california will always be home

It's been a while, but I decided it was about time to update you dedicated few on my amazing trip to California at the end of the summer. I brought some great friends home with me for a week and a half-- Dan and Melissa Johnson, and my dear cousin Amy Lambert. We had a blast!

We went to the beach, Zuma and Santa Monica, ate watermelon everyday, and visited LA like a regular tourist--Getty Museum, Huntington Library, Hollywood sign, Fashion District, etc.
























This picture of Bry is like the perfect summer beach picture--drinking a caprisun, with the lifeguard station and people and umbrellas and Malibu in the background.

One of the main reasons of my trip was to make it to Mike Oakford and Austen Anderson's homecoming on time. We left late Saturday night and stopped in Mesquite to sleep before waking up at the crack of dawn to drive the rest of the way to Simi. Amy and I walked into Sacrament meeting more or less exactly when Mike stood up to speak. Whew! We are amazing. And regardless of the fact that we only had 5 hours of sleep, we enjoyed our time on Sunday celebrating my dad's birthday in LA with the grandparentals and then celebrating the happy return of Mike and Austen.

Don't you love the hat? Not something I would usually wear. And it's actually Bry's. haha.

I didn't realize how much I missed my puppy until he freaked out when I walked in the house. He's getting so old! It makes my heart hurt to see how bad Bandit's arthritis is getting.

One night I went out with my Young Women leaders.
And when I came back, this is what I found:
Melissa and Dan enthusiastically competing
in the Wii version of Dancing with the Stars.
It was quite entertaining. I'm glad they

were able to make themselves at home.

Another reason I came home was for David and

Ariel's wedding, which I do believe was
absolutely gorgeous. Congrats you two!
And I do have to admit that I am very proud of
this picture. I have definite photography skills.

Dad and Mom dancing at the wedding. Aww....

Marie and Amy most likely conniving together to do something ridiculous. =D They are gorgeous girlies. I love them both.
On the way home, we ran into quite a beautiful sight. I should have pulled over and gotten out of the car to take a better picture. But isn't the double full rainbow gorgeous? I have never seen one before! It was a great welcome back into Utah.

what's KaRynn so happy about??

I'm happy that...

1. I got to eat at Cafe Coyote in Old Town San Diego.
I love SD anyways. But I got to walk around the little Boutiques and eat yummy Mexican food! I wish I had bought more souvenirs....There were some fun stores.

The women at the front of the restaurant are making fresh tortillas. YUM!



Isn't it a fun restaurant?
A fun store in Old Town SD.

2. My Samantha graduated from UCSD!
Yay graduates! (AKA ME TOO--a month ago!!) It was quite an exhausting day for me. No energy, can't breathe, no sunscreen, and 6 hours of sun. But it was still awesome to see Sam walk!



3. The baby seals came out to play...
I love the beach! Especially when wildlife come out to play. And yay for being with the Harper family! We had fun watching the smelly seals!

Me and Heather.

4. the Body Exhibit happened to be in SD.
So.COOL. Didn't learn anything new, but totally appreciated the skill used in dissecting the cadavers and then presenting them. Definitely recommend it.



5. Swordfish is yummy...DUH!
Totally ate yummy food at the Fish Market Restaurant at the pier in San Diego. A.MAZE.ING.

This is the view from the balcony at the restaurant. Gorgeous!


6. My cold is slowly going away...finally!
I finally can breathe, although my nasty cough is being annoyingly persistent. And I finally have enough energy that I'm not falling asleep at restaurants anymore (Sorry swordfish, I didn't appreciate you as much as I could have).

This shows how I felt. And I really wanted my teddy. =D



7. My 2nd degree sunburn has officially turned into an awesome tan (albeit awful tanline).
Thank goodness I am no longer shedding skin. That is a disgusting stage of a sunburn. I hate it.

I look like a lobster.

8. Even though I had huge nasty blisters on my feet, getting a pedicure didn't hurt!
I treated Marie and myself to a pedicure while I was home. Speaking of which, funny story: While the woman was filing my pinky toe, the toenail completely ripped off. And I didn't notice until she said, "uh oh! are you all right?" I just laughed and was like, "I didn't even feel that!" And then she glued my toenail back on and painted it like the rest. You can't even tell! I wonder if my toenail will grow back normally......



9. Awesome view from Sam's apt in La Jolla! Check it out!
Just to clarify, this picture is not the actual view from her apt. That would have been awesome. No. She lives in the apartments you can see behind the temple.

10. I got to visit my favorite beaches ever! Go Zuma and Santa Monica Beach (south of the pier...of course).
Don't worry, I already had a 2nd degree sunburn and I wasn't about to sunburn the sunburn. I wore a shirt and a hat and brought a very large umbrella with me to the beach (which, by the way, broke. How does metal snap in half? I'm really not that strong!)

A beautiful day at Zuma Beach:


11. I took a shower in THIS house.
I know, pretty pathetic that this makes me happy. I just realized as I was in the shower, that I will probably NEVER shower in a bathroom that gorgeous ever again--not even on my honeymoon. (PS - just zoom in a few times and you'll see it--the house, not the bathroom).

12. I went to El Cholo's with Grandma, Steve and Shari.
"I lean like a Cholo...Elbows up, side to side...Elbows up, side to side." I had this song stuck in my head the whole time we were eating. Yum! Even got some flan.

13. Satisfied my craving for an outing with Lano and Austin.
I'm NOT so happy about the ridiculous movie prices in LA. Seriously? $16? Seriously? RIDICULOUS. Oh, and I accidentily didn't stay Green by recycling the awesome glasses you need for a 3D movie. Oops.

And sadly, there is no proof that we had the outing. No pictures were taken. This is pretty pathetically excuseless on our part.

But the movie was definitely enjoyable, even for a second time.