Engaged!

Great news!!!! Allen and I had been planning a Disneyland trip for weeks and at first it was going to be just us. But somehow we started planning and inviting for more people. But I didn't mind because it had been ages since I had gone on a big family trip. Plus It would have been the first time my family would meet his. I was pretty excited we all were. Then Allen made it so that it would fall around the time our friend Randy would be down on break from the Airforce academy. So not only did we have a four day weekend because of work letting us have thanksgiving and black friday off. Then we had disneyland on the next day and sunday to relax. Was going to be great!

Everything seemed perfect. Until things started happening. I was starting to get worried. First, the date we set the trip on didnt go well with our work pay period. So everyone was low on cash. Then situations kept happening where people couldn't go. Then the remaining people started catching colds. On top of that we found out it was supposed to rain that day. I asked him everyday are you sure we should go this week what if we just waited another week or so? But nope he insisted we go when we planned. Plus it was the only time Randy could go. Allen and I were pretty sick so we just slept and took meds until the day before. We had to decide and see how we were doing and if we were even going to go after all. He said it was up to me. I asked him will you be terribly disappointed if we don't go this week? He said yes but he knew that we were sick and didn't want to push it. Well because we slept so much and had decent medicine I was feeling ok enough to go. And I didn't want to disappoint Allen even though I knew he understood. So in the morning we left. Allen, Me, Randy, and Silver(my brothers girlfriend). My sister and her friend would meet us later.

We get there and wait for the tram to take us to the entrance. We started at California adventure. The first ride they wanted to go on was Tower of Terror.


There's no way anyone could get me on that ride. So I waited outside while they rode. Allen felt bad for leaving me behind so he said I could choose what we do next. So I said the monsters inc ride. We get there and it's closed. But Silver and I did get a picture with Sully from Monsters Inc. hehehe

So we said ok toy story mania. We get there...it's closed...uhg ok so we go to this place I cant remember what it's called. It looks small on the outside but you go inside and it's a room filled with massive screens and they play songs from disney movies while showing concept art from the films. There are other doorways to different activities the area we always go in starts out like a wizards magic room. you can see neat animations in there and the magic mirror from snow white is in there and he talks it's cool. you go in a bit deeper and you end up in the Beasts library from Beauty and the Beast. You can take this interactive quiz to see what Disney character you are.

And the room changes it's pretty neat. If you stand in there long enough it goes from the beautiful lit up library then lightning flashes and the room gets dark and more cursed like in the story. When your done in there you follow the path and you end up in Ursala's grotto. It looks like your under the sea in the sea witches cavern. there are small chambers you stand in with friends or family and you can voice over songs or clips from movies. It's hilarious. Especially when the guys tried to sing high pitched. After wards we left that area Silver said "Candace you havn't even been on a ride yet." We were going to get on soaring california but the wait was too long. So we went and saw the 3D muppet show.

Allen and I had been checking on the weather all day. And when we came out of the show it was looking pretty cloudy outside and getting kinda cold. We all were thinking nooooo stay away rain. We went back to Soaring CA and the wait and line were waaay short. So we decided to go this time. I had never been on it so I had no idea what to expect. We tried to stay entertained in line. I really needed to blow my nose and so did Allen. we all agreed since there isn't much more to do in CA adventure that this would be the last ride there then off to Disneyland. It actually turned out to be more fun than I thought. Aside from the cheesy intro. But the way the ride was set up and the fact that you aren't really that high up. It was just neat. And we got to see part of Allen's home town in the ride. :0D Plus when we got out it was sunny again and no clouds. Whew close call.

We made a bathroom stop and blew noses and did what you do in bathrooms then proceeded to Disneyland. You always appreciate Disneyland so much more when you start at CA Adventure lol. We started off on Buzz lightyear.
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Silver had never been on that right so she and I shared a cart. Was really fun and I think I got a higher score than I ever had on that ride.

