We Had Ourselves a Merry Little Christmas

Christmas has been gone for weeks, but Roy and I are still singing carols all the time.  You know, I'm pretty sure it has something to do with the snow because it usually starts out with, "Baby it's Cold Outside" as we're running from the warmth of our car to our apartment.
We really did have ourselves a merry little Christmas!

 The trip to Tucson went smoothly.  Alexa finished up her first semester in Idaho and spent the night at our apartment to make her trip home 3.5 hours less painful.  But she didn't get in until a ridiculous hour and so waking up early in the morning for the trip was difficult.  As we planned to caravan down, I told Alexa I would drive for her whenever she got too tired.
That time came around five o'clock, when we still had a few hours to go.  We spent those hours making up our own lyrics to every song that popped up on her iPod.  The only rules were that the word hamburger had to be in the chorus.  So we switched off singing verses and then laughing our heads off.

So that's when I freaked out,

Couldn't get my burger down,

I'm ch-ch-choking and 

You're asking what I'm thinkin' bout.

Felt like I couldn't breath

You ask what's wrong with me

My best friend Leslie says

She's just having heart burn

You know, the Miley Cyrus Song?  Um... you had to be there.  And you also had to be stuck in a car for 10 hours.
Being in Tucson was nice.  It was good to shed the boots, coats, and extra layers for a while.  Roy and I had a week to relax (aka work on his personal statement and school applications) and get ready for Christmas.  And, of course, get ready for his birthday.
Decorating the tree is always fun :-)

 A tradition Mom has always kept up has been to get us each ornaments for every year.  It's fun to look back on those, which usually represented what we were into at the time.  I had lots of cats.
The hand made ornaments are always a riot too.  We all put up our own and then put up Mason's for him too.  We missed him!

 In everything we did that week, Zac was usually with us.  Poor kid has been living as an only child for so long, he kept following us around like we might disappear if he let us out of his sight- haha!  The three of us quoted the show The Office frequently.  We're all very into it right now-- only like four years behind the rest of the world.  One of Zac's favorite characters is Kevin.

{Kevin}

So I suggested Zac try out the Kevin look.  Roy was all-too-willing to help out.  They went outside and gave Zac a little hair cut.  When Dad came home, Zac wore a hat until the opportune moment, which came while we were at a Christmas play.

Dad did a double-take.  I was waiting for lightening to strike, but all Dad said was, "Knucklehead," and that was the end of it.  Pretty funny!  And that play was really good.  Roy bought tickets for the family as a Christmas gift, and we all went to Phoenix to watch it.  It's called The Forgotten Carols.  I liked it because it blended the modern commercial Christmas with the traditional Christ centered holiday.  

Christmas eve we did all of the traditions: Had our grandparents over for a nice dinner, read the nativity story from the Bible, got in our matching P.J.s from Mom, and watched The Grinch with Jim Carrey. 

Christmas morning Roy and I ran around waking everyone up.  We jumped on Zac's bed, then Alexa's bed, then Mom's bed.  Then we all started shredding wrapping paper.

 

Notice Zac had to lose his tufts.

 We got lots of games this year!  LoVe

 Yes, I got Roy a plunger.  Mostly just because I wanted to wrap a plunger.  Also, we didn't have one.

 This is one of my favorite pictures ever.  I'm going to send it to Mason because I think it'll make him laugh.

We got to talk to our missionary bro on the phone!  He called around 2:30 and we talked to him for an hour about everything we could think of.  If I had to use one word to describe him right now... happy.  I've never heard Mason so plain happy with life.  It was really good to hear from him.

We went to Grandma and Grandpa's for Christmas dinner.  I can't imagine what Christmas would be like without Grandma's homemade Mexican food!  MMMMMM!!!!

We all exchanged homemade gifts, which is always really funny.  Or really impressive!  We've got a talented family.  For the most part.  ;-p

And as soon as we got home from that it was birthday time!  

 Roy's birthday party!  I made him go upstairs and pack our bags while I decorated and Mom made him peach cobbler. 

 Lynnie was there for the party.  Roy LOVES socks.  He couldn't have been happier.

I already wrote my birthday dedication to my hubby, so I won't do it again.  But I do love this guy.  And I loved our matching P.J.s this year too.  Everything was perfect.

