The Marrow of Life: California

"Have you been to California? Made your way through sleepy sea towns? Tasted salty ocean air?"

I have. What a perfect trip to jump start my Summer with. What luck to spend a whole week in California with some of the most amazing girls that I know. These 7 girls have been my anchor and my laughter over these last three years at BYU. It truly was a blessing to find such great roommates and I don't know how I would have survived without them.

Although I would love to share with you all the stories that this California week entailed...I guess I'll just keep it brief and tell you only the best highlights (in pictures of course).

On the way down to Oceanside, California (our new home), we stopped in Las Vegas for Lunch. The highlight had to be getting totally splashed by the beautiful Belagio Fountains! I guess the wind was just right...

Our little 1920's home right on the beach - courtesy of my roommate Jessica and her family

Cloudy weather? Bahh, that does not stop us from enjoying the beach. (nor from getting sunburned sadly) There is nothing more glorious that hearing the ocean waves, smelling the salty air, watching dolphins jump through the surf, building sandcastles, and reading a good book while your feet are snug in the warm sand.

Of course, a trip to California is not complete without a stop in the happiest place on earth! I've always loved Disneyland and I will admit that I might have shed a small tear during the fireworks show. However, the new WORLD OF COLOR water show was super fantastic as well. Wow, what will Disney think of next? (Actually, if you want to know...they are currently building a huge new Cars ride) Oh and yes, that is me in the front of Splash Mountain looking like I am about to fall to my death!

We also took a trip to see the Sandiego Temple, which I had surprisingly never been to before. It is quite gorgeous. We then headed to the new Mormon Battalion Center in Old town, which was actually really nice. It took me back to my days as a pioneer at This is the Place. Sadly, our rental car broke down here. Do not fret! It all worked out and we got lots of laughs out of it.

How could I resist catching a few waves? I love boogie boarding even in cold water! I tried to skim board...but I failed miserably. It is so much harder than it looks.

One of the best things we did was a photo shoot all together. With one of us graduating, one leaving for a mission, a few leaving for various other housing locations next fall, who knows when we will all be together again. Here is just a sampling of our pics.