It was nothing compared to a few other peoples but it's still cool. We walked around trying to figure out what to do next. They wanted to go on Pirates of the Caribbean. I have a love hate relationship with that ride. I hate hate haaate the 2 drops in the beginning but I absolutely love the rest of the ride after that. I musterd up the courage to go on it when Allen and I had gone a year ago. But this time I just really didnt want to. But I was going to go on it anyway so that they could. Allen didnt want to leave me behind so we wouldnt go on rides if I didnt want to. But then I felt bad and didnt want to be a party pooper. Lucky for me we got there and that ride was closed too. Man what the heck?But I didnt care I was quite relieved in fact heheheh So we decided to go on Haunted Mansion. Since it was Christmas at Disneyland the Haunted Mansion was Nightmare before Christmas style.

Was pretty cool but I agree with Silver I still like the original Haunted Mansion better. We found out silver had also never been on Winnie the Pooh so we went there and guess what? Closed! hahah why were all the rides closed? They said ohh theres been a honey spill......what? hahahahah Oh well we went to eat. We ate at the Hungry Bear. Was pretty good from what I could taste. My nose was kind of stuffy. We stopped at a few shops Silver and I bought some clip on ears. I got pooh ears and Silver got minnie ears.

We kept seeing a few random people wearing so we made it our quest to find them. She also got my brother some cool drum sticks. It was starting to get dark and Allen and I were feeling really crummy. We had left some of our medicine in the car thinking we wouldnt need it. so we decided to split and go get those while Randy and Silver went on other rides that they knew I wouldn't go on, Splash Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean. I cant remember all of them but yeah Allen and I traveled and got on the monorail. We were talking and then Allen says uhhh is that raindrops on the window? we stuck our hand out a little bit and it was starting to sprinkle! nooo! We got off the monorail and headed to the tram area so we could get to the parking structure. It started sprinkling a little harder. I was dreading the rain because I knew we were supposed to watch the Holiday firework show but if it rained they would most likely cancel it. And we were only going to be there that night! I prayed. I asked God to please hold it back make it go away so we can complete this wonderful day with no problems. We got to the parking area and found our car. We took our medicine and parked our care somewhere closer so we wouldnt have to walk forever at the end of the night. And by the time we went back out to get on the tram to take us back the clouds were gone! Was a miracle! I was so relieved I think we all were for more reasons then I knew. So we met back up with Randy and Silver we had to bring them their coats because they were wet from splash mountain. I was keeping in touch with my sister via text we would meet up when we were gonna see the fireworks. The 4 of us decided to go on finding Nemo.
This ride usually has a huge line but all day we kept ending up with short wait times. We expected the park to be packed because it was 2 days after thanksgiving. But it really wasnt that bad. The finding Nemo ride is just ok. I kind of wish I had gone on the submarine rides as a kid I keep hearing from people they were better before the Nemo revamp. Its a cute ride. After words we went on a few other rides I had never been on before. I tried the Matterhorn for the first time. That was uber fun. Not what I expected. It was fast but no drops but still exciting. I loved it.

Then at 7:55 pm we returned to the Indiana Jones ride. We had fast passed it earlier before we went on the jungle cruise. And I am so glad because we would have been waiting FOREVER if we didnt the line was huge. I had been afraid of this ride sense I was a kid. I had never been on it but commercials and the way people described it made it sound so scary. So I never went on it. But I decided to finally just try it. And it was so worth it!!! That ride rocked! All the super scary stuff I heard about wasnt even that scary. There were no drops and it was just very exciting. :) I would definitely go on it again.

After that ride it was dark and getting closer to firework time. We went scouting for a spot. Allen and Randy asked a worker where the fake snow would come from so we found a spot on the street near one of the snow machines. All our phones were dying but I had just enough time to call my sister and they found us. We sat around and shared snacks and talked and joked around.
It was nice. I dont get to see my sister too often so it was nice to be there with her. Then finally the show starts. It was neat. Disney really knows how to put on a good firework show. And they always know how to make it all emotional with their inspirational music. The fireworks were a lot shorter than I remember but it was still neat. Once it ended we looked around for the snow. Then I looked up to my right and pointed it out to my sis and her friend. We looked at that then they gave me a big hug. It caught me off gaurd. Then I heard him. A simple "hey" from Allen. And as I turn around everyone in our little group is looking at me and Allen is on one knee with the ring and asks "will you marry me?" I was stunned. I never knew what I would do when this moment came. Because to be honest most of my life I never thought I could ever get a boyfriend much less get married. Some wemon jump around and scream, some wemon cry. I never thought I would do either. But at that moment all I could say was "yes" then the tears came and I cried tears of joy and placed the ring on my finger.

