Merry Christmas

We had a great Christmas this year. We headed up to see Paco and P at the cabin on Christmas Eve. It had just snowed a few days earlier, so it ended up being a white Christmas. I woke up bright and early and waited (*patiently*) for Paco and Patty to get up. Once they finally got up, we let the carnage commence.
Paco was excited about his new GPS system. I think he'd been eyeballing them for some time.Paco and Patty both got Snuggie type things which they had enjoyed so much at Brenda's that they ended up getting them for Christmas. I think they had visions of grandeur that included Snuggies and football games.
I was so excited to get my new Kindle e-reader. I knew I was getting it because I was having a hard time deciding between the Kindle and the Barnes & Noble Nook. After a great deal of contemplation, research, whining, and testing: I chose the Kindle. I already downloaded some free books with it and I absolutely love it. So completely worth it if you are a reader.
Brenda and I must seriously share the same brain. We ended up getting each other the exact same Hollister shirt (not to mention one for ourselves). So now we both have 2 of the same shirt. It was pretty funny; we were both cracking up on Christmas morning.

After the cabin, we headed to St. George where we stopped at Amanda's new house. It's so cool! We loved it. Party at the Johnson's! Then we headed to Overton for the Behmer fam Christmas. It was good to see them all and we enjoyed all the fabulous treats. Of course there was Bingo which Dan and I didn't play (we didn't stay very long).
To an outsider, we must seriously look like the family from Christmas Vacation because there's always some freak doing something strange...
Thanks for that Melb. I wasn't sure who'd win the prize for weirdness this year. But Floyd was runner up with his "sexy-face"...keep workin' on it! Ha ha!
But we ended up having a lot of laughs and I guess that's what matters when it comes down to it.

Anyway, it was a great Christmas and we had a wonderful holiday. We hope everyone else did too!

The Nutcracker

Today my pal Jay and I went to a production of the Nutcracker at The Paris. It was the perfect way to enjoy the holiday season: The Nutcracker and hot chocolate! We had a blast and it was a great show. If you get a chance to go, you definitely should.Like a dummy, I forgot my camera, so this one we took with my phone during intermission will have to do.

The Impossible Happened...

Today, out of the blue, Branson sends me these pictures:
What the???

My response: You're engaged?!? When the crap did that happen? Holy crap! I can't believe you found a girl that will accept you for all your weirdness. Did she say no? That better not be a cubic zirconia!

Ha ha-of course Akhila said yes! I'm so happy for them both. He proposed at the Kennedy Center after watching the Nutcracker (I'm guessing the picture is a fake because that doesn't look like the Kennedy Center).

I am so stoked to go to their wedding in India! Congratulations guys!

Disneyland...Again.

So Branson and Akhila finally made it to Cali and we met up with them for some fun at Disneyland. They are quite possibly the two strangest people I know. Please note their matching ensembles for those who don't believe...So far folks, I approve of Akhila and believe she would fit into our family quite nicely. She's just as nasty and evil as the rest of us!
I give her props to be able to keep up with Branson.
Disneyland must be experienced a particular way with Branson. It requires many rides of Pirates and many churros.Which is something I'm usually more than happy to accomodate...until Branson steals a bite of my churro. Then it starts to get ugly.Brason and Akhila are so evil, I think they made Mickey blush! Here Branson is telling Mickey that Akhila is foreign and to disregard whatever she says.
Let it be known this was Branson's first time going to California Adventure so we hopped on over there for the highlights: Soarin' Over California, Tower of Terror, and A Bug's Life.Then we rolled back on over to the Magic Kingdom to finish up the evening.We had a great time-can't wait to go again!

Disneyland & Knott's Berry Farm

Disneyland!

Dan and I went to Disneyland on Friday and Knott's Berry Farm on Saturday. Our neighbors, Martino and Tomoko met us at Disneyland along with Dan's Aunt Esther (she's only 2 years older than him). It was so fun! Martino is hilarious! He kept us constantly laughing. We were that obnoxious group that are loud and in everyone's grill. We spent some time in California Adventure, but most of the time at Disneyland.

It just so happened that Rick and Jackie Belcher were going to be there the same day so we met up and rode Haunted Mansion. It was so good to see them. We kept running into each other all day throughout both parks.

It also just happened that an old friend from my Colorado college days, Trisha, was going to be there, too. I hadn't seen her in 10 years! She hadn't changed a bit and it was really fun to see her.

I love, love, love Disneyland at Halloween time-especially the pumpkin carvings! They're so cool!

I love all the fall stuff, too. It's my favorite time of year.

Knott's Berry Farm!

Saturday we went to Knott's Berry Farm-just Dan and me. It was EMPTY! We walked onto every ride because most people wait and go to the Halloween Haunt later on in the evening. It was awesome!

Camp Snoopy was cool because you could trick or treat at all the rides (well, the kids could, not me). The whole park was decorated really cute. I love me some Snoopy!

There's a new ride called Pony Express that is basically a really short roller coaster but you sit funky-like you're on a horse. Anyway, next to the ride there's a small building called the Pony Express Outpost and I was curious so I went in. Inside, a bored looking lady jumped her feet and told me there was something special going on that day. If you hold a handful of giant hissing cockroaches and mealworms for 7 seconds, you win some candy. Of course I had to take the challenge! It was disgusting!

It made me giggle, so I grabbed Dan and made him try it. He wasn't as grossed out by it as I was.

All in all, it was a great couple of days. But then on the way home, Branson called and said he was flying in next weekend to go to Disneyland and wants us to come...so you'll probably see another Disneyland post in a week or so! Woohoo!