8 years of true love

*on the balcony of our room at The Ambrose Hotel 

On March 19th 2012 Ryan and I celebrated 8 years of marriage. We dropped off our lovely, demanding children with their grandparents and headed out to Santa Monica. After checking in at The Ambrose Hotel (super cute and super hidden) we strolled around downtown Santa Monica and the 3rd Street Promenade. I don't know if Ryan was being honest or not but he said he had as much fun as I did browsing the shops. Browsing was ESPECIALLY fun because of the kitchen remodel we're in the middle of -  it was actually more than just browsing :). During our "browsing," we searched for (and found) a good Thai restaurant near the beach before heading off to the movies. On our way to the movies we actually drove right by the Los Angeles temple where we were married. We haven't been there in years so it was a nice little romantic coincidence.

*Thai Dishes Restaurant for dinner, so yummy!

*on our balcony again

After getting the best night's sleep in over a year (not exaggerating), we went to a nice breakfast then spent the day on the beach and the pier. We took photobooth photos, rode the ferris wheel over looking the ocean, appreciated some crazies, and had fun just taking our time. It was the perfect day. I didn't want it to end. I think next year we will take two days for just the two of us. After all this time, I have so much fun with this wonderful man, my best friend, who keeps me happy, laughing, and taken care of.

*on the pier

*on the ferris wheel

* in love on the ferris wheel

Yo Gabba Live!

Today we got to go to the Yo Gabba Gabba Live show in LA! And it was "AAAAWWESOOMMMMME!!!" to say the least. Harvey slept in my arms most of the time and Wendy was a little nervous we were going to make her go up on stage to do one of Biz's Beats of the day. It wasn't without reason because it was offered to her and brave little Harper was super excited about his chance to go up on stage. She kept leaning over to me and saying, "Mommy, I don't really like Biz a lot. Maybe I just wanna stay here with you." Once Biz's Beats were over (and she had a fist full of cotton candy) she relaxed a little and let herself enjoy the show. Her most favorite part, though, was the after party. My most favorite part was just sitting back in awe and watching this phenomenon that my uncle Scott created. I was sitting next to him wondering if anyone around us realized they were sitting next to the man who dreamed this whole thing up and brought it to life. Being surrounded by thousands of people all decked out in Gabba gear, screaming and singing along and all the celebrities that are fans... it's surreal.

asd

Lucky Number 7

Today I have been married to my best friend for SEVEN years! That sounds like a long time. Well on our way to a decade. I don't think I've ever stuck with anything for that long. Except for maybe piano lessons. People talk about the "seven year itch," but besides rarely seeing each other (Ryan's nights are filled with either school, work, church, or a'capella practices) I still consider him my best friend and boy friend.

During these last 7 years we've...

• learned how to read each others mood and know what to do to cheer each other up
• lived in 2 creepy apartments and one amazing rental home (and I have a feeling we might be here for a long time)
• been through 3 pregnancies and blessed with 1 and 9/10ths children
• traveled to Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Hawaii, Mexico, France, Belgium, & Taiwan (next stop? I'm thinking Italy.)
• blown through 3 dogs, a tortoise, lots of fish, and 18 birds
• worked through some random jobs to support each other
• attended a combined total of 4 years of schooling... only about 3 more to go!
• figured out how to cook some decent meals and manage a checkbook without overdrawing
• grown closer as best friends and developed a deeper love and appreciation for each other

abcd

*some of our favorite spots at the Ghetti Center

Every year, for our anniversary, we explore a different city. We stay in a nice hotel, go out for dinner and go a little crazy (like order an appetizer AND fancy non-alcoholic drinks instead of water and trying to stick to the cheapest things on the menu - like I said, at least one of us has been a student for a while).

Last year... we did Paris. This year we went ALL the way to Los Angeles. We tried to do LA on anniversary #4, but ended up with the flu and spent the night taking turns hovering the toilet of the rad hotel room we stayed in. So this year, we lived it up. We stayed in a different rad hotel, The Luxe. It's hidden on acres of lush, green LA jungle and used to be an apartment building in the 20's. We went out for a night on the town in Westlake Village, ate dinner at Jerry's famous deli, got a kick out of our wacky lip injected waitress, window shopped hand-in-hand, waited in line at Diddy Riese for the best ice cream sandwich you'll ever get for $1.50, snuck our desserts into the old fashioned movie theatre and saw "Limitless," closed the black out curtains and got to sleep in til 11AM!, had an overpriced breakfast at our hotel at lunch time (banana blueberry pancakes mmmm), then spent the day exploring the Ghetti Center, were both relieved to admit that we were ready to go and hour earlier than planned (he was freezing and I am uncomfortably large) and spent the last hour of our LA anniversary driving around the mansions in the hills of Bel Air, picking out our dream home. It was a much needed get away. I almost forgot how much I love being alone with Ryan.

*balcony of our hotel room

Happy anniversary babe!

Here's to another 7 and hopefully another 2 kids & another college degree by then :)

The Happiest Place on Earth

*her favorite rides: the carousel and it's a small world

Now that summer is over and our passes aren't blacked out anymore, Wendy and I have been going on a lot of mother-daughter dates to Disneyland! I've always enjoyed going to Disneyland, but getting to watch my little girl light up as she experiences it for the first time is a whole knew kind of wonderful.

Currently, her favorite part of going to Disneyland is getting to see the princesses. I really think she thinks they're the real ones. She does this slow motion running hug to them then caresses their face and hair as they talk to her. And MAN those girls are good. They do such a great job of returning the love and making her feel special. Whoever is hiring/training these girls deserves a raise.

Wendy knows EVERY Disney song and sings them to herself all day long. In her little voice and with her little lisp, it's the cutest thing I've ever seen/heard, but the girl WILL NOT perform for the video camera. I've tried everything: begging, bribes,sneaking up on her... nothing works. She always catches me because the flip beeps when it turns on. Then she stops. So no video.

Disneyland in the Rain

*looks like someone is starting to get a little annoyed with all the pictures I make her take

On my way to Disneyland with my toddler in the rain, I thought to myself, "I'm either a genius or just crazy to be doing this right now." It was a last hurrah before my pass expired and my foot surgery (two things that would prevent me from getting to go for a long while). So I bundled up my baby and myself and we took off.

We went on FIVE rides in 1 hour!! The submarines, it's a small world, peter pan, and the carousel(twice- it's her favorite). I started to believe I must be a genius, but on our 2nd ride around the carousel it really stared to pour. Luckily we were just about done anyway.

We had so much fun playing in the rain at Disneyland, I just might make a habit of it. When I was a little girl we had passes and during the off season, the place was empty. I remember running around the park with my sisters, feeling like we owned the place. Now that the passes are so much cheaper, there's no such thing as an "off season." Going in the rain, with the park pretty much empty, reminded me of that feeling I had as a little girl. As you can see above, Wendy enjoyed it too!

Now, to totally contradict myself and go against my wishes that Disneyland passes were less accessible so that I could have the place to myself, here is a great way to get in free for a day OR have 1/2 of your year round pass paid for. If you go HERE you can sign up to volunteer for a day to get free admission to Disneyland for a day (instead of getting in free on your birthday). The have a great list of places you can choose from to volunteer near your home. My friend and her kids are going to feed the homeless. I have signed up to make fleece knotted blankets for children in need (this is one I can do at home and turn in on my own time!)