once upon a summer evening

When we were in Idaho, Daniel and I had a chance to sneak away from the family reunion festivities and catch a double feature at the drive-in.  We saw Despicable Me, and Robin Hood.  We both loved Despicable me, and of course, I slept through Robin Hood, but Daniel says it was a good one.  I was looking through pictures this evening and had to post this.  Please excuse the double chin and grainy exposure.  It was pretty dark out, but it's a fun picture to remember our date to the drive-in.  With a baby coming in less than 10 weeks, I kind of doubt we'll be pulling late nights like this for a while! 

Camping part 1

The weekend after we got back from Idaho, we joined our good friends Joey and Brianne on a little camping trip.  This was something new for Daniel and I.  In the five years we've been together (our 4th wedding anniversary is coming up in a couple weeks) we'd never gone camping.  I actually didn't think we'd ever go camping, as Daniel is the kind of guy that really prefers being comfortable to being outside sleeping on an air mattress. 

Anyway, we couldn't turn down the invitation to try camping with our friends, and it worked out to be a really great time.  I was hesitant about camping at 25 weeks, seeing as I usually have a couple trips to the bathroom in the middle of the night and at a State Park, you never know how close to the bathroom you'll be, or ow scary/sanitary the bathrooms are.

We ended up camping at Sequim Bay State Park, and had a site that was almost right across from a surprisingly clean restroom.  It worked out perfectly, and I had no complaints. 

I'd never been to Sequim before but I'd heard it was the driest spot in all of Washington.  When we got there, it looked more like we were in California, and it was perfectly sunny and warm without a cloud in the sky.  I can definitely see going back there maybe in the winter, for a break from all the rain we get!  Here are some pictures from the first part of our adventure!

The view along Hwy 101 on the way up the Peninsula

Apparently Sequim is known for its lavender fields.  This was a lavender farm we stopped at.

Yes, we tried Lavender Ice Cream...it tasted good going down, but burping lavender essence hours later wasn't so great.

There was a wedding going on at the farm.  It was such a nice day and a beautiful backdrop.

I don't have anything to say about this picture, except I was camping...not my most glamorous moment (and still feeling frumpy)!

Daniel was putting his Eagle Scout skills to use monitoring the fire...ha!

Camping part 2, our excursion to visit the Dungeness Spit coming soon!

July activities part 1

Did I mention that Daniel and I went on a road trip a couple weeks ago?  No? How clumsy of me.

Not that I post regularly enough for my absence to even be noticed...

Anyway very early a couple Wednesday mornings ago, we got all loaded up and drove with my two younger brothers to Driggs, ID.  Our route looked a lot like this...and took about 14 hours.

Even though we made good time, and had no traffic it was still a long day! When we pulled our tired bodies into Grandma Green's driveway in Driggs, it was such a relief to be there.  My Grandma Green is the sweetest little lady, and it had been three years since I'd seen her last.  One of her traditions is to make a quilt for each of her grand children that get married.  There were several weddings in 2006, and she had just finished our quilt in time for us to take it home with us.

 

This quilt is so beautiful and I know how much time Grandma puts into a quilt.  I'm pretty sure I'll always love it!

The next happening on our road trip was when Daniel and I ventured to Rexburg. I should explain that we moved from Rexburg 3 years ago, and it took me all three years before I was ready to go back, even for a visit.  One of my best friends and former roommates still lives there, and was kind enough to take some time off work to hang out with us.  When we moved from Rexburg, they hadn't completed the Temple, so I knew it was going to have to be one of the first things we checked out. 

After checking out the temple, we gave my little brother a quick tour of BYU-I, where he is thinking of attending in a couple years.  There have been so many changes on campus that I hardly recognized a couple of the buildings.  It was neat to be back, and I remember why I loved going to school there.

We finished our little trip to Rexburg with all you can eat pizza at Craigos.  It was to die for.  I have missed that pizza more than anything else about that town.  I had way too many pieces, so if you think I look pregnant in the pictures above, I'm sure it was exemplified after stuffing myself with lunch.  We also picked up Sonic happy hour drinks on the way back to Driggs.  I love that place.  We got three huge drinks for $2.69. 

