a weekend in wonderland

Sunburns, LA rush hour, late nights and early mornings. But I can easily say this was one of the BEST weekends I've ever had. I have never been so exhausted after three days, but I have never been so in love, either.

I road-tripped down to SoCal with Em's boyf-- aka Gabey Baby-- and my own Stevie Wonder. We flew through Nevada and made it to Emily's house around 1 am. We were beat!

We kicked off the weekend with a little trip to Venice Beach. The people there are interesting and are probably more entertaining than the scenery itself. Like the old man jamming in the waves to music only he could hear. Or the other old man running through the sand in a skimpy, pink-colored speedo. That was Em's favorite part. Probably.

Later that night we went to the Dodgers vs. Angels game. I have recently developed a love of baseball. Probably only because Steve was patient enough to explain all the rules and abbreviations to me so I know what's going on. I think it's a beautiful sport.

Next day...DISNEYLAND!! We took a test to figure out which Disney character we were most like. Steve was Cogsworth. And I was Dot, a BUG from A Bug's Life. Seriously, a bug?! I refused to accept that so I took it again and got Cinderella.

Ok, I know. We're dorks. But at least we have fun while we make fools of ourselves!


This is on our very first ride of the day. It's a Small World!! One of my favorite rides because it reminds me how much beauty there is in our differences.

In line for Soaring over California.

On the Tower of Terror! Can't you tell by Emily's expression?

Sunday was absolutely amazing. Gabel stayed with Emily while I went with Steve to spend time with his family at his aunt's home in Rancho Santa Margarita. I've met almost all 11 members of his family now! Just missing Will, his brother on a mission in Cambodia. We had delicious food, played games, and had a little talent show. Steve said "thank you" in a bunch of languages for his talent, and I did a little hula for mine.

I played speed with his two youngest siblings, Emily (10) and Mike (13). They are so cute and fun and they absolutely SCHOOLED me at speed. Here's Steve with them.


Later in the evening we played Mexican Train as a family until midnight. You could tell it was getting late because we were all a little loopy. Sunday was simple, relaxing, and yet so nice just to spend time with Steve and his amazing family. I care more about Steve after this weekend than I did before, and I attribute that to seeing him in a new dimension outside of Provo. If you ever want to get to know someone better, go on a roadtrip with them! I did, and I've been pleasantly surprised. : )

we so sneaky

I flew home to California this weekend and surprised my little sister! All of it was worth the expression on her face when I walked in the house Thursday night.

How my parents actually kept it a secret is quite the miracle. But what an eventful weekend to be home...the Oakland Temple, Mother's Day, visiting relatives, my early birthday celebration, and Miranda's Senior Ball!

10:00 a.m.
The day started off with the idea that my domesticity would empower me to make a little shrug/crop top thingy for Miranda to wear with her prom dress. She had already borrowed a black one to wear over her yellow dress, but NO SISTER OF MINE would attend a formal looking like a bumblebee.

12:00 p.m.
Walked out of Joann's like a champ, bearing a Simplicity pattern and 1 yard of freshly cut, off-white special occasion fabric.

12:30 p.m.
Greeted my adorable grandparents, gorged myself on some scrumptious Dim Sum (Chinese snacks or stuff you buy in SF bakeries), and sat down to work...

2:30 p.m.
Almost done with the attempt at de-bumblebee-izing my sister... Just have to stitch some loose ends and right-side it out...

2:35 p.m.
What the?! Premature rejoicing...I have NO IDEA what I created!!!


It looked the right shape when it was inside-out, but when we reversed it, something was very wrong. My uncle said that it looked like a pair of pants for a very fat dwarf.

Needless to say, I was embarrassed. So much for being a domestic goddess. But I remembered the words of the late Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin:

"Learn to laugh!"

3:30 p.m.
Gave up on the shrug and started on my next project...hair and makeup!

6:00 p.m.
Finished curling Miranda's hair and doing her makeup, but I was still determined to get the shrug to work! Miranda was already half an hour late to meet up with her friends, but like I said, I was determined.

6:30 p.m.
A miracle and ten prayers later, I literally had some divine intervention and inspiration to get the sleeves to work. Ahh...finished!

The exchange...


The adorable couple. High school love. : )


All the girls. With pretty bouquets made by one girl's mom.All the couples!

i can't help but smile

Oh sweet summertime. No school, baby! And that's just the beginning of things to be happy about. And since I love top ten lists so much, I've decided to make a list of the Top Ten Things I'm Excited about This Summer.

10. Intramurals. Ok, so I'm too embarrassed to actually play them. But I am an awesome spectator. Just ask Steve.

9. Mondays. It means frozen yogurt is discounted to 30 cents an ounce at Yozone.

8. Ice cream. Whether it's a 1.5 quart carton of Breyer's or Macey's vanilla soft serve, I am so there...it's insane.

7. Pandora. I'm pretty much obsessed with Pandora Radio. Oh surprise, I'm listening to it now.

6. Domestication. Lately I've taken up cooking since Steve wouldn't eat healthy otherwise. Plus it's more motivating to cook for two rather than one. Allrecipes.com is my hero.

5. Roadtrips. Nothing like spending 10+ hours in a car with people you love!

4. Miranda's Graduation. Steve and I are flying home for the Panda's high school graduation. My parents will officially be empty nesters!

3. Australia. Less than 3 months till the big report day! I'm definitely okay with coming back with an Aussie accent.

2. Late Night Heart-to-Hearts. Two weeks ago I made the big move from my old room to Angie's on the other side of the wall. Now we talk and practice our deep belly laughs together until we fall asleep.

1. The Temple. Just 7 days until I go through!

Because I have nothing better to do

So I always told myself I would leave blogging up to the married people who would have something interesting to say about their lives. But seeing as this is not in the imminent future, and based on the fact that my two best friends also just started blogging, I thought I would jump on the blogging bandwagon as well. Here goes!