My GOLDEN Birthday!

To quote Wikipedia, "A person's Golden or Grand Birthday, also referred to as their "Lucky Birthday", "Champagne Birthday" or "Star Birthday", occurs when they turn the age of their birth day (e.g., when someone born on the 25th of the month turns 25)." This year was my GOLDEN Birthday! I had been looking forward to this special birthday for quite some time and I knew that I wanted to make it extra special. How? Not sure.

Dan had earned various rewards from a some business trips to Iowa, so we decided to cash them in and put them towards a vacation. We had two ideas in mind: Vegas and LA. We weighed the pros and cons of each trip, calculated the cost and basically tried to figure out which location would give us the most bang for our buck. The result: Los Angeles, California!

On Friday, August 27th we got up super early to catch our flight to LA. We landed at LAX and went straight to Avis to pick up our rental car. I played the "birthday card" and got the guy to upgrade our basic, little car to a red, 2010 Mustang Convertible! We had to pay a little bit extra but not nearly as much as anyone else. It was worth it!Once we loaded up our car I drove us to Huntington Beach. We were a little disappointed by the chilly overcast, but we still had a good time. We did a little shopping, had lunch, and stopped by the ocean to snap a few pictures.

When we drove to our hotel the sun came out and got a lot warmer. We checked in to our hotel and then drove to the nearest Best Buy that had some miniDV HD tapes. Seriously, back in Illinois and in California we had the hardest time finding them. Finally, Dan managed to call a Best Buy that had some and we went to pick them up.

Later that afternoon we walked to Downtown Disney from our hotel. We were curious how long the walk was - since we picked our hotel based on Dan's rewards and it's closeness to Disney. It was about a 15 minute walk. Not bad at all. Good exercise and we didn't have to pay for parking!

That night we went to Red Lobster for dinner. We had gotten some gift cards for our birthdays, so we used them on our trip. I also had a coupon, so needless to say, we ate good! Our waiter was awesome! He knew it was almost my birthday and that Dan had recently celebrated his birthday, so he kept treating us to all sorts of goodies - including an extra pound of crab legs for Dan!

Saturday, August 28th we got up nice and early to make our way to Disneyland! I was so excited to be spending my actual birthday at Disneyland!

We get a kick out of their specialty buttons (which are free). So once we got into the park we picked up my birthday button and Dan even got a button to share in the fun!
We spent the morning hitting our favorite rides at Disneyland: Peter Pan, Indiana Jones, Space Mountain, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride... needless to say, we were having a great day! Cast members and even other guests were wishing me a happy birthday! "Hey! Happy Birthday!" "Happy Birthday, Karolyn!" It was like having a big birthday party! I felt so special.

In honor of Dan's recent birthday, I let him choose where we should have lunch. After using his phone to find a few options, he decided to go with Wine Country Trattoria at the Golden Vine Winery in the Disneyland California Park. This the same restaurant that we dined at with Dan's parents back when we celebrated his 21st birthday, in 2008.

I ordered Lasagna Rustica served with house-made bolognese and Dan enjoed a delicious Grilled Chicken Sandwich featuring herbed chicken breast, arugula, provolone and walnut-porcini aioli on toasted ciabatta with a green salad.

During our lunch we were pleasantly surprised when we got to watch a Toy Story parade pass by - Dan's favorite Disney movie!

Once lunch was over it was time for more rides and attractions.
That evening, Dan surprised me with dinner at Blue Bayou in Disneyland. Located inside the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction, at the Blue Bayou you sit "outside" in perpetual twilight, surrounded by winking fireflies and the soothing sounds of the bayou's crickets and frogs, while boats filled with guests heading into pirate-filled Caribbean waters drift past.

For dinner I enjoyed a delicious Filet Mignon broiled to perfection (medium rare) and topped with bearnaise sauce with Blue Bayou potatoes and seasoned vegetables - complete with a thirst-quenching Diet Coke. Dan cheerfully ordered and enjoyed the Bayou Surf & Turf. Sweet petite lobster tail from the Pacific Northwest, paired with an expertly broiled filet mignon (medium rare, of course), bearnaise sauce with Blue Bayou potatoes and seasoned vegetables.

