Adventures in Oregon {2012 Edition}

For those who have followed my blog the last couple years, you know that my family usually visits family in Oregon about once a year. Since I've grown up going to visit Aunt Carol and Uncle Terry, they're house is like a second home to me and my family. I've shared some pictures from our trips in 2010 and 2011, which you can check out if your interested.

This year, we decided to go on the 4th of July. We left bright and earily on the 4th, around 5:30AM to be exact, so we had a lot of the day to relax. Most of us were tired by the time it got dark, partiularly myself, so we didn't say up to watch the fireworks. However, as the sun was setting, we had some fun with sparklers and some smoke bombs.



One of Daniel's favorite things to do while we're at Aunt Carol's is to catch lizards.



Recently Tiana and Alina made their own bows and arrows out of PVC pipe and brought them with us, since there's no shortage of space at Aunt Carol's.



Uncle Terry.





The weather was warm when we got there and just kept getting hotter by the day. On our last day there, it reached 90°F and I was melting! I don't do to well in the heat, so I was happy when after walking around town all afternoon, we found a water fountain at the shopping center that Tiana, Daniel, and I got wet it. It didn't take long before I was soaked, head to toe!





Cactus look pretty cool.





Some bright green grass under the shade of a giant tree on that 90°F day.



After grabbing some frappuccinos in Starbucks in town, we went to this really neat candy shop that we had never been to before. They had the movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory playing in the back and had lots of fun and unique items and candies.




Tiana bought this Star Wars: Episode IV tin poster at the candy shop. She's a huge Star Wars fanatic.

Disney Wonder, The Mexican Riviera: Part II

(Notes: If you missed Part I, you can find it here. Also, I have so many pictures, too many to share here. If your interested in seeing/hearing more about our vacation, I posted a whole trip report on a Disney forum, which includes a post for each day of the trip, if your interested.)

The view of Cabo San Lucas from decks 9 and 10 were beautiful! The days at sea were a bit windy, but all three days in port were warm.

You can see Lover Beach over on the right.


Thrusday was Pirate Night! Sadly Alina ended up getting sick that day and spent the day in the stateroom, which was disappointing since she was really looking forward to Pirate Night. The rest of us got our pictures with Captain Hook and Smee, Mickey and Minnie, Chip 'n Dale, and Peter Pan in the pirate outfits.


Our dinner was in Parrot Cay, where we had a pirate themed menu. We all got Pirates in the Caribbean bandanas and they had all the kids dance around the dining room and do the limbo. Afterwards was the Pirate Party up on deck, finished off with fireworks. Disney is the only cruise line to have fireworks at sea. There was a HUGE buffet, where they had everything from desserts, crepes, ice cream, and turkey legs, but we were all full from dinner.

We ate a Triton's for lunch and dinner almost all of the days. In the bottom of the windows was a hidden Mickey.

The last Animation was Daisy Duck. Mine turned out a little cross eyed...

Two of our amazing servers, Ozer and Marvin. They were awesome! After dessert they would have a magic trick or a puzzle for us to solve using crayons. 

On the last day I was making my way across the ship on Deck 4 when I came across Cinderella, then Snow White!

Disney Wonder, The Mexican Riviera: Part I

This was our first cruise, but I've been a Disneyland fan pretty much my whole life (and so is the rest of my family). We were excepting the Disney quality and service and we definitely got that, plus more! The live shows every night were fantastic, the activities were lots of fun, the food was amazing, and the crew were awesome, especially our servers.


(note: I have so many pictures, too many to share here. If your interested in seeing/hearing more about our vacation, I posted a whole trip report on a Disney forum, which includes a post for each day of the trip, if your interested.)

(The Wonder looks tiny from this angle...)

On February 26th we boarded the Disney Wonder, the second oldest ship in Disney Cruise Line's (DCL) fleet and sister ship to the Disney Magic. The first two days were at sea, then 1 day at Puerto Vallarta, 2 days at Cabo San Lucas, and one more day at sea before we arrived back at LA.





Our first day at sea my siblings and I went up for breakfast at The Beach Blanket Buffet together. Having a doughnut with breakfast made me happy! We don't get them a home very often, so I enjoy them when we get to have them! 

One of my favorite activities that I did was Animation, where crew member Ponz taught us all how to draw different characters. I missed the first day with Mickey Mouse since we were watching The Muppets, but I was able to go to the rest of them. Here we have Ponz showing us how to draw Goofy.


And here is my finished drawing. I'm quite happy with how it turned out!

