Touring the Disney Studios in Burbank - Part 2

Well we've already seen so much of the Walt Disney Studios in part 1 of this story, but now it's time to see a little more!
Continuing our journey, we wound up in Legend's Plaza. This section of the studios pays tribute to all the men and women who've made such an impact on the Disney company that they've become Legends.

Touring the Disney Studios in Burbank - Part 1

What a treat we're in for today! A couple months ago we were discussing our plans for Christmas break with Ruston, saying how all of Theresa's family was coming to visit us in California. Knowing what big fans they were of Disney, Ruston invited everyone on a tour of where he worked. Disney Studios! When they heard, everyone was really excited!

Disneyland on Christmas Day

With T's entire family out visiting for Christmas, one of the things on everybody's list was a trip to Disneyland! Now Disneyland during the Christmas season is always packed, except of course on the morning of the 25th. Knowing this, we all celebrated Christmas on the 24th so we could head to Disneyland bright and early on Christmas Day!

Christmas Day (celebrated on Dec 24th)

Merry Christmas! We're actually celebrating a day early because we've got other plans on the 25th.

Decorating the Christmas Tree, our advent calendar, and putting cookies out for Santa

Right around Thankgiving, it was time to set up our Christmas tree.
First we fluff up all the branches. 

Sleepy Hollow Christmas Lights

After visiting Sleepy Hollow last year and seeing all the Christmas lights, there was no doubt that we'd be coming back. This year, Theresa's entire family came out to California to spend Christmas with us, so when it was time to go look at lights, we knew we'd all see them together.
Well, not quite all together. There's 13 of us right now, so if we were going to drive the neighborhoods, we'd have to split into 3 different cars.
Theresa decided she wasn't going to have any of that, and as a special treat, she organized a 14 passenger bus to drive us all around Sleepy Hollow.

2015 Flowers Family Christmas Lights

One of my favorite parts of the holidays is going overboard on Christmas lights. I see the Griswold house in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation and consider it to be a challenge.

For comparison. 

Holiday Pringles are here!

Happy Holidays! Special holiday edition Pringles are back for a limited time! I had previously checked out the Holiday Pringles back in 2013, when they released Pecan Pie and Cinnamon & Sugar. When I looked this year, I saw there were a few more flavors available, but let me tell you, they were not all easy to find.

Meeting Santa at Disneyland

 It's Christmastime and we need to get our picture with Santa!

We like Disneyland. Disneyland has Santa. Let's go there!

Making Homemade Candy Canes

Last Christmas I decided to make homemade gingerbread men from scratch for the first time ever! This year I wanted to try something different, but just as festive. Candy Canes!

 

Candlelight 2015

One of our annual traditions that really kicks off our Christmas season is going to Disneyland to watch Ruston sing in Disneyland's annual Candlelight Processional.

Special Fall Treats

It's Fall, which means there's all sorts of holiday versions of foods and beverages coming out. I'm always up for interesting flavors like that, so I rounded up a few of my favorites and on a lazy Sunday afternoon, Theresa, Ian, and I tried them all.

Alli's first trip to Disneyland!

For the past week, Ian's been talking about Disneyland, Disneyland, Disneyland. On Saturday, we joined up with Ruston and Jacob and took Alli on her very first visit to the parks! Just like they were with us on Ian's first visit to Disneyland!

Ian slept fine the night before, but this video was totally Alli. Alli must have been too excited to sleep the night before because she was up every couple of hours.

Happy Birthday Ian plus we get some visitors!

Ian's birthday is coming up and we've got some visitors! Gram and Pop Pop flew in to say hi!

And they were able to meet Alli for the very first time!

Happy Halloween 2015!

Happy Halloween! Ian wore this shirt today.

And Alli was in a Boo shirt. 

Alli at home - 10/18/2015

As we pulled up to the house, we were greeted by Ian, Grammy, Grandpa, and lots of pink balloons.

The Future is here! Back to the Future day 10/21/2015 4:29pm

Growing up, there were three movie series that I really connected with. The first was Indiana Jones, the second was Star Wars, and the third was Back to the Future. I could watch those VHS tapes over and over and never get tired of them.

Of all the Back to the Future movies, my absolute favorite was Back to the Future 2. I loved seeing the potential of what the future might bring. Now that it's 2015, I'm ready for the flying cars and hoverboards!

I've known this date was coming for a little while, but I didn't prepare for it as much as I would have liked. The hat I've owned for a while.

The story behind the birth of Alli!

