our weekend in cali!

A couple weeks back we were finally able to take a break from our business for a few days and head over to California. We didn't get to do and see as much as I would have liked- but it was stil fun and a nice break none the less. Here are some highlights!

This is where we stayed:

We got a pretty good deal on our hotel with the name your own price feature on Priceline. $75 a night and no further than 15 minutes away from anywhere we needed to be! Well... if we knew where we were going it would have only taken fifteen minutes. Thanks to the not-so-reliable GPS, it took about 30-40 minutes to find my aunts' hotel that otherwise would have been 15 minutes away. It was an adventure! lol

We got there late Friday night and the next morning, after a nice long sleep-in, Nathan and I met my aunts Amy & Lara for brunch. They were lucky enough to get a room right on Venice beach. Their hotel room was small- but super cute. I was loving it. They had a great view of the ocean-- unfortunately the smell of the nice ocean breeze was sometimes over powered by somebody's "medicinal" marijuana! Gotta love Cali, right?

We went to a little organic cafe that was right down the way from their hotel- it was pretty good! After that we took a stroll down Venice beach to see what it had to offer. I have never seen so many strange and interesting things & people all in one spot! I could have spent all day there- it was awesome. I wish I had taken more pictures!

One guy was making this awesome sand sculpture on the sidewalk for tips. It was pretty neat, so my aunt gave him a dollar. We saw many other forms of very unique art too; paintings, collages, jewelry made out of junk you find on the beach, song, dance, you name it- you can probably find it somewhere in Venice!

Naturally the freak show caught our eye. I don't care who you are- you know you secretly want to go in! Nathan and I paid the $5 each - because we are total suckers. They had some cool things, but for the most part it was kind of lame. lol At least we can say we've done it though!

Above, is my favorite thing from the freak show. A two headed duck! Isn't that the cutest little freak you have ever seen!?

After our Venice excursion, it was time to rush back to hotel and get cleaned up and changed for the whole reason we drove out to Cali in the first place...

My cousin Desiree's wedding!! Don't she and Devin make such a cute couple? I am so happy they tied the knot and to have a new cousin-in-law! I've considered Devin part of the family for a while I now- but now it's official.

They got married at a restaurant in Marina del Rey called the Shanghai Reds. It was so beautiful! (Must give a special thanks to everyone who took and shared such great pictures! My camera died within the first 30 minutes of being there) Here are some pictures that my dad took of the grounds before the ceremony started:




Amazingly pretty, right? Everything going great- we were all getting in our seats ready to see the beautiful bride walk down the aisle when this happened:

yup! A bird flew over and pooped on my dad! It sounds funny, but I really did feel so bad for him. He was looking so schnazzy in hit suit, and his tie matched his shirt beautifully, and he had to take off the coat and tie all because of one pelican! It even leaked through onto his shirt and got on his glasses too. Ewww! But he and Nathan went to the mens room and got him all cleaned up, just in time!

They had the ceremony right on the water, just as the sun was setting. It was gorgeous! It was exactly the way I would have done it if I had, had a bigger budget for my wedding. So romantical! =p

Devin's mom did a wonderful reading at the beginning of the ceremony about love! She is such a delightful woman and such a great hostess. She introduced everyone to everyone and made us feel so welcome!

It was a nice, intimate ceremony; really beautiful- I even teared up a bit! They exchanged rings, pretended to light the unity candle (it was too windy to do it for real, so we all imagined it,) and before ya knew it, the bride was kissed and it was on to their lovely reception!

Desiree always looks fantastic, but she looked especially stunning in her wedding gown. Isn't it gorgeous?

Mr & Mrs Cruise!

They had 4 or 5 different flavors of cupcakes that were absolutely delicious! I wish we had gotten more pictures of the food- it was soooooo good.

Not only was the food great, so was the entertainment. A friend of Devin's mom came and sang some awesome love songs towards the end of the reception. She had an amazing voice- everyone loved it. My dad even gave her his card to be added to her mailing list, so he can come back and see her perform sometime.

Every detail of the wedding was perfect. I feel so blessed that I was able to share such a special moment in my cousin's life.

Congratulations, again to Desiree and Devin!

After the wedding, we met up with my parents and my aunts and we all went down to Santa Monica Pier. (I couldn't believe that I actually convinced my parents to go out and do something after 9:00 at night!! I thought they turned into pumpkins if they stayed out that late! haha)

There is a little amusement park there are on the pier, and though we couldn't afford to hit up Disneyland- we could afford a few rides there at Pacific Park!

First stop- the Ferris Wheel!

This is just the view from one side of the wheel- if you looked out the other direction, the wheel turned right over the ocean! It was crazy awesome! It was dark though, so no one got a really good shot while we were over the water. It was a really nice little ride though- we all enjoyed ourselves.

Next we went on the roller coaster. I was soooo excited because Nathan and I both loooove coasters but it turned out to be kind of lame. Not really worth the $5 we spent to ride it. But again, it was one of those things we did just for the experience of riding a coaster on the pier. It's hard to see, but we actually are in the picture below. Can you see my bright green sweater?

Our final ride of the evening was the sea dragon. Here we are- all smile before the ride starts:

Put your hands in the air, and scream!!

Rides usually don't bother me at all, but I have to admit that after a delicious 5 course meal at my cousin's wedding- my stomach was a little bit queezy after that ride. My dad's was too. Nathan claims he felt fine...

After our amusement park experience, we walked down to the end of the pier. The weather was so amazing. I wish I could enjoy weather like year round.

Nathan and I were enjoying a moment, watching the waves and the ocean when all of a sudden :

"There it is! There's another seal!!" We could see seals swimming at the marina before Desiree's wedding, but every time my Aunt Lara came to look, they would go under water. We saw some more there at the pier and were really excited! I am not sure if my aunt ever got a good look at them or not, but it was pretty cool!

Here's a little fact for ya- if you didn't already know- that pier is the end of Route 66. Of course Nathan and I had to get a picture in front of the sign.

The had a cool little "Route 66" display up on the wall.

A couple views of the Ferris wheel from the end of the pier.


Who are the Arizona weenies wearing sweaters and jackets? Nathan was a tough guy and gave my dad his hoodie to wear. He likes being cold... freak. lol

Look! Nathan even got to go swimming with dolphins!

There was a Bubba Gump Shrimp down by where we parked- so we got a couple tourist pictures out there too.


It was a very fun, memorable night.

The next morning was a Sunday, and time to head home (I told you it was a short trip!) But that morning we had our first, and only, celebrity encounter! If you can call him a celebrity... I don't watch his show, but I knew him right away. Nathan didn't know who it was.


Dr. Rey- also known as Dr. 90210- was at the L.A. temple visitor's center with his family when Nathan and I stopped by to take pictures. I did not take any pictures of him- I stole this one from google. I figured it was probably rude to bother him while he was at the temple with his children and stuff. It was neat to see him though- he was wearing a pretty swanky suit and was driving a deliciously sexy car- his kids were adorable too.

I can honestly say though, I was way more excited to be seeing another temple in person than I was to see Dr. Rey. It was beautiful, but I expected nothing less. The L.A. temple is on a hill too, so it gave a nice little work out walking all around the outside.




I thought the fountain was really pretty, so I had to take a picture.

And this is the view of the city from the bench out front.

And this is Nathan and I outside the temple! One of the only good pictures I have of the two of us from this trip. I have become such a picture slacker! I think that might be one of my resolutions for next year- take more (and better) pics. So there it is- our trip to California!

We have a lot of other fun things planned from now until the end of the year. I will do my best to keep you posted!