Except for the part where we had to drive back to Utah the next morning.  

But I was excited to get back to our crazy tree and decorate it properly.  I know, Christmas was over, but I thought we could still keep the tree up for a week or two.  You saw it before, all shoved up against the ceiling, right?  Well, we had shortened it and I had bought some candy canes to hang on it, but that was really all we had.  At Grandma and Grandpa's house, after exchanging homemade gifts, my Aunt Debbie gave me a box of Christmas ornaments!!!!!

I also received a few from Mom, and I was so excited to have real decorations-- and ones that mean something too!  Mom got us a beautiful glass wedding cake that had "Our First Christmas" on it with the date.  The London ornaments represented the time when Roy came out to visit me, and I knew I wanted to be with him always, and we went and bought a ring.  There is a bride and groom, a 2010 {for our wedding year}, and pine cones to represent getting married in beautiful Oregon.

 Ta-da!  How great does that tree look? 

Today we stripped the ornaments off, which was kind of sad.  Now we're trying to make some room in this apartment.  Anybody want a free tree?

My Last First Day

Today was my last first day of school. I'll never have another first day of school ever again! No more glassy-eyed mornings of syllabuses, or nervously waiting to see what kind of person is going to slink into the seat next to me.  No more wandering through the hallways desperately trying to figure out why there is a room 102 and a 104 but no 103. Never again to carefully choose and claim my seat in the center, third row back-- or sometimes having to settle for a less perfect seat. And teachers... Never again to hold my breath at the sight of a briefcase, hoping that they are a person who at least has a conscience and won't make me do ungodly amounts of reading.
Nope, all of this is officially in the past. At least for a while. Who knows, in a year I could be applying to master's programs. But it isn't certain. Wait, i guess nothing is certain. Maybe I won't graduate. Maybe today actually wasn't my last first day of my undergraduate career. This eighth British literature class is going to sink me! Okay, okay... I need to stop. By the end of April you will find a picture of me in my cap and gown on this blog. That's certain.

I bet Mom wishes she were still up here so she could take pictures of me on my last first day. 

Goodbye 2010

2010
Best year ever.  Shall we recap?  Here are some of the huge highlights:
-- Got married to my best friend and had perfect receptions
-- Dream vacation in Hawaii (honeymoon)
-- Landed a job that's exactly what I need
-- Mason (little brother) went out on his mission to California
-- Alexa (little sister) graduated high school and started her first semester of college
-- Zac (little twirp) started high school
-- Two of my best friends got married!
-- Roy graduated with his Bachelor's
-- Discovered my love for cooking (OK, I started trying)

HOW?  How can it get any better?  It can't be topped.

But, I'd like to see you try, 2011.

Happy New Year!

P.S. Christmas details coming soon

Merry Birthday!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

I'm always sad to see Christmas go.  The minutes are too quickly ticking away toward December 26th:  recuperation from all this excitement.  The birthday boy is already snoozing away beside me.  We have a long 12 hour drive back to Utah tomorrow, so I should probably be asleep too.  He's the smart one in the family.

Roy, happy golden birthday!  25 years old on the 25th!  You're my best friend and I love your guts.  Thanks for putting up with me ;-)  I look forward to all of our Christmases and all of your birthdays in our future-- loads of them! 

Merry Christmas to all!

And to all a goodnight!

Law School

The LSAT contains six sections of logic reasoning testing that determine your worth as a potential law student.  For most schools, the LSAT seems to be the biggest determining factor for admittance.

Roy has been studying his brains out for months.  He woke up every morning at seven and studied for two hours before going to work.  When he got home we ate dinner together and watched an episode of The Office {oh family traditions :-)} and afterwards he locked himself in a room to study.  Well, really he locked me out of a room so I wouldn't distract him.  He'd study until he couldn't hold his eyes open any longer.  Really, he worked hard.  And I'm proud of him.

Now that he's taken the LSAT we are just waiting on the results.  All we have left to do is apply to the schools.  We're applying to eight different places, but our top choices are BYU Law, U of A Law, and Willamette Law.  Roy's resume is all cleaned up and his paperwork is done.  All that's left is the personal statement.

Which was basically finished yesterday.

And then deleted.

