Fires and A Birthday

What a wild Monday it has been. It seems like all of Southern California is on fire. I don't live near any of the fire areas although,I can see the smoke and there's ash all over my car. I wanted to be excited that today is my birthday but, I also felt really bad for people that have lost their homes. I hope it's all over soon. I praise all those firefighters that have been working so hard out there.
As for my "birthday weekend", our travel plans got postponed but, I still had a great weekend. I got to go shopping for some really pretty diamond earrings. Had a yummy birthday dinner at The Arroyo Chop House on Sat night. Mmm, my mouth is watering thinking about it. After dinner we went to a relative's surprise 40th b-day party.
Sunday afternoon we had planned to go to Disneyland. The kid in me loves to go during Halloween time. On our way there, the fires were starting to get out of hand in the O.C.. The closer we got to the area, it seemed to get really windy and there was a lot of smoke in the air. The sky started to get dark and I just go an eerie feeling. We decided to turn back. It's ok. Disneyland isn't going anywhere. We'll go back another time.
And finally today, my actual birthday...

My 30th BIRTHDAY! (wow, 30, it's finally here) Like I said before, it was hard to be excited after waking up to all the news about all the fires. But, it was still a special day. Thank you to my family and friends for all the phone calls, emails, and text messages. I felt the love! It all ended with a fabulous time with my faboulous family. I don't have any pics yet but, I got to blow out my candles today surrounded by everyone that I love. That's all that mattered.

BTW-next weekend the celebration continues. Saturday's the big party! :) yay! Gotta love your birthday!

It's Late...

and I should be in bed already.
I tried blogging from my PDA earlier this morning and it wouldn't post. grr! I was at the car dealership getting my car serviced. I had some time to kill. FUN!
I'm happy it's almost my b-day weekend! Yes, I do mean birthday weekend. I like to stretch my birthday as much as possible. FI is taking me somewhere out of town for the weekend. yippee! He won't tell me where yet. I'm surprised he hasn't spilled the beans yet. He usually can't keep a secret from me. Where ever we end up, I'm sure it will be a fabulous time. I can't wait!
ok... I'm off to bed. *yawn*

Halloween Time

I love this time of year. I love Halloween plus, its also my b-day month. :-)
Now that my daughter is old enough to enjoy it, I always try to find fun kid-friendly events to take her to. Last Thursday we went to "Mickey's Halloween Treat" at Disneyland's California Adventure Park. If you have kids I highly recommend it. It's an event that they sell limited tickets for. It's basically a night of trick-or-treating inside the park. It's a four hour event where your kids can dress up and you have access to all the rides, there's live music and there are 'trick-or-treat stations' that you find all over the park. You have the option of getting candy or a more healthy alternative like cut up apples, baby carrots or raisins. My daughter really enjoyed it. She even liked the healthy stuff!
Here are a few pics from that night:

Me and the Little Mermaid:

Trick-or-Treat Station:

Sore Muscles

I'm taking advantage of the "extra" time off lately, and I started to work out. (I have about a year to get fit for the wedding!) I started by going to the gym first thing in the morning yesterday. It felt good to start of my day with about an hour of excercise. It was also nice to be there early since it wasn't so crowded.
Today, I decided to join my FI for a bike ride. He usually goes every day to a nearby recreation area. We did about a 4 mile ride. The uphill ride was the hardest part and I thought it was game over. That was just the beginning. After that, it was actually fun.I was surprised at how well I did. I plan to go back on Friday. I'll go back to the gym tomorrow and Thursday. As I was sitting here typing I sneezed and my abs are super sore! OUCH! I guess that's what they mean by "no pain, no gain".
Off to a good start. Let's see how long this lasts!....

All About the Kids

This weekend was all about good times for the kids. Saturday started off with the weekly ballet and tap lesson. I love watching my little one dance her heart out. She may not have all the steps down but, she always tries her best and loves to be there every week. After dance we went home to change. The little one earned all her stars and happy faces at school last week. (hey, Kindergarten is hard work!) That meant that she got to go to the Disney Store to pick out her Halloween costume. This year, it's all about The Little Mermaid. We went home with a costume similar this:

After the Disney Store we met up with FI and my future step daughter, and Future SIL and her daughter and took all the girls out to Chuck E. Cheese. I have to say, it's definitely NOT my fave place. It was kind of a last minute thing. Surprisingly enough, the one we went to wasn't so crowded. After an hour of playing games and collecting 126 tickets, we went home with a little plastic harmonica, two pink hair ties and a pink koosh ball. It was loads of FUN! Well, the kids had a good time so, that's what mattered.

Later that evening we got together at SIL's house and it was time for us parents to relax. That involved a nice bottle of wine and a fun game of cards.

Sunday, FI and I hooked up the boat and made our way out with the kids to Bonelli Park. We like it there because it's close by and it's a fun day trip for the kids. We had a fun time out there on the water. The weather was perfect!

Lately every weekend seemed to be planned out with family gatherings, work, dance performances, it was nice to just go out as a family and take the kids out for a good time.