The Love Shack

Crazy for California

This vacation was in honor of Mark & Jennifer

being together for 20 years this month.

Happy Anniversary!

We had such a WONDERFUL vacation!

Here are just a very few pictures out of 1000.

FOUR Fantastic days of Disneyland & California Adventure!

Friends, Family, Rides, Food, Play, Disney Characters, Planes, Trains, Boats, Automobiles, Shopping, Pins, Giant Balloons & Lollipops, Fireworks, Water & Musical Shows, Princesses, Pirates & Snakes (I hate snakes.) You name it, we did it ALL, including a submarine! What a GREAT time.

Teacups

The Carousel is Sydney's absolute favorite ride!
She is riding the only horse with a golden tooth.

It's a Bugs Life!
Sydney is a bug running through the GIANT sprinkler.

Madi is ready to ride the Matterhorn.

Some play time.

Boy these lines are long......
Midway Mania is a blast!

View of California Adventure and Disneyland from the top of the Ferris Wheel.
If you look close, you can see the Matterhorn, Space Mountain, Bear Mountain, and The Tower of Terror
(from left to right.)

Princesses meeting a princess.
Belle was so very sweet!

Our last Disney day.

Fireworks & goodnight.

We spent TWO beautiful days on the California coast.

Our first walk to the water on Newport Beach.
That's about as close as Sydney got to the water.
We did see some big fins surface close to shore while we were there.
Baaaa dm Baaaa dm

Sydney likes to play in the big "sandbox" as she tells the kids to be careful in the big water.

Newport Beach sunset.

For our second beach day we took a fun, scenic drive in a cool car up the coast a bit to Long Beach

Aquarium of the Pacific.
We held Lorakeets, and pet sharks, sting rays, anemone, and all kinds of other sea creatures.

Queen Mary in the background at Long Beach.

Here's to the next 20 years!

Everyone is worn out with a couple of sick ones.

So today we unpack, do laundry, and ease ourselves back into real life.

Sydney woke up this morning wanting to go to Disneyland again.

Poor thing was very disappointed that we couldn't just go and doesn't understand why.

So we are watching Princess Sing A Long for the 3rd time in a row. :)

Don't I know you from somewhere?

It's interesting to work in a face to face customer service industry for some time. We had regular customers at Barnes & Noble 7 years ago. Some are now regulars at the Starbucks that I work at and remember me from back then.
Others I see when I go walking at the mall in the morning. This is an interesting situation. We are not friends, we do not know each other, even though we saw each other every day for 2 years. Without the counter and the coffee, there is nothing.
Except... You can tell that they know you from somewhere. There are about 4 different people that walk at the mall that I had a regulars back in the day. A couple I even remember their drinks or how they ordered.
Now we silently pass each other every morning in the mall with an extended glance of, "Don't I know you from somewhere?"
It goes the other way too. There is a lady that walks at the mall that also works at the Smith's that I shop at. I have friendly customer service conversations with her at Smith's maybe 2-3 times a week. But walking in the mall, we just pass each other like we've never seen each other in our lives.

I'd say something to them, but then you start a whole thing. Do you then have to talk to them every morning when you go to walk? Say hi, wave, nod? Just easier to be silent I guess. Odd.

Cousins!! And one Aunt. :)

My Aunt Rebecca invited us over to her house for a cousin get together. We all used to run around together when we were kids and it has been a LONG time!

Dinner was lovely. Thanks to Rebecca and Season. I brought dessert of course and got a bit of rousing about that. I have always been a fan of baking AND eating dessert. :)

We had a WONDERFUL time!

Rebecca likes to take pictures. So here are some for your enjoyment.