Our newest addition to the family is here! Welcome baby Alli!

How about the story behind the day she was born?

Introducing our newest addition! Allison Flowers!

On October 16, 2015, Theresa and I welcomed our newest little flower to the bunch.

Allison Lynn Flowers was born at 1:24pm, and weighed 8 lbs 7 oz. She was 20.5 inches long.
She is named after two important women in our lives. The "son" part of Allison is a tribute to Theresa's mom's middle name Sun. Her middle name Lynn is after my mother's middle name.

Both Theresa and Alli are doing great!

Meeting Allison Lefcort at Disneyland

Theresa and I have long been fans of Allison Lefcort's work. I happened to see she was going to be at Disneyland this weekend, so we all headed to the park to meet her!

Megan and Patrick visit from Colorado

My brother Patrick and his wife Megan came out from Colorado to visit us for the weekend!
Giddy-up Patrick!

Club 33 Salon Nouveau and Big Thunder Ranch BBQ

After hearing that Big Thunder Ranch BBQ (one of our favorite places to eat at Disneyland) would be closing to make way for Star Wars land in 2016, Ruston, Jacob, Theresa and I knew we'd need to make reservations to go back and eat there soon.
As luck would have it, we were also able to visit Club 33 as well!

Belmont Shore Stroll and Savor - Final Night this year

Tonight is the very last night of the Belmont Shore Stroll and Savor this season. Jacob invited us down to Long Beach to join him and check out all the restaurants. Let's eat!

2015 Disneyland Half Marathon

It's finally here! Every single Labor Day, I've had to make sure I'm in town so I can run the Disneyland Half Marathon. It's been 10 years since the Inaugural race. I found an old picture of me and T, after we had finished that first race and received our medals.

2015 Disneyland Half Marathon Expo

It's nearing Labor Day, which means it's the time of year for the Disneyland Half Marathon!
The actual race will be on Sunday September 6th, but first it's time to visit the expo and pick up your race packet.

2015 Disney Painting Day

It's August, so it's time for another painting day at the Flowers' house. We started around noon and enjoyed a lunch of chili-dogs and chips. By 1pm, everyone who had arrived started their paintings.

2015 Lay's Do Us A Flavor contest

Once again, Lays has asked us to Do Us A Flavor and vote for our favorite of four new chip flavors.
From January 20th - March 30th, entrants were invited to send Lays a flavor name, the ingredients, and the inspiration behind it.
In July, four finalists were announced. Just for making it to the finals, the four entrants won $50k each. Not bad at all.
Once America has voted, the winner will receive $1 million dollars, plus have their flavor become a permanent member of the Lays chip family. Let's check them out in no particular order.

2015 AVP Manhattan Beach Open

The AVP is in town! One of my favorite sports to play and watch is beach volleyball! It's awesome getting to head to the beach on this weekend and watching the pros show us how the game is meant to be played.

Goodyear Blimp - Spirit of America retirement celebration

One really fun perk of living where we do, is seeing the Goodyear blimp flying by fairly regularly. The Goodyear Blimp Base Airport is based out of Gardena California, and regularly flies at least 5 days a week. The "Spirit of America" is one of three blimps in Goodyear's fleet, which covers events all over the United States. After 13 years of service, it's finally time to retire the "Spirit of America" and the public was invited to the send off!

Kauai Hawaii - Allerton Garden - Day 5

We're nearing the end of our Hawaii trip. Just a day and a half left before we have to head home. We've tried to keep a pretty slow schedule during our visit here, but there's one more big outing left for us.
Today we're going to see the nearby Allerton Garden, a local botanical garden. Tickets are $45 per person, but you can save 15% if you buy them online 24 hours in advance. When we woke up and looked outside this morning though, it was pouring rain. So much so that a small lake had formed on our patio. Maybe booking 24 hours in advance wasn't such a good idea...

Kauai Hawaii - Poipu Beach - Day 5

Our next day in Hawaii was again all about relaxing. Instead of staying at the hotel salt water lagoon, we drove down the road to Poipu Beach State Park.

Kauai Hawaii - Day 4 part 2

We're continuing our visit at the Kauai Plantation Railway. After lunch, it was time to explore the orchards.
We crossed the train tracks, trekked through a field and arrived at the orchards.

Kauai Hawaii - Kauai Plantation Railway Tour - Day 4 part 1

We've had a few days of relaxing on this vacation. It's time to get out and do something!
On the way to the car, we made sure to feed the swans our leftover coconut cake. They were certainly happy to receive it.

