Pismo Beach Baby!

Since, I don't have much time... and can't think of anything funny to say... I won't say much about Pismo Beach except that it was a blast.



My only complaint is that you people took all together too many photos! Most of which are horrible of me. I HATE Facebook!

Puerrrrrrrrrrto Rico - Arriba Arriba!

There are SO many things I loved about Puerto Rico!

1.) First off, the scenery could not have been any better!



2.) The company was Top Notch! (I've decided to add this to my daily vernacular, I need to use more British words, currently I only frequent "wanker", but I LOVE it!) The 5 of us little ladies deemed ourselves ridiculously entertaining!



3.) My Aunt Lori and Uncle Dirk live in a beautiful condo right on Condado Beach... divine. Check out the view from their place! Not bad! Those two were so beyond gracious! What can I say, they are still hands down my favorites! Lori cooked us all amazing meals and Dirk made sure we knew exactly what we were doing and where we were going, which was nice because the GPS system was spotty at best. All the girls wanted to adopt the Puerto Rican Brinkerhoff's.

4.) Miss Air Flamenco 2008 was a RAD driver!

5.) The weather was divine! It rained off and on a few times, but the temperature never fell below 72 - can we say paradise!?!

6.) This trip was so well documented that I believe we could open a museum!

7.) We met some Goldman Sachs guys in the pool, and in addition to bragging about their lives and careers while in their drunken stupor, they gave us some wildly entertaining conversational topics and a few great restaurant recommendations!

There are also a few things that I did NOT love about PR.

1.) 12.5 hours on the way there and 13.5 on the way back! Are you kidding me!?! Every flight I had was SERIOUSLY delayed! I sat next to this hot little Aussie on the way home and he told me it took 13.5 hours to get to Melbourne Australia... understandable, because that's a different continent, but PR is NOT!

2.) Ummmmmm.... I mean no disrespect to Miss Air Flamenco 2008 - but, that plane ride was SHADY! There was a little sticker on the window that said "May God Bless This Flight!" - Never a good sign! And, um the 18-year-old who was flying the plane could not have been and LESS interested in keeping us alive. I echo the sentiment of the gentleman who occupied one of the 8 seats in the plane, he happened to be right behind me and as we were about to land he blurted out "Holy [insert expletive]! Does anyone else feel like we are in a video game here?!?"

3.) The Puerto Ricans sure don't know how to make any beach towels that A.) put any sort of chasm between the human body and the sand or B.) absorb ANY water whatsoever. Good thing we created the "long-term loan" policy with the parking lot attendant at the Ritz, borrowing 3 of theirs for 3 or 4 days!

4.) That fine sand permanently jacket up my camera and my purse!

5.) I can still hear those roosters in my head!

Aaaaaaahhhhhhhh!

Work has been so BEYOND stressful for me these last few weeks.

That's why I am leaving next month to stay at this place for a week ....

on the Isla de Vieques (Puerto Rico).

Nice!

Words of Wisdom... from a construction firm.

I was only in my office 2 days this week. But, I heard the greatest words of wisdom that I just had to pass on.

- "All hot girls show up at the airport wearing those matching sweatsuits. That's how you know they're hot." - Jonathan

J. Flo: I hear that Al Queda is going to bomb all the malls in Southern California. So, basically wherever you go, you're screwed. Or, you could get another hobby.
Ali: I DO love the mall. But, sometimes I go running. You don't love the mall? I would never have guessed.
J. Flo: No, I never go shopping. I avoid it at all costs. I haven't been shopping in 5 years. I know I need to go, but I hate it!
Ali: So, what happens when you have to do laundry and the only thing in your closet looks like something a lumberjack would wear.
J. Flo: Then I show up to work looking like a lumberjack.
Ali: Oh, so that's what happened to today. I was wondering.

- "Women are happier when they are sad. I am serious. It's weird, but true. They LIKE to be sad." - Jonathan

New York... New York...

Start spreading the news, I'm leaving today, I want to be a part of it - new york, new york! These vagabond shoes, are longing to stray right through the very heart of it - new york, new york! I wanna wake up in a city, that doesn’t sleep and find I’m king of the hill - top of the heap. These little town blues, are melting away. Ill make a brand new start of it - in old new york. If I can make it there, Ill make it anywhere Its up to you - new york, new york... (in my head is Frank Sinatra's voice - which is WAY better than anything I can pull off... believe me!) By the way... how cheesy are the actually lyrics to that song??? This is why whenever I DO sing, I choose to make up my own lyrics. Anyway, moving on...

Oh my goodness... does it take FOREVER to get to NYC or what??? Well, it took me FOREVER. But, I got there. And, when I did it was SO blasted cold. It seems like it should have snowed... I mean it was 49 degrees! For the love of everything good and holy, I had a wool scarf, mittens, a beannie and (of course) my white wool peacoat (the cute one with the black buttons). People were looking at me funny the moment I stepped off the plane, CLEARLY no one else was prepared for snow. While I waited for the snow, it started pouring rain... turns out it has to be below 32 degrees to snow - who knew???

