Showing posts with label Love Life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Love Life. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Mom's Visit & Disneyland

A couple weeks ago my beautiful Mom and her hubby, Vince, came out to visit for my brother's wedding. Jacob and I set up a bed in our guest room and they made themselves at home. It was so nice to have my mom stay at my house; and it was the first time we've entertained long-term guests.

While they were here, we did some fun "tourist" things. Vince has visited California once before, but this time we had more time to traipse around town. On Wednesday, we went to Hollywood Blvd. to see the Grauman's Chinese Theater and look at the stars along the way. Then we went to the Griffith Observatory; which was just beautiful - packed with amazing views of Hollywood.

Disneyland Adventure!

Jacob & Me in Tomorrow Land
The real adventure was on Thursday when we went to Disneyland and California Adventure. We had a nice group of 8 people including: me, my Mom, Vince, Jacob, Tim (my older brother), Rachel (Tim's new wife), Sandy (Rachel's mom) and Sarah (Rachel's sister).

Tim & Rachel in Tomorrow Land
I hadn't been to Disneyland since I was a little kid and I wasn't expecting much. I thought it would just be a nice relaxing day. While it was relaxing, it was also so much fun! The lines were only about 15-20 minutes per ride, so we got to experience so much. Plus, we got the park hopper tickets so we also got to go on some rides in California Adventure. Here are some of my favorite pics from the day:

Tim, Rachel, Sarah, Mom, Sandy & Vince


Tim & Jacob waiting for the Buzz Lighyear ride
Mom & Vince with Buzz
The Jungle Cruise
I don't know about you, but I love the Jungle Cruise - cheesy jokes and all.

Front Row on the Tower of Terror
This ride was definitely one of my favorites. You'll see Jacob and I in the front left. Then there's Vince, Sarah and Tim on the front right. I don't know if you can tell from this pic, but Sarah is holding on to both Tim and Vince for dear life. lol

Carousel in California Adventure
Now, we come to the perfect ending to our day - the carousel ride in California Adventure. If you've never been on this carousel, it's not a normal carousel. They have the carts "hung" so that they actual slide back and forth as it moves; making it about 100 times more scary. They were able to fit all 8 of us in one cart and it was so frightening and hilarious at the same time. By the time we were making our first descent, the cart was swinging like crazy, and the guys rocking it more didn't help. The picture above was taken while we were freaking out. My Mom was screaming and crying (she thought we were going to swing off the carousel into the water), I was losing my mind, and as you can see - the guys were just laughing and enjoying every second.

Carousel Ride in California Adventure
 On the other side of the cart, we have Sarah, Sandy, Rachel, and Tim. This picture was taken during a calm moment of our ride. Sandy was sharing with my Mom the "we are going to die" feelings. lol.

This day was so much fun, and it left me with a reminder of how thankful I am for my family. I love them with all my heart and I'm so glad that it's expanding to now include Rachel's family too! I'm so thankful for this daydream I got to live out!

Make Your Day Dreams Happen
~Amber~

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Productive Weekend and a Soiree!

This week my mom and her hubby, Vince are coming to stay at my house for my brother's wedding. I am beyond excited about this! We are going to Disneyland along with some other good 'ol California tourist sight-seeing expeditions since Vince hasn't seen much of California.

That means this weekend I had to get my house in order and check some things off my list that I've been wanting to get done. I won't bore you with the details, but we have gotten so much done and I feel greatly accomplished.

Oh, one funny side note - We took Shadow and Rocky to Petco so Shadow can get caught up on his shots. It was raining outside, so that means wet paws. Petco has very slick floors. Rocky still gets freaked out by new places. So as soon as she stepped foot in that Petco, it was like those cartoons where the character is trying to run so fast but they go nowhere. And the more she skidded around, the more freaked out she got; which caused her to slip even more. I felt so bad for her, but it was hilarious! She eventually calmed down and it was a good experience to expose her to a new place. Our dogs make us laugh all the time.

Last night, our church (Lighthouse in Newbury Park) put on this awesome Soiree. (Soiree is just a fancy term for party.) There were appetizers, a live band, photo booths, a bubble station for the kids, and my church family. I had so much fun hanging out and we even danced for a few songs. Of course we took advantage of the photo booth and I had to share our pictures.

Jacob and I taking advantage of their props


Tim & Rachel looking classy as ever





Tim and Rachel are getting married next weekend and they are adorable little lovebirds. Tim is my brother - one of the sweetest guys you will ever meet - and Rachel has become one of my best friends. I look forward to having her as part of our family.

Me and Rachel

Jacob, me, Rachel & Tim - great family photo

The girls
I love these girls! I am so blessed to have so many girls my age, older, and younger who I have connected with at my church. Pictured:
1. Kelly in the fun dress on the right - she lives down the street from Jacob and I with her hubby, Michael. They've become one of our go-to couples when we need to just have some fun.
2. Katie with the huge green glasses - such an awesome young woman and I am so glad I've become friends with her. She was my co-counselor for the youth winter camp and we had so much together.
3. Savannah in the blue glasses - a youth that is one of the funniest girls I know. She's honest in what she says and in her expressions. Seriously, if you know have ever met Savannah, her laugh will make you laugh.
4. Vanessa in the bowler hat with the sign that reads "I'm sexy and I know it" - an inspiring youth that can accomplish anything she sets her mind to. She has dedicated so much of her time to volunteering at the church. Really, a lot of the youth at my church are amazing at helping out at our church. She has also been known to give me fashion advice. lol

Our fun family photo
This is one of my favorite photos! It just cracks me up every time I look at Jesse in her green war helmet. Jesse is also one of the youth girls at our church who I have grown close to. She is wise beyond her years and her honesty always brings me joy. Abby with the hot lips also came along for this photo. She has a heart of gold and is one of those youth who I always see helping out.

I have so much to be thankful for and these fun photos are a reminder of just some of the awesome people God has put in my life. My church is pretty awesome for putting an event like this on. And it was the perfect Saturday night out.

Now it's Sunday and I just have a few more things around the house to get done. Tonight Jacob and I are helping out at youth group; which is always fun. Then off to work tomorrow! I hope your day dreams come true!

Love,
Amber