Hidden Land & Banana Pancakes

These next few days are my last official days of vacation and I'm doing everything I can to live it up! Last night, with the help of the Heffernams, we discovered the hidden land inside Disneyland- ElecTRONica!


Complete with a "bar," arcade and rave-like dance area, there's no doubt that Disneyland is desperately trying to appeal to the teenage age group. It's truly an experience to say the least.


No doubt... no doubt the adventure was more for the boys than Andrea and I. When we first arrived we watched as they stood to the side with wide eyes and huge goofy smiles. I so enjoy seeing happy boys, even if it's over ridiculously nerdy things.

Switching gears...


Then this morning, after sleeping in (glorious), I got up and made pancakes. Not just any pancakes. I made multigrain banana pancakes with Vermont maple syrup.... yummm!



When I wasn't working full-time (and had energy) I used to make pancakes almost every Saturday morning. Then... I got tired. And my pancake-making dishes became sad, because they were no longer in use.

Today the 2-cup Pyrex rejoiced because she was useful! (And so pretty.)


And the metal spatula was elated, because he had purpose! (I may have seen Beauty and the Beast too many times. I shall neither admit this nor deny it.)

And most importantly, my husband was happy, because he had multigrain banana pancakes in his tummy!

Four More Days Left

I can hardly believe that I only have four more days left of my Spring Break. I'm so glad to have thoroughly enjoyed my time and spent it doing several day outings.


On Friday and Saturday, Anthony and I took a trip down to SeaWorld. I had never been there before. Well, that's not true. The last time I was there I was about 3 years old, so I don't remember a thing. All in all, it was a fun adventure. The picture above is of the "Blue Horizons" dolphin show. If you go to SeaWorld, you must go to this show. It's magnificent!


Tuesday, we had a grand day at Disneyland with Andrea & Dave. Us ladies arrived early and I so enjoyed the girl time. Andrea and I chatted it up and found out how many things we have in common. It's fabulous to gab it up with another lady and laugh at life's little peculiarities.

After work the boys joined us and we showed them how the Friedman's do Disneyland. We even convinced them to join the nerdy "pin club" with us! At the very end of the night we went to the World of Color show. It was great, but Andrea and I both agreed that the fire portion was unneeded. I felt like it was burning my face every time!

Yesterday was my recovery and grading day. Today, reality hits and I need to start working on the housework and homework I have piling up! So, fair well!

Family Bonds

I love my family! If there were one thing I think I am most thankful for in my life it would be that I have been raised with a close relationship with my aunts, uncles and cousins. (Above is a recent picture of my sister and I with all of our adult cousins.) I think about this often when I imagine what life will be like when Anthony and I start having children. I so want my kids to enjoy being close to their cousins.

However, unlike my family-3 aunts & 6 cousins-Anthony and I only each have one sister. His sister will soon be giving birth to her third boy (really hoping that doesn't happen to me), and my sister just got married and probably won't have kids for several years. His sister also lives in Idaho & Anthony and she aren't very close. So, I'm pretty much relying on our kids to be close friends with my sister's future offspring as well as any children born from my cousins.

Here in lies my conflict. Everyone lives in Southern California. I do not want to live in Southern California forever. In fact, if it weren't for our family ties and the whole "hard to find a job" situation, we would most likely be living somewhere else right now. However, we're here. And my family is here. So we stay here.

I see how my life has been so much fuller with family. It's awesome to be able to go over to my Aunt Cindy's house for Easter and after everyone has stuffed themselves full of food, we sit around the fire pit and laugh together. Soon (if we can get our schedules to sync) my sister, bro-in-law, youngest female cousin and her new boyfriend are planning on having a Settlers of Catan battle. (If you haven't played this game yet, your life is incomplete.) I'm so excited to be able to see them all together and have fun. I just want that for my kids so badly.

So what am I saying? Not sure. Just rambling and hoping that Anthony agrees to my insane desire to follow my family (if they even decide to migrate from CA) anywhere around the U.S. for the sake of my children having the same life I so treasure right now.