Disneyland Birthdays

For a year, my dad has been looking forward to his 60th birthday because he wanted everyone to get together for a vacation. With 5 grown kids in our family, this isn't an easy task. But somehow, we all managed to make it to Disneyland earlier this month to celebrate my dad's birthday. It just so happens my birthday is 2 days before my dad's so we got to celebrate mine too! I can't remember the last time the 5 of us kids went on a vacation together so it's a pretty big deal. 

Day 1: My birthday at Disneyland

Sisters!

Cousins :)

After waiting forever to get our tickets, we're finally in!

Amora was a big hit with Mary Poppins and Alice. She had no idea who Mary Poppins was and probably didn't know Alice either haha.

 Billy was obsessed with Eric and wanted to ride with him on all the rides. He went on space mountain (even though he's afraid of the dark) and came out just fine thanks to Eric talking him through it!

Eric and his Ewok shirt in front of Star Tours. 

Taking a break from standing in lines.

Can someone say GQ model?!

Sibling love at Indiana Jones! Wendy couldn't join us because she was a little occupied with Savannah and Amora. But Billy hung out with us on all the big rides he could. 

 Day 2: California Adventure

Cars Land has been the biggest addition since we were here last. Eric was very excited to see it, unfortunately he didn't get to order anything from one of the cones. 

 We waited in line for an hour and half for the new Cars ride. It was pretty good, but not good enough to wait in line again. The background made me feel like I was in Southern Utah. It was pretty legit. 

I love these two!

 Day 3: Dad's birthday at Disneyland and California Adventure

Wendy made these shirts for Cyndee and the grandkids to match my dad's. 

 Before we headed out the park, Audrey and I gave dad his birthday hat that says "Happy 60th" embroidered on the back so he will always remember this bday.

Dad and his daughters

The big event for my dad's birthday was Breakfast with Minnie and Friends. The characters went from table to table throughout the meal so we could take pictures with them. It was the only time all 18 of us were together in the parks. My poor dad was having some health issues during the trip, so we're just thankful he could be at his birthday breakfast (even if he couldn't eat much).

 This is either Chip or Dale. Avery (my stepsister's daughter) could tell them apart easily. 

 We made sure each character got a pic with my dad. 

Minnie and Birthday Boy!

John's face in this picture makes me laugh. 

My dad and his 5 kids. Captain Hook was trying to be funny by wearing the hat. 

Adam, Wendy, and Savannah

Me and my daddy

Eric and I went to Toonville (I think that's what it's called). I had never gone before this trip, but it had some cute picture ops. 

Esther, Billy, and me.

One of Eric's requirements on this trip was getting his Dole Whip ice cream. He got the float with pineapple juice in it. I recommend doing the ice cream without the float.

Refer back to his shirt on Day 2. 

 After busting our butts to hit up every ride we HAD to go on, we were completely EXHAUSTED. My feet hurt so bad at the end of each day. My dad rented a house about a mile from the park so we also walked to and from. Let's just say I was dragging my feet on the way back every day.

We had a little birthday party for my dad after the park. Happy 60th Birthday, Dad!!

 And to wrap up our trip, we played our traditional game of Scum. I probably won the whole thing. See, I'm sitting in the president's seat!

Not pictured: Eric, who was taking a nap. 

 Thank you to my Dad and Cyndee for the awesome family vacation. We had a blast and it was so fun so spend time with the fam!

Snow Days!

Looking out the window today, all I see is white EVERYWHERE! There have been quite a few large snow storms in Kansas this year. The city basically shuts down whenever there is a storm, but I don't mind because I get to work from home. I wish I could just relax all day like Eric when he gets snow days, but oh well. I try to take breaks and play out in the snow with him. 

Here's the storm from last month...

which led to this big guy!

 Okay, so Eric MAY have made the whole thing. But I rounded him out and dressed him up--hat and all. 

Happy snow days!

Savannah Jade Loumeau

At the beginning of this month I went to Boise to visit my sister and her family! She had a baby in December so we mostly hung out at the house and I got to play "mommy" for a day. 

I also got to play "photographer" for about ten minutes. If you know Savannah, you know why it only lasted ten minutes.

Here is the best shot we got out of the photo shoot.  

I've never photographed babies before so the rest aren't very good. Oh well. You live and learn! She's still cute :)

Not hating it...