Clearly the high points of my trip involved more food than should be consumed in one afternoon.  I had to pack it all in though, because we don't have either a sonic or craigos in Olympia, and it's hard to justify a 14 hour road trip just for pizza.

The next couple of days were spent at a huge Green Family Reunion in Teton Valley, and because I'm not the greatest blogger ever, I didn't take a single picture and don't have much to say about it.  It was very fun to see cousins that I haven't seen in years, and I got an awesome farmers tan.  I think it comes with the location. 

I'll have another vacation post of last weekends activities coming up soon, so stay tuned for a camping trip at 25 weeks pregnant!

to hold you over

We had a great time. But it feels so good to be home. Being on a boat for a week has left me wobbly on dry ground. I am currently lying on the couch, and it feels like it's rocking like a boat. Not sure how long it will last, but until then, I feel like I'm still half way on vacation!

Over the River and Through the Wood To Grandmother's house I go...

...actually it's more like over the mountains and through the desert... but I'm looking forward to it. I haven't visited my grandma for a long time, and she's in need of some love and attention. I'm going with my mom and even though it'll be a quick trip, I'm glad we can be there for her when she needs some help. I'm leaving work early today so we can get a head start on the drive over to the Tri-Cities, and hopefully I can stay awake and keep my mom company.

I'm extra tired today because last night I had no self control and stayed up way too late watching tv.

When it comes to tv shows, I'm usually a few years late catching on, so it comes as no surprise, that just over the last couple weeks, I've gotten into 24. I started at the beginning with season one, and got sucked into the action. Each day after work I'd look forward to seeing what would happen next. Would Jack Bauer really make it through each daunting situation and save his family? So last night, when Daniel headed off to game night, I settled in with the intent of watching an episode or two, and heading to bed. Much sooner than it seemed possible, it was 11:00 and I only had one episode left. I couldn't just go to bed and leave the Bauer family in limbo. I had to make sure they got safely home and that peace was restored.

Those who have seen season one of 24, can imagine my disgust at the ending. Now I'm at work, short on sleep and wishing I hadn't stayed up quite so late.

I am however looking forward to a 3 day weekend!

As Promised...

So here we go! These Disneyland pictures are all from my camera. Hopefully after this weekend, I'll be able to get pictures from my in-laws. I'm hoping they took more pictures than I did, because even though I carried my camera everywhere, I didn't always pull it out when I should have.

Tom (Daniel's Dad), Daniel, Me, and Daniel's brother Stephen

This picture is the first day at Disneyland on the tram on the way into the park. Daniel's mom made us matching "Guglielmo Family Vacation" t-shirts. We all humored her that first day and wore them. And since the poll results were inconclusive regarding the fanny pack issue, I decided to give both options a try. The first two days I sported an awesome fanny pack and loved the hands free convenience. It was also useful because I had burnt my shoulders the very first day we in the pool. So my purse wouldn't have been kind to a fresh burn.

I discovered my camera had a neat firework setting. I played around with it during the fireworks show the first night and had a lot of fun.

I'm pretty sure that Pirates of the Caribbean might be my favorite ride. I loved it especially because we never had to wait more than 10 minutes to get on it, and a couple of times we walked right on and the boats were waiting for us. That was pretty much the story of our trip though. The lines were all really short and we were able to use fast passes to beat the crowds on the weekend. I think the longest we had to wait for any one ride was half an hour for the California Adventure Ferris Wheel. We got in a swinging gondola, and it was neat to be that high over the park, and all of a sudden start swinging unpredictably.

Dead Men Tell No Tales
Not so flattering self portrait on King Arthur's Carousel
We all went on the Jungle Cruise together, and because of the matching shirts with Guglielmo clearly spelled out, we were suddenly incorporated into the story told by the skipper.

dinosaur bones on Thunder Mountain

We took our niece on this ride, and amazingly she loved it. She may be only a 3 year old, but she did awesome on the roller coasters. She also loved the Matterhorn.

