TWENTY

May 2016

A long time ago there was a slightly shy but really cool girl who spied this curly red haired boy at a church dance of all places. She thought to herself, hmmm, he looks pretty cool and wait I think I kinda know him from the 23rd ward, clogging, and stake choir- all things I wasn't especially proud of participating in, but hey it was good for me. So I pestered a mutual friend for some info and before long the redhead and I were venturing out on our first date to Kueken Dutch and Mt. Charleston. We figured we kind of liked each other, so there were more dates and hanging out. Then we didn't date for awhile (it was complicated) but then we did again. Yes it was that simple-haha! Then for some crazy reason we thought, huh, maybe we should just get married and spend all the time together. So here we are celebrating twenty years of marriage, a great feat for any couple, but extraordinary considering my counterpart is a fiery redhead. To reward ourselves for such a great achievement we booked a get away to California with stops in Hollywood, Universal Studios, and Huntington Beach.

HOLLYWOOD

We reserved tickets for the Jimmy Kimmel show and waited in the alley before being escorted in to the studio. No phones or cameras were allowed so I have nothing to show on the inside but Jimmy Kimmel was great and the guests that day were  Rob Gronkowski (football player), Sharmila Devar and Kerry Washington (TV show Scandal), and the musical guest was Ariana Grande. I did get a few pics of Ariana Grande since she performed on the outdoor stage. Afterwards, we snuck into Hollywood High School to copycat a picture Morrissey took there. Dinner was at the Pig N Whistle and the after party at Amoeba Records.

Ariana Grande

UNIVERSAL STUDIOS

I'm a fan of Harry Potter. Not the uber obsessed kind of fan that recites spells and dreams about being a Gryffindor, but someone who loved the books and enjoyed the movies. So when I heard the Wizarding World of Harry Potter had opened in Universal Studios I knew I had to go and try some Butterbeer. The first ride we hit was Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, the one inside the awesome castle. I loved it! Jason not so much. It's kind of a motion simulated ride that flies you all around and the motion sickness got the best of him- no barfing but he was discombobulated for quite some time. Needless to say I rode a lot of rides by myself that day but we had a great time.

*You will also see a pic of Lauren down below. She sent this to us while we were enjoying ourselves at Universal Studios. She said she was in a fight at school and was in the Dean's office. I was like, you've got to be kidding me she had never been in a fight- ever. I tried to call but she didn't answer. She texted me that some girl just started fighting with her and she couldn't answer in the Dean's office. I was just about to call my mom to tell her to head to the school (that's quite a bit of blood) when Lauren told me it was all a prank. Just doing some blood spatter stuff in Forensics class and got some fake blood on her. Little turd had me panicked there for a few minutes!

Hagrid's house

Hogwarts Castle

WANDS!!

HUNTINGTON BEACH

We splurged a little and stayed at The Shorebreak hotel right across from Huntington Beach. It was amazing! We could walk right to the beach, shops, and restaurants. The hotel had beach cruisers you could check out so we took a bike ride down to Newport Beach and back. We enjoyed relaxing on the beach and soaking up the sun. We had a great time celebrating twenty years!!