Friday, July 15, 2011

the happiest place on earth + a not so happy loss

Our first full day in California was the busiest: Wildflower Cafe, Disneyland, and Angels vs. Mariners baseball.

Wildflower Cafe is right near Blayne and Megan's house in Redondo Beach and it is soooo delicious.  Any place that serves gluten free pasta dishes tops my list!  Check out this beautiful and tasty food.  Going to Disneyland with a full belly is definitely a good idea! 



Of course, I was super excited to get to Disneyland.  The crowds weren't as bad as we expected, but there were certainly a lot of people there.  We chose to skip the long lines and branch out to rides we had never been on, except Buzz Lightyear was a repeat.  Tyler beat me again!


We walked through the castle and to Pinocchio's ride.




Fun times!


There were "just a few" people waiting for "It's a Small World" but we waited anyway, not too bad. 





Such a pretty ride!


Next up: Toon Town!


Hello, Goofy!



An unexpected find in Disneyland: a lighthouse! You'll hear more about lighthouses later :)


Next up: the pirate ship and jungle cruise!






We caught a bit of the parade on our way to California Adventures.


And...super exciting...we got to ride the new Little Mermaid ride!  They made me turn my flash off in this one so sorry, the pics aren't very good.  I did take a video though :)






Last but not least @ the happiest place on Earth...A Bug's Life...hilarious!!!!




To close the day, we headed to Angels Stadium to watch the Mariners vs. Angels.  Unfortunately the Mariners lost, but it was a fun game nonetheless.




And, we got to see an awesome fireworks show afterward!  Here's the finale!


Phew!  What a day :)

visiting

Before you hear more about our So Cal trip, I am behind on my blogging and need to catch up. 

We celebrated momma's birthday on June 25 with grilled steak and a bonfire in the backyard. 
Here are Becca, Cousin Lee, Mom and I with the beautiful delicioius cake that we made her!  It doesn't exact fit my gluten, dairy and sugar free diet, but I tried a bite anyway  :)



We headed outside to enjoy the sunshine!  Heather was an excellent bartender :)




Did I mention these two are getting married??!!!!  Little Andy getting married!


The bonfire was ready well before dark...




Lovely time!

Next up, Aunt Mary and Uncle Louie drove up for a visit.  We celebrated Mary's birthday with dad's favorite Costco cake and the obnoxious birthday song from this guy:



Last but not least, Beth and Dave joined us for the Emerald Downs firework show!  So great to see those two!  Barlee enjoyed the company and hopes they come back soon.



Hope you all  had a safe and happy fourth of July weekend!

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Back in business

I'm back to work today after a fabulous vacation to California with Tyler to visit Blayne and Megan.  Here are a few photos courtesy of my phone's Instagram app.  More details to come!



Monday, June 27, 2011

Seattle visit

Cousins Lee and Andrew came to visit us this past weekend.  It was wonderful to see them and we’re so grateful they made the long trek from ND.  As an added bonus, Andrew brought his new fiancĂ©e. Smile  Yay Heather and Andrew!  They came to SU for an official campus tour.  I showed them the beautiful Chihuly sculpture in the Pigott building.

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Brown-eyed cousins!

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We took advantage of the sunshine and walked around through the quad to the library.

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Next, we drove up to Volunteer Park for a view of the space needle.

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and we saw some fishies…

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Then, we headed home for a tasty mexican dinner with mom and dad.  More about our weekend adventures to come…

 

p.s. this is my first attempt at posting a blog using Windows Live Writer.  So far, so good Smile

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Produce

I was excited to receive my first Full Circle Farms organic produce order delivered to my doorstep today!  A fresh custom-chosen assortment of fruits and veggies = delicious! 

All packed in this lovely box...


The content list...mostly WA & CA grown...


YUM!!!



I can't wait to start cooking, which is on the agenda for tomorrow evening.  Karlie and Jordan gave me a fabulous collard greens "recipe".  Steam collard greens then saute in garlic and olive oil.  Add roasted red pepper flakes and drizzle with lemon.  Seriously de-lish.  And for those of you who can eat cheese, I bet it would be good with some parmesan.