Disneyland With the Fam

As I am sure you all know from my last blog post, Jordan and I just spent a week in California, visiting family, friends and of course going to DISNEYLAND!!! My whole family (minus my sister Heather and her family) were able to come. We met at Disney's Grand California Hotel on Sunday afternoon where we had two suites so the whole family could stay together. My friend Kelsey came up from Corona to see me and we had a blast just sitting around the hotel talking. That night Disneyland was hosting Miley Cyrus' 16th Birthday party, so the hotel was crawling with celebrities. Steve Carell was there, Vanessa Williams was in the room next to ours, and my brother-in-law held the door open for Cindy Crawford. Kelsey and I sat in the lobby for a while trying to catch a glimpse of someone famous, but we weren't so lucky. The whole family had fun that night just being together and hanging out.

The next day, Monday, was our first day in the park. I was so excited to show Clara all the fun stuff to do at Disneyland. For the most part she couldn't care less where we were, but I know as she gets older she will grow to appreciate that magical place as much as I do! The first ride we went on was Pirates of the Carribean. I hadn't been on it since they changed it to add things from the movies. I really liked the changes! We spent the whole day running around the park as a family and enjoying our time together. There is a new Jedi training event at Disneyland that kids can be a part of. My nephews LOVE Star Wars, so we all went to watch them at that. Benjamin was the last kid to get picked to be a part of the show and it was so much fun watching him fight Darth Vader. He was in heaven! That night, the whole family went to dinner at The Blue Bayou, the restaurant inside Pirates and my dad's favorite part of Disneyland. It was Sorensen Party of 24! We had so much fun, and Jordan really enjoyed his surf and turf! Thank you dad!!

The next day was another full day at the park. We got to go into the park an hour early that day, so we got up bright and early and started the day off in Fantasyland and hit all those rides with Clara. Then we met up with some friends from Ogden, Dee and Julie Cox, and spent a couple of hours with them. It was so fun to see people from Ogden and hear about all our friends from there. While Julie and I were on Splash Mountain, Dee and Jordan took Clara on Winnie the Pooh. When they got off the ride, they were handed passes to stay in the park an hour extra. Sweet deal! We played the whole day, then sent Clara back to the hotel with my mom so she could have some grandma time, and we played in the park for an extra hour, with all the rides open and no lines on any of them! We were so tired when we got back to the hotel, but it was worth it! Thanks for babysitting mom!

On Wednesday, we had to pack all our stuff up and store it at the concierge desk of the hotel before going to California Adventures for the day. The first ride we went on in the park was Tower of Terror. I LOVE that ride. It is one of the only rides that still gives me that stomach lurching feeling. We had a great day hanging out with the family and going on tons of rides, but alas, all good things must come to an end! Our friends, Jeff and Ali came and picked us up. We got our beloved In n Out for dinner, then spent one last night in California before heading back to reality.

One very important lesson I learned on this trip is that I need to take more pictures! We were so wrapped up in playing that we didn't take very many photos to document it, so here is a selection from my meager Disneyland Collection!

Disneyland, HERE I COME!!!!!

Today we fly to California for a little time with family and friends and to go to the Big D! Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE Disneyland. I would live in the park if I could. It has been a while since I have been there, but still, I feel like I am traveling back in time to my childhood, which is a little weird since I have a child of my own, but so exciting none the less. The other day, Clara and I visited the Disneyland website and I showed her all the rides she can go on. Yeah she is only 3 months old. She doesn't care-yet. I will raise her to love Disneyland as much as I do! I could barely sleep last night, and all I can think right now is that it is only 4 1/2 hours until we leave for the airport! Here I come Disneyland! Your biggest fan is on its way! Oh, and one more shout out. Here I come IN n Out, I will visit you too!

Jordan still blogs ... sometimes

Hi, Internet friends.
This is Jordan. I've been, um, busy, shall we say and not doing a lot of blogging, or even reading blogs so much lately. So, I guess I wouldn't do so well on a quiz of what is going on in the lives of many of my friends and families. I could, however, tell you plenty about promissory estoppel and supplemental jurisdiction (want my hint on that one, just save yourself lots of trouble and only get involved in litigation in state courts).

