Going, going, back, back to Cali

This past weekend I decided to take a little trip back to Danville and it felt so good to be back there! Jeff had an away game so I thought it would be a good time to get away plus I am so glad I did it because who knows when I will be able to visit again with us moving to Florida. (Yes, that is for sure now and I will blog about that next!) I stayed with my bestie since Kindergarten, Britta, and we covered a lot of ground! I made a list of everything I wanted to see and do while I was there and we accomplished it all. We went from San Francisco to Santa Cruz and everything in between! Here is a little summary of our adventures!

Thursday
My Dad picked me up early that morning from the airport and I hung out at his apartment for a bit while he worked and then he took me to lunch at Esin Restaurant and Café in Danville. It is a place my Mom discovered and it is wonderful! It was good to spend some time with my Dad and I always enjoy his company. After lunch he took me to Britta’s and we made our plans for the week!

Friday
Britt had to work during the day so I slept in, went to the gym, and walked around Blackhawk Plaza. They have some good new shops! Britta subs at Charlotte Wood (our old middle school) so I went and visited her there and got to see some people I haven’t seen in a very long time! We went to In-N-Out that night for dinner (one of the “must-do’s) and then went to a circus in Dublin. I have never been to a circus before but that one was very interesting. I will leave it at that. It was fun though and it was good to see some old friends from high school.

Carson and Barnes Circus!

Yes, that is a real albino python snake. It smelled so bad and kept getting tighter and tighter!

Saturday
I met up with an old dance friend, Whitney, in the morning then me and Britta got some Domenico’s, best sandwiches ever, and went to Santa Cruz. It was the best weather I have ever had there! I even ended up getting my legs fried although I wasn’t even in a bathing suit! We spent the whole day there then came back and went to dinner with some friends and then we had to hit up some Fenton’s! Fenton’s is the best ice cream parlor ever and it was a hot spot for my family. We had been going there for years before we moved so it was another “must-do.”

Sunny skys in Santa Cruz...a rarity


Me and Britt

Our devoured ice cream

Sunday
We headed to San Francisco! Of course, on the way there and on the way back we ran into some quite interesting people. It made me realize how sheltered I am in Utah. You just don’t see random schizophrenic, or drunk people taking public transportation or walking around haha. It was another beautiful day in SF but quite windy. We were barely able to walk it was so windy and we walked a lot! I think we walked about half the city, or at least that’s what it seemed like. We ate in Little Italy, at a place called Steps of Rome. We have been going there since high school and the waiters are all Italian and you can’t understand a single word they say! After dinner, we walked back down to Union Square and introduced Allie to dessert from the Cheesecake Factory. At that point, we were all very tired and headed home but it was a very fulfilling day!

Strolling through the city

Dinner at Steps of Rome

Monday
My last day in Cali! We spent the afternoon in Walnut Creek before my flight and walked around all the shops. I was so tempted to buy something and that is the only thing I wish I did more of…shopping! Oh well, it’s just so much money! I will survive.

Monica, Me, and Britt

I love California so much and still consider it my home! Thanks again to Britt for letting me stay with her and I love her to pieces! My battery died on my camera too so she took all the pics for me. Hopefully I can make it back to Cali soon but if not, I guess Florida is the next best thing! :)

Thunder vs The Knights

I haven’t blogged in awhile about Jeff’s games but he just had a game Saturday night and it was awesome! It was so intense! They won but it came down to the wire and the final score was 70-69. They were tied at the end of the game so they went into over time and Ogden scored but missed the kick, which was unbelievable because their kicker is amazing! It was up to us to score and make the extra point to win the game and they did it! I have to say, I think it was a miracle that they won haha. The crowd was going crazy though and they had a great turnout. Jeff had a touchdown and some great catches. Some of my nephews were able to come to the game too, which was so fun because they have never been able to see Jeff play before. They loved the game and were great fans cheering in the stands. They won some Thunder gear too and were able to get some autographs after the game. Tyler is determined to come to the next game and compete in one of the contests, or at least the running one he says haha. After the great game, we topped the night off with some yummy custard from Coney’s! Those boys sure can eat haha. Jeff only has one more home game left and its June 27th and after that they should be in the play-offs. We will see if they can pull off making it to the championship!

Tyler, Dallin and Ryan

In Memory

Today my parents are going to visit the graves of my Grandpa and Grandma Allen for Memorial Day weekend. Jeff and I were not able to go today but I have been thinking so much about my Grandma Allen that I thought I would write a little bit about her.

She passed away when I was 17 years old and I never knew my Grandpa Allen because he died right before I was born. My Grandma spent those 17 years all alone. Growing up, I was able to spend a lot of time with my Grandma. She was always there for anything big or small, and many times she would watch me while my parents went out. I grew to love my Grandma more and more over the years. When I was little, I always thought she was stern. She would make me eat all my food, told me not to cry when I broke my wrist haha, and was always making sure I stayed out of trouble. My Grandma was one tough cookie! She was married when she was 16 and my Grandpa was ten years older than her. She wasn’t able to finish school but went to work in a butcher’s shop to help provide for her small family. She didn’t let anyone push her around and she was the one in charge! I will never forget the one piece of advice she would always give me everytime she came over, “Chelsie, you get your education and work hard in school.” Oh, and as I got older she started to add in, “And stay away from those boys!” I always told her, “Yes, Grandma, I will,” although I wasn’t quite sure about the part with the boys. Her advice really sunk in though and I found myself working hard in school and pushing myself to make her proud.