It's a long story of technical difficulties and unforeseen events, but it's gone.  It was a good one too.  Roy's an amazing writer.  When we read it to my sister she said, "Oh clearly Elliot wrote that," and I told her that Roy really did!  The guy is good!

But now we just gotta hope the original can be duplicated.

Ugh, why???  So much work down the drain!  It's frustrating.  Even more for him that for me!  But we are in the same boat, right?  Whatever happens, we're in it together.  So isn't it okay for me to be freaking out just as much as he is?  Maybe freaking out a little more?

Roy, you're brilliant and we've totally got this!

Bright side: it doesn't have to be turned in for a week or so.  And we still have the notes we brainstormed together.  And tomorrow is Christmas Eve-- perfect day to start again... I guess.

Two things going through my mind with this personal statement business:

1.)  Legally Blonde.  Ell Woods and her video.  Hmmm, I wonder if Roy swam around in a... no, I don't think that would work quite the same way.

2.)  I veto personal statements and nominate Mr. Sorting Hat.  Can we just skip the papers and tests and get right to the part where you tell us where we belong?

P.S. We've been in Tucson this week leading up to Christmas!  So nice to be with the family.  Oh and back in shorts and 70 degree weather too.  :-)

O Christmas Tree

Decorating for holidays rocks.  Having skeleton stickers on the windows or colored eggs on the shelves... it just gets me in a celebratory mood.  It makes me feel like there's something to look forward to!  That it's not just an ordinary time!  We have an exorbitant number of boxes filled with decorations for Halloween, Easter, Valentine's Day... even St. Patrick's day!
 
Christmas?
One red bow with bells on it
Three strings of colored lights
That's it.

WHAT??????

It took me a second to realize that 90% of my decorations have come from care packages from my mom over the last few years.  But she never sent Christmas packages because I always was home for Christmas. 

When living with roommates I had to buy something so I'd put the lights up in our windows and put the bow on our door.  It was enough to hold me over until I went home to the 12-foot work of art my mom always has glowing in the living room.

Roy and I are both excited to go to Tucson and put our presents under that awesome tree this Christmas.  BUT we aren't just roommates living in dorm rooms, you know?  This is our little home and we have no Christmas decorations! 

Newlywed tight budget, I know I can't go crazy on buying decorations.  Especially this time of year when there's present buying and card sending etc.  BUT I insisted on this beauty. 

It's real!  And it smells like a house should near Christmas: Piney!  I've considered bringing it inside at night so we can wake up to the smell of pine.  Then it will truly feel like Christmas time.  But instead I've just made a new little tradition: Smelling our wreath on the way inside.  We both do it.  Roy says, "for luck."  Poor guy, he's married to a weirdo that makes him sniff Christmas wreaths.

So this almost makes up for not having a Christmas tree.  We debated for a long time whether we should get one.  But in the end, it didn't make sense to go buy one to enjoy for two weeks and then not even be there to enjoy it the week leading up to Christmas or for the actual day.  Sad, but practical.

So yesterday I got home from work and started getting ready for Roy's office Christmas party.  Work-casual... so I was trying to figure out what I had in my closet that would fit that description.  But walking between our bedroom and our bathroom I saw a weird bulky shape taking up half our living room.

Can you believe it?  Roy surprised me with a Christmas tree!  At his work they decorate with some trees and the boss decided they didn't want this one anymore and gave it to Roy.  He even gave him lights, garland, and some ornaments too!!! 

As you can tell, it's a beast of a tree.  Roy had a hard time shoving it into the back of his car and apparently had a hard time standing it up in our living room too.  It kind of looks like a Grinch tree all bent up like that, doesn't it?  I like it!  It's standing between the couch and the TV.  I guess we won't be watching TV for a while, but it's so worth it to have a tree!

It's really Christmas time now! :-)

Thanksgiving Ketchup

Not the cleverest pun ever invented, but I had to do it.  So here's the catchup:

CHAPTER ONE: It Was a Dark and Stormy Night...

We were leaving for our Thanksgiving holiday in one day, and we hadn't packed.  In fact, I hadn't even gotten out of bed for the day.  I had my laptop overheating and burning through the bed sheets while I raced to finish my final capstone paper for my senior course.  Oh not a big deal, only the essay that determines whether or not I learned anything in college and can graduate with a degree in English.