Resident Ducks who finished off Stephen's $17 breakfast.

We pent a surprising amount of time feeding the ducks at Disneyland. The deal that we got was five days for the price of three. Because the park was so empty, it felt like after the first three days, we had already done everything we'd wanted to at least twice, maybe three times, so days 4 and 5 were spent taking things a little slower. Thus, the ducks.

I always loved Pooh Bear when I was little, so I was really happy they made a Winnie the Pooh Ride. It was a little psychedelic during the hephalumps and woozels sequence, but overall, it was a great kids ride. I also got mauled by a tigger on the way down the hill from Critter Country. I was walking with Daniel and Stephen, when all of a sudden from behind me, I was getting bounced and patted by a big fuzzy neon orange tigger. It happened so fast and unexpectedly that nobody got any pictures, but it happened!

The hotel pool from our window

Sad to be packing up and going home!

We had a late flight on the 13th, so we drove out to Huntington Beach before we went to the air port. It was a nice beach, and we must have been at the dog area, because there were a bunch of cute dogs playing in the water and chasing each other along the shore.

I only got into the water up to my mid calf's, but it was refreshing, and not nearly as cold as the Washington beaches. I still prefer the ocean in Hawaii, but I love a good beach anywhere. I wish we'd had more time and beach equipment, because I would have loved to play there all day.

Daniel and Emma playing at the beach. Getting some last minute wiggles out before we got on the plane.

I can't wait to have kids. I know Daniel's going to be such a good dad. He adores Emma, and is so good with her!

I love Palm Trees. I'm certain I could live in southern California and be a very happy person. I love the sun and warmth, and ocean.

I also loved this purple tree that was growing near the airport. I don't know what type of tree it is, but it was gorgeous!

Waiting at the airport. The Long Beach airport was really small, and had a nice outside waiting area where we got our last does of California sunshine before we had to get on the plane and come back to the rain.

Love the scenery!

Stephen is such a weirdo. But we loved having him there. He made people watching very enjoyable. And even though the lines were short, there was still a lot of people watching to be taken care of. He also went on all the scary rides with me. Daniel didn't want to go on Tower of Terror, or the Maliboomer, so Stephen and I did those by ourselves. I may have screemed like a girl and felt nauseous the rest of the afternoon, but it was fun to try rides like that.

We also rode California Screamin' and Space Mountain so many times we knew exactly when to make faces for the camera. The last time we rode Space Mountain, Stephen bought a picture. I'll try and scan it, because our poses, (mostly Stephen's) are priceless. His last pose involved taking off his shoe during the ride, posing with it for the picture, and having it back on his foot when we got off. I've got to hand it to him, that must have taken serious skills.

I'm so glad I got to go on vacation. It was just what I needed. And after having been back at work for a week now, I'm sad that vacations have to end. However, all good things do end, but, I've got other things to look forward to, and life is good.

A conversation about blogging.

Yesterday Daniel asked me about my 'webpage'. I think if he calls it a webpage instead of a blog, it makes it ok for him. For some unknown reason, he thinks 'blogs' are silly.

Anyway, he asked me how often I post. In return, I promptly asked him if he ever reads my blog. He said no. Which is fine. I don't mind that he doesn't read it, and it doesn't surprise me. He then suggested that I should post every day, and he wanted to know why I don't post more regularly.

I explained that I don't always have a lot to say, and that I do most of my blogging at work (I know, I know...) where I don't have access to my pictures, and most people seem to think that a blog without pictures is hardly worth a visit.

Thus, why I haven't posted about my fabulous trip to California, which happened over a week ago. I did take pictures, and I did have a wonderful time, but I kept waiting to get more pictures from my in-laws, who still happen to be in California. So I wait...when I really ought to just jump right on in and post. Even if it's without pictures.

So to hold you over until an actual picture post and Disneyland narrative (maybe tonight!?), here's something to enjoy!

Day one, walking down main street!