Insta Whatever: We've Been in Newport Edition

My tardiest InstaFriday post to date.

But there's a good excuse.

We were on vacay!

To the happiest place on earth.

My parents flew down on Sunday.

The girls and I flew solo.  On Monday.

With an arsenal of fun.

When we arrived at the airport we learned our flight was delayed 2.5 hours.

Arsenal of fun lasted 2.5 hours.  Problematic.

But a weird preoccupation with the wing flaps kept Ashlyn busy for the 58 minute flight.

And Kayla read a book.

Arsenal was not even necessary.

Our first stop in the OC?  Ruby's.

I lie.  Our first stop was Gulfstream.

But their kid's meal was calamari and chips.

I knew immediately that was not going to end well.

Because wing flap observation makes a girl hungry.

So we ditched.  For sweet potato fries.

 

Our first afternoon was spent at Laguna Beach.

Not at all like the annoying MTV show.

"Stah-eeee-ven."

No where to be heard.

Because I would have left immediately.

My girls love the beach.

More than Kristen loved "Stah-eeee-ven."

On Tuesday we had a fun pool play date with Julie.

So great to meet her in person.  Her blog has always been one of my favorites.

Super nice. Super friendly. Super chatty. Super loved her.

Also, I'm staying with her for Blog Sugar in a few weeks.

So it's great she's not a serial killer.

My girl is a dino dork.

She loves everything about them.

She talked Pops into a trip to the Museum of Natural History at USC.

They also had a butterfly exhibit.

Then back to pool for some crafting.

Ashlyn painted an elephant.  Kayla chose a pig.

Ashlyn tried to steal the pig for the rest of the trip.

Newport had some pretty incredible sunsets.

Dave flew in on Wednesday.

We had dinner at Ruby's at the Beach.

We like Ruby's.

On Thursday we tackled Disneyland.

Somehow my mom worked a Club 33 hook-up into the mix.

We had to find a secret button near the Blue Bayou.

I'm nervous even discussing it.

Mom whispered our name into the intercom.

"Ware, Party of 6."  All stealth.  Kind of weird, secret society.

But the best desserts.  Worth the weirdness.

We also met Minnie and bought lots of stuff that we made Dave hold.

He loves Disneyland.

SoCal beaches > NorCal beaches.

No competition.  Not even close.

Eating lunch at the Beach Comber.

One with an iphone.

One with a book.

Tough, tough life.

Sunset on our last night.

Crazy, right?

Thanks mom and dad for another fun trip!

We had a blast.

Also linking up late with Jeannett.

 

InstaSaturday: Grid Edition

Another Friday came and went.  Standard.

Switching things up this week.

Our week in cell phone pictures.  In grid formation.

Which reminds me.

Our high school formal was called The Grid.

It was Dave and I's first date in 1990.

Short for a medieval grid iron, I think?  Our mascot was the Knight.

I don't know.

Another theory was that cows used to come onto the football field during homecoming.

And the field was taped into grids beforehand.

People would bet money that the cows would go potty on certain squares.

Both theories are dumb.

It's a dumb name.

Not cute.  Or formally.  Or sparkly.

Like we were.

No words, right?

The height difference.

The hair clip.  The bangs.

The mermaid dress.

THE. WHITE. FLATS.

It was a "Knight Under the Sea" and we rocked it.

In a clam shell.  With beige carpet squares.

We also didn't say one single word to each other the entire night.

Driven by youth group leaders that made fun of the fact that we didn't say a word to each other the entire night.

What is my point?

Where am I?

InstaFriday, that's right.  On a Saturday.

Our week in cell phones pictures.

In a fun little grid.

200 times more fun than my first Grid.

A.

We like puzzles. I like puzzles with Kayla more than puzzles with Ashlyn.

Kayla is at the stage where she needs zero help. My favorite stage.

B.

I have a love/hate relationship with the Land of Swedish Meatballs.  I love what I see in the store.

I hate turning the 500 lb box that I take home with 500 parts into what I see in the store.

