Trip #2 back to Cali

My sister was due June 5th and we arrived back home late June 6th...no baby yet! So on Thursday, my sister met up with us, I went and got my hair done while Brian and Crystal hung out in Corona. Then us two pregnant ladies went and got our nails done, and then the three of us went to Oma and Opa's for dinner. My dad goes over there every Thurs night for dinner, so he was there too. From there, we went to Kate's new house in South Orange County. We had some dessert while we put the guys to sleep with all our nursing talk. :)

On Friday, we met up with Jon and then drove down to San Diego, stopping at our friend Zach's summer house in La Jolla for a manly feast of hot dogs, burgers, chicken, and more! It was a gorgeous San Diegan afternoon with a nice view of the ocean. Then we got ready for the wedding rehearsal and drove over to University of San Diego. Zach gave us a little tour of the gorgeous USD campus and then we went to the rehearsal & dinner afterward. I went back to the hotel with the girls and Brian hung out with the guys.

Saturday was the beautiful wedding of Megan and Casey, with the reception taking place at Balboa Park.

After the wedding we drove to Dan and Angel's (our Boston friends) new place, about 20 min from the reception site and stayed the night with them. Sunday morning, the 4 of us went breakfast at The Cottage in La Jolla, which is the same restaurant that Brian and I ate dinner at this past Valentine's day (the couple owners are from CA and MA). The food was excellent and it was so nice to catch up with them!

After breakfast, we met up with the lovely Hurwitz family just down the street in La Jolla for brunch (lunch for us). While we waited for a table at the Brockton Villa Restaurant, we caught up overlooking the ocean and seals. Unfortunately, this was as close as we got to the ocean on our trip. We had such an amazing morning in La Jolla and then we headed back to OC for church and then dinner with some friends.

To start the week off, my sister went into labor on Monday! It was perfect timing because we were back from San Diego and my dad and Sandi were on their way home from Vegas. Brian and I got to the hospital around noon and my little niece Valentina was born at 6:55pm. It was truly a happy day! A beautiful and healthy baby girl! I couldn't be more excited that we were in town to be there for this special day!

Throughout the rest of the week we met up with various friends and family, often going from one place to the next keeping us very busy. I ate various meals with some nursing school friends:

We spent our last day in town by attending the wedding of our friends Mike and Corey. The ceremony was at San Antonio and the reception at Astor Classic Events Center in Anaheim, where there were all sorts of old, classic cars and antiques. It was really neat. We had to leave the reception early to catch our flight back to Boston...ending our wonderful visit back home. As always, it was so great to see and catch up with our family and friends!!

First visit back to Cali!

It has been a while since my last post, so I will do my best in recapping the last month. We started November by going back to California for 2 weddings and to visit family and friends. We were very busy during our stay there, but it was so great seeing everyone!! And both of the weddings were absolutely gorgeous! My bridesmaid, Kate, a friend from nursing school, was the first wedding and I was a bridesmaid in her wedding. It was such a fun day!! I had never met some of the other bridesmaids and the groomsmen, but they are a great bunch. Kate's wedding was very elegant and the setting couldn't have been more perfect - at San Juan Capistrano Mission and then to the Laguna Cliffs resort in Dana Point for the reception! Congrats to Mr. & Mrs. Bullock - and thank you for letting us share in your special day!

Our second wedding was for one of our groomsmen, Evan, a high school buddy of Brian's. This may have been the most extravagant wedding I have ever been to (and probably ever will). The ceremony was at our church, San Antonio, and Brian and I did the Prayers of the Faithful (petitions), which I was so nervous to do (I hate microphones!!). However, I think we did a great job!! The reception was at the beautiful Nixon Library, where there were 3 bars during cocktail hour, not to mention a live musician as well as a painter!! Also, the table centerpieces were out of this world!

The flower arrangements were absolutely beautiful. The one below was by the cake/dessert table, but they were also on the altar at the church. Gorgeous!

We tried to spend as much time as we could with our families while we were home. We met my grandma, aunt and mom for breakfast one morning (left). My dad's side of the family had a thanksgiving dinner for us while we were home, which was so nice! Somehow I forgot to take pictures though! We also had lunch with Brian's family too. The picture on the right is of balloons outside Pam's house - she always decorates for her guests! She and her family had a lovely dinner for us!! Also during our time in CA I was able to visit with some of my lovely nursing buddies!!!

Sari, Caroline & Me

Krystin (& Noah), Katie, Pami, Erin, Me, & Tiffany

That just about sums up our trip back in California. It was so much fun and we really enjoyed the weather! We left Boston at 6:00 am at 34 degrees and arrived in Los Angeles around lunch time where it was about 100 degrees!!! It was great! We were peeling off all our layers. :) We were happy to be there for some record breaking November temps, but it was only for the first couple days. We also got to drive again! We were so excited for that - we thought we were going to forget how to drive, but of course we didn't! It was nice having the freedom you get with a car, but we spent so much on gas and that we do not miss. :) Lastly, our time catching up with friends was wonderful and we were able to see our pregnant friends "showing" their baby bellies now!! This is me with the beautiful mommy-to-be, Emily!