three mini adventures

I've got a lot to update since our California trip. Let's get to it!

1) BASEBALL

A couple weeks ago, Sean and I went to a BYU baseball game. Twas quite enjoyable! We saw a grand slam and cool run where the runner did a handstand over the catcher to touch the base. Safe!


I wish we could have gone to more games but it's always too darn cold. Even that night felt a bit frigid.

2) CREPES

Another night, after looking at that one crepe picture from our trip, we were just craving some. So... we made some! Using this recipe. It's really not all that hard. We filled some with nutella and bananas and some with nutella and peanut butter. Oh man were they delectable!

My food photography needs some work. I think I'm so impatient to start eating that I don't take time to take a good picture. I'm not sure I can fix that. I mean, look at that explosion of deliciousness!


And in the process of making crepes, I busted my trusty plastic measuring cup. I dropped it right on a sweet spot and it split clean in two. I still haven't given it a proper burial, I'm too attached.

3) MEMORIAL WEEKEND

And then last weekend we headed to Colorado for some fun with the Bradley family. Unfortunately, I have this awful habit of not taking pictures of people. This is the only I took of our driving crew. Sean's got a great family!


In fact I only took pictures during a little hike. Funny story, Saturday morning Sean and I woke up, got ready, and went upstairs to find everyone gone! After a few attempts (cell phone reception's a little sketch in CO) Sean contacted his dad, found out they'd gone on a hike, and got directions to join them. So we went off and started heading up the trail. After 40 minutes of not finding them, we finally called them again and realized that we had gone to the wrong trailhead- we were heading south down the same trail the others were walking up! But the trail was too long for us to meet up. At least we got some fun pictures out of it!


This is called Indian Paintbrush. I keep forgetting and Sean keeps reminding me. It's a beautiful contrast against the green. Colorado's such a beautiful state.

There you go, the highlights of the last month. Nice and brief, eh?

And the mystery store is...

...Anthropologie! Have any of you been there? I pretty much loved every single thing I saw. Even Sean enjoyed looking at the store decor.

However, the prices were... a tad beyond my range. But I did splurge a little bit!

What did I buy?


Oh look, there's four packages all neatly wrapped in tissue. Really cute tissue.

And beneath all that, more wrapping! What could they be?

Ta Da! I've been wanting some cute bowls to use for desserts, condiments, etc. I love 'em!

See how the glaze cracks and the color fades and intensifies with little flecks of brown. They're perfect.

And microwave and dishwasher safe (one day I'll have a dishwasher to put them in). And they're only $4 a pop. If you would like to buy some, here you go. And while your there, take a look around. I guarantee you'll love everything you'll see.

Vegas or bust

At the very last minute, Sean and I decided to spend a few hours in Las Vegas. The only other time I've been, we basically just hunted for some Chocalixers from Godiva, so this time we did some exploring. I love the free parking, the plethora of shopping venues and the not so expensive hotels outside of the strip (ours provided free chocolate chips cookies that were mmmm so magnificent!) There were a lot of aspects about Vegas that were much less than desirable however. At one point, we were stuck walking behind these drunk guys for 2o minutes. They were a tad... obnoxious. And a couple of them had Pacman shaved into their hair. No joke.

I think it's funny how they make themes of different cities around the world. You can just go to Vegas and you're instantly a world traveler!


oh... well... we found chocolixers again. We didn't even mean to this time. Last visit, we spent about an hour walking around, looking for a Godiva store. This time, the first shopping area we visited had one at the first corner. How could we not buy some. It was fated.

That ball I'm holding was signed by Michael Jordan. Magical. I'm still tingling.

And I'm not actually holding it. Photo trick! Gotcha! You were completely fooled, huh? Completely.


More candy! This time at M&M world! We spent a lot of time there actually. We even saw a 3D movie! Which was... almost entertaining.


Ha, they sell M&M slot machines. Jackpot!


Even M&M chess boards. Collectibles!

Here's a little taste of NY. Now I never have to go there.


The Bellagio fountains are a lot of fun. We took approximately 87 photos trying to get a decent water shot. Didn't work.


I'm going to make a bold announcement now. Are you ready for it? Here goes...

Poppies... are my new favorite flower.

You heard it here first, folks. Count yourself lucky.


This just looks like a plain ol' glass rod, doesn't it? Well, IT ISN'T. It's a stream of water! There were a bunch arching over a little pathway inside the Bellagio. Sean and I kept poking it and accidentally spraying people. They gave us dirty looks.


I was so proud of how well I framed this. No cropping at all. Please praise me.


Ah, can anyone guess what store this is? It's one I've heard good things about but never had the chance to explore. It has super cute clothes and home decor. And is more expensive than I'd like. And most likely my new favorite store. And will be the subject of my next post.


And now, to summarize the attitude of Las Vegas...

Further

NOW guess what- Sean got accepted to Baylor! We're SUPER excited! What a good week! It's great to have choices. We're still waiting to hear from some others but Baylor's a great option!