C.

But it is quite rewarding.  The finished product.

Even if you break one of the glass doors mid-assembly and have to leave those off the finished product.

D.

More swimming at the Turdici's.

We celebrated Tyler's 21st birthday and Teri and Eddie's 25th wedding anniversary.

E.

My favorite drink.  100% perfected.

Grande Green Tea Frappachino, 4 scoops macha powder, light whip w/ coconut flakes.

Heaven in a plastic mermaid cup.

F.

I love grocery shopping alone.

Trips such as these are few and far between in the summer time.

G.

A girl came door to door a few months ago selling children's encyclopedias.

Our family seems to be unable to say no to people that come door to door.

She was nice.  And said she was a student at Wheaton.

And I must say, I am very impressed with them.  So is Kayla.

H.

Ready for an easy, delicious dessert?

Ghiradelli Supreme Chocolate brownie mix and Reese's Pieces.

And please use parchment paper.  Thank you.

I.

Some of the high school girls (that are no longer in high school) from our old church came over for a visit this week.

I miss them.  The girls love them.  We love them.  It was fun to hang out.

J.

This was the view from our room at the Fairmont for my mom's birthday party.

I want to live at the Fairmont.

K.

My mom and I.  At her pre-surprise party dinner.

L.

My mom's party.

I use an app called Diptic to make the little collages.

M.

Kayla set up a restaurant with "people" waiting outside the door because it was so delicious.

We watch alot of Gordon Ramsey.

N.

I am in love with this snack:  TJ's Parmesan, Garlic and Herb Pita Chips w/ Bruschetta Sauce.  YUM.

O.

Do you talk to your significant other in code?

We do.  I would tell you what it means.  But I would have to kill you.  JKIWRKY.

 

Happy Saturday!

Linking up late with Jeannett.

 

Happy Birthday, Mom!

She knew that the immediate family was going up to the city for dinner at the Fairmont.
But had no clue that 75+ friends were waiting at a dive down the street.
A dive with a really fun band.

My dad called to book The Cheeseballs over a year ago.
And they said the Red Devil Lounge was their favorite small venue.
So the Red Devil it was.

Now, mom's not much of a "lounge" girl.
Especially a lounge on Polk Street in downtown San Francisco.
And I was a little worried that she might be mortified that the word "devil" was on her invite.

But she adjusted.
And we had an absolute blast.

Pre-party/diversion dinner at Laurel Creek in the Fairmont.
It was fancy.

Ashlyn broke Dave's good lens last week.  Leaving us with the super zoom lens only.
Which is really only good for sporting events.  Or if you're paparazzi.  Not good at all for birthday parties.
Kennah was pretty much standing in the hotel lobby to take this picture.

Back to the diversion dinner.  My dad and the birthday girl.

Yours truly with my favorite husband.

My brother, Branden and his wife, Kennah.

My cousin Kim and her Giants/Niners-loving husband, Kevin.  Dave always sits near him.

My mom's brother Frank, my Aunt Liz and my cousins, Jake and Frankie.

My mom and dad with her little brothers, Frank and Steven.

My beautiful Aunt Rachelle, married to Uncle Steven.

My dad and Grandmums.  She always sits near him.

Dinner reservations were at 6:00.  Real party started at 7:30.
Food arrived around 7:10.  We ate fast.
And abandoned our original plan of casually walking by the Red Devil Lounge after dinner.

Dad decided that the new plan was to go to a craft fair.
But we had to ditch the cake and hurry because tickets were about to sell out.
A craft fair on a Wednesday night on Polk Street.
That you have to buy tickets for. Tickets that sell out.
More important than a beautiful, delicious birthday cake.
100% believable.

We took cabs because we were running a bit late.

What you're about to see is the face of one very surprised 60-year-old.
In a lounge that she thinks is a craft fair ticket booth.

Then the band started and so did the dancing.  And it never stopped.

Let's do it again next year, ok mom?
Happy, happy birthday!  We love you.