Christmas Time at Disneyland!

Who doesn't love Disneyland at Christmas time?!?! It's just so beautiful and well magical! The other night we decided to surprise Tami, Breann and Papa during their day at the happiest place on earth! Here are a few of my favorite shots!

Duane, Savanna and Me taking a family picture in front of the main street Christmas tree!

Duane and I getting in a picture together while Papa and Savanna were on the Tuck and Roll bumper cars!



Breann, Savanna and Papa checking out the ghosties living in the Tower of Terror!

Happy Halloween!!!

Happy Halloween Everyone!!! Savanna had a blast dressing up this year as Cinderella. Here are a few pictures we were able to get of her before the camera died!

Savanna Banana getting dressed and ready for trick-or-treating!

Savanna checking out one of Grandma's bunny rabbits on the front porch!

Cinderella with her pumpkin carriage!!

The Haunted Ginger Bread House.... boooooo!!! ;)

Who doesn't LOVE this time of year?!?!? It's one of my favorites!!! The other day I was going through the Sunday ads and noticed that Cost Plus Market had Haunted Ginger Bread Houses on sale and I thought to myself I have to pick one of these up!! See as a kid I never had the chance to make any type of ginger bread home Haunted or otherwise so as an adult I had to check out what I had been missing. Breann and I went to town and created what I think is an AWESOME house!!!

Breann decorating the assembled haunted house!!

Our finished haunted MASTERPIECE!!! ;)

P.S. Should you try this with your favorite little one here's a tip. Put the house together, put it in the fridge to harden up, THEN decorate it.... MUCH EASIER!!!

Our day at the L.A. zoo!

The other weekend we decided to check out the L.A. zoo, what a great place!! This was Savanna's first trip, Duane had been there a number of times and I actually don't have any memory of ever going to this zoo but I am certain as a child I must have visited in some form of a field trip one would think!! I was very impressed at how beautiful this park is, it is so incredibly large!! Something tells me that I doubt that we made it through most of it but we sure did try! Here are some of my favorite pictures.

It had been a few years since Duane had been there so we had to check out the map first to find our favorite guys!! Here we were looking for the hungry, hungry, hippos!

Savanna Banana checking out the one and only hippo at the zoo! The things was sleeping and hardly moved but she loved it and that's all that mattered!!

The next place we stopped was the Giraffe exhibit. They're sooooo big and tall!

Here are two of the baby giraffes! So cute!!

And last but not least, Savanna on the way home acting like one of the monkeys we saw at that zoo. What a wonderful day!!!

Our second trip to the pumpkin patch!!!

I absolutely love the fall, there is just something about this time of year that is amazing. Tonight we decided to take Savanna to the pumpkin patch just down the street. It was a little chilly but we bundled up and had a wonderful time!!!

Savanna loves all kinds of animals but she especially loves riding the ponies!! She took two turns around the classic pony ride. This little guy was her favorite and the biggest pony of them all!!!

After the pony rides we headed over to the petting zoo where Savanna fed two billy goats!!






I love this picture of the three of us... I always feel strange asking well a stranger to take a photo for us but I just had to, you never know when we'll stop off at a pumpkin patch again this year!!! ;)

Sex and the City...

Tonight was the first time I have have the chance to see this great flick!! I LOVED it!! I didn't have the opportunity to see every episode when they were on HBO because well sometimes we had HBO and other times we didn't. I did watch every episode brought to TBS but come on... it was missing a little something if you ask me. Anywho... I thought it was perfect. If you haven't had a chance to see it I would suggest doing so!!!

I'm Thirty!!

So it's official..... I'm the big 3-0! You know all in all it wasn't all that bad, actually it was GREAT!! The worst part were the months, weeks and days leading up to it but the actual turning thirty was a piece of cake. I thought to myself.... I love my job, I have amazing friends, a great boyfriend who has an adorable daughter that I love, and I have a wonderful family, life's pretty awesome so celebrating turning thirty's only going to make it better!! The few celebrations I did have were WONDERFUL!!! At work my partner teacher and my aid threw me a luncheon where I actually was able to take a lunch! My wonderful friends from work Carla and Ann took me to Georgie's one day for my favorite Greek salad. Duane took me, by request, to my favorite Red Robbin for the bottomless french fries then to Tiffany's to pick out the perfect gift. Jessica and I went for some pampering at the nail salon and a number of close friends gathered at Sgt. Peppers for some dueling piano fun!!! I'm so thankful for the wonderful people in my life.... I love you all!!! ;)

Oh... how could I forget about our summer swim days with the Dabalacks!!