I always admired the strength of my Grandma. Although my Grandma was often lonely without her companion, you never saw her in a moment of weakness. She pushed on with her life and devoted herself to serving in the church. She became a temple worker in the Oakland temple and spent her days there, serving and helping others. Work was a part of her and she had to constantly be doing something. When she would come over for dinner, she had to help someway but felt she couldn’t cook anymore so she was always at the sink washing the dishes. We could never pull her away.

My Grandma would also always tell me, “I hope I can see what you become.” I would have loved to have my Grandma there at my high school graduation, at my college graduation, and most importantly my wedding. The thing is I know she was there. She may not have been there in person, I may have not been able to see her but I could feel her there. One of the most profound things I remember from when Jeff and I were married was feeling the presence of my Grandpa and Grandma Allen. I am so happy they are together once again and I know we will be together one day. My Grandma still pushes me to be a better, stronger person and her example lives on in my life and in my memories. I love her so very much!

Just a thought for today

A Message by George Carlin:
The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider freeways , but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.
We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.
We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.
We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things.
We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.
These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete...
Remember; spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.
Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.
Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.
Remember, to say, 'I love you' to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.
Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.
Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.
AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

Blue Lemon

Last week my mom was nice enough to come down and stay with me while Jeff was away in New Mexico for his game. If you know my family, we love our food and love trying new and different restaurants. On vacations, my mom would research all the different restaurants in the area and we would go try the ones she picked out. Needless to say, I have learned to do the same so I am always looking for new places to try for when she comes down. I was reading in a magazine about this restaurant called Blue Lemon Bistro and Restaurant in Highland and it sounded pretty good so we decided to give it a shot! We were not disappointed! The food was all very yummy and they have a very different selection of food. Their motto is “pure clean food with a twist” and they tout their food on its freshness and quality of ingredients. We tried the Vegetable Lasagna and the Pineapple Barbecue Brisket Sandwich with the sweet potato fries. Both were excellent and the sandwich was very messy but all the better! If you love vegetables, you will love the lasagna and they’re alfredo sauce was very good too. I think my most favorite was the Butternut Squash soup though. It was sooo good and I think it may be the best Butternut Squash soup I’ve ever had. My only negative comments are that the food was not very warm, except for the soup. The fries were a little on the cool side and would have been much better hot. Their desserts were also not that impressive. It’s pretty hard to beat Magelby’s chocolate cake! Overall though, it was delish and I would definitely recommend it. Just writing about it is making me want to go back! You can check them out at http://www.bluelemonutah.com/.

Pineapple Barbecue Brisket

Vegetable Lasagna

Sweet Potato Fries

You can look at more pics of menu items on their website too!

Mexico Bound!

Francewa/Elder Johnson officially left for Mexico this past Monday and Jeff was there with a surprise visit to send him off! The swine flu and a visa was no longer stopping him from heading out so EARLY Monday morning he was on his way to the airport...and so was Jeff. Jeff woke up at 2:15 in the morning to make sure he was there when Francewa arrived so here is the "documentary" of his surprise. I am glad that he was able to see Francewa and he was able to spend a good hour with him before he left. Thank you Jeff for your sacrifice of sleep so we could all see him one last time before he left! :)

MoM

In honor of Mother’s Day this past Sunday, I thought I would just write a little about my mother and how grateful I am for her. I know everyone says their mother is the best mother in the world but I am just going to have to make a claim that I think my mom is pretty darn close. I have never seen a mother who cares so much about her family. My mother is completely and utterly devoted to her family, and that includes all members, not just her children. Now that she is here in Utah, I have been able to witness the sweet way she cares for her own parents. She loves spending time with them and doing things for them and they just eat it up! Her role as a mother has taken on new boundaries as she is now the grandmother of nine very busy grandchildren! Her role as my mother over the years has even changed and takes on different shapes as I grow and begin new stages of my life. She no longer feeds me, dresses me, does my hair, drives me around town, or tells me whether or not I can go out at night but she still loves me, cares for me, supports me, advises me, and is a best friend to me. Those are things I cherish and so thankful for because I know they will never change and that I can always count on her. My mother is my best friend and an angel in my life. I think of her and I literally see a halo around her head. She just has a special glow and anyone who comes in contact with her can see it. There are so many qualities that I admire about my mom. She is so patient! I hardly have seen my mom lose her temper. It takes A LOT to make her mad or at least to show it. She never has used harsh words with me and has hardly ever yelled. I hope I can be as patient with my children as she has been with all of us. My mother has great strength and a great testimony. These are qualities that I have come to admire and respect my mom for even more over the years. As a mother, you deal with a lot of stress. I have seen my mom take upon this stress but she never gives up. She takes it on with a quiet strength. She never loses an ounce of love but rather gains in tons. My mother never asks for much, and as usual all she wanted for Mother’s Day was for all her children to be together. (She did however let me get her a red purse :)) I could go on for days about my mother but you can’t mention my mom without mentioning Betty Crocker or Martha Stewart! As we always say, she blows Martha Stewart out of the water! She is an amazing cook, decorator, home-maker and we wish everyone could partake of her great talents. My mother is too humble though and avoids any recognition. One day though you may see her great recipes in a cookbook or maybe even a store! I hope I can be half the person my mother is and I am so thankful for the great example she is to me. I love you Mom!

My mom and her sweet mother

Cooking of course :)

All us crazy kids with Mom's classic "funny pose"

I have to say too I am grateful for all the other wonderful mothers in my life. I have great examples of mothers in sisters, grandmas, and in-laws! I feel so blessed and thankful I will have such amazing people to look to when I have children!