He held me and even admitted he got teary eyed. They were all happy for us. Got lots of hugs. I think I would have jumped around more in excitement if I wasn't sick. It was all so surreal. It was one of those, did this whole day just happen? type of things. I love my ring and I love Allen so much!!! My sister and her friend had to leave an hour or so after all that. We went on a few more rides and exploring before we left. Winnie the pooh opened up again so we went on that. Then Star Tours which I love but I got real worried for Silver who got motion sick. but never puked! Good for her! But I felt so bad :0( I forgot how easily she gets effected. By midnight we were ready to be home. So we left :D

It's been a week since it all happened. We are both feeling a lot better and everyday it sinks in more that Im actually engaged and we are so excited. Allen has been even more wonderful than usual. He is completely dedicated to being one as a couple. And making decisions and doing things together. I mean he was like that for the most part before, but now even more so because we are engaged. I want to start planning the wedding. My mom is panicking about the money. So she says to take it easy right now. Which I understand My sisters wedding cost a lot and the economy is rough right now. Besides I dont want anything to be rushed. Things will happen when they happen. I am just excited and so looking forward to spending my life with the man I love so much. I can not wait to marry him. :D

Uncharted 2 Movico Shindigg

Well once again Allen won something from Twitter heheheh. Not that it's a bad thing. We have been to some really fun events this past year because he is so good at finding deals and contests. This time wasn't something we were anticipating and trying real hard to go to but it turned out to be an exciting night.
September 25th Allen saw a promotion on twitter for a free ticket to Movico for a special Uncharted 2 event. Uncharted 2 is the sequel to Uncharted obviously. Both games for Sony play station 3. They were offering only fifty free tickets and all you had to do was give some information. They were having these events all around the U.S. Allen looked into it further and saw that they were holding one in thousand oaks! thats like 30-45 mins from where we live. So he quickly gave his info and within minutes received his ticket online. He was also able to bring a guest of course :0) the only problem was the ticket only said his name and no info about guests. He tried contacting representatives and never heard anything. He looked it up online and saw other people were just as confused. He kept in touch with other people who won the tickets and finally someone confirmed that they were replied to and they could bring a guest. So that settled it. We waited a week or two until Monday the 7th came around.
We left work early that day and headed to T.O. and we got to Movico an hour early. There were a good amount of people there. But due to technical difficulties they couldnt register any of our tickets yet. But we did enter a raffle. So we waited a bit tried to stay focused. A couple times we thought of leaving. Allen is mostly a Xbox360 player. But he did like Uncharted. And he doesnt like to miss opportunities for free tickets anywhere heheh. So we stuck around until they finally started registering people. We lined up and they checked names. Turns out there was going to be a gaming tournament so they were splitting people into teams. I was getting worried because I had never even played the first game and I am so awful at shooter games. I kept telling Allen I refuse to play. They cant force me. Turns out that if you brought a guest then only one out of the two could be in the tournament. *soooo disappointing* lol jk I was releived and obviously Allen was going to compete so they put the wristband on him with his team name and we went back to wait. we were standing for a good while and our legs and feet were starting to get tired so we decided to sit by this large pillar. But wouldnt you know as soon as we sat down the line started moving and they let people in. uhg lol The doors were suppose to open at 5:45pm but we didnt really get in until after 6 pm.
It was a very nice theater. This was the first time we both had been to a Movieco. Most of them are in Florida. And then there is one random one in Illinois and another in Thousand Oaks California. You get inside and there is a nice large screen and the seats were plush and leather. And some reclined. Up at the top of the seats Bogarts the restaurant upstairs was catering this event. We got free food and drinks and popcorn. It was delicious!

At the bottom was ten smaller screens and play station 3 consoles. Thats where the teams would compete. Then on the big screen they would show one or two peoples games during the tournament. There were about 12 teams and three rounds in each elimination.
The first thing to get started the MC comes out and introduces himself and gets the crowd all excited. He then introduces one of the Co Creators of the game and the rest of Naughty Dog Games(the game developing company).

