Ben made good on his Christmas Present and took me to see Wicked. I thought we were going to fly to LA, but instead he arranged to use his brother's car, so we could drive out. ( I didn't want to take our car in case my Mom needed the family bus for an emergency!) At first I was a little irritated that we were going to drive, since we were going up Wednesday and coming back Thursday, but it turned out alright. Probably had to do with the fact I didn't have screaming fighting kids in the back seat! It was nice to have some time to talk and have no other distractions, like TV, kids, blogging, etc. Ben wanted to drive so we could stop at the outlet stores. I had my suspicions, bcuz he told me that there was a "reason" for us driving. As we were coming up on the exit he said, "I can't have you going to Wicked with that purse". My suspicions were confirmed! I have been complaining that my purse isn't big enough to hold all my baby things, and so he took me to the outlet and bought me a new purse, wallet and wristlet. I guess he figured since he saved money on airfare, he could spoil me a little. I'll take it! After hitting a few other outlets, we headed out to make our drive to the hotel. At least that is where he made me think we were going. He actually had arranged for us to stay at the Hellewell's. They are good friends from college. They lived back east for about 10 years, and while we we lived out there, made a few Thanksgiving visits to their place. They finally moved back to California. Kristen's husband bought her tickets to Wicked for Christmas, so Ben bought them on the same day so we could all go together. We all went out to dinner, after fighting 2 hours of LA traffic; gotta love LA! We had dinner by the Pantages theatre, in Hollywood, so I got to see all the "stars" on the sidewalk. I can't believe after all the years I lived there, I had never been to Hollywood. 
Here are Frank Sinatra's and Michael Jackson's "stars". I gave up looking for Brad Pitt's!;) It was very cold and windy that night!:(
After dinner, we headed to the theatre for the show. We showed up just in time, only 5 minutes before it started. I was a little nervous for the show. Weird huh? Why would I be nervous?? Well I have heard so many great things about Wicked and I have been bugging Ben to see it for so long, I was afraid that it wouldn't be as great as everyone said it was and the whole trip would be a disappointment. The first song was very unusual, and I was thinking to myself, "GREAT!! It is going to be a disappointment!" Luckily, the rest of the play was absolutely AMAZING! I am so ready to go AGAIN!! Not only was it extremely entertaining, but it also had a great message and left you thinking! Ben was great enough to let me get a Wicked Hoodie Jacket afterward. They make so much money off their shirts and sweatshirts!! OUCH!!!
This is the only picture I was able to get inside. One of the usher ladies yelled at me to put my camera away!:(
We didn't end up getting back to the Hellwell's until midnight, and of course we had to play some cards like old times. Except it wasn't like old times b/c after one game we were ready for bed. Guess that's what kids do to you! We still didn't get to bed until 1:30. Ben had a 6:30 T-time the next morning and I slept in. AHHH!! Of course, sleeping in isn't what it used to be. I woke up at 8:30 and finally got up at 9:00, after trying to force myself to go back to sleep for a half an hour. How did I ever sleep until Noon!??? Kristen and I did some shopping at a nearby mall, which made me realize what a loser mall Arrowhead is. I could have shopped there all day, but only had an Accord to bring everything home in....should have brought the Navigator!! LOL After shopping, we got some lunch at the Nordstroms' Cafe. Can you say RIP-OFF!!!! Of course they have no prices on anything, just displays so you can pick out what you want and get your total at the register. I got a half a sandwich, a cup of tomato soup, bottled water and a dessert. When he rang me up for 20 dollars I wanted to say, "Oh, I'm not paying for the lady behind me". It was good, but Paradise bakery is much better and half the price! For the sake on not complaining too much, the dessert was pretty awesome and so was the company. Ben said the bottled water that said "Nordstrom's" on it probably cost 10 dollars! Ha! Anyway, after the mall, I was so tired. I was almost embarrassed how tired I was. I slept in and still needed a nap. I took a small nap before dinner.
For dinner we met the Hendricksons & Cooks ( other good college friends) for dinner at the Dana Point Harbor ( I think that's what it was called, I'm sure someone will correct me! ). It was so good to catch up. It was like old times, and when I say that it's b/c none of the guys have changed one bit. They may be getting older, but they still act like a bunch of freshman guys whenever they get around each other. Of course, the wives are used to it by now and over time have become a part of some of the stories. It would be fun to live by all of them again, being by the beach wouldn't be so bad either!:) Of course that would mean leaving all my awesome friends here! Wish I could just group all my friends in one place! We finally left the restaurant around 6:30. We hit some bad traffic and so we knew we weren't going to be getting home till late. I played the role of DJ, picking the songs for the next 4 hours. It was fun, Ben and I singing to our favorite songs over 11 years of marriage! Even though we weren't "talking" it was like a form of communication. Weird, I know, but it really was. It's amazing how songs can bring back memories and feelings you had when you listened to those songs. That's one thing I LOVE about music. Finally around 1:00am I couldn't stay awake. I was in and out until we got home at 1:45. I was out by 2:00! (I am so tired right now!!! Why I'm typing this up and not sleeping is beyond me!!!!)