Kauai Hawaii - Day 2 and 3

It's day 2 in Hawaii. Food options certain do open up when we have the right tools.
For breakfast we made burritos stuffed with potatoes, bacon, eggs, cheese, and salsa. Add some pineapple and bagels and we're dining like kings.

Kauai Hawaii - Day 1

Ian, where are we going on vacation?

July 4th in Napa

It's the July 4th weekend and we're heading up to Napa to see my brother and his family. Let's fly!

Time-lapse of our Chalk Festival mural

I set up the GoPro to automatically take a picture every 60 seconds.
I clipped the GoPro onto the large sun umbrella, so I apologize in advance for all camera angle changes when people bumped it. Next time I'll use a tripod.
 Enjoy!

Bringing Epcot's Club Cool home

One place that I always visit while at Disney World is Club Cool at Epcot. There they have sodas from all around the world.
But, it doesn't have to stop after you go home! Our local World Market stocks a wide variety of sodas of all different types and they're typically $1.50 per bottle. I picked up many "interesting" flavors and was waiting for the chance to try them out.

Pasadena Chalk Festival Day 2 - Silent Auction and Chalk Winners - Sunday part 3

Every artist was asked to provide a 1'x1' painted canvas for the Light Bringer Project to auction off. Saturday was a busy day for it, but with the auction ending on Sunday at 6pm, most of the bidding happened then.
Because there was only so much space on the tables, and not enough space for all 200 canvases, the organizers took the paintings that had received a bid on Saturday and placed them on the outer tables where they'd get the most traffic. Canvases that didn't get any bids were placed together in a box that people could go through if they wished, but were mostly unseen.

Luckily mine had received a bid on the first day and was on an outer table. Time is just about up, it's way past the minimum $35 bid and would ultimately be sold for $65!

Pasadena Chalk Festival Day 2 - Sunday part 2

After Theresa, Ian, and Jacob left, Ruston and I had a job to do. Every team of artists are given a ballot and are asked to go around the festival and vote for the best in a variety of categories.

• Best of Festival
• Best Technique
• Best Rendition of a Masterpiece
• Best Animation Mural
• Most Inspirational
• Best Use of Color
• On the Way to MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Arts)
• Best 3D Effect
• Most Humorous
• Best in Chalk of Fame
• Best New Artist

Pasadena Chalk Festival Day 2 - Sunday part 1

It's the 2nd day of the Pasadena Chalk Festival. Ruston and I spent the first day getting something down on the ground, hoping to spend Sunday doing minor touchup. Let's see how our mural fared overnight.
Oh no...

Pasadena Chalk Festival Day 1 - Saturday part 2

It's time for part 2 of Saturday's Pasadena Chalk Festival. Ruston and I are hard at work trying to get our mural on the ground.

Pasadena Chalk Festival Day 1 - Saturday part 1

It's Father's Day weekend and the time Ruston and I have been practicing for is finally here.
The 23rd Annual Pasadena Chalk Festival is happening on Saturday and Sunday. But first, how did we get to this point.

2015 Belmont Shore Stroll and Savor

Who's hungry? It's summertime and that means the Belmont Shore Stroll and Savor is going on down in Long Beach. Every third Wednesday and Thursday of the month, from May to September, 45 different shops and restaurants offer tasty treats to passers by. It's become tradition for Theresa, Jacob and I to go, and somehow it happens that Rita, who has been here for 3 of the last 4 Stroll and Savors is here this year too.

2015 Pasadena Chalk Festival practice session

Every year, Theresa, Jacob, Ruston and I make sure we leave Father's Day weekend free so we can attend the Pasadena Chalk Festival. This year however is going to be a little different.

This year, not only will we be attending the festival, this year Ruston and I are actually competing!
On Saturday, June 13th, all the new artists were invited to attend a workshop, to help them with technique.

Our new baby is a...

Theresa's due in October and we just learned the gender. What's your guess? Boy or girl?

After the jump, you can watch the outtakes or just find out without watching the video.

Fisherman's Wharf and Ghiradelli Square

Today is our last day in San Francisco, but we're not done sight seeing. After checking out of our hotel, we headed straight to Fisherman's Wharf.
Along the way Ian said hello to a turtle.

Walt Disney Family Museum

Our trip to San Francisco wouldn't be complete without a trip to the Walt Disney Family Museum. The Disney Family Museum is actually one of the main reasons the five of us came up here and it's been on our list of places to visit for a while. After lunch at Panera Bread, we left for the Presidio.