friend that looked just like him!

Ax on the other hand, was unfazed by the plane trip or the journey to the hotel. He would rather sleep.

So while NaNa and Pa were checking us into the hotel, Little Man, Adam, Ta Ta, and I ventured to Disneyland for a quick sneak peak. They were in the process of "Falltizing" Disneyland and it was incredible... We quickly ventured to Fantasyland and Little Man ran over to Dumbo and loved it because it could control Dumbo moving up and down, this made Adam a little queasy... but that's all part of the fun!

We saw in the distance Mickey and Minnie and Little Man wanted to see them, but we missed them and saw Mary Poppins instead. However, you may notice that Little Man is not in the picture, because it seems that he is scared of people that were dressed up such as Mary Poppins and ANY princess, but loved the characters.

Next on the agenda was California Adventure Park's Pixar Parade with none other than Lightening McQueen. Little Man was so excited and nervous at the same time. He loved seeing McQueen and still talks about it.

After our nap, we decided to go over Toon Town during the Disneyland Parade and it turned out to be a GREAT decision because there were only a few people in Toon Town, so it was like a private party.

Another benefit to being the only ones in Toon Town was when we saw Mickey at his house we could take multiple pictures, get autographs, and Little Man was able to give Mickey knuckles. I think we may have over stayed the welcome because Mickey started walking away and motioned "move along"....

That is only the beginning of our Disneyland vacation, stay tuned for the adventures when some special friends came to visit and the unforgettable Character Breakfast.

Friday, October 3, 2008

And First There Was Napa....

This month has been filled with family visits and vacations, so I have been slacking on the blog updates.... my sincerest apologies, hopefully I will get caught up soon.

First, was our trip to Napa with these great friends. The company, weather, cheese, scenery, and wine were amazing. I had no idea that cheese and wine are the only two food groups in Napa! The first thing on the itinerary was relaxing in the bed and breakfast... it took us a little while to find it because the landmark that Google did not include was the La Tolteca grocery store on the corner. Nevertheless, here's the beautiful Bed and Breakfast. We knew it was going to be a great vacation when we were greeted by Jennifer at the front door by saying, "we've been waiting for you and will have the wine owner stay a while longer so you can have a taste of wine before dinner." Dinner.... who needs dinner????
Next we were off to the Farmer's Market to see Lars make some pancakes... We only had a sighting of Lars in the crowd, so no pancakes. However, we were able to find some gender specific tea to taste... Only in Napa....

A Bocce Ball tournament was underway and Adam was eager to participate, but we were only able to take pictures. I guess you need to know how to play the game before entering the tournament... details details....

The next day we were off to the vineyards to smell the roses and eat some more cheese. We stopped at the Beringer Winery and Adam had his own personal tour because the guide was only making eye contact with him. I wish I could've captured this on film, but you can image.... I may have been preoccupied with eating these grapes off the vine. While we were in Napa it was harvest time and we were able to eat as many grapes as we wanted off the vines, it was fantastic.


Kel, I love the earrings....

Cheers to all everyone who wants to join us on the next trip....

Next was back to the hotel for a nap and then off to a fancy dinner at the Martini House. Someone from Adam's work recommended this restaurant and it was FANCY. I wanted to take pictures of every entree, but only managed to get this one of the pre-appetizer.


The wine tour of a lifetime was next on the agenda.... We started the tour traveling to this vineyard and having a tour with the owner/winemaker, Chris Thorpe. He was like my grandfather and was pretty funny. He had the best tomatoes... I know, I am supposed to pay attention to the wine, but anyone who has green zebra tomatoes deserves a shout out...


And the cellar that he dug in his living room... that was a bit strange..
Next was off to Frasier and a tour would not be complete without a pose by a wine bottle that is just my size.....More breathtaking scenery from the winery Last, but not least some more pictures of us....We knew the tour was coming to an end when we had a wardrobe malfunction..... I know you are thinking Kel's pants, but it was her shoes this time...
And of course next on the agenda was a nap and another piece of cheese. Any takers???