It was due at five o'clock in the evening and of course I had procrastinated.  Honestly, I can't focus on writing a good paper unless there's some kind of life or death deadline looming in the dangerously near future.  Don't worry, I hadn't left it just to that day.  (Not like the essay I wrote about in my previous post, which I miraculously pulled off a B+ even though I failed to remember any rules in grammar while pounding it out.  I'm such a thief.)  

In this senior course we've been supposedly working on this huge essay all semester.  :-)  So really I just had some tweaking to do.  So that's why I hadn't moved from bed.  I wouldn't have eaten either, except that Roy brought me a little breakfast in bed before he left for work.  He's always making sure that I'm remembering to eat these days.

So at about 1:30 in the afternoon, I was nearing the end.  I was flipping through the stacks of library books piled along the foot of our bed, looking for usable quotes, when I got a text message.  It was from the emergency text message system set up by BYU, which I'd never received before.  Basically if there's a shooting or a building is on fire, we will get a text that tells us what's going on and what to do.  

You can imagine the little fluttery panic that started up inside when I got one of these emergency text messages.

It said:

Severe Weather Warning:  The National Weather Service is warning of a winter storm today that will far surpass anything that we've seen, probably for the last several years.  The combinations of snow, extreme cold, and possibly damaging winds will make travel extremely hazardous.  The storm will begin in the north and move south, hitting Salt Lake City later this afternoon.  Please watch the weather reports and be prudent in your travels.

Oh man, the power's gonna go out!  Roy's bike might get blown away!  We might get snowed in and wont be able to leave for Oregon on time!  

But hey-- I had a paper to write.  So I pushed those storm thoughts from my mind and kept plugging along.  At almost 2:30, I was finishing up my work cited when I got a second emergency text message:

BYU campus will be closed today at 3 p.m. and tomorrow except for essential services.  See byu.edu for further information.

This was followed by another message from the National Weather Service.  That was followed by freaky images from The Day After Tomorrow flashing in my mind!

Never mind mind making it to Oregon, we weren't going to make it through the night!  Power lines are going to come crashing into our windows!  I'm going to open the back door and then freeze right on the spot with my eyes open!!! 

Keep in mind, I had no concept of snow days.  This whole thing sounded seriously scary.  They were closing down a whole college campus!  They never did that in Rexburg!  This thing was going to be bAd!  Oh, and not to mention that there was no way I could dress and get to the library to print out my paper and then sprint across campus to my professor's office to turn in my paper by 3!  

I shot my professor an email to make sure she was aware of the situation, and then I threw a sweatshirt over my PJs a a hat over my crazy bed head.  I sprinted out the door with my flash drive and drove like a man woman!  Wait, I meant mad woman.  

3:06... I arrived on campus.

3:06

There was a steady stream of students flowing down the hill, so I was going against the tide for a few minutes with three grocery bags full of library books.  About halfway up I decided it wasn't worth checking.  My professor would have to be understanding.

When I got home it was eerily quiet.  There wasn't even the slightest breeze.  I thought of the phrase, "The quiet before the storm."  Oh man!  My first true natural disaster!  On my way upstairs I picked up Roy's bike and hefted it into our apartment.  Just in case.

As soon as I resolved everything with the paper {now due the next class after Thanksgiving} I called Roy.  What should I do to prepare?  My hubby grew up near enough to the sea to have ferocious waves constantly eating away at the asphalt in their neighborhood.  They've had plenty of natural disasters and he'd know just what to do.

Following his instructions, I found all the flashlights and put them in one place.  Okay, all we really had was a headlamp, but I thought that would do.  Then I ran around unplugging everything.  Then I got a call from Sydney, who is living up in Rexburg.  She said it had been snowing BAD for three days straight.  It wasn't looking good for our Thanksgiving trip.  I started packing anyway.

Good thing I did, because you know what?  We got a half an inch of snow that night.  If that.  It was a little breezy, but nothing strong enough to rattle the doors, much less pick up a bike.  Roy and I had hunkered down, ready to watch a movie on my laptop, and kept peeking out the window to watch the non-existent storm roll in.  It was very disappointing.

CHAPTER TWO: Newport

Although I still have yet to experience a real natural disaster, Roy and I were really stoked we were still able to go to Newport.  And we were glad we made it there alive.

