I don't remember the last time I woke up at 7 am to go out to breakfast in PJ's which is why it's on the must list. There is nothing better than rolling out of bed and into an IHOP. Back in the day breakfast used to be my favorite meal but now I don't ever get up early enough to sit down and enjoy it -so for the first time in forever we hopped into IHOP and stuffed our faces. I've forgotten how amazing breakfast can be especially when wearing PJ's. Definitely going to do it more often! 
tight to the lines in a tug of war with the wind, and hiking your body weight to the outside of the boat as it Keels(tip). To beginners the feeling of your boat tipping to one side is horrifying-to me, THRILLING. That's when the real fun begins as you jump on the edge of the boat to lean out as far as you can in hopes to even out without giving any slack to the main sheet. Is there anything more empowering and exciting than this? The only challenging part of sailing a Shields to me, is docking. I've never sailed anything higher than a 22 so a 30 was a little nerve racking. To give you an idea of the overall process here's the order. 1st put your boat into irons(making the boat completely useless) in the middle of the channel (As you're doing this dozen of boats are driving by and staring at you wondering what in the dickens you're trying to achieve). 2ND take down your main sheet(main sail). 3rd the 1st mate wraps the main sheet in a burrito and releases the helm lines as the captain holds the tiller. 
3rd let the wind catch your jib and sail towards the slip. 4Th when your two boats away from the dock take down the jibe. 5Th lead boat into slip(No Sails). It sounds fairly easy when in actuality its complete chaos-to say the least you feel completely helpless. I'm hoping that with practice docking will eventually feel like second nature. This upcoming Saturday we're taking the boats into the ocean for some real fun! SWEET!! There's nothing like white caps crashing in your boat as you get blown to smithers by the wind and soaked with salt water. I love it! Thank goodness there's no such thing as calm in the ocean. Saturday can't come soon enough!
committed to playing the following year. It's that time again! Last weekend I participated in the 3rd Annual Kyle Simonson Golf Classic and I had the best time ever! The only downfall- I played with clubs that were too short -which caused me to I swing and miss the ball more times than I'd like to admit. Side Note: I can't even explain the pain that comes with missing the ball oh lets say 100 times. I honestly didn't want to use my driver because I was afraid of the pain that occurs when you miss. A couple of my teammates had made the comment, "oh its too painful to watch (literally)"and "She's swinging out of her boots"-yet I kept getting the same comment on how great my form was and how I must have played before. My teammates this year were hilarious and extremely patient. They always let me putt first which 
I thought was because I was the only girl but the truth is because they wanted the worst player to go first. To their surprise I putted in 4 of the 6 holes we birdied. 18 holes later I was informed that my clubs were too short for me. My neck,back, and sides would have loved to have known that 4 hours earlier. Even with all the pain I experienced I'm officially addicted to golf and can't wait to play in the tournament next year. 
How could 3 people who live in a 2 bedroom apt have so much stuff? That's when we all came up with theories of how in life you accumulate "things" but that having "things" tie you down. There's more to that tangent but I'd hate to put you to sleep. Anywho-the day was full of laughs, aches and dolly rides (I think I almost died a couple 
times). At the end of the day I drove Dylan home and luckily talked his Mom into leading me the twins for Sunday's (the next day) move with Frances. Yes you heard right- I offered my services both Saturday and Sunday to help move. I must be crazy. The next morning was a little less daunting but still full of challenges. The twins were a huge help and hilarious to say the least. The best was going downstairs for trash bags and returning to find the boys dancing and cleaning at the same time. I was lucky enough to get this on video and will be posting as soon as possible. Thanks again boys for putting up with my bossiness-we made a great team!
This "Must" might seem a little far fetch but hear me out. Today was no special day just another Saturday-that is until my sister and I went to the Irvine Spectrum to watch my nephew play at the water park(an area with shooting water spouts). As soon as we arrived my sister informed me that my nephew might be a little hesitant about the shooting spouts since he'd been shot in the eye before and bled. For the first few minutes he ran along the perimeter and scoped out the site. After going full circle he made his way in and ran around like a banshee. Like clockwork, moments later he got shot in the eye. Jen pulled him aside and reminded him not to look down and to watch out for the shooting spouts. He didn't listen and got shot too many times to count. While watching this spectacle I was struck with an epiphany...so here goes....
