just tell me to RELAX...and BREATHE

20 years?

Really?  Could it have been 20 years since these fabulous ladies left high school for the big world?

I personally don't think the world was ready for us or our big hair, or all of our general fabulousness, but we survived to meet up again 20 years later in G-town for the class of 1989's first reunion.

and we've really matured.

we pay a lot of attention and follow directions.

And wow, we still look GOOD.

But we're kinda busy ladies now and can't really stop to pose for a photo.

But did I mention how good we look?

Yes, Class of '89 still has it going on.

Seriously, it was GREAT seeing everyone -- our buds Deanna and Craig worked hard to make it happen and I am so grateful.  I hope it won't be another 20 years before I see this crew again!

 
 
  

new mexico road trip recap - Day 1 & 2

on the road to Albuquerque before 9 a.m. on Tuesday.  Rip is psyched to watch a DVD in the car for the first time.  I am psyched to listen to a book on tape, since R has a headset.  The weather is STORMY.

 

traveling thru New Mexico and making great time.  R still more than excited about watching movies.  Only downside to DVD player is no remote control and no way to manage movies without pulling over.  We make due.

 

rest stop outside of Wagon Mound, NM (what a name!) is a godsend.  Bathrooms are OK, but there wasn't a button for that...

 

...but there were quite a few red hot pokers for Ripley to visit with while we stretched our legs.  Still raining.

 

Albuquerque!  We arrived before 4:30 and met James at the hotel.  We did a tiny bit of driving around before we headed to dinner.

 

our only photo as a family -- not the greatest but it is documented.

 

Day 2:  James is off to work again, and we hit the road at a leisurely pace, deciding that taking the Turquoise Trail from Albuquerque to Santa Fe might be a fun change of pace.  R was enjoying her movie (Bolt) so much that I took us on a further excursion up into the Sandia Mountains.

 

At the top (where the outside temp was registering 54 degrees, a 25+ degree drop from the main road!), we got out to explore.  Ripley was ready for an adventure.

 

 

We followed the path as far as it would go, stopping and taking pictures the whole way.

 

Back at the bottom, we had a picnic and prepared for the rest of the trip.

 

 

A quick stop in Madrid, NM to take a few photos (mailboxes above), and then onto Santa Fe.  Checked into the Hotel Santa Fe, took R on a quick tour, then walked over to one of my favorite restaurants...

 

a well-deserved cerveza, enchiladas, tamales, and more tortillas than a 5-year-old should be capable of eating, and stick a fork in us.  We were done.

 

More from the road later.

 

hitting the road

 

and what a trip it was!  rip was a wonderful travel companion (or as I've been calling her, my P.I.C., or Partner in Crime.  Thanks "Role Models" for putting that one in my head). 

many pictures to share later but my computer is not cooperating this evening...maybe it too needs to catch up on some sleep?

Today...

 

...we are road-tripping!  R and I traveling through CO and NM for 4 days, no big plans, just making memories.

More when I return...

Vegas pictures...

 

I bet you thought I forgot...but no, just waiting to get pictures from our friend Ellen.  Thanks Ellen for these great snaps!  And thanks again to Alecia for letting me borrow her cool Vegas dress!

 

 

 

Here is Ellen sidling up to her new friend Kelly Pickler (notice that we are also surrounded by the guys from Rascal Flatts!).

 

Here's a little snippet from our night at the Playboy Club for Hugh Hefner's birthday party...

 

 

A quick shot of Heff and his entourage (I think that's Bridget from the Girls Next Door in the silver dress -- we ran into her along with her camera crew as we were getting on the elevator).

I'm still bummed that our little camera decided to give up the ghost that weekend, so now I'm in the market for a compact digital camera.  Any suggestions?

 

Vegas Baby!

So...we've been in Vegas for the weekend, and as I sit here in the LV airport waiting to get on our flight (2 hour delay currently) I am realizing I am all Vegased out.  Each time I leave Vegas, I think to myself, "This might be the last time I see this town" and yet, here I am again.  I guess that's just how it goes.

The highlights:  This was a trip that James won through work for having a killer January -- he was one of 6 reps nationwide and 6 managers that qualified for the trip.  SO proud of him!  We were lucky enough to be on the trip with James' manager Dave and his wife Kasey, who I consider to be a good friend.  We also met up with a Phoenix rep Noel and his wife Ellen.  Good group.  Assurant put us up at the Bellagio - very nice.  Weather was spotty, so I only had a few moments in the sun by the pool, but lots of relaxing in the hotel reading and sleeping and enjoying the quiet.

We had one rip-roaring night during our stay, at a club called The Bank at the Bellagio.  The rumor was that Leonard di Caprio was hosting a party there, so we were on star-struck high alert.  Instead, the best celeb sighting (in my opinion) was MEGAN from Rock of Love!  Too funny.  I unfortunately was without a camera, but Ellen got photos of Rascal Flats and got a picture with Kelly Pickler.  Such a nice, gracious gal, but I swear she looks 15.  God bless her.

Noel had a brush with fame at the urinal -- Ed Burns.  I personally did not see him, but I was also not at the urinal.  Tom Brady was also rumored to be there, but no sightings.

Our other big night out was to the Playboy Club for Hef's birthday party.  Really.  Cool club, mostly like an upscale gambling establishment, with the added benefit of pictures of LOTS of naked ladies in the bathroom.  Very interesting.  I didn't get to meet Hef or his personal bunnies, but we did get to gawk at them for a time.  I'm counting on Ellen for pics.