We picked up Roy's cousin, Melissa, from Salt Lake to make the trip with us.  She drove on icy Idaho roads while trying to make phone calls and flip through packets of papers.  Haha!  She was surprising her family by coming up with us, so she didn't take off work.  Probably dumb of us to have her drive.  BUT, she did a good job and we didn't crash.

Seventeen hours later, we crept into the Buckmaster house and fell asleep.  

We woke up to Thanksgiving!  Which, as I predicted, was different than what happens at my house.  I didn't spend all of my time hiding from a kitchen full of chefs.  And it was different from my Thanksgiving in Scotland too.  There wasn't any haggis.  

Laura cooks all morning in her kitchen and then brings it to the bigger feast.  She was in charge of rolls, cheesecake, fudge, etc.  She taught me how to make her world-famous fudge.  Basically, throw in enough sugar and butter to induce a coma, cook it over the stove, and then let it cool for a while in a pan.  It was amazing, and for some reason everyone at the dinner was complimenting me.  Really, Laura works the magic, I just followed instructions.

I also got to make whipped cream.  It might not sound like a big deal, but I got lots of good tips from Laura and Becky.  There are tricks to the trade!  I also set the table.  A relief to stick to my traditional Thanksgiving role.

Jay and Sue and a bunch of their kids and grandkids were there.  Laura, Dennis, Kirsten, and Kelsey were there.  The Robison family (close friends of the Buckmasters) were there too.  It was fun!  And I especially liked how every single little kid at some point said, "Hi Elliot!"  The fact that they recognized me without my wedding dress on made me really happy.

The food was amazing.  I had a criminal amount of mashed potatoes.  After we cleaned up a little we sat around and talked until we had digested for long enough to get our legs to work again.

The next activity was HARRY POTTER!!!!  Who wasn't looking forward to this?  Should I even say anything about it?  Haven't you seen it?  If you haven't, you are living under a rock.  Go see it.  It is good.

CHAPTER THREE: The Rest of the Highlights

-- Woke up to rain pattering against the windowpane every morning.

--Took Millie, one of the greatest dogs ever, on a walk on the beach with Kirsten and Roy.

--Kirsten got Roy and I addicted to an Android app called WordUp.

--Played Rockband with the whole family and discovered that Laura rocks at the drums.

--Went to the Tillamook cheese factory with the girls and Roy.  {And ate the best ice cream in the world there!}

--Spent lots and lots of time in that old bookstore that Roy and I love.  So glad that the Buckmasters all like books too!  Flashback: The day after our wedding Roy and I went there and bought an amazing Washington Irving book.  I'd also been in love with an old 1870s children's book, so we hid the little book behind a huge stack, hoping that it would still be there whenever we came back.  It was still there this time.  Roy and I bought it to add to our collection  :-)

--Made Mexican one night, under Laura's guidance.

--Did some Christmas shopping and then wrapped them secretly.

--Went with Kirsten and my hubby to pick out a Christmas tree for the family.  We got a good one.  Then I put up the tinsel while Kirsten put up the lights.

--Funny story: when Roy and I were driving around we passed a homeless looking woman on the street corner with a sign that read, "I'm Hungry, Please Help."  Ever since I've met Roy I've found that I always end up in weird situations with this type of people.  I could tell stories.  But I'll stick to this one. Roy handed me a few Nature bars and I rolled down the window to offer them to her.  The woman gave me a big, pink smile and said, "I can'th eath those!  I havth no teeth!"  The light turned green and as we drove away she shouted, "Thanth!" and cackled.  It was a true cackle.

Fun times and a fun Thanksgiving vacation!  Glad we're alive.  I have yet to pull Roy's bike out of our living room and lug it back downstairs.

World Record

Today I wrote an 8 page paper (9 if you include the Work Cited page) in 2.5 hours.

If anyone does the research, let me know if that's a world record.  But if the record is writing a GOOD essay in under 2.5 hours... I don't think I'll qualify.  I didn't even read the thing over -much less revise it- because I was in such a huge time crunch.  I just hope it was in English!

Thanksgiving was awesome, but I don't yet have time to put up pictures.  Can you tell things have been a little rushed lately?  So I'll go back and talk about the much needed vacation as soon as I get some spare time. ... I need another vacation!