The day before we arrived at Puerto Vallarta, our first stop, there was a fun Mexican show up on deck at the Goofy Pool, called Minnie's Fiesta Grande. I loved seeing all the classic characters in their Mexican outfits!


Both Tiana and Daniel decided to buy sombreros in Puerto Vallarta!


In Puerto Vallarta, we went for lunch at Margarita Grill, by the suggestion of our van driver. They make the guacamole and salsa fresh at your table! Here Grandma and Grandpa are enjoying their drinks.


We also got to see LOTS of characters! And every day they had different outfits on as well. I'm a big character fan, so I was always getting my pictures with them! It seems to be the older I get, the more excited I am to meet them!


Mexican Mickey and Mexican Daniel!


There are three dinning rooms, and on the Wonder they are Triton's, Parrot Cay (pronounced "key), and Animator's Palate. We were really looking forward to Animator's Palate, because throughout dinner the room changes from black and white to color!

Here's a time lapse video my dad and I made of our table at AP:

I have more pictures to share, so I'll be working on getting part II up soon! 

It's Been A While...

...since I've been around here. Since my last post, which was, wow, over five weeks ago, I was busy prepping for our vacation, which we left for on February 26. My whole family, plus grandma and grandpa, were able to go on one of our dream vacations: a Disney Cruise! Thanks to the Kids Sail Free promotion (which I barely made, since I turned 18 just a few days after coming home) we were able to book a really great deal last fall to cruise on the Disney Wonder to the Mexican Riviera. And it was awesome! Everything from the actives, the characters, the food, and our servers where fantastic! We all had even more fun than we thought we would and were very sad when the trip came to an end.

So until I get the rest of the photos edited and posts written up, here's one of my favorite shots of the characters from the Adventures Away! Deck Party when we left LA.

Beach Vacation: Sunsets

We were only able see a few sunsets, since the sky was overcast most of the evenings. I was able to capture the ones we got, though. Enjoy!

Beach Vacation: Daniel's Birthday

We celebrated Daniel's birthday at the beach house, just like we did last year. He also chose the same kind of cake that he had last time as well, which was gluten-free chocolate cake. To make opening presents a bit more fun, we hid the gifts in different places around the house and had clues leading to each on. Daniel had lots of fun figuring out the clues and searching for his gifts.

We had a little trouble lighting the candles, hence the two lighters.

I love blowing out the candle shots.

Beach Vacation: Enjoying the Beach

For our trip, we stayed at the same house that we rented last year. I really love that we can see the ocean from the big living room windows and watch the sunsets from there as well. The weather was a bit colder and windier than last year, so we didn't spend as much time outside. We woke up to fog every morning and overcast skies. Despite the not so enjoyable weather, we had a grand time.

“I have always loved the beach. The smell of the salty water, the wind in my face, the gentle roar of the waves all combine to create a sense of peace and calm.”
--Unknown

One of the first evenings, Daddy, Aunt Carol, Tiana, and I went for a walk along the water. We were all a bit chilly, when my dad found this log that was still on fire. So we decided huddle around it and warm up. Or at least pretend to... :)

Myself, Daddy, and Tiana. Aunt Carol took this shot.

“Our memories of the ocean will linger on, long after our footprints in the sand are gone.” 

--Unknown

One of the mornings I took a bunch of self-portraits.

Back from the Ocean

Last week was our vacation at the beach with family. We arrived home yesterday, and while the beach is lots of fun, it feels good to be home. We stayed at the same beach house that we rented last year and celebrated Daniel's birthday while we were there. It was also a bit colder and cloudier than last year, but it was still lots of fun. Now it's time to sort through and edit all the photos I took during the trip, so I can share many of them here. 

Visiting in Oregon

A week and a half ago, my family and I went on a trip to Oregon, and stayed at Aunt Carol's (you may remember my post from when we visited last year). I love the smell of the juniper and all the lava rocks in the area. Most of the time was spent relaxing at their property. Alina and my dad had a lot of fun shooting a red plastic cup with the BB gun. All of us kids and my dad enjoyed playing games of pool on their pool table. I brought homemade chocolate buffalo cookies that I made, that we ate after dinner one night with Trader Joe's vanilla ice cream. Grandma Margie was also visiting, so we got to spend time with her two of the days we were there. 

I love the lighting on this one. =)

One of Daniel's favorite things to do when we visit is catch lizards. 

My dad discovered that there was a Geocache not far from the house, so we went to find it.