day 2: NIGHT



.....after decompressing & rejuvenating in the room for a bit, we headed back to CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE for the awe-inspiring WORLD OF COLOR show.......we got good spots right up front and were all set to see the water & light spectacular....but as we were waiting for the show to begin, luke ran out of steam & crashed! so, he and i decided to go back to the room and get into our jammies. we knew we were gonna miss out on a world of fun, but we just couldn't help it.



jesse's got back!

day 2: CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE

our birthday girl OLIVIA and her mom had arrived late the night before......and by the time the sun came up on friday morning EVERYONE was up and raring to go.......first order of business ROOM SERVICE french toast, delicious bacon, potatoes, eggs benedict, toast and oatmeal.

amazingly, or maybe not so amazingly, georgie refused to eat the NON-costco bacon....as scott says, he is SUCH the epicurean!

once our tummies were filled we headed off to DISNEY'S CALIFONIA ADVENTURE to ride the rides......

 

 

....after the rides we headed down the midway, where all THREE KIDS got lucky and won TONS OF disney stuffed animals & characters!!!

  

then the guys took a quick break to take all the 'prizes' back to the room and we went to wait in line to meet WOODY...

   

....it was a LOOOOOONG wait, but when we finally got to the front of the line woody was VERY EXCITED to see the boys were wearing their TOY STORY t-shirts!!! and he and the green army man spent some time talking to george about who was on the shirts, meanwhile luke looked on and observed.....

 



day 1: AT THE MOUSE'S HOUSE

the FIRST order of business after we got our things into our room was to head out to the park and find some FOOD!!!! along the way, my bff pointed out my FAVORITE princess in the whole wide world (i have NEVER gotten to see her up close & personal!!!) .......BUT we did not have time, on his agenda, to stop and see her! THANKFULLY my camera has a GREAT zoom lens

and then i had to 'RUN' as best as my gimpy leg would allow.......a lot of the park was closed down as mickey & friends were getting ready for the big HALLOWEEN extravaganza.  so we were forced to search outside the box for a place to eat and ended up at an all-you-can-eat bbq place that no one had ever tried before.......turns out it was PRETTY TASTY! the chicken was moist and the ribs were so tender they just fell off the ribs.....and there was corn bread, cole slaw and beans to round out the yummy meal

while we were eatting the boys were exploring their surroundings and i was so lucky to get some PERFECT PHOTO OPS!

....after lunch we rode the PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN and then i decided to be 'smart' and head back to the room to rest for the big weekend ahead of us....meanwhile everyone else went on to FANTASYLAND to spend the rest spent the afternoon

DISNEY OR BUST

....so as the saga continues:

i DID make it home on time! we met up at the ARCO on Main & Cypress & headed East to go South.......it was still dark out, and i snuggled in with my 49er quilt to catch a few zzzzzz's.................rob was doing the driving (he's a professional, you know!)
somewhere along I5 the sun came up and the moon went down and the boys decided they wanted to get dressed. so we pull into a mcd's of course! ....as everyone is getting out to stretch.....BOOM! amy's car door shuts.............and LOCKS! with the keys and ALL of their cellphones, wallets etc all locked up tight inside. OOPSIE!

LUCKILY they had just signed up for AAA and even LUCKIER still, our car was not locked and we had our cellphones and keys and wallets handy......they made the call to AAA and we went into mcds to wait, use the potty, get dressed...........and i bought everyone breakfast (well, not EVERYONE as not everyone WANTED breakfast...but those that were hungry got fed) and then AT LAST we were back on the road again.......time for me to take a little snooze

view from the road





LA is a great big freeway, put a hundred down & buy a car

in a week....maybe two, they'll make you a star....

ASLEEP at the wheel!

go THAT way!!!!

 are we THERE yet?!

palm trees on the hwy....must be LA!

OOOOOOH! the MONORAIL!!!

THE GRAND CALIFORNIAN

we HAVE arrived!



WHERE have i been?

in the last week i have gone from home to work to home to work to home to work.......
then i shook it all up and went to SANTA ROSA.....it was time to see GFA & the BOYS......and what a great night!!!

i met my friends christine, denise & bryan  (and their daughter & her boyfriend) for dinner at this burger place (don't ask me the name of it....i had a burrito! lol.....also a couple of BLUE SAILOR...or was it BLUE MOON?! pints with dinner) then we crossed the street & entered the WELLS FARGO CENTER FOR THE ARTS through the back gate...parked near GFA's truck & buses and entered the venue........

it was SOOOOO GOOD to see them all up on stage! NYE in vegasbaby was a very long time ago!!!! the songs were ROCKIN' the music was JAMMIN' the only SAD THING was the people in the center orchestra (where i was) were ALL FUDS!!! none of them would stand up :( and  i was left standing alone in a sea of sitters.....until someone complained & i was forced against my will to sit down too :( .....this crowd totally disappointed me...they were sitting AND texting and doing anything but being there enjoying the moment..................it's a good thing i can have selective tunnel vision & i was able to focus past them to the stage! two solid hours (and maybe a few extra minutes) of solid gfa time!!!! and at the end i made my way to the stage where i got one of my favorite GFA pics signed AND i got a jamie hanna guitar pick :)

we got in late from the show...but much too hyped up to go to sleep.....so on to fb to catch up with games and unpack & repack my suitcase.....because in just a few short hours we were headed to DISNEYLAND!!!!......

and so it goes.....at 3 o'clock in the AM i left a sleeping christine in the hotel room and headed out on HWY 101 hoping i wouldn't get lost  (YIKES!!) about 10 minutes down the road guess who i ran into?! yep GFA  & the BOYS were headed south too!!! .....so we traveled together for awhile....but then i had to head East to join up with the familia and much to everyone's chagrin....i made it on time too!!

(more to come soon, as the saga of last week unfolds, stay tuned!....)