thanksgiving/disneyland day

so luckily the weather on thursday didn't ruin our thanksgiving/disneyland day! we had a blast! left our apt at 11am and returned to our apt around...midnight! we were like two kids, giggly and giddy, all day long!

the highlight of the day would have to be pace scoring us reserved seats for the christmas fantasy parade. we had a great view 15 minutes before the parade started until one of the ushers on his high horse decided to make our whole section move...only so that five seconds later he could personally usher a group of giggly girls to our spot! pace sought out the closest disney rep (easily spotted in their bright red vests!) to tell of our unhappy pre-parade experience. the disney rep he found, just happened to be the director of said parade and escorted us to our reserved seats five minutes before the parade! it was quite fabulous. after the parade we enjoyed our thanksgiving feast at the blue bayou.

our night was complete once we had seen the christmas decorations at "it's a small world" and scored some super fast passes to "indiana jones"...yes! another score for us...we avoided the 45 minute wait, just by running into the right person at the right time. one of the cute girls i work with...her fiance is one of the ride operators...seriously... everything was coming up pace and katie!

thanks dad for our tickets and thanks russ and karen for our dinner! it was the best way to spend our first thanksgiving away from home!

happy thanksgiving

i hope that everyone has a wonderful thanksgiving filled with friends, family and fabulous food! pace and i are in rainy california today. our first thanksgiving away from the fam. our plan was to head to disneyland today...i am refusing to let the rain stand in my way! i will let you know how it goes!

happy thanksgiving!

we do exist

this is just my proof that pace and i do live in california near the beach. as i was re-organizing my blog i thought to my self, "gee...you don't have a very convincing argument that you live in beautiful sunny orange county. not one picture of you near anything that resembles a beach or nice weather."

so to make my self feel better...and for your enjoyment, here is a picture taken today of pace and on the pier. sunny laguna beach california. november 23rd and 80 degrees. beautiful.

my proof is now this picture.

p.s my hair totally looked better today than this picture would lead you to believe. albeit nice weather it was a bit windy and my ponytail is directly behind my head...not flattering at all. thank goodness for oversized sunglasses or this picture would be a real mess!! but, isn't the background fabulous and the guy next to me handsome?

deck the blog...

yeah! i am totally confident saying that the christmas season is finally upon us. no aruguing!!! that is not in the christmas spirit. my blog is officially decked out...as it is far to early to deck out the apartment! yeah!!! i have had tons of fun playing around and of course putting together the sounds of the season!!! i hope that all who read find enjoyment viewing, reading and listening!

tis the season!

a utah man am i...

go utes!

in memory of...

moyle c. jensen

november 15, 1932-november 17, 2008

on monday i lost one of my many grandpas. this is the first one i have lost since my move to california. moyle was a truly kind and gentle man. i have known him my entire life, and he will be greatly missed.

this picture absolutely captures his big smile, heart and spirit. luckily i was able to spend some time with moyle before i moved down here...those are moments i will hold dear. i am glad to know that he is with his beautiful deon again.

moyle,

you will be missed. give deon, lola and chloe a hug for me.

love, kate

"wicked"ly amazing!

thank you, thank you, thank you to russ and karen for an amazing friday night in downtown l.a.! russ and karen are here for a few days visiting us and they took pace and i to see "wicked" last night at the pantages theater! seriously, a wickedly amazing awesome night!

anyone who knows me knows of my pure love of musicals and this one is no exception. it was phenomenal! i mean, i cannot even put into words how moving this experience was. i was sitting in the pantages theater, in the same seats as the best of the best of old hollywood once sat. for those who are not familiar with the pantages theater, it is the birthplace of the academy awards. so couple the pantages theater with a fabulous musical in downtown l.a on a friday night and it equals katie in heaven.

my only wish is that i could have shared this experience with my grandma and my mom. they are the reason for my love of musicals.

if anyone has the opportunity to see this amazing show, go. you will not be sorry!

a special "thank you" to all veterans

i honor of our veterans i write this post saluting all those who have served or are currently serving our country. two of the greatest men i have known in my life are veterans, my two (biological) grandfathers, and i believe that today as american's we all owe our veterans a very special thank you.

so to all our veterans who have served or are currently serving our country, i say...

"thank you"

i dedicate this post to those generations who have served our country well

the greatest generation

thomas vawdrey

james jenkins

russell gardner, sr.

sam vicchrilli

mike allen

gordon hansen

the baby boomers

ken hanson

george elias

my fellow gen x'ers

mac vaughn

john scott

brady roe

clint hanson

clayton anderson

and to the many others...

thank you.

tres chic!

while browsing the web today i found this awesome website, shabby apple (visit http://www.shabbyapple.com/), which just happens to be hosting an even more fabulous contest! using the clothing and accessories on their website i had to design a vignette. an outfit that i would LOVE to wear...and believe me...i would LOVE LOVE LOVE to own this outfit!

i picked the most feminine dress on the website. i was completely enamored with the neckline...and the name...saffron. just sounds delicious! and being me, i accented with a few of my favorite things...gold bangels, black boots, and lets not forget some sort of animal print! the clutch was just too katie to pass up! very vintage inspired...but yet very 80's in the bow shape.

my outfit, which i am calling "tres chic"...for my three favorite things represented...gold, black and overtly glam accessories...12 gold bracelets...need i say more!

i am absolutely loving the 80's feel of this outfit! the booties, the gold bangels (there are 12 of them!), and lets not forget the fabulous belt! a perfect way to accent the narrowest part of me...my waist! and the width of the shoulders will help to balance my hips and shoulders making me oh so curvy!!!

if i could have i would have selected a pair of dark tights or opaque nylons to spice it up for winter time or evenings in utah...but in this fabulous orange county i don't have to be worried about covering my legs and i can just wear the booties!

pick me pick me pick me!!! i want this outfit soo very badly, i am considering purchasing it...even on my small-i am helping to support my boyfriend and i while he is getting his masters and working retail cause they pay me well-budget!

tres tres chic!

proud to be an american

just have to say that i did take my own advice and went out to vote this morning. i am proud to say that today i voted for change and said no to discrimination. with the results of this election, i can truly say that...

i am proud to be an american. so much so that i found myself tearing up watching the speeches. i have to say that senator mccain offered a wonderful concession speech, i was surprised and pleased. president elect obama is such a wonderful orator, a powerful speaker. i am very much looking forward to listening to his upcoming speeches. not in 8 years have i felt so strongly, or been so emotional regarding an election. it feels so good to have my faith restored.

i am excited to see what the next four years will bring.

congratulations president elect obama and congratulations to the american people. today is a fantastic day in our country's history. one that i will not forget.