Do you know the way to San Jose?

Because we do! In fact, that's where we are right now!

Road Trip 2009 has begun. Faithful readers may remember a brief mention awhile back about Ryan's brilliant idea to travel north for a viewing of Spring Awakening (which we all know is our favorite) and a new musical based on Green Day's American Idiot songs (which just so happens to feature three actors from the New York Broadway cast).

Well, the weekend has finally come. The others began their day by meeting us in Anaheim at seven this morning, but Chris and I came up a day early to celebrate his birthday at Disneyland (and collect $72 in Disney money since he's got a pass). We both had to work the first part of the day, so making it up for our 3:30 Blue Bayou reservation was a little stressful... but luckily we made it with ten minutes to spare! (Unluckily we chose not to use those spare ten minutes to run to Space Mountain for fast passes, but that's a different story.)

The Blue Bayou was pretty fantastic. Expensive. But fantastic. It's a nice break from the hustle of the park, and any place that keeps bringing me rolls and butter is a happy place for me. Because of the price, we split a main meal- the jambalaya dish- which was excellent, and came with one of my new favorite restaurant salads (even rivaling Olive Garden's!). Chris got a chocolate mousse automatically for being born on that day, so I ordered tiramisu (which is what he really wanted), and we switched. Well, the waitress knew what our plan was, I think, and she switched them when she came back to the table, and put the birthday candle in Chris' tiramisu (which came in an adorable ceramic Mickey Halloween cup that Chris then had to carry around the rest of the day).

Sadly, when we had finished and made it back to Tomorrowland, the fast passes were all gone. Dang it. So we had to wait in line for an hour and a half to go on the new and improved Halloween style Space Mountain. Which really wasn't that great, and actually kind of demonic feeling for Disneyland.

We hit up Haunted Mansion next, and we saw the cutest Halloween costume ever on a little kid in the elevator. He was dressed like Boo from Monsters Inc., and all you could see was his little face peeking out from the blue monster outfit. He. Was. Adorable. That is totally going to be my kid's first costume. (Yes, Jedi got bumped to second.)

So that was our first day of vacation. This morning we met the others at Disneyland and headed up to San Jose. Got here in record time, and now we're all just chilling and starting to get ready for dinner and then the amazing Spring Awakening tour cast. We've got our cute theater clothes, our Spring Awakening books, multi-colored Sharpies, and the hopes to get upgraded to better, closer, and maybe even onstage, seats!

I heart Olive Garden

A lot.

Mostly because I think their chicken gnocchi soup is amazing. And the salad's pretty good. And the breadsticks... mmm, the breadsticks. And basically any deal where they just keep bringing me food as long as I ask for more is pretty much the greatest thing ever.

Tonight I had two bowls of soup, four bowls of salad, and three breadsticks. And, since my friend Chrissy was our waitress, I came home with two more breadsticks and a third helping of soup. (Which I'll be eating for breakfast tomorrow.)

Chris does not like Olive Garden, despite his Italian roots. So, even though I bring up the idea of going to Olive Garden at least once a week (and sometimes seven or eight times), he never says yes. Until tonight.

What made tonight different? I'm not sure. (Chris said something about having a happy girlfriend, or blah blah blah.) But for whatever reason Chris decided that tonight would be the one in ten thousandth time he would actually say yes. And so I got about 500 calories of warm soup belly for dinner tonight.

Thanks, boyfriend! You're the best Olive Garden-hating boyfriend a girl could ask for!

This last week (in pictures)...

Let's see what's been going on in the life of thesmallblondeone.

Oh man. This guy is cute.

Cute, cute, cute.

Let's just scroll back up and stare at that picture for awhile, shall we?

Yeah. He's cute.

Okay, enough of that!

Awhile back, Chris did something he called Fire Run Project. He basically went through his many beloved belongings to decide which ones he'd be taking with him, should a fire ever break out and he had to collect stuff and run.