He gave us some background on the game and the Co creator let us watch a few mins of never before seen footage. Then the first out of three raffles. This round the winner got a pack of assorted games. Allen nor I won. We were looking to win something because we know we can sell it on ebay and game stuff usually goes for a lot and we could use the money right now. But alas raffle one nothing. After the raffel the first two teams were placed up to the consoles. The rules were explained and the rounds began. It was fun to watch. 10 people on multiplayer mode. Some people took it really serious trying to strategise and other people were there to have fun. And if they won the grand prize it was a bonus. There were three prizes to win. 3rd place was a signed Uncharted 2 poster by the Naughty Dog crew. One for each player on the team. 2nd place got a signed copy of the first game. Which im sure most people will sell because if your at the premier of the 2nd game you most likely have the first one already. And for the 1st place grand prize. You get a pre release copy of the Uncharted 2 game a huge art book filled with game art and a life size replica of a special dagger from the game. There are only 200 of these made in the world. A rare and expensive item for free if your team beats 11 other teams. This tournament went on from 6-11Pm. Was intense. And the pressure was on for Allen. See Earlier in the evening we found out that every contestant who participated, even those who lost. Wont leave empty handed. Every contestant still got a pre release of the game and a t shirt and a poster. So Allen and I thought. Well there is no point in having a dagger replica or art book. There is no where to put it. And with 200 only its a rare item. If he won that he could still have the game and sell the collecters edition for mad money on ebay. Much needed money. He just wanted to game and he already got that just for being a player. The pressure was on. Not only was he not as familiar with PS3 controls but they didnt allow inverting in the contest to make it fair. And Allen always plays with inverted controls. So he was quite nervous.
His team didnt do as well in the first round but every round after that they won. Well first elimination round they made it. There was a second raffle for a Duel Shock PS3 Controller. We didnt win that either. Dang it. We got to see more game play footage and then round two with only 6 teams left. And once again Allen's Team prevailed. We were getting excited. At first we didn't think we had a chance at winning the grand prize but they made it to the second round and it gave us a little more hope. Well by the third round they showed one more exciting piece of footage. and then the third raffle this was for a PSP Go its the newest version of the PSP which is a potable playstation kind of like Sonys version of a gameboy. And a bluetooth gaming headset. Oh man we really wanted to win that could go for a lot for sure. But nope :0( actually a guy Allen knows was there and he ended up winning that. Was kinda funny. Well it was time for round three and they called for the remaining 3 teams captains to go down to the gaming area. Allens team captain got there first. Then the 2 others. Well Allens team and one other team swept the others in the previous round which means the other team didnt win one round against them. But because there were three teams left his team and the other team who swept had to flip a coin for a bi. Allens team won the toss which means that the other two teams had to play each other first and whoever won that went against Allens team.
So finally it comes down to the very last elimination rounds it's Allens team vs. the other winners. I was up in the seats praying to God please let us win. We need the money so bad and just be with him and his teammates and let then stay calm and keep a steady head. Help them win I trust you God. I felt a feeling of calmness and knew it would be ok no matter what happened as long as I trusted. 1st round boom Allen's team wins. 2nd round and last round because you only have to win 2 out of three. I was on the edge of my seat biting my fingers my palms cold and sweaty. The guy sitting next to me asked if that was my boyfriend down there and I said yes. He chuckled and said I figured heheh he saw how anxious I was. The time was almost up and Allen's team was ahead one point and BOOM! times up and Allen's team wins the tournament!!!!!!!! Crowd was cheering and I was so proud of him. And his teammates. Was so amazing and so surreal. Even Allen was like did that really just happen? And not only was his team named Fortune Hunter but that was the name of the collectors edition!!! We joked saying it was fate.

Unfortunately they weren't given their prizes up front. Instead they were given an affidavit. Stating what they won, that they wont go stab people with the dagger, and that they have to pay taxes on the prize they worked so hard for. UHG! I was kind of annoyed at that but thanks to this wonderful government like all large prizes you have to pay taxes on them. So I guess nothing is really free. And another annoying thing is they have to get this form notarized. Which isnt a bad thing but none of the reps could do it! SO now each person has to go find a way to get it notarized then mail it out and wait for a large box to be delivered. Luckily we know people at work who can do it. So now we just have to do that and wait for the prize. Im really interested to see how much it will sell for. Not only is it a pre release but a special edition worth $300+ Video game stuff goes for a lot when its rare and people think they absolutely have to have it. Last Christmas or the one before Nintendo Wii's were hard to find and they were selling for over $1000 on ebay. We are hoping we can get a good amount. We have bills and other things we need to pay for. :0S After signing things and getting their gift bags a small group of young people came up to them. Apparently they are from a not so well known gaming site and wanted an interview with the team. So that was kind of cool.

