New Years and the Rose Bowl

We arrived in LA around 1 pm on New Years Eve.  Then, we checked into the very funky Beverly Laurel and picked up a FedEx of extra Rose Bowl tickets that Todd's dad had wonderfully secured for us.  We had a lot of happy friends thanks to him! :-)

Chrissie called and we decided to meet she and Matt for a lunch at a very cool burger joint in the Roosevelt Hotel called 25 Degrees.  The menu has about fifteen cheeses from all over the world to add to one's burgers (two types of veggie burgers, too!) as well as a Guinness milkshake which Matt ordered and we all sampled.  After lunch, we relaxed at Chez Weatherlow and Chrissie and I picked up supplies at the supermarket for the New Years get-together that night while the boys played Left for Dead, or something equally violent and gunshot-y.

New Years was such fun!  We ate, exchanged Christmas gifts, chatted, and toasted one another as the ball dropped (tape-delayed) in Times Square.  It was an especially meaningful New Years for Todd and I because, as his mom puts it, we're now in "our wedding year."  This was the first and only New Years we will spend being engaged, and the last we will spend before becoming husband and wife!

New Years fun with Jenny, Chrissie, Matt, and friends (not pictured):

The next day was the Rose Bowl!  Todd was very nervous.  We woke up early, watched a little of the Rose Parade (including a Vera Bradley breast cancer research campaign float with Cynthia Nixon of Sex & the City on it!) and picked up Chrissie and Matt to head to Pasadena.  We got there in no time at all, walked to Old Town, and then met up with other friends: Jesse, her parents, Eric and his friend, Dalton, all decked out as a Trojan warrior, and Seth and Josh.  We got some grub and settled down in our ridiculously great seats, only one section up from the field!

There was a Stealth Bomber that flew overhead, and the bands for both USC and Penn State were impressive.  And, once the game started, we all hooted and cheered and high-fived every time USC scored a touchdown.  They ended up beating Penn State by two touchdowns!  

Chrissie and I in front of the Rose Bowl:

After the game, we met up with still more friends - Jeff and Marcelo, and ran into Clint  - at El Cholo, where we ravenously ate about seven bowls of chips, after having eaten nothing but kettle korn and drinks all day.  The food and company were great, and when we finally left, it was with full stomachs, happy hearts, and very, very exhausted bodies.

Jeff (humorously?) pretending to stab Chrissie and Matt:

Our flight didn't leave until Friday afternoon (it ended leaving on Friday night, thanks to four hours of delays!), we made one more stop before heading back to San Fran: Disneyland!  Well, we DO have annual passes, so why not?  We had a delicious lunch at Naples, went on a few rides, saw the reindeer, and I was reminded of what our reception flowers will look like when I saw these beautiful Icelandic poppies in Fantasyland:

All in all, a wonderful LONG vacation, and I still have half a week before school begins again!  Am sure there'll be a few wedding things I'll get taken care of during this time... hopefully!