Beautiful San Diego

I flew out Friday afternoon to San Diego for my cousin's wedding. It was quite weird being without children for 48 hours. I kept looking around the airport for little ones I could keep my eye on. It was nice to get a little break but life just isn't 'right' without my kiddos and Jake, of course. He was a real trooper and managed to take the kids by himself to a wedding the night I flew out. So I flew into Vegas and had an hour layover. When I got on the plane heading to San Diego I sat next to a nice looking man in his mid-30s. His wife and 2 young daughters were seated a couple rows ahead of him. During the flight we talked quite a bit about his work, his family moving from San Diego to San Clemente next week, etc. He was very kind and it made the flight go fast. Halfway through the flight his youngest (nearly 4) climbed into the seat between us and I heard him talking to her and thought it was Spanish. With the cabin pressure and noise from other passengers I couldn't hear very well but thought for sure it was, indeed, Spanish. So I look down at the girl who was pretty shy and I asked her what her name was in Spanish and how old she was. Well, this little girl looked at me like I was crazy. I thought she just must be really shy or my Spanish was really crappy. A few minutes later the dad starting talking to her again and I realized it was NOT Spanish. I asked him what language he was speaking... Oh. It's Farsi. Yes, this family is Iranian. How could I think they were Hispanic? Who knows. Let's just say, I felt pretty dumb. No wonder the girl was giving me weird looks. Anyway, I got a good laugh from that and thankfully the man laughed too and was not offended. Anyway, I arrived in San Diego around 6:45pm Friday and my aunt Vicki and uncle Darrell picked me up and we went to the Marriott Hotel to meet the rest of the family. We ate at TGIFriday's and then I slept in my grandparents' hotel room with them. Saturday morning we went to my cousin, Krystin's sealing to her husband Andy. It was a beautiful wedding. The weather was perfect and everyone looked great. I had never been to the San Diego temple before and it is truly incredible. (Well, all temples are incredible but this one really is so beautiful.) After the wedding we drove 2 1/2 hours to Apple Valley, where my relatives live, and I helped my aunt Andrea get last minute stuff done for the reception. After the reception I went to my aunt Sam and uncle Kerri's house and slept there that night. Then Grandpa and Grammy, Hillary, Mark (her boyfriend), and I left California at 4:30am and we made it home around 3:30pm. It was a quick trip, but still I had a great time. It was nice to see my aunts, uncles, and cousins who I don't see too often and visit with them at their houses. The last time I visited them in Apple Valley was when I was pregnant with Ben... so quite a few years ago. Thanks to all my relatives for putting up with me for a few days. I had a wonderful time.

Here is Krystin and Andy coming out of the temple as husband and wife. Her colors were black and bright lime green. Check out her green converse. Smart girl, not wearing huge heels and killing her feet all day!

The Call Family (Krystin and Andy, my grandparents, Sam and Kerri, Vicki and Darrell, Andrea and Corwin, and a bunch of my cousins)

Krystin and Andy

I was taking a picture of the temple and a missionary (older couple) said he would take one with me in it so I said "Sure." Him and his wife are from St. George and were very sweet.

Vicki, Grammy, Grandpa, Sam, Kerri, and cousin Max (weird to see my cousins all growing up. I remember babysitting Max when he was younger than Josh's age and now he's 15 and definitely not a little kid anymore.)

Uncle Kerri, Grandpa, and cousin Hillary. (I imagine my grandpa was giving Hillary some counsel about dating/marriage as she is heading off to Utah State this fall as a freshman.) Again, I remember Hillary as this tiny 4 year old. Now she is 18 and going to college. She is a beautiful and sweet girl. I'm glad we were able to ride to Utah together and hopefully with her now only 1 1/2 hours away we can have her over for dinner sometime soon.

The reception theme was a whimsical party. There was an italian soda bar, chocolate fountains, and a candy bar. There was a dance floor on the opposite side of the gym and it did feel more like a casual party instead of a formal reception. Everyone had a great time. I enjoyed catching up with my cousins, Sean and Brandy, Brian and his girlfriend Brooke, and Jesse and Adriana.

Adriana and I. She has 4 kids and is only 26. She teaches at a high school full-time, is a yoga instructor, and I hear is a great chef and baker. She's amazing. It was great to talk with her and the rest of my extended family. I just wish I had more time to spend there... next time!