I met up with my sisters, which made this trip to NYC fabulous. Jennica had stolen Adam's umbrella. Kimmy loaned hers to my dad a few weeks ago. He allegedly lost it, but somehow blamed it on my mom, who as it turns out was not even in the country when the "alleged" loss occurred... whatever. And, I... well, I thought it was cold enough to snow... why would I pack an umbrella??? So, Kimmy and I had to purchase umbrellas from this toothless, yet business savvy entrepreneur who was peddling them near Grand Central Station - on the corner of 42nd and Park (or somewhere thereabouts). She pulled the bait and switch on us. She announced loudly that she was selling umbrellas for $3! $3 - what a steal, how could you go wrong with a $3 umbrella??? I already looked like a drowned rat, so I just bought one, for the same reason I wear a bra - less out of necessity and more our of the need to fit in! But, Kimmy, she needed one. She was wearing silk... animal printed silk, so cute, and SO not water friendly. (What??? We are Brinkerhoff's, it's what we do - wear really impractical clothes just for the sake of looking cute - or at least attempting to). Anyway, by the time I traversed the distance between me and the "entrepreneur", all of about 6 feet, the price had gone up to $5. I told the lady that I just wanted the $3 dollar umbrella (I mean, no one could see me, I had on a thermal and a wool sweater and THE cute white peacoat - the one with the black buttons. I looked larger than life. I was already drowning in a sea of clothes strategically picked out by me to buffer me from the snow... uh... I mean rain storm. She said she only had $5 dollar ones. Whatever, I bought it. Kimmy opted for the larger $10 one. As soon as we made our purchases and turned around to go about our business we heard the "entrepreneur" shout again 'umbrellas $3.' We all turned around and scowled at her, she smiled back (sans teeth). Each and every time Kimmy opened hers one of the... ummm... spokes??? (what would you call those) broke off, once even puncturing a whole in the umbrella... she was so cursing my dad's name. She was also jeopardizing the life of all those on the streets - when the entrepreneur said $10 for a large umbrella... she did mean LARGE! Kimmy nearly decapitated anyone over the height of 5'10. Me on the other hand. I had to hold my $5 ($3) umbrella by the base to keep it from flipping inside out. I only used it once... then I gave up!

Basically, we ate, and we shopped, and we ate again, and we shopped some more. We went to Blooms for breakfast, NY manis and pedis, shopping in Soho, and to Lombardi's Pizza... we treaded all over Manhattan and while we did a miracle happened... I purchased nothing!!! I know... I am serious about this shopping sabbatical!

There are many fabulous stores in NYC, but also lots of nutty ones. There were TONS of Halloween costumes on display. We were discussing how Halloween is just an excuse for people to dress up as a slutty... whatever they prefer. Kimmy said something that made me laugh all weekend. "Ok, the slutty nurse thing... well, I kind of get that. But, the slutty bee??? Is there some bee fantasy I am not aware of???" I made her pose...

We went to Serendipity to get frozen hot chocolate. There was a one hour wait. Within the first 5 minutes, Jennica (who is 7 months prego with her 3rd kid), sits down because she can't stand any longer. After which I announced to all the NY on-lookers that we were not forcing this ultra-pregnant sister of ours to wait for an hour and that SHE was the one who wanted to go in so badly! But, it was good... really good.

After just enough of the city, we headed to Grand Central to catch the train that traversed to Milford Connecticut so we could visit Adam and Julie and the kids, we were all dying to meet Sadie ... oh those kids... I am not sure there are any more fabulous than my nieces and nephews, and Julie and Adam's kids are no exception.


And, Connecticut is beautiful... there were many discussions about changing "the hub" (which is currently in Texas, for most of the Brinkerhoff clan). We think Connecticut has a fighting chance. It was breath-taking, especially since its autumn. I miss having seasons (even if they occasionally involve snow... eeek).

How cute is Jake in a tie?

It was so good to see all of them. Julie is the nicest of all the Brinkerhoff's (of course, we had to import for that) and we love her. She was as sweet as ever. And Adam - well, he's still Adam! Julie took us to this darling and delicious restaurant called the Rainbow Garden that was converted from an old estate into this great restaurant. On Sunday, we went to church, took a walk along the beach, made (and ate WAY too many) sugar cookies and then... my favorite part... the trying on of the costumes... oh the costumes... this is what I love most about Halloween.

Izzy - the Tiger. She is obsessed with Tigers its so cute, she's so NOT scary! In fact, she says rad 90-year-old phrases when she drops things, (i.e. "oh heavens" and "goodness gracious").

Haley - cheerleader in training.

Viva Las Vegas!

We wanted to get a away for the weekend. So, sort of last minute, we all decided to just go. We got ONE hotel room and packed 8 people in it. Good thing the J.W. Marriott makes some HUGE rooms!

