Avalon....

Welcome to Avalon. Catalina Island

Since Bill's Parents (al and sharon) were in town and we had tickets to Catalina, and not one of us has been to Catalina we thought it would be a fun day trip to make!

the boat ride over was nice and at one point we got to see a blue whale off the starboard side of the ship. That was pretty cool. It was an early day so i got to catch a couple ZZZ on the way over!

Once we were on the island we decided to rent a golf cart to get the most out of the day, and least amount of walking!! Bill started off driving and continually tried to whack my face with hanging tree branches on the trail. At one point true to bill form, he took us "off roading" in the golf cart. (sharon did not enjoy that!)

we had a few great photo opts and i have to say this island is truly beautiful! we did some shopping and funny photos and we had lunch a steve's steakhouse, bill and i shared the Buffalo burger. I've never had one before and it wasn't half bad! all and all the day was a success!

Mia, Bill, Sharon, & AL

On the way home we once again were lucky enough to see not 1 but 2 blue whales! that was great and it really got me in the mood to go whale watching.... too bad i have to wait til MARCH!! maybe a birthday present? (hint hint bill). at last we made it safely back to balboa island in Newport and stopped off at JackShrimp to have dinner! yummy!!

Twilight series

Well I now have read the entire twilight series TWICE... yes that's right i did say twice, and i really enjoyed it both times. I've been reading things on the internet about the fourth and final book, but i have to disagree with what's out there. I thought the last book was just as good as the first three. Alot of people were saying how disappointed they were with the final book. I thought Stephenie Meyer ended the book and tied up all loose ends very well, Like i said i read them all twice so they had to be good right? I've told all of my friends (most of whom were introduced to the series by me) i don't have a favorite book i look at the four books as chapters to one BIG book. So for me to think that, i would have to say Stephenie did end the series the best way possible!

If you haven't started reading these books... i say you should at least take a look at the first one, i swear you'll be hooked by the end of chapter one! readers enjoy!

San Jose

Bill and I went up to San Jose to visit his uncle Gary and aunt Ellen for a long weekend. We met his parents (Al & Sharon) and his auntie Helen and uncle Cj there too. We had a very pleasant time there with all the family.

Thursday after work bill picked me up in a rented Mazda 3 and we headed out. we got there around 8pm long but very nice drive. we all had dinner prepared by Gary and Ellen and man was it Delicious!!! staying at their house is like staying in a 5 star bed and breakfast!!!!! that evening we all just hung around the dinner table and caught up but ended up going to bed at a pretty decent hour.

Friday we woke up and had a light breakfast then the 8 of us headed out to Filoli center (it's an old estate with a beautiful rose garden) after walking around the rose garden for about an hour we headed back home. That evening Bill and I meet up with Lauryn, Tim and their youngest son Dustin for dinner at PF Changs. I've never been there before but it was pretty good! Dustin is the cutest little boy ever! He was being very shy and quiet.

Later after dinner we came home to quite a sight..... everyone must have really enjoyed dinner and the wine that went with it. there was some conversations that i'm sure bill wishes he never heard (ie parents stuff) but i think the best part is all the hair pieces that came out and were displayed on all us girls with pictures being taken. it was a bit of a wild night!

(Sharon and Auntie Helen)

Saturday we got up and got ready to go to the beach, Half Moon Bay. there we met up with gary's sister linda and her family. It was a VERY cold afternoon, i froze but then again when don't i??? right?? well we had a picnic with fruit salad, macaroni salad, chips & guac, and bbq chicken. it was yummy!!! half the beach was blocked off because it was pupping season for the seals. To entertain us one of the younger boys dug a hole threw a white towel over the hole and then tossed bread crumbs onto it. We tried to "trap" some hungry seagulls. It was so funny i think all of us were laughing out loud. The other people on the beach started to look at us like we all had a couple screws loose. But it was just so funny seeing the birds flapping their wings trying not to fall in the pit once they stepped onto the towel.

That even after getting home from the beach Gary and Ellen prepared once again a wonderful dinner of Skirt steaks, vegetables and potatoes. we all just hung out ate and enjoyed each others company.
Sunday was the last day bill and i were there. we started the morning off right with Gary's awesome eggs Benedict (i only like his) and then the 8 of us again headed out to wine country. we hit 3 different vineyards to go wine tasting (since i don't drink at all, i sampled the olive oils and other cooking type marinades) It was a pretty good time, interesting to say the least. we all stopped off and had a light lunch at one vineyard and the service was pretty bad but the food was really good. after that we head home to get ready to head home. we ended up having dinner with everyone and then bill and i set off to head home at about 11:30. we got home at 5am this morning!!!

The trip was really fun and so worth the drive! i can't wait to get back there and visit gary and ellen again! Thank you so much!!!

Bike Rides and puppies

Mondays are our normal day off together and we try to find something fun to do together, this past monday bill had to go into work for a few hours, but after he got home we decided to take out the beach cruisers and ride down to the beach.

I love my husband but sometimes he doesn't judge things acutely. it's a 5 mile ride to the beach from our house and i just know that i can't along with bill make it to the beach riding the bikes and then ride on the pier to grab lunch. i suggested we drive to the beach and then ride the bikes up and down the boardwalk, Bill had a better idea. we ended up riding the bikes to lazy dog cafe (home of our 1st date). it was actually a really fun time. we stopped and had lunch and just hung out and talked. after lunch i talked bill into going to look at puppies in the next shop over.

we found the cutest puppy, she was a chihuahua and only weighted in at 1 pound. i tried my hardest to talk bill into getting her but he wouldn't have it. he wants to be in a house before we get any pets, which i have to say is probably the best thing.

but she sure did love bill (he's a dog person all the way) he picks her up and right away she's licking his face wagging her tail and nibbling on his chin. it was really cute!

after the short stop at the pet store we headed back home. it's funny but it didn't seem like we were gone long but we were. 4 hours later we made it home and both of us took a little nap! i guess there's nothing like a bike ride that tires you out.