Three to Cali

This last weekend me and Travis' parents headed to Southern California for 2 reasons: Theresa's wedding,and for Linda's birthday get away. She loves to go to the LA County fair so that was her birthday gift this year. :) Most of the drive there Linda and I chit chatted and got our kitty fill at the El Pollo Loco we stopped for dinner. There were 6 stray calico kittens there! We of course had to feed them and were so sad to leave them behind. They are sooo sweet. I of course took pictures. :)


We stayed in an awesome hotel with a free HUGE breakfast, like they make omelets to order! It was great. So Saturday morning we ate breakfast and they dropped me off at the Newport Beach Temple for the wedding. Can I just say that the Newport Beach Temple is AMAZING! It's totally different then any other temple I've seen!


I met Mary there and chit chatted and got caught up all the way up until the minute we got into the sealing. It was just so hard to sit still in the waiting room when we hadn't seen each for over 3 years! And speaking of years gone by, the last time I had seen Tee before her wedding was MY wedding! 4 years ago! Crazy. Anyway, Theresa was of course gorgeous and I was so teary-eyed at her wedding. I am sooo happy for her and glad that she finally has someone of her own. Marcus & Theresa Bess. So adorable!



After the wedding there was a luncheon that Jocie showed up for since she happened to be in town for work. It was great seeing her, but it was too bad we couldn't spend more time with her.


That night was the open house where Mary and I helped set up and then sat down and looked at old freshman year photos and totally reminisced the good ole days. :) We saw Theresa & Marcus off as they snuck away from the gathering. Mary and I got out of the clean up and enjoyed chatting all the way back to the hotel. It was just a perfect girls day and so nice to see old friends!

The next day Linda, David and I headed out for the beach just to walk in the sand and hear the waves. It was kind of chilly, and overcast, but it was still nice. We went to Corona Del Mar. Later we met up with Aunt Cheryl at Toms Farms-very cool and huge farmers market, for Linda's Birthday treat. Then were back on the road. It was such a nice trip and so nice of Travis' parents to take me along.

Kristin's Babyshower

It's getting closer- our newest nephew will be born this October and to celebrate we (meaning mother-in-law, Linda and I) hosted Kristin's babyshower! Linda went all out making tons of food and buying a bunch of cute decorations. I helped with a couple of dishes, hosting and set up and clean up. All of our good family friends and extended family were able to make it. It was so nice seeing everyone! We of course played a couple games, chatted a bunch, got tours of Kristin's new home and watched her open tons of gifts. Little David is going to be the cutest kid around! So many clothes and blankets and the necessities as well. I had to include this picture of the camo clothes because they were just too cute and so applicable in this family. :)


I braved the sewing machine and made her a "hooter hider" (aka nursing cover) which actually turned out really well. Travis put in his 2 cents and contributed to the gift giving with a stuffed animal deer. It was a great little party; all that's left now is the baby!

2 years old

Lily turned 2 years old on Sept 6th. To celebrate she got lots of yummy food and treats and a new toy. But the most dog-parentish thing we did was put a candle in a beef log, force her to stick around while we lit it and sang happy birthday. She's not a fan of open flames...except for camp fires. A lady at Petco gave me the beef log for free. We're so silly, I know. :P Happy Birthday Lil! (p.s. I couldn't get a picture of her and the candle lit because she was trying to escape and because Trav insisted on taking a video. hehe)

Temple- Las Vegas

I recently had the privilege of accompanying Mindy Starley through the temple for the first time. It was an amazing experience! Going through with someone for the first time makes it feel like your own first time all over again. But more than that, I was so happy for her and her decision to go through. She's 6 months pregnant and had an excited little baby happy for her too. It was so wonderful sharing such a special spiritual experience with good friends and it really puts life into perspective. We are here on earth to truly be there for one another and help one another come unto Christ. What a blessing! Thanks Mindy, for being the greatest!