Arizona, California, Oregon and Washington...or BUST!

Our month of May was a whirlwind of events including a four state travel spree to Arizona, California, Oregon and Washington for wedding and graduation festivities. We had the opportunity to first fly to Phoenix to visit our good friend David and finally meet his fiance Tonya. We were also able to escort them through the temple for the very first time. It was an experience that Patrick and I would not have missed for anything in the world. We missed David's baptism last year because it was the weekend Tatem was born, go figure, and have regretted it ever since, so being able to be there to support him in receiving his endowments was really special. We had such a great time catching up and sharing old and new stories. The weekend was too short, but we'd be back before we knew it. David, Tonya, Leslie, Patrick
The boys...2008

Following the first weekend in AZ we were back home for a couple of days before heading off to Cali for Andrea's graduation from USC. I drove out with Cindy, Natalie and Nick while Patrick and Brittney took a flight and Courtney flew in from Tucson. BJ and Sara drove out a day later and we had a great couple of days together. That was also the week of my 30th birthday...I know...30!!! Aaaahhhhh! The first day we arrived in L.A. we had a nice tour of the USC campus courtesy of Andrea our "dam" tour guide. That night Patrick took me to see the musical Wicked at the famed Pantages theatre in Hollywood. It was an awesome birthday present! I have always wanted to see Wicked and it was well worth the wait. Patrick loved it too and we would totally see it again, in fact I think they will be in Utah next spring! I can't wait. It was an interesting adventure trying to find our way back to our hotel from Hollywood. It involved a subway trip, a lot of walking (and passing people sleeping on the sidewalks), and finally a cab ride. I wanted to take a picture of the subway but Patrick wouldn't let me, something about...south central L.A....after midnight...us being the only white people around...I guess he didn't want us to look like tourists and be targeted? I don't know, he was probably right but I still wish I had a picture of the train.

Road trip = ipod (video, of course)

USC- Alumni Park and Heisman Trophies

We were also able to spend a day as a family in Santa Monica playing on the beach, walking along the pier and having lunch on the promenade. We spent that night in Hollywood along the walk of fame looking at all the celebrity stars and seeing all the famous theatres. Something everyone needs to do at least once in their life.










I thought this was cool, a restaurant on the promenade in Santa Monica that was my maiden name, Makai ! My maiden name doesn't have an apostrophe though, but I still thought it was pretty cool!



















Patrick and I in front of the Chinese Theatre...awesome.

Will Smith "Change the World" 12-10-07

Andrea's graduation was really exciting, she graduated from USC in History and Political Science, Summa Cum Laude! It is such a huge accomplishment and we are so proud of her. We know it is just the beginning for her. We took some quick photos in the Rose Garden following the ceremony and then quickly got out of the heat.

Proud graduate!










Following graduation Patrick and I flew back to Phoenix for David and Tonya's wedding. Tonya was an absolutely gorgeous bride. It was a beautiful day, really hot, but beautiful. I think it was around 110 degrees or so. I love going to sealing ceremonies because it reminds me of the way I felt on my wedding day and of the covenants that Patrick and I made when we were sealed. Their wedding was on the actual day of my birthday and believe me I was so surprised when the waiters at the wedding lunch started singing Happy Birthday to me! Turns out the grooms mother tipped them off! I was a little embarrassed because I didn't want to "steal" the bride and groom's "thunder" you know? After lunch we headed to the reception and had a great time catching up with Bill and Kathy, David's parents. The DJ at the reception, well that's an entire post all by itself. Let's just say (some) DJ's in Phoenix apparently think that mormons don't listen to anything but the Hokey Pokey, Electric Slide, YMCA and any other cheesy line dance song you can think of. We still had fun laughing at the whole situation and I'm sure it will be one of those stories that just gets funnier over the years. We had the cutest rental car, perfect for the hot Phoenix weather, a Chrysler PT Cruiser convertible. It was so fun to drive, we actually ended up renting the same exact car for both weekends we were there! Lucky! We didn't want to leave Arizona but our travel spree wasn't quite over.

I love this picture! I love how it looks like she's holding the centerpiece like a bouquet!









Our cute car!

The weekend following the wedding Patrick and I flew up to Oregon for David and Tonya's open house in Vancouver, WA. The open house and ring ceremony was held at an Asian restaurant. It was my perfect opportunity to try sushi for the first time but then I chickened out. I think if I could go with someone who knew what to order I would totally try it. I'm sure it's not that different from some of the Tongan food I love.

She got him goooood!

We had another fun and laid back weekend in Oregon, we got to see some of Patrick's family including his dad, grandma and Aunt Toni and Uncle John. It's always fun to visit the Pacific Northwest, we love it up there. The green trees, the beautiful sunsets, someday we will move there but we're not exactly sure when. That trip marked the end of our travel spree, and by this time the girls were sick of us being gone. We would have loved to have taken them with us but it just didn't work out with all the traveling involved and age restrictions on some events. They did however love all of their "surprises" that we brought back for them but we totally owe them a family trip.











Beautiful sunset over the Columbia River

Spanish Fork from 10,000+ feet.

We'll take a vacation from traveling now for a while though, 12,000+ miles, 4 states, airport security and depleted savings will keep us home bodies for a while...It sure was fun while it lasted!