Random Events

Here are some random events that we have had going on lately:

We took a weekend trip up to my parent's house. We all went on a hike at our favorite spot, Briones Regional Park.

Also while we were in the Bay Area, we had a wonderful meal over at the Robinson's house. Jeff and Dustin both got their hair done while we were there.

A big group of us went to a Galaxy playoff game. Here is Jeff looking really happy after the big win!

Last Friday Jeff surprised me at work with flowers just because! I had no idea he was coming and all of my coworkers were jealous. It was so sweet of him!

On Saturday we got to go to the LA Kings hockey game! My boss has really good season tickets and couldn't go to that game so he gave them to me. They were such great seats and we had a lot of fun!



Fall

We have had a great fall season this year! Despite the weather in Southern California being pretty different from your typical fall, we were still able to do a bunch of activities to get us into the fall spirit!

I was so excited to get to actually go to Lombardi Ranch with Jeff's family this year. Previous years, we have lived too far away and been too busy. I met up with everyone after work and it was a lot of fun. We walked around looking at the animals, decorations, and millions of pumpkins. Then a few of us took Ellie and Paige in the corn maze! It was pretty cool and the girls loved it! Afterwards we had Bill's famous chilli for dinner and it was so good as always. I am so glad we were able to make it this year for such a fun family tradition!

A few days before Halloween, we had some friends over to all carve pumpkins together. Jeff got really into his and spent four hours carving it. He was so proud of his work, he was showing it off to everyone. I must say, it did turn out pretty good!

Jeff working hard on his masterpiece.

 Jeff's Galaxy Pumpkin

My Happy Pumpkin

On Halloween we got to go Trick or Treating with Jackie and Claire. Claire was dressed as Elmo and she was so cute as she went from house to house. After about the first house she got the hang of it and this is exactly what she said to each person to answer a door:

"Trick or Treat! Thank you! Happy Halloween! I like your Elmo costume!"

followed by:

"Next house! Next house! Next house! Next house!..."

It was so cute and hilarious! She kept hearing everyone say they liked her Elmo costume, so she just kept saying the same thing back to everyone else! We had such a fun time with her.



Despite there being such warm weather at the beginning of the season, the cold has definitely kicked in recently just in time for Thanksgiving. Two weeks ago it hailed harder than I have ever seen. It was crazy and the hail stayed in the grass until the next morning!

Jeff and Jim under attack.

It looked like it snowed but it was all hail!

We have had a great fall this year! We moved in with Jeff's parents and this have been going great! We love the ward here. I found a new job that has been going really well. And Jeff is continuing on with his search for a job as a policeman.

Jeff's 28th Birthday

Jeff turned 28 back in September. To celebrate I made a yummy dinner and pie that he requested. We had a few friends come over and he blew out his candles.

A few days before his birthday I let him go pick out a brand new surf board!!

And on his birthday I surprised him with a Go Pro camera! This is a really cool camera that he attaches to his surf board so he can take videos of himself.

Here are some of the pictures we got from his Go Pro:

Pretty cool, huh?? Jeff loves watching himself in the videos over and over again. He thinks he really is a Pro Surfer now. I am excited because I actually can watch him surf and I don't have to go to the beach in the winter at 5:00am.

Overall, Jeff had a great birthday!

Girls Weekend-Scottsdale, Arizona

For Labor Day Weekend Jaicy, Alysse, Mollie and I headed to Scottsdale, Arizona for a much needed girls weekend!

We stayed at the JW Marriott Camelback Inn Resort and Spa thanks to the reccommendation of Mollie's friend Nicole Marriott herself! We heard so many wonderful things about this resort from many sources and it definitely lived up to what we heard.

The spa at the resort was our daily destination.

 We had some delicious breakfasts at Sprouts.

 Lots and lots of our time was spent in the pool in order to escape the Arizona heat.

