Disneyland 2010!

3:37 PM Posted In , , , , , 8 Comments »
This past Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, we made the trip to the Happiest Place on Earth! It was the first time we drove and we also brought along G-ma (my mom) and my friend, Dani, who I grew up next door to and babysat as a young girl. We left around 7pm on Tuesday evening and arrived at the Magic Kingdom around 1:30am. Most everyone (except for my mom and I) slept the entire way there. It was a smooth drive and I know now that the drive there isn't so bad and I could definitely do it again!

Warning: Picture OVERLOAD ahead!

Our first morning at Disneyland we decided to have breakfast at Storyteller's Cafe. We met some pretty cute little creatures there like "Dale."



I wasn't sure how this was going to play out for Gabby. She would either LOVE the characters or she was going to rip their heads off. Luckily, she thought they were pretty awesome and showed them lots of love.



Monkey Love!





After breakfast we made our way to the park. With as many times as we have been to Disneyland, I think this was the first trip where we actually took our picture in front of the castle. I think it was because we had extra adults this time and we didn't actually have to stop other people to click our picture. So thanks Dani, for finally allowing us to get the "token" Disneyland photo!

We hopped on the first ride we saw which was Snow White's Scary Adventure. I should have known better. We started off all giggles and smiles:

But poor Cameron was traumatized from that point on. It really is a frightening ride...not in the way of adrenaline or thrill...but actually SCARY. That wicked stepmother is no joke!
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We decided to keep it light for the next ride and opted for the teacups! Cameron enjoyed it, I think.

After the teacups, we decided to take a spin on the Matterhorn Bobsleds. I actually got to ride too. It's been so long since I have been able to actually ride a ride! It was so fun!

Waiting in line...



Cameron and I took a spin on the rockets in Tomorrowland!

And then we took a Jungle Cruise!
Cameron was still a little worried about what was going to pop out and scare him at any given moment so he spent the entire cruise in a state of panic and ridden with anxiety.

Gabby was so amazing on all of the rides. Not really scared at all.

About midway through the day, my girl was pooped.

A konked-out Gabalicious.


This is what Cameron looked like on the Pirates of the Carribean ride. He was not liking it at. all.
Poor dude.

Gabby woke up and thought it was AWESOME!



After all of those rides, we decided to head back to our hotel for some freshening up. But first...
ICE CREAM!

Someone does NOT want to be left out!


At a snails pace, we eventually reached our room where we lounged around like bums.


What would we do without our iPhones?


Already exhausted on day ONE!


After our little rest we headed back to the park to tackle some more rides.
Tiny Girl didn't last long.

But guess who went on Splash Mountain?
I was SOOOO nervous to let Cameron ride but he met the height requirement so I made sure Dani sat in the back and hugged on to him for dear life when we hit that drop.
My boy LOVED it and begged to go on it over and over again.

My little adrenaline junky!


As we headed out of the park, we spotted the tail end of the parade so we stopped to enjoy it.

We had dinner at an italian place in Downtown Disney shortly after we left the park.
Tired much, Gabs?


Cameron couldn't even make it through his meal. Dude was EXHAUSTED.


Thank goodness our hotel was right there in Downtown Disney. Nguyen didn't have to walk far with "Dead-weight Cam."

We finally made it back to our room and Cameron was out for the night. I was nervous about how the sleeping situation was going to pan out but it ended up working out okay. Cameron and I had our own bed. G-ma had her own bed. Dani slept on the couch and Nguyen and Gabby made their beds on the floor. I can't say I really slept all that much...I was so concerned Nguyen was going to smother Gabby in the middle of the night so I was constantly getting up and making sure the blankets and pillows (and Nguyen) were away from her.
I thought for sure the kids would sleep in but OF COURSE, I was wrong. They were up and ready to roll by 7:30am. Our mission for the day was to tackle Disney's California Adventure theme park. Stay tuned for more fun pics tomorrow!!

Tiffany and Julian tie the knot!!

2:34 PM Posted In , , , , , 3 Comments »
This past Saturday marked the day my best friend got married. It was such a beautiful day and I am not convinced it could have gone any smoother.
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On Friday night, all of us girls (bridesmaids) spent Tiff's last single night with her in her apartment. Tiff even surprised us with a special slideshow she had proffessionally created for us. It was such a sweet gift.
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In the morning, we headed over to the Mother of the Bride's house to get ready for the very special day.
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A self-portrait of Ashley and I getting ready:

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and another one of Lauren and I
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Ashley helped Tiffany with her wedding day make-up and did a fabulous job!
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For obvious reasons, I don't have any pictures of the actual ceremony but I can ASSURE you it was absolutely beautiful and I am so glad I got to stand up there with all of my girls!

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After the ceremony, we all piled into the limo and had to keep from barfing all over the place because of this:

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(I'm totally kidding...they were sweet)
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We finally made our way to the reception and had an absolutely wonderful evening.
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One of my favorite moments from the evening was the bouquet toss.

(check out Lauren...she means business!)
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SHE CAUGHT IT!!
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(Jason, her boyfriend was seen sprinting out of the reception hall just seconds after the bouquet landed in her eager hands.)
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The bride later joined us on the dance floor:

where we all had BEYOND a great time.

Later in the evening, there was not a dry eye to be found when Tiff shared a dance with her sweet grandpa on the dancefloor.

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See? We're crying!
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We danced until we could dance no more.
I'd say the bride and groom were pretty pooped out as well.
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The day was such a beautiful success and I am so happy for my friend.
I love you, Tiffany and Julian!

Tiff's Tahoe Bachelorette Weekend!

8:14 PM Posted In , , , 5 Comments »
This past weekend, myself along with my very best girlfriends got together to spend the weekend in Tahoe in honor of Tiff's last weekend of being single.
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We had an absolute blast and I have no doubt that I will have memories from this trip for MANY years to come. It was unforgettable to say the least!
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While walking around in Tahoe through all of the cute little shops, we stumbled upon a tiny little movie theater that played one showing a day. Wouldn't you know that "The Hangover" was playing and we had JUST been talking about seeing it the night before. More than half of the girls had already seen it but it was so good that they didn't mind seeing it a second time.
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Here is Tiff just outside of the theater in all of her Bachelorette gear. How cute is she?!
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The movie was absolutely hilarious and definitely gets two thumbs up from me! It was a fantastic start to our night for sure!
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After the movie we decided to check out a local bar. When we walked in, there were all of about seven older men sitting alone at the bar and we felt a wee bit awkward. That was definitely short-lived though, as about five minutes later, we loaded up the jukebox and the first round of drinks were purchased.
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Soon enough, the girls (not me, of course!) were doing things like this:
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And those men were VERY much entertained by their antics.
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I was the mother hen of the night. I babysat and kept them somewhat in line.
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Even Lauren attempted to loosen up a bit.
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Back at the condo pretending to be real life gangsters...
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We played games and laughed a LOT.
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Two Buck Chuck anyone?
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jello shots?
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Beer goggles!
(or wine, vodka, or tequila goggles)
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Julie busted out with a homemade party shirt. Awww yeah!
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We only semi tormented those brave enough to fall asleep before the rest of us.
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And in the morning we had pancakes!
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Before we headed back home we made one last stop to say goodbye to beautiful Lake Tahoe.
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It was such a fun trip. Most definitely the perfect bachelorette getaway and something I seriously needed. I haven't been away for more than one day from my babies....ever?
So yeah, I loved it and there have already been talks of going back again next year.
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Next up...T's wedding! Can't wait!
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