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.!

Girls Camp

Girls camp is a week long camp that each stake of our church puts on every summer for all of the girls ages 12-18. I went every year when I was growing up and this year I had the chance to go back and bring my husband with me!

Jeff's mom is the Girls Camp extraordinaire. No seriously. She teaches Sunday School for adults. She isn't in Young Womens. But somehow she is basically in charge of Girls Camp. It is amazing. Anyways, she asked me to give a talk at their camp this year and asked Jeff to teach surf lessons so we were lucky enough to go for the entire week.

This Girls Camp was very different from the one I would go to growing up. There were a lot of little differences but the biggest one was that we were at the BEACH!!! How cool is that? They got these group campsites and all of the girls stayed in huge tents right next to the ocean.

I apologize but this is the only picture I took all week. Oops.

Every day we headed down to the beach. Jeff taught surf lessons and the girls LOVED IT. We all played capture the flag, went kayaking, and swam in the ocean. Every night we ate a delicious dinner and enjoyed some very entertaining and spiritual campfires.

Jeff and I had a great week. Jeff loved getting the inside scoop about what Girls Camp is really like. I loved getting to know the girls and reminiscing on my Girls Camp days. I was wishing the whole week that I was 16 again and having the time of my life with all of my friends. It feels like it was just yesterday that my friends and I were at Girls Camp. Time sure has flown but I am glad that I have opportunities to be a leader and example for those girls now.

Dodger Game

A few weeks ago we got to attend Mormon Night at Dodger Stadium. Even though I might not be the biggest Dodger fan, it was still fun to be at a baseball game! I used to go to A's and Giants games all the time in high school and during summers when I was home from college. It had been a while since the last time I went to a game and it was good to be back (even if it was for the wrong team). We met Jeff's family there and some people from his parent's stake and a fun time was had by all!



PJ and Courtney's Wedding

On Wednesday July 6 we headed up to the Bay Area so that we could attend PJ and Courtney's wedding and all of their festivities. It was a busy weekend but as always, we had the best time ever! I love any chance I get to be reunited with my friends!

On Thursday there was a BBQ for friends of the bride and groom at Hap Magee Park. We had burgers and got to all catch up with each other.

All of the girls at the BBQ.

Right after the BBQ, we headed to the Sellands' for a PJ Party. We all surprised Courtney by getting into our PJs and making her do the same! Jaicy made Courtney a cute shirt that had a picture of PJ and said "my new bedtime buddy." We all lounged on the floor, did each other's hair, made friendship bracelets, talked about PJ, drank root beer floats, and then watched a slideshow that I made for Courtney. It was a great night!

Friday morning we had a bridal shower brunch for Court. Jaicy made THE MOST DELICIOUS BREAKFAST, read us a letter from PJ to Courtney and then Courtney opened her presents. I loved having so much girl time!

This has nothing to do with the wedding, but that afternoon we went swimming at Kim's house. Kim is terrified of lizards of any kind and of course when we got in the pool we found a HUGE lizard/iguana/dinosaur. We had never seen anything like it in California and it could very possibly be a runaway pet. It was hilarious because even after Jeff took it out of the pool, it kept hanging out on the lawn nearby. Kim kept an eye on it the whole time to make sure it didn't attack. We are still wondering what the heck it was!

Saturday July 9th was the big day! Courtney and PJ had been waiting for this day since December and it certainly didn't disappoint! In the morning we went to the Oakland Temple for their sealing. PJ's grandpa was able to seal them and it was beautiful. Afterwards we took pictures at the temple and congratulated the newlyweds.

Jeff, Emily, Dustin, Katie, Kim, Ben and I went to High Tech Burrito to grab a quick lunch then went to help set up for the reception.

Their reception was at the old one room school house on the outskirts of Danville. Most of us hadn't been there since elementary school field trips.

My grandma even found this old picture of Courtney and I at the school house on our field trip in either 2nd or 3rd grade! Little did she know then that her wedding would be right there 15 years later!

The location was so beautiful and the O'Connors and Andersens put together an AMAZING reception with all of the cutest details. We set up all of the pennant flags, flowers, food tables, drink tables, dessert station, kids area, and made sure everything was perfect for when the bride and groom arrived. Everything looked flawless!

 Such a cute idea! A board to post when you met Courtney and PJ.

They even used a school bus as a shuttle to get people to the school house!

They had a beautiful ring ceremony conducted by the singles ward bishop.

 Then the fun began! We ate delicious food, watched them cut the cake and dance for the first time as husband and wife, and then we were on the dance floor for the rest of the night. Exactly how a wedding should be. It was perfect!

 YUM. Domenicos.

They even bought a real bird for this cute bird cage!

I am SO SO SO happy for Courtney and PJ. I am so glad they found each other and decided to get married. It worked out so perfectly and I know they will continue to be a perfect match for the rest of eternity!