Califorina overrated? I think not...

Wow, so much to say and so much space and time to say it in. As you have guessed I am at work. I really should be catching up on work but lets face it...I never do and I never get here at 8. I will continue on with these habits for the simple reasons that I have never been scolded for them and I like them. Where to start...Thursday the 16Th. Got to work at noon, prepped for a presentation and talked to the Audobon Society. I really like them. If I had to join a "sportsman's" group that is affiliated with the Fish and Game it would probably be them. I just think they have a really good attitude and outlook at wildlife. After the presentation Kori picked me up from work and we headed south. I slept and she drove until she was too tired. Then she slept and I drove until I was too tired. Then we stopped at a rest stop who knows where and we both slept (Kona was in the back...sleeping the whole time). We put an old topper that we found in the back yard on top of the truck so we could keep our stuff safe and so we could sleep back there and feel safe. It was awesome. We had the perfect amount of room and I felt like we could go anywhere. We also bought all of our food with my food stamps before we left and planned it out perfectly. So Friday morning we continued on with our drive until we got to Doheny beach. Their campground was full so we went a little farther south and camped there. We headed straight to the beach. It was 1.5 miles away and the walk was welcomed. It turned out to be a little longer than we had planned though because there was more than 1 trail. Anyways, we got back to the campsite, got some dinner and went to bed. Saturday morning we went to Disney Land!!!! HAPPY DISNEYLAND DAY!! Disneyland really is magical and the happiest place on earth. Where else can you fly over roof tops and mermaids and Indians in a magical boat, or take tours to endor and help destroy the death star, follow a white rabbit while on the back of a caterpillar, watch Mickey battle the forces of evil over a lake, be saved by Indiana Jones, hang out with pirates, go underground with Brier rabbits, bears and foxes, watch Cinderella dance with her prince and give hitchhiking ghosts a ride? All in one day while surrounded my amazing food and such a diversity of people. I think Disneyland is such a happy place because you really can do anything you have wanted to do since you were a kid. Also because everyone leaves everything about the outside world outside. I didn't think about work or money or stress about anything all day! The biggest stresser was deciding if I wanted an ice cream sandwich or a sorbet. After all the fun and excitement was over we stayed the night at another rest stop...not a good idea. That place was soo busy we never got any sleep. You'd think things would die down but they never did. In the morning we went to this cool beach that they let dogs go to and hung out there all day. We walked around the shops, swam in the water and taught Kona to play in the waves. She was soo cute! Then we grabbed the pocked rocket, a box of pasta roni and my guitar. I played while we made dinner. The ocean is soo invigorating. That night we stayed at our old house which is still infested with spiders! I forgot until I killed 4 of them in the bathroom. Yes I got bit 3 times and I am still suffering the effects. The next morning we headed out to Mission Gorge and went climbing. It was almost too hot! I let a pretty cool 5.9 and there were some other good climbs but I would not say that it was my favorite climbing spot. Most of the routes required trad gear which I do not have. I did however get to use my new climbing shoes! They worked great, but they do kind of hurt my toes. That night we stayed with Lizette. What a great friend. She took us out to breakfast the next morning and sent us on her way. It was good to catch up with her. I am glad we are still friends. The drive up to Utah seemed to last forever! Not to mention the fact that it was getting colder and colder the farther we got. I was soo nice in California. 70 and sunny the whole time. I miss November weather like that. Well, we go to Utah and Brian, Sterling, Jared, Marcus, Mary and Tim were all there to hang out with. I like good solid groups of friends. The next morning we played tennis and went slacklining. Kori left to go to her families...or at least that's what she told us...and we ran around doing random things. Tolman gave me that opsprey pack for my birthday hoot yeah!!! and we hung out at different peoples houses pretty much all day. The next morning the ward played football in our yard and Tolman and Tim had to leave pretty early (11am). Well early for Thanksgiving day. We had our dinner-wonderful as usual- I love holidays that are centered around eating...Ok, I know it's really supposed to be centered around being thankful but I'm thankful for food. No actually I am very thankful for lots of things. I'm grateful for my family and such good friends and for those who are more than friends (you know who you are). And for my dog Kona and danger kitty and for the great outdoors and how it can change a person. I'm also thankful for the indoors and our amazing technology. And of course our amazing gospel and our church leaders and the strenght and power that they have. I am thankful for bikes and trails and rocks and bolt lines and water (all types:rivers, oceans, lakes, pools, hot tubs, hot springs, sprinklers, filtered water, slippin slides...ok I think you get the idea)sunrises over the Tetons and sunsets over the beach, good food (did I already say that?) good gear and I am very thankful for my birthday and the fact that I think I got everything that I have ever wanted because if it. Ok, probably not really but it feels like that sometimes. Ok, back to the summary of my week. Yes I call it a summary because believe it or not I could add a lot more detail! After Thanksgiving we helped out in the yard and in the garage (that was mostly Brian) moved some beds around (mostly me) put up the Christmas lights and had some fun planning 72 hr packs for the family. Oh also I spent quite a bit of time shopping with my mom. It was actually fun. Friday night we got to hang out with Angela and her sisters as well as her "friend" Matt and his sister. Brian and Sterling were both there also. We went to Salt Lake and tried to see the Joseph Smith movie, looked at some of the lights and ate at the Olive Garden. It was fun to hang out with a different group. Not that I don't love the group I usually hang out with, but it was just fun to see Angela and her sisters again. Saturday we had a birthday party for me. My mom kind of went all out. Thanks Mom! And thanks for all the gifts. They will be put to good use :) Other stuff happened but I can't remember everything and I'm getting bored with blogging. I will be very surprised if very many people read this far anyways. We came back up to Idaho Saturday night. Sunday was church day and Monday...back to work. Last night was fun. We decorated our Christmas tree.

Pictures to come...