"Summer Days Driftin' Away..."

Saturday night after work I had made plans to go with The Boyfriend on a double date with his BFF and her boyfriend. Our plans included going to see Pixar's new film, Up. While it wasnt my FAVORITE Pixar movie to date, (that award goes to Finding Nemo) it sure did make me bawl for the first 15 minutes. Even Woody got choked up! Its pretty much the cutest love story ever. One of the main components of the film was this thing called The Adventure Book. Its totally cute and something I decided to do for this summer to document my adventures with Woody. We've had quite a few adventures already; Vegas, go kart racing, mini golf, park trips and road trips. Many of these haven't been as photo documented as we'd both like. I said to him, "Well, damn, I guess it means we're going to have to go again!"

Below are a few things I've been thinking about doing for quite some time, and this summer seems like the perfect time to do it.

My Summer To Do List:

1. Go to a water park.
-Um, I don't know about anyone else here, but the last time I went to a water park, I was maybe 10. That age is totally when you start thinking about what you look like in a bathing suit. I kept my shirt on the whole time and was not a very good swimmer. I could only go on the slides that had 3 feet of water or less at the end. My worst nightmare at 10 was having my cover up fall off me early on in the day and almost drowning in the "Laguna Storm Tower Cylone of Terror" and having some very attractive 14 year old life guard save me. At the present, while I'm almost as uncomfortable in a bathing suit as I was when I was 10, my swimming skills have improved and my new retro black one-piece is pretty flattering. I've proposed to Woody that we go and beat up the little kids at one of the waterparks in the area and have fun. He's totally game. For the reference of my readers and a hope that they'll drag out their inner 10 year old and pack away their inner self contious woman for a day and come with me, I've listed the prices below.

Knotts Berry Farm's Soak City, Buena Park Ca: $24.99 (The closest! Three blocks from Woody's)
Hurricane Harbor, Los Angeles CA: $19.99
Wild Rivers, Irvine Ca: $31.98
Raging Waters, San Dimas CA: $39.99

2. Disneyland for the boyfriend's birthday.
- While Disneyland has that *amazing deal* going on about free admission to the park on your birthday, I find it a total scam. Why would I pay full price to go on SOMONE ELSES birthday? So instead I plan on exploiting my younger cousin who works at the park to sign us in if we cannot go on the actual day of his birth. Then I can take her out to lunch and have a grand old time not worry about the $70 dollars I'll be out just for park entrance.

3. Zoo trip!
- I'd be lying if I didn't want to make the boyfriend face his fear of abnormally large bugs. He squeals like a girl when confronted with the tiniest daddy long legs. My favorite thing about living in LA is that there are so many options nearby! San Diego, Los Angles, and Santa Ana, all within a half hour's drive from my front door! And hey, look! So many different choices on what kind of date you want to have, cheap or expensive!

Los Angeles Zoo: $12.00
San Diego Zoo & Wild Animal Park: $35.00
Santa Ana Zoo: $7.00

4. Help the boyfriend find a kick ass apartment.
-He's moving out. He's asked me to move in. There are a thousand multi-colored butterflies in my stomach zooming around like they're being chased by an ADHD kitten named Babette. Deciding to learn from my mother's mistakes, I declined for the moment. I told him that we've been dating less than a year and that's not long enough to know one another or for me to feel comfortable moving in. We talked about it and will renegiotate in six months. I'm determined to find him a place he'll love. Not one I'll love but one he'll love. We have plans to get a pair of bikes and go bike riding on the weekends. I want a beach cruiser with a huge wire basket, and I want to be able to cook for him. I can't wait to pick out produce at the farmers market and bake almond shortbread jam cookies. I can't wait to tease him about his meticulously sliced produce and draw little pictures on his sack lunches.

5. Have more bonfires and BBQ's.
- Dockwiller, Huntinton, Bolsa Chica, they are all so close, and so cheap! I love bonfires, the hotdogs, the red cups, the cold sand, the bonfire hair. I like watching the guys try to be macho by breaking wood and attempt to light the fire. I love park bbq's. Right near Woody's house is a lovely little park. Its pretty large and quiet with quite a few charcol BBQ's. Yesterday we went and sat out in the sun for a tiny bit and read. I was just thinking how nice it'd be to get a group together to blow bubbles and fly kites together.

6. Work on my golf swing.
-Yes, I just said that. The Boyfriend wishes he could be more of an avid golfer, so this weekend we went to the driving range so I could learn. My boobs get in the way for a perfect golf swing sadly, but I've got mad putting skills.

7. Go on a hike.
- Ever since I saw a long ago friend from High School's hiking album on facebook, I took the notion of taking up hiking to heart. I'd like to be able to go on my first hike this summer since there are so many tiny trails right here near work that all end in my favorite place, the beach.

8. Go camping.
-My dad has a trailer that he keeps in Soledad Canyon. A little camp ground between Lancaster and Pomdale. They have a pool and lots of hiking space. I hope I can get The Boyfriend over his fear of bugs to come with me. I love camping, as long as I have my trusty air mattress packed.