Kinda liking it...

Not real sure what to think about the new position...

We tried to reposition her arm so it wasn't right in front of her face and then she kept pushing herself up. This didn't make her very happy. But I love her grumpy face!!

Mad but so so cute.

The end. I'll have to wait until another family member has a baby for me to practice some more. 

London

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to experience a lot of firsts. For starters, it was my first time going to EUROPE!! I went to our London office with my co-worker, Missy, to work but we also managed to squeeze some fun in there too! It was a little sad that I couldn't bring Eric with me, but he's happy that I can take full advantage of my job by visiting foreign countries. I haven't traveled to too many places, but here are my first impressions of London. Enjoy!

Waiting for the plane in KC.

We flew out on Monday night and arrived Tuesday at noon. On the flight into London I had 3 full seats to myself. Unfortunately, I couldn't sleep the WHOLE time because they made an announcement that woke me up. I failed to find a giant London sign so this is as good as it gets. Me in my tired glory.

We had a lot of work to do, so after we checked into the hotel, we went straight to the office...after grabbing some food of course. I learned that hot chocolate is not as sweet in London. We Americans like our sugar and I definitely prefer milk chocolate over dark chocolate. 

Here's the view from our office! We had to walk over water to get there. 

 That night, Missy and I had dinner with a supplier. It was a huge reality check that service in London is not so awesome. I later learned that it's because they don't get paid off of tips like they do here, so there's no incentive to be speedy. Placing an order, getting the food, and getting the check all took forever. And to top it all off, it's customary to have a coffee after a meal (which I don't drink). I thought I was going to die during the coffee because I was SOOOO tired. 

Missy's meal: head and tail. Gross. 

My ravioli at the Italian restaurant. It kind of had a weird flavor to it. 

 On Wednesday we celebrated Missy's birthday!! After work, we hit the town...

 and saw WICKED!! Check out our awesome seats :) I was still exhausted, but the second half was so amazing that I woke right up. 

 After telling Eric about my Wicked experience, I said something about the main girl being name Gar-linda. He's like, "Um, no, it's Ga-linda." Apparently the accent changed a few minor things, but I didn't know any different!

 You can't be on a global team without experiencing different types of food every meal. This was my first Persian meal (and we had more Persian food the next day). It wasn't too shabby. 

This made me giggle. I love how people in the UK speak English but it's still different. 

On Friday, Missy and I needed to take a break from the office. We went on a walk along the water and checked out the sites. 

One of my many London boyfriends. 

 This is the Little Venice of London. I've never been to Italy, but apparently it's full of white buildings and this spot along the water looks a lot like it. I thought it was cute. 

 I didn't think anything of these boats until I learned people LIVED IN THEM. And yes, even though you live on a boat, who says you can't have a garden?

 Yummy Pad Thai!

 I have to give a shout out to London. Thank you for these reminders! I automatically look left toward traffic but this was a life saver, literally. 

Love it!

 FINALLY, we got to Saturday which was our fun day! I rode the train for the first time! And I appreciated this sign since SO many people smoke in London. I had to hold my breath a lot walking along the street.  

Train Station

Phone booths were EVERYWHERE! Literally every 20 feet on some streets. I think it's charming :)

 And people in London refer to public restrooms as toilets. Just a fun little tidbit for my 5 readers out there. 

 Our main tourist trip was to Windsor Castle where the queen lives when she's not at the Buckingham Palace. 

Gorgeous.

 We toured the castle grounds and part of the inside. Unfortunately cameras weren't allowed inside (not that it stopped Missy haha) but I was a good girl. 

 Next we grabbed some lunch at a local pub by the castle. I had my first ginger beer (and a bite of fish and chips thanks to Missy). For some reason I was expecting it to be like delicious butter beer from Harry Potter. I think ginger beer is an acquired taste, but I can't wait to try butter beer at Harry Potter Land whenever I go!

 The Crooked House is a coffee shop we passed by. Awesome! The restaurants are so small that people eat on the main floor and the top floor. 

 After our trip to Windsor, Missy and I headed back into the city to try to catch some pics of the main sites before the sun went down. 

Big Ben

The Eye

My favorite part of the whole trip was walking around and seeing the beautiful architecture. London has so much history, and although I'm not a history buff by any means, I appreciate the beauty!

Well, that's the gist of my trip!