He made me do it, too. So I incorporated it into a massive room cleaning I'd been planning for awhile now. This picture here is my box o' memories. It's basically a bin filled with journals, photo albums, and funky collectibles from over the years. I see both graduation caps in there, my Coast Guard hat from summer camp 2005, and my commemorative 50th anniversary Disneyland ears from the same year. Someday I'll upload the whole set of pics of "what I'd toss in my car if forced to evacuate."

The OSF. I was trying to get a shot of him all cute-like at the bottom of the stairs, playing Farkle on his laptop. But just when I was getting into position, he decided to leap up the stairs and pounce me. Sometimes that OSF just doesn't like me taking pictures of his cute mug.

Wednesday dinner: I made yummy yummy quesadillas, which the OSF found quite scrumptious. Score one for me! (And Sam.)

Experimenting with up close shots.

Ryan invited us and Brittany over Friday night for a little Wii. First we went to the Studio Diner for a late night dinner. (Breakfast for Ry and Britt, some kind of steak combo for Chris, and chicken wings for me.) Then it was back to Ry's for some crazy Rabid Rabbits and champagne because... well, it was Friday night.

Saturday night, Chris and I went over to SDSU to stand outside the open air theater and listen to Snow Patrol and Plain White T's. Before we settled in on a bench outside the theater, Chris took me on a tour of the buildings where he spent most of his college years. We explored art exhibits, a drawing room with the backless horse seats (that he remembers oh so fondly), and art major monuments built out of cardboard. Chris loves things that are built out of cardboard. :)

Announcement! Announcement!

Christmas is coming! Christmas is coming!

The Christmas Announcement Party was simply splendid this year. Just a nice October evening spent celebrating the arrival of everyone's favorite holiday. (Except mine. My favorite holiday's my birthday.)

The CAP, for those not in the know yet, is a celebration started by Jarrod's family from way back when he was just a little tyke. Over the years, Jarrod's spread it to our group of friends, and we've held it every October for the past four years. 

It's magical.

For whatever reason, this particular year's gifts were much funnier than years past. Hence, pictures of everyone in their most joyous Christmas moods.

Co, Kim, and Brad watch David open a gift.

Apparently it was really funny. Jess thought so, anyway.

Oh! Just kidding, David hasn't even opened it yet. Apparently it's just the process that's 

cracking everyone up.

Okay, I do remember what happened here. Justin stole Genessee's phone and was sending out fake texts to people in her contacts, including the youth pastor. Good thing Gen's got a sense of humor.

Woot! It's me and the OSF! This guy went to the mat for me during the gift exchange; he stole the only good gift of the lot, a fluffy soft blanket that everyone wanted- especially me!

Playing with the gifts. In this case, those foam sea creatures that form in water. 

They didn't work.

Co didn't come in an ugly Christmas sweater, but he made up for it with the hat.

More gift opening with Tori and David.

Oh, Ryan Poole, you can hold up the gift you picked all you want, but no one wants to steal it from you.

And yet somehow he ended up with another silly gift to try to pawn off on other people.

Ryan Cerutti became the proud owner of a leftover party favor candle from 

David and Tori's wedding in 2006!

And we'll end our Christmas festivities with a classic David portrait:

Merry Christmas (in October)!

You've never had Chipotle?!

I'd never had Chipotle until Monday night.

True story.

Chris and I were jonesing for some dinner Monday night- the type of dinner we didn't have to make ourselves, that is. So we started going through the list of places we haven't been recently.

"L&L?" asks Chris.

"Veto." L&L does not have a good rapport with me.

"Maybe Chipotle..."

"Hhmm. You know, I've never been to Chipotle."

Chris drops whatever's in his hand. Bethany stares over her laptop screen.

Both of them: "YOU'VE NEVER HAD CHIPOTLE?"

Chris pulls me into a hug. "Oh, babe." He pushes my head to his shoulder and strokes my hair. "It'll be okay! We'll get you Chipotle, and it'll all be okay!"

(My boyfriend is kind of a drama queen. But he's cute, so what can you do?)

