Disneyland and San Diego/La Jolla Anniversary!

We're back from our trip! And I actually took pictures! But first, before we left we celebrated my birthday...Zac surprised me with flowers getting delivered to my office, my aunt Kathy took me out to Blue Lemon for lunch and gave me a homemade birthday banner I will use for years.  And it is so silly, but an email was sent out in the office that it was my birthday and so all day I got emails from people wishing me happy birthday and it meant so much to me!  I think when you work in an office, and pass people in the hall daily, going about your bidness, you wonder if they know you're there... You know what I mean? So I was totally tickled when I'd come back from the bathroom or go to the printer and people would wish me a happy birthday.  Even the CEO came over to chat.

After work, Zac's grandparents took us to Chuckarama because I couldn't stop thinking about it.  And you know what I ate there? THREE PLATES OF CORN.  What is up with Baby Bean?? I don't know.  But all I wanted was corn and salad.  Zac's parents then came over and gave us stuff to make a pazookie (lol I can't ever get the term right) and my parents sent a package with a note that made me cry with some fun goodies.  And Corinne..I wear the J. Crew earrings you sent every day.  Seriously.  Sydney sent me a candle and perfume all the way from Rhode Island..I have now burned that candle like 20 hours and I love the perfume. Zac gave me some leopard Franco Sartos to replace my old ones Theo decided to use as a chew toy, some earrings and a necklace.  We watched the Bachelor and that drama queen Tierra gave me some good entertainment.   

Then finally...it was trip time!  Zac and I were so ready to get out of town and away from the Utah weather, puppy training, and the daily grind.  The flights were quick and when we went to pick up our rental car (we were just going to rent the compact) the assistant found out it was our anniversary and we had Baby on the way and gave us a great deal on a Mustang convertible! We totally felt like we were living an alternate life while driving around CA.  

Here's our hotel...and hallelujah, no hairs in the towels this time! The room was ginormous, and the beds were sooo nice...I finished Girl Who Played With Fire (best series I've read in a while) while Zac watched the Bulls game and we lounged like kings. And I love me those free check-in cookies.

 We went to Downtown Disney for dinner and as we pulled into the parking lot, the fireworks at the park went off and I seriously teared up out of pure excitement.  It was so cheesy but I wanted to run around the parking lot I was so excited.  We went to Cataal, which was so $$ and we were totally robbed...the food was gross and the lobster paella was just ok.  But the atmosphere was so nice, and we were so excited to be there.  It was fun to talk about the last year of being married.

You can definitely see the baby bump here...and lol we waited in line forever to take a pic with Asian Mickey and Zac was debating like it was life or death what pose to do for this picture.  Ha so cute. 

The next day we went to Disneyland!! Being Chinese New Year the next day, they had Mulan and Mushu around the park, and an Asian Mickey, and once again here I go crying.  Zac initially didn't want to go to Disneyland since I couldn't ride most of the best rides (pregnancy restrictions) but when we got there he was grinning ear to ear and literally ran to some of the rides.  It was so cute I could've died.  Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, I even rode Indiana Jones even though it says not to...but it was so fun! Zac was so kind to skip the rides I definitely couldn't risk, like Space Mountain, and instead waited in line with me for 45 minutes to go on my favorite ride, Peter Pan.  I know...it's a total kid ride but I love it.  Zac was so sweet and gave me a massage through the whole line because these pregnant shoulders of mine are dying.  

Later that day we went over to California Adventure and I said I wanted a corndog...Zac searched that park like it was life or death.  He was always asking if that is what the Baby should be eating, how Baby is doing, and if Baby liked this or that ride lol.  While waiting in line for Soaring Over California, an older couple behind us started chatting with us and when we said we were from Utah she said, We knew it! We said to each other we thought you were Mormon...clean-cut and young, and married (I felt so flattered... Zac and I kept saying to each other, we're clean-cut!)  They were LDS too, and when I said we were nervous about riding Indiana Jones earlier that day, she said her daughter was hit by a car when she was 5 months pregnant and the baby was fine, so that was really comforting to me after I was jostled around Indiana Jones.  

We stayed in the park 'til our feet were going to fall off, and then went to some Jazz-New Orleans place for dinner in Downtown Disney.  Not that great, but we were so relieved to get out of the cold!  It was cooold and crowded!

