Disneyland and other catching up

Lot's to catch up on!

Way back in September Seann went to Yosemite for a week to go rock climbing with Stewart. The funny story about Stewart is that Seann and he had chatted online in one of the climbing forums and Stewart had even bought a pair of the Russian Aiders Seann was making. They had never met. Then, a few years ago, we went down to Mary Jane's wedding and ran into Stewart! He and Mary Jane had gone to school together at Whitman. Small world. Anyway, Stewart and Seann spent the week climbing in Yosemite and then Seann came back while Stewart picked up his girlfriend and did a little traveling. The trip went very well and Seann got to try out a new ledge he made. They even had a feast when they reached the top!

 

A month later two of my dear friends, Sally & Sabrina,  made the trek up to Portland from Merced. We had a lovely weekend of sleeping in (Sabrina estimates it has been about 6 years since she'd been able to do that!), Wii and IKEA. We hit downtown too and went to Powell's and Saturday Market. Voodoo Donuts had a line around the block and we just weren't into that. Sabrina had never been to IKEA so we couldn't resist. The intention, of course, was to just look and get ideas etc., since they had flown and couldn't exactly carry on a sofa! In the end, though, both Sally and Sabrina managed to buy a few things for the kids' rooms and barely squeezed them into their luggage. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures on my camera since both Sabrina and Sally were taking pictures. Sabrina posted a few on her blog (see sidebar). It was a wonderful weekend and I hope we get to have many more!!!

Seann & I love Disneyland and aren't ashamed to say it! We hadn't been in a couple years so we decided this year to go for a few days to celebrate our anniversary. But we also wanted to see the Halloween decorations so we went a few weeks early.

We stayed at a Best Western right across the street so we didn't have to rent a car or anything. It was nice not to have to deal with parking! The hotel was also next to a Denny's which provides a much better and cheaper breakfast than what you can get at the park. They serve their side of fruit in a fancy glass mug. It was pretty amusing since it was just grapes, bananas and apple slices.

On Sunday night we had dinner at the Blue Bayou in the Pirates of the Caribbean. They gave us yummy free dessert for our anniversary. We also got offered free champagne at a restaurant in Downtown Disney one day but we opted out. Somehow champagne and Space Mountain don't seem like a good mix. I guess wearing the "Happy Anniversary" buttons paid off!

We went on Splash Mountain and got soaked the very first night we got there. And of course we didn't learn our lesson and proceeded to get soaked for the next three days--on Splash Mountain and in California Adventure on the Grizzly River Run or whatever it's called. For the record, five times on the Grizzly Run is probably one too many. But you meet such interesting folk!

We'd never been to this place before but it was a great find. Super yummy BBQ ribs and chicken, beans and coleslaw. Served family style with drinks in mason jars. We'll definitely be going back next time we're in Disneyland.

Space Mountain monitor fail

 The trip was a blast and a much needed break from the floor project! Since the main room and our bedroom are both pretty much done and we've moved back into them the floor hasn't been a priority. We both got sick after we came home from Disneyland and we just weren't feeling super motivated. But we are now back on track. Seann finished the repairs he needed to do and we got the plywood down in my office. Steve came to help today and he worked on getting all the plywood done in the bathroom. It was a lot of fussy cutting and I'm so glad it's done. Steve did a great job. Now we just have to pick out new tile!

With the plywood down in both spare rooms we could start actually laying down boards. Seann face-nailed the first row and we put down a couple more rows before our energy levels failed us. Now that the first rows are in the rest of the rooms should go very quickly. Then all the main flooring work will be done! As Steve said, it will be a huge milestone.

The family/dining room. It's all done now but I guess I don't have a picture of it.

But there will still be a ton to do. We have a lot of transition pieces to put in and all of the trim and baseboards will need to be done. Then we have to tackle the stairs and once we are all done with that we still have the tile in the bathroom and the new railings and banisters to put in! It will be busy for a while! But it's a good busy and once the bedrooms are done we'll be able to move stuff back upstairs and get organized again!

The family/dining room from a different angle. The furniture is back in here now. Yay!

Oscar keeps an eye on us when we're working on the floor. He really likes how cool it is--I think he's afraid we'll put carpet back!

Today's accomplishment. This is the first run in the spare bedroom. It continues straight into the other spare room (my office). The first row takes a TON of time so getting four rows in was huge. The rest should go quick.

That's what's been going on the last couple of months. I'll try and be better about posting! Heather will be here this week and I'll be heading to CA for Thanksgiving. I'm sure there will be lots of pictures and some great Ally stories!!