DISNEYLAND I AM IN YOU

we've really been making the most of our disneyland passes since we renewed them about a month ago.  initially, i'd been afraid that the 60th anniversary celebration crowds would keep us away, but i should've known better.  like, we've been heading into the parks as often as our schedules are allowing us to, and with the bean's newfound bravery on some of the faster rides, it's been extra awesome.

after dropping off his dad at orange county airport one afternoon, we convinced the hub to take us to the parks to meet up with the old lady and her BFF.  the plan was to drop us off and then ride back home with the girls when we were done, but after giving it some thought we switched gears.  instead, the hub handed me the car keys while he caught a ride home via uber - we figured that the older girls wouldn't want to leave at 7 like the bean and i needed to.  it was a school night, and while it's summer school and a lot breezier than regular school, i still wanted to be sure that she got a good night's sleep.

our first stop was big thunder mountain.  she won't admit it, but she really does like that ride now...as long as it's in the daylight.

as we exited, we walked right past wayne brady as he waited with his family and a "plaid."  see him in the corner?

we found a new photo op just behind the ride, and you know we can't ever resist one of those suckers.

when we met up with the old lady and BFF, we made a beeline for an old favorite - pirates of the caribbean.

afterwards, the bean bribed her sister into heading into the enchanted tiki room with a dole whip float - disneyland's signature pineapple-flavored soft serve ice cream floating in a cup of fresh pineapple juice.

we managed to squeeze in the indiana jones ride before heading over for one more snack that we'd been craving since we renewed our passes:

from there, we parted ways with the girls as we headed towards the exit - but not before stopping to grab a giant turkey leg for the road.  as we waited (yes, there was a long line for turkey legs!), we watched this cast member, tasked with the job of making sure that a mama duck and her baby ducklings made their way through the crowds lined up for the parade without getting stepped on.  how'd you like that job, eh?

on the way home, the bean turned on "big hero 6."  "i'm SO happy right now, mom," she breathed as she munched on her turkey leg.  she's so my kid.

a couple of days later, we had another opportunity to head back to the parks for a little more afternoon fun.  her field trip that day was at the discovery cube just minutes away from disneyland, and so i headed down to pick her up and ride some rides.

first, a castle selfie:

and then a turn on a couple of rides she's been on before but didn't remember - snow white's scary adventures and pinocchio's daring journey.  we took this for her sister, who to this day finds the snow white ride a little too scary for her liking.

it was such a gorgeous day to be out there.

the old lady had said "have a churro for me!" and i mean, hey...we were just following orders here.

since the line was fairly short, we took another turn on big thunder mountain.  you know, since it was still daylight and all.

and then our final stop was at the plaza inn for some fried chicken and grape juice (her specific request).  i was a little put off by some lady who first ran into me with her stroller and then turned around to tell me that "my daughter has cancer, so we're going to get in front of you here."

i do hope they had a lovely dinner together, and that's all i'm gonna say about that.

we definitely did.  and took home a fun souvenir, too:  a souvenir "vintage" stein with designs that represent all of the lands within disneyland.

oh, disneyland.  it just never gets old.

date night with the hub

last weekend, the hub and i got to have a rare date night - to attend a wedding for friends of his through the lounge.  while i'd never met these folks before, i was excited for an evening out that even gave me an excuse to get dressed up a little.  and hey, i love weddings.  so it was totally a win-win situation.

even better, it was at a venue that was almost literally just around the corner from the house.  it had been a really warm day, but by the time we were seated for the outdoor ceremony the sun was going down and a lovely breeze wafted through to cool us all off.

 
a quick selfie, which has turned into one of my new favorite pictures of us.

i'm such a sap, even my accessories were carefully chosen for the event.

the ceremony itself was blessedly short and sweet.  it was lovely, personal, and just the right amount of pinterest-y.  the guys wore black chucks with their suits and the flower girls carried little signs that said "uncle, your bride is coming!" which they flipped over at the end of the ceremony towards the new husband and wife to show another personalized sentiment that made them all laugh.

the bar was open immediately after the bridal party disappeared back down the aisle for pictures.  i'm not a huge drinker, but in social situations i feel like i kind of have to have at least one.  that night's beverage of choice was a margarita, which i sipped slowly enough to last through cocktail hour.  heh.

