Disney's California Adventure: Pixar Parade

Annual passes to Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure are awesome! There is no doubt about that! My husband and I take advantage of ours on a regular basis. Its even more awesome when you get to spend it with your friends who also have passes! About a week ago, I watched our friends' one yr. old daughter while my hubs and her mom went on California Screamin'! In the mean time we caught the Pixar Parade! Here's what we saw! 

Its a good thing you are on this side of the lens! There was water spraying everywhere! It was a blast! Even with a sleepy and tired one year old! 

Do you have a Disneyland pass? What's your favorite attraction? 

Help a Sister Out!

So, I, Simone, am on vacation with my hubby and do you know what would make my vacay even better? 

If you liked us on Facebook!

That's right you herd it here first... We have a Facebook Page! Just click the little like button on the right side bar and there you have it! You'll like us and we sure will like you back! 

Not to mention it will make my vacation better! Even still, my hubby and i might be doing this a little bit:

-Simone

Is that a Parrot?

OK, so parrots are NOT normally wild animals in suburban areas and especially not in urban areas, but they are in Orange County! I'm really not lying! Promise. Here's an OC Register article from 2006 that agrees with me! And here's and even more recent article that gives more explanation! I have sen the parrots many times. I have heard them even more times! It is kind of a neat thing. Here are some shots I got one day this last spring of the parrots when they visited the school playground after the kids had gone home! 

I just have to share the urban myths (from the article- link above) that go along with these birds:

No one knows precisely how wild parrots from Central and South America got to Orange County. Perhaps one or more of these urban legends are true:

A pet shop caught on fire and the owner set the caged birds free so they would not be burned up. A variation on this has the firefighters setting the birds free.

Authorities were about to break up a wild-parrot smuggling ring, and the smugglers set the birds free before they could be collected as evidence.

A truck that was hauling wild exotic birds was involved in a car accident. The cages fell from the truck and the birds escaped.

They escaped from the aviary of an exotic-bird lover.

An eccentric elderly person released them from cages so they could be free.

The birds migrated here on their own.

I always thought the one with the aviary is the one that could hold the most truth. But who knows! For now, if you are in the Orange County Area... keep your eyes peeled for some green parrots. Chances are though, that you will hear them before you see them! 

Pie- what?

A few months ago my hubs and i stumbled upon a new restaurant in one of our favorite shopping centers, the Irvine Spectrum. It was called (and still is called) Pieology. We love it and think its quite the deal even if you each get your own pizza! 

Here's my normal order from last few months: 

Basically, this place is like Chipotle for pizza! You walk up to the counter, possibly after waiting in line for (usually about) 15 minutes at least and tell them what you want on your pizza! The crust is always thin to allow them to cook the pizza's quickly and there is a wealth of toppings to choose from. I like to start with one of their creations and then add things i like. Like on the one shown above I added all the cheeses and black olives with some chicken as well! Yum! 

Check out their site for locations in Orange County and coming soon to many locations in LA and the surrounding areas!

-Simone

PS - Make sure you visit Monday's post for a giveaway! Woo Hoo WRESTLING! 

"WWE LIVE" Comes To The IE & We've Got Tickets! (GIVEAWAY)

I remember being in Jr High and wanting so bad to get tickets to the Wrestle-mania event coming to town. Of course, I never made it but I did watch it on TV...totally counts, right? For you fellow WWE wrestling fans or have kids that are fans, this post is for you!

The WWE juggernaut returns to the Inland Empire for WWE presents WWE LIVE, Sunday, August 25, at the Citizens Business Bank Arena.  This will be your chance to see your favorite WWE RAW Superstars live in action!

  

SEE OVER 20 WWE SUPERSTARS INCLUDING:  WWE Champion John Cena, CM Punk, Ryback, current tag team champions The Shield’s Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins, current US Champion The Shield’s Dean Ambrose, The Miz, Dolph Ziggler, R-Truth, Tons of Funk,  the WWE Divas and many more!

WWE offers the best value in entertainment, with tickets starting at $15.  Tickets to WWE LIVE at the Citizens Business Bank Arena are on sale now and are available at www.axs.com, Citizens Business Bank Box office, and charge-by-phone 888-929-7849.

________________________________________

GIVEAWAY

ONE lucky winner will win 2 tickets to see WWE LIVE on Sunday, 8/25 in Ontario.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway will close on Sunday, August 18 @11:59 pm (pst) & is open to U.S. residents 18+ only w/a valid CA ID/DL . Winner will be chosen at random & notified via email. If the winner does not respond within 48 hrs a new winner will be chosen.

(Disclosure: No one from SoCalBlog was compensated in any way in exchange for posting this information/giveaway. The ticket giveaway is compliments of the CBBA & WWE. Tickets will be picked up by the winner at the venues box office the day of the event.) 

Holy Jim and Simone!

Have you noticed the fancy new stuff over on the right side bar?

That's right there's some new author's added to the SoCal Blog! Since it's my first time posting in this neck of the woods, I thought i would take a minute or two to introduce myself! 

I'm Simone and I usually blog over at Busy as a Honey Bee. 

Here's some schtuff about me:

I am a native southern Californian. 

I don't always capitalize the correct things when i type. (i am a little lazy about it usually, but other times not!)

I love crafty activities. 

Friends and family are awesome people that I love to hang out with. 

I teach. 

I love orange county so much that my hubby and I really want to buy a home here. 

My kitten is definitely one of my family members. 

I never cuss in print, but sometimes shock people who think i don't have a potty mouth. 

I love to be active. 

I enjoy reading. 

I am a Christian, wife, sister, and daughter. 

I love dessert. 

I am so excited to blog on this blog! 

So there's a bit about me!

I really can't wait to write for this blog and share stuff with you all!

So for my first post, I thought i would share a hike my hubby and I went on a couple months ago. Have you ever heard of Holy Jim Falls? 

I had heard a lot about it over the years, but never had the opportunity to go! When some of our friends invited us to share in an adventure, we could not pass up the opportunity.

Things to know: 

-You can park a ways away from the trail head, but if you plan to drive to the trail head, you must have an off road vehicle. During the winter months the road can get really muddy and dangerous, so beware!
-Parking requires an Adventure Pass that must be purchased ahead of time! And parking can get pretty tight, so be ready to be creative about parking! 

-The waterfall is not much ot speak of and on some days it can be imaginary! However, its not about the destination, its definitely about the journey. 

-Its about 3 miles in total. Its a "there and back" hike. 

-It's mostly flat. 

-This hike would be great to bring along your older child or a child young enough to we worn in a hiking backpack. Bringing your pups wouldn't be a bad idea either, but maybe keep them on a leash as there are many dogs on the trail. 

-Be sure to take safety precautions. It is after all the wilderness. People have gotten lost and turned around quite easily. And by lost, I mean lost for days. (The most recent situation was weeks before we made our visit and involved people who were high!) If you use your better judgement, you should be fine! 

-Some sites to visit for more info: All Trails and Yelp

With all that said, here are some shots from our nice Sunday hike! 

Hope you enjoyed!