I have to say that spending time with the Dabalacks is one of our favorite things to do! I love spending Sundays with their wonderful family, which is when we typically hang out!! Often times over the summer we found ourselves spending lazy days by the pool watching all of the kiddies splish and splash around. Savanna loves the pool and loves playing with Isabella in the water. I think the adults love it just as much. One night ended with an enormous water fight where Duane and Darrin took on everyone and we still lost!!! ;)

Dada and Savanna checking out the jacuzzi.

Savanna and Isabella making a big splash!!

Now we're pretty much up to date....

The other weekend we went to Irvine Park. What an amazing place, if you haven't taken your family there I would definitely suggest it!! We started out at the zoo where we met our good friends the Dabalacks and their adorable little family. We did a trip around the zoo where we saw California Brown Bears and Mountain Lions. After our time at the zoo we made our way down to the pumpkin patch where we rode the train, took in a pony ride and played on all of the beautifully colored pumpkins!!!

This has to be my favorite picture of Savanna trying to pick out the perfect pumpkin!

Savanna and I on a pony ride... of course I wasn't the one doing the riding but it was a blast to be right by her side!!!

Aaron, Savanna, Abby and Isabelle sitting on the pumpkins!

Holly's Bachelorette Party on the Duffy!!!

Katie invited me to join her at her friend Holly's bachelorette party. It was so much fun celebrating with some old friends and making new ones.

Our first stop on the duffy was to Spinnaker Bay where there are a number of Moon Jellyfish. These jellyfish for some reason cannot sting you.... Holly and her sis Tanja were brave enough to pick one up!

And of course it isn't a bachelorette party without silly straws!!!

I had to get in a self portrait!!!

The whole group at McKenna's on the Bay... I love the lady in the back!!!

Ann's Wedding

This summer my friend Ann married her fiance Rasy in a beautiful ceremony. We had a wonderful time celebrating with her family and friends.

I had to wait a little while for Joy to pick me up so with my free time I took a few self portraits. This was my favorite.



Hughes Middle School teachers looking pretty!!!

Joy and I after the delicious ten course meal.... these are our stuffed faces.

At the end of the night..... I caught the bouquet!!!

Disney Days.... We LOVE Disneyland!!!

We have a real love for Disneyland, so much so we have annual passes. Here are just a few of the picutres that we have taken throughout the summer during our many adventures at the happiest place on earth!!!

Duane, Savanna, Breann and I watching the parade of dreams!!

Savanna and Dada watching her first fireworks show!!

Savanna LOVES Mickey Mouse... this shot is from the Parade of Dreams. She just realized that Mickey was on the float.

Savanna and I on Dumbo up, down, up, down. She loves this ride!

We discovered the Princess Pavillion after what feels like our 100th trip to the Magic Kingdom. Savanna was so excited to meet the princesses but when we got up there she was so shy. She wouldn't leave Duane's arms to say hello to either Ariel or Sleeping Beauty but she sure did warm up to Cinderella!! I love this shot of them together!

What little one doesn't copy what their Daddy does?!?! Well this day at Disneyland it was super hot. When we were in Toontown Duane decided to dunk his head in the water fountain so it was no surprise when Savanna did the same. Actually it was pretty funny and it really cooled her down!

Banana with water running down her cute little face.... she was having a blast!!!

And last but not least... giving a hug to her favorite mouse!!!