Oh man it was such an exciting time. And I thank God I met Allen. We have experienced so many amazing things together. Ahhh! Good times.

Blink 182!

So weeks after that last bit of drama, Allen and I hung out with our buddy Charlie and some of his friends for his birthday. Was a fun drama free night with some great funny nice people.

But we still felt like getting out of town and just relaxing away from it all. Well we kind of got to this past week. Blink 182 got back together this year and Allen had bout tickets for us months in advanced because once Blink announced they were back together tickets sold like hot cakes. SO anyway we welcomed the vacation. We left late Sunday afternoon took about two hours maybe a little more because we hit some traffic.
We got to our hotel in Bakersfield and it was nice. It looked fairly new but it was so bizarre because there were hardly any guests. Ive never been to such an empty hotel. But Allen made a good point it was the end of the weekend and not many people would be out there at a hotel on a sunday monday. So we went to the room to check it out and it was nice flat screen tv but no fridge or microwave?! We opened the bathroom door and turn on the light and there was a small cockroach scurrying in there!!! It seemed odd it was a nice hotel and how did a roach get on the 3rd floor? Allen killed it. We didnt really say anything because im sure every hotel has at least one. Especially the area we were in. Now if we saw another I would have complained but we were good the rest of the time.
One of the great things about there not being many people was we had the fitness area and the pool all to ourselves.

Was nice we swam for an hour or two just enjoying the peacefulness and time to ourselves. And it was an indoor pool so I felt a bit safer. It was wonderful. But I knew we had a lot to do the next day.
The next day we woke up got some food and went to the bank. I checked my account to pull out some cash for merch but some how I was -$52. How?! The hotel maybe took the payment out already? Even then I should have had more than enough. I checked on my phone but I couldnt tell what it was. I was kinda bummed. But Allen said he would buy me something. So we went to his bank and what he was negative $3?! What the heck was going on? he checked his and Gamestop had taken out a hold payment earlier than they should have. We were fed up with the banks so he still pulled the money out. So we get to the Rabobank Arena and we waited three hours.

Was ok because we just entertained ourselves and got some free merchandise from stands. We had seen pictures online of people with Tom(guitarist of Blink 182) masks and we got one of those its pretty funny actually.

Also reps for the different bands and sponsors walked around taking pics of people that we could retrieve from their websites. Clever of them. But I only care about the pictures and I think so did most people heheheh. I felt no need to go surf their sites after I got my pics. Oh well here's the ones they got of Allen and I.

