Halloween at Disneyland!

Sheri, the Kids, Maria and I met at Disneyland on Wednesday to celebrate Maria's Birthday... I think she is 27 now ;-) the whole place was decked out for Halloween... it was so cool!

The kids found an awesome cannon to climb on so I jumped in for a pic... wow even Paige is smiling in this one... they are so darn cute...

After riding pirates of the Caribbean we had some dinner over in New Orleans Square... the line was long but totally worth the wait...

The big kids had sourdough bread bowls filled with hot clam chowder... it was a welcome meal on a chilly October night...

The bread was so delicious! Maria convinced me that we are not to be judged for buttering AND salting our bread before we eat it... I like they way she thinks...

I couldn't help myself... after I ate the soup out I even grubbed on the bottom of the bowl... so good with the mushy clam-chowdery inside and crusty outside...

Once it got dark there were awesome orange lights in all the trees... Disney really goes all out for holidays... I can't wait too see what they do for Christmas... I am really getting a lot of use out of my pass this year... its a great place to hang with the people you love...

Amazing Cake...

One of the guys in the office brought in a cake his wife made. It was carrot raisin with walnuts the top layer of frosting was so amazingly thick I could not resist. I had 2 pieces yesterday and another piece today... I can't stop...HELP I am slipping into obesity...

Fire Drill!

Ugg today we had a fire drill at work and I had to walk down 5 flights of stairs with the loudest "whoop whoop" blaring out of the alarms...

Then it was freezing outside...

I always wonder if people will really act calmly in a real fire or earthquake or if everyone will just run each other over as they race down the stairs...

Grillin and Chillin...

After a long day of car shopping with dad I decided to grill up some salmon and chicken for work lunches this week...

I used my favorite seasonings... they will be awesome.... I felt a little cheated that I couldn't eat them right away...

for the chicken McCormick Spicy Montreal Steak Seasoning...

For the salmon Emiril's Fish Rub

Of course I used my handy dandy meat thermometer... so important to make sure the protein is really done in the middle... nothing more nasty than a raw middle...

Knott's Scary Farm...

Last night Mimi and I went to Knott's Scary Farm and had a BLAST... I have not been in years... They had the mazes they put together each year which were pretty frightening; 3 of them were actually in 3-D which made it even more real...

This is a new friend I made while I was there... she doesn't say much...

We went on a few rides, hit most of the mazes up and saw a show... it was a fun night! I am a little hoarse today from all the screaming...

It sure doesn't....

Catalina...

It was cold and stormy yesterday but the view out to Catalina from the toll road was amazing... I only see the island 5 or 6 times a year... this was one of those rare occasions...

Dinner with Mike and Sandy...

So Mike and Sandy lucked out and got a great new condo to live in. Nice neighborhood, nice big place and a 2 car garage to put the cars in... They invited me over for dinner so I went and made us all some chicken soup with grilled cheese... we discussed some great God things from our bible study group at community cafe while I cooked and we ate...

We had delicious chicken soup with leeks, carrot, potato, tomato, squash and spinach... lucky I had a chicken carcass in the freezer just waiting for an event like this...

I also made some wonderful 4 way grilled cheese (sorry Nicole... I know your disappointed about missing the 5th cheese): butter and Parmesan on the crust, Munster, Swiss and sharp cheddar on the inside... I kept them apart on low heat for quite some time...

It was a practice of patience not to turn up the heat, but the light airy french bread needed its time to melt the layers of cheese inside...

the soup came out hot, delicious and savory with a perfect chicken flavor... Sandy made me eat out of a monkey bowl... hmmmm

The grilled cheese were crunchy, buttery and the cheese oozed out everywhere... super fantastic...

Great friends, good food, and our Savior as the conversation subject... dinner doesn't get better than this...

Awesome Truck...

Can this mobile mural really be true... I was amazed when I saw this truck on the road a week ago... I couldn't get my camera out fast enough... Finally yesterday on the way home I got a pic of it...

Upon closer inspection I could see:

-A naked woman

-A raging River

-An eagle

-Some mountains

-The truck itself + its twin?

What goes through someones head when they pull out the paints to begin a project like this? On the back of a truck no less...

Buttered Crackers...

I just love buttered crackers... I had these for breakfast today... delicious!

Pat and Diane's Wedding...

Saturday morning I flew up to the bay area for Pat and Diane's wedding. It was held on the grounds of a wine making vineyard about 100 miles south in the town of Saledo. The ceremony was beautiful and nicely done. The gang was there as well - they all drove up together taking the scenic route.

The view from the vineyard was really beautiful... the weather was a bit cool but everyone had a jacket on so we were OK...

The reception started with the grand entrance of the bride and groom along with the bridal party - Diane looked lovely in her dress...

The traditional first dance, speeches etc. ensued after that....

Dinner was really delicious... I had the salmon, some perfectly crunchy asparagus and some salad... there was rice and some other stuff but I was fine with what I had...

A bit later the sun escaped behind the hill and a cool breeze dropped the temperature quick and drastically...

Most of us were pretty chilly...

luckily there was plenty of wine to go around to warm us up...

I put together this panoramic pic from 4 I took of the valley... the almost full moon in the background was a nice touch as well...

Gooey Cheese

I don't eat much cheese but for some reason I had some Swiss in the fridge I had to use up so I toasted a ciabatta, placed a grilled chicken breast with some crispy bacon inside then nuked it for just a second or two till the cheese bubbled out the side... it was a delight to eat on my brown towel while standing...

Garden...

I love how the British and Canadian shows on HGTV call a yard a garden... I actually love to see the things I have planted grow and flourish...

my potted palms are doing great...

even though there are no flowers my plumeria is growing big...

I even chopped off a branch and started a new plant, a mistake? who knows... I guess only time will tell...

although wild; the roses seem to be exploding...

maybe I need some flower food to get some flowers... but my bougainvilleas are HUGE!

well except for the bite marks... I bet dollars to donuts its the neighborhood kids...

Shel left behind her hummingbird feeder (which I have always enjoyed) seems like the bees enjoy it more than the hummingbirds....