Summer Girls Road Trip

This summer I was invited to become a new addition to a girls annual road trip with some of the ladies I work with. I was thrilled to be invited and of course said yes! Our four night, five day trip took us to Hearst Castle, Morrow Bay, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbra and of course the Camarillo outlets. Hearst Castle was amazing but super hot. We did tour number four that focused mainly on the guest houses. It is incredible to think that someone actually lived there at one time. Then we traveled on to Morrow Bay, we took a canoe ride all through the harbor and I was completely FREAKED out. The bay was foggy and cold, all I could hear in my head was the theme song from Jaws.... thanks to my honey for telling my that I was going to be eaten by a great white!!! From there we traveled on to San Luis Obispo for their weekly Thursday street fair. What a fun time we had!!! There was music playing all around us and so many yummie treats to taste. We made our way to Solvang for some Dutch cookies and a visit to the Santa Ines Mission which was my favorite. We moved on further to Santa Barbara but made a quick pit stop at the Firestone Brewery for some great beer! We ended the trip with a trip to the Camarillo outlets where I spent WAY too much. All in all it was a wonderful trip and brought me closer to some wonderful friends at work!!!

Easter 2008

Easter this year was wonderful. We had an Easter egg hunt and opened a ton of Easter eggs!! Savanna really got into it, she ran over the entire backyard trying to find all of the hidden treasures.

Here's Savanna playing with her egg magna-doodle.

Savanna and Dada checking out her Easter basket.

I feel so blessed that I have such an amazing family, wonderful friends and a great man and phenomial little girl in my life that I treasure. Happy Easter!!!

I'M WAAAAAYYYY.... Behind on my blogging I'll start with our San Diego trip March 2008!!

I began this blog at the start of the year in the hopes of creating an online journal/scrap book of time spent with family, friends and loved ones. As you can see I have fallen behind. Here is my attempt to catch up. I'll begin with Duane's birthday. I put together a weekend in San Diego for him, Savanna and I to celebrate his special day. We made the drive down and spent the entire day hanging out with Shamu and all of his friends. Here are some of my favotie shots.

Here is Savanna and the Beluga. Her favorites were the under water exhibits!

Savanna and I checking out what she called "These Guys".

Shamu up close was a little scary at first but her daddy made it all better.

This was by far my favorite birthday celebration with Duane. I think what made it so incredible was the amount of time we were able to spend together just the three of us. I've gotta begin planning for next year!!!

My First Blog

This is my first go at blogging and I am at a loss for what to write. With the holiday season winding down it feels so good to just take in a deep breath. Christmas and New Years were wonderful the only thing that I couldn't find time for was a walk through Naples to see the beautiful lights and Miss. Diane didn't make it out (so sad) but all in all it was a great time. Christmas this year was a little different. For as long as I can remember throughout my entire life on Christmas Eve night we have celebrated my grandmothers birthday at her house with all of my cousins, aunts and uncles. Every Christmas Eve for about as long as I can remember Shannon and I sneak away and have our little chats in my grandma's front bathroom with me sitting on the edge of the tub and Shannon sitting up on the counter. Just this year my grandmother was diagnosed with cancer and I understand that she easily tires. This year we celebrated her birthday earlier in the day at my Aunts house. It was a very nice time but that feeling from the past was gone. As I get older I begin to understand how important those memories from childhood are. I miss them and those feeling but the new memories I am making are just as special and important. This year in the evening I went with Duane over to his friend Bishops house for his families Christmas Eve celebration. It was a wonderful time, I felt so privileged to be welcomed into another families tradition. The night started with a beautiful Christmas prayer where all held hands as a family then it was off to the largest buffet that I have ever seen, I tried molae (I'm certain that I butchered the spelling of that one) for the first time on my tamale it was incredible. Then like out of a movie one of Bishops little cousins walked through the house ringing a small silver bell to announce that it was time to gather around the tree. After we had all congregated the most amazing celebration of Christmas and giving began. The story of Christmas was read by one of the sweetest little boys in the world, I was brought to tears. Then as a whole we sang my favorite Christmas carol "O Holy Night". After this Bishop, his mother and father stood in front of us all to welcome us all into their home and family. They said some sweet words about Duane and myself and said that they would pray that sweet Savanna would have the chance to spend next year with them. I, of course cried again. Then they began passing out presents to family and to my surprise they had gifts for Duane, Savanna and myself as well. It was like a Christmas out of a movie. So this year was very different from years past but it was beautiful and magical in every way.