On the Road Again

Well, we are gearing up for another awesome trip. I know - my job is tough - we have to go work in Lake Tahoe. It's going to be brutal!

Since Adam and I aren't natives, we decided to make a road trip out of it and spend several days driving up the coast and seeing more of our state! The farthest north I've ever been in Cali is Santa Barbara. Adam's been to San Fran once but he was really sick part of the time and was in a mini-van with 4 other guys and they were driving through the night - I guess that's another blog for another day, though.

Here's a rough outline of our plan (feel free to enlarge for a better view of yet another photoshop masterpiece):


I've highlighted our important stops along the way:

Orange house = our home in Orange county (get it?)
Red shopping cart = Camarillo outlets (shout out LK!)
Peaceful blue waves = Monterey, CA
Purple railroad tracks = trolley tracks of San Francisco
Green Pine Tree = Lake Tahoe!

Let me know if anyone has suggestions of any must-do's in these areas. We're so excited and I'm sure we'll have lots to share when we get back!

A Tribute

A tribute to mad dance skillz . . . there are no words.

Catching Up: Girls Extravaganza!

Anything that has the word "extravaganza" in it is instantly more fun, which is why I use it as often an possible. Our first annual girls' weekend extravaganza didn't even need any help, though, as it was such a blast on its own!


I was SO excited when Callen, Claire, Kelly (and Taylor) and Shannon decided to come visit me in California!! It was so much fun sharing my life here with them, showing them around the area, but mostly just hanging out with old friends. As you can imagine, there was lots of reminiscing, telling of stories, laughing, and eating! 4 great things!

Their time here was short but well-spent. Everyone flew in on a Friday morning and we wasted no time heading over to the Grove for lunch and shopping round 1:


Lemonade break in the Farmer's Market:


After the Grove we did a quick Bolthouse Productions drive-by:


followed by dinner at Chipotle and a little more shopping at the Spectrum. We Californians love our ferris wheels and carousels!


On Saturday, we had our OC day around town, starting off at the Montage and the quest to find someone who could take a decent photo of the 5 of us all together. I think this was the best we did - it was approximately the 10th try. Dear people walking at the Montage, please learn to use a camera! I'm not asking for much - just putting the people in the little rectangle would be great!


XO's first family:


Sweet friends:

Hanging out with Dr. Yother, M.D.:


Next we hit up Laguna Beach for some Taco Loco and a little stroll on the boardwalk at Main Beach:


Then we headed north to Newport: Balboa Island for frozen bananas and Balboa Bars, the ferry to the Peninsula, Fashion Island, and Sprinkles - whew!





We ended the day with a surprise celebration for Kelly and Taylor who will be here in just a couple of short months! Yippee!


On Sunday, we had our LA day which went a little something like this:

Lunch at The Counter in Santa Monica . . . I don't know! What should we put on our burgers?



Rodeo Drive:

Pinkberry:


Hollywood and Highland:



In addition to all of this, we also managed to do South Coast Plaza, see Made of Honor, and watch the entire first season of 30 Rock on DVD - it was incredible!

I can't believe how much we managed to pack into 3 short days! But it was SO much fun and best of all was being with great friends! I love you girls and can't wait until the Second Annual Girls Weekend Extravaganza!