It kinda sucked because we waited a long time with other people who waited even longer so we could be some of the first in. But when they finally opened doors a lot of people rushed to cut with all their friends. There were a lot of annoying kids there too. Some I think most likely ditched school to come. Luckily there was a security check so not many got to really run in and cut. So we get inside the arena and security tells all the people in the pit including us to sit on the ground. Allen went to use the restroom and get merch then came back with our stuff. I dont know why we had to sit on the floor because once the first opener band came out some of us almost got trampled. It really sucked. And then kids from the back kept pushing and shoving to get up front. That I expected because we experienced that at the Dragonforce concert. I just dont understand why they did for Asher Roth which was the first group. They were awful. Another rediculous white guy acting gangster trying to rap about how he is sexual and gets ladies and loves weed. Literally two seconds after they start singing you can smell weed in the crowd. we had to suffer through being pushed around for this joke? But I knew Allen was super excited about Blink and likes being up close so I tried to endure it. Asher Roth wasnt on for long anyways. But then the worst happened. Taking Back Sunday came out and al the high and drunk teenagers when balistic. The pushing and shoving turned into suffocating and crowd surfing and fighting for your life. It just got so bad. It got violent and you can just tell in some of these peoples eyes they just didnt care about anything but themselves and getting up front no matter who it hurt. No I know moshing and shoving is pretty much a regular practice at most concerts but this was the worst experience I had ever had. There were some girls smaller than me and im 5'4" who had to be taken out of the crowd and security helped pulled them out. I tried so hard to endure it for Allen. He was behind me the whole time. But after a while I really could not breath. We started being showed every which way and I was seriously scared I would either die from falling and being trampled to death or just suffocating. Allen started noticing I wasnt doing good and I told him I couldnt breathe. I was literally hyperventilating gasping for breath. He tried telling the people in front of us and security I needed out but the music was too loud and all I could do was yell for God and for help. I was terrified and Allen was too. He was getting pushed away from me. He tried to help me get to the side to get out but there were too many people. Some idiot kid who looked possessed pushed right through us and separated us. I would have cried if I could breath. Allen grabbed my hand and we found this big guy in the crowd who was helping people out. He asked if I was ok and Allen said she cant breath he tried to calm be down and some how cleared a space in the crowd so I could take a breath. Then him Allen and someone else tried to lift me but another wave of people pushed and he had to put me down. I almost lost hope until some how he cleared the path and they pushed me up to a security guard who helped pull me out. But no one told me where to go so not only was I scared and trying to breath but I was lost and even more worried when I realized Allen wasnt with me. It was a sea of people and hands. And just as I was about to panic he came running around and held me and reassured me we were ok now. We waited for a minute and I took a puff of the inhaler we originally brought for Allen.
All sweaty but alive
Once I caught my breath we went up stairs to concessions and got water. we waited and relaxed and regained our composure until Taking Back Sunday was done. We went back to the pit but we stayed further back with our water and watched Blink from a good distance. Close enough to see their face but not close enough to almost die again.

I felt bad for the people in there still. People actually started throwing beer and I could see the people smoking weed. Security did nothing. They were too busy trying to keep people from the stands from rushing to the pit. We saw security actually take down a guy and handcuff him we dont even know why. It was scary how ridiculous and violent people got over some bands!
I apologized to Allen because I felt like I let him down because we weren't up front for the one band we went for. He assured me my life and safety were much more important. And even he said it just got way out of hand. And that he almost lost his breakfast because of how smashed we were. He made a good point when he said. If it was that bad during the warm up bands. How bad do you think it will be in there during Blink? I love him so much. Any other guy would have had a bad attitude about it. But he saved me and was so understanding. I was relieved he was safe too. We were happy standing in our safe area as we finished the concert. The encore was awesome because Travis(drummer) did his platform act where him and his drumset go up in the air on a moving platform and spin and stuff while he plays an awesome drum solo. It was amazing.
After words Allen and I went up to the top and took pics which show just how many people were there.
<-- and we were up front row until we had to escape Once we finished we hurried to find an exit and ended up in another crowd of people. They were at least not as crazy and we got back to our car safely. Our ears ringing but already better than when we were inside. we grabbed some food went back to the hotel and ate then knocked out. The next morning our muscles were tired and sore. Mine where still shakey. I had used every bit of strength to push my way out of that crowd. So it was a vacation but it was too stressful to be enough of one. Blink was cool but what we had to go through wasn't. The next morning we woke up checked our accounts and both of us had money again. Well we did get paid that day but also the money taken out that made us both negative was back? not sure what happened. Allen had to dispute some overdraft fees. And the hotel took 3 -4 days to show up in my account. But things are finally back to normal. So we are already planing some other trips once we save some money :0) hopefully more relaxing this time.We went to ihop because Allen had been wanting to go for a while. But I had not gone in a long time because I had always had bad experiences with ihop. but I went for him and I ended up being ok. It was a nice drive home and we ended up deciding to check out the Walmart supercenter in Santa Clarita.
I had never seen a supercenter. We only have one walmart near where we live and it hot and dirty and smelly and disorganized in there. This superstore was amazing! it was air conditioned and it just had everything. It was real hard to not spend a lot of money. We got a few items. Then headed home. We were home maybe and hour and we learn Allen's mom was going to Disneyland for her birthday the next day so the family was going out for dinner that night. hahah We were so tired. But we love his family and his mom so it was nice being there with them. It was a good time and we were glad to see her have such a happy birthday. When we got home that night we knocked out. It was so good to be home and safe in the comfortable bed.