California love.

5.17.12-5.22.12

Ahhh California.

After my week in Utah I flew to CA to spend a few days in the Bay Area with Mckay.  A friend of his was getting married in the Oakland temple & I couldn't resist a trip to my old home. We enjoyed a few days in San Fran (the Golden Gate bridge, Muir woods, Fisherman's Wharf, Alcatraz, Ghirardelli square, & too much delicious food).  I love that SF is so completely different from NYC.  We had a great time & he was soaking up the reuniting time with his old college buddies.  I can't say anything mean on my blog but  I will say that once we separated from his friends and did stuff with our friends, I enjoyed myself only slightly more. 

 

While there we had dinner with my oldest & dearest friend, Lauren, and her boyfriend.  We met up with them in Berkley at this organic pizzeria Jupiter & had a great night visiting and stuffing our faces and reminiscing. The guys seemed to get along great,  and they were good sports to let us share some of our funny, growing-up stories with them.  She has a heart of gold & comes from a salt-of-the-earth family --I'm lucky to have a best friend who is there for it all no matter how far away we are from each other.  I wish we were closer (in distance), but I guess in its own way it makes reuniting so exciting & joyful!

(note our matching haircuts- Lauren's Mom gave us those one day at my house. we were in love)

 

Sadly, the trip came to an end faster than I would have liked.  We went to church on Sunday in my old ward & saw so many sweet & familiar faces.  It's always so good to go back & it was such a treat to have Mckay with me to meet all the wonderful Concord people I love.  We stayed with our good family friends (Jim + Bonnie) who were an absolute delight to spend time with.  I could do a whole separate post about that, but I didn't get a single picture of them or their charming home.  But Mckay said to me, "I think they are the nicest people I've ever met." & that just perfectly sums it up!

We stayed our last night in Palo Alto with the beautiful Christine & our good friend Barrett, who also happens to live in the area, joined us for the evening.  We toured Stanford & fell in love.  It was so gorgeous... we could easily see ourselves there.  You never can tell...

On our very last day we drove down the beautiful coast & stopped at every beach & vantage point we could.  We stopped in Pescadero for fresh, warm artichoke bread (thanks for that suggestion Christine!) & just tried to soak in as much of the coastal sun & beauty as we could.  It was a breathtaking drive.

It's always sad when vacations end!

But we were happy to return to our little home.  Mckay hit the books for two more weeks of intense study before taking his CFA test & I am catching up on all the stuff I neglected during school.  Which is a long list. 

Summer is just around the corner & I am so ready to enjoy myself & relax some!!!

a pretty, little trip to utah.

 Beautiful Cache Valley. No filter, nothing fancy, just a cell phone picture. It was stunning.

The month of May just makes the world so pretty.

May 10th I took my final (hallelujah!), got ma nails did (favorite), and flew to SLC. My awesome Dad picked me up from the airport at midnight and we drove up to Logan. It was late and I was tired but it was oh so good to have him all to myself during those almost two hours. Just a bunch of catching up and laughing and hanging out like old (pre-marriage, pre-college, pre-move away) days. He is the greatest.

 The family, waiting in line for the Avengers. 5/6 liked it. I was one of the those who enjoyed it (surprisingly). It was awesome. After the movie we had pizza and laughed until we cried. Well, I was crying. How did I get such funny siblings? I don't know. But I wish they lived closer because I would have flat abs from laughing, I'm sure of it.

 Paid a visit to one of the sweetest women I've ever met. Mckay's Grandmother, Delma. I was lucky to have dropped in when Mckay's {favorite, shh} Aunt Laura was also visiting. Delma let me look through a bunch of pictures of her growing up & being the beautiful lady that she was/is. So much happiness came from marrying Mckay, & knowing his family is totally part of it. Especially knowing her! 

 "The boy" as we call him (literally all we called him for the first 2 years of his life) is growing like a weed. I can't get over it. Taller than Mom & Regan and fast approaching me & Kenna. It's awesome. He's a good egg.

 Two angels on earth-

my Dad's parents are amazing. They just emanate goodness. I spent an afternoon with them down in Orem & cried when I left. When I pulled out my camera my Grandma disappeared to her bedroom for almost 10 minutes to do her hair. She's 90 years old, I couldn't get over it. My Grandpa recently had a stroke & words come to him a little slower than they used to, and my Grandma's hearing is deteriorating, so they make quite a pair. I'd ask a question and my Grandpa would slowly and softly start to answer but Grandma wouldn't hear him and so she'd start talking. Grandpa couldn't get a word in edgewise & she wasn't even aware! Good times, this picture warms my heart.

Maybe he needs a grandchild?

Kenna had a school assignment to help her not become a teen Mom (not a waste of time or money at allll.) & the stupid thing wouldn't keep quiet. She was freaking out a smidgen and next thing I know my Dad walks into the kitchen and this is what I see. I believe he said, "You kids used to do this, I know how to handle it." He soothed that ugly, plastic monster baby for at least 15 minutes. What a goof.

The kiddos.

Always good to visit the fam, but I hate when Mckay can't come. Good thing the 2nd half of my trip included him and the Golden State!

back in time.

Mckay's parents sent me a bunch of pictures from his childhood. I could not stop going through them yesterday, they made me grin from ear to ear. What a cutie he was! Don't let the pictures fool you though, he was a trouble maker! I believe his Mother told me that he was her most difficult child.  He was naughty and too smart for his own good, I think.  We're in for a treat if our sons take after him.

Family picture circa 1982. Mckay is the startled baby :]

 3 maybe? How adorable is that? I would be so thrilled if our boys looked just like him. Minus the plaid & soul-train collar.

 4? Look at that cutie! His hair was so blonde! I die.

Circa 1988- Love his grin & buzzed head. (He's the little one with the cream vest)

Loving on his siblings.

This one may be my favorite. 

1989, Mckay is the kid on the top right. His Dad is above him.

Mckay was 7 and playing soccer while I was just a newborn!

Freshman year.

Sweet glasses + baby Dallas.

(My Dad had these glasses too.)

Tough guy, senior in high school. 

The red dot means he's going to Korea on his mission.

The red eyes mean he got a little teary.

The red tie? Means it was 2001 I guess.

College football at SVU with brother Taylor.