California Vacay

After our Comicon adventure was over it was time to drive out to California for cooler temperatures. Our first stop was in Mission Viejo, to see my cousin May and her twin girls - Hannah and Hattie. I don't know which ones which, but they are both adorable!

We headed home to Arroyo Grande that same night and after resting a day or two, hit our favorite hometown beach - Avila.



Sienna and I lazed about most of the time but still ventured to the touristy spots - Madonna Inn for example.



We visited the coffee shop for a fine dessert and took in the pink splendor.



 

A couple weeks later it was time to head to LA and visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Hollywood.

 

Here's our hotel,

 

and our shuttle to the park the next morning.

 

 

Here is the village of Hogsmeade in the Wizarding World, where all things fun occur.  The only problem with this and the other pictures is that they don't show how miserably HOT it was.... 106 to be exact, which for California is C R A Z Y.

 



 



 

Here we are enjoying the delicious frozen concoction called Butterbeer.

 

 

It wasn't all about Harry Potter.  We visited Minion Land too!

 

We even rode more daring rides, such as the Mummy (a roller coaster) and Jurassic Park, a water ride.  Here we are getting off the Jurassic Park ride, where we were significantly soaked.

 

That was our Day 1 adventure.  Day 2 had to be postponed as I became ill later that night, probably due to heat-related illness and motion sickness.  The good news is that after a day of rest, we were able to go into the park for Day 2.  I decided not to ride anything though, just to play it safe.  Sienna rode her Harry Potter rides one more time and we went a little crazy buying awesome Harry Potter wares.  Then it was time to drive back home to Arizona.

 

We did it!

 

 

COMICON!

Soon after the graduation excitement subsided, Sienna and I focused our attention on our next big event - Phoenix ComicCon.  ComicCon is short for Comic Convention which is a place for fangirls, fanboys, and nerds to meet all at once to celebrate such geekiness of all types:  books, magazines, tv shows, movies, etc.  Last year we attended for one day and had a lot of fun.  This year we purchased week long passes so that we could attend every day - 4 to be exact!  One of the best things to do at Comic Con is to dress up as your favorite characters - something called Cosplay.  Since we were going for 4 days, we wanted to have 4 different cosplays.

 

So here's the cosplay - play by play, or day by day - if you will.

 

Day 1 - It's all about HARRY POTTER AND THE HOUSE OF GRYFFINDOR

Sienna and I are both cosplaying as Gryffindor students from Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry.

 

 

We had fun strolling about and were even asked to be in some pictures by fans of Harry Potter who appreciated our costumes.  People watching is probably the biggest pastime of Comicon but there are other things to do - like visit the Hall of Heroes.  They have a virtual Star Wars Zone, in addition to other fandoms.  Here we are with frozen Han Solo and -

 

the ever-so-popular and oh-so-cool stormtrooper!

 

 

Day 2 - IT'S ALL ABOUT THE TWILIGHT SAGA

 

I am Bella Swan, fragile human from New Moon, depicting when she runs across a public square to save her love - Edward, a vampire.

 

You have to imagine a sea of red, and me splashing across a fountain, just like the picture below.

 

How'd I do? 

Unfortunately Sienna had orientation at ASU, so she came late and didn't dress up.  So Day 2 is all me!

Day 3 - IT'S ALL ABOUT OUTLANDER AND DR. WHO

I am cosplaying Claire Beauchamp Randall Fraser, the time-traveling nurse from Diana Gabaldon's outstanding Outlander book series.

 

Claire travels through time, from 1946 to 1743, and does so by passing through magical and mystical stones.

Here is a picture of her prior to passing through, leaving her current husband, Frank Randall, to find her new husband, Jamie Fraser.

 

Now on to Sienna's cosplay.  She loves Dr. Who, a British science-fiction tv show, which coincidentally also follows a time traveler.  She is cosplaying Matt Smith, the 11th doctor.

The blue box behind Sienna is called the Tardis, and it is how the doctor travels through time.

There are various monsters from the show, this robot-style one is called a Dalek.

 

Perhaps the scariest monster from Dr. Who is the Weeping Angels.  Here is Sienna with one of them.  Although it looks like a statue, this is actually a cosplayer from Comicon with one of the best costumes I've ever seen.

Here is a pic of Matt Smith, her costume inspiration.

Day 4 - IT'S ALL ABOUT SHADOWHUNTERS AND BIG BANG THEORY

 

Sienna chose to be Isabelle Lightwood, a Shadowhunter from the Mortal Instrument Series by author Cassandra Clare.  Shadowhunters basically kill demons.  They wear runes, or tattoos, which are used to give them strength, powers, and abilities to heal quickly.

 

Here is Isabelle Lightwood.

I chose to portray Sheldon Cooper, the socially awkward genius from The Big Bang Theory.
He always wears superhero t-shirts with a long-sleeve underneath, and slacks.

 

Here he is.

 

 

 

It's also all about MEET AND GREETS! 

 

Another one of the great things about Comicon is the opportunity to meet actors, actresses, authors, and artists from our favorite fandoms.

 

Have you ever seen The Karate Kid movies?  Or read The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton?  Seen My Cousin Vinny?  Well if so, then you must know Ralph Macchio.  He played Johnny Cade in The Outsiders, which is one of my favorite young adult fiction books.  So I got a photo with him!  And I also attended his panel, which was a Q &A session with him and two other actors from The Karate Kid.

 

We also met Diana Gabaldon, author of The Outlander Series, and got our books signed.

 

We also went to Diana's panel, which was a great opportunity to hear her speak about her books, characters, ideas, and the process behind the scenes of her story being adapted to the tv show for Starz.

Sienna also got a meet and greet with Alex Kingston, who played River Song, a companion to Matt Smith's Dr. Who.  She also played Dr. Corday on ER.

 

How's that for a Comicon experience!  Until next year.......

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Graduation

It is very evident that my blogging activity has significantly dwindled, as Sienna graduated almost 2 months ago and there is no proof of it on the blog!  So sorry for the delay.  I can't promise I'll do better, but I always at least like to share the highlights of our lives.  So here goes.

 

Here is the view from our very hard to find seats in the bleachers at Perry High School.  Luckily it wasn't too hot and the ceremony wasn't terribly long.

 

It took us awhile to finally find her on the field afterward, but when we did - it was a photo fest!

 

She did it!  And so well too!

 

 

Her graduation party followed the next day and was a fun and well-attended event.

Here are the decorations, some of which Sienna did herself (photo ribbons).

 

 

Sadly I forgot to take a picture of the food table - but trust me - it was a good one.  It was an Italian menu:  Fettucine Chicken Alfredo, Lasagna, Caesar salad, Italian salad, and rolls galore!  Yummy!  Kudos to Rob and Grandpa for preparing all the food. 

 

 

Speaking of - here are her lovely grandparents who flew all the way out from New Jersey!

 

 

Lots of band friends!

 

Graduation cake!

 

 

 

Photo booths!

 

 

 



 

Thanks to our family and friends who contributed to the development of this fine young lady!