California Magic

California is a magical place. And for the following reasons:

Magic hours: it does not matter how late you arrived the night before (see 12am) and the fact that you played in the hot tub for hours afterwards - in California you can still wake up at 7am and function enough to talk on the phone. It doesn't matter that we left at 3pm on Sunday and still managed to make it back to Provo alive, albeit at 4am.

Magic weather: The weather in California is always beautiful! Even though we went to the beach when it was pretty overcast, it was still so pretty! The ocean breeze felt amazing. Rancho Cucamonga was perfect all hours of the day. And Irvine was perfect for the wedding. Because the weather is perfect, the vegetation is near perfect. Plenty of greens. Lots of blooming fruit trees. It's exciting.

Magic house: Levi's family opened their home to Colin, Aub and me and the house was magical. Not only did it have the color-changing lights in the pool and hot tub, but it also was equipped with magical beds that made you fall asleep immediatley and deeply. More than that, this house had a magical table where we'd walk in the kitchen and breakfast would be spread out. We'd pick up some, and then after being gone for a few hours, we'd come home to see that dinner had been replaced for lunh or dinner! Amazing!

Magic slang: I can't tell you how much fun we had with "U-beeyotches" and exactly who would never approve.

Magic friends: I really love everyone who was at the wedding. Colin and Levi and I drove down from Provo and managed to spend the majority of some 60 hours together and not get annoyed with each other. In fact, one could say that we had a marvelous time! Add Aubrey to the mix, and I can tell you that we were laughing so hard most of the day. Even the 10 hour drives did not seem very long (except maybe to Levi, who was driving the whole time). Going on a trip with your friends is often a deal breaker - and honestly, I think we only got to know each other better. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

We left Friday after my homework was done, drove for 9 hours or so - stopping in St. George for some IN&OUT and again in Las Vegas for gas. We got to Rancho Cucamonga at around 12am and hit the hot tub. The water was perfect. The atmosphere fun. Levi managed to scare the crap out of me, as I did not have means of seeing and he was murking around the water and trying to grab my legs. We talked a lot...and then went to bed around 3am. When we woke up on Saturday, we had to go take Becca's temple recommend to her and then we went and picked Aubrey up at the airport. I swear - I love her! She is one of the funniest people I have ever met. After which we went to the beach so that I could enjoy the ocean. It was overcast, and therefore not as crowded, and windy. But it was still really pretty. We didn't meet the wedding party over at the Newport temple, rather we went to eat fish tacos at a really delicious restaurant.

The fun came with the fact that we were all in our beachwear, and we needed to change into our clothes for the reception. Our feet were sandy, our hair wind-tossed and our faces greasy from the sunscreen. We tried to sneak into the Hyatt, but it was a no go. So we tried the Courtyard - and there was not an accessible bathroom. Finally, the Residence Inn gave us a public restroom where we could rinse our feet and change out clothes. Unfortunately, there was not much that could be done with the wind-tossed hair and oily skin.

Kira's reception was absolutely beautiful. She looked stunning, and very happy. Irvine Civic Park was a beautiful place for a reception and I think everything turned out really well. Even if Becca did hate her dress.

After the wedding, there was an attempt at Salsa dancing which ended rather lamely. We had to seperate and so Levi, Colin, Aub and I headed back to the hot tub and remained there until 3am. Again. This late hour made it impossible to make it to the Irvine ward where James Zelnick is serving his mission. The ward was an hour away and started at 10am. We opted for the Huntington Beach ward instead - only, it was equally far away. We dropped Aubrey off with Becca and sadly, had to say our good-byes.

The trip home was long, but bearable. We had church music for half of the trip and good conversation. When we got stuck in Vegas due to the fact that they closed the highway, I was sure Levi and Colin were losing their minds. We did get to "explore" the northern part of Sin City. I must say...it's not really a place to go sight-seeing. The tent city that we passed was filled with homeless people and all the houses had bars on their windows and doors. I don't blame them one bit.

Overall - such a fun trip! I'm so happy for Reuben and Kira and the life that they are beginning together.