Building Dreams,Friendships & Memories Part 1

Today's blog is sponsored by Cover Girl concealer stick.  The bags under moi's eyes are as wide as Texas and as dark as the night.  Every now and then jet lag grabs hold of me, I am suddenly so tired I wonder how I am going to make it through the next hour of work--some how I do.

Nellie told it is time to blow the dust off my keyboard and start recapping what was a most exciting week we had.  So, this one's for you Nellie!  I am fortunate to have experienced the parade from both sides--in 2005 as a parent just enjoying California while Princess A marched down Colorado Blvd and in 2011 as a chaperone with M marching down that same blvd.  I wouldn't trade one experience for the other; both were perfect!

The view from the plane window was lovely...

I stretched my head past the  booming deafening engine

 to catch a glimpse of the mountain range.

I don't know how I got to be such a lucky be-otch...

it seems that American Airlines seats 31F and 31D are both in the lavatory.  The good point to these glorious seat assignments is--I didn't have to travel far to relieve myself of all those complimentary Diet Coke(s).  I must make myself a note to thank the travel company for the best seats in the plane. 

THEN

I hopped off the plane at LAX

with a dream and my cardigan

welcome to the land of fame excess, (woah)

am I gonna fit in?

Jumped in the cab,

Here I am for the first time

Look to my right and I see the Hollywood sign

This is all so crazy

Everybody seems so famous

Do you know who that is that M and her friend

spotted at the Farmer's Market?

Sorry I got ahead of myself here...back peddling...

When we arrived in California we headed to Santa Monica Pier ...

where we were able to dip our feet in the Atlantic Ocean;

some of the kids seeing the ocean for the first time  

Tuesday we went on a tour of Hollywood...

stopped at Grauman's Chinese Theater

to see all the hand and foot prints in the cement

and the Hollywood Walk of Fame...

For a moment I thought I spotted Eddie Murphy reprising his role in Trading Places...

but it was just another wily street con artist

 pretending to be celebrating New Year's Eve [on December 28].

Then to the Farmer's Market for lunch.

My roomie and I gawked at the fruit bowl,

 

 wishing we would have picked it for a side

 to our yummy Magee's corn beef sandwiches 

(best corn beef I ever ate!)

Next on the days itinerary was float decorating.

This really was one of the highlights of the trip.

I made bundles of hay for the one of the 3 Little Pigs' House. 

The kids assigned to assembling the float were a group of Asian kids.  We thought maybe they were the band kids from Japan.  Someone mentioned they didn't speak English.  In my universal language of hand gestures I motion the hay bundles were for the piggy's house, handed it off and went back to bundling more.  On my second trip to deliver the hay I did the same hand gesture when the adorable Asian teen responds "thank you" in an accent of that from middle America.  It was a good laugh and one we laughed about the rest of the day.  We are such goofs!  

My bus mate and I then packed on the macaroon coconut

for the racoon's head on the Wildlife float.

  The coconut smelled good enough to eat.

 M and I secured the crushed pecans,

 bark and black onion seeds for the squirrels perch.

Once we had made our mark on the floats

 it was off to the "Cable Guy's" favorite eatery--Medieval Times.

There may be some dispute, but the yellow was the best...

 (the food however sucked).

Mmmmm dragon's blood soup aka Campbell's tomato soup.

~~~~~

Tina: My soup has chunks. Does yours?

Me: Nope

Tina: What do you think the chunks are then?

Me: Dragon Blood clots I suppose.

 The story line of this dinner theater is: hunky-boys-on-horses-with-long-flowing-hair.

The blue team had some cute team members

   

On Wednesday we woke to a down pouring of rain.

We had Disneyland/California Adventure fun in the rain...

the "ride buddies" slapped on those plastic ponchos and were all ready to go...

with the rain stopping around noon, and in time for a parade down Main Street.

Just before the ride buddies resumed chaperone duty...

a photo without the plastic ponchos with a castle backdrop was in order 

To end the day I snapped a photo to remember that I did in fact collect every kid I was responsible for

and only one of these eight left sick with a fever,

 bound for a night of my special nursing talents. 

To be continued....