Hummingbird

Two days ago, I had an incredible experience that I feel the need to share with everyone. Recently, I have been really thinking about the meaning of life...what to do next with my life and why we are all here. I know that everyone goes through these sorta questions in their mind from time to time but for me it's been very prominent in my life lately. I feel that with the passing of Michael Jackson among other celebrities, people close to my friends and most recently Aaron's closest uncle Randy, it's really made me think...So what's next? Now in the last couple years, I have been really trying to rediscover my spirituality...whatever that may be...by incorporating the Bible, some Buddhist beliefs, crystal healing and so on. Just being more socially and spiritually aware within. I have always been told that I possess many psychic abilities and growing up I had a long list of experiences but not until recently, have I really started to open up to it. To make a long story short...I had an amazing break-thru with the help of a hummingbird...

Aaron's uncle Randy passed on a couple months ago. He was such an amazing artist, inventor, creator of all sorts of contraptions and also a lover of Mother Earth. He was quoted saying that when he passed away, he would come back as a hummingbird. Well even at his memorial service, there were many hummingbirds surrounding us all day and now every time I see one, it makes me think of Randy. But this time however, was a little bit more profound and even gives me goosebumps while writing this. While I was on the phone with a friend last week, I looked out the front window and saw a hummigbird on a flower. Then not but 10 seconds later, I heard a buzzing noise, turned around and inside my house there was that very same bird...literally hovering in front of my face. I instantly hung up the phone and was in utter disbelief as I watched this beautiful and magnificant creature, manage to fly to the back of my house, get through a small crack in my door and hover in front of my face. It was almost like the bird was trying to tell me something or send a message to me. A few moments later, the bird got really scared and wigged out because it must have felt trapped. At that moment that he hovered in front of me, I instantly thought that Randy was trying to communicate with me. It was such an overwhelming experience that I felt chills instantly. The bird got tired and ended up resting on our tile floor. I then grabbed some gloves and picked him up to let him outside. He quickly flew away and then minutes later was back at the same flower I had seen him at before. Even though I didn't know Randy that well or all that long, I feel as though I was meant to pass a message on to Aaron to let him know that Randy was okay.

You can take this post how you wish...whether or not you believe in the "other side", I think that if we all try to stop, step out of ourselves and listen...we can really find the answers or the closure we are all looking for.

This post is in the loving memory of Randy LaMorte
We love and miss you greatly...may your soul rest in peace!

15-Hour Day...

When most people see that title, they would think of a 15-hour “work” day...but this was anything but work! This was Christina’s 25^th Birthday at Disneyland and it was a blast to say the least!!! We woke up at 5:45 am to get ready and to pack everything we needed and we were on the road by 7 am. Of course with the lovely LA traffic, it took up to 2 ½ hours to get there (where it should only have really taken an hour without any traffic). At that point we were ready to stop driving the Volvo car and start driving the Indiana Jones Jeep! We walked in and got the free birthday day-pass, so we only had to buy one ticket.

Our first stop was the new Finding Nemo ride, which is a submarine ride. It was cute, a ride I would recommend for children though. A good tip is that they don’t have a Fast Pass line, so if you want to go on it, I would suggest getting there as early as possible and getting in line for that ride first. Here is a photo of the view from inside the sub.

After the submarine ride, we ran over to Tomorrow Land to get a “Fast Pass” for our favorite roller coaster ride, Space Mountain. Then we went to see the 3-D film, Honey I Shrunk the Kids…

to kill enough time until our Fast Passes were ready to be used. Now let me take a moment to explain Fast Passes (for those of you who have no idea what they are). Ok, Disneyland created this pass called the Fast Pass (only for certain rides though). How it works is; you go to a ride and if it has a “Fast Pass” sign above where the line starts, then that’s where you obtain your Fast Pass, for that ride. Now next to that sign will have the times during which the “Fast Pass” is able to be used. It’s always an hour’s time length, like 2:30 – 3:30 or 5:45 – 6:45. So you stick your Disneyland Park ticket in a machine and it scans your ticket, then out pops a Fast Pass. Then you go off onto other rides and come back to that ride you got the Fast Pass for, during the hours that are stamped on it. Understand how Fast Passes work now? On with the blog…

Thankfully there weren’t too many people there at the park (must be due to the lovely economy), so we didn’t have to wait long. Funny thing is that if it’s your birthday, you get a pin to wear that says “Happy Birthday” with your name on it. Then you put it on so everyone can see it’s your b-day and you get to see everyone else who shares your day. So we were waiting in line at Space Mountain and in front of us was a mother and her young daughter who had a pin that said Happy Birthday Christina. Weird right? Same name and same birthday…I thought that was pretty interesting. So the mother saw it was my b-day too and that her daughter and I shared the same name. So we got to talking and she handed us some extra VIP passes she had that said, “Happy Birthday Christina” on them. Well because her and I had the same name and birthday, Aaron and I were able to use them. That really set up the rest of our day for us…we were sooooo excited! NO LINES, NO WAIT, NO PROBLEM ! haha I wish we would have gotten her email address or something, we would love to send her a Thank You.

