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

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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

Only one more sleep!

My parents are coming tomorrow! I. Can't. Wait.

California cars

My boss had to go to Oklahoma City on business for a few days last week. I talked to him this morning and he told me a little about his trip. He had time to go to the OKC Memorial, which he was very impressed with. He also went to Bricktown…thought it had potential to be cool but needed more work. He laughed about how you could get anywhere within 6 minutes. He was impressed with the airport. Said the weather was kinda humid but pretty nice. This afternoon he remembered something else about the trip – he said in the Rockwell parking lot, he saw a Porsche, same year and model as his (he gave more detail about what kind of Porsche but that went in one ear and out the other), which obviously caught his eye. After that, he realized that he didn’t see one Mercedes or BMW while he was there. This didn’t surprise me at all, I’ve noticed the same thing. Apparently you can stand on the coast highway and won’t be able to count to 10 before a Mercedes or BMW drives past. And there’s a saying that goes something like, the E-class Mercedes is the Ford Taurus of California. I’ve gotten used to see all the fancy cars everywhere but remember being pretty fascinated when I first moved here. Oh, California…where’s my Range Rover?

PS

While I'm at it, I might as well relay my newest obsession...The Mormon Bachelorette! Seriously, I love it! Basically, there's a super-cute girl who's got everything going for her that lives in Huntington Beach. She's 28 and single. She loves The Bachelorette so I guess her roommates decided to put this together for her. The idea is for her to find her husband. Read the blog for more info/videos. I will definitely be voting! Some friends and I may even figure out a way to attend the rose ceremony on Thursday. My roommate, Nacolynn, actually ran into Aubrey and her date on Saturday night on the Santa Monica Pier! I'm so jealous!

Almost equally exciting...Gossip Girl is back. xoxo

Clothes shouldn't stretch out after I've put them on!

Instead of trying to play catch up for the months I’m behind on this bad-idea-to-create/knew-I'd-never-keep-up-with blog, I’ll just dive right in to the here and now…it’s my blog so I can do what I want, right?!?

I’m having one of those days where I got dressed this morning in an outfit I’ve worn previously and everything seemed fine. Then shortly after I got to work, I realized that my v-neck is a little lower than I’d like it to be. Not a huge deal unless I turn my body in certain positions…then things get a little dicey! Maybe I should safety pin a sticky note to the shirt to remind me the next time I wear it…this shirt requires a tank top underneath!!

I also have a darling black dress that stretches out quickly after I put it on and becomes loose and a little too low cut. Criminy, what is it with these clothes?!? And, of course, I’m always super rushed when I get dressed in the mornings so I don’t have time to think about these things.

So there’s my slight wardrobe malfunction for today. Peace in the middle east.

Lately...

Yikes, I'm a slacker! Life is full of fun, though, and it's keeping me busy! Here are some of the things that have been keeping me from updating...

There are some days my job rocks more than others. Sometime in April, we celebrated Administrative Professionals Day by taking a boat to lunch. It was super fun and killed a large chunk of the day. Look at that sky!

Wendy, Lulu, and I being cool

Naco, Ali, Wendy, and I on the pier

Landon, Naco, Jeff, Gary, Wendy, me

Group shot! Pismo Camping Excursion

April 30-May 2, 2010

I went to Pismo Beach a few weeks ago with this fun group. We camped two nights, went to the dunes and rode ATV's, ate at a famous cinnamon roll shop, roasted lots of marshmallows around the campfire, and had tons of fun.

Dodgers Stadium May 7

Dianne and I in our rock star seats

Tommy Lasorda was sitting so close to us!

Here's another example of my cool job. Three of my co-workers and I went to a Dodgers game last weekend. We parked right outside the gate, walked into the dugout club where we ate dinner, then out to our awesome seats where we were waited on and given even more goodies! The game was so fun, the Dodgers beat the Rockies 6-5.

Lulu and I killing some time at the "world's largest" gift shop

Jared, Hilary, and me

Arch & I at Serendipity...super windy!

Oh, I miss her!

I crammed Vegas into a day on Saturday. Luckily, my friend Lulu loves Vegas and has a friend there so went along for the ride. We went to my dear friend, Hilary's wedding reception, which was beautiful. And it was so good to see her! She got married in Salt Lake City on April 24th but she and her husband live in Vegas, so they had another reception there. She looked gorgeous!

Coincidentally, Archana and Dustin arrived in Vegas Saturday night for their vacation so I got to meet up with them, too! We met them down at the strip and went to Serendipity to get dessert. We visited for an hour or so and had a great time. It had been way too long since I'd seen them so I was thrilled to catch up!

Delayne and me

My friend, Delayne, from Kansas was also in town over the weekend! I went to a bbq on Sunday evening to see her. We had a great time and she even cut my hair because she's awesome!

To sum it up, I've been having a lot of fun. I had a super busy weekend but got to see old friends and had a great time! Come back soon, friends!

chock-full of birthdays

April is chock-full of birthdays! Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start...

April 7th...my little sis is the big 2-1!! Woohoo, Ash! I remember when she was born, of course. I was in second grade. I was out on the playground during recess and Stephanie (in 6th grade) was in her classroom holding up a paper that said something about Mom having the baby. Of course I can't remember what it said, I'm kind of impressed that I remember that story at all! I mean, seriously, that was 21 years ago...I can't even remember what I ate for dinner last night! Happy bday, Ashley Michelle!

April 18...happy birthday to one of my very best friends, MiCaH!! Oh the stories I could tell! But I won't because how could I choose between our days of cheerleading, lifeguarding, and driving in the grass to our days of karaoke, dancing, Cozumel, concerts, and everything in between!?!? Good times, good times.

April 18...happy birthday to one of my newest friends, Karen! Karen is one of the Costa Rica girls. We met at LAX and got in a lot of bonding that first week of friendship! Karen is strong and tough and tons of fun. She saved me from a crazy tree frog once. And she was just in California for her birthday! Come back soon, Karen!

April 22...my sweet niece, Morgan Marie! Morgan just turned 8 and she is one busy little girl! She is quite the little cheerleader and gymnast. This Easter she got the big red egg, which is quite the accomplishment (she was pretty proud of that when she told me on the phone today). And she'll be getting baptized very soon!

April 24...my big sister, Stephanie! Happy birthday, Steph! When Stephanie was in high school, we would go upstairs to her room while she was sleeping and ask her if we could borrow her clothes. It worked like a charm but didn't necessarily stop her from being mad when she saw us later! Four kids later and sharing everything, she's still my awesome oldest sister who I love dearly!

April 27...daddy-o!! Happy bday to my awesome dad! He is the best. I mean, seriously, he lived in a house with SIX females!! I don't ever remember him complaining about all of us girls...then again, he probably couldn't get a word in edge-wise! My dad has taught me so much...from working cattle and mowing lawns to taking vitamins and saving money (oops, didn't really catch on to that one!). If I could just get him out of Kansas to come visit this beautiful place I live in!

And I can't leave out Grandma Rose. Her birthday would have been April 22. This picture is from her last birthday, age 91. I think of her often and miss her dearly!! Her influence in my life will never be forgotten.

Happy birthday to all and to all a good night!

XOXO,

M