So we went to Chipotle. Chris prepped me for the experience on the way. "It's like the Subway of Mexican food. You pick burrito, tacos, or bowl. Then you pick your meet. Then the veggies, then the salsa. Guac costs extra."

We get to the counter and I ask for a burrito. Chris tells the Chipotle guy, "This is her first time." "Ever?" the guy asks. Chris nods solemnly.

So the guy makes me the fattiest burrito I've ever seen in my life. Then he gives me free guacomole - "since it's your first time." Why thank you, Chipotle guy.

Then we get home, Chris insists on climbing up on the couch to get a really good picture of my burrito and I for picture of the day, and then I get to eat it.

And it's amazing.


Chipotle: 1

From a late night talk: October 18, 2009

He wants a library full of bookshelves. Even one that goes over the door.


I think I'm in love.

Right. Now.

Outside my window...a beautiful October afternoon that feels more like June. 

I am thinking...about about the books I want to write, the photos I want to take, and the memories I want to create.

I am thankful for...my wonderful friends and our Friday night Wii party, a nice Saturday morning to sleep in, beautiful babies created by my best friends, technology, my camera, and a cute boy who doesn't mind me hanging out in his air conditioned apartment all day.

I am wearing...a brown skirt and white tank top.

I am creating...this blog, some digital scrapbook pages.

I am going...to listen to the Snow Patrol and Plain White T's concert at SDSU later tonight. Chris and I are going to go hang out outside the venue later and listen in.

I am reading.... the first Wakefield Dynasty book again. They're a set of books written by the well-known historical author Gilbert Morris, about English history. I picked it up from the Lakeside library a couple weeks ago since grading World History for my tenth graders has made me want to brush up on my own knowledge. And I've always found that facts disguised in fiction have a way of sticking with you.

I am hoping...that someday I can find a way to keep every aspect of life organized properly.

I am hearing...Veronica Mars season two playing in the background, and the sound of rustling pages as Chris goes through his latest magazine issues.

Around the house...Chris is cleaning his room and Kristen's watching a football game downstairs.

One of my favorite things...is hanging out with my boyfriend on lazy weekends. Too bad there aren't going to be any more of those until around mid-January.

A few plans for the rest of the week...Church, Christmas Announcement Party, work, work, work, Chris' birthday bash next weekend.

Then. And now.

Once upon a time, there were five roommates. And one of them got married. And we took a picture together:

Then

Two and one quarter years later, we met again to celebrate the upcoming wedding of another of the five:

Now.

Missing Mandy

I miss Mandy.

I miss sleeping in the bunk underneath her.

I miss late nights in the living room at B22; she's the one who got me started on my late night laptop haunts, you know.

I miss her bursting into the apartment with a huge grin on her face, ready to sink into the first open chair and regale anyone in the room with the amazing things going on in her life.

I miss her hugs.

I used to miss her amazingly poetic blogs. But she's back now, so I don't have to.

http://livelaughgrow.blogspot.com/

Enjoy.

So excited... because wee sing!

Confession (but not a big enough one to constitute an actual Confessions entry... but still big enough that I'll label it under Confessions):

I have looked long and hard, for years and years, for a CD version of Wee Sing Bible Songs.

Now, for regular readers of the ol' blog, probably nothing nerdy that I do shocks you anymore. For those just tuning in, hi. I'm a nerd. I like to scrapbook, stay at home on Friday nights, and I've spent a number of years haunting the online library book catalog for a CD of children's Bible songs.

But! I have my reasons!

When I was little, before they came out with DVD players attached to the back seats of SUV's, we had these things called cassette tapes, and our family had two kinds: kids singing Bible songs and kids singing Broadway songs.

(I've already got all those Broadway tapes on CD; they were easy to find.)

We loved these tapes. We sang along from the time we could pronounce our first words until... well, I'll still put on one of those Broadway Kids CD's every once in awhile, so take what you will from that.

