Good Times in March!

So I have been a little behind catching up on our busy month of March, so I'm am taking the time to blog this, nothing is getting in my way! There is going to be an abundance of photos, just a warning ;)
My birthday was a blast this year. Some of my girlfriends and I went to Jason Aldean at Energy Solutions the night before my bday. I haven't been to a concert in over 8 years and I have never been to a country concert, but I have to admit I LOVED IT! I'm looking forward to going to more. Thanks Meredith for the pics!

Myself, Hope, her friend she works with (horrible with names) and Meredith













We needed nourishment...lol

The next day, Ryan and I headed down to Southern California for a week long vacation to see my Mom and Dad. My older brother Justin and his family were down there at the same time before they moved from Seattle, WA to Mississippi. I wanted to spend as much time with them as could before they left.
We flew stand by with Delta, well normally this wouldn't be an issue, but because of the economy (blah, blah, blah) they have reduced flights so it's a guessing game if you are going to get on. (It saved us $400 dollars at the time) well I guess we were lucky because Ryan and I were the last two to board the plane...8 others had to wait!
We weren't able to sit next to each other, poor Ryan had to sit by a screaming baby and a puking lady!
Once in California we had so much fun! The first day, Sunday, we headed down to Balboa for the tide pools. These were so neat, the tide goes down to reveal all these little pools and you are able to see all the little creatures.


Mom with Jade, Navaeh and Sophia, Gina scoping out the pools
A cute hermit crab

Ryan the explorer

Justin, Justin, Jr. and Ryan

My Mom and I

A neat view

After the tide pools we walked down to Balboa Pier and had lunch.

We got home and my Uncle Curt and Aunt Stacey joined us for my birthday dinner.
They were nice enough to let us stay with them because it was a full house at my parents. It was wonderful to get to know them better and have morning coffee with them.
My Dad and Justin

Aunt Stacey, Mom with the kids, Uncle Curt


Monday Ryan and I went to Six Flags while everyone else went to Disney Land. We have gone to Disney Land the last two years in a row and wanted to ride bigger rides. Six Flags had exactly what we wanted! I wasn't feeling the best, go figure I would get nauseous the one day we were going to Six Flags, but I made it through alright :)



Tuesday morning was a chance to relax and recoup. But not for long...we had tickets to see Jay Leno! We left the kids at home and Justin, Gina, Sophia (Gina's niece) Ryan and I headed to Burbank. We stopped and had lunch first.

Yikes! My hair doesn't curl very well..please forgive!

I didn't think we would get on TV or anything. Well somehow we ended up in the front row! We had to be split up and Ryan and I landed dead center! Right in front of Jay's desk! It was so cool. It turns out Jay is a pretty neat guy. He came out before the show started and talked with the audience. He even let a few of people take pictures with him, his staff had to take the pic because you weren't allowed to have camera's. I thought it was neat for him to take time like that. They tape the whole show in an hour. They stop for the commercials and really leave no room to edit anything. Gerard Butler and Sophia Veraga from Modern Family were the guests. Gerard was very funny and Sophia was gorgeous! The band was Rodrigo Y Gabriela. They were a guitar duo and very, very good. We took pictures from the TV, my uncle kindly Tivo'd it for us.

The front row was able to go and shake Jay's hand at the start of the show. Ryan is in the first, I'm in the second photo.


Ryan and I are sitting bottom right.

Wednesday Justin and crew headed back to Utah. Ryan and I went to Santa Monica and Venice Beach. We just walked along the beach and enjoyed the sun. The Santa Monica Pier has a little amusement park. It was neat to see.
Venice is one of the most interesting and unusual places I've ever been too.
Here are some pictures from that day.







Thursday we went downtown LA to visit my Mom and Aunt Stacey at their office, Wilson and Assoc. Their office is on the 38th floor and they have a pretty amazing view of the city. You can even see the Hollywood sign! We walked down to LA Live. It reminded me of Jordan Landing or the District but just bigger. It has alot of restaurants and bars. It's right across the street from the Staples Center and the Nokia Theater (where the American Idol finale is held) is right there as well. I guess on game night the entire place is just packed. It was a fun place to visit.
Right outside my Mom's office there is a farmers market. I would love to be able to go on my lunch and browse the different vendors.

I caught them off guard, but Mom was ready with a smile!


Straight down from 38 floors...the circle thing is a 3 level food court.

View from their office

Hazy Hollywood sign

After lunch Ryan and I drove down the Pacific Coast highway and went to the church my aunt and uncle were married 2 years ago in Palos Verdes. This church is amazing. It sits right on the edge of a cliff that over looks the ocean. It's just beautiful, I just had to go back.




We then drove down further until the road ended and found another cliff that overlooked a secluded cove, it was just beautiful!



After that we continued down PCH to find a few lighthouses. I love lighthouses!
The first one is Point Vicente.


The second one is Point Fermin



Phew! We are almost finished!
The original plan was to come home Friday afternoon, but flying standby comes with challenges. We looked at the available seats starting Wednesday and it wasn't looking so good. Instead of taking the chance, we booked a different flight home with Southwest Saturday morning at 5am. So we were able to have one more day of vacation! We decided to spend it where else, but the beach! We drove down to Seal Beach, Huntington Beach (where all the cool surfers hang out) and Newport Beach. One last day in the sunshine was well worth it!
Seal Beach




Huntington Beach




Newport Beach


So I am nearing the end of our trip (sigh), but you are probably thinking it's about time!
For our last night we went with my Mom and Dad to Long Beach harbor. They were just starting to set up for the Indy Race that will happen in two weeks. They literally close down the streets in downtown Long Beach and race their cars in the narrow streets. It was really neat to see, we will really try to get to the race one year.
We walked along the harbor to watch the sunset. The sailboats were coming in and made for some neat shots.
We ate at Tequila Jacks, the burritos were HUGE! We ate out on the patio over looking the water and the boats. It was a great way to wind down our trip.

Mom and Dad walking down the harbor


Ryan getting pictures of the moon and palm trees



The Long Beach Lighthouse

The Queen Mary at night - hard shot to get in focus without a tripod!


THE END!!!!!