Snowbird and Snow Days

Matt and I just returned from Utah! It was so much fun to get out of town and enjoy a different climate and scenery!

Snowbird was the ski resort. Matt attended a conference which meant while he was in meetings I was able to lounge around and do.absolutely.nothing.  It was wonderful!

Here's the view from our room...

The view from the backside of the lodge...

The kiddie slope, Chickadee, was right outside our window as were the ski lifts:)

The first full day we were there, we decided to give snow mobiling a try!

No, I did not drive.  Just posing for a picture!  I left the driving to Matt! One things we learned on this trip is that we are both scaredy cats!  No adventurers in this couple!

 

We started out at 8,000 feet rode this tram another 3,000 feet and then at 11,000 feet we had to take a ski lift back down to where the snow mobiles were.  The ski lift about did us in;) 

 

 

I guess some would say the view was worth it! It was beautiful!

 

See, we don't look that scared out of our minds, do we?!?

 

We loved the sign that said not to feed the animals!  We actually did encounter a porcupine!  Thankfully, we were seated at our dinner table, so we were in no real danger;) He was extremely cute, and who knew they slept in trees!

Funny thing was it was actually quite warm out in Utah. There's is a dry cold. No humidity like we have out here. Plus we were 8,000 feet closer to the sun!!! And we didn't even get to see it snow! So imagine our surprise, when the snow (well, actually ice) came to us all the way in Mob town!

To say the kids were excited would be an understatement!  Matt and I were just thrilled to get another round of usage out of all of our ski clothes!

Here's Frances "sledding" down the neighbor's driveway!

Checking out the Botanical Gardens...

Icicles, anyone?

I'm thinking everyone probably named their snowman Olaf.  Am I right?!?

 

And for the first time in 3 1/2 years of being in our house, we lit a fire! It seemed only appropriate! The kids loved it so much we may need to buy stock in Duraflame:)

 



I have to admit, I'm thankful our meteorologists called it right.  It's sad/scary to see how other communities suffered while we got to stay safely at home and play!

California, Here I Come!

Matt and I kicked off the New Year with a trip to Southern California for the BCS Championship Game! We flew into Orange County and made our way up to Hollywood. I had never been and wanted a glimpse of the Chinese Theatre, Hollywood Star Walk of Fame and of course the Hollywood sign. 

After our brief tour of Hollywood, we headed to our hotel in Anaheim.  Why Anaheim, you might ask?  Well, it's the home of ....

D I S N E Y L A N D!!!

 

You didn't think I would get this close and not pay Mickey a visit!?!

 

That first night we walked around Downtown Disney and enjoyed dinner at ESPN Zone.  Nothing fancy, but it was convenient to the hotel, and we'd watched the teams do interviews from there all week long! So it was fun to check it out for ourselves!

 

The next morning we made the short walk to Disneyland.  Sadly, they do not have an opening ceremony like Disney World.  The train rides in and stops at the front of the park. A family is chosen to lead a countdown. But that's about all of the excitement you get!

 

Don't worry, we were not discouraged.  The park opened at 8:00 a.m. and didn't close until midnight!  Look out Mickey here we come!

 

Sleeping Beauty's castle, so much smaller than Cinderella's abode.

 



 

You will imagine my delight when I found out we would be in Disneyland the last day of Disney's holiday season.  Hence, all of the Christmas finery adorning the castle!

 



 

 

The Matterhorn was actually the skyline hog at this park.  Instead of the castle, everywhere you look, you see this large mountain! I kind of liked it! And it was our first ride in the park!

 



 

Much like Expedition Everest, the yeti (referred to as the Abominable Snowman at DL) makes his appearance on this ride! And in the window:)

 

After a few rides on Space Mountain and the Astro Orbiter, we made our way to Adventureland! I couldn't believe I was actually getting to ride the Jungle Cruise dressed out in its Christmas finery!

Looking good Mr. Headhunter;)

Tarzan's treehouse.  Wish my Kathryn could have seen this.  She loves her some Tarzan!

The famous Club 33! Got an extra $10,000? You could be a member too!

Loved Disneyland's version of Pirates of the Caribbean.  It starts out in the swamps of Louisiana and leads into the land of pirates!

The Haunted Mansion was NOT my favorite! It was themed with The Nightmare Before Christmas, and well, that's just not our thing!

We enjoyed lunch at The Golden Horseshoe.  The food was nothing to write home about, but the performance was exceptionally funny! And we were able to score a table in the upstairs balcony.

I loved that Sleeping Beauty's castle had a walk through featuring the Sleeping Beauty story!  You don't get that at Cindy's;)

 

Olaf!  Gotta love Olaf!  What we didn't love was the 2 1/2 hour wait to see Anna and Elsa!  Sorry sweet sisters.  Maybe if we had the kids with us, but we had to pass on this character meet and greet!

 

 

 

Captain Hook made his appearance as we were getting off of Dumbo...

 



 

Can I just say that I LOVE Disneyland's Fantasyland!!! One of the reasons is...Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. He may no longer exist at Disney World but we always pay him homage at the Haunted Mansion!

 



 

The Wicked Queen will peek out of the window of Snow White's Scary Adventure so watch closely.

 

There is the Casey Jr. Circus Train and the Storybook Land Canal Boats.

 



 

And King Arthur's Carousel!

 

Can you see me?

Loved all of the Alice theming too!  The Cheshire Cat mirror in the Mad Hatter shop, the traditional Mad Tea Party teacups, but also an Alice in Wonderland ride!  Similar to our favorite Peter Pan ride at Disney World, Disneyland features an Alice in Wonderland, Pinocchio and Snow White ride.  Love, I tell you!

 

I was able to snag the Mary Poppins horse on the carousel.  A kind lady gave us a heads up while waiting in line for Dumbo!  I may have elbowed a small child, or two, to get it.  But it was worth it!

 

 

Sadly, it was too windy for the fireworks show that night, but we did catch the tail end of Fantasmic.  AND we were able to see the last holiday parade of the season, AND watch it SNOW on Main Street!  Truly a day to remember!

 

**One last Disneyland note: You must try the Monte Cristo at the Blue Bayou Restaurant.  It's like a beignet stuffed with turkey, ham and cheese.  Oh my!  One of the best Disney foods I have had! 

 

As much as we enjoyed Disneyland, we couldn't forget the main event!  We woke up the next morning and readied ourselves for the big game.  We had about a 45 minutes drive from Anaheim to Pasadena, but we wanted to get there in time to walk around before the game. A quick stop at the grocery for some tailgating snacks and we were on our way!

 



Matt's cousin, Michele, went to FSU and was on site to root on the 'Noles.  We were so glad to get to visit with them!

 

And we walked right up to Uncle Brad.  So crazy in the midst of all these people!  We had exchanged seat numbers, but hadn't said a word about catching up with each other outside the stadium. Must be a brother/sister thing:) 

 

Sadly, the game didn't end as we had hoped, but I wouldn't have wanted to miss it, win or lose! What a season those Tigers had.  We were thankful to see them through to the end! War Eagle!