Valentine's Day~

Yesterday was Valentine's Day and I must say..it was really nice

 I woke up with this Valentine from my Son next to my pillow The back Read I LOVE YOU!

 This sugary treat from My boss

 Wore my Black Crystal Heart necklace that Gabe let me purchase on his dime for a Valentine's Gift

 Then at Lunch Time Gabe showed up to my work with Roses and Candy and took me out to eat for Lunch ( Which he wanted to take me to his resturant) But we are short staffed at work and I was kind of in a rush so we went to Panera.

 When I got home Gabe left for work but He had made this cake for Parker for Parker's Birthday. I love the decorations with the soda's and Hamburgers and baseball stuff. My dad came over and brought Parker a bday gift and Ava and I Valentine's gifts. He got me A potted Bulbs of Daffodils..cannot wait til they bloom! He got Ava a Bottle of Dinosaurs ( which are her faves) Parker I believe Candy. My Brother and Jess came over too and we all watched FACE OFF which we love and sangHappy Birthday again to Parker. I skipped on the cake since I am TRYING to loose weight before Vegas.

While we all watched TV I also had my little Buddy Chugs hanging with me. We love our dog. He is the Best. He is a good listener, Loves to play fetch, Loves the kids and really ANYONE. He is so awesome!!
Such a Great Day yesterday!!

Baseball and Playground Practice

                                   Monday afternoon Parker had baseball practice and Luckily for us that Gabe has Monday and Friday nights off so he can take him to his practices. Anyway while I was picking up Ava from School Gabe asked if we wanted to drive to the park and watch Parkers practice. So Off we went..

 Parker looked like he was enjoying himself

 Luckily the kids were pretty bundled up cause it was raining earlier and it was FREEZING and Windy outside

 Ava got bored watching the practice so we went to check out the playground

 She had to ride the seahorse

 Then the Dolphin

 Then the whale..which she was really liking this one

 As she played I stood there freezing...Maybe it was because of the shoes I was wearing...hmmm

 Once she got on the swing that is all she wanted to ride

 HOLD ON!!!!

Once we were finished on the swings it was just to cold for me to bare and Ava's hands were ice so I told Gabe we would meet him at home...On the way home though I made a pit stop at Sephora since I had a Sephora gift card burning a hole in my wallet. I was trying on some things when I went to look at Ava and saw this...It was even worse cause she WOULD NOT STOP putting make up on her face.
All the ladies that work there and other patrons thought it was the cutest thing..I was like Not when your scrubbing her face and she is fighting you off .
Once we got home, and I changed and Scrubbed Ava's face we decided to all go out to dinner for a little Valentine's dinner. We knew we would have to take the kids and we did not want to splurge on dinner since we wanted to save up cash for our upcoming Vegas trip and the fancy places we will be eating out there so we opted for the 3 course dinner special at Olive Garden...which we all actually reallly love Olive Garden. Gabe and I brought in a bottle of Moscato to have with dinner and Parker got Happy Birthday sang to him again!
It was just a wonderful evening.

Parker's Laser Tag Bday Party

Parker's is eleven years old today!! Which shocks me how fast time goes..which even more shocks me that Gabe and I been together going on 13 years this year!! ZOINKS!

Anyway Since Parker's birthday is on Valentine's Day we usually celebrate Parker's Bday the weekend before or after. We have not had a party for him last year and so this year he either wanted a Laser Tag party or a Go Cart Party. I think more so Laser tag so Laser tag party it was.

 We rented a time slot at The Power House which is an arcade with a Laser Tag room . We let him invite 8 kids which of course were all his old buddies he used to pal around with at his school in Long Beach he went to. I know the kids probably would be more anxious to play games and laser tag then do the whole cake cutting thing so I just made my own cupcake. Parker wanted cookies and cream cupcakes so that is what I made.

 I made my own whipped cream frosting but what I should have done is made the frosting before and chilled it over night cause it melted right away. However when I got to Power House they put them in the freezer..they ended up being like Ice Cream cakes.

 I like how they customized Parkers table with Laser tag cups, napkins and plates!

 I love that this place does all the decorating, gift bags, food and most of all clean up!

 Parker even got this cool souvenir dog for all his guests to sign...Of course my brother had to sign the butt hole of the dog...

 Ava was pretty darn excited for the party..She LOOOOVES parties!

 They kids got to do a round of laser tag while  we waited for the Pizza to arrive

 and we lit one candle on the cupcake and sang Happy Birthday to Parker and as fast as lightening the were back in the laser tag room and playing video games

 Ava got to play some games too..she one like over 3,000 tickets to redeem some fun trinkets at the prize booth. I think the shot gun was too heavy for her.