Today was fun. It started off with a baby shower. It was just a small group of friends for lunch and celebrating. We brought our kids and they played while we talked. It was good times. While talking we decided that it would be fun to take a girls Wicked trip. It would take a lot of coordinating, but if we could pull it off, ohhh..... how fun!! Anyway, it was a good afternoon. Sophia actually took a nap there, after 10 minutes of crying, and Ethan let go of my leg after 5 minutes of being there. He would show up once in awhile to make sure I was still there. One time he showed up and said, "I love you Mom", and left. On the way home he said, "Can I have a sucker because I was so good?" .....always trying to get candy!!!
Tonight a group of us went to dinner to celebrate Trina's birthday. We had a great time, and I'm sure the server was hating us!! We were there for over 2 hours! I'm surprised he didn't charge us a table rental!LOL While I was gone Ben had a fun time with the kids. He ordered pizza and had the neighbor kids, Bailey and Andrew, over. They went hot tubing and watched a movie. Bailey was walking home in her PJ's just as I pulled up. I'm so glad the kids have great neighbor kids to play with! I know....broken record....I say that all the time. What can I say, I'm a grateful girl!
Here it is....the Special plate. Sure looks "special", too! It's actually looking a little yellow in this picture, but actually is a cool green!
Here is Aubries beloved cat! Not bad, huh?
Ben made good on his Christmas Present and took me to see Wicked. I thought we were going to fly to LA, but instead he arranged to use his brother's car, so we could drive out. ( I didn't want to take our car in case my Mom needed the family bus for an emergency!) At first I was a little irritated that we were going to drive, since we were going up Wednesday and coming back Thursday, but it turned out alright. Probably had to do with the fact I didn't have screaming fighting kids in the back seat! It was nice to have some time to talk and have no other distractions, like TV, kids, blogging, etc. Ben wanted to drive so we could stop at the outlet stores. I had my suspicions, bcuz he told me that there was a "reason" for us driving. As we were coming up on the exit he said, "I can't have you going to Wicked with that purse". My suspicions were confirmed! I have been complaining that my purse isn't big enough to hold all my baby things, and so he took me to the outlet and bought me a new purse, wallet and wristlet. I guess he figured since he saved money on airfare, he could spoil me a little. I'll take it! After hitting a few other outlets, we headed out to make our drive to the hotel. At least that is where he made me think we were going. He actually had arranged for us to stay at the Hellewell's. They are good friends from college. They lived back east for about 10 years, and while we we lived out there, made a few Thanksgiving visits to their place. They finally moved back to California. Kristen's husband bought her tickets to Wicked for Christmas, so Ben bought them on the same day so we could all go together. We all went out to dinner, after fighting 2 hours of LA traffic; gotta love LA! We had dinner by the Pantages theatre, in Hollywood, so I got to see all the "stars" on the sidewalk. I can't believe after all the years I lived there, I had never been to Hollywood. 
This is the only picture I was able to get inside. One of the usher ladies yelled at me to put my camera away!:(
For dinner we met the Hendricksons & Cooks ( other good college friends) for dinner at the Dana Point Harbor ( I think that's what it was called, I'm sure someone will correct me! ). It was so good to catch up. It was like old times, and when I say that it's b/c none of the guys have changed one bit. They may be getting older, but they still act like a bunch of freshman guys whenever they get around each other. Of course, the wives are used to it by now and over time have become a part of some of the stories. It would be fun to live by all of them again, being by the beach wouldn't be so bad either!:) Of course that would mean leaving all my awesome friends here! Wish I could just group all my friends in one place! We finally left the restaurant around 6:30. We hit some bad traffic and so we knew we weren't going to be getting home till late. I played the role of DJ, picking the songs for the next 4 hours. It was fun, Ben and I singing to our favorite songs over 11 years of marriage! Even though we weren't "talking" it was like a form of communication. Weird, I know, but it really was. It's amazing how songs can bring back memories and feelings you had when you listened to those songs. That's one thing I LOVE about music. Finally around 1:00am I couldn't stay awake. I was in and out until we got home at 1:45. I was out by 2:00! (I am so tired right now!!! Why I'm typing this up and not sleeping is beyond me!!!!)
Here it is....the Special plate. Sure looks "special", too! It's actually looking a little yellow in this picture, but actually is a cool green!
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