As most of you know I went to visit my sister in California this weekend! She’s going to school out there, and I was overdue for a California visit anyways. (It has been like…eight whole months)
I planned the trip weeks ago and told my sister the dates when I would be there and arranged to stay with my aunt and uncle. Then, I did something sneaky. I texted her best friend Alina, and told her when I was going and just opened the invitation that if she had the money and wanted to come, she was more than welcome! (Alina has always been a great friend of mine as well, so no awkwardness there! My sister and I have always tended to “share” friends) So she asked her parents and we were extremely surprised that they actually said yes! We were overwhelmed with excitement and decided it would be better not to tell Mollie she was coming and make it a surprise!
So all the while Mollie and I talked and planned about my visit. She was so excited I was coming, I knew she would be absolutely elated once she found out Alina was there too! So Mollie and I made many plans for me to meet her friends and boyfriend, sit in on her classes, and go to Disneyland together! Little did she know Alina would be joining us too!
Finally, the day arrived, and after a difficult goodbye with my husband (it was our first time apart!) we were on our way! We giggled as Mollie called me at the airport with Alina sitting right next to me unable to say a word, we planned the surprise down to the minute while on the plane and were giddy with anticipation. Finally we landed, and we waited anxiously for Mollie and Brad to arrive to pick us up. I gave Alina my black sweatshirt, and she stood with the hood up a few feet away from me while we waited on the curb.
Mollie’s reaction is priceless.
Watch the video here:
http://katielovelyy.tumblr.com/post/80219921557/mollies-surprise
Anyways, after some screaming and tears (she didn’t suspect a thing and had no idea! Score!) we were on our way! Mollie was staying with us at my Aunt and Uncles for two nights until she had to be back at school.
The next morning we slept in, and spent the rest of our day tanning, swimming, and hanging out. Our grandparents came down for a visit too and I showed her all the wedding pictures. It was a lovely day, and the weather was great! It didn’t drop below 70 the whole time we were there!
My Aunt and Uncle’s gorgeous pool!
That night we went down to Mollie’s school for chapel, which was amazing! After that we went out for a late dinner with her roommates and then headed to the grocery store to pick up some snacks for Disneyland!
The next morning we woke up and got ready for Disney. Mollie and I have these cute Disney outfits. I didn’t want Alina to feel left out so I bought her one too! They are shirts from Hot Topic of our favorite movies (Peter Pan for Mollie, The Little Mermaid for me, and Alice in Wonderland for Alina) and bows inspired by the movies! (And yes, I have a million different “favorites” I went with Ariel this time around haha) After getting ready and dragging my cousin Austin (who was coming along) out of bed, we were on our way!
It was an amazing day! We met lots of characters (which is actually my favorite part), ate lots of delicious food, and went on rides! My Uncle Johnathan, Aunt Sarah, and cousin Scarlett coincidentally happened to be there on the same day, and we were able to meet up with them to go on Star Tours! So fun. The only bummer was we waited in line for a while to go on the Matterhorn and when we got to the front it broke down and didn’t open again all day. And then when we went to Space Mountain it was also closed down and when it started running again we didn’t have time to wait! I called Kurtis really upset and he said we would go again this summer and ride everything. Winner.
Waiting in the ticket line
DISNEYLAND!
It was Alina’s first time!
Mickey!
Definitely my favorite picture from the day. It turned out so cute!
Goofy was giving me a hard time.
I LOVE this shot. Mollie and Alina on the Dumbo ride. I purposefully sat behind them so I could try and get a picture like this, and I’m so glad I did.
Mint Juleps and Mickey Beignets. My favorite Disneyland snack!
Selfie!
Lunch! Disneyland has the absolute best corn dogs! Mollie, Alina, and Austin all had hot dogs with mac and cheese and bacon bits on top. I couldn’t have one because of my dairy allergy but they looked delicious! And they gobbled them down before I could snap a picture.
My favorite ride, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, has been closed for refurbishment for over a year. And we just so happened to go to Disneyland on the day it reopened! I was ecstatic!
Simba in the parade!
At this point in the day, one of us had pushed something on my camera that made it not focus so the rest of the pictures were taken with phones and aren’t as good 🙁 Still trying to figure my camera out!
Me standing alone at the spot where Kurtis proposed to me and missing him greatly! Also, a slight outfit change had taken place! It got a little chilly, so I put on this sweatshirt (which I got at wet seal!) and my bow was giving me a headache so I took it off and put my ears on instead! (Which were a gift from Kurtis’ mom. They are from Animal Kingdom in Disneyworld!)
Mollie insisted on reenacting the proposal!
It was a really great day!
On our way home from Disneyland we dropped Mollie back off at school because she had classes the next day. On Tuesday, Alina and I hung out by the pool all day and then drove down to Mollie’s school to sit in on her night class with her. After class, we went to Vital, a rock climbing gym that she likes to go to (She’s been really into climbing and has gotten really good!) and did some climbing and hung out! We drove back up to Corona to sleep and then met her back on campus the next day to go drive up to San Diego before our flight out.
We spent the afternoon at my grandparents house. Snacking, hanging out, and watching Frozen. A few of my aunts and uncles and cousins were there, which was really fun! I’m glad we got to stop by for a few hours before we left, I don’t get to see them nearly enough!
My grandparents gorgeous backyard/pool
My cousin Scarlett refused to stand still for a picture and this is the best I got!
By then, I was really missing Kurtis and was anxious to get home! Luckily, we were only gone 4 days but our newlywed stage hasn’t quite fizzled out yet and sleeping apart was really weird!
We had an amazing time! I’m so glad the surprise went so great and I was able to see my sister and family! I can’t wait to go back!