California in our Hearts

On March 19th, 2010 Joseph, Ayla, and I hopped in the car and headed for the coast!  San Jose, CA, to be specific.  We left around 10 p.m. knowing that this was around Ayla's bedtime in hopes that she would sleep through the night.  And being the angel that she is, she did!  Joseph and I struggled with staying awake and pulled over to have a nap ourselves somewhere in Nevada.  Around 11 a.m. we arrived at our destination.  We checked in to our awesome hotel, bathed Tiny, and freshened up.  From there we went exploring!  (This wasn't exploring at all for Joseph, this is where he grew up!)

I fell in love with San Jose and I realize why Joseph misses it so badly.  The color, the food, the shopping, the people, the fast driving!  It's all so very exciting and so very different from our current home.  I had such a great time visiting with his friends and family in the area, they are wonderful people!  I loved meeting people that I haven't met before but have heard so much about.  I especially loved being in the Bradley's home eating Michelle's delicious pesto chicken sandwiches and her yummy double chocolate chip cookies!

On Sunday we went to San Francisco for the day.  We went down to Fisherman's Wharf and Ghirardelli Square where we had ice cream as we walked along the pier.  Ayla loved all the commotion and the seagulls!  We headed to our hotel to check in and let Ayla take a nap.  From there we headed out to explore.  We drove around and around seeing all that there is to see in that beautiful city!  We went to a huge mall where we had dinner and browsed before heading back to the hotel.  We ended the evening with desert and a visit with my aunt Lisa who I haven't seen in years!

The next morning we made one last stop at some outlets before leaving the state.  Joseph bought me the purse that matches my wallet from Fossil.  He spoils me.  :)

Heading back to Utah was really hard for us.  We so loved being in the real world again.  (You can say it until you are the blue in the face, but Utah is NOT the real world.)  I loved the salty fresh air and the vibrant colors!  When we hit Nevada and everything was brown, our spirits definitely went down.  We have a great life together in Utah, but we definitely see it as a temporary residence, not a home.  We are so excited to be heading out to Saint Louis for the summer... but that is a completely separate blog entry!

Here are some pictures from California... ENJOY!