Ultimate Test

It's the ultimate test for a new wife.

THANKSGIVING

{citation}

Pretty scary.  In the last several years I don't think I've even touched turkey lunch meat, much less a whole dead carcass.  Am I going to fix a turkey this year?  Well- it kinda sounds like fun now.

Weird.

This Thanksgiving will be the second one I spend away from Tucson and away from my parents and family.   The first one was in London.  But we were all out of place in the UK.  For those of you who don't know {and I really think it's great how many people are surprised by this fact} people in Great Britain do not celebrate Thanksgiving.  Yeah, I know, imagine that.  

But I guess I've been somewhat out of place every year-- even in the states.  My mom, aunts, grandma, and skilled cousins get together the morning before Thanksgiving to get cooking.  And then they camp out in the kitchen for like the next 48 hours.  No bathroom breaks unless urgent.  {K, a little sarcastic, but you get the picture.}  Of course the food is always ridiculously amazing looking and tasting.  My family needs to start a holiday magazine.  The whole deal just isn't something a cooking-hater like me would ever want to do.  During the holiday I pretty much avoided kitchens.  I stick to folding napkins or picking out the matching silverware.

But this year I don't know what to expect!  New traditions?  

I'll call my mom-in-law and try to get a feel for what a Buckmaster Thanksgiving is like.  One thing is for sure, I want in on the kitchen this year.

Everyone wish me luck... you know I'll probably need it.  I'd hate to ruin our first Thanksgiving.

{citation}

Up and Go to Disneyland

Disneyland?  Why not?!

We had free tickets, we had friends who wanted to join us, and we had no reason not to go.  None.

Really, if I had drafted a list of pros and cons for the trip the cons side would be quite blank.  And I had a hunch that this kind of list may never grace our lives again.  We're only going to acquire more responsibilities as the years come, right?

So we just did it.  

For the first time we pulled our tent out of the closet, which we've been dying to use since we got it as a wedding gift.  We shoved what little food we had into our cooler.  Peanut butter, honey, bread, and some granola bars.  We’d lived off nothing but those ingredients on our honeymoon, so we quite welcomed the nostalgic menu.

Camping stuff: check
Clothes: check
Toothbrushes: check
LSAT study material: no check

We didn't realize our slip until after Kenny & Andrea arrived and we headed off, watching movies and talking and munching on Cheez-Its.  When we had crossed the Nevada border we remembered.  Worth turning around?  I think not.

Besides, this may be the last time Roy gets to have fun for the next month.  He is going to be straining his brain non-stop until the test.  What better way to give your brain a break than...

It was Andrea's first trip to Disneyland since she was a little girl.  She didn't remember anything other than the amazing churros {and we did verify that they are still amazing}.  The newness made the trip pretty exciting as we guided her around.  And occasionally we messed with her too.

Like on Splash Mountain.  Seeing the giant drop and hearing people screaming gets you fidgety.  There are several steep platforms that drag you up and take you higher and higher.  On each one we told Andrea, "This is it!  This is it!!!"  She would start freaking out only to be let down.  Literally, and gently.  No where near as drastic as the last drop.  When she finally survived the last drop, it became a favorite.  Naturally, this ride is a favorite for almost everyone I know!  We soaked ourselves on Splash Mountain at least six other times, making it our most visited ride.

California Screamin' was a favorite, too.

I didn't know Roy was taking these pictures.

And here is a ride in the Bug's Life part of California Adventure.  Cute, right?  But um... we didn't realize that the ride would be painfully boring to anyone over the age of two.

And as you can see, Roy was just having the time of his life.

I guess we really liked getting wet, because the second most visited ride was Grizzly Peak.  Here we are anticipating the moments where tidal waves will drench us.  And trust me, they did.

When we weren't at the parks we were at our campsite.  Kenny did a great job at finding us a place. It's a quick fifteen minute walk from the entrance to the Disney parks.  More perks?  Nice showers and bathrooms, a hot tub, a pool, a grill, and an arcade.  Of course, we were too busy squeezing all the fun we could out of Disneyland.  At the end of the first night we dragged ourselves home with aching feet and legs and planned on hitting up the hot tub, only to discover that it closes at ten o'clock.  But STILL when we go back to Disneyland we want to stay there!  It was so nice!