meanwhile, the bean was having a blast with mini cee at mini DG's birthday party.  i'd managed to beg her sister to take her so that she wouldn't miss out on the fun while we were at this wedding.

here's another shot of us, to show off the super cute (and comfy) dress i'd gotten from rent the runway.

we enjoyed standard wedding fare, including chicken entrees, champagne toasts, speeches and a slideshow of the couple.  it was fun to listen to the hub and his friends banter back and forth, and i chatted for most of the evening with one of the wives (who also served as our family photographer for this last year's photo shoot).

oh, and we hit the photo booth too.  of course.  i love when the hub gets silly - this guy is seriously always the life of the party.

we still managed to get home at a decent hour, and the girls were both wiped out on the couch.  it seemed that everyone had had a great time.

and believe it or not, the hub and i managed to have not one, but TWO day dates last week.  it was amazing, and after all the time we've spent apart since he opened the lounge (it'll be two years in july, can you believe it??), it felt awesome to have some serious quality time, just the two of us.  we've actually got a weekend getaway planned next month too, which we've both been looking forward to for months.

after almost fifteen years together, we've still got it!

i turn down for WHAT?

the old lady and i have always wanted to check out "the old zoo," located at griffith park and the original home of the los angeles zoo.  we'd seen pictures of the old cages and abandoned enclosures and thought it would be kind of cool to check out.  and one day as i was perusing my facebook feed, a link popped up for a 5K walk/hike/run at that very spot.  it was totally meant to be, and while we had debated the 8-mile up to the hollywood sign option, we ultimately registered for the shorter race.

the day of the run came with perfect running weather - cool, cloudy, even a little drizzly.  my running partner wasn't particularly thrilled with it, but i knew it would be so much better than being out in the sun.

bib pickup was in front of one of those old zoo enclosures, which was all graffiti'd up.

the course looked simple enough...on paper.

we'd gotten there early and had time to kill, so we hung out in the car for a bit.  i don't know why it was so damn funny, but there was this guy in the car next to us who shouted out "i turn down for WHAT!" and we couldn't stop laughing for a solid five minutes.  i swear, it was the funniest thing ever.  okay, i guess you had to be there.

at the start line.  doesn't she look thrilled?

i wondered what kind of animals used to spend their days in these cages.

and what this was once used for:

then it got serious as we turned onto this trail that doesn't look too bad in the picture, but was super steep in real life.  also, if you're a "general hospital" fan like we are, you'll get a giggle out of its name.

just as we were getting near the top of that trail, we saw fellow runners heading back down in a hurry.  "this is the wrong way," they called out.  "turn around and go back to the bottom."  UGH.

we found ourselves on another trail that was wider and with less of an incline.  still, it was quite a trek and my calves were killing me.

this bench looked like a lovely place to sit my ass down and take in the view.  i didn't, of course, especially with the old lady very determinedly speedwalking it up ahead of me.

i managed to catch up to her, and she was just as happy as i'd expected.  not that she was annoyed at the fact that we were out there at all, but mostly due to the confusion and lack of organization.  she'd been trucking along at a great pace on the first trail and kind of lost her mojo a bit when we were rerouted.

she was even happier when i got her to take a picture of me.  heh.

water stop out in the middle of nowhere.

the first mile marker came and it totally didn't jive with what my nike+ app was saying.

the next mile was nothing but steep hills, one after another.  it was tough, and my entire bottom half was screaming for mercy by the time we reached the second water stop.

we were both just so done with those hills.  i think we were a bit delirious, but we decided to turn around and go back the way we'd come - which was all blessedly downhill.  i knew we were going to end up doing more than the original 3.1 miles, but we didn't care.

we jogged the entire way back down.  well, mostly.  i lost a bit of steam and took a walk break at some point, but the old lady kept up her pace the whole time.  i managed to catch back up to her again and we ran together until i pulled a major dick move and kicked on the turbo to cross the finish line a few seconds ahead of her.  i know, i know, i'm an asshole.  i regretted it two seconds later, but it was done.  i blame the competitive, stupid only child syndrome.

i scoured the race photos afterwards and found only two shots - and you can't even see her in them.  wah waaahhh.

i guess i'm glad we did it, but i think the next time we head out to the old zoo, we'll do a little more exploring of the abandoned cages and such.  the bean might like to come too, and maybe we can make a picnic out of it or something.