Birthday Bashing

Last Thursday was my birthday.  I LOVE birthdays!  As a kid, they were pretty awesome, as a teen they were pretty awesome, and I must say, even now they are pretty awesome. 

 

I like the presents, I like pizza for dinner, I like blowing out candles on my cake, and most of all, I like being told over and over again "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" all day long from the people I love best.

 

I was lucky enough this year to get an early birthday celebration from the sweet sisters I serve with in church.  (Left to right: Ming-Chui, Shaunna, & Marie)  Technically, we were having a meeting, but what better way to start a meeting with Olive Garden salad/breadsticks, red velvet cake, and ice cream???  Okay, so a juggling platypus would've been a titch better, but it was still a pretty good start.



To start off my actual birthday, Lu arose early and made me a scrummy yummy breakfast...blueberry cream cheese pancakes!

After Luis got home from school he and Raquel started in on my cake.

Raquel gets quite concerned when we use loud electrical appliances (blender, beaters, vacuum) and holds really still whilst she stares.

Nothing says Happy Birthday like a hot, greasy pizza, and this year we got a tip from a local to try a nearby pizza joint called Stuft Pizza.  It was pretty good.  And as always, Lu waits until I put on my pajamas to shoot any pictures of me.  Thanks dear.

We had to wait next to the bar while they prepared our pizza, and though I could've gone my entire day without listening to the general conversations, I thought it was really sweet when one of the guys asked a waitress to get Raquel a balloon.  She could've cared less about it, but it was still sweet.

 

After dinner we put Raquel to bed.  I kept asking Luis if he needed to get anything from the bedroom before she fell asleep (knowing my presents were still stacked against the bed where I put them after we bought them together).  It took me asking this question 3 different times before he finally realized that yes, he did need to get something from the bedroom.  Imagine my surprise when he brought out the very gifts we bought together:)  Just kidding, it really was thoughtful of him to take time out of his busy study-schedule to go shopping at the mall with me.  These are my collective gifts from Luis, Raquel, Mom, Shaunna, and Marie.

My birthday cake request was anything simple so Luis didn't spend all night baking.  He made me a double layer strawberry/banana shortcake.  It was delish.

As usual, Raquel woke up to join us.

 

The next day I also received a package in the mail (I LOVE packages in the mail!!!) from my twinster Amber.  She sent me some darling black shoes that I adore!  The best part is...I can walk in them!  (Yes I'm looking at YOU my pointy-toe, glamorous, but too high heel shoes.)

 

The day after THAT, my two buddies Brandi and Jen took me out to Applebees for more celebration.

They obviously think they're very funny because for a gift they gave me Ziploc bags so I won't have to wash/reuse my bags and a pack of tissue paper so I won't have to carefully fold, store, and reuse old tissue paper.  HAR HAR.



Little do they know, now I just have more bags I can wash, extra tissue paper to fold PLUS...

...an entire gift bag and MORE tissue paper to store away.  So much for their intervention.

 

Oh, and they also gave me one of my favorite books ever, Goose Girl, and some divine Ghiradelli squares!  And guess who tipped them off about the book?  Skip to my LU!  

 

Overall, my birthday was celebrated Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, & Saturday.  Plus, Raquel has been singing happy birthday to me every day since, so I feel like my birthday is still ongoing.  If any of you have gifts you'd like to send my way, feel free.  This party's just getting started!

 

Getting Lost on Purpose

Is it just me, or does anyone else feel stressed about starting family traditions?  Maybe I'm overthinking it all, but with all the traditions we had as children, plus all the cool traditions we hear about, PLUS all the traditions we think up on our own, I feel overwhelmed with deciding which to keep and which to kick!  I think I need to just calm down, actually, but anways...

 

One tradition we do love, is trippin' to the local pumpkin patch.  Luis took me there for my first birthday here in California to make it extra special since I was missing my family so much.  It was one of my favorite birthday memories (other than standing in line at my sisters wedding greeting all sorts of people I didn't know...hee haw, just kidding Charisee!) and we've gone back every year.

 

It has been 147 degrees here for the past 99 days but finally, FINALLY we got a bit of a break and saw some cooler temps and rainshowers.  We went to the pumpkin patch the next day, so it was a bit soggy, very fall-ish, and purely wonderful!  We had the best time ever!  I mean ever!!!  In fact, think about all of your best times, and then multiply that by 17 1/2.  Yeah, we pretty much blew your best times out the front door.

 

Okay, so maybe it wasn't that good, but it was still pretty spectacular.

 

We started out with a picnic and photo op.

Then this year for the first time, we tried their corn maze.  It was different than any corn maze I've tried before.  First, you wander around getting lost...

 

...then you have to find these four posts with numbers on them to get a code...

...the code is your key to get out of maze part 1...

...and then you repeat the process until you complete part 2 and end the maze.  We found out from the corn maze staff that the record time was 22 min.  Our time was better than that by 12 minutes (plus or minus one hour).

 

After the corn maze, we picked this cute little pink pumpkin found in the patch.  Have you ever seen such a cute pumpkin?  Not I.

 

Finally, on our way out the door, we noticed our new-only-been-used-once picnic tablecloth spread out on our previously used picnic table.  I had to sheepishly pull it out from behind a nursing mother and her three wee ones, but at least we got it back.