So on with the day…then we went to “The Astroblasters” ride that’s made to look like Toy Story. This ride is silly but its super fun. It’s pretty much lazer tag while moving and some of your targets are moving as well. Here are two photos of us, that we were not ready for and we look like goons lol Notice the scores the first time around, Aaron bombed and the second game, Christina bombed. We came to the conclusion that it was a lot easier sitting on the left side…more opportunities to shoot the targets.

Fast-forward a few hours (to spare the boring explanations) We went over to Fantasy Land and hit up the Mr. Toad ride, the Snow-White ride, the Mad Tea Party (the tea-cups)

which is one of our favorites

…notice our action shots, Indiana Jones, Star Tours, Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain(where Christina sat dead front and got soaked from her hips down) and also our other favorite ride, Haunted Mansion (which is cool but 100 times cooler with The Nightmare Before Christmas set up, which is only between the time of Halloween till Christimas)

When it hit dinner time, Aaron had secretly (and I had no idea how) made reservations at the Blue Bayou restaurant, which is super romantic. We got the best table in the house and right on the water. For people who do

n’t know this restaurant, it’s the best restaurant in Disneyland and is set inside the Pirates of the Caribbean ride (if you’ve been on this ride then you’ve seen the people eating at the beginning of the ride where it’s very quiet and looks like nighttime above). It’s also very reminiscent of New Orleans. Their menu is based on items such as Jambalaya, Gumbo and Crab Cakes. It was really nice! After dinner, we wanted to go on the Pirates of the Caribbean to see the restaurant from the water. We’ve been on the ride before this trip but there was something magical about eating there and then taking that boat ride :)

Then we watched some amazing fireworks and did some shopping for treats and goodies before going to Downtown Disney. We went to the Nightmare Before Christmas store and Christina got some PJ’s with Jack Skellington on them, 2 water glasses and an awesome mouse pad. Before we left, we had to go on Space Mountain 1 more time and with our VIP passes we didn’t have to do the 60 min wait…yay! We got in the first 2 seats of the ride and WOAH, does it make a difference. It was soo much fun! You feel like you are going so much faster then if you were in the middle or the back

of the ride.

11 o’clock rolls around and we are super tired…we go to Downtown Disney and do some final shopping stops. We go to the Build-A-Bear Factory and made a horse stuffed animal that we named, Malibu. We kinda felt like we were 5 years old again while doing it but isn’t that what Disneyland is all about? Then we went to the huge Disney store and bought our neighbors a baby-looking Mickey for their newborn, a small thank you for taking care of our dogs during the day. Thank God for them, they saved us $60.00 for doggie day care. Last stop was the candy shop and Christina didn’t want a big birthday cake or ice cream so she got a rice krispy bar and Aaron got one of those crazy build your own sugar tubes with different colors/flavors…a sweet ending to a sweet day!

It was a perfect Disney B-Day for me. Lots of pictures, memories and fun! It was all about celebrating today (Disney’s new motto) and leaving with lasting memories!

The Happiest Place on Earth...Tomorrow....

Hello to everyone!

This is officially our first post!!! We as a couple, decided that it would be fun to come together and do some "blogging". We feel as though we have so much to share; any news, updates or just thoughts as a couple. I hope that if you are reading this, you enjoy it just as much as we do writing it.

I, Christina feel like this is an important day to start "blogging" about. Aaron and I had our first date at Disneyland almost three years ago and since then have only been two other times. It seems as though whenever we decide to go, it's to mark a special date (as well as in memory of our first date). It just so happens that this time it's my 25th birthday! A quarter of a century...shit! Well everyone tells me either its all down hill from here or that its the best time of one's life...I am sure hoping for the latter.

OK, back to Disneyland...we are super excited to go and will most definitely post some photos of our time there. Aaron and I are huge fans of Disney movies from The Nightmare before Christmas to Alice in Wonderland, Robin Hood to the Black Cauldron, The Lion King to Jungle Book and Lady and the Tramp. Aaron and I ARE actually one of those crazy collectors that when we see anything that is Nightmare or Alice, we are all over it. On our first date together, literally we had just met the day before and we went to Disneyland during Halloween town...we purchased Jack Skellington scarves, shot glasses, snow globes...ahh the list goes on...and since then we have quite the collection that stays up all year round haha. I think at that point, we knew our relationship was for the long haul...nothing says it like Jack and Sally, which is also our nicknames for each other...haha doesn't it make you sick? :)

Here are a couple of random thoughts I have about Disneyland...the best time to go is hands down during Halloween time when the Haunted Mansion turns into Jack and Sally's lair...and you can buy the coolest merchandise ever. Also fast passes rock!! It saves you from having to wait in line for ages, just make sure you gauge your time and its all good (Aaron is the king of fast passes lol). Also seriously, just let loose and have fun; be a kid. People that say Disneyland is lame are the real lame ones. Just be as goofy as you want and have fun. Another ride that is totally awesome like a million times over is Space Mountain, even though I am more for the crazy roller coasters....haha (which Aaron is not, but we won't touch on that subject in this post)...I don't think there is anything cooler then a roller coaster in the dark, but thats just me :) I would love to hear anyone's thoughts on Disney and what everyone's favorite movies or rides are! As for now...we are both going to get to bed early tonight to wake up at 6am and drive to the...Happiest Place on Earth!!! =)

Love, Peace and Dreams
Christina & Aaron