I was surprised with a chocolate mousse dessert from our waiter - complete with birthday candle and birthday wishes. A sweet, delicious way to complete our meal.

After dinner we went on more rides and gazed upon some magical Disney fireworks.

On Sunday, August 29th we met up with Kimmy in Beverly Hills. There we enjoyed a nice lunch at Panini Cafe followed by a walk to the Sprinkles Cupcakes bakery for dessert. I've been selling Sprinkles Cupcake mix at Williams-Sonoma for years, but this was my first time ever visiting an actual Sprinkles Cupcakes bakery. We each ordered a single cupcake and enjoyed it while sitting outside in the warm sunshine.

Sprinkles Cupcakes is like Garrett Popcorn in Chicago. People line up for blocks to buy Sprinkles Cupcakes. The line wasn't very long when we got there, but it was out the door - not that the bakery is very big to begin with. Still, it was a fun experience.

Together we cruised and explored Beverly Hills. The weather was perfect for driving around with the top down! We had a blast until it was time for Kimmy to get picked up by her friends at a nearby mall.

After we parted ways with Kimmy, Dan and I went to Hollywood! We went strolling down Hollywood Boulevard and checked out the Hollywood Walk of Fame, found our favorite celebrities' hand prints in front of the Grauman's Chinese Theater and shopped at the Hollywood and Highland Shopping Center.

After hanging out in Hollywood we made our way to the Universal City Walk, located just outside the Universal Studios Hollywood Theme Park. There we shopped and enjoyed a nice, casual dinner at Johnny Rockets. We were both craving a simple burger and Johnny Rockets hit the spot!


For dessert we tried out Yogurtland for the first time. There we got to customize everything we wanted in our ice cream and in the end they charged us by how much our dessert weighed. It was fun and very yummy!

We spent the majority of our last day in California at Downtown Disney. It was nice to just spend the day walking around and enjoying the scenery. We also enjoyed one final lunch at Storytellers Cafe.

Leaving is never as fun as going, but when it was time to go home we left knowing that we just shared a very memorable vacation.


So it was "good bye" California! Until next time...

Summer Weddings and More

Ok, I know that I am falling behind on my posts, so I'll try and get somewhat caught up with this post. Ok, and here we go...

Friday, August 7th I went to the wedding rehearsal for my friends, Saj and Lisa. I was hired as their videographer, so I like to attend the rehearsal (whenever possible) to get an idea of how the ceremony will take place. It was a fun evening! Lots of guests... and lots of friends I haven't seen in a long time!

Saturday, August 8th was the BIG day! Oh man, was there a crowd! There is absolutely NO doubt in my mind, this was the LARGEST wedding ceremony I have ever been to!

As the ceremony was about to get started the sanctuary (which is probably set to seat about 300 people, give or take) was packed! In fact, they started bringing in extra seating before the ceremony started. Even once the ceremony got rolling, there were still guests arriving!

Just before the ceremony started my friend, and fellow videographer, Eric, asked if he could help me film the wedding - since he really had nowhere to sit. I'm glad that I took him up on his offer and had him control a camera that I had set up on a tripod... because as the ceremony progressed and guests continued to flow in (and were now subject to just standing), I could no longer reach my camera on the tripod that Eric was at! Dan had the camera up in the balcony, so that was a guaranteed, clean shot and I floated with my camera on a mono pod. It was a hectic ceremony, but it was a good one!

I didn't get a chance to snag any photos at this wedding, but Dan managed to snap a few with his phone.

After the ceremony and the cake and coffee reception. Dan and I went with the wedding party to the park as they took some more photos. After the photos were done we went down the street to a nice Italian restaurant for some amazing pizza! There we got to know the photographers, who were also friends of the bride and groom. All together, it was a fabulously busy day!

On August 12th Dan had all four of his wisdom teeth removed. He was knocked out for about 2 hours. Everything went smoothly. Aside from the fact that he was swollen, Dan was a trooper and took the pain with no problem.

