Festival of Lights...

So last weekend, Tyler and I went with our friends (yes you read right, friends) Mike and Karly Bailey to Griffith Park (where the Hollywood sign is) to see the light festival put on every year by the LA Dept. of Water and Power. Thankfully for us, the Bailey's were in the know and recommended parking and walking the route. For a half a mile long route, it can take almost 3 hours to drive it because you wait in traffic for so long just to get to the beginning of the show. Leave it to LA to make something so miserable. So we parked at the zoo and got free Starbucks before heading out into the wild. I must admit that I have been missing snow, but with snow comes bitter cold and on this particular evening, I was thankful to be living in SoCal. It was probably around 60 or 65. Just chilly enough to make it festive but warm enough to not need hats, gloves, or a coat (just a down vest did the trick). Here are some photos of the evening below.

Us at the beginning:

LAX:

Griffith Observatory:

Golden Gate (because there's nothing cool like that in LA)

Hollywood Bowl:

Christmas at Disneyland...

Vote on your favorite potential Christmas card photo. Sorry the last two are sideways. And don't suggest the Buzz Lightyear one, that is just for show.









So we went to Disneyland last week and it was all decorated for Christmas. It has been nice and cool or even cold here lately and that made the day at the park all the more enjoyable. It feels like it could be Christmastime, sans snow. And last year in Chicago there was no snow, so it feels very similar to that. Here are some pics of our day.

Our Thanksgiving...

This thanksgiving we weren't able to go home so instead we hosted 14 other people for dinner. There was no football, but there was plenty of turkey. My recommendation: Boston Market. For little money you can get a fully cooked turkey that only takes 90 min. to reheat, stuffing, potatoes, gravy, and cornbread. Others brought green bean casserole, 3 bean salad, yams, home made cranberries, and lots of dessert. Through my small group of five women, two were able to come and brought their husbands, other friends, and David and Teresa came too. It wasn't like home, but it was sure better than just the two of us.

mike carving!

men in the kitchen...how odd.

before we ate

me and karly from small group

i am excited about this drumstick

we had a full apartment!

more people

late night game crowd!

STATE CHAMPIONS! WHAT WHAT!!

Tyler and I listened to the broadcast of Alex's win in the State Championship football game at the Metrodome last Saturday (and were mentioned on the broadcast at www.mnsportsnetwork.com). It was pretty exciting. We scored in the 1st. The game then went scoreless until the final minute of the game, when Mahtomedi scored and got the extra 2, leaving the score at 7-8 them. Then as the clock ran out our QB threw the ball, it got tipped twice, was caught by our guy who narrowly avoided a tackle, ballerina danced to avoid going out of bounds, then leapt into end-zone to score the winning goal. Alex is a defensive-man and it was thrilling to listen to. And what was more thrilling was finding an online live broadcast that was free, which was a feat on its own. My parents taped it so we are going to watch it at Christmas.

California Christmas

So I am having a hard time adjust to to how it's going to be here. Normally I would be walking up and down Michigan Ave as they put up lights before it snows, hurrying through the crowds of people and the wind.  I would window shop at Prada and Barney's, walk down Oak St past the Esquire and Nicole Miller where I got my wedding dress.  I would breeze past the tree outside the Hancock before darting into Water Tower Place.  I could go on and on, but the point is that at Christmas time I LOVE being downtown on the Mile.  Horse drawn carriages go by.  There is snow and ice and cones directing you away from buildings so you don't get hit with said ice.  It's awesome.

California is different.  Awesome as it is to be sitting here in 70 degree weather, it feels weird to see decorations on palm trees.  And no matter how many times I tell myself that Jesus was born amidst the palm trees, it still looks weird.  But we are doing our best to decorate.  We had a tree and bought an array of ornaments because I can't put up all the ornaments I've made or collected since birth because of our stupid cat.  Charlie will play with anything sparkly that moves so sentimental childhood ornaments are out.  So the tree is up and it makes me feel better.  There is are a wreath and lights outside, but it's weird to know that snow will never fall on them.  But inside it feels nice.  We've been playing a lot of Dr. Mario and listening to Christmas music.  That, along with the fact that snow and skiing are only two hours away at Big Bear Mtn., makes me feel better.

But there better be some snow in Minnesota when we get there.

Halloween: Pumpkin CARVING Time!

Hey All,

Tonight is Halloween. We carved our pumpkins last night for the all hallow's eve and watched Jaws, a terrifying movie. The last time I had seen it was on our honeymoon so it was fun to revisit Amity. No trick or treaters, but we don't exactly live on a neighborhoody street. And that just means more candy for us!

Disneyland with Thais!

So my best friend, Thais, was here in Los Angeles, in early October and had some free time between her San Francisco Convention and her Los Angeles Convention for work. It had been her birthday the week before while she was in San Fran, so once she got here, I thought it was appropriate to take her to the happiest place on earth for a belated b-day celebration. I love you, Thai!

On the Astro Orbitor!

Our first stop on the tour, the Princess' Castle!

I'm all about the stationary tea cup, the spinning ones make me sick!

We're fantastic in our Fantasia hats!

Thais sporting a birthday cake hat for her birthday at the Mad Hatter. I thought they should've had Un-birthday hats, too!

"The Happiest Birthday On Earth"

Pumpkin Time!

So last Sunday after trying out a new church (which we are really hopeful about/more on church visits later), Tyler and I went pumpkin shopping. I love fall because you get to do things like this. There were SO MANY to choose from and there was a little petting zoo there as well. It was just good plain relaxing fun. We got two orange ones for ourselves and white one for Charlie because we are yuppies like that. Stay tuned for the "before" and "after" photos in a later Carving the Pumpkins blog. We aren't going to do it until the last second because we want them to last for our bbq in two weeks, but Halloween is this week so we need to carve them before then. We are super stoked that we may actually get trick or treaters this year. We never have before because we've always been in a building, so we are holding our breathe to see if kids come to us now. We're still in a building, but the door is accessed from the outside and it's on the ground floor so we'll see.

BBQ Test Run

Here you'll see photos of our trial run with the bbq before we attempt to entertain others. It went okay after the first try an burn out. Getting the whole thing situated was an ordeal. First we got a dented bbq, then we broke the handle of the next one less than 10 minutes after getting home. The one you see here is our 3rd. And we got coals for a gas stove. Why would such a thing exist, you say? We had no idea either except to confuse the people who can only afford coal ones and for nostalgia for the rich. Anyway, we made steaks and corn on the cob. Yum. Tip of the day: read the manual for how to light the coals, then just douse the shit out of them.

carnival!!

So there is this carnival that travels around California and makes frequent stops at the park two blocks away from our house. This has been it's third visit since we moved here, so we once again decided to go and to bring a camera along for the ride as well this time. Tyler counts down the days until the carnival is here. He gets so excited which is really awesome and cute. We went on the ferris wheel (go Chicago), the swings and did the fun house this time. Here are the pics of our evening out: