By Popular Demand...OUR TRIP!!!!

(Disclaimer: This may be a long one so you may want to use the restroom, get something to eat and possibly take a nap before proceeding. Oh, and don't forget to keep your arms, hands, feet and legs inside the ride at all times. Thank you.)

We started our trek early on Thursday morning. We were happy; we were awake; we were in good spirits. As usual, I had that nagging feeling that I'd forgotten something and I usually do, but it's always something silly like my dental floss or even my beach towel. We'd been on the road an hour and a half when I started thinking through all the things I packed. Then, with the most sickening feeling in my gut, I realized that I'd forgotten the tickets to all the theme parks that we were going to. Basically, I hadn't packed the one thing that made this vacation what it was supposed to be. We started to turn around to go back home to pick them up and I was mad at myself. About ten minutes after turning around, I thought, "Wait, what if we have someone overnight them to us." Bless Mom Furr's heart, she saved the vacation and got the tickets mailed to us so that we could go one with the vacation as planned.

Ok, now I'll tell the story using pictures.

This is the classic Disneyland picture, complete with the scantily clad stranger in the corner.

I made the mistake of going to the bathroom. When I got back, Brian was doing the Hokey Pokey with a bunch of kids, a fiddler, and Pocahontas. I got yelled at by the fiddler when I wanted Brian to leave. The fiddler made me join too. We think the fiddler might have been LDS because when we FINALLY finished the Hokey Pokey, he asked us where we were from. When we told him Utah, he immediately started singing, "Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree."

This is the four of us that went on the vacation. That's Jerry and Erin Baum in the background. We were on the Matterhorn and I've never been more sure that the roller coaster was going to crash in all my life!

We may look happy, but it was HOT. We were so glad for long lines on rides that had us wait inside.

Now we are at the San Deigo Zoo. We really liked the zoo, but I feel it my duty to warn you. THIS ZOO IS NOT BUILT ON FLAT GROUND!!! If you like hiking, this place is for you. If you don't, RIDE THE BUS. We walked of course, because we didn't realize that you could build a zoo in a canyon.

I've come to realize something about zoos; the cooler the animal is, the more likely you are only going to get pictures of their butts. Ok, seriously, we did get some good pictures of the elephants and other animals, but I really am trying to not let this post get out of control, contrary to what it may appear...

AWWW! PANDAS!!! So so so so so so CUTE!!!

Ah, the beach. It was a beautiful day on Sunday so we drove to the ocean so our friend Jerry could actually touch the water.

We went to Universal Studios on Monday. It was still really really hot.

The Simpsons Ride opened the day we were there. It was AWESOME!!!

On a miserably hot day, it's Blue Raspberry Slushies to the rescue!!

Ok, now we're at Sea World. The park is awesome! This obviously is the Shamu show. We took pictures of the tricks the whales could do, but I put my camera away when they started the "Splash" segment of the show. Our friend Jerry didn't put his video camera away and it died from all the water on it. Apparently, salt water immediately corrodes electronics. Who knew!?!

Don't we make cute penguins?

The Mantee Rescue was closed. This was Brian's response:

Wednesday of the trip we went back to the beach so that we could actually play in the water. The sun was shining, but the temperatures had dropped and the wind was blowing. It was cold. I played for a short while, but then ran up to my towel and spent the rest of the day wrapped up. Brian thoroughly enjoyed the water as you can tell from his triumphant return from the waves. Jerry and Erin also spent a lot more time in the water then I did.

Brian buried me in the sand. I was completely content just laying there because it was a lot warmer IN the sand than ON the sand.

On Thursday and Friday we were back at Disneyland. The weather was terrible on Thursday and it poured rain. On Friday it was just cold.

I'm sure the reason for the poor weather was because Brian was making fun of the Hawaiian gods...

Ok, I did too.

Well, "F" is for FINALLY FINISHED!!! It was a great trip and I'm so glad we took it. We did a lot and had a lot of fun. I'm already counting down to the next trip we take!

As a reward for being so kind and reading this WHOLE entry. I'll leave you with something that will hopefully give you a chuckle...

"Run, Jerry. RUN!!!"

We're Off...Almost!

Brian and I are going to Southern California tomorrow. I have been looking forward to this vacation for a rrrreeeeaaaalllllyyyy long time. I started my countdown at 108 days! So, the fact that it's tomorrow is just exciting! So, goodbye for the next ten days or so and I'll post pictures when we get back.

Spring Cleaning

As I look forward to having enough time on my hands to finally finish cleaning my basement, I realized that there might just be some other "cleaning" that needs to take place. I think if I get this down in writing, maybe I can finally let some of these things go and, honestly, move closer to getting over myself. I have some yucky things crudding up my heart and I'm ready to get rid of them. There are many things that I realize I will never be, so it's time to move on. So, here goes--my Soul Spring Cleaning:

1. I realize that I will never be a teacher. This one has been the hardest for me, but despite how hard I try and despite how many interviews I have, I just can't land a job. I don't exactly understand why, but rather than letting the disappointment fester in my soul, I'm going to let it go and realize that there's obviously a reason and though I may not understand it now, I will someday.

2. I will never be a size 2. I don't have the greatest self-image, but I'm working on it. I am doing what I can to be healthy, but I don't care for starving and puking isn't my thing so it's time to accept that I am who I am. I can be happy in my own skin and size.

3. My house is never going to be spotless. I love Brian more than anything, but between him and the two dogs, I have to give up my strangle hold on cleanliness and realize that I can get the house close to spotless, but eventually my husband comes home and the dog can't stay outside all night, so it's time to give up the idea that I can have a completely sanitary home.

4. Debt sucks. I got into debt my last two years of college and I would give anything to go back and change that, but I can't so I just need to find a job that will pay off my debt and then I can finally move on to the next stage of life.

5. I can't run from family. I really haven't meant to become distant with family. I do see them at least once a month, but after what happened in December, I realize how much I'd like to have them around. I need to do a better job of that.

Well, I can't think of anything else right now, so that's a good sign that maybe I'm not as far from where I'd like to be in my life. Now, this wasn't meant as a pity-party, I just needed to get some things off my chest. Yep, I'm feeling better already.