On Monday, August 16th we celebrated Dan's birthday! Dan had to work on his birthday, so I got up early to fix him a lovely breakfast! Once he was home from work, we went over to my parents' house for dinner and dessert. Dan had the honor of eating off of our family birthday plate - it is a long-time family tradition.

My parents had gotten Dan a bike earlier that month, but they still had some treats for Dan to open and enjoy. One of his favorites was his interactive Toy Story Birthday card. You can see in the photo below... sometimes it's the little things that can excite us the most. Ha ha, ok, I will admit that Dan is playing up his excitement for the camera. What a goof!

After spending some quality time with my folks we went to go see Dinner with Schmucks starring Steve Carell and Paul Rudd. Aside from a few "crude" jokes, we found the movie to be quite enjoyable. We were expecting it to be a bit more funny, but all in all, we still had a fun time watching it.

Our next wedding was in Minnesota for Dan's cousin Jonathan. Dan and I drove up on Wednesday, August 18th so that Dan could attend Jonathan's bachelor party - a Twins vs Sox game! The guys had a blast and Dan wore a Sox jersey - which he barrowed from Kathleen. You can see in some of these photos that Dan was still pretty swollen from his surgery. Poor guy!

On the 19th was the rehearsal and the guys' Fantasy Football Draft. They make a pretty deal out of it... the draft, not the rehearsal. Go figure. Ha ha!

Meanwhile, I wasn't even around. Nope. On the 18th I dropped off Dan and continued up to Moorhead to visit Kathleen and Brad. It was nice to spend some quality time with my sister and my new brother-in-law.

I made my way back down in time for the wedding - it so happened, Kathleen and Brad had a wedding to attend that same day. So timing was perfect!

Friday, August 20th was Jonathan and Emily's wedding! They had a beautiful wedding! Their wedding was the first and only wedding that I simply attended this summer. I wasn't working it and I wasn't in it. It was so nice to just be a guest for a change. So much more relaxing.

I had a great time at the reception with Dan's family. We hardly get to see his extended family, so it was nice to spend some quality time catching up with them!

Saturday, August 21st Dan's former cousin-in-law hired me to take some photos of her and her two daughters. Seriously, they were a blast! Mallory is quite the model and Marissa was always smiling - especially when Dan dropped wood chips on my head to get her to look at the camera. Here are a few images from that fun-filled morning at the park!

After my photo shoot, Dan and I stuck around until pretty late Saturday night. We did some shopping with his mom and sister [Stefanie] and had a relaxing dinner at Stefanie and Thomas' place. Dan and I decided to leave Saturday night because we had plans on Sunday.

Sunday, August 22nd we attended an Aerosmith concert with our good friends, Jason and Rachel. Dan caught lawn seats on sale for $10 - and that included a $6 parking fee! The concert was at the First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre (but I still call it The World, because that is what it was when I was younger and attended a lot more concerts there).

Before the concert got started I noticed a woman sitting about 15 feet to my right... she looked very familiar! I tried not to stare, but really who can't when they think they know someone. I was 99.9% sure that it was Geri, my sister's former cross country and track coach - and still friend to her and our family. Eventually I decided that it must be her and I went over to check. Sure enough, I was right! She was there with her sister... and she was wondering the same thing when she saw me - "Is that really Karolyn?" Dan snapped a photo with his camera phone so that we could send it to Kathleen. Wow, out of thousands of people there, how did we find each other? Wild!

The warm-up band, Buckcherry, was kinda blah. I don't know... I wasn't too crazy about their performance. It was rather crude and lacked creativeness. I guess they thought running around with their shirts off, swearing, and talking about drugs would be entertaining. Eh, not so much.

Aerosmith was amazing - as usual! Great presentation... excellent play list... and so much energy for these "old" guys!

We were all glad I thought to pack some ear plugs. Seriously, they were fantastic! We could hear the band perfectly without all the extra noise. Then, once we left we didn't have that annoying buzzing sound! Fabulous!

I don't have any photos from my camera on me right now, so here are two from Dan's camera phone.