 

(Have I mentioned that every year Luis and I accidentally throw away our car registration after putting the stickers on the car?  Sometimes we're not very "mart.")

 

After this experience, I realized that my missy needs a winter hat.  Mother dear guilted me into making one so I produced the following cap.  She laughs at herself in the mirror everytime I put it on her head.  So either she likes it or she doesn't like it.  One of the two.

 

 

((Just in case you're wondering, YES, my older sister really did get married on my birthday and YES I really did have to stand in line all night and YES I did grumble and complain about it and YES I cried when my mom brought in our store-bought birthday cake instead of the usual home-made one and YES I should've been more happy to spend my birthday on temple grounds and YES I've given Charisse a hard time about getting hitched on my birthday for years now and YES I probably always will.  I love you Charisse))

Mormon Battalian, Old Town, and Sea World

We were once again San Diego bound last weekend and got to cross one more "to do" off our SoCal "to do" list.

 

This time...Mormon Battalian Museum!

We spent half an hour taking pictures outside the museum before actually going in.  I have a feeling that's not going to fly when missy gets older.

The museum is run by sister and couple missionaries.  They took us on the interactive tour where we moved from room to room learning about the Mormon Battalion.

At this point in our tour, the sister missionaries asked if we wanted to just look at the equipment the men had to wear or if we wanted to put it on.  Without a thought, I said, "Oh yes, Luis wants to wear it."  I'm not sure if he was as eager as me, but was a good sport about it.

Concluding the tour, Raquel and Luis panned for gold.  I told Raquel that it was about time she started earning her keep at our house, and that I expected some real profit from her gold-diggin'.  She didn't disappoint.

 

 

Since the museum is right in Old Town San Diego, we decided to be leisurely and stroll around for a bit.  This is the first schoolhouse in San Diego

Raquel always seems to have such a great time when she's with Mommy & Daddy.  (We must be one egg short of a dozen, because we can't figure out how to tighten her strap so they hold her up straight.  She always ends up tipped over to one side.)

This is the backside of the Whaley house, one of the "most haunted houses in North America."  We didn't go in, but other than that ghost floating around by the tree, I didn't think it looked too haunted.

We topped off our Old Town San Diego stroll by dining at our FIRST MEXICAN RESTAURANT as a married couple and family.  I was even brave enough to try calamari.  It tasted like a fish stick.

 

Of course, every time we visit San Diego we HAVE to take advantage of our Sea World season pass.  These are their ghetto fabulous Halloween decorations.  Are they fish dressed like pumpkins or pumpkins dressed like fish? 

It was an incredible day to be at Sea World because the park was e.m.p.t.y. with a capital E (so I guess I should've said it was E.m.p.t.y).  Even during the middle of the day, there was a zero minute wait for the water rides.

We actually didn't go visit many animals, but we did stop by the shark tank.  Raquel was so inspired by the sharks that she grew another tooth the next day.

This is the Garcia family from Lu's mission who let us stay with them.  Raquel wouldn't let them hold her much, but there was one brief moment she graciously smiled in their arms.

 

 

Disney Quiet Book - Part 1

I'm SOOOO excited to share this post!  This project has been months in the making, and after lots of pinterest browsing, internet searches, and discussion, I am finally almost done. 

I made a quiet book!  A DISNEY-themed quiet book!!!

Actually, I made two.  It has consumed my spare time while Raquel naps for many moons now and let me just say, I feel rather free to be so close to the end.  It has been one of the hardest projects I've embarked on because I am N.O.T a very creative person.

 

This will actually be a Christmas present, but since you all know (or should know), I am very impatient!  Plus, I realize with so many things to blog about at that time of the year, I probably wouldn't get to it.  Today you will see book 1 since it is completely finished, and later, I'll show you book 2.

 

p.s. Thanks to Mom, Charisse, Amber, Julie, Jody (Julie's mom), Jen, and Luis for all your help!

 

And here we go... 

 

This is both books together.  Don't you love the fabric?

 

 

The Lion King - Counting

Luis had to help me count to ten on this one, but other than that, I came up with the idea and made it all on my own.

 

Tangled - Braiding and accessorizing

What girl shouldn't learn to accessorize at a young age? 



 

Assorted Movies - Shapes

This idea came straight from Julie's book.  Let me show you just a few things you can make.

Rose - Beauty & the Beast

Mickey Mouse - Fantasia

Magic Carpet - Aladdin

Wand - Cinderella & Pinnocchio (though I've always greatly disliked Pinnocchio)

 

Apple - Snow White

Finding Nemo - Velcro, Snaps, and Following a Path

I think you've all seen the car version of this.  I COULD have used the movie Cars, but thought I would try something a little different.

The Little Mermaid - Tic Tac Toe, Sorting
This was the first page I started making so I think everything was harder than it really needed to be.  I learned a lot from making this page.


Mary Poppins - Opening a clasp, Playing

Inside the purse there are keys, a little mirror, and a tiny comb. I wanted to somehow make the umbrella open and close, but I couldn't figure out how to do that without it looking wierd.

Cinderella - Tying a Bow
I originally envisioned having a dress that you fancied up, like the mice, but opted for something cute and simple instead.



 

Well, that's it for book 1.  The second installment of my Disney quiet book will probably come in a month or so.