It's All Happening.

You guys, it's all happening.

I've been to the new Cafe Rio in Lake Forest. If there were an adjective in the English language that could describe the exquisite pleasure and joy that resulted from this opportunity, then I'd use it right now. I think the only word that even comes close is SCRUMTRILLESCENT.

Editor's Note: This post is actually a bit delayed, because I wanted to recap our PA trip first. But in a nutshell, we returned from our Christmas vacation on a Wednesday, recuperated on Thursday, and then took off to Disneyland and Cafe Rio on Friday. I insisted, and Tim did not object. :-)

The day actually started out really badly! First, Tim's sunglasses broke. Argh. (Is it just us, or do other people constantly find their sunglasses to be broken, too? We stopped buying nice sunglasses years ago. We're all about the $10 pairs from Target, because seriously, they'll probably be broken in two weeks anyway.)

Then, when we walked out to our car, we discovered a parking ticket on our windshield. Double argh. (Don't worry, I'm appealing the ticket. The Parking Citations office will have to pull that $42.50 from my cold, dead fingers.)

Then, we arrived at the Disneyland parking garage, only to realize that we'd left the stroller at home. TRIPLE ARGH!!! We decided that it would take too long to drive all the way back home just for the stroller, and because we're too cheap to rent one (since we were only planning on staying for a few hours), it was all shoulders for Weston that day. He took turns riding on our shoulders, and he occasionally ran around on his own. And whichever person wasn't carrying him was carrying the diaper bag. (The lack-of-diaper-bag-storage part of our stroller dilemma was almost more annoying than the lack-of-Weston-storage. Although Weston gets heavy, at least his legs and butt are soft and squishy on our shoulders. The diaper bag, on the other hand, kind of cuts into your skin after a while, especially when it's full of snacks and water bottles, not to mention Weston's bulky blankie.)

So, it was a rough morning. But don't worry!! There's a happy ending!! And its name is Cafe Rio.

TA DA!!!!! (It was a welcome change to drive all the way down to Lake Forest and discover that the Cafe Rio was actually open, haha!)

Both the Cafe Rio truck and the Cafe Rio mobile were parked outside:

Inside, it looked EXACTLY THE SAME (although the Lake Forest location is super spacious in comparison to the Provo location):

And it wasn't crowded at all, which I suppose is one advantage of going at 3:30 in the afternoon. I was half expecting to see people I knew, since I assumed the place would be full of Utah expats like us. However, the clientele looked pretty typical (although I did see several people greeting each other as they came and went).

When we got in line and placed our orders, I had a brief moment of panic where I wondered if it was going to be anything like real Cafe Rio, or if it was going to be weird and different instead. The employees behind the counter seemed to be less synchronized than the folks in Utah, but then again, the place had only been open for two or three weeks, so I'll cut them some slack. Plus, they were all exceedingly friendly. Seriously... really, REALLY nice and helpful. It was great.

And in the end, we got exactly what we wanted, and it tasted EXACTLY the same. SO GOOD. SO GOOD!!! For Tim, the pork burrito, enchilada-style, with black beans and red sauce:

For Jean, the Cafe Rio salad with shredded chicken, black beans, and tomatillo dressing:

And for Weston, a free child's quesadilla!! (Did you know that they serve free quesadillas to the kids? I did not know that!! Yet another reason to fall in love with Cafe Rio once again!!) (It's funny how oblivious you are to kid-related things when you don't have children, which we didn't when we were living in Utah!)

Once we were sitting, I got a couple of crazy faces:

And then some normal faces:

This is my "I am near to heaven" pose:

Surprisingly, Weston showed zero interest in his yummy little quesadilla. (Usually he really likes quesadillas, so I was confused.) Eventually we realized that all he wanted to eat were the little, crunchy tortilla strips that were on top of my salad. So, I gave him a little pile of them. He nibbled. Then he insisted on dipping them into my tomatillo dressing like I was doing. So, I gave him a little puddle of tomatillo dressing for dipping. HE LOVED IT. THAT WAS ALL HE ATE.

Dip:

Lick, then bite:

And dip again (i.e., recipe for a happy Weston):

So, it was great to be back at the Rio. A ginormous thanks to Heather and Gangy & Grandalf who made it happen for Team Anderson! THANKS, YOU GUYS!!!!! I'm hoping to go as often as humanly possible. I still can't believe that Cafe Rio is just 75 minutes away now. We're meeting up with a few of our friends there later this week, and I could not be more thrilled. I think Cafe Rio should be the official meet-up location for OC and LA people from now on. :-)

Finally, here's my triumphant freeze-frame-at-the-end-of-the-TV-show pose:

An EXTRA Special Treat

For the thrilling conclusion of my "PA Holidays" blog posts, I present to you the Worldwide Premiere of "Gangy Plays the 'Beatles Rock Band' Drums."

This video is a tribute to Gangy (Tim's mom) and her first go at the drums for the "Beatles Rock Band" video game, which Tim's brother Jeremy got for Christmas. YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED... especially if you love the Beatles, the drums, hysterical laughter, and/or unrestricted hilarity.

Enjoy. :-)

PA Holidays #5: All About Abbie

Towards the end of my visit to PA, I had the immense pleasure of seeing my good friend Abbie in New York City!!! Abbie used to live one building away from me in Wymount in Provo, but because Tim and I moved out at the end of summer 2006, it's been over THREE years since I've seen her. Over that time, she and her husband Forrest moved with their baby boy to Texas to start a new job; they had a baby girl; and then they relocated again to NYC so that Forrest could start medical school at Columbia (P&S). Whoo!! Thanks to blogs, I've been able to keep up with Abbie during all these adventures, and a little over two weeks ago, I was finally able to see her IN PERSON!!! YAAAAAAAAY!!! (Super shout-out to Tim, who stayed in Lansdale with Weston so that I could travel in peace. Honey, thank yooooouuuuu!!)

