Everything's Sunny in...California

So I'll try to make a long story short here. LaDon, my best friend growing up, and his family lives in Los Angeles where he just got a job. He was not able to attend our wedding because his sister-in-law got married the same day I did. I was not able to attend his wedding either because my sister got married the day before he did but half way across the country. So we obviously didn't have the best of luck there.

Well LaDon and his wife Jamie invited us out to visit them over the long weekend for a fun filled mini-vacation. They have the cutest little girl Ally who pretty much stole the whole weekend. I think Leisa and I would have been glad to have just spent the weekend with her at a park or something. But they had plenty of things planned and writing about it now, after it's all over, it was such a fun time. When LaDon and I get together, we tend to tell stories from our childhood's, but as you will see below, we decided to branch out a little more this time.

Saturday morning was spent at the Santa Monica Pier where LaDon and Ally attempted to get into the water. Not much success there as it was pretty cold, but Ally did get plenty of swing time and LaDon showed us all what an Adonis he is by climbing a rope they had along the boardwalk.

Then in the afternoon it was off to the In N Out by LAX. This of course was my idea but I think everyone ended up having fun in the end as you can see by this picture and video.

To continue the afternoon we went to LaDon's new office which is on the 21st floor...pretty good view of everything. But, of course, no pictures. We also attempted to enjoy a Diddy Reese treat, but to no avail. The line was at least an hour long. We decided to go back later.

 The evening was by far the highlight of the trip for me. We went to the Getty Museum which I think should be a must for everybody. It was spectacular. I had been once in high school, but of course back then, I was too cool to go the Getty. They have an exhibit right now that looks at the differences between Rembrandt's work and the work of his pupils. Where historians thought certain works were done by Rembrandt himself, they were actually done by his pupils. Just a fantastic exhibit. Leisa and I took pictures next to two of our favorite paintings, both Monet's (great minds think alike)... and originals nonetheless.

On Sunday Southern California was having a regional broadcast for Stake Conference and Leisa and I were more than happy to listen to Pres. Uchtdorf, Elder Holland, Sis. Matsumori, and Bishop Edgely. They all gave great talks. On our way to watch though, I thought it would be a good idea to try and catch the QANTAS A380 land under the palm trees. As luck would have it (or as a sign that spotting is not acceptable as a Sabbath Day activity) we missed it by about 3 minutes. We got about 3 seconds of it on video (look very closely). After the conference, Leisa and I went to the L.A. temple and added a few more pictures of us for generations to come. That night we played games and had dinner with a couple that LaDon and I knew at BYU who now live in LA as well. We also got a little more face time with Ally. So cute!

Monday morning LaDon had to go to work and so Leisa and I decided to drive around the Hollywood Hills and look at the humongous houses. Some of them were just mind blowing. Absolutely amazing!! Afterwards we were finally able to go to Diddy Reese and partake of a fabulous ice cream cookie...and a Diddy Dozen! :) LaDon was even nice enough to run down and get a picture before we left town. It was a fabulous trip and considering it was only a 6 hour drive, we just might do it again. Thanks again LaDon, Jamie and Ally!