So... I've got some more Disney pictures for you. I know, I know, it's been something like three weeks since we've been back. I had ambitions of posting everything within a week. Ha! Now I'm all sorts of backed-up. So let's get to it- here's our second day at Disneyland! I was really truly scared of the Tower of Terror. Really truly. You can tell that from my expression. (That really is a good ride isn't it? Safe "free falling" is the way to go)

I thought this was fun, a rollercoaster track over the canopy. Fun colors!

Okay, okay, okay, have you guys heard of the Toy Story Midway Mania game in California Adventures? It totally rivals the Buzz Lightyear ride. I think it's new and the lines were really long for it (and no fast pass available!). It's basically like a shooting video game that you're in and it's in 3D (hence the glasses... and silly grins). So you're trying to pop balloons and toss rings and hit targets.

First round, Sean beat me. Sigh.

BUT THEN.... I TOTALLY WHOOPED HIM!!! Booya!!!! (Even though my accuracy was down the toilet. I musta had some fast fingers!)

Ah, yes, we went on Grizzly River Rapids. Because of Sean's insistance. How did we fare? Well, Sean emerged with one sole wet patch.

I however, was d.o.u.s.e.d. As you can see, only a few places remained dry. I literally had a puddle of water in my lap. Sean thinks his one wet patch was run-off from me. At least I decided to wear my bathing suit under my clothes that day. It only took me about 2 hours to dry off...

One of the last rides of the day was It's a Small World (that's what it's called, right?), nice and relaxing. I think it looks cooler than the Disneyworld version.

And just to mix things up a little, when we were driving back...


...we stopped by the St. George Temple. It's so pretty and so surprisingly white.

And it has a neat weather vane on top.

And GIANT BEES in their flowers. Run away! Ha, Sean tried to kill a bee in our house with bug spray the other day but it didn't die right away. So Sean ran away for fear of retribution and didn't see where it finally did die. So there's a dead bee somewhere in our house... gross. Such a masculine husband.

Don't be fooled! The trip's not done yet! I have one evening in Vegas still to tell you about. Stay tuned!

ACCEPTED!

Sean just received his first acceptance to medical school! Finally!

This school is called the Rosalind Franklin Chicago Medical School and is actually located in my home county. How's about that. We're still waiting to hear from several other schools but it's SO great to know that no matter what, Sean's going to med school.

Sean's going to be a doctor!!

Hand and Foot

Grauman's Chinese Theater! After a super fun dinner with my old roommate Nikki (of which I neglected to photograph. Dang it) we ran to visit those famous hands and feet in the sidewalk. It was actually a lot more fun than we thought it would be.

Oh, before we got there, we drove by the LA temple. Ugh, we couldn't get a photo without that dumb lightpost.

Oh, and next to Grauman's is the Kodak Theatre. That's where the Oscars are, right?

Oh, and across the street is the place where Jimmy Kimmel does his show. Have you guys seen it? We just finally saw a show a few months ago and guys, let me tell you, he's funny. I don't know why I hadn't watched it before (well, probably because it's on extra late and I assumed that any late nighter besides Conan wasn't worth my time) but he's great. And Jimmy has Lost actors on too, so that makes it even better.

And I'm laughing in that picture. Because Jimmy Kimmel makes me laugh. Get it?

Okay, back to the Famous Sidewalk Graffiti. Here's Mel. His feet are bigger than mine.

And Cary Grant. His feet AREN'T bigger than Sean's.

LOOK! Dick Van Dyke! I was sooooooo excited! Do you know how much Dick Van Dyke show I used to watch? Best show on old school Nick at Nite. Better than I Love Lucy. Not even kidding. This may have been the highlight of my trip.

So, there were some funny characters hanging out front. Sorry photos aren't so clear, I was trying to be inconspicuous. Because this was one couple I had to capture for all humanity to see.

I also saw...

...this. A little later, I saw him drinking a cup of coffee. That's how I knew he wasn't the real deal.

How about that, Sean's hands weren't that much smaller than Conan the Barbarian's. Guess what quote Sean's saying right now. Hint: It's written in the picture.

What made this place so fun was discovering which famous people had signed a square. Why is that fun? Dunno, but it was. You know, speaking of old TV shows, I think I found out about this tradition from I Love Lucy (or one of the other Lucy TV permutations. ... I watched a lot of Nick at Nite) where Lucy kept messing up John Wayne's wet cement. Maybe this childhood memory lingered into my visit. Or maybe it's just plain fun.

I got a kick out of the shoes Johnny Depp decided to wear. I'm thinking... carpenter boots.

Look at those tiny, little feet. I think it's about the size of my big toe. Though that's not saying much, I have a big big toe.

Lucas and Spielberg. On the same square. Boom. Your brain just exploded.
(it got dark and I had to use the flash, sorry it don't look so purty)

I know you've wondered what R2, 3PO, and Vader's footprints look like. Now you know. Darth's are very normal, surprisingly. I'd expect it to have... spikes or something. Well, I guess he has the force and therefore has no need for weaponized feet.

We were only there for a half hour or so but golly, we had a good time!

Look forward to a little more Disney in my next post!