 All of Parkers friends showed up except for his two cousins so we had two already paid for laser tags wristbands and games cards..luckily my brother and his girlfriend showed up and they could use them..they are like a couple of BIG KIDS!

 at the prize booth Ava picked out an oriental fan...she loves it

 Parker and his pals and little sister

 My brother and Gabe playing foosball ...Alex won

 I went to see what all the boys were up too...there is one game that is just basically a ride simulator..they ALL jumped on it and were having a blast

 Funny Kids

Ava and her goodie bag as we were leaving.

Once the guests left my brother and Jess surprised Parker with a ticket to see Star Wars in 3d in the IMAX theater and Parker's friend Alec went with him. So they got lots of snacks and went to the movies while Gabe and I went home and Ava and I took a nice much needed nap.
Parker said he had the best time. I have to say ..I had a pretty good time as well!

Night Dive for Ally's Birthday!

This past Friday was my Pal Ally's birthday. She has been so busy with fostering and been stuck at home alot that she needed a fun night out for her birthday so I bought her a ticket to go to Night Dive! Night Dive is basically an event that happens every so often at the Aquarium of The Pacific. They basically turn it to a night club. They have a stage where bands play, cocktail bars inside, a martini lounge, Dj's indoors and Outdoors, artist in the hallways painting and other exhibits.

 The night before Thelma came over and Helped me make Ally some birthday cupcakes.
They were Strawberries and Champagne cupcakes. Everything made by scratch. It was vanilla cake with champagne /sourcream mixture added and some strawberry preserves added. The frosting was made with champagne as well. I used a Sweet Moscato champagne. I garnished the cupcakes with a dried candied strawberry..cupcakes that REALLY make you warm and fuzzy inside!

 I was able to round up a few peeps that wanted to come help me celebrate Ally's birthday so after work I picked up Ally then headed to pick up Thelma and Toni. We cruised with the convertible top down and music blaring on over to Downtown Long Beach where we went for Happy Hour drinks at the Mai Tai Bar. Ally and I were drink twins. We started off with this delicious and quite refreshing Cucumber melon crush.  This Mai Tai joint by the way...happy hour til 9!! Oh yes ...I will Be back!

 Thelma had an Aloha-tini and Toni had the Long Beach Long Island.

 after a couple rounds My brother and Jess showed up and joined us as well. Then it was time for some SHOTS!!!

 Down the hatch Ladies!! They were sunkist shooters..Like orange booze of some sort mixed with red bull.

 Jess and Ally

 and another round..

 After that last round it was time to head over to the Aquarium...we were considering hitting up the gourmet food trucks but the lines were insane! The queen Mary

 Us gals striking a pose...I know I am buzzed too when I start walking the cat walk  up and down the street...hey at least I was not the ONLY ONE...

 Ally and Jess with the world in their hands in the Martini Lounge

 Jess and Alex in the Martini Lounge

 we walked around with our martini's and checked out all the fish..we went outside where the dj's were playing electro music and petted the sharks and rays underneath the moonlit

 This Ray was HUGE!!!!

We drank, socialized and played at the aquarium basically until closing time. I am glad I went. I think I would go back again to another future event there. It was a blast!

Dapper Day at Disneyland!

This Past Sunday was Dapper Day at Disneyland. Dapper day is one day of the year When everyone ( well everyone who knows about it) dresses in their vintage dapper attire. I have some wonderful Dapper attire but I gained some weight and they fit me pretty tight so I opted just to wear a  casual 60's little day dress.  Throughout the whole day we were stopped by SO MANY people asking what is going on ?? Is there a convention?? Why are so many dressed up??

 Gabe and I renewed our passports for Disneyland when we went. Inside we met up with Sade and Hiram . Ofcourse first stop was cocktails! Here is Sade and I. we were at Ariels Grotto in DCA.

 The guys in their Dapper Attire. I could not do any photos cause my camera was dead and my phone went dead so I taken a few of these from Burns and from the Dapper Day site.

 At 3pm everyone met at the Mark Twain for a DAPPER Ride across the rivers of America!! We also met up with Greg and Maria there. They had to do 2 trips since there was so many Dappers. We went on the 2nd round. You can see us all below waiting in the right hand corner.

 Wave Hi!! Here is a link to the Dapper Day Video..you can see us on the top of the Mark Twain in the begging on the right hand corner http://vimeo.com/36331508

 The Band plays and people started to dance.
After the Mark Twain we all went on the Pirates of the Caribbean and went back over to DCA for our Soar'n over California fast passes and more cocktails and a bite to eat. It was a real Crack up watching Michael  go on Soar'n for the first time..he already has a phobia of flying ..he had no idea what to expect...It was FUNNY!!!

 Crazy Guy!

After a few cocktails everyone was off to the smoking section ..I gave in..can't help it when I drink. Afterwards it was Back to Disneyland where we went on some more rides such as Indiana Jones, Haunted Mansion, Jungle cruise etc..

We let Michael Drive on Indiana Jones...another ride he has never been on! I know Mike has more pictures maybe later I will steal his!!
Anyway I heard they are going to do a Fall Dapper Day...I will sooo be there!