Two weeks ago, Disneyland turned 55! Janelle and I learned that the 55th was going to be a celebration with lots of things going on at Disneyland. Not as huge as the 50th, of course, which lasted almost 2 years.... but still, an anniversary party!
Janelle and I decided to get a big group together and make shirts. Our first idea was maps of Disneyland from different time eras. However, that was squashed when Zazzle cancelled our order because of "copy right issues". With only days to think
of something new, we went to Michaels/Jo Ann's, bought differet colored solid shirts, some iron on 55's, and iron on transfer paper. We decided to print Walt Disney's opening speech on our shirts. Then everyone could decorate theirs however they wanted. Seems easy enough. The shirts ended up becoming a hassle and so much drama... the printer stopped working, someone printed them backwards, the iron was left at someone's house, the new transfer paper wouldn't come off... You name it, it happened. But in the end, it was worth the sweat and tears as we were approached repeatedly with "Where did you get your shirt!?!"
From left to right: Jan-Michael, me, Gene, Domonique, Brianna, Janelle, Lindsay, Teresa, Dianna, Nathan, Arevik... July 17, 2010 55th Crew!
The day started bright and early for Nathan, Janelle, Lindsay, Arevik, Jan-Michael, myself and Sparkles. In fact, we put in a WHOLE day of Disneyland fun- open to close. I haven't done that in a while... We dropped Sparkles off at the kennel's and immediately joined Nathan in line at the Disney Gallery event (see poster). This event was the first of many to come, however, the one that took the MOST time. Meanwhile, Lindsay and Arevik grabbed fast passes and went on
rides while we inched forward in our line. Janelle and I decided, prior to entering the park, that we just wanted ONE thing to commemorate the 55th- a ceramic cup (replica of a 1960's paper cup used at Disneyland). As we got closer and closer to the Gallery doors, we were informed that the 1,955 edition size was sold out. However, after waiting an additional hour and a half (totaly of 3 1/2 hours), they were re-stocked and we were able to purchase the cups. I'm
telling you this because we felt like we had won the Golden Ticket!! We held our bags like it was real treasure and carefully locked them away in our lockers! We got it! We got it!
To celebrate the 55th, Disneyland also had 55th birthday cupcakes and special park maps. Directly after obtaining our special 55th merchandise, we went hunting for the birthday cupcakes. To our surprise, they were already sold out! However, we found ONE that was slightly imperfect- there was NO 55th birthday topper. We decided to get it anyway. Of course the wonderful Cast Members asked the candy maker to add a
Mickey Mouse topper. So we had a one of a kind cupcake! Too bad it tasted pretty gross!
There were two major events that day, 1)a dedication ceremony (just like opening day) 2)park wide "Happy Birthday" singing time. The dedication ceremony took place while we were in line at the Gallery, so Janelle and I ran over to videotape/take pictures. It was blazing hot, much like opening day. The played Walt's speech and a Cast Member talked about how he was one of the first kids to run across the draw bridge and in to Sleeping Beauty's castle. Kids were singing, characters ran out, doves were released, confetti went flying... it was pretty cute.
Later on was the scheduled singing of "happy birthday" to Disneyland. Nathan was participating in the singing, so he told us to wait for him in Town Square. What we didn't know was that Cast Members planned a secret surprise- a
Flash Mob! After everyone sang happy birthday, Cast Members and
characters rushed in to the street and performed a dance! We actually found Nathan in all the chaos of fun! Then the characters stuck around to take pictures with everyone. Check out this photo that shows how crowded it was! You can play "Where's Waldo" and try to find the Disney characters!!
On this special day, Jan-Michael and I also celebrated our 5 year dating anniversary! Why not celebrate our 5th on the 55th?! Above is a picture from our first date. We decided to re-create the picture on the pier. What do you think!?!
Check out the differences (besides us of course!). We broke away from the group and had a special World of Color reservation dinner at Wine Country Trattoria. It was a yummy 3 course meal. Because we did the dining experience, our World of Color tickets were in a special reserved area, so we didn't have to worry about getting there early. Jan-Michael finally got to see World of Color! There is one part where they play our wedding song "So Close", so it was pretty romantic =)
Afterwards, we met back up with the group and watched Fantasmic- thanks to Nathan who secured us seating with the director! SWEET! We then ran around and went on some rides (finally). So concludes our 55th adventure. I hope I helped you feel like you were there, celebrating with us!
P.S. We happened to be at Disneyland the SAME TIME as Holly, Jake and their adorable daughter, McKenzie! Doh, but I didn't take a picture! Thanks for meeting up with us Holly! It was SO FUN!
One beautiful sunny weekend, we had a picnic in the park! My coworker Mele and I planned a fun picnic with our husbands and dogs! They live in the beautiful mountains and knew the perfect location for a fun picnic. The park was on a hillside with lots of green 
grass, clean bathrooms, shady ramadas, and even a vineyard! At first, Sparkles wasn't too fond of Rocky, but they soon became friends (much to my surprise). We had yummy food and breezy warm weather. Thank you Mele and Siaki for the 
wonderful picnic!
Old Republic, the company I work for, is in one of a cluster of three high rises in Pasadena. The building office has a picnic BBQ every year for it's three building's tenants. They set up tents in the courtyard, had a band playing, gave away prizes, and of course, had yummy BBQ food. It was pretty hot, but we enjoyed getting out of the office. Here are some of my co-workers =)