 On Saturday we all got a swedish massage and on Sunday we all got the most heavenly facial ever. Since we bought spa services both days we got access to the spa for the whole weekend! It was great!

 We ate some yummy salad and pizza one night and then some excellent Mexican food the next.

It was so good to catch up on each others lives and relive old memories together. We plan on making girls weekend an annual thing and you better believe we have some big plans for next year up our sleeves already!

A Day in LA

A few weeks ago Jeff and I both randomly had a Thursday off of work. His dad had given him a gift card for Flemings a while ago so we decided to head into downtown Los Angeles to spend the day there and then eat a fancy meal.

Our first stop (and the only one with pictures) was a spot from a movie. Can you figure out which one?

 500 Days of Summer! This is the bench that Tom takes Summer to and says is his favorite spot.

 It definitely looked more appealing in the movie than it did in person with all of the homeless people sleeping a few yards away. Nevertheless, we sat and enjoyed the tiny park among the tall buildings for a little while.

The rest of our day was spent observing busy business men, exploring downtown LA by car and by foot, a trip to the fashion district for some new fabric (YAY!), and then a wonderfully delicious meal at Flemings.

It was a great way to spend our random Thursday of freedom.

August in a Nutshell

August was definitely the craziest month of the summer for us. Here is a recap:

SURGERY
It started with a hernia surgery for Jeff. All went well.

FAMILY REUNION

Then we went up to the Bay Area again for a little family reunion where we got to see some of my relatives that I don't see too often.

REFUGIO

Next it was time for the Thompson's annual Refugio trip. It was once again a great week of camping by the beach with lots of friends, family, games, laughs, food, and fun.

A few highlights of this year's trip were: Angie's $200 midnight swim in the ocean, french braiding my nieces' hair, playing Blongo Ball on the beach and bocce ball on the grass, Zane's job opportunity to buy cap guns to restock the store, taking family pictures (this will be a highlight once we get them), and a play put on by the nieces and their friends.

The only downsides were that the weather wasn't too great and we kept up the tradition of an ER visit. We thought we made it through the whole week with no injuries, but as we were packing up, the trailer was dropped on Bill's finger. It was cut up really bad so Jeff and I took him to the ER in Goleta. He got a few stitches and all is well. It was still a wonderful week of camping!

MATT AND ELYSE'S WEDDING

One of Jeff's best friends from high school got married in Mesa, Arizona on August 20. As expected, it was HOT but it was a beautiful day! We went to their sealing in Mesa in the morning, a luncheon in the afternoon, and their beautiful reception at a country club in Tuscon that night. It was a great day and we are so excited for Matt and Elyse!

The following weekend they had their open house in Canyon Country, so we got to see them two weekends in a row!

UPDATE ON OUR LIVES

Throughout the summer, Jeff and I were praying and fasting and made the decision for him not to go back to law school. It was a really tough choice, but we are happy with it and looking forward to the future. Jeff is trying to get into a police academy anywhere in California. He has been applying all over and we are so excited to think about where we could end up. For now, we are going to be moving up to Canyon Country for the time being so that we can save money until we know where we are going. Life keeps throwing new surprises our way, but we are excited for the adventures to come!

First Anniversary!

July 31 was our one year anniversary! Part of me feels like we have always been married and the other part of me feels like our wedding day was yesterday.

This year sure has flown by!

To celebrate, we stayed a night in Santa Barbara on our way back from Girls Camp.

On Friday morning we got a delicious breakfast, drove around and found a pretty park in the hills, visited the Santa Barbara mission, and did a little shopping on State Street.

Then we were able to check into our hotel and went to dinner. After dinner we took a stroll on the pier and stopped in the candy shop.

Saturday we enjoyed breakfast in bed, rented bikes and rode down the beach and around state street, and had a relaxing lunch before heading home.

After church on Sunday we enjoyed the top of the cake from our wedding. It thawed out perfectly and tasted great!

It was a perfect weekend to celebrate our first year as Mr. and Mrs.!