Jean and Abbie:

As you may have noticed, Abbie is stunningly gorgeous. I think she looks like Liv Tyler with a little bit of Natasha Bedingfield mixed in. It's no wonder that she has ridiculously adorable children. Here's Eli:

And here's Audrie:

They are bundles of pure joy. It was so wonderful to get to know them after only seeing them in photo-form for so long!! Most of the pictures that I got feature Audrie, since Eli is a whole lot more active and moves a little too fast sometimes for my camera to capture. But look at this cuteness!!

I learned from watching Abbie (as I always learn from my two-children friends) that it's not easy being a mom to two children, especially when they're little and very energetic. But I also learned from watching Abbie that it is so wonderful and entirely doable. She somehow, magically, manages to split herself all day long between caring for Audrie and addressing her needs, and giving Eli the attention that he requires, too (all the while also cooking, cleaning, erranding, and doing all those other fun mom things!). She has really, REALLY got her act together. I hope I can be as attentive and synchronized as she is when I have two children!

After visiting with Abbie and her kids for a while in her home, she asked me what I'd like to do, and I made a special request. So, she took us all on a field trip! Now like I said, it's not easy raising two kids. But it's extra-not-easy raising two kids in the city. Holy cow, it's hard!!! But if anyone can do it with grace and determination, it's Abbie. She's only been in NYC for a few months now, but already she knows the ropes. She's a subway pro, and she is so nonchalant about navigating the city in the cold with a double stroller. She's basically like a young mom version of Sex and the City.

Look at these cuties on the subway!!

I love this picture... look at Eli's face!! Haha!

This sounds really dorky and touristy, but it's fun to ride the subway (especially when you're just tagging along with someone else who knows exactly what to do). The not fun part? Carrying a double stroller (complete with two children inside) up two flights of stairs to the street, which was really more like four flights of stairs since there was a break half-way up each flight. HOLY SCHNIKIES. I was literally gasping for breath at the top of all those stairs. I bet Abbie has developed some serious guns from living in the city and carrying children all the time when the elevators are broken. SO HARD. SO HARD. But we made it, and I survived, and Abbie was very supportive, and now I'm even stronger. :-)

Our first destination was the Imagine Mosaic in Central Park:

In memory of John Lennon, we took the mosaic's advice:

Then we wandered through the city a bit!! Having grown up just two hours from the Big Apple, I've had the opportunity a number of times in my life to visit and explore. But being there with Abbie that day made me realize how much I love big, tight, bustling, East Coast cities. Sigh. Plus, it was a sunny, chilly day, so it was especially beautiful.

Eli and Audrie got good and bundled for our voyage. They are troopers!! Look at this cute little peekaboo:

And..... TA DA!!! It's Magnolia Bakery on Columbus Avenue!!! YAAAAAAAY!!!

I've been hearing good things (very good things) about Magnolia Bakery for several years, ever since I started becoming obsessed with Sprinkles and Dots and other gourmet baked goods. But Magnolia has always felt like the one that started it all. And you guys, I discovered some hardcore sugary goodness there. HARDCORE. (And did you hear that they're opening a Magnolia Bakery here in LA? Sweeeeeeet!)

Check this place out:

Whenever I'm in a shop like this, I usually go for a cupcake. But that day, I took the sign's advice and bought something that I've never gotten at a bakery before:

That banana pudding was beyond sensational. It had big, soft chunks of vanilla wafers mixed in, and it was so creamy and so rich that it almost had the consistency of ice cream (if the ice cream were at room temperature). It was heavenly. Thank you, Abbie, and thank you, Magnolia, for forever changing my perception of banana pudding. :-)

Abbie's selections did not disappoint, either. She got a mini pumpkin pecan cheesecake:

... and a peanut butter blondie:

(Is your mouth watering yet?) Naturally, we first took pictures of our delicacies:

And then we tucked in! YUM!

It was a lovely time. Abbie's kids were SO well-behaved the entire time. Towards the end of our stop at Magnolia, they received their reward/bribe: Starbursts and mini candy canes!!

Isn't Abbie so cute with her kids??

Abbie, I love you! Thank you for such an awesome visit! I can't wait to do it again!!!

PA Holidays #4: The Finnster's Big Day!

One of the most special parts of our time in PA was being able to attend our nephew Finn's baby blessing!! It was so wonderful!! LOOK AT THIS LITTLE GUY!!! Don't you just want to squish and cuddle him?? (It's hard being all the way over in CA again and no longer being able to squish-cuddle that little nugget.) Finn weighed over 10 lbs. when he was born, and fortunately he still has lots of that gleeful, smiley squishiness for Auntie Jean to enjoy. :-)

That Sunday morning, I happened to actually (gasp!) get ready with a little extra time to spare, so I passed the time by taking a bunch of photos of Weston in his church clothes. He LOVES this ottoman at the window at Gangy's house:
Peekaboo!! (Yes, the Mommy-razzi is taking pictures of you again.)

Love him.

Ahh, love him even more now...

After Sacrament meeting, I attempted to gather the folks who participated in the blessing, but a few disappeared to Sunday School before I could snag them. However, here's a nice picture of the family members, plus Jason (there in the back) who is a close friend of Dana and Jay's. (Look at Finn staring at Grandalf!! Precious!):

And here's the cutie patootie Carlin clan. Isn't this a great picture? I love those guys:

And the man of the hour!!! Awww, we love Finn:

Weston and Killian hung out in the chapel while we all visited and took pictures. Weston's looking at Killian and thinking that looks pretty comfy:

"Hey, maybe I'll give that a try..."

And that's what brings us to this last photo...

Does Sacrament meeting end any other way, really? Haha!