a much needed spring break.

Hey Guys! We're Back!!
(Insert HUGE sigh)! If you were next to me right this moment you would see that California drained me completely but we had the best time! Recently I have become addicted to audio books. As a result, the drive was quite pleasant in that Jim Dale told us the story of Harry Potter and The Deathly Hollows the entire way to Ca and back. We actually finished it and I LOVED it. Harry Potter is just the best. Anyway, the first night we arrived we did a whole lot of nothing, wait, actually I cried. Why you might ask? Because I called my dad to have him look up 6 flag's hours and to my astonishment they are NOT OPEN! So I call, asking for a refund and they basically tell me too bad, so sad but we don't give refunds. I was outraged! Why would they allow you to buy tickets for a time of they year the park isn't open? Furthermore, why is a theme park closed in March?! The customer sales representative was horribly rude and so I was left in tears- out $100 dollars. Don't worry, I already wrote them and gave them a piece of my mind ;o) Regardless, Danny was great- he comforted me, assuring me it would be okay. I love my husband.
So INSTEAD of going to 6 flags Daniel and I drove to Huntington beach for the afternoon. It was amazing weather and the beach is so beautiful. I wish I knew how to surf, the waves were fantastic, and there were so many surfers out on the water. We ate lunch on the pier (Ruby's) and watched two dolphins frolic in the water from our booth. It was lovely.

(PS: You might notice at this time my horrific bangs. I have learned my lesson in that if you want to have a nice hair cut then it is advisable to fork out some money. Otherwise, you have some dimwitted lady give you these obnoxious bangs. I say dimwitted because I even brought her a picture and this is what I got- UGH. On a brighter note, can you see my ridiculous red hair growing in? SO exciting). ANYWAY-
Afterwords, we did some shopping at downtown Disney and then my and Daniel's favorite part of our vacation- Medieval Times.

Medieval times was a surprise I had planned for Daniel. Basically you pay X amount of dollars for a four course meal and dinner show. It was FANTASTIC!! You are encouraged to cheer for the knight who's section you are sitting in and (not surprisingly) Daniel and I were in the villain's section. Daniel and I both lost our voices screaming! They gave us little green flags to wave as we watched sword fighting, jousting, horse-acts, and a falcon fly above our heads. It was all indoors and climate controlled which was awesome. Unfortunately for my allergies, however, I was quite a mess at the end of the evening. The meal was delicious: tomato soup, garlic bread, a HUGE full chicken, a bbq rib, a half baked potato, and a medieval poptart (aka apple pastry). It was so much fun!! They villain of course made it to the very end before he was killed by a good knight. Daniel was so disappointed! But I did catch a carnation our knight threw into the crowd and got a picture with him at the end.

How tall is this guy, seriously? I felt like an ant standing next to him. He was super cool though and should have won!

Yes, Daniel and I wore the crowns all night!!

Tuesday was Disneyland day and I can't think of a better way to spend St.Patrick's Day! We found these cool Irish Mickey Mouse ear hats!! Daniel was such a good sport and wore it all day.

And by all day I mean the 3 hours we were there. Daniel ended up getting sick so we left. However, in the three hours we were there we were able to get on Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, Buzz Lightyear Astro Blaster, Star Tours, and Honey I shrunk the audience. Pretty impressive. After Daniel started feeling better we returned that evening (around 7) and went on space mountain, the buzz ride again (my favorite), and watched the fire works. It was so much fun.

The picture below is our impression of Momma O on splah mountain! I asked Daniel as we were getting towards the front, "what do you want to do for the picture?" and without hesitation he says, "lets imitate my mom." I thought this was perfect. So this is a tribute to you, Jeanie! We are always thinking of you ;o)


Wednesday was a pretty fun day spent at the San Diego Zoo! A huge thanks to Becky for getting us tickets!! We had such a blast! That Zoo is just enormous! We saw everything from giant pandas to polar bears and camels (daniel's favorite)! We were talked into getting a characater (sp?). It was quite funny! Of course we are on a camel per Daniel's request. All he kept saying afterwards was, "are my eyes really that close together?" Hahahaha! I love that kid! I kept wondering if I am that noticeably buck toothed!? All the same, it was fun!







Later after the Zoo we met a friend in my nursing class (who was also in CA) for dinner at Taco Rosa! Thanks again, Becky! It was very yummy! All in all it was a fun-filled vacation and I am SO happy to have had the one on one time with Daniel! We get to see eachother so little between his work and school schedule and my school/clinical schedule. All worth it in the end. Hope all is well! Hope to have something interesting to post shortly!!

Happy Spring! Hugs from Flag!
-Laura... (Danny and the dogs)