4th of July

4th of July weekend was very quiet for us this year.  We had just returned from our trip and were still pretty exhausted.  On Sunday we went to David and Jefra's for dinner and dessert.  It was a nice evening.  On Monday evening we had dessert and Katie and Dave's.   Debbie and I took the "Candy Bar Game" for everyone to play.  It was a pretty good success.  Here are some photos.

Everyone had a few candy bars at the end and everyone was happy.  When that was over we went outside to do some sparklers.  None of us bought fireworks this year so we just watched the kids dance around.  It was fun to be with the family.

Laguna Beach

After a long first day in the park we decided to take a break from playing in the park and head to Laguna Beach to go boogie boarding.  On our way we passed the Newport Beach Temple.  We wish we had known it was on that freeway but we had already passed the exit before we realized what it was.  It was beautiful!

The ocean was not that cold!  We are so used Northern California water that is freezing cold! We hit some sweet waves and had a blast.  Debbie got caught up in a huge wave and at one point a lifeguard came to rescue her, which was pretty hillarious.  We even saw dolphins playing in the surf in the distance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1gDrjRtLDQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLw8UIoysC8

We really had a great time.  We were exhausted after a few hours in the water.  We headed back to the hotel for a long nap before returning the the park for more fun.

Highlights from Disneyland

Debbie and I made a trip to Disneyland at the end of June into early July to celebrate our 5th Anniversary.  We left early in the morning as always, but Maggie and Lucy thought they were coming with us.  Sadly, they stayed home and Debbie's cousin watched them for us. 

"Disney's World of Color" premiered early in June and we wanted to see the show before our Annual Passes expire in August.  We had purchased a meal plan with a Fast Pass included and waited for about an hour for the show to begin. 

The show did not disappoint.  It was truly amazing!  In the words of Debbie, "It freaked my freak."  The magic of Disney has done it again!  It was worth the drive to Southern California just to see that show.  We also attended a little of "Glow Fest," which is pretty much a Rave on the streets of Hollywood in California Adventure.
Here is some video we took of the "World of Color."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dO5jKOhBRLY

Here is the end of the"World of Color."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taoCBhnoglw

Here is a cute picture of Debbie as we were leaving the show.  If you want more information about "World of Color" click here to go to our Disney Blog.

Story Time!!!
I was waiting for Debbie who was in the rest room on our first day and saw this guy walk by.  I thought "I know that guy!"  I thought for a moment and when Debbie came out of the bathroom I told her I saw the guy who played Jimmy on the TV show "The Practice."  His name is Michael  Badalucco (and if he has Google Alerts set up... Hi!)

If any of you know my wife, she started walking fast in the direction I told her that he was walking.
We caught up and I pointed him out to her.  She recognized him and we debated if we should say something.  He was with his kids, eating a Mickey Mouse ice cream bar and we didn't want to be the annoying fans.
Debbie thought it would be good to take a picture of her doing something to get him in the shot... Here is that picture.

He is in the green shirt to the right of the picture.  After I took the picture I went up and asked him if he was in "The Practice" to which he responded "yes."  I told him that I really enjoyed his show and thought he did great work. I didn't want to bug him any more.  He seemed very happy of that.
Anyways, it was pretty funny.  Here are some more shots of our trip.  Captions are not necessary.

We did all the normal Disneyland things but we had to see "Captain EO" which has returned for a while.  It was pretty awesome!
As always, we had a wonderful trip.  It is the best spending quality time with together.  We play hard and make the most of our time together.

Visit from the Conway's

Our friend Melody came to stay us last month for a few days.  She and her mom JoAnn came for a vacation away from crazy California.  We played, talked and ate a whole lot.  Debbie and Melody roasting giant marshmallow's in our fire pit.  The next night we saw Toy Story 3.  It was so good.

 We met up with the Apsley family at Zupa's.  It was so nice to catch up with everyone.  Thanks to JoAnn and Melody for the delicious dinner and dessert.

We took them to dinner the next morning before they drove back home. 

Lucy's New Trick

Lucy is loved... I promise.  It doesn't mean we can't torture her sometimes!!!