Cheers, Mate

Will's best friend Matt recently returned from his mission to London, England (South)--soooooo jealous--and moved out to Utah. So naturally we went to Trafalgar. And were really mature.

Missed an easy putt :(

We thought about going swimming...maybe next time.

Theme Song: Pinball Wizard, The Who/Elton John (air hockey and pinball are interchangeable...right?)

Fantastic? Fourth

Late post. I'm lazy. Surprised?

Because our car is ...awesome... we ended up staying an extra day in California and drove back on 4 July rather than 3 July as originally planned. Although, this worked in our favor because there was zero traffic driving to Utah.

However, after driving all day we couldn't bring ourselves to go outside to watch fireworks. Instead we watched the Washington, DC fireworks (can't wait to be there in person next year), enjoyed Brazilian food sent home with us from a wonderful California family, listened to Provo fireworks through our open windows, and watched The Patriot. Correction: Will watched the Patriot and I buried my head in his shoulder for a majority of the movie. Squeamish? Why yes, yes I am.

Part of our mail when we arrived home: a 4th of July package from Will's mom

Chips and Vinaigrette. yummmmmmmmm

Theme Song: Born in the U. S. A., Bruce Springsteen

Joshua Trees

Palmdale, Lancaster, California City, Quartz Hill,  Leona Valley..., California

The final year of Will's mission was spent in two wards, one are. That's right. That means we had a lot of visits to make: everyone remembers Elder Davis. It was really fun for me to see where he had served for so long and to meet the people he came to know and love.  The landscape is not what I'd call beautiful, but the people certainly are!

Lake Elizabeth, Leona Valley

 Another highlight of the trip was the musical highway. Anyone remember the Honda commercial? This video is SUPER hard to hear, but it's the best one I got.

Fun Fact: Palmdale is called that for all the Joshua trees in the area because they were originally mistaken for palm trees. These stubby little trees are only found in Jerusalem and the Mojave desert. My theory? Nephites. ;)

Theme Song: William Tell Overture, Rossini

Of Sand and Sealing

LA County

Saturday morning we left Burbank for the LA temple. And missed the 8:30 session by minutes. We thought it was at 9:00. Instead, we walked around the grounds a bit before attending the temple. We also got to go to a sealing, and Will even saw a stake president from his mission who now works at the temple.

Brooke + Brad

After the temple we headed down to Santa Monica Pier

The Edge of Santa Monica Pier

How we found a space with no people to take pictures, I will never know.

The Pacific. I haven't seen you in years.

Touching the Ocean. It's been so long :)

Before we headed up to the Palmdale area for the rest of our stay, we had to pick up our completely redone transmission to put back in our car. Over $1000. NBD

The beautiful 2011 Jetta we drove from Vegas and on our first days in California

Theme Song: All I Wanna Do, Sheryl Crow

Found Ourselves Here

Every other time I have been to California I have been either to Disneyland or Monterrey. This trip, we went to neither of those places.

Will served in the California, San Fernando mission. Or as one missionary described it, a hot dryer full of sand. The landscape may have not been the most beautiful I've ever seen, but what I loved about this trip was the people. There are a lot of wonderful people living in Burbank, Palmdale, Quartz Hill, and other areas of the Antelope and Leona Valleys. And they all love Will. Not that I blame them. It was fun for me to see how excited they were to see "Elder Davis and his Wife!"

Burbank, California

Stayed with John and Karen and their many adorable cats and kittens. Makes me want a cat again. Thank goodness Will isn't allergic. Some day...

Awkward and Pigeon toed in front of a national landmark. Typical.

View of LA from the Hollywood Sign

Madonna's House. NBD

Coolest Garage Door Ever.

The sign on the road that we drove up to get closer to the Hollywood sign. The neighborhood hates people like us.

Worth the close-up

Burbank is home to all the tv studios. No star sightings, but here's something to really get excited about:

We also visited the house where my dad grew up through most of elementary school.

Will told me to lean against the tree so I would look less awkward then I had at the Hollywood sign. No joke.

But, the real highlight of our time in Burbank was visiting a super-secret location. Will learned where it was during his mission, but it's one of the best kept secrets in the business, so don't ask where it is--we'll never tell. (I went a little picture crazy, but I remain unapologetic. This is a very big deal.)

Do you know what this is? Only one of the greatest television locations of the modern era!

That's right! Scranton Business Park! Unfortunately, they were not currently shooting, so that actual sign had been taken down. But, still!

You can almost see Michael leaping out of the dumpster in a paintball/hockey pads outfit...

Last time Will was here, he saw cars with Pennsylvania license plates (Meredith's van, Stanley's car...) No such luck for us, which just means an eventual return trip during filming is in the works. I'm going to meet Jim and Pam before I die. ;)

Theme Song: The U. S. Office Theme, The Scrantones
Alternative Theme Song: Hooray for Hollywood, Johnnie Davis, Frances Langford, Benny Goodman

Bonjour Las Vegas

After a rather traumatic experience with our very special Honda Civic, our vacation went on very close to the way Will had cleverly planned it.

First Stop: Las Vegas

When Will suggested we spend the night in Vegas rather than driving through to California I immediately leaped onto my soapbox, spouting the evils to be found on the strip and how I had felt so uncomfortable the last time I had walked the strip and visited Vegas (not to mention the HEAT). Slightly crestfallen, he admitted he had planned a surprise--a fancy night in the beautiful Paris hotel, right on the strip. Me and my big, fat mouth. Luckily, he forgave me.

We did stay at the Paris; we just checked in a few hours later than originally planned (stupid car), so we didn't do as much exploration as we would have liked, only seeing the Bellagio fountains from afar, but we didn't have to walk the strip either--win some, lose some.

A tiny bit taller than the actual Louvre...

As close as we got to the Bellagio fountains. Only regret of the trip.

The outside of this hotel is pretty excellent. But, I was blown away by the inside. It was a combination of Versailles and a street café. All the signs were in French and my inner nerd was going nuts. I can read that stuff!! The ceiling was particularly amazing: Parisian sky at twilight.

The Lobby. Yeah.

Will trying to keep the streets of Paris clean. Or possibly stealing this man's broom.

Super blurry picture, but I had to take it fast. The Red Hat Society was having some sort of convention and these women were everywhere in the hotel!! Everywhere! It was insane.

Just got married in Vegas? Time to hit the casino floor.

 Being 21 and all, I could actually walk on the carpet this visit to Vegas. I almost wanted to get carded just to say: It's okay. I'm legal. We just walked on the floor a little though. Noisy slot machines and a thick cloud of smoke...not my bag. But the shops and Parisian decor were definitely a hit with me. I have the best husband ever. He knows me so well.

While we did not make it to the Wee Chapel on the Strip (Mormon Pride and Prejudice? Anyone?) as Mom suggested, we did stop in to see the two chapels of the Paris Hotel. Oh la la!

Unfortunately, we didn't get any photos of our ritzy hotel room. Seriously, living big. Good thing we didn't have to spend a ton of money on our car...wait...

Crèpes for Breakfast

Theme Song: Not Enough of You, Ben Carson