Hoo Knew?

My mom used to work in a building not too far from my home. It was so nice because I would get weekly visits and could pop in on her any time. Once, I drove by her building and was surprised to see an owl on the roof. I quickly pulled into the parking lot to flip around and do another drive by to make sure I wasn't seeing things. Sure enough, there it was. I got out my phone and took a picture...

When I got home, I called her at work and told her there was an owl on the roof of her building. She laughed and then laughed some more. Apparently they had some troubles with woodpeckers pecking on the sides of the building and apparently woodpeckers don't like owls. The owners went and bought fake owls (yes, now you are laughing) to put on all 4 corners of the building. OK, so the woodpeckers weren't the only ones fooled!

I went back later that week with my camera, zoomed in and took this shot...

Caramel or Carmel?

Disneyland has the best of everything. My favorite treat was a caramel apple. A green, juicy, tart apple covered in caramel from heaven. Yum...

Did you know that carmel and caramel are not the same thing?. One morning I stopped for a latte at one of my favorite bakeries. I asked them to add carmel to my coffee. The gal looked at me and said, "You mean caramel, right?" Uh, yes, yes I did... I learned something new that day.

Thankfully, I knew better than to make the same mistake when I got my apple.

Lazy Sunday

Today was spent just lazing around... I unpacked, did a little laundry and just loved on my boys. I missed them a ton and I think by the reception I got, they missed me too. It's nice to be back. For whatever reason, my house looks bigger and the little things that bugged me about it, just didn't matter when I got home. I am just happy to have a comfortable home to live in, in a beautiful, clean city.

Speaking of appreciating my home... can I just tell you that my car, while it is not sporty or fun or even real nice to look at, got 42.666 miles to the gallon? I spent less than $120 on fuel for this trip (the average gallon was like $3) and my last fill up was in Willard so I still have a full tank... that I can appreciate!

Homeward Bound

Well, today was the long, long drive back to Utah. Actually, it didn't really seem to take that long at all. We made it in just over 11 hours and I only had to drink 1 Red Bull. Jill wrote the whole time while I listened to music. We pondered "What Would You Do?" questions my brother had posted in a recent blog and just enjoyed sitting on our butts.

I have to say, there is no place like Las Vegas and there is no place like Disneyland. Jill thought it was funny that we were going to be in "Sin City" and in "The Happiest Place on Earth" in the same trip. I would rather spend my time in Disneyland. If I won a huge amount of money in Vegas, I would take my entire family to Disneyland.

Matt... I couldn't find you an Ariel shirt. I asked at each shop we went into and was always led to the little girl's section. They had the cutest jammies, but I didn't think you would fit into them. One guy I asked said, "We don't carry any shirts for men, but let me show you one of the BEST pictures I have ever seen of Ariel." He then proceeded to the books, grabbed a princess book and then said, "If you turn to page 85... doesn't she just look retro and trendy?" WOW... I took a picture just for you.

Here is a collection of our other photos...

World of Color

California Adventure premiered their new "World of Color" light show tonight. This was unforgettable... Water, color, lasers, music... WOW!

Our ticket time was for 11:15 pm and we were supposed to be in line an hour early. The temptation to leave the line was huge, we had whiners behind us (a sad story of food, love and denial) and a bunch of obnoxious, tired kids in front. To add to the madness, we were in line under the wild rapids attraction and had to listen to the clack of chains and the repetitive oooga, wampa, ooga wampa sound it made. Torture, but so worth the wait!

Just so you know the photos and video I took did not do this justice so I pulled a section off of You Tube if you want to see it. This was the best part of the show...

Post

Greetings from Disneyland... I have been blogging, I just haven't had the ability to use the internet. When I get back on Saturday, I will post Tuesday thru Friday.

We are having fun.

Rides, rides and more rides...

I can't say there are any L-A-M-E rides or attractions at Disney or California Adventure. There are some that I like better than others, but everything is entertaining... Here are my favorites in no particular order. I am not going to go into too much detail in case you have never been there, but plan to go someday.

DISNEYLAND

Haunted Mansion

This is incredible for its graphics. Ghosts everywhere... even one sitting with you!

Indiana Jones

This is so fun! As you can see, even standing in line for 45 minutes is entertaining because your surroundings are interesting to look at. I love being tossed around in the jeep AND I love that Indiana makes a few special appearances... This is Jill's favorite.

Space Mountain

Nothing like a roller coaster in the dark.


Yes, that is us in the back...

We only rode this once, but not for lack of trying. We fast passed it, but it was out of order when we came back. Then we stood in line for nearly 45 minutes on our last night, about missed the fireworks, and then to our dismay, it went out of order when we were about to enter it! My theory is this: when people puke at high speed, in the dark, in a very closed space, it takes a lot of time *gag* to clean up the mess.

Star Wars Jedi Training Academy

Jill and I loved watching this! Young kids given the opportunity to train with a Jedi and then fight Darth Vader or Darth Maul.


Some take this responsibility very seriously. One kid forced back 2 stormtroopers (who totally went with it) without being prompted by the trainer.



This is awesome and I am jealous it is only for kids! So entertaining to watch!


CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE

Tower of Terror

WOW! This ride is intense every time. Great graphics and of course a great rush. Even on our umpteenth time, I had to grip my seat!

Soaring Over California

This for me is a serious trip. I don't know what it is that makes me want to leap out of my seat, but I really have to restrain from doing so. Incredible. Jill hates this ride but humored me anyway. In the end, I think she at least enjoyed watching me freak out.

California Screamer

The smoothest roller coaster in the world! It's fun to be launched up the initial climb and the g-force in the loop was like none other.