So! Imagine my excitement when I typed in a search a few weeks ago and found that the Wee Sing CD's were currently being ordered for the San Diego County Library system... and there was only one person ahead of me on the hold list (probably the person who'd suggested they get the CD's).

I got the CD's today.

And they're every bit as amazing as when I was five.

Someday my kids will listen to these songs while strapped into their car seats, as we run errands around town. And they'll know the books of the Old Testament, the names of the twelve disciples, the stories of Jonah, Zaccheus, David, and Father Abraham, and that God's got the whole world in his hands.

These are the important things to know when you're five. Or twenty-five.

What two {months} looks like

I had the greatest time at Jen and Justin's house on Friday taking pictures of the little Zo-zo. She is so spectacularly adorable, whether she's sleeping, crying, or looking around in consternation. I ended up with around 300 pictures from the hour I was there, and managed to get them down to around 125 favorites. (Which I think is quite an accomplishment for a photo hoard like me.) Here are just a few of those favorites:

And we're done. :)

Confessions: Volume 7

Even when he makes fun of me. 


Even when he makes me help him organize his garage.


Even when he plays Farmville for hours. (And hours.)


Especially when I find the notes I leave him stuck to his monitor with his post-it lists, with the date added, so he'll remember the day we said it for the first time.

Coming soon...

Amazing cuteness.

(In the form of a two-month old.)

Dear Jessica

What are you talking about? I blog all the time! Might I direct you to your sister's beautiful wedding pictures a little further down this page?


PS: But you're right- we need to talk and hang out more too. ;)


Love, 


Jordan

A Day at Disney

Well, more like a quarter of a day. Because Chris and I didn't even leave until around 11:30, and then we had to stop at Fossil in Carlsbad to repair his watch, and then a WalMart a little further up the road for me to pick up some knock-off Uggs since it was already getting chilly at noon, and I had come dressed for summer in my flip flops.

But finally we made it there. We watched the Jedi training, where they take all the little kids from the audience, teach them how to use a "training" light saber, and then let Darth Vader loose on the crowd of five-year-olds. (This is not an exaggeration. And it is awesome to watch.) We tried to go for Space Mountain after that, but the fast passes were already gone, and we didn't want to wait in the 90 minute line just yet, even though Space Mountain has been tricked out for Halloween.

Instead we headed to Buzz Lightyear, where Chris told me he was going to beat me soundly and that I'd better not cry about it. Well, he did beat me, and I lost my lens cap on the ride, too! Boo! Luckily, we went back and they'd found my lens cap (and a few other brands of caps too- they tried to send me off with a Minolta), and we played again and I kicked his behind soundly that time. To be fair, his laser genuinely wasn't working properly, so I suppose I shouldn't really call it a win. I'll call it a slap of humility instead. Sometimes boys need those.

We took off for California Adventures and the Toy Story ride next, and this time I really did beat him, by a whopping 20,000 points I might add. I couldn't feel my arm afterward, but it was so totally worth it. We walked over to Tower of Terror, one of Chris' favorites, just as it was getting dark, and got the rush that comes only from being dropped weightlessly four or five stories.

Headed back to Space Mountain, only to find the ride was still about 85 minutes. We made the executive decision to call it a day and head out to La Brea, the cute bakery in Downtown Disney, for bread bowls and soup/chili. Except they had run out of chili! Boo! So I got a panini instead. My very first panini, and you know what? It wasn't bad. (But also not worth $7.)

Pictures from our Disney day:

It's fall at Disneyland, which means everything is orange and yellow and red! And there are pumpkin Mickeys everywhere!

Chris does finger exercises in preparation for the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters.

CUTE.

Me! Finishing off my (corn) tortilla from the Tortilla Factory, and feeding the birds while Chris takes my picture at  Picture Spot in California Adventures.

This was supposed to be a much better picture i which the balloons would have been more of a focal point. But people are so ridiculous; they always move when I try to take really great pictures involving them!

We interrupt tonight's regularly scheduled program to bring you this:

The cute OSF. (Seventies style.)