And did I mention I'm all Vegased out?

i break for Spring Break

"We're not worrying about the future.  We are living in the moment around here." 

~ random ski bum guy reporting for Plum TV in Vail, and totally cracking me up. 

Perfect quote for today.  Today I am living in the moment and enjoying relaxing at the condo with Ralphie, while James and Rip are enjoying the brand new 12 inches of powder on the slopes.  It is still dumping.  Beautiful. 

Read.  Scrap.  Relax.  Repeat.

Disneyland Part 4: Meeting the Princesses.

 

AH AH AHHHHH!  I promise you, there were trumpets sounding and birds singing (at least in R's mind) as we walked up to Ariel's Grotto...and THEN she saw the princess herself.

 

It was pretty cool, and overwhelming for her, I'm sure.  But she did great and was all smiles.  All of the princesses are so gracious and ask all the right questions of the little girls -- And where is YOUR castle?  Is your favorite color PINK?  So is mine!  -- etc.  As you can see, Rip's favorite princess is Ariel (Ariel crown, Ariel scepter, and Ariel's seashell necklace where her voice is "trapped").

 

We also went to the Princess Faire in Disneyland, where you can meet princesses and take pictures.  R was mesmerized by Sleeping Beauty (who declared that HER favorite color was pink TOO!). 

 

Rip was not as excited to see Snow White or Cinderella -- in fact, she was really trying to avoid meeting them entirely!  But I walked her up to see Snow White (she looked terrified!) and we had Dad go meet Cinderella instead.  Here's the picture that Rip took of James and Cindy.

 

It's funny about the Cinderella/Snow White fear, because at the princess breakfast, she was MORE than happy to hang out with each of them, especially C.  R couldn't take her eyes off of her!   And later she declared, "Cinderella's gloves are SO soft!"

 

Belle, who is usually persona non gratta in our house, was also a big deal for Rip, so much so that she picked out a Belle nightgown and decided that she would rather have that than the fancy-dancy Sleeping Beauty dress-up costume! 

I think Sleeping Beauty still has a special place in her heart, because she picked out the SB stickers at the scrapbook store, and promptly made two SB scrapbook pages when we got home.

If you have a little gal who is into princesses, this is a must-see experience at Disney.  As cheesy as it sounds, it was truly magical to watch our little princess talking to her favorite characters. 

Still more pictures to come...

Disneyland Part 3: Ripley is a thrill-seeker.

 

Well, as you can see, Rip was all about the thrill rides -- Gadget's Go Carts in Toontown (above), Mullholland Madness at California Adventure, the Matterhorn, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (below) were all BIG favorites.

 

Rip and the guys also loved all the spinning rides, like the Mad Hatter Tea Party (below).  Not me or my mom -- spinning rides make us urpy.  We sent the guys with Rip to do all that spinning nonsense -- Dumbo, Tea Cups, Orange Stinger at Calif. Adventure (which for some reason was one of R's favorites), and the weird juice box ride at the Bug's Life area.

 

A family favorite (ridden 4 times!) was Splash Mountain.  We were all about getting wet!  We even got my mom to ride it once, but once was enough. 

Here we are mid-Splash.

 

And here we are post-Splash.

 

One of the things that was so cool about the five of us doing Disney together was that everyone was up for EVERYTHING.  Here are my folks on the Matterhorn...sure wish I could have snapped a pic of the Abominable Snowman...

 

OK, we were all up for trying everything ONCE.  R was gung ho to ride Space Mountain first thing on Saturday morning...

 

She HATED IT.  I am pretty sure that our little roller coaster gal just didn't like the lights and music.  Can't say as I blame her.  It can definitely give your tummy a bad case of the upside-downs.  She still reminds me every time she sees the picture below, "I am NEVER going on Space Mountain again!"

 

In this picture, she is inconsolable and shrieking at the top of her lungs.  She looks a little terrified, don't you think?

More to come from the land of Disney so stay tuned!

Disneyland Part 2: Fuzzy creatures are OK.

 

Did I mention that we had a good time?  Seriously, the weather was PERFECT, the lines were short or non-existent, everyone was in a great mood.  It was truly the best trip it possibly could be! 

Ripley, who usually is VERY afraid of life-sized stuffed creatures, did amazingly well with all of the characters.  We did character breakfasts several mornings, and she warmed up to the woodland creatures right away.

 

This little guy (Koda from Brother Bear, which we have no clue about because we've never seen the movie) was so sweet with Rip and made her feel VERY comfortable.  That was a great introduction into fuzzy creatures, because after that she sure saw a lot of them!

 

This silly racoon was a big hit, as were Chip and Dale.

   

For some reason, she didn't want anything to do with Turk the Ape, so the boys decided to hang out with her instead.

 

I may have forgotten to mention that it was my dad's birthday on our first day at Disneyland, and for 5 days he was "Fred the birthday boy".  He got into the park for free on his birthday and he had to wear an "it's my birthday" button.  Everyone at Disney would say, "Happy Birthday Fred!" anytime they noticed his button.  It was hysterical!  I think he is now going into birthday withdrawals, since no one has wished him a happy birthday in days!

BTW, R was still running a fever this morning, so I changed my flight to tomorrow and we took her in to Urgent Care.  Looks like a urinary tract infection, so hopefully in a day or two we will be feeling much better.  Thank goodness for antibiotics!