Little Getaway

A month or so ago we planned on going on a trip right after David finished the semester. After three long weeks with super spaced out finals, the week of our trip came. I suddenly got really sick and could barely stand for more than a minute at a time. I was so mad! I wanted to be feeling good for our trip. Luckily by Friday morning I was much better, so we headed out. We got a great deal on the Omni hotel in San Diego. We drove down, had fish and chips, walked around, checked in.

 We went to the movies and then went to dinner at a little bar where you cook your own meat.

It was fun and yummy. And I got a Shirley Temple!

It seemed appropriate to see Anchorman 2 since we were in SD.

 We had a fun and relaxing time. Just what we needed to recharge after finals

and prepare for the holidays!

Date!

 For the first time in a LONG time we went on a double date. We've known Nicole and Jeff for a while (she was around when we met at volleyball/TGIFriday's) and we just happen to live minutes from each other now. It also happens that we are all four huge foodies...we love to eat good food.

We headed to the Salted Pig in Riverside for some  deep fried, battered bacon wrapped dates and the best brisket sandwich I've ever had. Oh, and a fresh ginger ale made with real ginger! Yum. Then we walked off our food comas over to the Mission Inn for some cupcakes.

We're already planning our next outing! 

Girls Weekend

We planned this sleepover like two months ago. David lovingly agreed to take over Jude duty for about 24 hours so I could head down to San Diego to have some girls time. It was so fun! We ate so much yummy food and explored and shopped and laughed. We stayed up late crafting and watching movies, and drank way too much caffeine. I have to say that I don't have a ton of girl friends that I talk to often, mostly because girls are flaky, emotional and dramatic (this includes me). Cori is not one of those girls. She is honestly one of the best friends I've ever had, and she is a good friend to everyone she knows. She never flakes on anyone and drives long lengths to go to parties or visit loved ones. I'm so glad she's my friend. And yes, I did miss Jude. 

Sprinkles cupcakes with an ocean view at La Jolla

Alien necks

Walking around Hillcrest after breakfast

Christmas crafts, A Walk to Remember, giant sodas

L.A. Date: Conan, Thai-town and Griffith Observatory

 Our cousin came into some Conan tickets and graciously offered them to us. We accepted happily! We love Conan and have always wanted to go to a taping. It was so fun to see how everything went down, walk through the studio and see celebrities! We laughed and clapped and had a great time, even if we were sitting in the back :)
It took a few hours for the taping so after we were starving. We headed to Thai-town for some good food. We picked a restaurant from Yelp called Jitla that had good reviews and a recommendation from Curtis Stone. The food was amazing and there was artwork all over the inside by Matt Groening. I guess he's a fan of it too!
We drove up to the observatory afterward and walked around. It was getting late (for me) and it was cold out so we didn't stay too long. It was SO wonderful to spend the whole day together and not have to worry about getting a baby in and out of the car. We missed Jude and were so glad that he was in good hands while we had our little adventure. Getting away for a little while every so often is very refreshing and gives you a little recharge as a mom. You come back renewed and ready to jump in.

Great Park Harvest Festival

We hit up the Harvest Festival in Irvine at the Great Park for the second year in a row. It was more fun with Jude being able to run around this year :) We met up with cousins this year again.

It was a cold and foggy morning but it warmed up pretty quick.

Jude picked out his pumpkin (and tried to pick up every other pumpkin, too)

We did a little trick or treating and played a few games. It was a successful Halloween activity to add to our long list of October fun! Jude loved playing in the dirt the most.

Grandma Fenn's Birthday

To celebrate Jean's birthday the Fenns all met for lunch in Pasadena and then headed to the Norton Simon Museum. Jude made it about an hour before wanting to ditch his stroller, but it was fun to see some beautiful artwork. I really love Van Gogh, so this trip was extra fun.

Faught Disney Day

With only a few weeks left of our Disney passes we convinced my family to spend the day with us.

None of them had been with Jude, so it was fun for us to go on rides all together.

Trevor had flown in that morning from England and he was really tired but was a trooper and spent the whole day with us.

Being at Disneyland with my family makes me feel really nostalgic because we'd go once a year during the holidays and always loved it. David came too but left in the afternoon for class...which is why he's in none of the photos.