California was awesome! I got to see and walk the grounds of the Newport Beach, San Diego, and Los Angeles Temples. I also got to go to Distributions (at the San Diego Temple) and Deseret Books. I bought a pocket size hymn book and the hymn on CD.
I got to see and get in the Pacific Ocean. My body never warmed up to its cold temperature.
We got to go to a lot of shops and see beautiful children clothes.
I got to go to lots of eateries and eat food like real Californians. I really loved the ice cream at Didi Riese.
I got to stay at Embassy Suites for 4 days. I really hate elevators but as fate would have it we were on the 5th floor. We got complementary breakfast and a nightly Managers Reception. While there in San Diego we went to Seaport Village where Mike got his Kite.
Before and after we were at Embassy Suites we stayed with Hallie's parents. They were so nice to me. Hallie's mom gave me sparkling lotion and a pillow case with the Los Angeles Temple on it.
I also got to meet Hallie's sister-in-law Elise and her two beautiful children. Lily became so close to me, it was like we were best buds. She is so pretty with beautiful gold hair. Emerson is so shy and it was nice to see him warm up to me. His favorite word is 'this' and it is so cute to hear him say it.
While in Simi Valley I got to meet Mike's parents and his two nephews Haydn and Lucas. Haydn is so funny and we got to play with his cars. Lucas was also pretty shy and I only got to see him for an hour or so.
I got to see 3 horses, Beverly Hills, the Hollywood sign, Rodeo Drive, The Chinese Theatre, and the Hollywood walk of fame (that had creepy impersonators).
I got to go to church in Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley. The youth in both churches had went to their prom the night before so they had on their beautiful gowns. It made me think about the church prom I was missing by going on the trip. But you can't miss what you never had.
I also got to experience first hand what is widely known as California traffic. It took us so long to get to our destination.
Our last two days was filled with water thanks to the hot weather. We went to the local pool to cool off. It was so fun seeing the children play in the water.
However, none of that compares to the beauty of the mountains and flowers. Mike said that I was lucky because California isn't normally that colorful. He said that it is normally brown. While on a bridge I was able to look to my right and see the ocean and look to my left and see the mountains. It was such a breath taking sight. Which is something I hope to see when I start my own family.
Overall my trip to California was great and I hope to have many more trips like it.
I want to thank Hallie and Mike for inviting me, everyone at the church for making this trip possible by letting me babysit for them, Hallie and Mike's parents for their hospitality, Elise and her family for making the trip fun, and Haydn for being such a great kid.
