Mom & Dad Visit California!

What a fun weekend! My parents flew in on Thursday afternoon. We ate dinner at my favorite local taco joint, Great Mex. Oh, how I love Great Mex! Cheap and oh so delicious. Mom and Dad didn’t love it as much as I do but they still liked it. One problem: they don’t like cilantro! Yikes! How can anyone truly enjoy Mexican food without cilantro?!?



Thursday evening we went to Balboa Island, where we walked around looking at the beautiful houses and enjoying the cool evening. We took the ferry across the bay to Balboa Peninsula where we walked out to the pier and watched/listened to the waves crashing against the shore. All that walking around combined with an early dinner prepared us for our next stop: Yogurtland. Mom was excited to eat frozen yogurt because she remembered how tasty it was last time she was here

.

We could have easily ended the night then and there, especially since Mom and Dad were worn out from their day of travelling, but alas, we went to a movie with Naco, Leni, Sarah Dawn, and Jackie. We saw “Secretariat.” That movie was sooooo good! Seriously, check it out. We all loved it, even though we had to sit in the front 10 rows because the rest of the seats had been removed for some reason. I guess we should have brought our lawn chairs.

I worked for a few hours Friday morning while M&D slept in. Then we headed to Wildomar to visit Tami & family! We took the Ortega Highway, which is a windy road that goes over the mountain. I love it but it’s not really passenger-friendly (sorry, Dad!)…the views were still great, though. We stopped at the local dairy to pick up some delicious chocolate milk. I’m not really a milk drinker but that stuff is amazing! We had lunch at Pick Up Stix with Tami, Samantha, and Andrea while we waited for my car to get done across the street. Then we stopped at the Brewer’s house for a little bit before we had to hit the road again. It’s always fun to see my California family! Not to mention that the only time we saw the sun the whole weekend was at their house. That was kind of a cruel joke, Mother Nature. I felt like we were in Seattle all weekend (no offense…had I been in Seattle, I would’ve loved the weather but this is southern California!!). M&D didn’t seem to mind but California is prettier with sun!

Friday evening we went to the Newport Beach Temple. Beautiful place, wonderful Spirit, awesome friends and family. Since not everyone made the photos, I’ll tell you who was there. At the temple: Mom & Dad, Tami & Roger, Samantha, Tabitha (bless her heart), Bishop & Lisa Jarvie, Wendy, Ali, Nat, Stephanie, Chris, Betsy & Nick, Marci & Redge, & Adrienne. Then we went to BJ’s for a very late dinner. At BJ’s: Mom & Dad, Tami & Roger, Samantha, Andrea & Kyle, Tabitha, Landon, Logan, Naco, Leni, Stephanie, Chris, Todd, Wendy, Nat, Ali, Betsy & Nick. Great night!

Saturday morning we went down to Balboa Island and got cinnamon rolls at Cinnamon Roll Fair. Then we went to the Wedge to watch the crazy waves, which weren’t as crazy as I’d hoped they’d be but it’s still a cool spot. Next we went on a whale watching tour. Mom and Dad had never been on a boat in the ocean so they can check that off their bucket lists now. Unfortunately we didn’t see any whales but we saw a huge pod
of dolphins and some sea lions. The dolphins were so cool! There were hundreds of them and they swam along with the boat jumping around and showing off. My favorite ones were the babies…adorable. We all took motion sickness pills before the boat ride so the good news is that nobody got sick. The bad news is that we were so tired! Mom slept some in the car afterward and I crashed later that night.

After the boat ride, we ate lunch at Café Rio. Delicioso! Mom and Dad really liked this place and we all stuffed ourselves with chips & salsa, sweet pork barbacoa salad, tortilla soup, and a pork burrito! Then we drove down the PCH, stopped and walked around at Laguna Beach, hit a few stores, got a movie, and went home.

Sunday morning I slept in while M&D patiently read and ate breakfast. I had to go to choir practice at noon so they sat and listened to that. Then we were at church all afternoon. M&D met lots of people and enjoyed great talks and lessons. Oh and Mom picked out a son-in-law. I don’t know how she picked just one out of all those options! I’ll see what I can do, Mom.

Sunday evening we went for a walk at the Back Bay. We were in the Bluffs area, which has beautiful homes overlooking the bay. After our walk, we drove around the Back Bay. I wish we would have had more time, I think Dad would have really enjoyed checking that area out a little more. That night we just hung out at my house, watched a movie, ate some crappy frozen pizza, and went to bed early.

Monday morning I dropped M&D off at the airport at 5:45am for their 6:45am flight back to Wichita. Thanks for coming, Mom & Dad! I keep thinking of things we should have done so you’ll have to come back soon! xoxo