Fun in Cali

Well, it is Sunday evening and we are packing up getting ready to fly back to Utah tomorrow morning, but despite the late hour I figured I had better write something to keep my goal. This last week has been very nice. We had school and work as usual, but the week seemed shorter because the weekend came a day early. On Friday morning we woke up at the unholy hour of 4:15 and drove up to Salt Lake to catch our flight to Long Beach. We got here early and had some time to relax before having some fun in downtown L.A. We had lunch at Philippe's which was featured on Man vs. Food TV show and that was a lot of fun. We all enjoyed our French-dipped sandwiches and even tried a little of the spicy mustard. After lunch we walked around downtown and explored Olvera Street a little and grabbed some churros for dessert. That afternoon we helped set things up at the church for the Open House the next day with lots of help from Jason's family. For dinner that night, Jason & I, Jason's parents, and brother went to The Roadhouse for my birthday (which was Saturday) and I ordered the barbequed half chicken dinner and when my plate came, it was actually half of a chicken. It was very delicious. :) My family arrived that evening and we figured out all the sleeping arrangements and got some rest that night before the long busy day on Saturday.

Saturday started out pretty lazy actually. We got to sleep in a bit, but then I recruited my sisters to help me get ready and they got to work on my hair and makeup. We had a great time at the Open House. The decorations were beautiful, the food was delicious, the music was fun (we even had a rendition of Happy Birthday), the dancing was rockin', and everyone seemed to be having a good time. It was a lot of fun to meet so many of Jason's friends and hear the comments about how much he has grown and to hear how much everyone loves him and what a great guy I married. I told everyone that I already knew that he is amazing and that I am the lucky one.We had a fun evening with our families--relaxing and opening presents. We are amazed at how generous everyone was. We are so grateful to have such great friends and family. Better get started on those Thank You cards. :)

Today was a very nice day as well with church and a visit to the L.A. Temple to walk around the grounds and visit the Visitor's Center and I think everyone is sad to be going home tomorrow.

Well, it is late and I am tired, so more to come on the Andersons next week. Happy Civil Rights Day!