LA Visit

The Venice boardwalk

Lucy sporting the new hat I bought from a street vendor for $5!!
Gotta support my fellow needle-crafters.

3 Mamas in 3 different stages: Ashley with the newborn, Kimber with the fetus, and me with the crawler.

Back at the good ole' Nelson pad enjoying some delicious Chicken Tikka Masala made by Kimber

We tried to get in a bunch of our favorite places to grub, Pomodoro being one of them. Yum!

Happy Birthday Girlies

We got to spend some time with the birthday girls (Kimber and Ashley) and their hubbies (David and Chad) at Lake Arrowhead when we were in Cali. These are some of the choicest humans we know and we were so happy to see them if but only for a moment...
**Ashley was a natural with Lucy; She is going to be a killer new mommy of the little dude on his way.**

We spent the night on some wicked comfy bunk beds,
and this was the view from our window when we woke up in the morning.


We had a nice breakfast prepared by the boys and got to eat it out in the fresh air on the deck.

David enjoyed, I mean really enjoyed, the milk of the chocolate variety.

We climbed to the top of the fire look-out to get a view of the San Bernardino Valley.

The Park Rangers let us use the binoculars...and boy did we take advantage!



What a fabulous way to celebrate the 27th and 30th anniversary of these lovely ladies' births!

Meet the Folks of EHS

While we were in LA, Lucy got to meet all the good peeps at EHS--my old school. Everyone was really excited to finally get to see her.
Here she is meeting the teachers in the faculty room.

The kids mobbed us as we walked out to recess!

So, we had to have them line up to get a glimpse of the babe.

We quickly disinfected Lu after all the handshakes with dirty recess hands! :)

Happy Super Sweet 16!!

For the past 3 years, I worked as a tutor for a girl in middle school. Our relationship developed to more of a big sis/little sis bond. So, for her sweet 16 birthday party, her parents flew us out to L.A. and put us up in their guest house. We felt pretty special to get the star treatment! Thanks a million--we were happy to be able to be there!!

Here we are getting our photos taken on the red carpet by the paparazzi!

Ashley, me, and the birthday girl!

Sean looked great in his new black pants and skinny tie--too bad we didn't know that he would be matching the server uniforms!

Lucy really enjoyed the party! (She slept for almost the entire thing!)

Hot pink Chinese Take Out Boxes--so chic!

Blue Magic Mocktails--yum!

We got sketched by the characature artist--notice Lucy's eyes are closed!

We rocked out on the Rock Band stage to "We Got the Beat"


It was so fun to spend a few days with the Pooles. We have really missed them and living in L.A. Plus, it was pretty much the best birthday party I have ever been to!

Jet Settin' LuLu

She did it!  She made the 4 hour flight from Nashville to LA sleeping the whole way!  Now we're in Utah and she did well on that flight too.  2 down, one to go...

Express Mail to Los Angeles...

So, we have been a little nervous about our upcoming flight with Lu. We've got a 4 hour flight to LA ahead of us tomorrow & We've decided that it might be easier just to mail her instead of take her on the plane, so we boxed her up and shipped her out today. See you tomorrow sweetie!
"Um...guys, guys....this isn't funny!"

Safe travels, Lucy!

Ellen!!

Thanks to my good friends Janae & Jackie for inviting Ashley & I to the Ellen taping that they had extra tickets for! I have always loved Ellen--ever since her early 90s TV show, so this was a treat. It was especially exciting when Richard Branson, owner of Virgin, came out and gave us all
2 roundtrip tickets on Virgin America!!
We have to plan a trip quick though since they don't go to Nashville!

Other highlights included seeing Willie Nelson perform & Ashley getting to go on stage for a wacky science demo! See HERE
**if you look closely you can see us in the audience when Ashley gets called up from our group!

During one of the breaks, I was selected to be in the Beyonce dance-off contest, and I was so Booty-licious that I won this shirt!! Not bad for a pregnant girl, eh?!

You've Got to Be Kidding!!

So, it was about 75 degrees today in LA with lows of around 60 tonight when Sean and I went out to dinner. While waiting for our table outside of Tofu Ya** we noticed a woman wearing this jacket. Come on! Maybe I should invite her to Utah, so she can experience what it feels like to really need a freakin' down coat! In fact, I left my North Face coat in SLC last time I was in town because I had never needed it here.

**Delicious, inexpensive Japanese/Korean food! If you are in the mood for yummy Korean bbq or Japanese Katsu, go check it out. The California Roll was tasty too. It is on Sawtelle near Asahi.** But don't forget your boots, gloves, and hats because you may have to wait outside for a table!

Welcome to the Kwik-E-Mart!!

I was driving home the other day, when I noticed that I had entered the town of Springfield!!! The local 7/11 had been transformed into a Kwik-E-Mart in preparation for the upcoming realease of the Simpsons Movie. You can get a Squishy, Buzz Cola, or a donut straight out of the movie! I have been tempted to go, but there is a line at all times of the day.

Apparently there are only a few, 11 to be exact, converted Kwik-E-Marts in the U.S. and one in Canada. Lucky for us, this one is only a couple blocks away. I wish Cleadus and the gang were here to join me for a Squishy. Too bad you can't get a Duff Beer!

Beth's Visit

I can't tell you how nice it was to have Beth in town for the week! She is seriously the greatest. Here are the things I love most about her:

• She is a SHOPAHOLIC. We can spend hours in the stores
• She plays the piano like a dream
• She sings the wrong words to songs--"St. Elmo's Fire" in her language is "St. Devil's Bayou" Ha!!
• She has two different colored eyes
• She is loyal
• She is a firey red-head who tells it like it is
• She doesn't order soda with dinner...water only
• She loves to sing Broadway songs
• She is a great story teller and makes me laugh
• We talk on the phone almost everyday--she even wakes up early on her days off, so I can call her on my way to work. It makes my day!
• She is beautiful

Here are some of the best shots from her trip here:

That is Kareem Abdul Jabar!!


"I love Gene Kelly!!"


Auditioning for "The Singing Bee"--a new game show! We are such geeks.


Elvis was at the audition! Can you believe he got cut?!


Chosun Galbee Korean Barbeque. This is seriously the best restaurant in LA and lucky for us, Sean tutors the kids of the owners. So we always get gift certificates for unlimited food. Yum!


This was the biggest dessert ever--The Mother Lode from Jerry's Famous Deli--and Beth thought she could handle it. Not quite. :)


A view of the Santa Monica Pier


Beth is in heaven!

Santa Monica beach...beautiful day!

I can't wait for the next visit...we can eat even more great food and see more great sites!

Defying Gravity

One of our first activities with the Dicksons was going to Wicked. It is playing at the Pantages Theatre here in LA. This was the second time for Beth and I, and it was even better than I had remembered. I think the boys even liked it! Beth and I have been singing duets ever since we left the theatre...

"popular...you're gonna be popular.."

Thanks to Janae that organized all of the tickets and got us a great deal! We had a great time!