So, what better place to be than Las Vegas?!? Two breakdowns later (one mental and one automotive - neither by me), 5 pee stops (Dan asked if Jolene even had a bladder) and one hug for Bob later, we arrived in Vegas.

The weather was a beautiful 115 degrees. I am not sure why people weren't flocking there!?!

On the way up we played truth or dare, like a bunch of grade schoolers, we were just ridiculous and it was fabulously entertaining.

We went to celebrate the last free weekend before school for Cori, a birthday for Wendy, a Wedding for Karen's sister and a day off for the rest of us!

But, we didn't exactly get the warmest welcome. This man told us we made him sick. Good thing I am not a liberal, turns out they are only slightly more vile in Vegas than we Mormons are.

We had so much fun playing by the pool and dragging the strip. I couldn't be pulled away from the Bellagio fountains! I just love them. But, there were other things to do, see, smell and touch in Vagas and a few of us hadn't been there in a while.

Dan awkwardly pawed at this statuesque beauty.

The girls were not impressed by his skills and decided to show him how it should be done.

Robin decided that predictive text was a worthless function. "They don't have nipple... or stripper... or reservations?" She practiced her moves even though she couldn't quickly text about them...

Aaron practiced his moves... even the cougars in the pool couldn't resist his charms. Too bad he can't... (j.k. I am not going to blog about it, but only because he voluntarily rubbed my feet - brave man!)

Dan perfected the art of taking a bubble bath, which provided hours upon hours of laughter.

Jolene was trying to teach me to be sexy or something. (CLEARLY, it was just about as productive as Steven trying to make me cool.) The fact that I look like a fish is a little disconcerting! Although this game face still got us into the clubs. We went to Tangerine in Treasure Island and were somehow let into the V.I.P. area. We saw Nicky Hilton. (She was way cuter than I had previously thought and she had on a darling little black dress!) Jolene was thrilled for the celebrity sighting. We also heard that B. Spears was in town, so sad we missed her... she IS sort of a fascinating train wreck.

I am pretty sure I fell in love with the welcoming comittee for the Venetian. I also fell in love with the stores there. (I got THE most fabulous Kate Spade bag - thanks Joe... still).

By Sunday evening we were totally spent! We couldn't even hold out for chairs to sit down in.

So we drove home to get foot massages by the maestro of feet (thanks Aaron) and tattoos (a.k.a. "tramp stamps") by the only slightly less talented Robin. We made the J.W. Marriot room 4140 our own private L.V. Ink!

What more could we ask for?!?

The ride home made us laugh only slightly less than the drive out. Robin had to pee SO badly she was near tears, which was so funny to us! She said "you guys bladders DO explode right? I mean it HAS happened right? Tell me about it, I need to know!" We pulled over to use the restroom in Baker and she did the old-man shuffle to the bathroom. A few minutes later I went in to see if she made it. (Mind you, at this point her pants are totally unbuttoned and she is cradling her yaw to ensure she doesn't wet herself.) When I walked in she was about the 15th person in a 20 person line. At this point I think there WERE tears. I told her she should walk across the street and use the restroom at Coco's instead of wasting time getting into the car again. I told her we'd meet her there. To which her half naked self said "you want me to jaywalk???" I found it hilarious, that being her biggest concern given the dire circumstances. I laughed my way back to the car.

Cori was a little bit disappointed "You have all this funny material for your blog and I haven't even said anything funny yet!!!" - I thought that was pretty funny. There you go, Cor. You made it!

I kind of want to go back again next week...

Viva La Mexico!!!

Back in May we went to Cancun... just the girls... for one last single girl outing before we say hasta la vista to Miss Sara Jacobs... soon to be Hickman. Here's what happened before and after we all lost our souls at Senor Frogs!

"Booze Cruise 2007"
We went to the Isla Mujeres where we saw... a whole lot of nothing... but on the way back the entire boat got drunk, and I mean drunk! Unfortunately for us they had just enough equalibrium to stay inside the boat, although it was still entertaining.

We did rent a golf cart from Jenn's boyfriend (who she regretfully did not hold onto for long). This was the view from the back of the golf cart. Not Bad.

Basically, it rained... and rained... and rained... we read A LOT, and when we all basically ran out of books to read, we hopped on a bus and went into town, then past town and 45 minutes later arrived at Walmart! There are few things shadier than a Mexican Walmart... and I can't think of what they are at the moment... but, look how happy we are to (a) be on a bus and (b) take a 45 minute ride with a drunken bus drive to end up at Walmart!

We went to dinner at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville. They didn't actually play any Jimmy Buffet song there (or Neil Diamond for that matter), but we were invited on stage to do the Macarena... just 5 little white girls doing the Macarena!

Jenn took her Mexican groove outside for a while and she rode a parrot?!? Yee haw!

J.J and Sara played with the Sombreros.

Cori and I hung out under the umbrella. (Notice how bright red my legs are. I managed to get ridiculously sun burned laying under an umbrella wearing SPF 50 sunblock IN THE RAIN... now how is that for talented!