Everyone has trials but its how you handle them that matters. 
Often we are advised from others to stay away from things/people that can hurt us and yet we choose not to listen and to continue on the same path. I would love to go back in time and change some of my decisions based off of the advice I'd been given. Why is it that we don't listen to those who have already experienced pain and similar trials? After watching my nephew it became painfully obvious that one only learns when some form of pain is experienced. For him it took several shots to his eyes before it finally clicked. I can think of at least a dozen times when I've ignored advice and found myself lost and broken. But maybe that's what's needed in order for change to occur. I've found that reoccurring trials don't go away until you choose to change your reaction towards them. So when you notice a negative pattern in your life that keeps reoccurring try a different approach and break the habit.
e day. We love you Dad!
biggest and baddest of coasters we were all pretty useless and headed out. It's fascinating how multiple Adrenalin rushes can put you to sleep in seconds. I must give props to Chris for taking such awesome action photos-You rock!
For those who don't know me cooking/baking is not my strong point. I'd love to call myself a Betty Crocker but I'd be lying. Let's just say I have issues cooking rice. Anywho, last year Jackie bought me this Auntie Anne's pretzel kit and I've been dying to test my skills. I was pleasantly surprised at how simple they are to make and quite impressed with myself when it came to forming the pre-cooked dough-it was like second nature. It's quite possible I was a baker in my last life. 
creepiest line ever, "You girls are a Delicious Distraction". Although true...it was completely inappropriate and nauseating to hear it come out of his mouth. Despite the creepy old man factor-it was a perfect day at the Beach. 
Up close and personal with the crowd-This was my most ambitious moment 
Mike and I've been friends for over 10 years and I had no clue he could sing...To make matters worse-he completely up staged me with, "Baby got Back" 
The Peanut Gallery
Goofing Around in Book Club 
It's a bird...It's a plane...It's in Orange in the Sky? Yep, that's right. The city of Irvine provides a free of charge balloon ride in hopes that people will come and visit the new up incoming Great Park. The park is estimated to take around 20 years to complete and will be twice the size of Central Park. It is located in Irvine/Tustin between the 405 and 5. Just head down to South Orange County and look up-you cant miss it. The park is decorated with painted oranges everywhere and an "orange" balloon to represent Orange County. That being said you can imagine my confusion when I overheard someone call it a peach... I mean really? why would they have a flying peach? Soap Box Moment: We need better education and less malls....
To give you an idea of the contraption-The carriage is half mesh/half metal and hallow in the middle. It is being held by the mesh that is wrapped around the entire balloon and then clipped to the middle. Side note: I'm terrified of heights .
All set? Heck yeah...ready?...okay no. When you jump in the carriage you are told to spread out and disperse your weight evenly (so not to tip the carriage)You can bet I stood frozen in place and threatened anyone who moved. Inside the carriage I noticed that the mesh holding the carriage is CLIPPED to a cable that is grounded on the launching pad.....just one clip! My Biggest Concern: The clip breaking which would release the mesh and we'd all drop.
Erika-dealt with my craziness as I gave everyone an ear full of all the worse case scenarios. I remember telling her to choke me till I pass out if the cable snapped. She advised me to imagine being on a ride at Disneyland-one problem-I hate Disneyland. So much for that thought.
This is a great shot of what less than half way looks like....you can imagine my excitement. The pilot at this point informed everyone that he didn't have enough helium to get us down if the cable snapped. This was the number one reason why I told Erika to choke me...there's NO way I'd want to be conscious for that experience.
The view was incredible..but my favorite part was standing next to an older gentlemen who kept saying, " We haven't stopped yet...we're still going up" Great! Of all the 10 people in the carriage how did I get stuck next to Mr. Obvious? Seriously who invited this guy?I felt myself wanting to bend down and hide from the view that could potentially end my life. I found humor extremely handy in keeping me sane especially when I overheard someone say, "I think I've had to much to drink" to which I replied, "I haven't had enough!" This pretty much sums up my balloon ride experience. It's worth every penny...considering it's free. 
The Crew
My favorite are the judging bunnies
Who kills the Easter Bunny?