The next day we checked out of our hotel and drove up to L.A., because I'd never been there and wanted to see what all the fuss was about.  We put the top down and drove down Hollywood Boulevard...but honestly the city was so creepy-dirty!  We went to eat at Umami Burger, and as we were walking down the street Zac's like, You shouldn't have worn heels and brought your Michael Kors purse! We're going to get robbed! Zac was so worried something would happen to me he wouldn't let me leave the restaurant after we were done and went to get the car.  We had our eyes out for celebrities, but only saw some NFL quarterbacks.  I wanted to see Oprah...but no luck.

Zac's 'cruising through Hollywood' face

 We then drove down to Santa Monica pier, which I loved.  The water was gorgeous, a band was playing, and it just felt like a total escape from life.  

 We even saw some seals!

 That night we got into the Empress Hotel in La Jolla, which was so nice and they even made us a little towel swan in the bathroom like they do on cruises.  We were so tired we crashed at around 7 p.m. and woke up just to go the grocery store to get some food.  We both had a cold..Zac was so sweet and read so much online and talked to pharmacies trying to get me the right medicine (I had no idea when you're pregnant and sick you can take pretty much..nothing.)  Zac made some honey-lemon tea, saltwater...he was a great nurse.

The next day of our anniversary, we hurried and got ready and then headed to the Aquarium.  We had so much fun and I felt so lucky to be married to Zac.

Trippy seahorse

                                               The view from the Aquarium was gorgeous.  

Exhibit A: 14 Week Baby Bump 

 We then had some time to kill before we went on our Whale Watching boat, so we went to Old Town in San Diego.  Lolol the night before we were lying in bed watching the Guide Channel (you know that local one that shows you the stuff around the city that is grainy with a cheesy host) and Old Town came on the screen.  Zac was like, I'vebeenthereamilliontimesIhateitit'ssoboringgggggg and I started laughing because I thought it looked like fun to dip candles and go to an old candy shop.  So, ofcourse, we have 2 hours to kill and where do we find ourselves? Old Town. I was dying laughing.  Should be renamed 'Ghost Town' because no one was there. But I loved the taffy and licorice in the candy shop

                                                        Wait a minute...are those SourPatch kids?

 See?  No one here.  Apparently general stores and candle-dipping are not the biggest attractions 'round these parts.  

Look how happy Zac looks.  We did end up finding an old Chinese Imports store and a pretty good Mexican place to eat.

 We finally exited Old Town and made it to the pier for the whale watching tour.  There were just 7 of us on this really nice sailboat that was fully stocked with drinks and those really good Knox Berry Farm rasberry shortbread cookies...that may have been 50% of the allure of going...

There were a couple old couples with us and they kept calling us, The Anniversary Couple.  They even had a sign hung for us lol.  The owner told us to hurry and claim these bean bag chairs at the head of the sailboat, so we got some drinks and snacks and sat up there.  

 After we'd been out for a while, a family of dolphins came up and two trailed the head of the boat, right beneath Zac and me, for a while! We were literally shrieking and laughing and so excited. 

 Then....shortly after the dolphins left us, I went down to get some snacks and go to the bathroom (#pregnantbladder) and Zac came down with me and got sooo seasick.  Like hallucinating, want-to-die seasick. I felt so bad.  And then we didn't see any whales.  And were so cold.  But Zac stayed so positive and said he loved it (maybe?) So we went to Eddie V's in La Jolla, which looked out over the water and was soooo good.  They had rose petals on the table for us, and even a card that said Happy Anniversary. They brought out sparkling apple cider in wine glasses and we felt like royalty.  

Then, for dessert, they brought out this banana pound cake thing and LIT IT ON FIRE.  It was so cool. 

We felt so happy and went back to our hotel on Cloud 9.  It felt like the perfect day.  Sans sea-sickness. 

The next day we were both so sick from our colds we didn't wake up in time to go to the San Diego zoo, so we went to George's On the Cove, which overlooked the water.  Everyone there was wearing expensive sunglasses and I felt like I was in the Matrix.  We could even see seals on the rocks from where we were sitting!

We then walked by the beach a little bit, drove with the top down back up to Anaheim, and then stumbled on this Asian wonderland of restaurants that Zac and I haven't seen since we've been in Hong Kong and Japan.  I seriously started crying in the asian bakery because it was so much like my mission. All Asians inside, you grab a tray with tongs and get what you want..they had the red bean bread, the bolobau, I was seriously crying.  It made me miss my mission so much.  We went to Coco's Curry House, which Zac used to eat in Japan, and we were just so excited.

We went back to the airport sicker than dogs but so happy we had such a fun trip.  It was definitely hard to come home!