So, I do have a few interesting things to share. I have been riding my bike to class most days, and I think I have ridden enough to save more than $40 in gas so far this semester! Hooray. I have also gotten in better shape and lately been able to listen to general conference on my ride, which makes the whole day better. Anyway, I originally wanted this post to be about my new bike mirror, which Crystal says makes me look like a nerd, and which helps me see the cars coming up behind me.

Anyway, I can't show you a picture of my mirror now, because it died today... Only two days after it came in the mail! This is what happened...

Crystal, Megan and I went to Ohio State's football game against Minnesota (they won) (also, if you're wondering, David didn't go because he sprained his ankle really bad and is on crutches right now ... poor guy) and we rode our bikes because it beat traffic and it was really fun. Also, there are a group of volunteers who run a bike corral parking service at the games, so we got to park our bikes in an enclosed, guarded area for free. That was great.

Anyway, after we left the game, we were riding home and I was having a good time riding along, so I decided to have some fun by riding up on the hill beside the bike path and then dropping off an 18-inch landscaping wall for fun just because I have a cool mountain bike and I can. So, I said "Hey girls, watch this," and went for it.

As my front tire went off the drop-off, all of a sudden I felt like I got punched in the face. I stopped quickly and tried to gather what had happened. The first thing I knew was that I had been hit in the face and I had no idea how. Also, I put my hand to my face and found I was smeared with some sort of petroleum jelly. I looked back at the place I'd dropped off and didn't see anything. Then, much to my chagrin, I noticed my new, special mirror was no longer attached to my helmet. Megan found the little arm of the mirror, but the mirror itself was lost. I was still completely confused as to what hit me.

I wondered if it was some sort of Vaseline container that had flipped up off my tire, but I couldn't find anything. Then, Megan found a huge clue which broke our case wide open. She found a footlong, 3-pound spring lying in the grass and leaves alongside the trail. After I saw that spring, and saw that it was covered in some sort of petroleum goo, we figured out what had happened.
As I dropped off that ledge, the spring in the front fork shock of my bike shot out of its casing, going straight up and hitting me in the face. Along with the goo on my face, I was bleeding in a couple places, too, as it hit me in the chin and the left cheek. My cheek almost immediately began swelling up will probably leave a mark for some time.

When I got back to my bike, I realized just how much the shocks make a difference, as every bump was very hard, and it felt like was always riding downhill, having to lean way forward to rest on the handlebars. Since I'm pretty sure bike shocks aren't supposed to explode and hit you in the face, I sent Specialized an e-mail to see if it is under warranty or whatnot, so I hope they get back to me soon. In the meantime, I guess, I'll be riding the bus to school.

Now that you've listened to my story, I'll show you some pictures.
Here is me and the spring, and then a closeup of my almost tennis ball-sized lump on my face.


Now, here is a picture of the Ohio State game we went to (the stadium is huge!)




And, finally, a picture of world's cutest college football fan. (We root for the Buckeyes out of courtesy, but we're still Cougars!)

Tag I'm It

Ok Donna! Here it goes!

Rules: Take pictures of certain places/items in house as is and post them

1. The kitchen sink. I just made cupcakes, can you tell?

2. Toilet: not too bad!
3. Landry Room: Not the most organized, but it will do!
4. Fridge: Two things I notice, Jordan's lunch that he forgot today(grocery sack, top shelf) and those cupcakes I made. We are going to the Institute Opening Social here at Ohio State
5. Spouse/kids right now: Jordan is at school, so I can't get a pic of him, but Clara is just hanging out in her little bouncer chair being a happy camper.6. Favorite shoes: Drat! I forgot the picture! Oh well, they are standard brown flip flops that I wear anywhere I can get away with it!

7. Favorite room: It is so my kitchen! It is HUGE compared to our last house! I love cooking in here!
8. Dream Vacation: See my last post, or DISNEYLAND!!!!! I love Disneyland and I would go there every day if I could. I am so excited. Although, I really do love traveling, so maybe a year long (or more) trip around the entire world. I think that covers it!

9. Closet: Its kind of small, but it works!
10. Self Portrait: Good thing I actually got dressed today before I decided to check blogs!
Ok, so Tag, your it! Kimmy, Maren, Megan, and Rachel

T minus One Week!

Not that I am counting, but we leave for California in one week. Disneyland here I come! I am so excited, I go to the Disneyland website at least once a day. Clara is so excited for her first trip to the Big D!