Here is Andrea and I waking up.  Don't we look great?  But seriously, this is the most luxurious camping imaginable.  Both nights I slept like a rock!  And in unbelievably perfect conditions, too.  High seventies when the sun was up, and not too much cooler when it was down.

Here was our little patch of grass.  I love our tent.  There were also several rows of trailers, some of which I think have probably been parked there for years.  But hey- if I lived in a mobile home then I'd probably park my life on the edge of Disneyland too.

So here's day number two.  The submarine ride:

Indiana Jones:

And thunder mountain:  (Lynn, that picture of Bailey the Goat is for you)

On our way to pick up some fast passes for The Haunted Mansion, Kenny got plucked out of the crowd by a man in a top hat and a huge ribbon pinned to his lapel that said, "MAYOR." He had just become an involuntary actor for a Frontierland show.

The crowd that was gathering to watch had too many females, I'm guessing, because when they were looking for another participant they had to pick Kenny's friend.  My hubby!

So the story goes that the mayor is forcing some cowboy to marry his daughter because he is the last eligible bachelor in the town.  The desperate cowboy comes up with an alternative: pick some visitors, blindfold them, and have them compete for the mayor's daughter.

And the here is the reason for the blindfold:

Yeah, that's the mayor's daughter up there.
And here are our hubbies, blindfolded and unaware.  Well... I'm sure the sound of "her" voice gave them some kind of clue.

The first question was, "If you could use an animal from the wild west to describe yourself, what would it be?"

Kenny's answer was, "A cougar."

The second guy's answer was, "A big bad wolf."

Roy's answer was, "A chicken!"

Another question was, "If you were going to serenade the mayor's daughter, what song would you sing to her?"
Kenny said, "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy."
The second guy said, "I Knew I Loved You."
Roy said, "Who Let the Dogs Out."

You get the picture.  And Roy was a big hit.  But it wasn't all just his whit and charm.  The cowboy there was helping him out.

So Roy won.  And they took off his blindfold.

I can't say I was nervous that he'd pick the mayor's daughter over me ;-)
Once the blindfold was off, Roy yelled and bolted into the safety of the crowd.
He later told us that the cowboy gave him these instructions.  Still- it seemed like something Roy would do!

More favorites, The Tower of Terror, Matterhorn Mountain, Space Mountain, and the World of Color water show.  PAUSE.  The World of Colors show was mind-blowing.  If you go to California Adventure anytime soon, your first stop should be fast passes for that show.  Believe me when I say the hunt is well worth the wait.  Watch it on youtube-- there are no words.  Look up, "World of Color world premiere full show at the Disney California Adventure theme park".

And we just so happened to be there for the Christmas lights ceremony!  I love Disneyland no matter what time of year it is, but there is something special about sauntering down Main Street with Christmas music playing all around.  Disney company, THANK YOU for celebrating Christmas and not just the "happy holidays".  

But maybe this weekend to kick of Christmas was the reason for why it was so crowded on Friday! 

But it wasn't so busy on Saturday.  We were able to run right onto some of the rides.  And there was no line to take a pic with this Prince Charming!   

There was also a parade to celebrate the approaching Christmas season.  All the princesses made an appearance, as did Buzz Lightyear and all the characters in between.  They all wished us Merry Christmas and rode on enormous floats that produced toys for Santa's sleigh or danced along the street with Santa's reindeer.  Loved it and wished we could take more pictures. 

Roy humored me and rode the train with me to Toontown.  That was my favorite as a kid, so I still pay homage every time I go.

K, this picture cracks me up every single time.  We are wearing our 3D glasses for the Bug's Life show.  Roy looks exactly like a bug!!!!

And here we are, soaking wet.  An almost constant state of being for us.  At night the soggy sweatshirt did get a little cold.  But it was still worth it.

On our last ride on Saturday night I forced Kenny & Andrea into the front.  It wasn't surprising that they got twice as soaked as we did, since we were able to use their bodies as shields.  But I've had a guilty conscience ever since.  Sorry guys!

I could write forever on our adventure.  Unfortunately I have a fifteen page paper due tomorrow night.  Yeah, back to reality.  Back to the books for both of us!  So worth the memories.