Costa Mesa

We flew to LAX on Sept 5th.  We rented a car through Advantage and drove to Costa Mesa, staying at the Best Western Newport Mesa Inn, near the O.C. Fairgrounds.  We have stayed there once before, with Ryan.  After we got to the hotel,  Dad and I went to the South Coast Plaza to get them a wedding gift.  We went to Crate and Barrel.  Dad bought them some salt and pepper shakers and I bought them a pancake/ waffle spatula, a cheese grater, 4 cutting mats, and a whisk.  We went back to the hotel and unpacked.  Then we went to Von's to get groceries.  After we put the groceries in the room, we went to the Crab Cooker with Ryan and Sara. We gave them our gifts.

On Thursday, We ate breakfast at the hotel.  We spent the whole day at Disney's California Adventure from 10:30 am until 5:30 pm.  We hadn't been there since 2003.  We had to park 2 miles away and take the bus to the park.  We started out in the Condor Flats, going on Soarin' Over California.  Mom has to shut her eyes to go on this ride.  We went over to the Grizzly Peak and went on the Grizzly River Run, which we got soaked on.  We walked over to Paradise Pier and went on the Littler Mermaid- Ariel's Undersea Adventure, which is like the ride, Finding Nemo at Epcot.  Dad and I went on the Golden Zephyr, which is a spinning ride that made me nauseous.  Dad went on Goofy's Sky School which is like the Wild Mouse at Lagoon.  While Dad went on the Silly Symphony Swings, Mom and I got Icee's.  We then all went on Mickey's fun wheel, the Ferris wheel, choosing to go on the side that doesn't spin.  We ate lunch at the Pacific Wharf Cafe, which had clam chowder in sourdough bread bowls.  We walked over to Hollywood Land to see Disney's Aladdin-a Musical Spectacular at the Hyperion theatre, which was a 40 minute show and really good.  We rode on Monsters, Inc: Mike and Sully to the Rescue, which has taxis as the vehicles.  We walked around the shops, while Dad went on the The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.  We walked back to a Bug's Land and saw It's Tough to be a Bug.  Then we walked through the shops, while Dad went on the Radiator Springs Racers in Cars Land.  We saw the Pixar Play Parade.  Mom bought some Caramel corn, before we exited the park.  We had dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory at Blackie's.  On our way back to the hotel, we went to Grower's Direct and got some fruit.  When we went back to the hotel and logged onto Facebook,  we found out my Dad's uncle Calvin had passed away the previous Saturday.

On Friday,  I ate raspberries for breakfast. I finished reading, Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.  We drove up to Los Angeles, parking at Hollywood and Highland, walking around the stars and the shops.  We drove around Beverly Hills and Melrose Avenue, passing the CBS and Paramount Studios.  We had lunch at the food court at Anaheim Plaza  I read on my ipad and Dad went to Newport Beach while Mom took her nap.   At 7 pm, We went to the rehearsal dinner at Sara's house in Sunset Beach, hosted by my parents. We had Greek food from George's Greek, which included Greek Salad, Fruit, Veggies, Chicken Kabobs, Beef Kabobs, Pita Bread with Hummus, and Cheesecake for dessert.  It was good, getting to know Sara's family.  At 11 pm, we drove back to the hotel.

On Saturday,  I ate raspberries for breakfast. We went to the OC Swap Meet, where I bought some books and Mom and Dad bought some strawberries and some Caramel corn.  We ran into my Aunt Elaine and Uncle Les.  We got to the Newport Beach Temple at 2:45 PM, because our GPS wouldn't let us put in the exact address to the temple.  The ceremony was at 3 pm.   After the ceremony, we took pictures on the front steps. Sara and her mom made her wedding dress, her two sisters' dresses, and dresses for her nieces.   I wore my blue dress with a black sweater, Mom wore her grey dress. Dad and Ryan wore blue suits with rust colored ties.  After the pictures, we went to the car and we started pulling away, when I noticed Dad's flowers squished in our parking space.  They must have fallen off his jacket when he put his jacket in the back of the car and he ran over them with the tires.  We drove around the Pacific Coast Highway before going to the reception.

The reception was at Sherman Gardens and Library in Corona Del Mar.  We had appetizers such as Shrimp wrapped in Bacon, Tuna on Polenta, and Onion Tarts, with Lemonade to drink.  When we were seated inside at the U shaped table, I was seated between Dad and Aunt Elaine. Sara and her mom made the rust table runners, the grey napkins, and soapboxes for name plates.   Sara's dad conducted the dinner and made introductions of the family.  Ryan and Sara had their first dance to the song, I Will by the Beatles.  The first course was Mozzarella, Lettuce, and Tomatoes.  The fathers of both the Bride and Groom gave speeches on Ryan and Sara.  The second course was Asparagus and Arugula with an orange colored dressing.  The main entree was Halibut, Risotto, and Carrots.  The best man, Rich, and the Matron of Honor, Laura gave speeches.  Ryan and Sara then cut their cake, which was Pineapple and Coconut with Butter cream frosting.  Sara in her speech, had 9 other people including me, give one reason why she loved Ryan.  I had to talk about how he honors his Priesthood and does what is right, with Sara giving the number one reason.  Ryan then talked about how much he loves Sara and got teary-eyed.  We then ate the cake, which was delicious.  Then it was time for us single ladies to gather at the back of the room as Sara threw the bouquet.  Their friend, Sara B. caught it.  Then we gathered out in the courtyard with poppers of confetti to pop when Ryan and Sara ran past, sending them off.  After they left,  we said goodbye to everyone and drove to our hotel. Mom and Dad gave them money for their honeymoon to Playa Del Carmen, Mexico.

On Sunday,  I finished reading, Matched by Ally Condie and I watched some episodes of the Office (UK) on my ipad.   Dad went to Sacrament Meeting at the stake center next to the Temple, with my aunt Elaine and uncle Les.  After Dad came back from church, we drove up to Knott's Berry Farm and had chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy, and rolls with boysenberry jam for lunch.  After we ate, we walked around the shops.  After our nap, we decided to drive past Blackie's.  It was too crowded to walk on the pier.  So we went to Downtown Disney.  They had closed the book store, which was sad.  Mom bought the Indiana Jones playset and some cookies.  We had dinner at El Torito.  We drove back to the hotel and watched the movie, Date Night.